Collaborative monitoring study of airborne particulate matters among seven Asian countries

Summary Seven Asian countries have been collaborating in collecting airborne particulate matter (APM) in their individual countries and analyzing them by neutron activation analysis as a common analytical tool. APM samples were collected into two fractions of fine and coarse grains (PM2 and PM2-10, respectively). Analytical data were compared from several viewpoints such as particulate sizes, locality of sampling sites (either urban or rural) and geographical location of participating countries. Chemical composition and their monthly variations as well as mass concentrations appear to be highly characteristic for individual sampling sites, suggesting that NAA data are suitable for evaluating the air quality in each site.     

Utilisation of kinetic-based flow injection methods for the determination of chlorine and oxychlorine species

Automated selective iodometric methods for the determination of chlorine and oxychlorine species have been developed for use in the drinking water industry. By utilising kinetic-based methods, linear ranges observed were: chlorine, 0.2–10 mg l^?1; chlorine dioxide, 0.3–10 mg l^?1; chlorite ion, 0.08–5 mg l^?1; and chlorate ion, 0.08–5 mg l^?1.     

Rhodium-catalyzed synthesis of a C(3) disubstituted oxindole: an approach to diazonamide A

A two step synthesis of a C(3) disubstituted oxindoles via the rhodium(II)-catalyzed coupling of diazoketone (6) and 3-methyloxindole (9) is reported.     

Hydrothermal synthesis and magnetic properties of novel Mn(II) and Zn(II) materials with thiolato-carboxylate donor ligand frameworks

The hydrothermal reaction of thiosalicylic acid, (C(6)H(4)(CO(2)H)(SH)-1,2) with manganese(III) acetate leads to formation of the coordination solid [Mn(5)((C(6)H(4)(CO(2))(S)-1,2)(2))(4)(mu3-OH)2] (1) via a redox reaction, where resulting manganese(II) centres are coordinated by oxygen donor atoms and S-S disulfide bridge formation is simultaneously observed. Reaction of the same ligand under similar conditions with zinc(II) chloride yields the layered coordination solid [Zn(C(6)H(4)(CO(2))(S)-1,2)] (2). Hydrothermal treatment of manganese(III) acetate with 2-mercaptonicotinic acid, (NC(5)H(3)(SH)(CO(2)H)-2,3) was found to produce the 1-dimensional chain structure [Mn(2)((NC(5)H(3)(S)(CO(2))-2,3)(2))(2)(OH(2))(4)].4H(2)O (3) which also exhibits disulfide bridge formation and oxygen-only metal interactions. Compound 3 has been studied by thermogravimetric analysis and indicates sequential loss of lattice and coordinated water, prior to more comprehensive ligand fragmentation at elevated temperatures. The magnetic behaviour of 1 and 3 has been investigated and both exhibit antiferromagnetic interactions. The magnetic behaviour of 1 has been modelled as two corner-sharing isosceles triangles whilst 3 has been modelled as a 1-dimensional chain.     

Enthalpies of dilution of aqueous solutions of amides and alcohols

Enthalpies of dilution of aqueous systems containing formamide, dimethyl-formamide, the mixture of these amides, and each amide separately with mannitol, inositol, and cyclohexanol have been determined at 25°C. The data have been treated in terms of the Savage-Wood additivity principle and in combination with literature data. New values for the methylene-amide, carbinol-amide, and amide-amide group interaction enthalpies are presented. These may be used with data on a wider variety of solute systems to obtain interaction enthalpies for new groups.