A theoretical study of five nitrates: Electronic structure and bond dissociation energies

Three density-functional methods (B3P86, B3PW91, and B3LYP) are employed to investigate the O–NO₂ bond lengths, frontier orbital energies, and O–NO₂ bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of n-propyl nitrate (NPN), isopropyl nitrate (IPN), 2-ethylhexyl nitrate (EHN), triethylene glycol dinitrate (Tri-EGDN), and tetraethylene glycol dinitrate (Tetra-EGDN). It is found that the O–NO₂ bond lengthens (destabilizes) in the order of IPN, NPN, EHN, Tetra-EGDN, and Tri-EGDN. From the data of frontier orbital energies (E_HOMO, E_LUMO), and energy gaps (ΔE), we estimate the relative thermal stability ordering of five nitrates and their corresponding radicals. The predicted BDEs of O–NO₂ bond in NPN, IPN, EHN, Tri-EGDN, and Tetra-EGDN, are 176.6, 174.5, 168.1, 156.1, and 159.3 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively. Based on the finding that the present results of BDEs are well coincident with the experimental results of apparent activation energies from the literature, we can draw a conclusion that the experimental thermolysis of five nitrates is only unimolecular homolytical cleavage of the O–NO₂ bonds.     

Dispersion state of CuO on CeO2

XRD and XPS are used to study the dispersion state of CuO on ceria surface. The dispersion capacity values of CuO measured by the two methods are consistent, which are of 1.20 mmol CuO/100 m² CeO₂. In addition, the results reveal that highly dispersed Cu²⁺ ions are formed at low CuO loadings and that increasing the CuO content to a value higher than its dispersion capacity produces crystalline CuO after the surface vacant sites on CeO₂ are filled. The atomic composition of the outermost layer of the CuO/CeO₂ samples has been probed by using static secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SSIMS), and the ratim of Cu/Ce are found to be 0.93 and 0.46 for the 1.22 and 0.61 mmol CuO/CeO₂ samples respectively. Temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) profile with two reduction peaks at 156 and 165°C suggests that the reduction of highly dispersed Cu²⁺ ions consists of two steps and is easier than that of CuO crystallites, in which the TPR profile has only one reduction peak at about 249°C. The above experimental results are in good agreement with the prediction of the incorporation model. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

Aging of poly(2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene)/toluene solutions and subsequent effects on luminescence behavior of cast films

Morphological effects in luminescence properties of a representative semiconducting polymer, poly(2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene) (MEH-PPV), has recently attracted much attention. Previous studies indicated that short-term heat treatment of solution-cast MEH-PPV films may result in the formation of mesomorphic order that is responsible for the "red" emission around 640 nm, in contrast to the single-chromophore "yellow" emission near 590 nm from the disordered matrix. On the basis of microscopic and spectroscopic evidence for films cast from freshly prepared and aged solutions, here we show that prolonged storage of MEHyellowPPV solutions at room temperature or lower may result in retardation of the thermally induced mesophase formation in the subsequently cast films. According to small-angle neutron scattering and differential scanning calorimetric observations over aged MEH-PPV/toluene solutions, we propose that the suppressed transformation into mesomorphic order is due to further development of nanocrystalline aggregates that serve as physical cross-links among MEH-PPV chains in the solution state upon long-term storage. These solvent-induced nanocrystalline aggregates, however, do not exhibit new spectroscopic features beyond the suppression of "red" emission at 640 nm from the mesomorphic phase.     

Adsorption energy distribution model for VOCs onto activated carbons

An adsorption isotherm model was proposed for two types of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on a heterogeneous carbon surface. The Langmuir isotherm was used as a local isotherm for describing heterogeneous surfaces to obtain the adsorption energy distribution. The adsorption temperature studied ranged from 30 to 50 degrees C, and the pressure of VOCs varied from 0 to 0.35 atm. The present model differed from previous studies in assuming that the pre-exponential factor was not to be a constant. The pre-exponential factors were determined directly from the experimental data, and the result empirically showed that the pre-exponential factor was correlated with the adsorption energy by a simple exponential function. We found that both adsorption energy distributions of two VOCs were essentially step functions over the restricted pressure range, indicating adsorbates on the carbon surface with its own uniform distribution. By incorporation of the energy distribution and the relationship between the pre-exponential factor and the adsorption energy, the adsorption isotherms for the two VOCs on the carbons can be well predicted.     

Effect of some factors on the energy band structure of proteins

The effects of four factors (different side chains, side-chain disorder, conformational change, and ions and water) on the energy band structures of proteins have been investigated with the aid of the CNDO/2 crystal orbital method. The results indicate that these factors are very important. The consequences of these effects on the semiconductive properties of proteins are discussed.     

The HPLC Enantioresolution of Phenyl Isothiocyanated Amino Acids on Vancomycin Bonded Phase Using the Acetonitrile‐Based Mobile Phase: A Comparison to the Teicoplanin Phase

The phenyl isothiocyanate, an electrophilic reagent for peptide chain sequencing, is used to pre‐column derivatize a variety of α‐amino acids in alkaline medium before their enantioresolution on a vancomycin bonded chiral phase using the acetonitrile‐based mobile phase. The observed resolution is believed to be due to the re‐location of the hydrogen receptor site from sulfur to nitrogen on the isothiocyanyl fragment of derivatizing reagent, which in turn changes the enantioselectivity. Under the same chromatographic conditions, the resolution for N‐benzoylated, 3,5‐dinitrobenzoylated and N‐carbobenzyloxylated amino acids is either not found or unsatisfactory. Also, no resolution is obtained in the reversed‐ or normal phase mode for all phenyl isothiocyanated amino acids examined in this study.     

Synthesis of [1,2-3H2]-polystyrene

The synthesis of [1,2-³H₂]-polystyrene consisted of a two step reaction. First catalytic tritium gas addition to phenylacetylene was used to prepare [1,2-³H₂]-styrene and then it was polymerized to [1,2-³H₂]-polystyrene in the present of an initiator.     

Effect of PEG on the crystallization of PPDO/PEG blends

A new biodegradable polymer system, poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO)/poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) blend was prepared by a solvent casting method using chloroform as a co-solvent. The PPDO/PEG blends have different weight ratios of 95/5, 90/10, 80/20 and 70/30. Crystallization of homopolymers and blends were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). When 5% of PEG was blended, the crystallization exothermal peaks (T_c) of PPDO increased sharply and the crystallization exothermal peaks (T_c) of PEG decreased slightly compared with the homopolymers. The crystallization rates of both components increased, and caused greater relative crystallization degree (X_t%). But when the content of PEG was more than 5%, the crystalline behaviors of blends had no more significant changes accordingly. The melting points of each sample varied little over the entire composition range in this study. The nonisothermal crystallization of PPDO homopolymer and blend (PPDO/PEG = 70/30) were also studied by DSC. The crystallization began at a higher temperature when the cooling rates were slower. The nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of blends was analyzed by Ozawa equation. The results showed that the Ozawa equation failed to describe the whole crystallization of the blend, but Mo equation could depict the nonisothermal crystallization perfectly.     

Neutron activation analysis of gold and iridium in steel

A method of determination of trace gold and iridium in steel is presented. The samples were preconcentrated with an anion exchanger. The chemical recoveries were determined by an isotope tracer technique using¹⁹⁸Au and¹⁹²Ir.     

An Infrared Investigation of Hydrogen-Bonded Liquids

This is an experimental study of the hydrogen-bonded butanediols. Infrared spectra of those butanediols were recorded for pure liquid and vapor phase. Although those molecules do not have any symmetry, with the aid of normal coordinate analysis of n-butane, assignments have been made for all observed infrared frequencies.