Application of water as a solvent in microwave-assisted extraction for analysis of PCBs and CBzs in fly ash

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorobenzenes (CBzs) are two classes of dioxin precursors formed in municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs); they produce negative health effects similar to those of dioxins. Reducing the analytical time required for determining the concentrations of these compounds in MSWIs is important for quickly evaluating their importance and assessing associated health risks. In the present study, water is used as a safe and environmentally friendly solvent in microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) for PCB and CBz analyses. MAE is compared with traditional Soxhlet extraction (SE) to determine the extraction efficiencies. The evaluation of extraction efficiencies shows that MAE has a high extraction efficiency compared with that of SE when water content is lower than 60%. Furthermore, the extraction time and organic solvent consumption are reduced with MAE compared with SE.     

Synthesis and crystal structures of Group 6 metal carbonyl complexes containing S-rich bis(pyrazol-1-yl)methane ligands

The reaction of 3(5)-methylthio-5(3)-phenylpyrazole with dibromomethane under phase-transfer catalytic conditions only affords a new ligand, bis(3-phenyl-5-methylthiopyrazol-1-yl)methane. However, the reaction of 3(5)-methylthio-5(3)-p-methoxyphenylpyrazole or 3(5)-methylthio-5(3)-tert-butylpyrazole with dibromomethane under the same conditions yields three isomers, respectively, indicating that the substituents significantly affect the steric and electronic properties of pyrazole ring during the formation of ligands. Treatment of these potential polydentate ligands with M(CO)₆ (M=Cr, Mo or W) under UV irradiation at room temperature affords (NN)M(CO)₄ derivatives, in which some complexes contain asymmetric substituted bis(pyrazol-1-yl)methane ligands. The X-ray crystal structure analyses indicate that the sulfur atoms in these complexes do not take part in the coordination to the metal centers, and S-rich bis(pyrazol-1-yl)methanes actually act as bidentate chelating ligands by two nitrogen atoms. It is also interesting that in order to reduce the repulsion of methyl groups with carbonyls, the methyl groups in these complexes are oriented away from the metal centers.     

Use of a Carbon Paste Electrode Modified with Spinel‐Type Manganese Oxide as a Potentiometric Sensor for Lithium Ions in Flow Injection Analysis

A potentiometric sensor constructed from a mixture of 25% (m/m) spinel‐type manganese oxide (lambda‐MnO₂), 50% (m/m) graphite powder and 25% (m/m) mineral oil is used for the determination of lithium ions in a flow injection analysis system. Experimental parameters, such as pH of the carrier solution, flow rate, injection sample volume, and selectivity for Li⁺ against other alkali and alkaline‐earth ions and the response time of this sensor were investigated. The sensor response to lithium ions was linear in the concentration range 8.6×10^?5–1.0×10^?2 mol L^?1 with a slope 78.9±0.3 mV dec^?1 over a wide pH range 7–10 (Tris buffer), without interference of other alkali and alkaline‐earth metals. For a flow rate of 5.0 mL min^?1 and a injection sample volume of 408.6 μL, the relative standard deviation for repeated injections of a 5.0×10^?4 mol L^?1 lithium ions was 0.3%.     

Imidazole Coordinated Sandwich-type Antimony Polyoxotungstates Na9[ {Na（H=O2}3{M（C3H4N2）}3（ Sb W9O33）2]·xH=O（M=Ni^Ⅱ, Co^Ⅱ, Zn^Ⅱ, Mn^Ⅱ）

The imidazole covalently coordinated sandwich-type heteropolymngstates Na9[ {Na（H=O2}3{M（C3H4N2）}3（ Sb W9O33）2]·xH=O（M=Ni^Ⅱ, Co^Ⅱ, Zn^Ⅱ, Mn^Ⅱ） were obtained by the reaction of Na2WO4·2H2O, SbCl3·6H2O, NiCl2·6H2O [MnSO4·H2O, Co（NO3）2·6H2O, ZnSO4·7H2O] and imidazole at pH≈7.5. The structure of Na9[{Na（H2O）2}3{Ni（C3H4N2）}3（SbW9O33）2]·32H2O was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Polyanion [{Na（H2O）2}3{Ni（C3H4N2）}3（SbW9O33）2}3]^9- has approximate C3v symmetry, imidazole coordinated six-nuclear duster [{Na（H2O）2}3{Ni（C3H4N2）}3]^9＋ is encapsulated between two （α-SbW9O33）^9-, the three rings of imidazole in the polyanion are perpendicular to the horizontal plane formed by six metals （Na-Ni-Na-Ni-Na-Ni） in the central belt, and x-stacking interactions exist between imidazoles of neighboring polyanions with dihedral angel of 60%. The compounds were also characterized by IR, UV-Vis spectra, TG and DSC, and the thermal decomposition mechanism of the four compounds was suggested by TG curves.     

Silica-Based and Transition Metal-Based Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Materials—A Comparison

Organically substituted metal alkoxides can be prepared by reaction of the parent alkoxides with complexing organic compounds. The chemical and structural consequences of such substitutions are discussed in this article. Examples are given showing how functional organic moieties, such as polymerizable groups, can be incorporated into sol-gel materials via the complexing ligands. Major structural differences between silica-based and metal-based hybrid materials originate from the different charge/coordination number ratios of silicon and most metals. This results in a high tendency for the molecular building blocks to aggregate. In many cases, metal oxide clusters are formed which are capped by the organic ligands. Such surface-modified clusters are themselves very valuable condensed matter units for materials syntheses.     

催化燃烧去除VOCs污染物的最新进展

催化燃烧是目前最有效的处理挥发性有机物(VOCs)技术之一. 本文从催化剂活性组分、催化剂载体、有效组分颗粒大小、水蒸汽的影响及催化燃烧反应中的积碳等几个方面, 对近年来催化燃烧处理VOCs的研究进行了总结. 分析表明: 贵金属催化剂的研究主要着重于选择有效的载体和双组分贵金属催化剂; 非贵金属催化剂的研究主要集中在高活性的过渡金属复合氧化物、钙钛矿和尖晶石型等催化剂的研制, 还有这些活性组分粒径大小及载体对催化燃烧VOCs反应活性的影响;此外, 在实际应用中,水蒸汽和催化剂积碳失活等问题对催化燃烧VOCs的反应也有很大影响. 本文的评述将为选择合适的催化燃烧技术处理VOCs污染物提供一定参考.     

Elution of organic solutes from different polarity sorbents using subcritical water

The intermolecular interactions between organic solutes and sorbent matrices under subcritical water conditions have been investigated at a pressure of 50 bar and temperatures ranging from 50 to 250°C. Both polar and nonpolar organics (chlorophenols, amines, n-alkanes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and five different sorbent matrices (glass beads, alumina, Florisil, silica-bonded C₁₈, and polymeric XAD-4 resins) were used. From the same matrix, the polar solutes always eluted at lower temperatures, while the moderately polar and nonpolar solutes only eluted at higher temperatures. Similar to matrix effects previously observed using supercritical carbon dioxide, the sorbent type greatly influenced the elution efficiency under subcritical water conditions. Lower temperatures are sufficient to elute a particular solute from glass beads, alumina, and Florisil, but higher temperatures (less polar water) are needed to elute the same solute from silica-bonded C₁₈. The highest temperatures were required to elute aromatic organics from XAD-4. These matrix effects demonstrate that, while low temperature water can break inert or dipole interactions between solutes and glass beads, alumina, and Florisil, higher temperature water is required to interrupt the van der Waals attractions between solutes and silica-bonded C₁₈, and even higher temperatures needed to overcome the π-electron interactions between aromatic solutes and XAD-4.     

Capillary Electrophoresis for the Simultaneous Determination of Metals by Using Ethylenediamine Tetraacetic Acid as Complexing Agent and Vancomycin as Complex Selector

A new separation system of capillary electrophoresis for the simultaneous determination of metals by using ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid （EDTA） as complexing agent and employing vancomycin as complex selector was described. The Z-shape cell capillary electrophoresis was used to enhance the sensitivity for the determination of the complexes of Cu（Ⅱ）, Ni（Ⅱ）, Co（Ⅱ） and Fe（Ⅲ） with EDTA. The partial filling method （co-current mode） was used in order to increase the selectivity of the electrophoretic method, meanwhile vancomycin was not present at the detector path during the detection of metal-EDTA complexes. The vancomycin concentration, phosphate concentration and pH of the buffer strongly influenced mobility, resolution and selectivity of the studied analytes. Under the optimal condition, the relative standard deviations （n=5） of the migration time and the peak area were less than 3.14% and 7.35%, respectively. Application of the Z-shape cell capillary electrophoresis method with UV detection and vancomycin loading led to the reliable determination of these metal ions in tap water and the recoveries were 97%-101%. The detection limits based on a signal to noise ratio of 3 ： 1 were found in the range of 2-10 μg·L^-1.     

Separating Ag, B, Cd, Dy, Eu, and Sm in a Gd matrix using 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester extraction chromatography for ICP-AES analysis

The separation procedure for Ag, B, Cd, Dy, Eu and Sm as impurities in Gd matrix using ICP-AES technique with an extraction chromatographic column has been developed. The spectral interference of the Gd matrix on the elements was eliminated using a chromatography technique with 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (PC-88A) as the mobile phase and XAD-16 resin as the stationary phase. Ag⁺, B₄O₇²⁻, and Cd²⁺ were eluted with 0.1 M HNO₃, while rare earth ions were not. The best eluent for separating Eu and Sm in the Gd matrix was 0.3 M HNO₃. The limit of quantitation for these elements was 0.6-3.0 ng mL⁻¹. The recovery of Ag, B, and Cd was 90-104% using 0.1 M HNO₃ as the eluent, while that of Eu, Gd, and Sm ranged from 100 to 102% with 0.3 M HNO₃. Dy was recovered quantitatively with 4 M HNO₃. The relative standard deviation of the methods for a set of three replicates was between 1.0 and 15.4% for the synthetic and standard Gd solutions. The proposed separation procedure was used to measure Ag, B, Cd, Dy, Eu, and Sm in a standard Gd solution.     

Kinetics and mechanism of gold dissolution in thiourea solutions: Effect of sulfide ions

Chronoamperograms for gold in solutions containing 0.1 M thiourea, 0.5 M H₂SO₄, and catalytically active sulfide ions at the concentration c ₁ from 1 × 10^?5 to 4 × 10^?5 M are obtained at different potentials with the aid of an automated setup intended for renewing the electrode surface directly in the solution by cutting off a thin surface layer of the metal. It is shown that the results of measurements of the current practically coincide at a constant value of the product c ₁ t, where t is the time period elapsed after the renewal of the electrode surface. Such a coincidence testifies to a diffusion nature of processes that hamper accumulation of sulfide ions at the gold surface. This fact permitted the use of a procedure developed previously for the calculation of polarization curves at constant values of surface coverage θ by catalytically active ions. At θ = const, the voltammetric curves for gold in sulfide-containing thiourea solutions are shown to correspond to the Tafel equation. With the surface coverage increasing, the effective values of the exchange current i ₀, transfer coefficient α, and anodic reaction order with respect to thiourea P _a increase from the values i }~ 10^?5 A cm^?2, α }~ 0.12, and P _a = 0.2, which are characteristic of pure solutions, to 2 × 10^?4 A cm^?2, α }~ 0.5, and P _a = 1.1 (at θ }~ 0.5). An interpretation to the established regularities is given.