Applications of chalcogenide glass optical fibers

Chalcogenide-glass fibers based on sulfide, selenide, telluride and their rare-earth-doped compositions are being actively pursued worldwide. Great strides have been made in reducing optical losses using improved chemical purification techniques, but further improvements are needed in both purification and fiberization technology to attain the theoretical optical losses. Despite this, chalcogenide-glass fibers are enabling numerous applications that include laser power delivery, chemical sensing, and imaging, scanning near field microscopy/spectroscopy, IR sources/lasers, amplifiers and optical switches.     

Transition metal methylene complexes : III. Methylene (CH2), a carbonyl analogous ligand; crystal structure of μ-methylenebis(carbonyl-η5-cyclopentadienylrhodium)(Rh—Rh

μ-Carbonylbis(carbonyl-ν⁵-cycopentadienylrhodium)(Rh—Rh) reacts with N-methyl-and N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea in boiling benzene to yield the dinuclear, diamagnetic, neutral rhodium complexes μ-methylene- (A) and μ-ethylidenebis(carbonyl-η⁵-cyclopentadienylrhodium)(Rh—Rh) (B), respectively. Deuterium labelled experiments prove the origin of the metal-stabilized methylene ligand to be the alkyl group of the organic precursor. This new method of preparation of transition metal—methylene complexes may be used as an alternative to the commonly used diazo method; the latter method was shown to work with diazodiethylmalonate and dicarbonyl-η⁵-cyclopentadienylrhodium, the reaction yielding μ-bis(ethoxycarbonyl)methylenebis(carbonyl-η⁵-cyclopentadienylrhodium)(Rh—Rh).Compound A crystallizes in the triclinic system, P$\text{1}$, and with cell constants of a 803.42(5), b 909.98(6), c 938.81(2) pm, α 74.402(3), β81.923(3), and γ 83.685(6)°. The unit cell volume and the calculated density are 651.6 ų and 2.069 g cm^-3, for one molecule in the asymmetric unit. The molecular geometry of μ-CH₂[η⁵-C₅H₅Rh(CO)]₂ was established from 2718 unique reflections collected with a computer-controlled diffractometer and refined to a final R(F) = 0.0379. The molecular parameters derived from the single-crystal X-ray study conform to a remarkable degree with those found for μ-CO[η⁵-C₅H₅Rh(CO)]₂. Thus, the bridging ligands CH₂ and CO seem to be analogous in their effects on the structural characteristics of the molecular framework of the two molecules.     

Kinetic studies of nickel speciation in model solutions of a well-characterized humic acid using the competing ligand exchange method

Publications on the binding characteristics of metals with humic acid (HA) are sparse. Here we investigated the release of nickel from Ni(II)-HA complexes using model solutions of three different [Ni(II)]/[HA] mole ratios at three different pH values; we also compared the results with those of [Ni(II)]/[FA] complexes from previous work in this laboratory. Ligand exchange kinetics using the competing ligand exchange method (CLEM) were studied using two different techniques: graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) with Chelex 100 resin as the competing ligand, and adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (AdCSV) with dimethylglyoxime as the competing ligand to measure the rate of dissociation of Ni(II)-HA complexes. The results of the kinetic studies showed that as the [Ni(II)]/[HA] mole ratio was decreased, the rate of dissociation of Ni(II)-HA complexes decreased, and the proportion of free Ni²⁺ ions plus very labile nickel complexes decreased while the proportion of the less labile kinetically distinguishable components increased. Generally, the rate of dissociation of Ni(II)-HA complexes was slower than that of Ni(II)-FA complexes. Studies on the validity of the kinetic model showed that the concentrations of chemical species varied in a reasonable way with pH and the [Ni(II)]/[HA] mole ratios, indicating that the kinetically distinguishable components have chemical significance and the kinetic model is valid.     

Gas-phase electron diffraction determination of the molecular structure of perfluoro(methyloxirane)

The molecular geometry of perfluoro(methyloxirane) has been studied using gas-phase electron diffraction data, effective least-squares refinement of the structure being achieved with the aid of constraints to limit the number of variable parameters. With the CCF₃ bond constrained to be 0.078 Å longer than the ring CC, the refined bond- length values CF (av.) = 1.323(2), CO (av.) = 1.410(8), and CC (ring) = 1.467(7) Å ($\text{r}$_g values, with e.s.d. in parentheses) were obtained; the angles between ring bonds and substituent CF bonds were CCF (av.) 121(1) and OCF (av.) 114(1)^o, the corresponding parameters involving the bulkier CCF₃ fragment being larger by 3^o in each case [∠CCCF₃ 124(1)^o∠OCCF₃ 117(2)^o]. The remaining refined parameters were ∠CCF(of CF₃) = 110.6(4)^o and τ , a torsion angle defining the orientation of the CF bonds of the CF₃ group with respect to ring bonds, = 29(2)^o. Dependent bond angles possessed the values 62.7 (COC), 58.7 [OCC (ring)], 108.3 [FCF (CF₃ group)], 114 [FCF (ring CF₂)], and 111^o (FCCF₃).     

Rapid biomass analysis

New, rapid, and inexpensive methods that monitor the chemical composition of corn stover and corn stover-derived samples are a key element to enabling the commercialization of processes that convert stover to fuels and chemicals. These new techniques combine near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and projection to latent structures (PLS) multivariate analysis to allow the compositional analysis of hundreds of samples in 1 d at a cost of about $10 each. The new NIR/PLS rapid analysis methods can also be used to support a variety of research projects that would have been too costly to pursue by traditional methods.     

Nucleophilic substitution by arenethiolates at the carbene carbon of pentacarbonyl(methoxymethylcarbene)-metal(o) complexes (metal = Cr,Mo, or W)

The phenylthiocarbene complexes, [(CO)₅MC(CH₃)(SPh)] (M = Cr, Mo, or W) have been prepared in good yield by the reaction of [(CO)₅MC(CH₃)(OCH₃)] (M = Cr, Mo, or W) with NaSPh in benzene/methanol in the presence of HCl. A series of para-substituted phenylthiocarbene complexes of tungsten. [(CO)₅WC(CH₃)SC₆H₄Y)], (Y = p-Br, p-F, p-H, p-CH₃, p-OCH₃ or p-OH) have also been prepared by the reaction of the appropriate arenethiolate ion with [(CO)₅WC(CH₃)(OCH₃)]. Poor nucleophiles such as p-nitrobenzenethiolate and pentafluorobenzenethiolate did not react with [(CO)₅WC(CH₃)(OCH₃) to form the corresponding phenylthiocarbene complex. A mechanism accounting for the formation of these phenylthiocarbene complexes is proposed. The complexes have been characterized by their infrared, electronic, mass, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR spectra. These spectroscopic data have been used to establish the structure of these complexes in solution and indicate that the phenyl ring bonded to sulfur is probably not coplanar with the “carbene” plane.     

Ab initio study of the ground state and conformational stability of peroxyacetyl nitrate in internal rotation about the peroxide bond

The molecular and electronic structure of the ground state of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) was calculated by the unrestricted Hartree-Fock-Roothaan method with the use of the standard 3–21G and 6–31G basis set. The potential curve of the internal rotation about the peroxide bond of PAN was calculated with the 6–31G basis set. The curve contains two maxima. The ground state of PAN is characterized by a structure in which groups of atoms adjacent to the peroxide bond lie in planes that are perpendicular to each other (the dihedral angle ϱ(COON) is 89.9°). The calculated barriers to rotation are 19.6 and 66.8 kJ mol⁻¹. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 600–604, April, 1998.     

Oxidation of the [Rh(CO)2Cl2] anion in aqueous solution

The reaction of rhodium(I) carbonyl chloride, [Rh(CO)₂Cl]₂, with dichromate, cerium(IV) sulfate, hexachloroplatinic acid or p-benzoquinone in aqueous hydrochloric acid proceeds by consumption of 4 equivalents of oxidizing agent per mole or rhodium(I) in accordance with the equation Rh^I(CO)₂  4e + H₂O → Rh^III(CO) + 2H⁺ + CO₂A “cyclic” oxidation mechanism is suggested.     

Electrophilic reactions of chlorin derivatives and a comprehensive collection of 13c data of these products and closely related compounds

Vilsmeier-formylation of the copper(II) complex of chlorin-e₆ trimethyl ester (2), under mild conditions, gives selective substitution in the 3-vinyl group. In contrast chlorination of 2 is shown to lead to selective substitution at position 20 of the macrocycle. A similar result is found for [3-ethyl]-isochlorin-e₄ dimethyl ester (17) although further reaction leads to more highly chlorinated products which have been isolated and identified. ¹³C NMR data for some of these compounds and several related chlorin derivatives are reported. In particular, after correction of the literature, many of the quaternary carbon signals of the macrocycle are assigned and substituent effects assessed. Consideration of the shifts of the α-pyrrolic carbons confirms that chlorin and its derivatives exist in a tautomeric form with the two inner H atoms on diagonally opposite pyrrole rings A and C. Such a form allows a satisfactory explanation of the substituent chemical shifts of the formyl group at positions 15 and 20 to be made.     

Stability and thermodynamic parameters of thiopyrimidines, 2-thioxanthine and their complexes with Zn(II) and Cd(II)

The thermodynamic protonation constants of 4-amino-1,6-dihydro-2-methylthio-5-nitroso-6-oxo-pyrimidine (MTH), 4-amino-5-nitroso-6-oxo-1,2,3,6,-tetrahydro-2-thiopyrimidine (TANH) and 2-thioxanthine (TXH) in aqueous media at 25, 30, 40 and 50 ± 0.1°C, have been determined potentiometrically by Bjerrum and Robinson's methods. The ionic strength was maintained constant by using 0.1 M NaNO₃ as the supporting electrolyte.The stability constants and thermodynamic functions for Zn(II) and Cd(II) complexes of MTH and TXH, at different ionic strengths and temperatures, have been calculated.