Analysis of aquatic‐phase natural organic matter by optimized LDI‐MS method

The composition and physiochemical properties of aquatic‐phase natural organic matter (NOM) are most important problems for both environmental studies and water industry. Laser desorption/ionization (LDI) mass spectrometry facilitated successful examinations of NOM, as humic and fulvic acids in NOM are readily ionized by the nitrogen laser. In this study, hydrophobic NOMs (HPO NOMs) from river, reservoir and waste water were characterized by this technique. The effect of analytical variables like concentration, solvent composition and laser energy was investigated. The exact masses of small molecular NOM moieties in the range of 200–1200 m/z were determined in reflectron mode. In addition, spectra of post‐source‐decay experiments in this range showed that some compounds from different natural NOMs had the same fragmental ions. In the large mass range of 1200–15 000 Da, macromolecules and their aggregates were found in HPO NOMs from natural waters. Highly humic HPO exhibited mass peaks larger than 8000 Da. On the other hand, the waste water and reservoir water mainly had relatively smaller molecules of about 2000 Da. The LDI‐MS measurements indicated that highly humic river waters were able to form large aggregates and membrane foulants, while the HPO NOMs from waste water and reservoir water were unlikely to form large aggregates. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dissolved organic matter-mediated reduction of ionic Au(III) to elemental Au nanoparticles and their growth to visible granules

The biogeochemical transformation of gold (Au), i.e. its dissolution and re-precipitation, is critical in supergene transport of Au and formation of Au granules. Besides biogenic reduction, the formation Au granules can also be driven by chemical processes. Previous studies have showed the formation of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) from ionic Au(III) can be mediated by dissolved organic matter under sunlight. In this letter, we further demonstrated that these AuNPs can further slowly (in years) grow into visible Au granules. Different sized nano-flower and fractal dendrite-like branched gold structures (from tens of nanometres to over 100 μm) were observed in the Au granule sample. This growth of AuNPs into visible Au granules may play a critical role in the supergene mineralization and enrichment of secondary Au and drive the biogeochemical cycle of Au.     

生物凝聚态物质的多层次结构表征

在生物体内到处都是由蛋白质、核酸和多糖等生物大分子构成的各种不同生物凝聚态物质,这些生物凝聚态物质形成不同的高级结构,执行不同的生物功能。获取这些生物凝聚态物质的高分辨结构是理解生命过程的重要途径。在离体环境中,获取高分辨结构的手段主要有X-射线晶体衍射、冷冻电镜和核磁共振等,而在活细胞内原位研究生物凝聚体的结构,核磁共振和化学交联质谱具有独特优势。本文总结了利用多种分析手段对生物凝聚态物质进行多层次结构表征的研究进展:包括简单纯化体系下的蛋白质分子机器,蛋白质纤维等;液-液相分离,大分子拥挤、限域等模拟细胞复杂环境下的生物大分子以及活细胞内生物大分子。     

Simple Derivatization–Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry for Fatty Acids Profiling in Soil Dissolved Organic Matter

Dissolved organic matter is an important component of the global carbon cycle that allows the distribution of carbon and nutrients. Therefore, analysis of soil dissolved organic matter helps us to better understand climate change impacts as it is the most dynamic and reactive fraction in terrestrial ecosystems. Its characterization at the molecular level is still challenging due to complex mixtures of hundreds of compounds at low concentration levels in percolating water. This work presents simple methods, such as thermochemolysis– or derivatization–gas chromatography, as an alternative for the analysis of fatty acids in dissolved organic matter without any purification step. The variables of the protocols were examined to optimize the processing conditions for the C₉–C₁₈ range. As a proof of concept, fatty acid distributions of soil percolating water samples from a long-term field experiment were successfully assessed. The variability of dissolved organic acid distributions was pronounced through depth profile and soil treatment but no major change in composition was observed. However, although the optimization was done from C₉ to C₁₈, detection within the C₆-C₃₂ fatty acids range was performed for all samples.     

On the Role of Symmetry in Vibrational Strong Coupling: The Case of Charge‐Transfer Complexation

It is well known that symmetry plays a key role in chemical reactivity. Here we explore its role in vibrational strong coupling (VSC) for a charge‐transfer (CT) complexation reaction. By studying the trimethylated‐benzene–I₂ CT complex, we find that VSC induces large changes in the equilibrium constant K_DA of the CT complex, reflecting modifications in the ΔG° value of the reaction. Furthermore, by tuning the microfluidic cavity modes to the different IR vibrations of the trimethylated benzene, ΔG° either increases or decreases depending only on the symmetry of the normal mode that is coupled. This result reveals the critical role of symmetry in VSC and, in turn, provides an explanation for why the magnitude of chemical changes induced by VSC are much greater than the Rabi splitting, that is, the energy perturbation caused by VSC. These findings further confirm that VSC is powerful and versatile tool for the molecular sciences.     

高温超导体中磁通涡旋薄饼运动的实验证明

为了验证高温超导体中涡旋薄饼运动的存在,我们设计了电流和电位引线分处样品不同表面的实验。实验结果表明,在这种电流电位引线配置下的E～j关系不同于刚性涡旋线运动所预期的E～j关系,由此支持了涡旋薄饼运动的存在。     

旋流泵全流道三维定常流场的数值模拟

本文在计算模型采用分块非结构化六面体网格的基础上,利用雷诺平均N-S方程,标准k-ε紊流模型,结合 SIMPLEC算法,数值模拟了旋流泵的内部流动,得到了旋流泵压力面、吸力面上的压力分布,同时也估算了叶轮的效率, 比较了旋流泵试验性能与数值模拟性能,有助于了解旋流泵的内部流动特性,指导旋流泵的水力设计。     

水体的温度变化对测定溶解有机物浓度的影响

用激光诱导荧光(LIF)方法研究了水体的温度变化对溶解有机物(DOM)发射荧光强度的影响。随着温度的增加,DOM的荧光强度和水的拉曼散射强度不断降低。在20～75 ℃范围之内,对归一化荧光强度与温度关系曲线进行线性拟合,计算出归一化荧光强度随温度升高的变化梯度平均值为-5.24×10-4 ℃-1,根据归一化荧光强度与浓度的关系,给出了所测DOM的浓度随着温度升高的平均下降速率为-3.45×10-3 (mg·L-1)·℃-1。因此,在这一温度范围内测量时,假设归一化荧光强度不变,则温度变化将引起DOM浓度最大为8.45%的相对变化。     

激光诱导水体频率上转换的荧光发射

用Nd：YAG的二倍频532 nm激光对几种不同水体的激光诱导荧光(LIF)光谱进行了测量,利用特征光谱荧光标记(SFS)技术指认出水体中溶解有机物(DOM)、叶绿素a(Chl a)及类胡萝卜素等物质的特征光谱带。指出在455 nm波长处具有较大强度的荧光峰是附属色素中抗氧化作用的类胡萝卜素(PPC)的贡献。提出了激光诱导PPC荧光频率上转换发射的动力学模型。