Electrochemical reduction of 4-methyl-4-(trichloromethyl)cyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-one

The properties of 4-methyl-4-(trichloromethyl)cyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-one which contains the trichloromethyl substituent at a quaternary carbon atom have been studied by cyclic voltammetry, rotating disk electrode voltammetry, and preparative electrolysis. Reductive dehalogenation involves initial two-electron reductive elimination of one of the geminal chlorine atoms followed by consecutive addition of proton, simultaneous elimination of the two residual halogen atoms to form carbene, and rearrangement of cyclohexadienone into the corresponding 4-methylcyclohepta-2,4,6-trien-1-one.     

Parametric excitation of shear waves in soft solids

One of the possible mechanisms that may underlie ultrasound-induced damage of soft solids is discussed. The model of three-wave interaction in a solid is used to consider shear wave generation by a longitudinal sound wave in a solid with a small shear modulus. Numerical estimates are obtained for the excitation threshold of the shear wave in biological tissues. Since the wavelength of ultrasound-generated shear waves is small, the shear stresses may be sufficient to destroy the structure of biological tissue. Results of model experiments are presented.     

Progress and problems in the application of focused ultrasound for blood-brain barrier disruption

Advances in neuroscience have resulted in the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic agents for potential use in the central nervous system (CNS). However, the ability to deliver the majority of these agents to the brain is limited by the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a specialized structure of the blood vessel wall that hampers transport and diffusion from the blood to the brain. Many CNS disorders could be treated with drugs, enzymes, genes, or large-molecule biotechnological products such as recombinant proteins, if they could cross the BBB. This article reviews the problems of the BBB presence in treating the vast majority of CNS diseases and the efforts to circumvent the BBB through the design of new drugs and the development of more sophisticated delivery methods. Recent advances in the development of noninvasive, targeted drug delivery by MRI-guided ultrasound-induced BBB disruption are also summarized.     

Corrosion–Electrochemical Behavior of Chromium Deposits Obtained from Sulfuric Acid Solutions Containing Oxalates

The corrosion–electrochemical behavior of chromium electrodeposits, which are formed in sulfuric acid solutions of Cr(III) containing oxalates, is studied by taking steady-state polarization measurements in a 0.5 M H₂SO₄ solution. No region of the metal's active dissolution is observed for such coatings, and the open-circuit potential is localized in the passivity region, i.e. it is substantially displaced in the positive direction as compared with that for metallurgic chromium or the coatings deposited from standard chromium-plating electrolytes. According to XPS data, the surface layer of the passive metal a few nanometers thick includes oxide compounds of chromium and also carbides formed during the coating electrodeposition. Specific features of the corrosion–electrochemical behavior of the deposits are attributed to the presence of carbide compounds of chromium in them, with the compounds playing the role of a cathodic alloying agent.     

Observation of Species of Intermediate Oxidation Degrees, Formed during Anodic Dissolution of Chromium, by the Rotating Ring–Disk Electrode Method

The possibilities and limitations of the RRDE method in recording and identifying intermediate and target products of chromium dissolution in sulfuric acid solutions of pH 0.3–2 are analyzed on the basis of own and literature data. From the experimental data, partial currents of chromium dissolution to Cr(II) ions in the region of active dissolution of chromium and its transition into a passive state are computed. The Cr(III) ions can be discovered through the reaction of their reduction on an Hg(Au) ring electrode only at pH 1.8. The current efficiency of reactions that lead to the formation of Cr(II) and Cr(III) ions near the anodic-dissolution peak is other than 100%. Assumptions as to the causes of this effect are made. In the solutions studied, Cr(VI) ions are recorded with a 100-% current efficiency on a gold ring electrode in a transpassive region of the chromium disk potentials.     

Composition of Chemisorption Layers Forming on a Chromium Electrode in Sulfuric Acid Solutions of Formaldehyde and Formic,Oxalic, and Glyoxylic Acids

Surface layers that form on a chromium electrode after its contact with sulfuric acid solutions of formaldehyde, formic, oxalic, and glyoxylic acids at an open-circuit potential and in conditions of cathodic polarization at a potential of ?1.05 ± 0.10 V (NHE) are examined by an x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy method. The structure of the Cls line, which characterizes the binding energy of electrons of that level with the nucleus in products of interaction of said organic compounds with metal, is analyzed in detail. It is established that chemisorption products include substances with reduced oxygen-containing functional groups and hydrocarbon fragments. The degree of carbonation of chemisorption products, whose appearance is probably connected with electrocatalytic reduction and processes of polymerization of organic substances, is given an estimate.     

Reduction of Triple-Charged Chromium Ions on Indium Cathode in Alkaline Sulfate Solutions

The problem of how the surface coverage of an indium electrode with chromium adatoms formed during the discharge of Cr(III) ions affects electrolytic evolution of hydrogen in alkaline solutions is studied using linear and cyclic voltametry. The method used permits stating that, in alkalinized media, the chromium deposition abruptly decelerates due to the formation of a hydroxide film on the electrode surface. Based on the results obtained, it is assumed that this film consists of mixed Cr(III)- and Cr(II)-containing hydroxo compounds (of the chromite type) and coadsorbed Cr_n clusters formed in the course of electrolysis.     

Elucidation of the chemical state of phosphorus and boron in crystallographically amorphous nickel electroplates

Using the valence-to-core version of X-ray emission spectroscopy (valence-to-core XES) together with X-ray diffraction analysis, the structure and the composition of nickel coatings deposited from solutions containing hypophosphite ions or dimethylaminoborane (DMAB) are studied. The diffraction patterns of prepared deposits are characterized by the presence of a wide “halo”. Annealing of crystallographically amorphous deposits at temperatures of 500°C and higher transforms these haloes into the spectra corresponding to metal nickel and its phosphides or borides present in the crystallized deposits. A result of fundamental importance obtained in the simultaneously conducted examination of the same deposits by the valence-to-core XES method is that both the binding energy and the intensities of Kβ satellite spectral lines of annealed samples remain unchanged as compared with original samples. Based on this comparison, it is concluded that phosphide and boride nickel compounds were already formed in the course of electrodeposition, whereas the thermal treatment of deposits (crystallization) leads only to aggregation of the metal and metal-metalloid nanoparticles.     

Reduction of Trivalent Chromium Ions on Stationary Mercury Electrode in Concentrated LiCl Solutions

The effect of supporting-electrolyte (LiCl) concentration on the first stage Cr(III) + e Cr(II) of Cr(III) reduction on a stationary mercury electrode is studied by linear voltammetry. It is found that an increase in the LiCl molar concentration m from 0.4 to 7 weakly affects the position of the cathodic current peak potential E _P1 corresponding to this process. In the mentioned concentration range, [Cr(H₂O)_{6 – n} Cl _n ]^{3 – n} (0 n < 3) ions are preferentially reduced. The further increase in m up to 19.1 results in a substantial positive shift of E _P1, which is associated with the formation (upon passing the complete hydration limit) of the [Cr(H₂O)₃Cl₃] (n = 3) complex, which is followed by its reduction.