Factors Affecting the Stability of Cellulose Peroxides

Factors affecting the stability of three kinds of cellulose peroxides prepared by reactions of aldehyde cellulose, carboxy-methyl cellulose, and unmodified cellulose with hydrogen peroxide, Peroxides A, B, and C, respectively, were investigated. The relative stability of the peroxides was in the order Peroxide A > B > C, which was greatly improved by applying ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid as the chelating reagent for the metals in a very small amount in the sample. The sample kept under nitrogen retained stable activity of the peroxide longer than that under air atmosphere. Water in the sample seemed to participate in the decomposition of the peroxide to some extent. The functions of metals, water, and atmosphere on the decomposition of peroxide are discussed.     

Synthesis and Binding Activity of 3- and 4-Deoxy-N-Acetyl-Galactosamine Derivatives

ABSTRACT

Allyl 3- and 4-deoxy-N-acetyl-β-D-galactosaminides were synthesized from galactosamine and glucosamine, respectively. Using inhibition assay, we found that neither the 3-deoxy nor the 4-deoxy derivative had any binding affinity to the Gal/GalNAc lectins of rabbit and rat liver at the highest concentration tested (40 mM), indicating that the absence of either 3- or 4-hydroxyl group of N-acetyl-galactosamine (GalNAc) caused a decreace in afffinity of at least 100-fold. Therefore, both 3- and 4-hydroxyl groups of GalNAc are required for the binding to the mammalian hepatic lectins.     

A sulfonated capillary that gives reproducible migration times for capillary zone electrophoresis and micellar electrokinetic chromatography

To obtain reproducible migration times and rapid analyses of analytes, sulfonate groups were chemically introduced to the inner wall of untreated fused-silica capillary with 2-(4-chlorosulfonylphenyl)ethyltrichlorosilane. The sulfonated capillary showed relatively constant electroosmotic mobility which was greater than that obtained by an untreated fused-silica capillary over the pH range studied (pH 2-9). In both CZE and MEKC, the RSDs of the migration times of analytes with the sulfonated capillary were less than 0.2% which were significantly lower than those obtained with an untreated fused-silica capillary (0.5-3.5%). When BGE were set at pH 7.0 for CZE and MEKC, the analysis times with the sulfonated capillary were about half those obtained with an untreated fused-silica capillary. These results indicate that the sulfonated capillary can provide highly reproducible and rapid analyses in CE.     

Origin of p(2 x 1) phase on Si(001) by noncontact atomic force microscopy at 5 k

The controversial issue of the origin of the p(2 x 1) reconstruction of the Si(001) surface observed in recent low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy experiments is clarified here using 5 K noncontact atomic force microscopy. The c(4 x 2) phase is observed at separations corresponding to weak tip-surface interactions, confirming that it is the ground state of the surface. At larger frequency shifts the p(2 x 1) phase of symmetric dimers is observed. By studying the interaction of a reactive Si tip with the c(4 x 2) Si(001) surface using an ab initio method, we find that the observed change in the surface reconstruction is an apparent effect caused by tip induced dimer flipping resulting in a modification of the surface structure and appearance of the p(2 x 1) phase in the image. Using an appropriate scanning protocol, one can manipulate the surface reconstruction at will, which has significance in nanotechnology.     

Effects of medium composition on optical properties and microstructures of non-close-packed colloidal crystalline arrays

The effects of medium composition on the optical properties and microstructures of non-close-packed silica colloidal crystalline arrays have been demonstrated. Water–alcohol mixtures were used as dispersion media for these arrays. Optical properties and microstructures were examined using angle-resolved reflection spectra measurements. The Bragg diffraction peaks of the colloidal crystalline arrays shifted with changing of concentration or hydrocarbon number of alcohol. With an increase in concentration or hydrocarbon number of alcohol, the effective refractive index of the dispersion increased and the interplanar spacing of the colloidal crystalline array decreased. The increase in effective refractive index was caused by an increase in the refractive index of the mixed medium with the change in solvent. The decrease in interplanar spacing of the array was caused by decreased electrostatic repulsions between the silica spheres with decreasing dielectric constant. The current work suggests new possibilities for the control of optical properties and microstructures of colloidal crystalline arrays.     

Tetrameric,trititanium(IV)-substituted polyoxotungstates with an alpha-Dawson substructure as soluble metal-oxide analogues: molecular structure of the giant "tetrapod" [(alpha-1,2,3-P2W15Ti3O62)4[mu3-Ti(OH)3]4Cl]45-

The preparation and structural characterization of the novel polyoxoanion [(alpha-1,2,3-P(2)W(15)Ti(3)O(62))(4)[mu(3)-Ti(OH)(3)](4)Cl](45-) (1 a; abbreviated to [TiO(6)](16); FW approximately 16 000) which consists of four tri-Ti(IV)-1,2,3-substituted alpha-Dawson substructures, four Ti(OH)(3) bridging groups, and one encapsulated Cl(-) ion, are described. A water-soluble, all-inorganic composition compound of the tetrameric Ti-O-Ti-bridged anhydride form, Na(x)H(45-x)[1 a].y H(2)O (1; x=16-19, y=60-70), which was afforded by the reaction of the tri-lacunary Dawson polyoxotungstate Na(12)[B-alpha-P(2)W(15)O(56)].19 H(2)O with an excess of TiCl(4) in aqueous solution, was obtained as analytically pure, homogeneous colorless crystals. Single-crystal X-ray structure analysis revealed that 1 a was an inorganic, giant "tetrapod"-shaped molecule (inscribed to a sphere with a diameter of approximately 32 A) with approximately T(d) symmetry, in which the 16 edge- and/or corner-shared TiO(6) octahedra were contained. This number of TiO(6) octahedra was larger than that found in other titanium(IV)-substituted polyoxotungstates. Complex 1 was characterized by complete elemental analysis, TG/DTA, FTIR, UV/Vis absorption, and solution ((31)P and (183)W) NMR spectroscopy. The longest wavelength band in the UV/Vis absorption spectra of 1 in water was attributed to the O-->Ti(IV) ligand-to-metal charge-transfer (LMCT) transition: the wavelength of the LMCT band increased linearly as the number of TiO(6) octahedra contained in the Keggin and Dawson polyoxoanions increased. The Ti(n) chromophores formed in the Keggin and Dawson polyoxotungstates are water-soluble analogues of solid TiO(2) or SrTiO(3) as light-semiconductors and photocatalysts.     

Towards a classification of modular compactifications of \mathcal {M}_{g,n}

The moduli space of smooth curves admits a beautiful compactification $\mathcal{M}_{g,n} \subset \overline{\mathcal{M}}_{g,n}$ by the moduli space of stable curves. In this paper, we undertake a systematic classification of alternate modular compactifications of $\mathcal{M}_{g,n}$ . Let $\mathcal{U}_{g,n}$ be the (non-separated) moduli stack of all n-pointed reduced, connected, complete, one-dimensional schemes of arithmetic genus g. When g=0, $\mathcal{U}_{0,n}$ is irreducible and we classify all open proper substacks of $\mathcal{U}_{0,n}$ . When g≥1, $\mathcal{U}_{g,n}$ may not be irreducible, but there is a unique irreducible component $\mathcal{V}_{g,n} \subset\mathcal{U}_{g,n}$ containing $\mathcal{M}_{g,n}$ . We classify open proper substacks of $\mathcal {V}_{g,n}$ satisfying a certain stability condition.     

New promising composite materials useful in the adsorption of Cu(II) in ethanol based on cellulose and cellulose acetate

This work describes for the first time the synthesis and characterization of new promising materials based on cellulose (Cel) and cellulose acetate (Celac), previously modified with aluminum oxide (CelAl and CelacAl) and post functionalized with 1,4-diazabicyclo [2.2.2] octane-n-propyltrimethoxysilane chloride (SiDbCl₂), resulting the chemically modified hybrid materials CelAl/SiDbCl₂ and CelacAl/SiDbCl₂. The materials have shown to be useful in the adsorption of CuCl₂ from ethanol, presenting high effective adsorption capacity. In the adsorption process, the copper ions diffuse into the solid solution interface and are retained as anionic complexes CuCl₃⁻ or CuCl₄²⁻. An expressive effective adsorption capacity t_Q, as well as the stability constants β₁ and β₂, were found for both adsorbents: (a) CelAl/DbCl₂: t_Q = 0.33 × 10⁻³ mol g⁻¹, log β₁ = 4.23 (±0.04) and log β₂ = 6.99 (±0.03); (b) CelacAl/DbCl₂: t_Q = 0.48 × 10⁻³ mol g⁻¹, log β₁ = 5.1 (±0.1) and log β₂ = 8.3 (±0.1). Both adsorbent materials are potentially useful in the pre-concentration and further analysis of Cu(II) present in trace amounts in ethanol, extensively used as an automotive fuel in Brazil. Regeneration of the adsorbents requires a very simple procedure consisting in their immersion in aqueous solution which causes the immediate release of the Cu(OH₂)_n²⁺ species to the solution phase.