A New Silicate Clathrate Hydrate: An X-Ray Diffraction and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Study of a System with Octameric Silicate Anions and Trivalent Cations

The first crystal structure is reported for a silicate clathrate hydrate involving a triply charged cation [C₁₈H₃₀N₃]³⁺ and an octameric cubic silicate cage. The structure is essentially a host/guest system, with the silicate cages linked into a framework by hydrogen bonding to water molecules. The space group is P with Z = 2, and the asymmetric unit includes a complete cation and half the anion, plus 21 water molecules (4 of which are in disordered positions). Solid-state (CPMAS) ²⁹Si and ¹³CNMR spectra are consistent with the diffraction-determined structure and indicate substantial distortion of the anion from cubic symmetry. Solution-state spectra of precursor solutions and of melted material are also presented and discussed.     

Mechanisms of thermal transformation of zinc blende to [NaCl] in MnS crystals

Single crystals of zinc blende phase MnS transform at 200°C to single crystals of [NaCl] phase by single diffusive jumps of the cations. Dimensional changes cause random distortion of the crystal. Evidence is also presented for a second structural correspondence in which {111} zinc blende planes become {100} [NaCl] planes. The corresponding deformational mechanism might be favored at low temperatures.     

Determination of low-level residual ethylene oxide by using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography

Current methods of analysis for ethylene oxide (EO) in medical devices include headspace and simulated-use extractions followed by gas chromatography with either a packed or a capillary column. The quantitation limits are about 0.5-1.0 microg/g for a packed column and about 0.1-0.2 microg/g for a capillary column. The current allowable levels of EO on medical devices sterilized with EO gas as outlined in International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 10993-7 may be significantly reduced from current levels by applying the ISO Draft International Standard 10993-17 method for establishing allowable limits. This may require EO test methods with detection and quantitation limits that are much lower than those of the currently available methods. This paper describes a new method that was developed for the determination of low-level EO by solid-phase microextraction using the direct-immersion method. Factors such as temperature and stirring were found to affect absorption efficiency and absorption time. A low extraction temperature (about 6 degrees C) was found to be more efficient than room-temperature extraction. Stirring was found to reduce absorption time by about 50%. Under these conditions, detection and quantitation limits of 0.002 and 0.009 microg/g, respectively, were obtained by using a capillary column. As a result, this method makes compliance with lower EO limits feasible.     

The modulation of face-face π-π interactions in Lewis acid catalysis

The enantiomeric excess observed for the exo-adduct from the Lewis acid catalysed Diels-Alder reaction between cyclopentadiene and methacrolein can be increased up to 21% by simple modification of the electronics of the aromatic ring in a series of stilbene-derived diol ligands, suggesting that the proposed face-face π-π interaction between the catalyst and the dienophile can be modulated by altering the electron density on the aromatic ring.     

Elucidating the mode of action of a corrosion inhibitor for iron

Two polymetallic iron(III) complexes 1 and 2 have been synthesised from the known corrosion inhibitor 3-(4-methylbenzoyl)-propionic acid HL1 and their crystal structures determined. Coordination geometries extracted from these structures have been used as the basis for molecular modelling onto idealised iron(III) oxide surfaces as an aid to understanding the efficacy of inhibitors of the 4-keto acid type. The proposed mode of action involves 1,3-bridging didentate coordination of the carboxylate function of L1 to two FeIII ions, hydrogen-bond formation between the 4-keto group of L1 and a bridging surface hydroxy group, as well as close packing of the aromatic end groups, which should generate a hydrophobic barrier on the surface. Adsorption isotherm experiments have been used to compare the strengths of binding of related carboxylic acids onto iron(III) oxide surfaces and indicate that the presence of the 4-keto function leads to the formation of significantly more stable surface complexes.     

Dynamic model for vibronic excitation in low energy atom-molecule collisions

Product state distributions from low energy He⁺N₂ and N⁺₂He collisions are presented. These data, obtained from collision-produced emission spectra, show severe deviations from Franck-Condon behavior which cannot be solely the result of molecular distortion arising from electrodynamic effects. A model based on consideration of the short-range interaction between the collision partners is proposed.     

Mössbauer and molecular orbital study of the myoglobin-CO complex

Experimental Mössbauer spectra of the Fe⁵⁷-enriched CO complex of sperm whale myoglobin (MbCO) at T= 4.2 K with and without applied magnetic field (H⊥γ) were measured to derive the sign of the electric field gradient (EFG), the quadrupole splitting ΔE _Q, and the isomer shift δ of the heme iron. We find a positive EFG, δE _Q = 0.363 mm/sec, and δ + 0.266 mm/sec. Molecular orbital calculations were carried out to obtain theoretical estimates of EFG and ΔE _Q for several steric arrangements of the CO ligand relative to the heme group. Our results are most consistent with the conclusion that the iron is situated in the heme plane, and that a bent geometry with a Fe-C-O angle of about 135 ° is more favorable than a more symmetric structure with a linear Fe-C-O geometry.