Influence of silica gel pretreatment and bonding technique on PAH selectivity of octadecyl bonded phases

Summary The effect of silica gel pretreatment and of different bonding techniques, on the chromatographic properties of octadecyl bonded phases is described. The experiments show that a monomeric octadecyl bonded phase, prepared from silica gel that has not been treated before bonding, has a poor selectivity towards polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and shows high adsorption of basic components. Silica gel treatment before the bonding of the monofunctional silane does not give a substantial improvement. Polymeric phases on the other hand show a much better PAH selectivity and a lower adsorptivity towards basic components. Further improvement can be achieved with the polymeric modification if silica gel treatment is carried out before bonding.     

Application of ionic liquids as low-volatility plasticizers for PMMA

Room temperature ionic liquids (ILs) based on imidazolium salts, were found to be excellent plasticizers for poly(methyl methacrylate), with improved thermal stability, and the ability to reduce glass transition temperatures to near 0 °C. Because ILs have environmentally benign properties, they can be used in place of traditional chemicals in numerous products and processes. In this work, PMMA was formulated using dioctyl phthalate, DOP, as a traditional plasticizer, and properties were compared to PMMA plasticized with two ILs: butyl methylimidazolium/hexafluorophosphate, [bmim⁺][PF₆⁻], and hexyl methylimidazolium/hexafluorophosphate, [hmim⁺][PF₆⁻]. Formulations incorporated up to 30 vol.% DOP and 50 vol.% ILs. Bulk and plasticized polymers were characterized for glass transition temperature, elastic modulus, and the thermal stability of the plasticizers.     

Partial molal volumes of ions in organic solvents from ultrasonic vibration potential and density measurements. III. Dimethylsulfoxide

The partial molal volumes of Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Rb⁺, Cs⁺, Cl^–, Br^–, I^–, and NO ₃ ^- in DMSO at 25°C have been determined from ultrasonic vibration potential data and density data for solutions of uni-univalent electrolytes. Hepler's semiemprirical equation has been used to split ionic partial molal volumes into geometric and electrostrictive contributions. The results obtained in this work confirm the conclusion of our previous studies, namely, that the contribution of electrostriction is essentially determined by the properties of that layer of atoms, 0.3 to 0.4 nm thick, in contact with the ion and by the degree of steric hindrance of the poles of the dipole of the solvent molecule. On the other hand, the geometric contribution depends on the size of the solvent molecule and also on the arrangement of the solvent molecules about the ions. It is shown that the geometric contribution to the partial molal volume of ions is largely increased when ions cannot come close enough to the poles of the solvent-molecule dipole, owing to steric hindrance.     

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.     

Use of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate room temperature ionic liquids as chelate extraction solvent with 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(2-thienyl)-1,3-butanedione

Possible use of room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) as chelate extraction solvent was evaluated by using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF₆]), 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([hmim][PF₆]) and 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([omim][PF₆]). These RTILs showed high extraction performance for divalent metal cations with 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(2-thienyl)-1,3-butanedione (Htta). The extracted metals were back-extracted into 1 mol dm⁻³ nitric acid quantitatively. Furthermore, the extracted species were estimated as neutral hydrated complexes M(tta)₂(H₂O)_n (n= 1 or 2) for M = Ni, Cu and Pb and anionic complexes M(tta)₃⁻ for M = Mn, Co, Zn and Cd.     

The dissociation quotients of formic acid in sodium chloride solutions to 200°C

The dissociation quotients of formic acid were measured potentiometrically from 25 to 200°C in NaCl solutions at ionic strengths of 0.1, 0.3 1.0, 3.0, and 5.0 mol-kg^–1. The experiments were carried out in a concentration cell with hydrogen electrodes. The resulting molal acid dissociation quotients for formic acid, as well as a set of infinite dilution literature values and a calorimetrically-determined enthalpy of reaction, were fitted by an empirical equation involving an extended Debye Hückel term and seven adjustable parameters involving functions of temperature and ionic strength. This regressional analysis yielded the following thermodynamic quantities for 25°C: logK=–3.755±0.002, H^o=–0.09±0.15 kJ-mol^–1, S^o=–72.2±0.5 J-K^–1-mol^–1, and C _p ^o =–147±4 J-K^–1-mol^–1. The isocoulombic form of the equilibrium constant is recommended for extrapolation to higher temperatures.     

Surfactant in the gaseous phase II. Influence on stability of foams and thin liquid films

The influence of the vapors ofn-amyl orn-decyl alcohol on the stability of single thin liquid films, single bubbles, and foam columns was determined. It was found that the presence of surfactant vapors lowered the stability of foams and single foam films. The mechanism of the destabilizing action of the surfactant vapors on wet, dynamic foams under dynamic conditions is discussed. It is shown that the destabilizing action of the surfactant vapors is a further indication that surface elasticity forces are the main factor determining stability of wet, dynamic foams.     

Elaboration and characterisation of PDMS-HTiNbO5 nanocomposite membranes

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-HTiNbO₅ nanocomposite membranes with various HTiNbO₅ nanofiller content were prepared by melt intercalation. WAXS diffraction measurements and TEM observations have suggested that the HTiNbO₅ mineral was exfoliated in the PDMS matrix. The influence of the filler in the membrane was evaluated by water diffusion, gas permeation (CO₂, N₂, O₂, ethane and ethylene), toluene pervaporation and by CO₂ sorption measurements.A filler content of only 2 wt.% in PDMS-HTiNbO₅ nanocomposite membranes slows down the water diffusion significantly, and a filler content of 5 wt.% reduces also the permeability of the films for toluene. The addition of a filler content up to 10 wt.% do not significantly influences the gas permeability (P) except for CO₂. The PDMS matrix appears to be highly permeable and, therefore, a decreasing effect on P is only marked for a very high HTiNbO₅ content. This effect is more pronounced for CO₂, the P value of which decreases by 80% when the amount of nanofiller is 40 wt.%. The sorption measurements show that the interaction between CO₂ and PDMS is weak (isotherms agree with Henry’s law). The filler decreases the solubility of CO₂ in the films (S = 7.94 × 10⁻³ and S = 5.44 × 10⁻³ cm³ STPcm⁻³ film cmHg⁻¹ for PDMS and PDMS-HTiNbO₅ 40 wt.%, respectively).     

Preparation and characterization of dendrimer-star PNIPAAM using dithiobenzoate-terminated PPI dendrimer via RAFT polymerization

Two dendritic reversible addition-fragmentation transfer (RAFT) agents with 8 and 16 terminal dithiobenzoate (DTB) groups on the surface of poly(propylene imine) (PPI) dendrimers (generation 2.0 and 3.0, respectively) were successively prepared, and they were used in the RAFT polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAM). The polymerization kinetics was confirmed to pseudo-first-order behavior. The ¹H NMR and GPC analyses show that the dendrimer-star den (NIPAAM)_x (x = 8 or 16) prepared by RAFT method has well-defined structure, controlled molecular weight and low polydispersities (PDI < 1.3). The aqueous solution prepared from dendrimer-star PNIPAAM showed reversible changes in optical properties: transparent below a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) and opaque above the LCST.     

The Studies of the Heterogeneous Properties of Solid Surfaces by Means of the Derivatograph Q-1500 D

A simple method has been adopted to obtain an important information on the heterogeneous properties of materials studied, adsorbed liquid films and liquid-solid interactions. The method utilizes Q-TG mass loss and the first derivative Q-DTG mass loss curves with respect to temperature and time obtained during programmed liquid thermodesorption in quasi-isothermal conditions. The values of the adsorption capacity, total porosity of material, the value of active centers, desorption energy distribution and mesopore-size distribution functions obtained by this method are in good agreement with those estimated on the basis of independent methods. The theoretical and experimental results provided novel and unique data on the heterogeneity of solid surfaces, properties of liquid adsorbed films and thermal stability of the liquid/solid interfaces. This paper presents the more important results obtained so far in the studies the liquid/solid systems by means of the Paulik's classical and quasi-isothermal techniques. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.