Bending loss measurement using a fiber cavity ringdown scheme

A novel sensitive technique for the determination of losses in fiber cavities is presented. The method is based on the cavity ringdown scheme implemented in silica-based single-mode fibers. Bending losses of fiber cavities of different lengths have been measured showing all an oscillating behavior with respect to the curvature radius of the fiber as predicted by a theoretical model. The best minimum detectable absorbance per cavity pass achieved by this new method is 1.72×10⁻³ dB within a 10 m-long cavity. This limit suffices well for an accurate determination of optical bending losses even in bend-insensitive fibers. Furthermore, the comparison of the measured bending losses with a theoretical model allows the extraction of different fiber parameters. Good agreement has been found between the experimentally derived parameters and literature data.     

Interactions of xanthines with activated carbon: II. The adsorption equilibrium

In the present work, we have studied the adsorption of xanthine derivatives by activated carbon sorbents in aqueous solutions. The study comprised both kinetic, equilibrium and thermodynamic aspects. The kinetic results were reported in a previous paper; the equilibrium-related results are discussed here. The two types of carbon used exhibit some differences but the equilibrium isotherms obtained are all of the H-3 type in the classification of Giles. This suggests a high affinity of the sorbents for the sorbates. We also found that the overall adsorption process comprises more than one individual adsorption-desorption process of which one leads to the formation of a “monolayer” and the other to the “precipitation” of the sorbate on the sorbent surface (multilayer adsorption); the amount of sorbate adsorbed in monolayer form was seemingly greater in C-A14.     

DEUSS: a perdeuterated poly(oxyethylene)-based resin for improving HRMAS NMR studies of solid-supported molecules

A novel resin called DEUSS (perdeuterated poly(oxyethylene)-based solid support) has been prepared by anionic polymerization of deuterated [D4]ethylene oxide, followed by cross-linking with deuterated epichlorohydrin. DEUSS can be suspended in a wide range of solvents including organic and aqueous solutions, in which it displays a high swelling capacity. As measured by proton HRMAS of the swollen polymer, the signal intensity of the oxyethylene protons is reduced by a factor of 110 relative to the corresponding nondeuterated poly(oxyethylene)poly(oxypropylene) (POEPOP) resin, thus facilitating detailed HRMAS NMR studies of covalently linked molecules. This 1H NMR invisible matrix was used for the solid-phase synthesis of peptides, oligoureas, and a series of amides as well as their characterization by HRMAS NMR spectroscopy. On-bead NMR spectra of high quality and with resolution comparable to that of liquid samples were obtained and readily interpreted. The complete absence of the parasite resin signals will be of great advantage, for example, for the optimization of multistep solid-phase stereoselective reactions, and for the conformational study of resin-bound molecules in a large variety of solvents.     

Magnetic properties of Cu(II) bischelate complexes with 3-imidazoline nitroxides. 1. Anab initio analysis of spin density delocalization channels

Spin density redistribution between the paramagnetic centers Cu²⁺, N-O, and N’-O’ of bischelate complexes CuL₂ of the copper ion with enaminoketone 3-imidazoline nitroxides (L) are investigated using an ab initio RHF (restricted Hartree-Fock) approach. The most important channels of unpaired electron delocalization over the systems of π- and Σ-bonds in such complexes are revealed. The conformation dependence of spin density localized on paramagnetic centers and delocalized due to a distortion of the structure of the environment of the Cu²⁺ ion from square planar to tetrahedral is analyzed and explained. Translated fromZhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 38, No. 5, pp. 840–849, September-October, 1997.     

Improvements on radiochemical method for the determination of Am and Cm in typical waste streams from nuclear power plants

The determination of Am and Cm in typical waste streams from nuclear power plants using anion exchange chromatography has some drawbacks like the contamination by Pu and Po. This improved procedure solves these problems, and it has been applied with success to the analysis of Am and Cm in nuclear waste samples: ion exchange resins, ion exchange resins solidified with cement and evaporator concentrates.     

Preparation des dinitro-1,8 p-menthanes Z et E, et determination de leur stereochimie

A study of the conformations of the Z and E isomers of dinitro-1,8-p-menthane prepared by permanganate oxidation from the diamines, is reported. The configuration of the corresponding Z-diamine was established by the formation of a cyclic azodioxy derivative when a mixture of the diamines was oxidized. The 250 MHz proton NMR spectra were interpreted to reveal the conformations of the E and Z nitro derivatives.     

2-Vinylcyclobutanones by Cycloaddition of Vinylketenes to Simple Olefins

Selected [2+2]-cycloadditions of three alkylvinylketenes 2 to one mono- and seven dialkyl-olefins 3 yielded eleven 2-alkyl-2-vinylcyclobutanones 4 (Tables 1 and 2). Three methods were compared, all involving in situ generation of the ketenes 2 by HCl-elimination from α,β-unsaturated acid chlorides 1 ; the most effective employed a large excess of olefin 3 and a high reaction temperature. The [2+2]-cycloadditions were fully regio- and stereoselective with respect to the olefin 3 , but less so with respect to the ketene 2 , so that - where possible - two stereoisomers of 4 resulted, namely A and B , whose configurations were determined from their ¹H-NMR, spectra, mechanistic considerations and, in one case, 4f , by chemical correlation with a previously known cycloadduct 8 .     

Cyclobut-2-enones from Alkynes via Dichlorocyclobut-2-enones

The [2 + 2]-cycloaddition of dichloroketene (prepared in situ from CCl₃COCl and Zn(Cu)) with three alkynes 1a–c to form 2,3-dimethyl-( 2a ), 2,3-diethyl-( 2b ) and 3-butyl-4,4-dichlorocyclobut-2-enone ( 2c ) proceeds rapidly in the absence of POCl₃. The primary products 2a–c rearrange in situ to the 2,4-dichlorocyclobut-2-enones 3a–c under the influence of ZnCL₂ produced during the reaction. ZnCl₂ converts both 2a and 3a into a 4:6 equilibrium mixture of the two; this isomerization does not occur with LiCl. The Cl-atoms of both 2a , b and 3a , b and of 2c may reductively be removed with Zn(Cu) in AcOH/pyridine to afford the alkylcyclobutenones 4a-c . Without pyridine, this reduction gives ca. 1:1 mixtures of the double-bond isomers 4 and 5 in low yields. The cyclobutenones 2c and 4c may be deuterated by CD₃COOD in the presence of pyridine. D -Atom is introduced into 2c at C(4) and at C(γ), and into 4c at C(2) and C(4). A mechanism for this deuteration is considered, which does not involve a cyclobutadienolate 7 , but rather a cyclobutenolate of type 8 . The reductions of 2 and 3 to 4 might also pass through the same type of intermediate 8 .