Simultaneous determination of copper and iron in automotive gasoline by X-ray fluorescence after pre-concentration on cellulose paper

This paper proposes an alternative analytical method using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) to determine Fe and Cu in gasoline samples. In the proposed procedure, samples were distilled and the distillation residues were spotted on cellulose paper disk to form a uniform thin film and to produce a homogeneous and reproducible interface to the XRF instrument. The disks were dried at 60 °C for 20 min and copper and iron were determined directly in the solid phase at 6.40 and 8.04 keV, respectively. The calibration curves showed linear response in the 20-800 μg L⁻¹ concentration range of each metal. The precisions (repeatability) calculated from 15 consecutive measurements and defined as the coefficient of variation of solutions containing 100 μg L⁻¹ of Fe and Cu were 7.8 and 8.1%, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD), defined as the analyte concentration that gives a response equivalent to three times the standard deviation of the blank (n = 10), were found to be 10 and 15 μg L⁻¹ for Fe and Cu, respectively. The proposed method was applied to copper and iron determination in gasoline samples collected from different gas stations.     

Influence of the degree of surface oxidation of polycrystalline Rh electrodes on the underpotential deposition of Cu

The underpotential deposition of copper onto polycrystalline rhodium was studied as a function of the degree of oxidation of the electrode surface in acidic media using potentiodynamic techniques. Surface oxidation of the rhodium electrode was carried out using a triangular sweep potential between E _L (lower limit) and E _U (upper limit: 0.94≤E _U≤1.4 V). Cu electrodeposition was performed at the same time as the total or partial reduction of the oxidized species. The surface oxides produced at E _U≤1.09 V were completely reduced during Cu electrodeposition. In this case, the potentiodynamic I-E patterns for oxidative dissolution of Cu were characterized by three anodic peaks located at 0.41 V (peak I), 0.47 V (peak II) and 0.59 V (peak III) and the coverage degree by Cu, θ_Cu, was on the order of a monolayer. Surface oxides produced at E _U>1.09 V were partially reduced during the copper electrodeposition. In this case, the I-E profiles exhibited only two anodic peaks (II and III) and θ_Cu was <1. The Rh-oxygen species that remain on the electrode surface block the active sites of lower energy and modify the binding energy of strongly adsorbed Cu. Electronic Publication     

A molecular spring for vision

Light absorption by the visual pigment rhodopsin leads to vision via a complex signal transduction pathway that is initiated by the ultrafast and highly efficient photoreaction of its chromophore, the retinal protonated Schiff base (RPSB). Here, we investigate this reaction in real time by means of unrestrained molecular dynamics simulations of the protein in a membrane mimetic environment, treating the chromophore at the density functional theory level. We demonstrate that a highly strained all-trans RPSB is formed starting from the 11-cis configuration (dark state) within approximately 100 fs by a minor rearrangement of the nuclei under preservation of the saltbridge with Glu113 and virtually no deformation of the binding pocket. Hence, the initial step of vision can be understood as the compression of a molecular spring by a minor change of the nuclear coordinates. This spring can then release its strain by altering the protein environment.     

Reactivity of 1-phenylsulfinyl-2-phenylsulfanylethylene (SOSE) with O-nucleophiles generated by potassium tert-butoxide

E-1-Phenylsulfinyl-2-phenylsulfanylethylene (E-SOSE) reacts with O-nucleophiles generated by means of t-BuOK via an addition-elimination mechanism, thus affording the product of substitution of the phenylsulfanyl group in a stereo-conservative process. When used alone, the strongly basic and hindered tert-butoxide brings about elimination of either the phenylthiolate or phenylsulfinate groups. Z-SOSE is much more prone to elimination: either with t-BuOK alone or with other O-nucleophiles generated by t-BuOK, it always leads to products derived from elimination. Other alkaline tert-butoxides or other bases appear not as effective in generating species nucleophilic enough to react with E-SOSE.     

1,3,4-Benzotriazepinones. Formation and rearrangement

Anthranilic hydrazide reacts with orthoesters to produce mixtures of 3 products: 3,4-dihyro-5H-1,3,4-benzotriazepin-5-ones ( 1 ), 3-amino-3,4-dihydro-4-quinazolinones ( 2 ) and 2-(2-aminophenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazoles ( 4 ). The origin of these materials has been investigated. Product distributions depend on the nature of substituents, solvent and time. In ethanol benzotriazepinones are kinetically favored, but formed reversibly they subsequently rearrange to 2 and 4 . Aminoquinazolinone formation is suppressed in aprotic solvents at moderate temperatures. Earlier failures to obtain 1 are due to its tendency to isomerize. Acid, base and thermal rearrangements have been observed. Mechanisms are proposed for the formation of 1, 2 and 4 , and for the rearrangements of the benzotriazepinones. Pyrazolo- and imidazotriazepinones have been prepared from the corresponding o-aminoazole hydrazides.     

Non existence and existence of capillary surfaces

It is shown that a curvature condition on the boundary of a convex domain , shown in [4] to suffice for existence of a solution of the capillary equation in , does not suffice without the convexity condition; this is so even in cases for which the negative curvatures that appear may be arbitrarily small in magnitude.The trapezoid example of the preceding note is also considered, and a sense is indicated in which the local criterion of [2] is sufficient for existence of a solution.Dedicated to Hans Lewy and Charles B. Morrey, Jr.     

Synthesis and characterization of hybrids derived from vermiculite chloropropyl and aliphatic diamines

Silylation of vermiculite surface with organosilane (H₃CO)₃SiR, being R is the corresponding organic moieties –CH₂CH₂CH₂Cl, were carried out to yield organofunctionalized nanomaterial, named as VCl. The product reacted subsequently with three aliphatic diamines H₂N (CH₂)_nNH₂ (n=2, 4 and 6). The new hybrids were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetry. The grafting chloro derivates onto surface amounted to 2.1 mmol g^–1. The incorporation of alkyl amines was more effective for butyl>ethylene>hexyldiamines. The sequence is in agreement with thermogravimetry and elemental analysis data.     

Interesting synthetic routes from the reinvestigation of the reaction of the M(CO)6 (M=Cr,Mo and W) species with KOH

Summary Reinvestigation of the reaction of M(CO)₆ (M=Cr, Mo or W) with KOH has been found to provide a very convenient route to the K[M₂H(CO)₁₀] compounds (M=Cr, Mo or W). The reaction involving Cr(CO)₆ yields new potassium derivatives containing [Cr₂(CO)₁₀]^2– and [HCr(CO)₅]^– species; also K[Cr₂D(CO)₁₀] is produced from the Cr(CO)₆/KOD interaction in C₂D₅OD. The reaction involving two different group 6 metal carbonyls yields [MM(CO)₁₀(-H)]^– (MM=CrMo, CrW or WMo) species as their K⁺ and PPN⁺ [bis(triphenylphosphine)iminium] salts.     

Mixed-valent [FeIV(mu-O)(mu-carboxylato)2FeIII]3+ core

The symmetrically ligated complexes 1, 2, and 3 with a (mu-oxo)bis(mu-acetato)diferric core can be one-electron oxidized electrochemically or chemically with aminyl radical cations [*NR3][SbCl6] in acetonitrile yielding complexes which contain the mixed-valent [(mu-oxo)bis(mu-acetato)iron(IV)iron(III)]3+ core: [([9]aneN3)(2FeIII2)(mu-O)(mu-CH3CO2)2](ClO4)2 (1(ClO4)2), [(Me3[9]aneN3)(2FeIII2)(mu-O)(mu-CH3CO2)2](PF6)2 (2(PF6)(2)), and [(tpb)(2FeIII2)(mu-O)(mu-CH3CO2)2] (3) where ([9]aneN3) is the neutral triamine 1,4,7-triazacyclononane and (Me3[9]aneN3) is its tris-N-methylated derivative, and (tpb)(-) is the monoanion trispyrazolylborate. The asymmetrically ligated complex [(Me3[9]aneN3)FeIII(mu-O)(mu-CH3CO2)2FeIII(tpb)](PF6) (4(PF6)) and its one-electron oxidized form [4ox]2+ have also been prepared. Finally, the known heterodinuclear species [(Me3[9]aneN3)CrIII(mu-O)(mu-CH3CO2)2Fe([9]aneN3)](PF6)2 (5(PF6)(2)) can also be one-electron oxidized yielding [5ox]3+ containing an iron(IV) ion. The structure of 4(PF6).0.5CH3CN.0.25(C2H5)2O has been determined by X-ray crystallography and that of [5ox]2+ by Fe K-edge EXAFS-spectroscopy (Fe(IV)-O(oxo): 1.69(1) A; Fe(IV)-O(carboxylato) 1.93(3) A, Fe(IV)-N 2.00(2) A) contrasting the data for 5 (Fe(III)-O(oxo) 1.80 A; Fe(III)-O(carboxylato) 2.05 A, Fe-N 2.20 A). [5ox]2+ has an St = 1/2 ground state whereas all complexes containing the mixed-valent [FeIV(mu-O)(mu-CH3CO2)2FeIII]3+ core have an St = 3/2 ground state. M?ssbauer spectra of the oxidized forms of complexes clearly show the presence of low spin FeIV ions (isomer shift approximately 0.02 mm s(-1), quadrupole splitting approximately 1.4 mm s(-1) at 80 K), whereas the high spin FeIII ion exhibits delta approximately 0.46 mm s(-1) and DeltaE(Q) approximately 0.5 mm s(-1). M?ssbauer, EPR spectral and structural parameters have been calculated by density functional theoretical methods at the BP86 and B3LYP levels. The exchange coupling constant, J, for diiron complexes with the mixed-valent FeIV-FeIII core (H = -2J S1.S2; S(1) = 5/2; S2 = 1) has been calculated to be -88 cm(-1) (intramolecular antiferromagnetic coupling) and for the reduced diferric form of -75 cm(-1) in reasonable agreement with experiment (J = -120 cm(-1)).     

Gaseous supramolecules of imidazolium ionic liquids: "magic" numbers and intrinsic strengths of hydrogen bonds

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is found to gently and efficiently transfer small to large as well as singly to multiply charged [X+]n[A-]m supramolecules of imidazolium ion (X+) ionic liquids to the gas phase, and to reveal "magic numbers" for their most favored assemblies. Tandem mass spectrometric experiments (ESI-MS/MS) were then used to dissociate, via low-energy collision activation, mixed and loosely bonded [A- - - -X- - - -A']- and [X- - - -A- - - -X']+ gaseous supramolecules, as well as their higher homologues, and to estimate and order via Cooks' kinetic method (CKM) and B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) calculations the intrinsic solvent-free magnitude of hydrogen bonds. For the five anions studied, the relative order of intrinsic hydrogen-bond strengths to the 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium ion [X1]+ is: CF3CO2- (zero) > BF4- (-3.1) > PF6- (-10.0) > InCl4- (-16.4) and BPh4- (-17.6 kcal mol(-1)). The relative hydrogen-bond strength for InCl4- was measured via CKM whereas those for the other anions were calculated and used as CKM references. A good correlation coefficient (R=0.998) between fragment ion ratios and calculated hydrogen-bond strengths and an effective temperature (Teff) of 430 K demonstrate the CKM reliability for measuring hydrogen-bond strengths in gaseous ionic liquid supramolecules. Using CKM and Teff of 430 K, the intrinsic hydrogen-bond strengths of BF4- for the three cations investigated is: 1-n-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium ion (0) > 1,3-di-[(R)-3-methyl-2-butyl]-imidazolium ion (-2.4) > 1,3-di-[(R)-alpha-methylbenzyl]-imidazolium ion (-3.0 kcal mol(-1)). As evidenced by "magic" numbers, greater stabilities are found for the [(X1)2(BF4)3]- and [(X1)5A4]+ supramolecules (A not equal InCl4-).