Resistance properties of a macroporous silica-based N,N,N′,N′-tetraoctyl-3-oxapentane-1,5-diamide-impregnated polymeric adsorption material against nitric acid, temperature and γ-irradiation

The resistance of a novel silica-based N,N,N′,N′-tetraoctyl-3-oxapentane-1,5-diamide (TODGA) polymeric adsorption material (TODGA/SiO₂-P) against nitric acid, temperature and γ-irradiation had been investigated. The adsorption property of the treated TODGA/SiO₂-P was evaluated by a 3 M HNO₃ solution containing 0.01 M Nd(III). It was found that both 3 and 0.01 M HNO₃ concentrations did not decrease the stability of TODGA/SiO₂-P at 25°C. The quantity of TODGA leaked from TODGA/SiO₂-P was equivalent to its solubility in the corresponding HNO₃ aqueous solution. The effect of 3 M HNO₃ on the leakage of TODGA at 80°C was significantly higher than that in 0.01 M HNO₃ as well as in all cases at 25°C. The amount of Nd(III) adsorbed towards the treated TODGA/SiO₂-P was determined in the range of 0.143–0.148 mmol/g for the HNO₃ concentration effect and 0.142–0.0506 mmol/g for the temperature effect. γ-Irradiation showed a more noticeable destruction effect on TODGA/SiO₂-P. The content of TODGA leaked increased with an increase in the γ-irradiation dose (ID) from 1.06 to 3.72 MGy in terms of the linear equation [TODGA]=794.5ID+84.0. The amount of Nd(III) adsorbed onto the irradiated TODGA/SiO₂-P decreased rapidly from 0.134 to 0.0438 mmol/g, which was lower than 0.153 mmol/g, the adsorption of fresh TODGA/SiO₂-P for Nd(III), according to the equation Q_Nd(III)=−0.0301ID+0.160, showing that a large quantity of TODGA leaked from TODGA/SiO₂-P. The adsorbed amount of Nd(III) decreased obviously in this order: the HNO₃ concentration effect, temperature effect and γ-irradiation.     

Spectrophotometric determination of micro amounts of tetrathionate via its oxidation with permanganate

The reaction conditions of tetrathionate with permanganate were investigated by varying reaction time, temperature and amounts of sulphuric acid and permanganate. Under the optimal conditions for the reaction of tetrathionate with permanganate, both penta- and hexathionate were also oxidised; each one mol of polythionates (S _x O ₆ ^2– x=4, 5 and 6) reacts with (x–1.5) mol of permanganate. The proposed method is based on the reaction of tetrathionate with a given excess amount of permanganate in a sulphuric acid medium and on the spectrophotometric measurement of the iodine as triiodide formed by the oxidation of iodide with the excess of permanganate. This method could be successfully applied to the determinations of tetrathionate (4 × 10^–7 to 2 × 10^–5 M), pentathionate (3 × 10^–7 to 1.43 × 10^–5 M) and hexathionate (2 × 10^–7 to 1.11 × 10^–5 M), and gave a higher sensitivity than any previous methods without solvent extraction.     

Chemical bond and density of states of silver and copper halides based on DV-Xα method

We have calculated the electronic states of AgX and CuX (X = Cl, Br, I) by using the DV-Xα method. The density of states (DOS) and the bond overlap populations (BOP) of AgX and CuX are calculated by assuming the several model clusters with the nearest, second, and third-neighbor atoms. The cluster-size variations of DOS and BOP are discussed from the viewpoint of the chemical bond between the neighboring ions. We found that the BOP of AgI and CuX are larger than those of AgCl and AgBr. This result is consistent with the Phillips ionicity for A ^N B^8-N compounds. Furthermore, we have investigated the variation of the BOP between Ag and I ions along the diffusion path of the mobile Ag ions in the model cluster for α-AgI.     

Spectrophotometric determination of micro amounts of thiosulfate by liberation of thiocyanate from mercury(II) thiocyanate

The proposed determination of thiosulfate is based on the liberation of thiocyanate by the reaction of thiosulfate with mercury(II) thiocyanate and spectrophotometric determination of the thiocyanate with iron(III). The reaction of thiosulfate with mercury(II) thiocyanate is elucidated with reference to a system containing phosphate buffer; the phosphate is shown to participate directly in the reaction, and a balanced chemical equation is given. Optimum conditions are described for the stoichiometric formation of 3 mol of thiocyanate from 1 mol of thiosulfate. The method can be applied to the determination of thiosulfate in the range 3 × 10^?6–1.4 × 10^?4 M (1.7–78.5 μg thiosulfate in 5 ml).     

Electronic structure and covalency in superionic conductors

The electronic states of noble metal halides and alkali halides are calculated by the DVXα cluster method to get more microscopic evidence for the p — d hybridization and the covalency in noble metal halides. It is found that both components of anti-bonding and bonding exist in the diagram of overlap population (DOP) for AgX (X=halogen) and these two components are made up of the 4d band of Ag ion and the p band of halogen ion, which form the p — d hybridization. The covalency of noble metal halides is in the border between that of the fourfold coordinated compounds such as AgI and that of the sixfold coordinated compounds such as AgCl. These calculation results on the covalency are compared with the Phillips's ionicity. Paper presented at the Patras Conference on Solid State Ionics, Patras, Greece, Sept. 14 – 18, 2004.     

Determination of sulfur oxyanions by ion chromatography on a silica ODS column with tetrapropylammonium salt as an ion-pairing reagent

The difficulty in using conventional ion chromatography for the determination of sulfate, thiosulfate, dithionate and polythionates (tri-, tetra-, penta- and hexathionate) in their mixtures, comes mainly from very late elutions of polythionates due to their strong retentions onto a separating column. Rapid and sensitive determination of these sulfur oxyanions has been achieved by ion-pair chromatography using a silica octadecylsilane (ODS) column with mobile phases of 10% or 20% (v/v) acetonitrile in water (pH, 5.0) containing 0.2 mM phthalate and 7 mM tetrapropylammonium salt (TPAOH). The sulfur species separated on the column were monitored with a conductivity detector after passing through a micro membrane suppressor in the H⁺ form. When an acetonitrile-water (10:90, v/v) mobile phase (pH, 5.0) of 0.2 mM phthalate and 7 mM TPAOH was used at a flow-rate of 0.8 ml min⁻¹, sulfate, thiosulfate, dithionate and trithionate were eluted at short retention times of 9.1, 9.7, 11.4 and 15.8 min, respectively; however, the higher polythionates required more than 30 min to elute. When the concentration of acetonitrile in the mobile phase was raised to 20% (v/v), all polythionates of tri- to hexathionate were completely separated from their mixtures within 21 min; in this instance, both sulfate and thiosulfate failed to be resolved due to their close retention times. Good recoveries were obtained for these sulfur oxyanions when added to various hot-spring water samples.