Pulse polarography: Part X. Formaldehyde hydration in aqueous acetate and phosphate buffer solutions

Formaldehyde hydration has been studied with pulse polarography in acetate and phosphate buffers, at 25°C. It could be shown that in both buffer systems extrapolation to zero buffer concentration produces the equilibrium constant K_d=[CH₂O]/[CH₂(OH)₂]=(6.31±0.05) 10^?4 in pure water, a value of as yet unmatched precision. In the buffers mentioned two novel features appear in the hydration mechanism: (a) buffer acids form addition compounds with CH₂O where the, corresponding equilibria are rapidly established. The equilibrium constants have been derived. (b) H₂PO₄^?/HPO₄^2? buffers are exceptional in that the polarographic specific rate of hydration as a function of the concentration of this buffer is less than expected on the basis of a normal linear dependence. This is explained, as in the case of free-aldehyde glucose [23], on the basis of a solvent (water)-shared associate of (presumably) H₂PO₄^? with CH₂O which decreases the rate of diffusion of the latter, the more so as the buffer concentration increases. It is pointed out, that the occurrence of such associates can explain the excess activity of H₂PO₄^? as an acid catalyst in aldehyde hydration [16].     

Effective kinetic phase diagrams

The composition of a solid solution that is growing at conditions well away from equilibrium is not prescribed by equilibrium thermodynamics, but is determined kinetically. It depends both on the surface kinetics and on the transport of mass and heat to and away from the solidification front. In previous work, we have formulated a model for the kinetic or nonequilibrium segregation taking place at the solidification front enabling the construction of kinetic phase diagrams, which gives the growth composition of a solid solution as a function of the liquid composition and undercooling at the surface. In the present work, we extend this model to include both mass and heat transport, giving rise to effective kinetic phase diagrams. An overview of the tendencies in the calculated effective kinetic phase diagrams is given by scanning a large part of the parameter space, covering different types of materials, including metals, semiconductors, and molecular systems. We find striking and characteric differences in the relative contribution of the various processes to the effective segregation. For molecular mixtures, interfacial undercooling and heat transport limitation can be expected to be much more important than for metal and semiconductor mixtures where mass transport limitation is dominant.     

Laser induced photodissociation of H+2 and D+2 ions

Photodissociation of H⁺₂ and D⁺₂ has been observed in a crossed beam experiment. A laser used as photon source. The ion and laser beam cross each other inside the laser cavity. The momentum spectra of the resulting H⁺ or D⁺ fragments are recorded with a mass spectrometer. From the spectra the excess kinetic energy is calculated. These values agree with the theoretically expected ones within the experimental error. From the measured intensity distribution the relative population for several vibrational states in the primary ion beam is calculated. Our values deviate from the usual assumed Franck-Condon pattern as well as from the values reported by Dunn. The angular dependence of the fragments is also measured. This dependence indicates a polarization of the primary beam perpendicular to its direction.     

Geminal bis-ureas as gelators for organic solvents: gelation properties and structural studies in solution and in the gel state

Several geminal bis-urea compounds were synthesised by means of an acid-catalysed condensation of various benzaldehydes with different monoalkylureas. Many of these compounds form thermoreversible gels with a number of organic solvents at very low concentrations (<3mM) and which are stable to temperatures higher than 100 degrees C. Electron microscopy revealed a three-dimensional (3D) network of intertwined fibres, which are several tens of micrometers long and have a width ranging from approximately 30 to 300 nm. The possible aggregate forms and aggregate symmetries were evaluated by means of molecular mechanics calculations. 1H NMR, 2D NMR, 13C NMR and 13C-CP/MAS NMR techniques were used to obtain information about the aggregation and possible aggregate symmetry of geminal bis-ureas in solution, in the gel state, and in the solid state.     

Differential scattering cross sections for collisions of alkali ions and atoms. II. Electronic excitation via rotational coupling in LiK+ and NaK+

Relative differential cross sections, for both direct and charge exchange scattering have been obtained for the Li⁺ + K, Na⁺ + K and K⁺ + Na alkali ion—atom collisions, over the energy range 200–1200 eV and for scattering angles 0–6 mrad (in one case 0–15 mrad)- The experimental results are compared to semiclassical calculations, based upon recent potential energy curves. The charge exchange probabilities are calculated by solving the time dependent Schrödinger equation in a two-state approximation. In the Li⁺+ K experiment diffraction effects are observed, which can be compared to the Fraunhofer diffraction. of an annular diaphragm.     

Reaction of optically active alpha-aminoallenylstannanes with aldehydes formed in situ from the Lewis-acid-catalyzed rearrangement of epoxides

Reaction of optically active alpha-oxazolidinonylallenylstannanes with oxiranes in the presence of BF3.OEt2 produced beta-hydroxypropargylamines with high syn diastereoselectivity and high enantioselectivity through an initial Lewis-acid-catalyzed rearrangement of the oxirane to the corresponding aldehyde via an alkyl, aryl, or hydride shift. This permits the use of readily available oxiranes as alternatives to aldehydes that are difficult to prepare and/or unstable.     

Radionuclide contents in environmental samples as related to the Chernobyl accident

Many kinds of environmental samples including total diet samples, were collected in the Chernobyl (Ukraine) vicinity and in Ibaraki prefecture (Japan). Six radionuclides and twelve stable elements were analyzed. After samples were dry-ashed, radioactivities of¹³⁷Cs,¹³⁴Cs,⁴⁰K,⁶⁰Co and⁵⁴Mn were determined by -ray spectroscopy with a germanium detector. Strontium-90 was determined by low-background -spectrometry. Stable elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Comparison of the levels of radionuclides between the Ukraine and Ibaraki showed the former were several times to a few tens of thousands of times higher than the latter, depending on the samples.     

Long-range sigma-pi interactions in tetrahydro-4H-thiopyran end-capped oligo(cyclohexylidenes). Photo-electron spectroscopy, ab initio SCF MO calculations, and natural bond orbital analyses

Long-range sigma-pi interactions in tetrahydro4H-thiopyran end-capped oligo(cyclohexylidenes) were identified by He(I) photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) and ab initio RHF/6-31G* calculations. The vertical ionization energies Ivj of the highest occupied molecular orbitals (MO's) were assigned using Koopmans' theorem (Iv,j = -epsilonj) and by correlation with the ionizations of related reference compounds. The experimental (PES) and theoretical (RHF/6-31G*) results are in good agreement. For tercyclohexylidene derivatives which contain two nonconjugated pi-bonds splittings deltaIv,j of the pi-bands in the range from approximately 0.5 to 0.7 eV (delta-epsilonj approximately 0.6 to 0.9 eV). For the bi- and tercyclohexylidene compounds containing two sulfur atoms at their alpha- and omega-end positions the pi-type sulfur lone pair bands [Lppi(S)] split significantly by deltaIvj approximately 0.3 to 0.4 eV (delta-epsilonj approximately 0.3 to 0.4 eV), i.e. sigma-pi interactions over distances of ca. 8 and 12 A, respectively, occur. The magnitude of the interactions and the observed splittings are independent of the anti and syn conformations of the oligo(cyclohexylidene) hydrocarbon skeletons. RHF/6-31G* Natural Bond Orbital analyses reveal that the Hax-C-C-Hax precanonical MO's (PCMO's) centered on the cyclohexyl-type rings are paramount for the relay of the through-bond sigma-pi interactions; no through-space sigma-pi interactions were identified.