EPR parameters and local geometry for Cr3+ and V2+ ions in HfS2 crystals

From the high-order perturbation formulas of EPR parameters (zero-field splitting D, g factors gparallel, gperpendicular and hyperfine structure constants Aparallel, Aperpendicular) based on the two spin-orbit coupling parameter model for 3d3 ions in trigonal symmetry, the EPR parameters of Cr3+ and V2+ ions in HfS2 crystals are calculated. From the calculations, it is found that the local trigonal distortion angle theta of impurity center in HfS2:Cr3+ is smaller than that in HfS2:V2+. The dominant cause of the small zero-field splitting |D| and g-anisotropy |Deltag|=|gparallel-gperpendicular| in HfS2:Cr3+ (compound to HfS2:V2+) is due to the small local trigonal distortion angle theta rather than to the small impurity-ligand distance R in HfS2:Cr3+.     

A new method for the functionalization of [60] fullerene: an unusual 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition pathway leading to a C60 housane derivative

[reaction: see text] A variant of the Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction provides a new and convenient functionalization of fullerenes. This method complements the widely used Prato and Bingel-Hirsch reactions. The derived, highly functionalized cyclopentenone and cyclopentenamine fullerene compounds upon hydrolysis are suitable for further functionalization and may serve well in the synthesis of new C60 derivatives possessing uncommon and interesting properties.     

流动注射区域采样法测定镀锌钝化液中高浓度锌

本文建立了流动注射二甲酚橙光度法测定镀锌纯化液中Ｚｎ￣２＋的自动分析方法。利用区域采样技术和调整管路参数自动完成对样品的上千倍稀释，确定了最佳分析条件并研究了干扰离子的影响及消除办法。所建方法仪器简单，分析速度为８４次／小时，变异系数（Ｚｎ￣２＋１６．０ｇ／Ｌ，ｎ＝２０）为１．Ｏ％，用于实际钝化液分析，相对误差小于±１０％。     

Analysis of rabbit tear proteins by high-pressure liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The aim of this study was to develop a fast and reliable analytical procedure for the display of the protein components of tears that can be used to differentiate the status of the ocular surface. Using this new procedure, we analyzed the tear protein components following a corneal wound in the rabbit. Calibrated 10-microL glass, fire-polished capillary micropipettes were used to collect tears from New Zealand White rabbits prior to and daily for 9 days following a unilateral 6-mm diameter centrally placed anterior keratectomy. Tear proteins were eluted by a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) column and the tear protein profile was monitored by electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry positive total ion current (TIC) chromatography. Tear proteins were reliably separated into 17 peaks, each of which contained one or a number of protein components. The molecular weight of each protein component was determined by on-line ESI. Major tear protein components, lactoferrin, lysozyme (minimally detectable in rabbit tears), albumin, lipocalin, lipophilin and beta2-microglobulin, were tentatively identified by this method. Based on the mass spectrometric data, beta2-microglobulin was found to be glycosylated with N-acetylhexosamine. ESI-positive TIC chromatograms and mass spectra revealed comparative differences in the tear protein spectra after corneal wounding. One day after wounding, rabbit lysozyme with a molecular weight of 14,717 Da was found to be 8-fold higher in the tears of wounded eyes when compared with tears from unwounded eyes. It dropped back to normal 3 days after wounding. The expression of an unidentified tear protein with the molecular weight of 16,060 Da was also elevated after corneal wounding and returned to normal level by day 5. In this study, LC/ESI-MS was developed as a fast, reproducible and simple method for the identification and analysis of many of the protein components of the tears. Importantly, this technique also allows quantification of each component resolved in the chromatogram. This method is very suitable for mapping peptides and proteins (<80 kDa) in tears.     

Cure behavior of epoxy resin/MMT/DETA nanocomposite

The Flory's gelation theory, non-equilibrium thermodynamic fluctuation theory and Avrami equation have been used to predict the gel time t _g and the cure behavior of epoxy resin/organo-montmorillonite/diethylenetriamine intercalated nanocomposites at various temperatures and organo-montmorillonite loadings. The theoretical prediction is in good agreement with the experimental results obtained by dynamic torsional vibration method, and the results show that the addition of organo-montmorillonite reduces the gelation time t _gand increases the rate of curing reaction, the value of k, and half-time of cure after gelation point t_1/2 decreases with the increasing of cure temperature, and the value of n is ~2 at the lower temperatures (<60°C) and decreases to ~1.5 as the temperature increases, and the addition of organo-montmorillonite decreases the apparent activation energy of the cure reaction before gelation point, but has no apparent effect on the apparent activation energy of the cure reaction after gelation point. There is no special curing process required for the formation of epoxy resin/organo-montmorillonite/diethylenetriamine intercalated nanocomposite. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Studies of the electrochemical behavior of epinephrine at a homocysteine self-assembled electrode

The self-assembled electrode with the homocysteine monolayer (Hcy/Au) has been characterized by infrared spectroscopy and ac impedance spectroscopy in electrolyte. The Hcy/Au electrode is demonstrated to promote the electrochemical response of epinephrine (E) by cyclic voltammetry. A pair of well-defined redox waves was obtained and the calculated standard rate constant (k_s) is 2.1×10⁻² cm s⁻¹ at the self-assembled electrode. The reduction peak of E can be used to determine the concentration of E in presence of ascorbic acid (AA) owing to the Hcy/Au also promoting the electrochemical oxidation of AA.     

Hydrothermal Synthesis and Optical Properties of ZnO Nanostructured Films Directly Grown from/on Zinc Substrates

Uniform ZnO nanorods arrays are grown directly from and on Zn foils in pure water under hydrothermal conditions at a relatively low temperature. The nanorods are 80–200 nm in diameter and ∼ 1 μm in length, which grow on the Zn foil along the [001] direction. By changing the pure water to a urea solution, a Zn compound ([Zn₅(OH)₆(CO₃)₂], a precursor of ZnO nanoflowers film, is created by self-assembly. The ZnO nanoflowers film can be easily obtained by heating the [Zn₅(OH)₆(CO₃)₂] compound in N₂ at 350∘C for 5–6 hours. Possible growth processes of the ZnO nanorods arrays and the [Zn₅(OH)₆(CO₃)₂] nanoflowers are discussed. Photoluminescence properties of the as-prepared ZnO nanostructures have been measured. The ZnO nanorods array synthesized using our method has minimal defects so that only band-gap emission is observed. However, the ZnO nanoflowers film, obtained by heating the [Zn₅(OH)₆(CO₃)₂] nanoflower precursor in N₂, is polycrystalline and displays strong defect-related emission.     

Gaseous nitryl azide N4O2: A joint theoretical and experimental study

Gaseous nitryl azide N₄O₂ is generated by the heterogeneous reaction of gaseous ClNO₂ with freshly prepared AgN₃ at −50 °C. The geometric and electronic structure of the molecule in the gas phase has been characterized by in situ photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) and quantum chemical calculations. The experimental first vertical ionization energy of N₄O₂ is 11.39 eV, corresponding to the ionization of an electron on the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) {4a″(π_{nb(N4–N5–N6)})}⁻¹. An apparent vibrational spacing of 1600 ± 60 cm⁻¹ (ν_asO1N2O3) on the second band at 12.52 eV (π_{nb(O1–N2–O3)}) further confirms the preference of energetically stable chain structure in the gas phase. To complement the experimental results, the potential-energy surface of this structurally novel transient molecule is discussed. Both calculations and spectroscopic results suggest that the molecule adopts a trans-planar chain structure, and a five-membered ring decomposition pathway is more favorable.     

Using three major criteria to evaluate aromaticity of five-member C-containing rings and their Si-, N-, and P-substituted aromatic heterocyclics

In this paper, we used bond-length equalization, aromatic stabilization energies (ASE) and nucleus-independent chemical shifts (NICS), calculated with (density functional theory) B3LYP levels at the 6-311+G^** basis set, to evaluate the aromaticity of a set of 38 five-member planar π-electron aromatic systems: sila-, aza- and phospha- derivatives and their parent systems. The result revealed statistically significant correlations among the above three criteria, and the order of aromaticity of the whole set was: Aza- derivatives rings > Phospha- derivatives rings > Sila- derivatives rings > Carbon-containing rings; NICS(0.6) and NICS(0.8) had the same results in evaluating the order of aromaticity in our case.     

Polyamide thin film composite membrane prepared from m-phenylenediamine and m-phenylenediamine-5-sulfonic acid

Thin film composite (TFC) membranes based polyamide were prepared with m-phenylenediamine (MPD), m-phenylenediamine-5-sulfonic acid (SMPD) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) through interfacial polymerization technique on the polysulphone supporting film. The membranes were characterized using permeation experiments with salt water, attenuated total reflectance infrared (ATR-IR) and X-ray photoelectronic spectroscopy (XPS) as well as scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). This study has shown that the active layer of TFC membrane is aromatic polyamide, including sulfuric acid function group (-SO₃H) according to the result of ATR-IR and XPS. The NaCl rejection of RO membranes decreased and the flux increased when W_SMPD/W_MPD increased from 0 to 1, and the linear part with pendant -COOH in membrane barrier layer increased with the increase of SMPD content, but the surface of membrane becoming smoother and smoother with the increase of SMPD content. So the membranes performance mainly was determined by chemical structure in their barrier layer.