Emission characteristics of high-powered microwave induced plasma optical emission spectrometry by using nitrogen–oxygen mixture gas

A high-powered, microwave-induced nitrogen–oxygen plasma (N₂–O₂–MIP) generated by using an Okamoto cavity at atmospheric pressure was investigated when the observation height, the flow rate of carrier gas, and the oxygen content were varied as the experimental parameters. The emission characteristics of the plasma were evaluated with regard to the excitation temperature and the intensity ratio of atomic line to ionic line. The excitation temperature of the N₂–O₂–MIP was in the range of 5100–5700 K when the oxygen content was varied from 0 to 30% at the observation height of 7 mm and the carrier gas flow rate of 0.6 l/min. The intensity ratio of atomic line to ionic line was elevated with an increase in the oxygen content.     

Identification of oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in diesel particulate matter by capillary gas chromatography and capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Summary Using a two-step liquid chromatographic separation on normalphase cartridges, crude extracts of diesel particulate matter can be separated without time-consuming sample handling into special fractions which mainly contain slightly-polar oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (oxy-PAH) and nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAH). Subsequent analysis was by fused-silica capillary gas chromatography on a SE54 column along with flame-ionisation (GC/FID) and positive-ion electron-impact mass spectrometric detection (GC/MS) respectively. A number of individual oxy-PAH belonging to four different chemical classes (ketones, quinones, anhydrides and aldehydes) and several individual nitro-PAH were characterized by their retention times and mass spectra. Presented at the 15th International Symposium on Chromatography, Nürnberg, October 1984     

Emission,Emissionslebensdauer und Absorption von [Cr urea6]X3-Einkristallen

Emission and absorption polarization spectra as well as emission lifetimes between room temperature and 5 °K have been measured of [Cr urea₆]X₃ single crystals, where X stands for ClO ₄ ^– , J^–, NO ₃ ^– , Br^–, Cl^–, F^–, and X₃ for JSO ₄ ^3– . The strong temperature dependence of the fluorescence/phosphorescence-ratios, and of the emission lifetimes is discussed. The differences between the spectra as well as the emission lifetimes of the various salts can be attributed to an anion dependent trigonal perturbation.

Die Autoren danken dem Verband der Chemischen Industrie für finanzielle Unterstützung dieser Arbeit.     

Sequential injection analysis for benzophenone-4 and phenylbenzimidazole sulphonic acid in sunscreen sprays by solid-phase extraction coupled with ultraviolet spectrometry

A sequential injection UV method was developed to determine benzophenone-4 (BZ4) and phenylbenzimidazole sulphonic acid (PBS) simultaneously, these being the most commonly used UV-filters in aqueous formulations used as sunscreen sprays. The selective elution of both was performed by on-line solid-phase extraction, by retention on a SAX microcolumn and separation by varying the pH of elution. The sensitivity obtained was 0.042±0.001 ml μg⁻¹ for PBS and 0.0159±0.0003 ml μg⁻¹ for BZ4. The limit of detection was 1.6 μg ml⁻¹ for PBS and 0.6 μg ml⁻¹ for BZ4. The R.S.D. of the results was 1-6% for PBS and 1-12% for BZ4. The method was validated using commercial sunscreen formulations with concentrations determined by a liquid chromatographic procedure. The two procedures gave comparable results. Automation of the method means the amount of reagents used and residues generated are decreased. The system allows the required analysis sequence to be programmed using suitable software.     

Thermal behavior of bismaleimide resin

The cure of a bismaleimide (BMI) neat resin modified with an aromatic diamine and a siloxane elastomer, has been studied by ¹³C solid state nuclear magnetic resonance. Two chemical reactions occur during the cure cycle; at a low temperature, Michael's reaction predominates, while at a high temperature the polymerization of the double bond maleimide creates the network. The degradation of this BMI material was characterized with isothermal and dynamic thermogravimetric analyses in air and in nitrogen. The BMI thermal stability is lower in nitrogen than in air. This behavior is an indication of oxygen participating in reactions at high temperatures. The activation energy (E_a) of thermal degradation was determined from isothermal data using an Arrhenius equation (In V vs. 1/T). The global E_a for the weight loss in air was found to be 91 kJ/mol. The nature and the evolution of the thermal degradation products were the combined analyzed by techniques of pyrolysis, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The major thermal decomposition products obtained in the temperature range of 300–700°C are identified as benzene, methyl formamide, aniline, toluene and isocyanate-derived products.     

The influence of reverse energy transport on emission anisotropy in two-component viscous solutions

The effect of nonradiative reverse energy transport (NRET) in two donor-acceptor systems was studied experimentally. It was found that the NRET occurring in system I; rhodamine 6G (donor) and rhodamine B (acceptor), considerably lowers the emission anisotropy at medium and high concentrations. These results qualitatively confirm the predictions of the approximate theoretical approach of L. Kulak and C. Bojarski (see the preceding paper). In system II; rhodamine 6G (donor) and Nile Blue (acceptor), for which the NRET process does not occur, a good agreement with no-back-transport theory was obtained.     

Capture by stabilized continuum: Classical and quantum aspects

We review here the results of our investigations concerning chaotic atomic scattering in the presence of a laser field. Particular emphasis is put on the existence of classical stable resonance structures, induced by the intense laser field, which are embedded in the field-free continuum. We show that phase space structures in the vicinity of a resonance island play an important role in the chaotic scattering behavior and form the basis for a mechanism to enhance the lifetimes of the collisional partners. Quantum calculations, based on a wave packet propagation method, show that quantum solutions are strongly influenced by the classical phase space structures. More specifically, a wave packet is found to spread differently in the regular and chaotic regions; in the latter case it spreads exponentially with time until saturation occurs, defining the saturation time. We also investigate the dependence of the spreading rates in both the regular and chaotic regimes. Calculations with an ensemble of classical trajectories are also presented to further illustrate the smoothing effects of varying.     

Comparative characterisation by atomic force microscopy and ellipsometry of soft and solid thin films

Ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to study the film thickness and the surface roughness of both ‘soft’ and solid thin films. ‘Soft’ polymer thin films of polystyrene and poly(styrene–ethylene/butylene–styrene) block copolymer were prepared by spin‐coating onto planar silicon wafers. Ellipsometric parameters were fitted by the Cauchy approach using a two‐layer model with planar boundaries between the layers. The smooth surfaces of the prepared polymer films were confirmed by AFM. There is good agreement between AFM and ellipsometry in the 80–130 nm thickness range. Semiconductor surfaces (Si) obtained by anisotropic chemical etching were investigated as an example of a randomly rough surface. To define roughness parameters by ellipsometry, the top rough layers were treated as thin films according to the Bruggeman effective medium approximation (BEMA). Surface roughness values measured by AFM and ellipsometry show the same tendency of increasing roughness with increased etching time, although AFM results depend on the used window size. The combined use of both methods appears to offer the most comprehensive route to quantitative surface roughness characterisation of solid films. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microstructural and physicochemical study of the buried Fe/AlGaAs(100) interface by transmission electron microscopy and x‐ray emission spectroscopy

Among the magnetic metal/semiconductor contacts, the Fe/GaAs system has been widely studied owing to its potential applications in electronic devices. In contrast, there are not many studies concerning the Fe/Al_xGa_1?xAs contact, and in particular there are no reports concerning the changes induced in the interfacial zone by the presence of Al. In this work, thin polycrystalline iron films were deposited by ion beam sputtering at room temperature on a 300 nm thick Al_0.25Ga_0.75As layer grown by molecular beam epitaxy onto GaAs(001). X‐ray diffraction analysis showed that the iron films are polycrystalline, and indications of a (002) texture of the film were observed. The fine scale analysis of the interface was achieved by high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) observations, the results of which are compared with the physicochemical information obtained from electron‐induced x‐ray emission spectroscopy, by analysing the Al 3p valence states at the Fe/Al_xGa_1?xAs interface. The HRTEM experiments on cross‐section samples indicate that the interfacial zone between iron and AlGaAs is limited to <1.5 nm in thickness. X‐ray emission spectroscopy showed the presence of Al atoms in an FeAl‐like environment at the interface, and the existence of wrong bonds and point defects. The estimated width of the perturbed interface (2.0 ± 0.5 nm) is in agreement with the HRTEM results. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rapid liquid chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of withanolides in crude plant extracts by use of a monolithic column

Summary A rapid analytical method has been developed for the mutual resolution of three steroidal compounds, withaferin A, iochromolide, and withacnistin. Liquid chromatography was performed on a Chromolith analytical column (4.6 mm i.d.×50 mm), made from a cylindrical silica rod, operated at a flow rate of 4 mL min⁻¹ with a simple linear gradient prepared from 0.1% aqueous formic acid and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile. Under optimum conditions simultaneous separation of the compounds was achieved in less than 7 min, one eighth the time required for conventional LC separation. The overall analysis time was reduced without sacrificing chromatographic performance—essential for the resolution of positional isomers such as iochromolide and withacnistin. The column was coupled to a single-quadrupole mass spectrometer and the method was characterized by good performance in terms of repeatability, selectivity, linearity, and sensitivity. Detection limits in the single-ion-monitoring mode were 0.15 μg mL⁻¹ or below. Finally, the developed method was successfully applied to the determination of withanolides in extracts fromlochroma gesnerioides obtained by three different processes—traditional Soxhlet extraction and two faster methods, microwave-assisted extraction and pressurized solvent extraction.