Sequential extraction partitioning of metals,sulfur, and phosphorus in bottom ash from a coal-fired power plant

Abstract

The herbicide trifluralin was analysed by adsorptive stripping voltammetry on a glassy carbon electrode. The linear concentration range was 2.5 × 10^?7 M – 1.25 × 10^?6M when using 5-min preconcentration at open circuit conditions in Britton-Robinson buffer of pH 7.0. The detection limit of trifluralin was 2.5 × 10^?8M. The relative standard deviation was 3.3% at a concentration of 1.0 × 10^?6M (n=5). The method was applied to the determination of trifluralin in soil with good recovery.     

Thermal and infrared spectroscopic characterization of historical mortars

The characterization of historical mortars was performed by thermal analysis (TG-DTG), simultaneous infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The samples were taken from St. John Church (Tartu, Estonia), built in the 13th–14th centuries. The analyses are important for the restoration of the church.

In reality, mortar is a very difficult system, the lime is accompanied with different hydraulic components. TG-DTG analysis and FTIR methods can be used to identify various components of mortar and to observe the reactions associated with the controlled heating at 25–900°C in dynamic air and nitrogen atmosphere. The elemental composition of the acid-soluble components (ASC) was determined by using the ICP-AES techniques.     

Descriptive statistics for multivariate distributions

The purpose of this paper is to study the concepts location, scatter, skewness and kurtosis of multivariate distributions. Measures of these properties are introduced which include some new generalizations of well-known univariate statistics. Previous work is briefly reviewed.     

Template‐Free Supracolloidal Self‐Assembly of Atomically Precise Gold Nanoclusters: From 2D Colloidal Crystals to Spherical Capsids

We report supracolloidal self‐assembly of atomically precise and strictly monodisperse gold nanoclusters involving p‐mercaptobenzoic acid ligands (Au₁₀₂‐pMBA₄₄) under aqueous conditions into hexagonally packed monolayer‐thick two‐dimensional facetted colloidal crystals (thickness 2.7 nm) and their bending to closed shells leading to spherical capsids (d ca. 200 nm), as controlled by solvent conditions. The 2D colloidal assembly is driven in template‐free manner by the spontaneous patchiness of the pMBA ligands around the Au₁₀₂‐pMBA₄₄ nanoclusters preferably towards equatorial plane, thus promoting inter‐nanocluster hydrogen bonds and high packing to planar sheets. More generally, the findings encourage to explore atomically precise nanoclusters towards highly controlled colloidal self‐assemblies.     

Site Preference in Multimetallic Nanoclusters: Incorporation of Alkali Metal Ions or Copper Atoms into the Alkynyl‐Protected Body‐Centered Cubic Cluster [Au7Ag8(C≡CtBu)12]+

The synthesis, structure, substitution chemistry, and optical properties of the gold‐centered cubic monocationic cluster [Au@Ag₈@Au₆(C≡C^tBu)₁₂]⁺ are reported. The metal framework of this cluster can be described as a fragment of a body‐centered cubic (bcc) lattice with the silver and gold atoms occupying the vertices and the body center of the cube, respectively. The incorporation of alkali metal atoms gave rise to [M_nAg_8?nAu₇(C≡C^tBu)₁₂]⁺ clusters (n=1 for M=Na, K, Rb, Cs and n=2 for M=K, Rb), with the alkali metal ion(s) presumably occupying the vertex site(s), whereas the incorporation of copper atoms produced [Cu_nAg₈Au_7?n(C≡C^tBu)₁₂]⁺ clusters (n=1–6), with the Cu atom(s) presumably occupying the capping site(s). The parent cluster exhibited strong emission in the near‐IR region (λ_max=818 nm) with a quantum yield of 2 % upon excitation at λ=482 nm. Its photoluminescence was quenched upon substitution with a Na⁺ ion. DFT calculations confirmed the superatom characteristics of the title compound and the sodium‐substituted derivatives.     

Atomic and electronic structure of gold clusters: understanding flakes, cages and superatoms from simple concepts

Atomic structure and electronic structure are intimately interrelated properties of nanoclusters and nanoparticles, defining their stability, electronic, optical and chemical properties, in other words, their usability as potential components for nanoscale devices. This tutorial review attempts to describe the development in understanding the structures of bare and ligand-protected gold clusters over the past decade, based on selected density-functional-theory calculations. This review should be of interest both to newcomers in the field and to an interdisciplinary community of researchers working in synthesis, characterization and utilization of ligand-protected gold clusters.     

Spectral analysis of 1H coupled 13C spectra of the amino acids: adaptive spectral library of amino acid 13C isotopomers and positional fractional 13C enrichments

The natural abundance 1H-coupled 13C NMR spectra of all proteogenic amino acids were measured in D2O at pH* 1. The accurate 1H,13C spin-spin coupling constants were analyzed using total-line-shape fitting. The obtained spectral parameters can be used to establish a spectral library of amino acid 13C isotopomers. The adaptive spectral library principle is introduced and discussed in this article. The simulated spectra can be applied to quantification of 13C isotopomer mixtures of amino acids and, thus, for exploring metabolic pathways. Also a protocol for amino acid 13C isotopomer metabolomic profiling in 13C labeled glucose feeding experiments is outlined. The approach is suggested to give invaluable information about positional fractional 13C enrichments, which are not easily available by any other method.     

Time-dependent density-functional theory in the projector augmented-wave method

We present the implementation of the time-dependent density-functional theory both in linear-response and in time-propagation formalisms using the projector augmented-wave method in real-space grids. The two technically very different methods are compared in the linear-response regime where we found perfect agreement in the calculated photoabsorption spectra. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the two methods as well as their convergence properties. We demonstrate different applications of the methods by calculating excitation energies and excited state Born-Oppenheimer potential surfaces for a set of atoms and molecules with the linear-response method and by calculating nonlinear emission spectra using the time-propagation method.     

Studies of a Large Odd‐Numbered Odd‐Electron Metal Ring: Inelastic Neutron Scattering and Muon Spin Relaxation Spectroscopy of Cr8Mn

The spin dynamics of Cr₈Mn, a nine‐membered antiferromagnetic (AF) molecular nanomagnet, are investigated. Cr₈Mn is a rare example of a large odd‐membered AF ring, and has an odd‐number of 3d‐electrons present. Odd‐membered AF rings are unusual and of interest due to the presence of competing exchange interactions that result in frustrated‐spin ground states. The chemical synthesis and structures of two Cr₈Mn variants that differ only in their crystal packing are reported. Evidence of spin frustration is investigated by inelastic neutron scattering (INS) and muon spin relaxation spectroscopy (μSR). From INS studies we accurately determine an appropriate microscopic spin Hamiltonian and we show that μSR is sensitive to the ground‐spin‐state crossing from S=1/2 to S=3/2 in Cr₈Mn. The estimated width of the muon asymmetry resonance is consistent with the presence of an avoided crossing. The investigation of the internal spin structure of the ground state, through the analysis of spin‐pair correlations and scalar‐spin chirality, shows a non‐collinear spin structure that fluctuates between non‐planar states of opposite chiralities.     

Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Exhaled Breath Compounds after Whole Grain Diets

Exhaled breath is a potential noninvasive matrix to give new information about metabolic effects of diets. In this pilot study, non-targeted analysis of exhaled breath volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was made by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GCxGC-MS) to explore compounds relating to whole grain (WG) diets. Nine healthy subjects participated in the dietary intervention with parallel crossover design, consisting of two high-fiber diets containing whole grain rye bread (WGR) or whole grain wheat bread (WGW) and 1-week control diets with refined wheat bread (WW) before both diet periods. Large interindividual differences were detected in the VOC composition. About 260 VOCs were detected from exhaled breath samples, in which 40 of the compounds were present in more than half of the samples. Various derivatives of benzoic acid and phenolic compounds, as well as some furanones existed in exhaled breath samples only after the WG diets, making them interesting compounds to study further.