Solvent and thiourea adsorption/intercalation effects on the solid-state electrochemistry of α-phase nickel hydroxide nanoparticles

Nanoparticles of α-phase nickel hydroxide were synthesized by a single-step hydrothermal method using urea as the hydrolytic agent. Precipitated powders were of pure turbostratic α-phase as confirmed by x-ray diffraction profile. The ageing of α-Ni(OH)₂ in 1.0 M alkali solutions is investigated for pure non-intercalated α-Ni(OH)₂ and thiourea intercalated/absorbed α-phase nanomaterials. The α-Ni(OH)₂ powder immobilized on the surface of graphite electrodes shows a gradual α→β phase transformation with continuous voltammetric cycling, and the concentration gradient of water that exists in the layered-double-hydroxide-like interlayers of α-phase and the solution was shown to play a crucial role on the high electrochemical activity of this phase nickel hydroxide. To understand the role of water in the ageing process, concomitant entries of non-aqueous solvents like ethanol and acetonitrile along with thiourea were effected. Cyclic voltammetric measurements of thiourea-treated α-Ni(OH)₂ samples revealed that hydroxyl ion influx during the anodic oxidation depends on the counter flux of solvent molecules, and if the intercalated the solvent is acetonitrile, then the electrochemical activity of α-Ni(OH)₂ reduced drastically; Q _a/Q _c>1 for water as solvent in the interlayers α-Ni(OH)₂ and Q _a/Q _c<1 for ethanol and acetonitrile as solvents. The α-phase gets stabilized in the presence of thiourea with water and ethanol as co-intercalates. Transmission electron microscope images of α-Ni(OH)₂ and thiourea-treated samples show a change in particle size and morphology. Elemental CHNS analysis confirms the presence of sulphur in the thiourea intercalated samples.     

Simplified Solid-Phase Extraction Procedure and Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Celecoxib in Rat Serum

A simplified solid phase extraction method, eliminating a preliminary protein precipitation has been developed for the determination of celecoxib in rat plasma. The technique included a solid phase extraction of the serum samples on a [poly (divinylbenzene-co-N-vinylpyrrolidone)] sorbent. After conditioning, the cartridge was loaded with 0.5 mL of acidified serum containing internal standard. Elution was made with 1 mL of a mixture of acetonitrile and methanol (1/1, v/v). After evaporation of the eluate to dryness and reconstitution with methanol, the samples were analyzed on an octadecyl bonded phase with several mobile phases containing acetonitrile and a phosphate buffer. Detection was carried out using a Photodiode Array Detector. Full validation of the proposed method was provided (linearity range: 0.01–2 mg. L^–1, average extraction efficiency: 92.4%; average intra-day variability: 4.6% with an accuracy of 94.8%; average interday variability: 5% with an accuracy of 95.3%, limit of detection: 0.005 mg. L^–1, limit of quantification: 0.002 mg. L^–1). The proposed method was successfully utilised to quantify celecoxib in rat plasma for a pharmacokinetic study.Revised: 26 January and 23 April 2004     

Solid products and rate-limiting step in the thermal half decomposition of natural dolomite in a CO2 (g) atmosphere

Natural dolomite powders obtained from caves which give unusual high resistance building materials, have been decomposed in a Knudsen cell at high CO₂ pressures in the temperature range of 913-973 K. XRD traces for the final solid products, after the first half thermal decomposition, have shown, that beside the XRD patterns for the calcite and MgO, the existence of a new structure with major peaks at 2θ equal to 38.5 and 65°. This finding has been ascribed to a solid solution of MgO in calcite. The kinetic analysis of the TG curves yield a total apparent enthalpy (ΔH^∗) for the decomposition equal to 440±10 kJ mol⁻¹ for a range of fraction decomposed (α) varying between 0.2 and 0.7. This value is much closer to the theoretical expected at 950 K value ΔH=486 kJ mol⁻¹ for the dolomite decomposition in CO₂ environment, where CaO, MgO and oxides of solid solution can be the solid reaction products. The rate determining step is the transport of CO₂ across the reacting interface through an high activated thermal process due to solid state diffusion of CO₃²⁻ in the bulk and/or the grain boundaries phases of CaCO₃ and/or of the solid solution. The microstructure evolution of the solid products follows a shear-transformation mechanism. At temperatures below 943 K, porous product particles are characterized by a monomodal narrow pore size distribution around 0.05 μm. At higher temperatures, a critical level of tensions inside the particles is reached and a bimodal pore size distribution around 1 and 0.05 μm is formed.     

Characteristics of immunosorbents used as a new approach to selective solid-phase extraction in environmental analysis

Summary The trace-level determination of organic pollutants in complex matrices is difficult and often not reliable because theccurrent extraction procedures are non-selective. New extraction sorbents involving antigen-antibody interactions, called immunosorbents (ISs), have been synthesised in order to trap a group of structurally related pollutants. The IS capacity is always high for the analyte-antigen used to make the antibodies, but can be low for some related compounds. In this work, we show the relationship that exists between capacity, break-through volume and recovery of analytes because of the competition between the structurally related compounds for antibody sites. Breakthrough due to the overloading of the column should be avoided because calibration curves are no longer linear. The capacity of two ISs, one made for trapping the triazine pesticide group and the second for the phenylurea, group, have been optimised by selecting silica with 50 nm pore size. Calibration curves are linear for all the compounds in a mixture of ten phenylureas up to a concentration of 5 to 10 μg L⁻¹ for each compound when handling 50 mL water samples through a precolumn packed with 0.22 g of IS. Under these conditions, reliable quantitative results are obtained because calibration curves are similar when compounds are alone or in a mixture. Application to the clean-up of soil extracts illustrates the high selectivity and the high potential of these new sorbents in environmental analysis. Presented at the 21^st ISC held in Stuttgart, Germany, 15^th–20^th September, 1996     

V(Ⅴ)促进SO_4~(2-)/ZrO_2固体超强酸的制备及催化反应

用低温陈化的方法制得V(Ⅴ)促进型SO42-/ZrO2固体超强酸(SZV),用流动指示剂法测定其酸强度,用IR,XRD和XPS进行结构表征,并将制得的催化剂用于催化乙酸和丙三醇的酯化反应.结果表明,低温陈化样品比常温陈化有更强的酸性和更高的催化活性,IR谱图中S O键的伸缩振动峰显著增强,在600~650℃的焙烧温度下,低温陈化样品的晶体结构为ZrO2四方相,XPS图中Zr3d峰位出现较大的化学位移,表明低温陈化使SZV样品具有较高的酸性.     

XRD and Si MAS-NMR spectroscopy across the β-Lu2Si2O7-β-Y2Si2O7 solid solution

Samples in the system Lu_2−xY_xSi₂O₇ (0?x?2) have been synthesized following the sol-gel method and calcined to 1300 °C, a temperature at which the β-polymorph is known to be the stable phase for the end-members Lu₂Si₂O₇ and Y₂Si₂O₇. The XRD patterns of all the compositions studied are compatible with the structure of the β-polymorph. Unit cell parameters are calculated as a function of composition from XRD patterns. They show a linear change with increasing Y content, which indicates a solid solubility of β-Y₂Si₂O₇ in β-Lu₂Si₂O₇ at 1300 °C. ²⁹Si MAS NMR spectra of the different members of the system agree with the XRD results, showing a linear decrease of the ²⁹Si chemical shift with increasing Y content. Finally, a correlation reported in the literature to predict ²⁹Si chemical shifts in silicates is applied here to obtain the theoretical variation in ²⁹Si chemical shift values in the system Lu₂Si₂O₇-Y₂Si₂O₇ and the results compare favorably with the values obtained experimentally.     

Solid-phase Synthesis of-Haloaldehydes from Polymer-supported 4-(Phenylseleno)morpholine

Polymer-supported reagents for organic synthesis are enjoying a renewed popularity with the emergence of combinatorial chemistry in recent years1. 4-(Arylseleno)morpholines formed in situ are useful -seleno-introducing reagents for saturated aldehydes2. -Sele- noaldehydes, as a frequently used intermediates, can be converted into -haloaldehydes by halogenating reaction3. However, organic selenium reagents always have a foul smell and are quite toxic, which is often problematic in organic sy…     

Microfabricated ISEs: critical comparison of inherently conducting polymer and hydrogel based inner contacts

A rigorous side by side comparison of miniature planar potassium-selective electrodes with hydrogel and potassium hexacyanoferrate(II)/(III) doped polypyrrole (PPy/FeCN) based inner contacts is presented. The planar electrodes were manufactured by screen printing as four- and five-site arrays on ceramic substrates. These electrode arrays were incorporated into a flow-through cell, which could accommodate nine electrode sites. Two identical flow cells were connected in series and the effect of the inner contacts on the analytical performance of the respective electrodes has been critically evaluated. The time necessary to reach steady state conditions has been determined and the effect of experimental parameters (temperature, ambient light intensity, CO₂, and O₂ concentration of the sample) on the potential stability of the electrodes was analyzed. At controlled temperature, the drift of the planar potassium electrodes with hydrogel and PPy/FeCN solid contact were 0.11±0.02 mV h⁻¹ and 0.03±0.007 mV h⁻¹, respectively. The experimental data proved that there is no aqueous film formation between the PPy/FeCN film and the potassium-selective solvent polymeric membrane.     

Quantitative Analysis of Sulfonamide Residues in Natural Animal Casings by HPLC

A multiresidue method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of sulfadiazine, sulfathiazole, sulfapyridine, sulfamerazine, sulfamethoxydiazine, sulfamethylthiazole, sulfamethazine, sulfamonomethoxine, sulfamethoxypyridazine, sulfisoxazole, sulfamethoxazole, sulfadimethoxine and sulfaquinoxaline in natural animal casings by HPLC after solid-phase extraction. The sulfonamides were extracted with acetonitrile and the extract cleaned up with an Oasis MCX SPE cartridge prior to analysis. Separation was on a ZOBAX Eclipse XDB-C₈ column using gradient elution with acetonitrile/methanol/0.1% acetic acid. The effect of separation conditions on chromatographic behavior and recovery has been studied. Calibration graphs were linear with very good correlation coefficients (r = 0.9983−0.9996) in the concentration range from 0.02 to 1 μg mL⁻¹. The limits of quantitation (LOQ) for the 13 sulfonamides were in the range of 1.5–2.2 μg kg⁻¹. Decision limits (CCα) and detection capabilities (CCβ) were in the range of 105.2–111.0 and 113.0–120.2 μg kg⁻¹, respectively. The recovery for casings spiked with 1.5–100 μg kg⁻¹ ranged from 65.2 to 85.9%. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the sulfonamides for six measurements at 100 μg kg⁻¹ were from 2.2 to 7.7%. The applicability of the method to the analysis of salted swine casings, salted sheep casings and dry casing samples was demonstrated.     

Determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes in air by solid phase micro-extraction/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

The aim of the study was to analyse BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes) in air by solid phase micro-extraction/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (SPME/GC/MS), and this article presents the features of the calibration method proposed. Examples of real-world air analysis are given. Standard gaseous mixtures of BTEX in air were generated by dynamic dilution. SPME sampling was carried out under non-equilibrium conditions using a Carboxen/PDMS fibre exposed for 30 min to standard gas mixtures or to ambient air. The behaviour of the analytical response was studied from 0 to 65 g/m³ by adding increasing amounts of BTEX to the air matrix. Detection limits range from 0.05 to 0.1 g/m³ for benzene, depending on the fibre. Inter-fibre relative standard deviations (reproducibility) are larger than 18%, although the repeatability for an individual fibre is better than 10%. Therefore, each fibre should be considered to be a particular sampling device, and characterised individually depending on the required accuracy. Sampling indoor and outdoor air by SPME appears to be a suitable short-delay diagnostic method for volatile organic compounds, taking advantage of short sampling time and simplicity.