Hydrogen desorption exceeding ten weight percent from the new quaternary hydride Li3BN2H8

Mobile applications of hydrogen power have long demanded new solid hydride materials with large hydrogen storage capacities. We report synthesis of a new quaternary hydride having the approximate composition Li(3)BN(2)H(8) with 11.9 wt % theoretical hydrogen capacity. It forms by reacting LiNH(2) and LiBH(4) powders in a 2:1 molar ratio either by ball milling or by heating the mixed powders above 95 degrees C. This new quaternary hydride melts at approximately 190 degrees C and releases > or =10 wt % hydrogen above approximately 250 degrees C. A small amount of ammonia (2-3 mol % of the generated gas) is released simultaneously. Preliminary calorimetric measurements suggest that hydrogen release is exothermic and, hence, not easily reversible.     

Global variations in peak bone mass as studied by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

In 1994, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) initiated a 5-year Co-ordinated Research Project (CRP) to determine geographical and racial differences in peak bone mineral density (BMD) in men and women aged 15-49 years. The study demonstrates that there are distinct global differences in BMD at the hip and spine in both men and women approximating to one population standard deviation between populations with the highest and lowest BMD. These differences persist following adjustments for age, sex and body size. Such information is valuable in understanding the reasons for global differences in fracture rate and predicting future trends in fracture incidence. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A novel, environmentally friendly dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction procedure for the determination of copper

A novel, simple and environmentally friendly procedure for copper determination has been developed. The method is based on the formation of an ion associate of Cu(I) with 1,3,3-trimethyl-2-[5-(1,3,3-trimethyl-1,3-dihydroindol-2-ylidene)-penta-1,3-dienyl]-3H-indolium (DIDC) in the presence of chloride ions as ligand, followed by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) of the formed ion associate into organic phase and UV-Vis spectrophotometric detection. The following experimental conditions were used: pH 3, 0.24 mol L^− 1 chloride ions, 0.06 mmol L^− 1 DIDC. The effect of the nature of the extraction solvent, auxiliary solvent and disperser solvent used was studied. A mixture of amyl acetate, tetrachloromethane, and methanol in a 1:1:3 v/v/v ratio was selected for the DLLME procedure. The absorbance of the coloured extracts at 640 nm wavelength obeys Beer's law in the range 0.020-0.090 mg L^− 1 of Cu. The limit of detection calculated from a blank test (n = 10) based on 3s is 0.005 mg L^− 1 of Cu. The developed procedure was applied to the analysis of water samples. The suggested DLLME is compared with two procedures previously reported from our laboratory based on (1) conventional liquid-liquid extraction, and (2) sequential injection extraction performed in a dual-valve sequential injection system. The advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed.     

Extractive separation,preconcentration, spectrophotometric and atomic absorption determination of gold as an ion associate with 2-[2-(4-methoxyphenylamino)vinyl]-1,3,3-trimethyl-3H-indolium chloride

Extractive separation, preconcentration, and determination of gold as an ion associate (IA) with 2-[2-(4-methoxyphenylamino)vinyl]-1,3,3-trimethyl-3H-indolium chloride in extracts by spectrophotometry and atomic absorption spectrometry were studied. The optimal conditions were found for the extraction of IA with aromatic hydrocarbons and acetate esters. The main chemical analytical properties of the ion associate were determined. The formation of IA enables extractive separation of gold from Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, Cu, Cd, Pt, Hg, Bi, Ag, Pb, and Pd. By varying the volume ratio of the aqueous and organic phases in the range of (1–40): 1, one can combine extractive separation and the preconcentration of gold and decrease the detection limit for gold to 0.031 mg/L (extraction-spectrophotometric determination) or 0.084 μg/L (direct determination in extracts by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry). Procedures were developed for the determination of trace amounts of gold, and their performance characteristics were calculated.     

Determination of Rb and Sr concentrations in rocks by radioisotope X-ray fluorescence analysis

A method is described for Rb and Sr concentration determinations in rocks by radioisotope X-ray fluorescence analysis. The yield/concentration ratios were established by increasing the concentrations of the examined elements in the sample and recording each spectrum. The analytical error in the 100-1,000 ppm concentration range was 2–4%, and for 50 ppm about 10%, and the detection limit was 5–10 ppm.     

Lengths of radii under conformal maps of the unit disc

If is the set of endpoints of radii which have length greater than or equal to under a conformal map of the unit disc, then as for the logarithmic capacity of . The exponent is sharp.

     

In situ UV-vis absorbance measurements for Langmuir films of poly[4'-[[2-(methacryloyloxy)-ethyl]ethylamino]-2-chloro-4-nitroazobenzene] (HPDR13) azopolymer

In situ UV-vis absorbance measurements are used to investigate aggregation in Langmuir films from the azopolymer poly[4'-[[2-(methacryloyloxy)-ethyl]ethylamino]-2-chloro-4-nitroazobenzene] (HPDR13), a methacrylate derivative of DR13. The level of aggregation in a Langmuir film is intermediate between that of HPDR13 in chloroform solution and in a deposited LB film, as expected. Absorption is negligible at large areas per monomer, and starts to increase at a critical area that is the same as the one obtained in surface potential isotherms, being close to twice the area per monomer for a condensed film. This indicates that the onset for light absorption coincides with a critical packing density where monolayer structuring occurs and there is a sharp change in the effective dielectric constant of the film/water interface. Consistent with a featureless pressure-area isotherm for HPDR13, denoting no significant molecular rearrangement upon film compression, the UV-vis spectra did not vary with the surface pressure. The intensity of absorbed light increased, though, as the film was compressed owing to a higher density of chromophores. At higher subphase temperatures, larger flexibility of HPDR13 chains led to a more compact arrangement, causing the area per monomer to decrease and the absorbed light to increase-with approximately opposite trends.     

The Number of Edge Colorings with no Monochromatic Cliques

Let F(n,r,k) denote the maximum possible number of distinctedge-colorings of a simple graph on n vertices with r colorswhich contain no monochromatic copy of K_k. It is shown thatfor every fixed k and all n>n₀(k), and , where t_k–1(n)is the maximum possible number of edges of a graph on n verticeswith no K_k (determined by Turán's theorem). The caser=2 settles an old conjecture of Erds and Rothschild, whichwas also independently raised later by Yuster. On the otherhand, for every fixed r>3 and k>2, the function F(n,r,k)is exponentially bigger than . The proofs are based on Szemerédi's regularity lemmatogether with some additional tools in extremal graph theory,and provide one of the rare examples of a precise result provedby applying this lemma.     

Separation of strength and selectivity of mobile phase by spectral mapping technique

The retention behaviour of seven monotetrazolium and nine ditetrazolium salts was studied in seven different mobile phases on alumina and impregnated alumina stationary phases. The strength and selectivity of the components of mobile phases were separately calculated by the spectral mapping technique. It was established that tetrahydrofuran (THF) has the highest solvent strength while the differences among ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol and dioxane were relatively low. The selectivity of THF was also considerably different from those of other solvents. Hydrophobicity and electronic parameters were equally involved in the retention strength and selectivity of tetrazolium salts, indicating the mixed character of their interaction with the alumina stationary phase.     

A dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction procedure for determination of boron in water after ultrasound-assisted conversion to tetrafluoroborate

A novel, simple and green procedure is presented for the determination of boron. The method is based on ultrasound-assisted conversion of boron to tetrafluoroborate anion and the formation of an ion pair between BF₄⁻ and Astra Phloxine reagent (R), followed by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction of the ion pair formed and subsequent UV-vis spectrophotometric detection. The conversion of boron to tetrafluoroborate anion is performed in an acidic medium of 0.9 mol L⁻¹ H₂SO₄ in the presence of 0.1 mol L⁻¹ F^- by means of 10 min of ultrasonication. The extraction of the ion pair formed between BF₄⁻ and R (1 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹ R) is carried out by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction using 0.5 mL of amyl acetate (as extraction solvent), tetrachloromethane (as auxiliary solvent) and acetonitrile (as dispersive solvent) in a ratio of 1:1:2. The absorbance of the coloured extracts obeys Beer's law in the range 0.22-18.7 mg L⁻¹ of B(III) at 553 nm wavelength. The limit of detection calculated from a blank test (n = 10) based on 3 s is 0.015 mg L⁻¹ of B(III). The method was applied to the determination of boron in mineral waters.