Lithium Insertion Mechanism in Iron-Based Oxyfluorides with Anionic Vacancies Probed by PDF Analysis

The mechanism of lithium insertion that occurs in an iron oxyfluoride sample with a hexagonal–tungsten–bronze (HTB)-type structure was investigated by the pair distribution function. This study reveals that upon lithiation, the HTB framework collapses to yield disordered rutile and rock salt phases followed by a conversion reaction of the fluoride phase toward lithium fluoride and nanometer-sized metallic iron. The occurrence of anionic vacancies in the pristine framework was shown to strongly impact the electrochemical activity, that is, the reversible capacity scales with the content of anionic vacancies. Similar to FeOF-type electrodes, upon de-lithiation, a disordered rutile phase forms, showing that the anionic chemistry dictates the atomic arrangement of the re-oxidized phase. Finally, it was shown that the nanoscaling and structural rearrangement induced by the conversion reaction allow the in situ formation of new electrode materials with enhanced electrochemical properties.     

Efficient solid-phase synthesis of 4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-triazin-6(1H)-ones

A new and easy protocol for the formation of substituted 4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-triazin-6(1H)-ones was developed on solid support. The heterocyclic compounds were formed by nucleophilic reaction of hydrazine on thioamide esters. As cyclization was concomitant with cleavage from the support, substituted 4,5-dihydrotriazinones were obtained in high purity.     

In silico engineering of tailored ink-binding ability at molecular printboards.

Molecular recognition between guest ink molecules and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) cavities at self-assembled monolayers provides a molecular printboard for nanopatterning applications. We recently used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to describe the specificity of ink-printboard binding and here extend the simulations to include charged cyclodextrin hosts, necessary to broaden the chemistry of molecular printboards and bind charged inks such as the ferrocenium cation. Shifting to high pH, or alternatively grafting a charged sidearm onto beta-CD, created three distinct types of anionic beta-CD cavity and we used electronic structure calculations and MD simulations to measure host-guest charge transfer and binding strengths. We find that steric recognition of uncharged organic molecules is retained at the charged printboards, and that improved guest-host electrostatic contacts can strengthen binding of larger inks while penalising small inks, enhancing the level of discrimination. A prudent choice of complementary host-guest shape and charge states thus provides a means of tuning both ink binding strength and specificity at molecular printboards.     

Hydrothermal Synthesis of Mo-Based Oxide Catalysts and Selective Oxidation of Alkanes

Mo-V-M(=Al, Ga, Bi, Sb and Te)–O mixed oxide catalysts were synthesized hydrothermally for the first time, characterized structurally, and tested for ethane and propane oxidation after activation by various ways. These catalysts were black solids of rod-shaped (fiber like) crystals, which had a layer structure in the direction of fiber axis and a high dimensional arrangement of metal octahedra in the cross-section plane. These fresh crystalline materials became active for catalytic oxidation of alkanes after heat-treatment at 600 °C and subsequent grinding in order to increase exposed plane of the cross-section. The resulting catalysts were very active for an oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane with 80% of the ethylene selectivity in the reaction temperature range of 300 to 400 °C and also showed about 50% selectivity to acrylic acid in the propane oxidation. Multi-functional character which derived from the high dimensional structure of the catalysts and mechanism of the selective alkane oxidation were discussed.     

Free-radical pathways in the decomposition of ketones over polycrystalline TiO(2): the role of organoperoxy radicals.

The oxidative decomposition of various ketones (including acetone, 2-butanone, 4-heptanone, cyclopentanone and cyclohexanone) over dehydrated TiO(2) (P25) powder is investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. For the first time, a series of thermally unstable radical intermediates are observed both on the activated and reduced TiO(2) surface, depending on the adopted experimental conditions. These radical intermediates are identified as organoperoxy-based species of general formula ROO(.-) and RCO(3) (.-). They are formed by reaction of photogenerated charge carriers (either trapped electrons or trapped holes) with the adsorbed ketones in the presence of molecular oxygen. The organoperoxy intermediates are thermally unstable and decompose at temperatures in the region of 180-250 K. This work demonstrates that free-radical pathways involving both organoperoxy and superoxide radicals can be responsible for the thermal- and photodecomposition of ketones over polycrystalline TiO(2) (P25).     

Eine verbesserte Auswertungsmethode für die Röntgenkleinwinkelstreuung von Hochpolymeren

Zusammenfassung Die theoretischen und experimentellen Bedingungen für eine verbesserte Auswertung der Röntgenkleinwinkelstreuung von Hochpolymeren werden untersucht. Es wird gezeigt, daß genaue Messungen des Intensitätsverlaufes bei größeren Winkeln die Trennung der Kleinwinkelstreuung in eine reine Grenzflächenstreuung und eine Komponente der Dichteschwankungen innerhalb der Phasen ermöglicht.Diese Trennung erhöht die Genauigkeit der Bestimmung der Invarianten und gestattet die Berechnung der mittleren Durchschußlänge der kristallinen und amorphen Bereiche.Ein Vergleich dieses Längenparameters mit der Langperiode führt bei Annahme einer Lamellenstruktur zu einer Aussage über die Unebenheit der Grenzflächen.Der Absolutwert der Dichtefluktuation innerhalb der Phasen stellt einen zusätzlichen Strukturparameter dar, der besonders stark vom Unordnungsgrad der amorphen Bereiche abhängt.Ein Vergleich der experimentellen Ergebnisse mit Intensitätsverteilungen im Kleinwinkelbereich, die sich aus der Theorie des Parakristalls ergeben, zeigt, daß es nicht möglich ist, diese Theorie mit den Resultaten der Messungen in Einklang zu bringen.

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Summary The theoretical and experimental conditions for an improved method of evaluating the X-ray small-angle scattering of polymers are studied. It is shown that accurate measurements of the intensity distribution at wide angles makes it possible to decompose the small-angle scattering into a component due to the phase boundaries only and a component related to the density fluctuations within the phases.This separation increases the accuracy of the determination of the invariant and permits the calculation of the average length of segments of the crystalline and the amorphous regions.Assuming a lamellar structure, a comparison of this length parameter with the long period can be used to assess the planarity of the boundaries. The absolute value of the density fluctuations within the phases represents a supplementary structural parameter which is largely determined by the degree of disorder in the amorphous regions.A comparison of the experimental results with calculated intensity distributions in the small-angle region based on the theory of the paracrystal shows that it is impossible to bring this theory into agreement with the experimental results.

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Vorgetragen auf der Arbeitssitzung des Fachausschusses Physik der Hochpolymeren in der Frühjahrstagung Berlin 1971 vom 9. bis 13. März des Regionalverbandes Physikalische Gesellschaft zu Berlin.

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Wir danken Herrn Dr.H. Tompa für das Programm zur Berechnung der in Abb. 9 wiedergegebenen Interferenzfunktion, Herrn Prof. Dr.G. Rehage für die Polystyrolpräparate und HerrnJ. P. Pauwels, HerrnJ. Braibant und dem Personal unseres Rechenzentrums für die Mitarbeit.     

Use of chelating resins and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for simultaneous determination of trace and major elements in small volumes of saline water samples

For some saline environments (e.g. deeply percolating groundwater, interstitial water in marine sediments, water sample collected after several steps of fractionation) the volume of water sample available is limited. A technique is presented which enables simultaneous determination of major and trace elements after preconcentration of only 60 mL sample on chelating resins. Chelex-100 and Chelamine were used for the preconcentration of trace elements (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, Sc) and rare earth elements (La, Ce, Nd, Yb) from saline water before their measurement by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Retention of the major elements (Na, Ca, Mg) by the Chelamine resin was lower than by Chelex; this enabled their direct measurement in the solution after passage through the resin column. For trace metal recoveries both resins yield the same mass balance. Only Chelex resin enabled the quantitative recovery of rare earth elements. The major elements, trace metals and rare earth elements cannot be measured after passage through one resin only. The protocol proposes the initial use of Chelamine for measurement of trace and major elements and then passage the same sample through the Chelex resin for determination of the rare earth elements. The detection limit ranged from 1 to 12 pg mL(-1). At concentrations of 1 ng mL(-1) of trace metals and REE spiked in coastal water the precision for 10 replicates was in the range of 0.3-3.4% (RSD). The accuracy of the method was demonstrated by analyzing two standard reference waters, SLRS-3 and CASS-3.     

Simultaneous Determination of Trichothecenes A, B, and D in Maize Food Products by LC–MS–MS

Two new methods of analysis, based on liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, for simultaneous determination of trichothecenes A, B, and D in maize flour and oil have been developed and validated in accordance with European Commission decision 2002/657/EC (recovery, CCα, CCβ, and precision). The trichothecenes were extracted from maize flour by matrix solid-phase dispersion, with recoveries ≥79%, and from maize oil by liquid–liquid extraction, with recoveries ≥78%. Limits of quantitation ranged between 0.03 and 50 μg kg^?1, depending on the electrospray response to each analyte and on the matrix. Monitoring of flour and oil samples with this HPLC–MS–MS method revealed the presence of deoxynivalenol, T-2 toxin, and diacetoxyscirpenol at very low concentrations.