Partial least-squares regression and fuzzy clustering — A joint approach

Chemical and physical analyses of malt, the main ingredient of beer, have been used to predict the concentration of certain volatile compounds in the finished beer.The prediction was done by means of the partial least squares regression (PLS2) in SIMCA. The total data set as well as individual malt clusters were submitted to PLS analysis. Best prediction was obtained by separating the total object matrix in classes according to similarity found by fuzzy pattern recognition (FCV). FCV was also used to separate the beer variables in classes and to select the subset of variables to be predicted.A joint approach of fuzzy pattern recognition to identify groups of samples and SIMCA-PLS2 to predict several dependent variables is suggested as a powerful tool in process-analytical chemistry.     

Ternary Fission

In this review paper, ternary fission is defined as the break-up of heavy nuclei into three fragments of approximately equal mass. This relatively new type of nuclear decay has been investigated intensively during the last decade. Muga has studied ternary fission induced by thermal neutrons in uranium. The results of his experiments are discussed in detail. Ternary fission can definitely be observed and studied in the interaction of heavy target elements with 39 MeV alpha particles, 20 GeV protons, and 300—400MeV argon ions. The ratio of binary-to-binary fission for uranium is approximately 10^?4: 100 in the interaction of 39 MeV alpha particles, approximately 0.1:100 for 20 GeV protons, and 3:100 for 400MeV argon ions. A theoretical model for the interpretation of ternary fission, the “cascade model”, is described. The paper concludes with a discussion of the possible connection of ternary fission with the production and decay of still undiscovered super-heavy elements (Z = 114).     

Further solvent-free reactions of ferrocenylaldehydes: Synthesis of 1,1′-ferrocenyldiimines and ferrocenylacrylonitriles

Grinding of 1,1′-ferrocenedicarboxaldehyde with a 2.2 molar equivalent of an aromatic amine in a solvent-free environment provided excellent yields of 1,1′-ferrocenyldiimines. After mixing the aldehyde and amines, a gum or melt formed which eventually solidified to the product. An analytically pure sample of the product was obtained by cold recrystallization. Grinding of ferrocenecarboxaldehyde and 4-substituted phenylacetonitriles under solvent-free conditions provided good yields of the corresponding ferrocenylacrylonitriles. The yield in this reaction was very low when the substituent group para to the acetonitrile group was electron-donating.     

化学与社会:跨学科视角下的通识课教学新探索

从通识教育的时代要求和化学的学科地位出发，首先讨论了在化学类通识课程建设中引入跨学科视角的意义和可操作性。随后以通识课"化学与社会"的建设为例，系统地分享了引入跨学科视角后的课程设计理念和内容框架建设，通过课堂实施方案的论述和特色实例的分享总结了课程实施经验，并以学生访谈资料分析讨论了课程取得的效果和需要进一步完善的方向。以期为跨学科理念在化学教育教学实践中的转化和落地开拓思路、提供经验。     

Synthesis and red luminescence of Pr-doped CaTiO3 nanophosphor from polymer precursor

Uniform and sphere-like nanoparticles of crystalline Pr³⁺-doped CaTiO₃ have been prepared from complex polymer precursor at 600°C, in which, metal atoms are previously dispersed by citric acid in ethylene glycol solvent. The decomposition process of the precursor, crystallization, and particle sizes of CaTiO₃ have been investigated by using thermal analysis, powder X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Diffuse reflectance spectra, photoluminescence and decay curve indicate that a strong red emission located at the nearly NTCS “ideal red” site is deduced from the energy transfer from the band gap absorption to doping Pr³⁺ ions. The thermoluminescence curves exhibit that a potential long phosphorescent material based on Pr³⁺-doped CaTiO₃ will be explored in future.     

Studies of reaction heats and structure of complexes formed between strong N-bases and phenols

The heats of reactions between various phenols and two strong N-bases of guanidine-like character in acetonitrile, are determined. The values can be used as a measure of self-assembly abilities of the phenol molecules in the interactions with strong N-bases, playing a very important role in biological systems. In the case of TBD complexes with corresponding nitrophenols, the protonated N-base is hydrogen-bonded to the nitro group excluding the self-assembly process of the phenols. In the case of other phenols, the self-assembly abilities are dependent on pK_a values of phenols. With increasing acidity of phenols their ability to form the hydrogen-bonded chains decreases. The maximum of length of the chains is observed for 4-methylphenol, which has a similar pK_a value to that in the tyrosine residue in biological systems.     

Green Chemistry and Modern Technology

The basic principles, approaches, and early achievements of green chemistry are considered. The definition of green chemistry as a branch of chemistry that studies the laws of passing of chemical reactions and the properties of substances participating in such reactions, with the aim of acquiring basic knowledge that provides a basis for designing chemical technologies that eliminate (sharply curtail) the use and production of materials that pose a risk to the environment.     

Heterometallic lead-titanium oxyalkoxide precursors to lead titanate thin films

Two lead titanium oxyalkoxides with composition Pb₂Ti₄O₂(O₂CCH₃)₂(OC₂H₅)₁₄ and Pb₂Ti₂O₂(O₂CCH₃)₂(OCH(CH₃)₂)₈ have been isolated and characterised by elemental analysis, IR, ²⁰⁷Pb NMR and molecular weight measurements. X-ray structural analysis of the 1:2 complex confirmed the presence of two Pb₂Ti₂O units which are linked by a common Pb···Pb edge and are held together by alkoxide and acetate bridges. The acetate groups have migrated from the Pb to the Ti centres during the reaction. Hydrolysis of the 1:1 Pb/Ti complex produced clear gels providing the H₂O/complex ratio was less than 4. Heat treatment of the gel results in loss of residual organics below 400°C. The XRD pattern indicates the presence of the pyrochlore and perovskite phases after heating at 500°C but the sample is poorly crystalline. Complete conversion to the perovskite phase of lead titanate occurs on heating to 600°C for 1 hour. Thin films of lead titanate were deposited by dip-coating a solution of this complex in isopropanol. Analyses of the films, carried out using electron microprobe, Scanning Auger Spectroscopy and Rutherford Backscattering, indicated that they were of excellent quality, crystalline after heating at 600°C and with relatively sharp substrate-coating interface.     

Internally contracted multiconfiguration-reference configuration interaction calculations for excited states

Summary The calculation of electronically excited states with the internally contracted multiconfiguration-reference configuration interaction (CMRCI) method is discussed. A straightforward method, in which contracted functions for all states are included in the basis, is shown to be very accurate and stable even in cases of narrow avoided crossings. However, the expense strongly increases with the number of states. A new method is proposed, which employs different contracted basis sets for each state, and in which eigensolutions of the Hamiltonian are found using an approximate projection operator technique. The computational effort for this method scales only linearly with the number of states. The two methods are compared for various applications.Dedicated in honor of Prof. Klaus Ruedenberg     

The surface and materials science of tin oxide

The study of tin oxide is motivated by its applications as a solid state gas sensor material, oxidation catalyst, and transparent conductor. This review describes the physical and chemical properties that make tin oxide a suitable material for these purposes. The emphasis is on surface science studies of single crystal surfaces, but selected studies on powder and polycrystalline films are also incorporated in order to provide connecting points between surface science studies with the broader field of materials science of tin oxide. The key for understanding many aspects of SnO₂ surface properties is the dual valency of Sn. The dual valency facilitates a reversible transformation of the surface composition from stoichiometric surfaces with Sn⁴⁺ surface cations into a reduced surface with Sn²⁺ surface cations depending on the oxygen chemical potential of the system. Reduction of the surface modifies the surface electronic structure by formation of Sn 5s derived surface states that lie deep within the band gap and also cause a lowering of the work function. The gas sensing mechanism appears, however, only to be indirectly influenced by the surface composition of SnO₂. Critical for triggering a gas response are not the lattice oxygen concentration but chemisorbed (or ionosorbed) oxygen and other molecules with a net electric charge. Band bending induced by charged molecules cause the increase or decrease in surface conductivity responsible for the gas response signal. In most applications tin oxide is modified by additives to either increase the charge carrier concentration by donor atoms, or to increase the gas sensitivity or the catalytic activity by metal additives. Some of the basic concepts by which additives modify the gas sensing and catalytic properties of SnO₂ are discussed and the few surface science studies of doped SnO₂ are reviewed. Epitaxial SnO₂ films may facilitate the surface science studies of doped films in the future. To this end film growth on titania, alumina, and Pt(1 1 1) is reviewed. Thin films on alumina also make promising test systems for probing gas sensing behavior. Molecular adsorption and reaction studies on SnO₂ surfaces have been hampered by the challenges of preparing well-characterized surfaces. Nevertheless some experimental and theoretical studies have been performed and are reviewed. Of particular interest in these studies was the influence of the surface composition on its chemical properties. Finally, the variety of recently synthesized tin oxide nanoscopic materials is summarized.