Electrochemical activity of various types of aqueous In(III) species at a mercury electrode

An interpretation framework is presented which provides a straightforward means to characterise the electrochemical reactivity of aqueous ions together with their various hydrolysed counterparts. Our novel approach bypasses the more laborious strategy of solving rigorously, for all relevant species, the complete set of Butler-Volmer equations coupled to diffusion differential equations. Specifically, we consider the spatial variable via a Koutecký-Koryta type of differentiation between nonlabile and labile zones adjacent to the electrode. The theory is illustrated by an assessment of the electrochemical reactivity of aqueous In(III) species based upon proper comparison between relevant time scales of the involved interfacial processes, i.e. diffusion, (de)protonation of inner-sphere water, dissociation/release of H₂O and OH⁻, and electron transfer. The analysis reveals that whilst all In(III) species are labile on the experimental timescale with respect to (de)protonation and (de)hydration, there are large differences in the rates of electron transfer between \( \mathrm{In}{\left({\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\right)}_6^{3+} \) and the various hydroxy species. Specifically, in the case of \( \mathrm{In}{\left({\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\right)}_6^{3+} \), the rate of electron transfer is so slow that it replaces the traditional Eigen rate-limiting water release step in the overall passage from hydrated In³⁺ to its reduced metallic form; in contrast, the In(III) hydroxy species display electrochemically reversible behaviour.

     

Dual-mode recognition of oxalate by protonated azacryptate hosts; conformational response of the guest maximizes pi-stacking interactions

Exceptionally large complexation constants for oxalate encapsulated within azacryptand hosts are partly explained by pi-stacking interactions between C=O and aromatic rings.     

Impact of ligand protonation on eigen-type metal complexation kinetics in aqueous systems

The impact of ligand protonation on metal speciation dynamics is quantitatively described. Starting from the usual situation for metal complex formation reactions in aqueous systems, i.e., exchange of water for the ligand in the inner coordination sphere as the rate-determining step (Eigen mechanism), expressions are derived for the lability of metal complexes with protonated and unprotonated ligand species being involved in formation of the precursor outer-sphere complex. A differentiated approach is developed whereby the contributions from all outer-sphere complexes are included in the rate of complex formation, to an extent weighted by their respective stabilities. The stability of the ion pair type outer-sphere complex is given particular attention, especially for the case of multidentate ligands containing several charged sites. It turns out that in such cases, the effective ligand charge can be considerably different from the formal charge. The lability of Cd(II) complexes with 1,2-diaminoethane-N,N'-diethanoic acid at a microelectrode is reasonably well predicted by the new approach.     

Lability of nanoparticulate metal complexes in electrochemical speciation analysis

Lability concepts are elaborated for metal complexes with soft (3D) and hard (2D) aqueous nanoparticles. In the presence of a non-equilibrium sensor, e.g. a voltammetric electrode, the notion of lability for nanoparticulate metal complexes, M-NP, reflects the ability of the M-NP to maintain equilibrium with the reduced concentration of the electroactive free M²⁺ in its diffusion layer. Since the metal ion binding sites are confined to the NP body, the conventional reaction layer in the form of a layer adjacent to the electrode surface is immaterial. Instead an intraparticulate reaction zone may develop at the particle/medium interface. Thus the chemodynamic features of M-NP complexes should be fundamentally different from those of molecular systems in which the reaction layer is a property of the homogeneous solution (μ?=?(D _M/k _a ^′)^1/2). For molecular complexes, the characteristic timescale of the electrochemical technique is crucial in the lability towards the electrode surface. In contrast, for nanoparticulate complexes it is the dynamics of the exchange of the electroactive metal ion with the surrounding medium that governs the effective lability towards the electrode surface.     

Exploiting catalytic chain transfer polymerization for the synthesis of carboxylated latexes via sulfur‐free RAFT

We present a systematic study of incorporating carboxyl groups into latex particles to enhance colloidal stability and the physical properties of the latex. Statistical copolymers of methacrylic acid and methyl methacrylate) were synthesized via catalytic chain transfer polymerization (CCTP) in emulsion. The vinyl‐terminated oligomers were in turn successfully utilized as chain transfer agents for the formation of diblock and pseudo triblock copolymers via sulfur‐free reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (SF‐RAFT). These copolymers were characterized using ¹H NMR, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), dynamic light scattering (DLS), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), contact angle measurements and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI‐TOF‐MS) techniques. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, E1–E9     

Proton radiography of a laser-driven implosion

Protons accelerated by a picosecond laser pulse have been used to radiograph a 500 microm diameter capsule, imploded with 300 J of laser light in 6 symmetrically incident beams of wavelength 1.054 microm and pulse length 1 ns. Point projection proton backlighting was used to characterize the density gradients at discrete times through the implosion. Asymmetries were diagnosed both during the early and stagnation stages of the implosion. Comparison with analytic scattering theory and simple Monte Carlo simulations were consistent with a 3+/-1 g/cm3 core with diameter 85+/-10 microm. Scaling simulations show that protons>50 MeV are required to diagnose asymmetry in ignition scale conditions.