Transference numbers for anhydrous methanol solutions at 10 and 25°C

Transference numbers are reported for LiCl and NaCl in methanol at 25°C and for NaCl, KCl, and Bu₄NBr in methanol at 10°C. The potentiometric moving-boundary method as developed by Kay and Fratiello was employed to give a precision of about 0.05% and an accuracy of at least 0.1% as indicated by two independent determinations of the conductances of the Cl^– and Br^– ions. The data are extrapolated by the Fuoss-Onsager theory, and the magnitude of the electrophoretic effect is calculated as described by Kay and Dye. The agreement with this theory is quite good at both temperatures, although the å value required in the case of Bu₄NBr is considerably larger than that obtained from conductance data. This agreement contrasts with that obtained for ethanol and acetone solutions where the measured electrophoretic effect is considerably larger than the corresponding calculated values. The importance of this fact in the determination of ion-pair association constants is discussed.     

Construction and development of a new single-column simulated moving bed system on the laboratory scale

Simulated moving bed (SMB) chromatography combines high productivity and high purities with reduced buffer consumption. We have developed a laboratory scale single column SMB (SC-SMB) unit with all four separation zones in one column. Distributors embedded within the chromatographic medium allow introduction and withdrawal of liquid between the zones. This single column unit exhibits homogenous packing in all zones, reduced headspace, less complex tubing, fewer valves, and almost undisturbed plug flow between the separation zones. The separation performance of the column was investigated with two different binary model mixtures. Furthermore, the SC-SMB unit is operated with a modified AKTA Explorer workstation, which has been specifically developed for the handling of biological fluids.     

Theoretical study of preparative chromatography using closed-loop recycling with an initial gradient

Complementing classical isocratic elution, several more sophisticated operating modes have been proposed and are applied in preparative chromatography in order to improve performance. One such approach is gradient elution, where the solvent strength is altered by varying the fraction of a modifier added to the mobile phase to enhance selectivity and to achieve faster elution. Another useful technique is closed-loop recycling, allowing better peak resolution and increased yields. This study focuses on a modified new scheme which incorporates the advantages of both gradient elution and closed-loop recycling for the separation of a ternary mixture where the intermediately eluting component is the target. A parametric study was carried out using typical adsorption isotherm parameters to elucidate the effects of varying loading factors and parameters specific to the two basic operational modes on production rates and yields. A comparison was also made between the proposed scheme and conventional techniques. It was found that the studied scheme could exploit increased column loadings and offers significantly higher production rates.     

Characterization of multimetallic grid-type complexes by electrospray mass spectrometry

The self-assembly of the terdentate ligands 1a-h, based on terpyridine-like binding sites, with octahedrally coordinated metal ions, such as Fe(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), Hg(II) and Pb(II), leads to the formation of the supramolecular grid-type complexes 2a-c(M(II)), 3d-g(M(II)) and 4h(M(II)). The structures and compositions of these coordination complexes in solution were deduced from electrospray mass spectrometry (ESMS) measurements. The results agree with the data available from x-ray radiocrystallography in the solid state and/or NMR spectroscopy in solution. ESMS may be applied in cases where other methods are difficult to use or inconclusive. This study stresses the power of ESMS in supramolecular chemistry.