Phase-fixed double-group 3-Γ symbols. IV. Real 3-Γ symbols and coupling coefficients for the group hierarchies T* ⊃ C 3 * and T* ⊃ C 2 *

We present sets of real 3- symbols which correspond to explicitly given irreducible matrix representations for the two double group hierarchies T* C ₃ ^* and T* C ₂ ^* . They fit into the formalism exposed in a previous paper [1] on the general theory of 3- symbols and coupling coefficients and illustrate much of the discussion in a subsequent one [2] treating the particular properties of the double groups.     

HPLC Analysis of Cotinine in Urine After SPE with a Cholesterol-Modified Adsorbent

A one-step solid-phase extraction procedure, based on a new silica gel adsorbent modified with cholesterol groups, has been investigated for measurement of cotinine in urine. Cotinine is the main metabolite of nicotine in the human body and is analyzed as a biomarker for assessment of direct or passive exposure to tobacco smoke. New cholesterol-modified adsorbents have been obtained by chemical modification of silica gel of different porosity with cholesterol ligands. Although recovery by this extraction procedure were optimum over a relatively broad range of sample pH (3.1–8.0), analytical conditions such as sample loading, washing and elution conditions, concentration of cotinine to be extracted, and the type of adsorbent used for extraction were found to affect the efficiency of the procedure and had to be controlled for optimum recovery. When these conditions were controlled, recovery of cotinine from spiked human urine was reproducible and depended on compound ionization. Quantitative analysis of cotinine was performed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. Presented at: Conference of the Hyphenation of Liquid Chromatography–Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry and Related Topics, Tuebingen, Germany, March 25–29, 2006.     

Selective Pre-concentration and Solid Phase Extraction of Mercury（Ⅱ） from Natural Water by Silica Gel-loaded （E）-N-（1-Thien-2＇-ylethylidene）-1,2-phenylenediamine Phase

Silica gel-loaded （E）-N-（1-thien-2＇-ylethylidene）-1,2-phenylenediamine （TEPDA） phase was synthesized based on physical adsorption approaches. The stability of a chemically modified TEPDA especially in concentrated hydrochloric acid that was then used as a recycling and preconcentration reagent allowed the further uses of silica gel-loaded immobilized TEPDA phase. The application of this silica gel-loaded phase to sorption of a series of metal ions was performed by using different controlling factors such as the pH of the metal ion solution and the equilibration shaking time by the static technique. This difference was interpreted on the basis of selectivity incorporated in these sulfur containing silica gel-loaded TEPDA phases. Hg（Ⅱ） was found to exhibit the highest affinity towards extraction by these silica gel-loaded TEPDA phases. The pronounced selectivity was also confirmed by the determined distribution coefficients （Kd） of all the metal ions, showing the highest value reported for mercury（Ⅱ） extraction by the silica gel immobilized TEPDA phase. The potential applications of the silica gel immobilized TEPDA phase to selective extraction of mercury（Ⅱ） from aqueous solution were successfully accomplished and preconcentration of low concentration of Hg（Ⅱ） （30 pg·mL^-1） from natural tap water with a preconcentration factor of 200 for Hg（Ⅱ） off-line analysis was conducted by cold vapor atomic absorption analysis.     

Correlation analysis of quantum chemical data and the polarizability effect in H-complexes

The study is concerned with analysis of the energies of formation (E), frequency shifts (Δν) in IR spectra, ionization potentials (IP) of H-complexes, hydrogen bond lengths (r), and spin densities (sd) in H-complexes involving radical cations, obtained from quantum chemical calculations for 20 series of H-complexes. It was for the first time established that the E, IP, r, and sd values and the changes in enthalpy (δH) depend not only on the inductive and resonance effects but also on the polarizability effect of the substituents bound to the donor and acceptor centers in the H-complexes. Interrelations between the polarizability effect and the molecular structure of H-complexes are considered. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 602–608, April, 2006.     

Determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes in air by solid phase micro-extraction/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

The aim of the study was to analyse BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes) in air by solid phase micro-extraction/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (SPME/GC/MS), and this article presents the features of the calibration method proposed. Examples of real-world air analysis are given. Standard gaseous mixtures of BTEX in air were generated by dynamic dilution. SPME sampling was carried out under non-equilibrium conditions using a Carboxen/PDMS fibre exposed for 30 min to standard gas mixtures or to ambient air. The behaviour of the analytical response was studied from 0 to 65 g/m³ by adding increasing amounts of BTEX to the air matrix. Detection limits range from 0.05 to 0.1 g/m³ for benzene, depending on the fibre. Inter-fibre relative standard deviations (reproducibility) are larger than 18%, although the repeatability for an individual fibre is better than 10%. Therefore, each fibre should be considered to be a particular sampling device, and characterised individually depending on the required accuracy. Sampling indoor and outdoor air by SPME appears to be a suitable short-delay diagnostic method for volatile organic compounds, taking advantage of short sampling time and simplicity.     

Self-assembly of amphiphilic hexapyridinium cations at the air/water interface and on HOPG surfaces.

Mono- and multilayers of a novel amphiphilic hexapyridinium cation with six eicosyl chains (3) are spread at the air/water interface as well as on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). On water, the monolayer of 3 is investigated by recording surface pressure/area and surface potential/area isotherms, and by Brewster angle microscopy (BAM). Self-organized tubular micelles with an internal edge-on orientation of molecules form at the air/water interface at low surface pressure whereas multilayers are present at high surface pressure, after a phase transition. Packing motifs suggesting a tubular arrangement of the constituting molecules were gleaned from atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigations of Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) monolayers being transferred on HOPG at different surface pressures. These LB film structures are compared to the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of 3 formed via adsorption from a supersaturated solution, which is studied by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). On HOPG the SAM of 3 consists of nanorods with a highly ordered edge-on packing of the aromatic rings and an arrangement of alkyl chains which resembles the packing of molecules at the air/water interface at low surface pressure. Additional details of the molecular packing were gleaned from single-crystal X-ray structure analysis of the hexapyridinium model compound 2b, which possesses methyl instead of eicosyl residues.     

Phase transformations during electrochemical incorporation of lithium in intermetallic compounds of aluminum

Comparative study of the regularities of the reaction and specific features of phase formation during electrochemical incorporation of lithium from propylene carbonate solutions in intermetallic aluminum-based compounds (CuAl₂, Mg₂Al₃, and NiAl) and pure metals (Al, Cu, Mg, and Ni) was performed. The initial stage of the process was shown to be dissolution of lithium in the solid phase limited by diffusion for all studied substrates. Trace amounts of lithium-containing by-products, were detected in NiAl, Ni, and Cu samples. The subsequent change in the limiting stage is related to the beginning of formation of a new phase: metallic lithium (on Mg₂Al₃, NiAl, Mg, Ni, and Cu) or LiAl (on Al and CuAl₂ cathodes). In the latter case, the solid-phase substitution occurs, which is formally described by the equation: CuAl₂+2Li⁺+2e→2LiAl+Cu. Thus, the specific features of phase formation on the CuAl₂ electrode correspond to the highest (among three intermetallides studied) concentration of Al atoms in the crystal lattice of the compound. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8. pp. 1525–1530, August, 1998.     

Synthesis and properties of liquid crystalline polyurethanes

1,4-Bis(p-hydroxybenzoate)phenylene was prepared using 1,4-bis(trimethylsiloxy)benzene and p-hydroxybenzoyl chloride as starting materials. A series of novel 1,4-bis(p-hydroxyalkoxybenzoate)phenylene were synthesized by reaction of 1,4-bis(p-hydroxybenzoate) phenylene with 3-brompropanol and 4-bromobutanol, respectively. The liquid crystal polyurethanes were prepared by 1,4-bis(p-hydroxyalkoxybenzoate)phenylene with MDI (p-methylene diphenylenediisocyanate) and 2,4-TDI(2,4-toluenediisocyanate), respectively. The thermotropic properties, the melting point (T _m) and the isotropization temperature (T _i) of the synthesized polyurethanes were characterized by DSC, IR and POM. It showed that all of the polyurethane polymers exhibited thermotropic liquid crystalline properties between 144°C and 260°C. The transition temperature (T _m and T _i) decreased with an increase in the length of the methylene spacer. __________ Translated from Journal of Qingdao University of Science and Technology, 2006, 27(1) (in Chinese)     

Thermodynamics of saturated lanthanide nitrate-water systems

The thermodynamic properties of saturated aqueous lanthanide nitrate solutions were determined using recently published critically evaluated solubility and activity data. The variation of the thermodynamic functions and congruent melting points as a function of atomic number are interpreted in terms of changes in inner sphere coordination number in both the solid hexahydrates and in the aquo ions, and in terms of the double-double effect.Inconsistencies in experimental solubility data are generally caused by uncertainties in solid phase composition which is shown to be due to the very small Gibbs energies accompanying transitions from stable to metastable systems differing in the number of hydrating water molecules.Presentation to First International Symposium on Solubility Phenomena, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, August 21–23, 1984.     

Separation of ortho-substituted tetraphenylporphyrins by preparative HPLC

Summary A method for the separation of substituted tetraphenylporphyrins by preparative liquid chromatography is reported. The quality of the columns formed by axial compression of various stationary phases is tested.