Improved method for the determination of sulfur components in natural gas

Determination of trace concentrations of sulfur components in natural gas is a true analytical challenge. Only analytical procedures based on gas chromatography can meet the sensitivity and accuracy requirements dictated by environmental regulation institutions and modern chemical industry. In the present contribution the sample pretreatment and chromatographic separation steps have been evaluated and optimized based on the use of a flamebased sulfur chemiluminescence detector (SCD) for target compound detection. The proposed instrument consists of a programmed temperature vaporizing (PTV) injector employing a liner packed with Chromosorb 104, a 4 μm thick film apolar column and a flame-based SCD. Using a 13 mL sample loop the detection limit achievable with the new method is 3 μg S/m³. The precision of replicate measure. ments is generally in the range of 5–15% relative standard deviation. Lower detection limits can be achieved by preconcentrating larger sample volumes, e.g. 100 mL.     

Multivariate comparison of concentration profiles in materials analysis

Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal components analysis (PCA) were applied to find groups between similar depth-profiles in thin-layers investigated by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS).HCA yields in one run an objective hierarchy of similarity for several profiles. Among the similarity coefficients examined the linear measure, the Euclidean distance and the exponential measure respond with different sensitivity to overall shifts in direction of the concentration axis, whereas the correlation measure relates to parallelism of the profiles.For agglomerative HCA with Euclidean distance, a lowest significant linkage level has been defined by use of Fisher'sF-test. For divisive HCA based also on Euclidean distance, the maximum of a separating function marks the most separating cluster step. The outcomes of both proposals agree for the data set investigated.PCA is useful for verifying the results of HCA and yields additional information about the data structure. In the actual example quite different positions of features (concentrations at definite depths) in the space of the two first principal components hint at peculiarities during the metallurgical coating process.     

Effect of the Structure of Nonuniform Conducting Polymer Films on Their Electrochemical Impedance Response

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is used to characterize thin p-doped polypyrrole (PPy) films in propylene carbonate (PC) solutions and poly(trifluorophenyl)thiophene (PTFPT), in solutions based on sulfolane (SF). It appears that the latter film is much less swelled compared to the former one. One consequence of this difference is that the PTFPT film shows a much higher bulk resistance compared to that for the PPy film. Another important consequence is that the swelling of the PTFPT film is essentially physically non-homogeneous. Two parallel, uncoupled paths, with different chemical diffusion coefficients, model the experimental results adequately. In order to quantify the impedance spectra for both polymer films, we use a model proposed by Rubinstein et al. explaining the difference in the diffusion coefficients of Ru(bpy)^3+/2+ ₃ within a thin Nafion film. The model can also predict the impedance spectra for composite powdery electrodes containing different particle sizes, such as composite cathodes and graphite anodes used in lithium batteries.     

β-D-核糖（ RI）与一价、二价金属离子相互作用的理论研究

在HF和MP2水平用全电子(AE)和相对论有效芯势(RECP)方法研究了Ⅰa、Ⅰb、Ⅱa和Ⅱb族金属离子与β D 核糖(RI)的相互作用. 结果表明, RECP能可靠地用于重金属离子;二价金属离子(M2＋)比一价金属离子(M＋)更易使β D 核糖(RI)变形;二价金属离子络合物(RI M2＋)比一价金属离子络合物(RI M＋)稳定. 电荷布居分析的结果支持上述结论.     

The influence of minor components on the structural reorganization in glassforming materials

Correlation of structure parameters of glasses and related crystals formed in homogeneous or heterogeneous nucleation processes by thermal treatment is discussed on the basis of DTA, TG and EGA measurements in relation to the textural patterns of the materials. For cordierite glass, crystallization of metastable disordered cordierite polymorphs is related to an exothermic heat evolution and simultaneous with a small weight loss (appr. 0.025%). By MS-EGA, evolution of water was determined during the transformation of the metastable melt to a metastable intermediate crystalline phase. Interpretation of the crystallization by comparing the available structure parameters of cordierite glasses and crystals alone is insufficient to explain the role of water in the kinetics of crystallization. Optical and electron microscopy of the primary crystallization phenomena show the metastable solid solution with low quartz-type structure. Interpretation of the crystallization behaviour in terms of conventional theory of nucleation and crystal growth is impossible.     

Alysis of the volatile constituents of food by headspace GC-MS with reversal of the carrier gas flow during sampling

A technique has been developed for performing headspace GC-MS analysis of volatile components of food, in which the carrier gas flow is reversed during sampling in order to overcome problems caused by the diffusion of substances not retained by the cold trap. Chromatographic profiles of volatile compounds from cheeses, obtained at room temperature, provide confirmation of the validity of the reversed flow technique, and the versatility of the system is evidenced by its successful application to both solid and liquid matrixes: the absence of any discrimination against the various components reveals its efficacy for compounds with a wide range of volatility. Addition of internal standards to the sample enables the use of the technique for quantitative analysis.     

Cathode of a fuel cell with a solid polymer electrolyte: Calculating overall currents in the presence of a gas-diffusion layer

Mathematical apparatus, which makes it possible to perform calculations of the current-voltage characteristics of cathodes of fuel cells with a solid polymer electrolyte in conditions where there are present extraneous diffusion restrictions is proposed. In so doing, the partial pressure of oxygen and the absolute pressure of gas in the gas chamber may assume any values. First of all presented are the results of calculations of the current-voltage characteristics intrinsic to active layers of the air and oxygen cathodes, which are performed under the assumption that the extraneous diffusion restrictions are absent altogether. Thereafter, in the same conditions (at the same parameters that characterize the active layer of a cathode), obtained are results of a calculation of the current-voltage characteristics inherent in the air and oxygen cathodes in the presence of extraneous diffusion restrictions. Afterward there is performed an analysis of the way a gas-diffusion layer restricts the process of generation of current in a cathode and of what measures should be taken in order for the extraneous diffusion restrictions to become less significant.     

A simple approach for improving the hybrid MMVB force field: application to the photoisomerization of s-cis butadiene

MMVB is a QM/MM hybrid method, consisting of a molecular mechanics force field coupled to a valence bond Heisenberg Hamiltonian parametrized from ab initio CASSCF calculations on several prototype molecules. The Heisenberg Hamiltonian matrix elements Q(ij) and K(ij), whose expressions are partitioned here into a primary contribution and second-order correction terms, are calculated analytically in MMVB. When the original MMVB force field fails to produce potential energy surfaces accurate enough for dynamics calculations, we show that significant improvements can be made by refitting the second-order correction terms for the particular molecule(s) being studied. This "local" reparametrization is based on values of K(ij) extracted (using effective Hamiltonian techniques) from CASSCF calculations on the same molecule(s). The method is demonstrated for the photoisomerization of s-cis butadiene, and we explain how the correction terms that enabled a successful MMVB dynamics study [Garavelli, M.; Bernardi, F.; Olivucci, M.; Bearpark, M. J.; Klein, S.; Robb, M. A. J Phys Chem A 2001, 105, 11496] were refitted.     

Influence of extractions on physicochemical characterization and bioactivity of Piper nigrum oils: Study on the non-isothermal decomposition kinetic

Black pepper oils have been investigated frequently in the recent years. However, there is a significant variation in physicochemical properties and bioactivity of oils depended on extraction techniques. In this study, the systemic investigation of four various extraction methods was performed to evaluate the physicochemical characterizations, antioxidant and antibacterial activity. The investigation of ¹H NMR, FTIR and UV–Vis spectra confirmed presence of non-volatile components in oils extracted through supercritical CO₂ and hexane-soaking extractions which induced their typical thermal properties. The isothermal behaviour of extracted oils related to evaporation was within range of 3.2–7.3% (w/w) at 27 °C. The SEM images of the black pepper confirmed different operation manners of mechanism between extractions using the solvents and heating process. The lowest MIC for both essential oils from conventional hidrodistillation and microwave-assisted hidrodistillation against two bacteria including E. coli and B. subtilis were found to be 137 µg mL⁻¹. The non-isothermal decomposition kinetics were investigated on the essential oil of microwave-assisted hydrodistillation extraction. The activation energies and pre-exponent factors of non-isothermal decomposition were found to be in range of 36.5–73.7 KJ mol⁻¹ and 4.98 × 10³–1.97 × 10⁸ s⁻¹, respectively, dependent on conversional fractions of the oil. The results revealed that chemical components, physicochemical properties and bioactivity of black pepper essential oils depended on the extraction techniques.