Deuterium NMR studies of inositol liquid crystals [1]

Deuterium NMR investigations are presented on members of two new mesogenic series derived from the naturally occurring stereoisomers myo- and scW/o-inositol. Tetraethers of these two series exhibit thermotropic columnar phases in which the columns are apparently formed by stacked hydrogen bonded dimers of these molecules which chemically are vicinal diols. Deuterium NMR measurements were performed on the tetraoctyl homologues 2e (a cis diol) and 3e (a trans diol) of these series. We have investigated mixtures of these diols with small amounts of benzene-d₆ as probe molecules as well as samples of the neat diol compounds deuteriated at their hydroxyl groups. The results obtained show that the mesophases of both compounds are uniaxial and align partially in a magnetic field upon slow cooling from their isotropic liquids. The alignment is with the director parallel to the field direction indicating that the anisotropic magnetic susceptibility of this mesophase is positive. The deuterium quadrupole splitting of the benzene-d₆ probe in both systems is temperature dependent and in the trans diol 3e it even changes sign. This is interpreted in terms of a model in which the benzene-d₆ probe equilibrates rapidly between two (or more) solvation sites with quadrupole splittings of opposite signs The deuterium spectra of the neat deuterium labelled cis diol 2e exhibit two different signals due to the two deuterons which are located at the axial and equatorial hydroxyl groups. This indicates that there is no fast intra- or intermolecular exchange of the hydroxyl hydrogens. The overall quadrupole splittings of the hydroxyl deuterons in this compound are highly reduced compared to their static values and this is interpreted in terms of motional modes involving both reorientation of the hydroxyl deuterons about their C-O axis and overall reorientation of the molecules (or pairs of molecules) around the columnar axes. The corresponding spectra of the neat deuteriated trans diol 3e exhibit a single spectrum indicating that both hydroxyl deuterons in this compound are equivalent, or very nearly so. Within the mesophase region the spectrum undergoes gradual changes due to the increase in the molecular mobility, but the overall motional narrowing is less than in the cis isomer 2e. Apparently due to stronger hydrogen bonding in the trans isomer 3e the precession of the hydroxyl groups is hindered and a fast molecular reorientation is only possible at high temperatures.     

Direct versus resonances mediated F+OH collisions on a new 3A" potential energy surface

A theoretical study of the F(2P) + OH(2Pi) --> HF(1Sigma+) + O(3P) reactive collisions is carried out on a new global potential energy surface (PES) of the ground 3A" adiabatic electronic state. The ab initio calculations are based on multireference configuration interaction calculations, using the aug-cc-pVTZ extended basis sets of Dunning et al. A functional representation of the PES shows no nominal barrier to reaction, contrary to previous results by others. Wave packet and quasiclassical trajectory calculations have been performed for this PES to study the F + OH(v = 0,j) reactive collision. The comparison was performed at fixed and constant values of the total angular momentum from 0 to 110 and relative translational energy up to 0.8 eV. The reaction presents a dynamical barrier, essentially due to the zero-point energy for the bending vibration near the saddle point. This determines two different reaction mechanisms. At energies higher than approximately 0.125 eV the reaction is direct, while below that value it is indirect and mediated by heavy-light-heavy resonances. Such resonances, also found in the simulations of the photodetachment spectrum of the triatomic anion, manifest themselves in the quasiclassical simulations, too, where they are associated to periodic orbits.     

The Diagnosis of Deep-Vein Thrombosis: An Application of Decision Analysis

Using information from the medical literature on the accuracy and complications of diagnostic tests and therapy, a decision-analysis model is developed and used to evaluate alternative diagnostic strategies for deep-vein thrombosis. With the help of an integrated computer-software package, the probability of death or major complication of different diagnostic strategies is computed, and the strategies exhibiting the least morbidity and mortality are identified. The sensitivity of the results to changes in the parameters of the model are explored. The work provides surprising insights into the role of diagnostic tests.     

Optical characterization of photochromic effect

Photochromic powders are powders whose color is sensitive to UV irradiation. When such a powder is exposed to the sunlight or any other UV rays, it becomes darker and then looks back progressively to its initial color. An optical method has been set up in order to quantify these colors variations. We can then quantify the variations in the colorimetric space, and the time response of the coming back phenomenon.     

Oxygen-17 superhyperfine structure of Rh2+ Jahn-Teller ions in MgO

EPR spectra of the Rh²⁺ impurity centers in MgO crystals labelled with oxygen-17 are reported. Measurements were made at 4.2 K and around liquid nitrogen temperature, which correspond to the (quasi) static and fast averaging regimes of the Jahn-Teller effect. In both temperature ranges satellites due to superhyperfine interaction with ¹⁷O nuclei were observed. The results are analyzed in terms of the covalency parameters of the RhO bond.     

Quelques considérations sur la structure électronique du naphtalène

Theπ electronic structure of naphtalene is studied, using a semi-empirical approximation for coulombic and resonance integrals; forH andS (H, hamiltonian;S, overlap) the complete matrices are adopted, together withKohlrausch's nuclear effective charges. A non uniform charge distribution is obtained, with charge accumulation at the tertiary carbons. Bond orders between non neighboring atoms indicate contributions to the fundamental state from other structures besides the classical ones. A comparative study of the obtained interatomic distances is carried. It is shown that [H, S]=0 is not a sufficient condition for the identity of the bond orders for the fundamental state calculated with and without overlap.     

Homogeneous pyrolysis kinetics of ethyl 3-hydroxy-3-methylbutanoate in the gas phase

The pyrolysis kinetics of ethyl 3-hydroxy-3-methylbutanoate have been examined over the temperature range of 286–330°C and pressure range of 29–108 Torr. In a seasoned vessel and in the presence of the free radical inhibitor cyclohexene or toluene the reaction is homogeneous, unimolecular and obeys a first-order rate law. The elimination products are mainly acetone and ethyl acetate, and very small amounts of ethyl 3-butenoate, acetic acid, ethylene and H₂O. The rate coefficient is expressed by the following equation: log k₁(s^–1)=(12.39±0.46)–(174.5±5.2) kJ mol^–1 (2.303RT)^–1. The mechanism appears to proceed via a six-membered cyclic transition state, where polarization of the (CH₃)C(OH)^+...-CH₂COOCH₂CH₃ bond is rate determining.     

Precipitation chromatography fractionation: The effect of the ratio support weight/sample size

The effect of the gravimetric ratio, packing beads/polymer (r), in the chromatographic fractionation of polystyrene has been studied. Anionic polystyrene of bimodal molecular weight distribution was fractionated in three experiments with r values of 25, 50 and 130; a value of about 50 provided the most efficient separation. A GPC self-consistency analysis of this fractionation has been done with very satisfactory results. On the other hand, GPC analysis could not show any significant broadening of the molecular weight distributions of the fractions in going from r values of 130 down to 25.     

Use of slag (GBFS) generated in charcoal blast furnace as raw material in alkali-activated cement

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Alkali-activated cements are low-environmental-impact binders and can be obtained from the alkaline activation of wastes such as slags and fly ashes,...     

Dissolved oxygen amperometric sensor based on layer-by-layer assembly using host-guest supramolecular interactions

The development of a simple, efficient and sensitive sensor for dissolved oxygen is proposed using the host-guest binding of a supramolecular complex at a host surface by combining a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of mono-(6-deoxy-6-mercapto)-β-cyclodextrin (βCDSH), iron (III) tetra-(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)-porphyrin (FeTMPyP) and cyclodextrin-functionalized gold nanoparticles (CDAuNP). The supramolecular modified electrode showed excellent catalytic activity for oxygen reduction. The reduction potential of oxygen was shifted about 200 mV toward less negative values with this modified electrode, presenting a peak current much higher than those observed on a bare gold electrode. Cyclic voltammetry and rotating disk electrode (RDE) experiments indicated that the oxygen reduction reaction involves probably 4-electrons with a rate constant (k_obs) of 7 × 10⁴ mol⁻¹ L s⁻¹. A linear response range from 0.2 up to 6.5 mg L⁻¹, with a sensitivity of 5.5 μA L mg⁻¹ (or 77.5 μA cm⁻² L mg⁻¹) and a detection limit of 0.02 mg L⁻¹ was obtained with this sensor. The repeatability of the proposed sensor, evaluated in terms of relative standard deviation was 3.0% for 10 measurements of a solution of 6.5 mg L⁻¹ oxygen.