Direct Analysis of Beer by ICP-AES: A Very Simple Method for the Determination of Cu, Mn and Fe

A very simple method for determination of trace amount of Cu, Mn and Fe in beer by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (ICP-AES) was developed. The beer was directly introduced into the plasma, without dilution or adding of reagents, via a conventional V-groove nebulizer. The only sample preparation used was degassing of the beer to remove CO₂. By optimizing the ICP-AES parameters (RF power and Nebulizer gas flow rate) and by the appropriate choice of wavelengths for measurements, sufficient accuracy for the determination of the trace metals was obtained. Various types of beers were analysed by the direct ICP-AES method and for comparison, also with two other methods: by GFAAS and ICP-AES after decomposition. No significant difference was found for Cu and Mn (ANOVA, 95% confidence level) using the three methods. This was normally also the case for Fe; only in one case did the result of Fe by the direct method deviate from the other methods (10% lower results). The limit of detection for the direct method was estimated to 1.1, 0.3, and 1.1 ng mL⁻¹ for Cu, Mn, and Fe, respectively.     

A Diterpene, a Flavonol Glycoside, and a Phytosterol Glycoside from Securidaca longipedunculata and Entada abyssinica

Summary.  The MeOH extract of the stem bark of Entada abyssinica and of the leaves and stem bark of Securidaca longipedunculata yielded a diterpene, a flavonol glycoside, and a phytosterol glycoside. Their structures were established on basis of NMR spectroscopic analysis; the complete ¹³C and ¹H assignment of the compounds was achieved by means of 2D NMR studies. Received October 13, 1999. Accepted November 3, 1999     

Synthesis and characterization of structural and luminescence properties of blue — green BaAlxOy:Eu2+ phosphor by solution — combustion method

Europium-doped barium aluminate (BaAl _x O _y :Eu²⁺) phosphors were obtained at low temperatures (500°C) using the solution — combustion of corresponding metal nitrate-urea solution mixtures. The particle size and morphology and the structural and luminescent properties of the synthesized phosphors were examined by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Electron diffraction spectroscopy (EDS) and photoluminescence (PL). It was found that the change in Ba: Al molar ratios showed greatly influence not only on the particle size and morphology, but also on their PL spectra and crystalline structure. The structure of BaAl _x O _y nanophosphors changes from a hexagonal Ba₂Al₁₀O₁₇ phase for samples with 6:100 molar ratios to a hexagonal BaAl₂O₄ one with an increase in Ba content. The peak of the emission band occurs at a longer wavelength (around 615 nm) with a decrease in Ba concentration but displays a broad blue-green emission band composed from two emissions with the maximum at 495 and 530nm coming from Eu²⁺ in two sites for increasing Ba content. The blue-green emission is probably due to the influence of 5d electron states of Eu²⁺ in the crystal field because of atomic size variation causing crystal defects while the red emission is due to f - f transitions. These findings clearly demonstrate the possibility of fine tuning the colour emission.     

Structural properties of atactic polystyrene adsorbed onto solid surfaces

In the present work, we are studying the local conformation of chains in a thin film of polystyrene adsorbed on a solid substrate by using atomistically detailed simulations. The simulations are carried out by using the readily available and massively parallel molecular dynamics code known as LAMMPS. In particular, a special emphasis is given to the density and orientation of side chains (which consist of phenyl groups and methylene units) at solid/polymer and polymer/vacuum interfaces. Three types of substrates were used in our study: α-quartz, graphite, and amorphous silica. Our investigation was restricted to atactic polystyrene. Our results show that the density and structural properties of side chains depend on the type of surface. An excess of phenyl rings is observed near the α-quartz substrate while the film adsorbed on graphite is depleted in C(6)H(5). Moreover, the orientation of the rings and methylene units on the substrate/film interface show a strong dependence on the type of the substrate, while the rings at the film/vacuum interface show a marked tendency to point outward, away from the film. The results we obtained are in a large part in good agreement with previous experimental and simulation results.     

Shift and broadening of Na D lines at low pressure

The collision broadenings of the Na D lines were calculated from the transmission measurements of the vapor in sub-μTorr and μTorr regions by modeling the line shape with the Voigt profile. From the line shift, the average time between collisions is calculated. The ratio of the width to the shift is of the order of 10⁻⁴ implying that the impact approximation is valid. Expanding the line widths and shifts in powers of the product of number density and mean velocity of the atoms, the radiative transition probabilities, and the fundamental line shape constants: collision cross-sections and asymmetry of the lines are obtained. Moreover, from the line shifts and using the estimated value of the optical collision diameter obtained from the line widths, the average C₃ value, over the temperature ranges the experiment covers, is calculated.     

Interfacial properties of free-standing poly(3-hexylthiophene) films

Using full atomistic classical molecular dynamics simulations, the interfacial properties of free-standing poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) films have been investigated. The orientations of different parts of the P3HT chain and the surface tensions of the films were calculated in a temperature range of 540 K-600 K. At the liquid/vacuum interface, the P3HT chain shows ordering by exposing hexyl groups at the interface, while the chain backbone lays flat with the thiophene ring preferentially tilt toward the surface. At the interface, the terminal methyl groups of hexyl side chains are in excess compared to the methylene groups or thiophene rings. The surface tension of P3HT in its melt state shows similar temperature dependence to that of polymers that have long alkyl side chains. The surface tension values are comparable to those polymers that expose methyl or methylene groups on the surface. The surface tension values determined for the melt state are lower than the experimental reported values for crystalline P3HT films, as expected.     

Measurement of refractive index of biaxial potassium titanyl phosphate crystal plate using reflection spectroscopic ellipsometry technique

The paper reports the measurement of refractive indices and anisotropic absorption coefficients of biaxial potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) crystal in the form of thin plate using reflection ellipsometry technique. This experiment is designed in the Graduate Optics Laboratory of the Addis Ababa University and He-Ne laser (λ = 632.8 nm), diode laser (λ = 670.0 nm) and temperature-tuned diode laser (λ = 804.4 and 808.4 nm), respectively have been employed as source. The experimental data for n _x , n _y are fitted to the Marquardt-Levenberg theoretical model of curve fitting. The obtained experimental data of refractive indices are compared with different existing theoretical and experimental values of KTP crystals and found to be in good agreement with them.     

Potential of Solid Sampling Electrothermal Vaporization for solving spectral interference in Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry

Spectral interference is one of the main causes of erroneous results in Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). This paper describes some cases of spectral interferences with conventional nebulization ICP-OES and the potential of solving them utilizing electrothermal vaporization for volatility-based separation. The cases studied were, the well-known spectral overlap between the As and Cd lines at 228.8 nm that are only 10 pm apart, and the interference of Fe on the main emission lines of As, Cd and Pb. The spectral interferences were studied by monitoring the typical signals of solutions that contain the analytes and the potential interferent, by studying the spectra and calculating Background Equivalent Concentration (BEC)-values. A three step temperature program was developed to be used for direct analysis of solid soil samples by Electrothermal Vaporization (ETV)-ICP-OES: step 1 (760 °C, 40 s), step 2 (1620 °C, 20 s) and a cleaning step (2250 °C, 10 s) where Cd vaporizes in step 1, As, Pb and part of Fe in step 2 and the major part of Fe in the cleaning step. Because As and Cd were time-separated using this program, their prominent lines at 228.8 nm, could be used for determination of each element by ETV-ICP-OES, in spite of the serious wavelength overlap. Selective vaporization was also shown to reduce or eliminate the Fe background emission on As, Cd and Pb lines. To confirm the applicability of the method, a solid soil certified reference materials was analyzed directly without any sample treatment. Good or reasonable accuracy was obtained for the three elements.     

Fabrication and annealing effects of SnO2/SiOx nanocables sheathed by the sputtering technique

We reported an approach, in which we have produced the nano-sized crystalline tin oxide (SnO₂) particles with rutile structure. SnO₂ nanowires were coated with a shell layer of SiO_x via a sputtering method. Transmission electron microscopy and elemental mapping investigations revealed that the nanostructures consisted of a crystalline SnO₂ core surrounded by an amorphous SiO_x sheath. The annealing effects on the core-shell nanowires were investigated, revealing that the outer surface became rougher by the thermal annealing. For core-shell nanowires, a room-temperature PL measurement with a Gaussian fitting showed yellow, blue, and violet light emission bands, with the relative intensity of the yellow band showing an increase after thermal annealing. Possible PL emission mechanisms are discussed. This study reveals that the sputtering is effective for preparing the shell layers of nanocables.