Preparation and Characterization of Modified Cellulose Adsorbents with High Surface Area and High Adsorption Affinity for Hg(II)

Cellulose was modified via chlorination using phosphorous oxychloride followed by functionalization with amine and thiol moieties. The obtained modified cellulose samples were investigated by means of FTIR, TGA, TEM, and nitrogen-adsorption surface area (BET). The BET measurements showed a remarkable increase in the surface area of Cell-N-S (477.7 m²/g) and Cell-N (706 m²/g). The resins gave an uptake capacities of 38 and 7.2mmol/g for Cell-N-S and Cell-N, respectively toward Hg(II) from its solutions. These values are considered much better compared with other reported resins. Regeneration of the resins was achieved effectively using acidified thiourea.     

Conformation of simple aromatic molecules

The conformation of five aromatic molecules were calculated using the atom-atom potentials method. The deformations of valency angles were not considered, and the conformations of some molecules were determined solely by the minimum interaction energy between non-bounded pairs of atoms. In case of molecules having π-bonds, the geometry of the isolated molecule was determined by the balance between the π-electron and the non-bonded energies. A comparison is made between the structure of molecules in the crystal form and the structure of the free molecules determined by conformational analysis. For terphenyl molecule which has different structures in the different phases, a calculation of the structure of molecule in crystal from was done theoretically using lattice energy minimization. Good agreement was found between structures obtained theoretically and experimentally.     

Influence of Cyclodextrins on the Kinetics of Oxidation of Amino Acids and BSA by Hydrazyl Radicals

The kinetics of oxidation of amino acids (Arg, His, Lys, Phe, Thr and Tyr), a dipeptide (Gly-His), and BSA (bovine serum albumin) by two persistent water soluble free radicals of the hydrazyl type has been studied.The rate decreases in the order Arg>Lys>Tyr>Thr>HisBSAPheGly-His with bothfree radicals. Addition to the reaction mixture of - and -cyclodextrin decreases the oxidation rate, probably due to amino acidencapsulation in the cyclodextrin cavity. -Cyclodextrin protects more efficiently against oxidation than -cyclodextrin.     

Spectroscopic,thermal and toxicity studies of some 2-amino — 3- cyano — 1, 5 -diphenylpyrrole containing Schiff bases copper (II) complexes

Two novel Schiff base ligands of 2-amino-3-cyano-1,5-diphenylpyrrole and salicylaldehyde (HL¹) or 2- hydroxy1-naphthylaldehyde (HL²) and their copper(II) complexes have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, spectral (UV-Vis, IR, EPR, Mass (for ligands)), thermal (DTA-TGA) methods, magnetic and conductance measurements. IR results demonstrate the bidentate binding of the Schiff base ligands involving azomethine nitrogen, phenolic or naphtholic oxygen and suggest the presence of HL² and complexes (1, 2, 4 and 8) in enolimine-ketonamine tautomeric forms in the solid state. The EPR spectral data of complexes (2, 5, 6) show that the metal — ligand bonds have considerable covalent character. The thermal studies show that complexes (1, 2, 4 and 8) that are present in enolimine-ketonamine tautomeric forms exhibit lower thermal stability. The effect of synthesized ligands (HL¹, HL²) and complexes (1, 5) were tested on the mortality of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and Steinernema carpocapsae). The study shows that the mortality of the nematodes increased with increasing concentrations of copper(II) ion, ligands and complexes. Copper(II) ion was the most toxic for EPN.      

The microscopic investigation of structures of moving flux lines by neutron and muon techniques

We have used a variety of microscopic techniques to reveal the structure and motion of flux line arrangements, when the flux lines in low T _c type II superconductors are caused to move by a transport current. Using small-angle neutron scattering by the flux line lattice (FLL), we are able to demonstrate directly the alignment by motion of the nearest-neighbor FLL direction. This tends to be parallel to the direction of flux line motion, as had been suspected from two-dimensional simulations. We also see the destruction of the ordered FLL by plastic flow and the bending of flux lines. Another technique that our collaboration has employed is the direct measurement of flux line motion, using the ultra-high-resolution spectroscopy of the neutron spin-echo technique to observe the energy change of neutrons diffracted by moving flux lines. The muon spin rotation (μSR) technique gives the distribution of values of magnetic field within the FLL. We have recently succeeded in performing μSR measurements while the FLL is moving. Such measurements give complementary information about the local speed and orientation of the FLL motion. We conclude by discussing the possible application of this technique to thin film superconductors.