Dynamics of ionic and hydrophobic solutes in water-methanol mixtures of varying composition

We have carried out a series of molecular-dynamics simulations of water-methanol mixtures containing either an ionic or a neutral atomic solute to investigate the effects of composition of the mixture on the diffusion of these solutes. Altogether, we have considered 17 different systems of varying composition ranging from pure water to pure methanol. The diffusion coefficients of ionic solutes are found to show nonideal behavior with variation of composition of the solvent mixture. The extent of nonideality of the solute diffusion is found to be similar to the nonideality that is observed for the diffusion and orientational relaxation of water and methanol molecules in these mixtures and is attributed to the enhanced stability of the hydrogen bonds and formation of interspecies complexes in the mixtures. The neutral solute shows characteristics of hydrophobic solvation and its diffusion decreases monotonically with increase of methanol concentration. The present simulation results are compared with those of experiments wherever available.     

Vibrations of micro-eV energies in nanocrystalline microstructures

The phonon density of states of nanocrystalline bcc Fe and nanocrystalline fcc Ni3Fe were measured by inelastic neutron scattering in two different ranges of energy. As has been reported previously, the nanocrystalline materials showed enhancements in their phonon density of states at energies from 2 to 15 meV, compared to control samples composed of large crystals. The present measurements were extended to energies in the micro-eV range, and showed significant, but smaller, enhancements in the number of modes in the energy range from 5 to 18 microeV. These modes of micro-eV energies provide a long-wavelength limit that bounds the fraction of modes at milli-eV energies originating with the cooperative dynamics of the nanocrystalline microstructure.     

Quantitative evaluation of benzene, toluene, and xylene in the larvae of Drosophila melanogaster by solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry for potential use in toxicological studies

A simple, rapid, and solvent-free method for quantitative determination of benzene, toluene, and Xylene in exposed Drosophila larvae was developed using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled to GC/MS. Larvae fed on standard Drosophila food mixed with benzene, toluene, and Xylene for 48 h were homogenized in Milli-Q water. Extraction of benzene, toluene, and Xylene was performed at 65 degrees C for 30 min on the SPME fiber (silica-fused). Subsequently, the fiber was desorbed in the GC injection port, followed by GC/MS analysis in the selected-ion monitoring mode. An external calibration curve was used for the quantification of benzene, toluene, and Xylene in the exposed organism. Recoveries were in the range of 78-82% (intraday) and 76-81% (interday) in larvae, and 91-96% (intraday) and 87-92% (interday) in the diet. LOD with an S/N of 3:1 and LOQ with an S/N of 10:1 were in the range of 0.01-0.023 and 0.034-0.077 microg/L, respectively. Percent RSD values for benzene, toluene, and Xylene were in the range of 0.50-0.81 (intraday) and 0.89-1.23 (interday) for retention time, and 2.16--3.85 (intraday) and 2.99-4.95 (interday) for peak concentration, showing good repeatability. This method was sensitive enough to quantitate benzene, toluene, and Xylene in small exposed organisms like Drosophila larvae. The SPME/GC/MS method developed may have wider applications in various in vivo toxicological studies.     

Multiple penetrating particles with narrow separation associated with extensive air showers (EAS)

An experiment has been carried out at a vertical depth of 580 m.w.e. at Kolar Gold Fields, to investigate various characteristics of energetic muons (E _mln ⋍ 150 GeV) associated with extensive air showers (EAS). Double parallel penetrating particles with narrow separations (<1m) have an exponential decoherence distribution withe-folding separation of ⋍ 25 cm.     

Multi-C−C/C−N-Coupled Light-Emitting Aliphatic Terpolymers: N−H-Functionalized Fluorophore Monomers and High-Performance Applications

To circumvent costly fluorescent labeling, five nonconventional, multifunctional, intrinsically fluorescent aliphatic terpolymers ( 1 – 5 ) have been synthesized by C−C/C−N-coupled, solution polymerization of two non-emissive monomers with protrusions of fluorophore monomers generated in situ. These scalable terpolymers were suitable for sensing and high-performance exclusion of Cu^II, logic function, and bioimaging. The structures of the terpolymers, in situ attachment of fluorescent monomers, aggregation-induced enhanced emission, bioimaging ability, and super adsorption were investigated by ¹H and ¹³C NMR, EPR, FTIR, X-ray photoelectron, UV/Vis, and atomic absorption spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, solid-state fluorescence, fluorescence imaging, and fluorescence lifetime measurements, as well as by isotherm, kinetics, and thermodynamic studies. The geometries and electronic structures of the fluorophores and the absorption and emission properties of the terpolymers were examined by DFT, time-dependent DFT, and natural transition orbital analyses. For 1 , 2 , and 5 , the limits of detection were determined to be 1.03×10⁻⁷, 1.65×10⁻⁷, and 1.77×10⁻⁷ m , respectively, and the maximum adsorption capacities are 1575.21, 1433.70, and 1472.21 mg g⁻¹, respectively.     

3D zinc(II) coordination polymers built up by triazole and benzene-polycarboxylate anions: Synthesis,crystal structure,thermal and photoluminescence characterization

Two coordination polymers of the formula [Zn₅(tmaH)₄(trz)₂(H₂O)₄] (1) and [Zn₃(bta)(trz)₂(H₂O)₄]·2H₂O (2) [tmaH₃ = benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid/trimesic acid, trzH = 1,2,4-triazole, btaH₄ = benzene-1,2,4,5-tetracarboxylic acid] have been synthesized and structurally characterized by X-ray single crystal diffraction analysis. Both complexes are 3D coordination polymers containing [Zn₄(trz)₂] units connected by benzene-carboxylate anions. In particular, an undulated layer containing 6- and 18-membered rings is outlined in the network of 1. Hydrogen bonds, involving the coordinated and lattice water molecules with carboxylate oxygen atoms, contribute to the stabilization of the networks. Their thermal stability was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. The fluorescence spectrum of 1 features two peaks at 419 and 323 nm, originating from a π–π∗ intraligand transition and LMCT, respectively. For 2 a broad band at 410 nm is assigned solely as a π–π∗ intraligand transition.     

An explicit analytical expression for bed-load layer thickness based on maximum entropy principle

The present study aims to derive an analytical model on bed-load layer thickness in an open channel turbulent flow carrying sediments. Determination of the thickness of the bed-load layer is of utmost importance in the study of bed-load transport as it is required to determine the bed-load transport rate, as well as in the study of suspended load transport as it acts as reference level for the particles in suspension. Apart from the several deterministic approaches available in the literature, the work adopts probabilistic approach based on entropy theory to determine the bed-load layer thickness. The concept of entropy theory developed by Shannon is used and the method of Lagrange multipliers is employed for the maximization of entropy function to find the least biased probability distribution. To calculate the Lagrange multipliers, present in the probabilistic model of dimensionless bed-load layer thickness, two different methodologies are presented. The model of bed-load layer thickness is a function of dimensionless shear stress and also depends on three other parameters which are found to be functions of specific gravity of sediment particle and dimensionless particle diameter from a non-linear regression analysis. The proposed model is validated with wide sets of experimental data available in literature and a good agreement is achieved. Apart from comparison with data, the model is also compared with existing deterministic model and computation of relative percentage error proves the better efficiency of the present model.     

Experimental study of 199Hg spin anti-relaxation coatings

We report on a comparison of spin relaxation rates in a ¹⁹⁹Hg magnetometer using different wall coatings. A compact mercury magnetometer was built for this purpose. Glass cells coated with fluorinated materials show longer spin coherence times than if coated with their hydrogenated homologues. The longest spin relaxation time of the mercury vapor was measured with a fluorinated paraffin wall coating.     

Medium decoupling of dynamics at temperatures ~100 K above glass-transition temperature: a case study with (acetamide + lithium bromide/nitrate) melts

Time-resolved fluorescence Stokes shift and anisotropy measurements using a solvation probe in [0.78CH(3)CONH(2) + 0.22{f LiBr + (1-f) LiNO(3)}] melts reveal a strong decoupling of medium dynamics from viscosity. Interestingly, this decoupling has been found to occur at temperatures ～50-100 K above the glass transition temperatures of the above melt at various anion concentrations (f(LiBr)). The decoupling is reflected via the following fractional viscosity dependence (η) of the measured average solvation and rotation times (<τ(s)> and <τ(r)>, respectively): <τ(x)> ∝ (η∕T)(p) (x being solvation or rotation), with p covering the range, 0.20 < p < 0.70. Although this is very similar to what is known for deeply supercooled liquids, it is very surprising because of the temperature range at which the above decoupling occurs for these molten mixtures. The kinship to the supercooled liquids is further exhibited via p which is always larger for <τ(r)> than for <τ(s)>, indicating a sort of translation-rotation decoupling. Multiple probes have been used in steady state fluorescence measurements to explore the extent of static heterogeneity. Estimated experimental dynamic Stokes shift for coumarin 153 in these mixtures lies in the range, 1000 < Δν(t)/cm(-1) < 1700, and is in semi-quantitative agreement with predictions from our semi-molecular theory. The participation of the fluctuating density modes at various length-scales to the observed solvation times has also been investigated.     

Effects of hydrogen-bond environment on single particle and pair dynamics in liquid water

We have performed molecular dynamics simulations of liquid water at 298 and 258 K to investigate the effects of hydrogen-bond environment on various single-particle and pair dynamical properties of water molecules at ambient and supercooled conditions. The water molecules are modelled by the extended simple point charge (SPC/E) model. We first calculate the distribution of hydrogen-bond environment in liquid water at both temperatures and then investigate how the self-diffusion and orientational relaxation of a single water molecule and also the relative diffusion and relaxation of the hydrogen-bond of a water pair depend on the nature of the hydrogen-bond environment of the tagged molecules. We find that the various dynamical quantities depend significantly on the hydrogen-bond environment, especially at the supercooled temperature. The present study provides a molecular-level insight into the dynamics of liquid water under ambient and supercooled conditions.