Fluorine in the Earth and the solar system,where does it come from and can it be found?

This review (1) presents a summary of the distribution of fluorine in different fluid (surficial, subterranean, metamorphic, and magmatic–hydrothermal–geothermal) and solid (oceanic and continental crust, mantle, and core) domains of the Earth, and various extraterrestrial materials and bodies (meteorites, planets and moons, and the Sun); (2) it provides an estimate of the total fluorine abundance for the Earth and in its dominant reservoirs contributing to the Earth's fluorine endowment; and (3) it discusses key observations that could further improve our understanding of fluorine abundances and geochemical systematics.     

Cs4[Sc6C]Cl13 und Cs4[Pr6(C2)]I13 — zwei Beispiele für das fehlende Bindeglied bei der Verknüpfung der Baueinheiten [M6Z]XX

Cs₄[Sc₆C]Cl₁₃ and Cs₄[Pr₆(C₂)]I₁₃ — Two Examples for the Missing Link in the Connectivity of [M₆Z]X X Building Units Cs₄[Sc₆C]Cl₁₃ (tetragonal, I4₁/amd, a = 1 540.5(4), c = 1 017.9(7) pm, c/a = 0.661, Z = 4, R = 0.038, R_w = 0.026) and Cs₄[Pr₆(C₂)]I₁₃ (a = 1 804.9(3), c = 1 259.5(3) pm, c/a = 0.698, R = 0.106, R_w = 0.068) are obtained as green-black and blue-black single crystals with brass-like metallic lustre through metallothermic reduction of ScCl₃ and PrI₃, respectively, with cesium in the presence of carbon in sealed tantalum containers. The, overall, isotypic compounds contain isolated [Sc₆C] and [Pr₆(C₂)] clusters, respectively, that are surrounded by 18 halide (X) ligands (12 Xⁱ and 6 X^a; X = Cl or I). The connection is carried out via the motif [M₆Z]XXXX (M = Sc and Pr; Z = C and C₂, respectively) and is thereby the missing link of the motifs of connection for the composition A_x[M₆Z]X₁₃. Analogous interconnection of [TiO₆] octahedra is found in the anatase-type of structure of TiO₂.     

在星际媒介中合成H2NCH2CN分子的理论研究

在早期地球原始化学生命起源过程中, 氨基酸是重要的必需的生物化合物, 生成肽和蛋白. 为了探究一个可能的新的氨基酸起源, 采用密度泛函理论(B3LYP)在6-311++G(d, p) 基组水平上研究了在星际媒介条件下在气相中和在模拟的冰颗粒表面上的化学反应: CH2NH分子和两个异构体分子HNC/HCN通过Strecker合成生成H2NCH2CN(氨基乙氰, 一个重要的苷氨基酸前置分子). 在研究体系中, CH2NH、HCN、HNC 和H2O分子存在于星际密集分子云中, 且早于地球广泛存在. 研究证明, 这些分子之间在星际媒介条件下和在冰颗粒表面上通过Strecker合成路线很容易生成H2NCH2CN. 所以, H2NCH2CN分子在宇宙的星际密集分子云中是广泛存在的. 还讨论了H2NCH2CN分子在新的氨基酸起源中所起的作用, 以及在通过“原始汤”生命起源理论解析早期地球生命起源中可能所起的作用.     

Rare Earth-Rich Indides <Emphasis Type="Italic">RE</Emphasis><Subscript>5</Subscript>Pt<Subscript>2</Subscript>In<Subscript>4</Subscript> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">RE</Emphasis> = Sc,Y, La–Nd,Sm, Gd–Tm,Lu)

Summary. The isotypic indides RE ₅Pt₂In₄ (RE = Sc, Y, La–Nd, Sm, Gd–Tm, Lu) were synthesized by arc-melting of the elements and subsequent annealing. They were investigated via X-ray powder diffraction. Small single crystals of Gd₅Pt₂In₄ were grown via slow cooling and the structure was refined from X-ray single crystal diffractometer data: Pbam, a = 1819.2(9), b = 803.2(3), c = 367.6(2) pm, wR ² = 0.089, 893 F ² values and 36 parameters. The structure is an intergrowth variant of distorted trigonal and square prismatic slabs of compositions GdPt and GdIn. Together the platinum and indium atoms build up one-dimensional [Pt₂In₄] networks (292–333 pm Pt–In and 328–368 pm In–In) in an AA stacking sequence along the c axis. The gadolinium atoms fill distorted square and pentagonal prismatic cages between these networks with strong bonding to the platinum atoms.     

Kann man die Arten von Zintl-Anionen steuern?? Variationen über das Thema Si2− im System Sr/Mg/Si

Can One Design Zintl Anions? Contributions from the System Sr/Mg/Si to the Topic Si^2? Two novel ternary silicides, SrMgSi₂ (Pnma, Z = 8, a = 14.374, b = 4.4512, c = 11.398 Å) and Sr₁₁Mg₂Si₁₀, (C2/m, Z = 2, a = 19.744, b = 4.754, c = 14.84 Å, β = 112.47°) have been established in the ternary system Sr/Mg/Si. The compounds are synthezised from the elements under inert conditions. Single crystal structure determinations yield the novel Zintl anions, [Si(Si₃)^8?] a branched chain, and the zig-zag chain piece [Si₈]^18?, both of which exhibit significant correlations and differences with respect to the linear chains in [Si^?] in the binary MSi phases (M = Ca, Sr, Ba) which have been reinvestigated in this context. The variations of the Zintl anions can be traced back mainly to the differences of Mg? Si and Sr? Si interactions. From these findings a functional relationship between Mg content and the formation of endgroup members in Zintl anions of silicon is anticipated.     

One Step up the Ladder of Prebiotic Complexity: Formation of Nonrandom Linear Polypeptides from Binary Systems of Amino Acids on Silica

Evidence for the formation of linear oligopeptides with nonrandom sequences from mixtures of amino acids coadsorbed on silica and submitted to a simple thermal activation is presented. The amino acid couples (glutamic acid+leucine) and (aspartic acid+valine) were deposited on a fumed silica and submitted to a single heating step at moderate temperature. The evolution of the systems was characterized by X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, thermosgravimetric analysis, HPLC, and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Evidence for the formation of amide bonds was found in all systems studied. While the products of single amino acids activation on silica could be considered as evolutionary dead ends, (glutamic acid+leucine) and, at to some extent, (aspartic acid+valine) gave rise to the high yield formation of linear peptides up to the hexamers. Oligopeptides of such length have not been observed before in surface polymerization scenarios (unless the amino acids had been deposited by chemical vapor deposition, which is not realistic in a prebiotic environment). Furthermore, not all possible amino acid sequences were present in the activation products, which is indicative of polymerization selectivity. These results are promising for origins of life studies because they suggest the emergence of nonrandom biopolymers in a simple prebiotic scenario.     

Free energy of nonideal two-component thermal plasma

The free energy of nonideal two-component thermal plasma is calculated using the Poisson-Boltzmann equation. The possibility of the existence of a metastable state is shown for a component of heavy multicharged particles with particle charge values bounded from below and plasma temperature values bounded from above. The component of oppositely-charged light singly-charged particles and plasma generally do not feature the metastable state.     

Plasma Technologies for Reducing CO2 Emissions From Combustion Exhaust with Toxic Admixtures to Utilisable Products

The method reported here provides a contribution to CO₂ and combustion exhaust utilisation. A multifunctional system for gas removal was tested on various sources of exhaust (internal combustion engine, brown coal boiler, bituminous pulverised coal boiler, gas boiler, glass oven, VOC sources) in full-scale or by-pass gas flow volumes. A spontaneously-pulsing, direct-current electric discharge operating in a corona geometry was used. The discharge has strongly shining channels migrating quickly along the stressed electrode. The synergetic effect of electric discharge and heterogeneous catalysis on the organometallic part of the product formed on the non-stressed electrode was responsible for the specific character of the products. The final product of the process is a powder with a fractal structure on the microscopic level with low specific mass and insoluble in water. The main component (95%) of the solid product is an amorphous condensate of amino acids with about 5% of organometallic compound with catalytic properties. The product was analysed using IR absorption spectrometry, microscopic photography, HPLC and thermogravimetry. The following amino acids were observed in the final product: alanine, serine, glycine, aspartic acid, lysine, arginine, methionine, histidine. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Theoretical Studies on the Intermolecular Interactions of Potentially Primordial Base‐Pair Analogues

Recent experimental studies on the Watson–Crick type base pairing of triazine and aminopyrimidine derivatives suggest that acid/base properties of the constituent bases might be related to the duplex stabilities measured in solution. Herein we use high‐level quantum chemical calculations and molecular dynamics simulations to evaluate the base pairing and stacking interactions of seven selected base pairs, which are common in that they are stabilized by two N? H???O hydrogen bonds separated by one N? H???N hydrogen bond. We show that neither the base pairing nor the base stacking interaction energies correlate with the reported pK_a data of the bases and the melting points of the duplexes. This suggests that the experimentally observed correlation between the melting point data of the duplexes and the pK_a values of the constituent bases is not rooted in the intrinsic base pairing and stacking properties. The physical chemistry origin of the observed experimental correlation thus remains unexplained and requires further investigations. In addition, since our calculations are carried out with extrapolation to the complete basis set of atomic orbitals and with inclusion of higher electron correlation effects, they provide reference data for stacking and base pairing energies of non‐natural bases.