Thermal decomposition of natural iowaite

The thermal decomposition of natural iowaite of formula Mg₆Fe₂(Cl,(CO₃)_0.5)(OH)₁₆·4H₂O was studied by using a combination of thermogravimetry and evolved gas mass spectrometry. Thermal decomposition occurs over a number of mass loss steps at 60°C attributed to dehydration, 266 and 308°C assigned to dehydroxylation of ferric ions, at 551°C attributed to decarbonation and dehydroxylation, and 644, 703 and 761°C attributed to further dehydroxylation. The mass spectrum of carbon dioxide exhibits a maximum at 523°C. The use of TG coupled to MS shows the complexity of the thermal decomposition of iowaite. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Glass transition study of blends of poly(N-methyldodecano-12-lactam) with poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid)

The blends of poly(N-methyldodecano-12-lactam) (MPA) with poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) (PSAA) prepared from dioxane solutions were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The experimental DSC data of glass transition temperature T_g as a function of composition of amorphous phase were fitted for the as-prepared and re-scanned samples using theoretical approaches. The as-prepared blends show monotonic single-T_g dependence. The values of the Gordon-Taylor coefficient not far from unity suggest miscibility of the blend system in amorphous phase in the whole concentration range. As documented by FTIR, this miscibility is associated with hydrogen bonds between COOH groups of the acrylic acid units in PSAA molecules acting as the H-bond donor and CO groups of MPA acting as the H-bond acceptor. The T_g-dependencies obtained form the second runs have a profound sigmoid character. The Schneider treatment induced an idea of partial limited miscibility in the MPA/PSAA blends caused by prevalence of homogeneous contacts. The difference in T_g between the first and second run can partly be attributed to higher crystallinities in the former.     

Degradation-fragmentation of marine plastic waste and their environmental implications: A critical review

This review critically evaluates the plastic accumulation challenges and their environmental (primarily) and human (secondarily) impacts. It also emphasizes on their degradation and fragmentation phenomena under marine conditions. In addition, it takes into account the leachability of the various chemical substances (additives) embedded in plastic products to improve their polymeric properties and extend their life. Regardless of their effectiveness in enhancing the polymeric function of plastic products, these additives can potentially contaminate air, soil, food, and water. Several findings have shown that, regardless of their types and sizes, plastics can be degraded and/or fragmented under marine conditions. Therefore, the estimation of fragmentation and degradation rates via a reliable developed model is required to better understand the marine environmental status. The main parameter, which is responsible for initiating the fragmentation of plastics, is sunlight/UV radiation. Yet, UV- radiation alone is not enough to fragment some plastic polymer types under marine conditions, additional factors are needed such as mechanical abrasion. It should be also mentioned that most current studies on plastic degradation and fragmentation centered on the primary stages of degradation. Thus, further studies are needed to better understand these phenomena and to identify their fate and environmental effects.     

Application of vibronic spectroscopy to conformational analysis. Investigations of molecules of carbonyl compounds

Application of vibronic spectroscopy to the conformational analysis of molecules in the ground and excited electronic states is reviewed. The basic concepts of the method as well as its methodological and technical aspects are discussed. The abilities of vibronic spectroscopy are exemplified by the results obtained for molecules of carbonyl compounds.The review is based on a report at the Vibrational Spectroscopy Conference dedicated to the 80th birthday of B. I. Stepanov (Minsk, Belarus', October 3–5, 1993).Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 783–791, May, 1994.This work was performed with the partial financial support of the Russian.Universities State Program.     

Methane polymerization with a hollow cathode: Influence of the cathode metal

Methane, mixed with argon, has been polymerized by means of a hollow-cathode discharge system. Two types of cathodes were studied; one was made of a solid solution of 81% tungsten and 19% platinum, while the other was of pure tungsten. Under identical operating conditions, a higher polymer yield was found in the case of the platinum cathode (90% against 70% for tungsten). The work function of the solid solution was estimated to be 6.3 eV, compared with 4.4 eV for tungsten. In terms of the data available, the thermionic current, which is the main source of energetic electrons, is about one order of magnitude lower for the solid solution cathode when compared with the tungsten cathode thermionic current. However, the polymer yield observed is higher in the former case. The concentration of the CH species in the hollow cathode was found to differ greatly for the cathodes tested and was about 5 times higher in the case of tungsten-platinum cathodes. Since no excited platinum vapor could be detected in the gas phase, the increase in CH concentration was attributed to a catalytic effect of the cathode inside surface. An evaluation of the plasma polymer deposition rate yields 70 nm·s^–1 for the platinum-tungsten type hollow cathode and 42 nm·s^–1 for the tungsten one. In both cases, the deposition rate is much higher than those obtained from the most widely used methods for plasma polymer deposition (0.10–1.0 nm·s^–1) implying methane-argon mixtures, and is comparable to the results obtained with a new type of plasma polymer deposition reactor described in the literature.     

Fundamentals of Silicon Chemistry: Molecular States of Silicon-Containing Compounds

Silicon and its compounds have made possible the design of new materials, which, from computers to space travel, have helped to shape the technology of our 20th century. Conversely, the demands of new technology have stimulated the fast development of silicon chemistry as part of the “renaissance” of inorganic chemistry. This article uses selected examples of predominantly organosilicon compounds to discuss in simplified terms the measurement and assignment of suitable spectroscopic “molecular fingerprints” as well as the resulting benefit for the preparative chemist. The comparison of “equivalent” states of “chemically related” molecules is emphasized, based on perturbation arguments and supporting quantum-chemical models. Special attention is given to the relation between structure and energy, which allows us to understand and to predict the connectivity between and the spatial arrangement of silicon “building blocks”, the energy-dependent electron distribution over the effective nuclear potentials of a molecular framework, and, especially, the partly considerable effects of “silicon substituents” on molecular properties. Future-directed extensions and applications include polysilane band structures, Rydberg states of chromophores containing silicon centers, redox reactions and ion-pair formation of silicon-substituted π systems, and molecular dynamic phenomena in solution or on thermal fragmentation in the gas phase. The main objective is a set of clear and practical rules for interpreting measurements and planning experiments.     

Spectroscopic study of a magnetically rotating arc between opper electrodes in contaminated argon

The effects of N₂ and CO contaminants in atmospheric-pressure argon on an arc rotating between two concentric copper electrodes has been studied using optical spectroscopy of copper lines. The axial temperature of the magnetically driven arc in Ar + %N₂ was determined to be around 10,000 K for arc currents of SO to 200 A. The diffusion process of the copper vapor from the cathode was also studied. A copper density maximum 1 mm from the cathode along the arc column was found in Ar + %N₂. Removal of the contaminated cathode surface layers by the arc when contaminant injection in the plasma gas was stopped was found to be a slow process with a time scale depending on the type of the gas contaminant. The presence of gas contaminant in the electrode material controls the cathode erosion mechanism and the overall arc behavior in the transition between a contaminated to a pure argon arc.     

Atropisomerism of phosphorus-containing N-aryl carbamates. Experimental and computational data

Studies by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis revealed hindered rotation of the aromatic substituent about the C_Ar—N bond in ortho-substituted (except for o-fluorine-substituted) phosphorus-containing carbamates. The energy barriers to rotation (G _c ) and coalescence temperatures (T _c) determined by the coalescence method increase with increasing volume of the ortho substituent. Conformations resulting from rotation of the ortho-substituted aryl group about the C_Ar—N bond were analyzed by quantum-chemical methods, potential curves were constructed, and differences between the conformational energies and the heights of rotation barriers were estimated. The theoretical rotation barriers change in parallel with the experimental values of G _c ; however, the theoretical values are much smaller in magnitude.     

Structure of Cyclogaleginoside E from Astragalus galegiformis

The new cycloartane glycoside cyclogaleginoside E, 20S,24R-cycloartan-3,6,16,25-tetraol-3-O--D-xylopyranoside-25-O--D-glucopyranoside, was isolated from stems of Astragalus galegiformis L. Its structure was established using enzymatic and total acid hydrolysis, mass spectrometry, and PMR and ¹³C NMR.     

Crystal and Molecular Structure of (BzlMe3N) 2 + [Fe2OCl6]2-

The crystal and molecular structure of (BzlMe₃N) ₂ ⁺ [Fe₂OCl₆]^2- has been determined. The asymmetric unit contains two benzyltrimethylammonium cations and two half -oxo-bis(trichloro-iron(III)) anions. The bridging -oxygen atoms of these anions are located over crystallographic symmetry elements. Therefore, the two anions resulting from the symmetry operations correspond to two different conformers presenting angular and linear dispositions of the Fe-O-Fe bond angle. Mössbauer spectrum consists of two asymmetric lines that are adequately simulated by two equally populated quadrupole doublets associated with the two iron sites.