Prehistoric hand stencils at Fern Cave, North Queensland (Australia): environmental and chronological implications of Raman spectroscopy and FT-IR imaging results

Raman spectroscopy and FT-IR imaging analyses of cave wall pigment samples from north Queensland (Australia) indicate that some hand stencils were undertaken during a dry environmental phase indicating late Holocene age. Other, earlier painting episodes also took place during dry environmental periods of the terminal Pleistocene and/or early Holocene. These results represent a rare opportunity to attain chronological information for rock art in conditions where insufficient carbon is present for radiocarbon dating.

Attenuated total reflection-FT-IR spectroscopic imaging of protein crystallization

Protein crystallization is of strategic and commercial relevance in the post-genomic era because of its pivotal role in structural proteomics projects. Although protein structures are crucial for understanding the function of proteins and to the success of rational drug design and other biotechnology applications, obtaining high quality crystals is a major bottleneck to progress. The major means of obtaining crystals is by massive-scale screening of a target protein solution with numerous crystallizing agents. However, when crystals appear in these screens, one cannot easily know if they are crystals of protein, salt, or any other molecule that happens to be present in the trials. We present here a method based on Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR)-FT-IR imaging that reliably identifies protein crystals through a combination of chemical specificity and the visualizing capability of this approach, thus solving a major hurdle in protein crystallization. ATR-FT-IR imaging was successfully applied to study the crystallization of thaumatin and lysozyme in a high-throughput manner, simultaneously from six different solutions. This approach is fast as it studies protein crystallization in situ and provides an opportunity to examine many different samples under a range of conditions.

An in situ high pressure FT-IR study of CO2/H2 interactions with model ZnO/SiO2, Cu/SiO2 and Cu/ZnO/SiO2 methanol synthesis catalysts

In situ FT-IR spectroscopy allows the methanol synthesis reaction to be investigated under actual industrial conditions of 503 K and 10 MPa. On Cu/SiO2 catalyst formate species were initially formed which were subsequently hydrogenated to methanol. During the reaction a steady state concentration of formate species persisted on the copper. Additionally, a small quantity of gaseous methane was produced. In contrast, the reaction of CO2 and H2 on ZnO/SiO2 catalyst only resulted in the formation of zinc formate species: no methanol was detected. The interaction of CO2 and H2 with Cu/ZnO/SiO2 catalyst gave formate species on both copper and zinc oxide. Methanol was again formed by the hydrogenation of copper formate species. Steady-state concentrations of copper formate existed under actual industrial reaction conditions, and copper formate is the pivotal intermediate for methanol synthesis. Collation of these results with previous data on copper-based methanol synthesis catalysts allowed the formulation of a reaction mechanism

Two-Dimensional Correlation Analysis of Temperature-Dependent FT-IR Spectra of Oleic Acid

In the present study, variable temperature FT-IR spectroscopic investigations were used to characterize the spectral changes in oleic acid during heating oleic acid in the temperature range from -30 degrees;C to 22 degrees C. In order to extract more information about the spectral variations taking place during the phase transition process, 2D correlation spectroscopy (2DCOS) was employed for the stretching (C?O) and rocking (CH2) band of oleic acid. However, the interpretation of these spectral variations in the FT-IR spectra is not straightforward, because the absorption bands are heavily overlapped and change due to two processes: recrystallization of the ?-phase and melting of the oleic acid. Furthermore, the solid phase transition from the ?- to the a-phase was also observed between -4 degrees C and -2 degrees C. Thus, for a more detailed 2DCOS analysis, we have split up the spectral data set in the subsets recorded between -30 degrees C to -16 degrees C, -16 degrees C to 10 degrees C, and 10 degrees C to 22 degrees C. In the corresponding synchronous and asynchronous 2D correlation plots, absorption bands that are characteristic of the crystalline and amorphous regions of oleic acid were separated.

用NMR、FT-IR、DSC和AFM的方法研究PP-b-PE的结构与性能

聚丙烯是一种优异的高分子材料，但其低温抗冲击性能欠佳，因而限制了其应用范围。采用PP与PE嵌段共聚来改善PP的抗冲击性能是世界上目前行之有效的方法，因而引起人们的重视。由于聚丙烯嵌段共聚物（PP-b-PE）是由多组分组成的复杂体系，对其组成和链的结构仍不十分清楚。因此，本工作选取国外（6组）和国内（5组）共计11组PP-b-PE样品，分别对其结构、性能及其影响因素进行了研究，为实际应用提供了依据。为了保证能将PP-b-PE中的橡胶成分抽提出来，先将PP-b-PE样品用二甲苯溶解，之后加入甲醇沉淀、过滤、干燥，最后用正庚烷抽提，使得PP-b-PE样品中正庚烷的不可溶物与可溶物完全分离。其中，可溶物即为橡胶，不可溶物为塑料。再利用高温核磁共振谱仪（NMR）、示差扫描量热仪（DSC）和傅立汗卜变换红外谱仪（FT-IR）等先进的分析技术手段进行结构分析，并用原子力显微镜（AFM）观察生产过程中样品的形貌。实验和分析结果表明：在正庚烷可溶物中含有低熔点的聚丙烯和嵌段长度不同且能结晶的聚乙烯；并且还含有属于乙丙无规共聚物橡胶部分的n值小于4的（-CH2-）n结构，以及嵌有结晶性的丙烯和乙烯链节。正庚烷的不可溶物主要为聚丙烯，及少量聚乙烯。对于不同物性的PP-b-PE而言，正庚烷不可溶物决定了其刚性，正庚烷可溶物决定了其韧性，并由其粘度比决定了橡胶在聚丙烯中的分布情况。用AFM来研究PP-b-PE中的橡胶颗粒的分布情况是非常好的分析方法。PP-b-PE样品中橡胶的含量及其组成成分将对PP-b-PE的性能产生很大的影响。国内用浆液法生产的PP-b-PE样品中橡胶含量相对于用液一气相法和气相法生产的要少，但在其正庚烷不可溶物中含有较多的乙烯。从而可以用控制乙烯的含量来改善其抗冲击性能，这是浆液法与液一气相法和气相法的最大区别。液一气相法和气相法生产的PP-b-PE样品中的正庚烷可溶物的含量和结构十分接近。结果表明，本文采用多种不同的先进的分析方法和实验手段对PP-b-PE的结构与性能的研究是一条有效可行的实验途径。

Adsorption and reaction of thiophene and H2S on Mo2C/Al2O3 catalyst studied by in situ FT-IR spectroscopy

The reactions of both thiophene and H2S onMo(2)C/Al2O3 catalyst have been studied by in situ FT-IR spectroscopy. CO adsorption was used to probe the surface sites of Mo2C/Al2O3 catalyst under the interaction and reaction of thiophene and H2S. When the fresh Mo2C/Al2O3 catalyst is treated with a thiophene/H-2 mixture above 473 K, hydrogenated species exhibiting IR bands in the regions 2800-3000 cm(-1) are produced on the surface, indicating that thiophene reacts with the fresh carbide catalyst at relatively low temperatures. IR spectra of adsorbed CO on fresh Mo2C/Al2O3 pretreated by thiophene/H-2 at different temperatures clearly reveal the gradual sulfidation of the carbide catalyst at temperatures higher than 473 K, while H2S/H-2 can sulfide the Mo2C/Al2O3 catalyst surface readily at room temperature (RT). The sulfidation of the carbide surface by the reaction with thiophene or H2S maybe the major cause of the deactivation of carbide catalysts in hydrotreating reactions. The surface of the sulfided carbide catalyst can be only partially regenerated by a recarburization using CH4/H-2 at 1033 K. When the catalyst is first oxidized and then recarburized, the carbide surface can be completely reproduced.

In situ FT-IR spectroscopic studies of CO adsorption on fresh Mo2C/Al2O3 catalyst

The surface sites of supported molybdenum carbide catalyst derived from different synthesis stages have been studied by in situ FT-IR spectroscopy using CO as the probe molecule. Adsorbed CO on the reduced passivated Mo2C/Al2O3 catalyst gives a main band at 2180 cm(-1), which can be assigned to linearly adsorbed CO on Mo4+ sites. The IR results show that the surface of reduced passivated sample is dominated by molybdenum oxycarbide. However, a characteristic IR band at 2054 cm-1 was observed for the adsorbed CO on MoO3/Al2O3 carburized with CH4/H-2 mixture at 1033 K (fresh Mo2C/Al2O3), which can be assigned to linearly adsorbed CO on Modelta+ (0 < delta < 2) sites Of Mo2C/Al2O3, Unlike adsorbed CO on reduced passivated Mo2C/Al2O3 catalyst, the IR spectra of adsorbed CO on fresh Mo2C/Al2O3 shows similarity to that on some of the group VIII metals (such as Pt and Pd), suggesting that fresh carbide resembles noble metals. To study the stability Of Mo2C catalyst during H-2 treatment and find proper conditions to remove the deposited carbon species, H-2 treatment of fresh Mo2C/Al2O3 catalyst at different temperatures was conducted. Partial amounts of carbon atoms in Mo2C along with some surface-deposited carbon species can be removed by the H, treatment even at 450 K. Both the surface-deposited carbon species and carbon atoms in carbide can be extensively removed at temperatures above 873 K.

In-situ microscopic FT-IR spectroelectrochemical investigation of polythiophene film modified electrode

A polythiophene film was electrochemically deposited on a Pt micro-plate electrode and investigated by cyclic voltammetry and in-situ reflection microscopic FTIR spectroscopy. The FTIR analysis showed that the electropolymerization of thiophene on the Pt surface was affected Lv the surface adsorption processes of thiophene molecules. Two adsorption modes were identified. Two structure models of the polythiophene chain were observed simultaneously. It was proposed that the good conductibility of the polythiophene film was originated from a co-vibratory equilibrium of the link part of model I and model II.

梳状高分子固体电解质共混体系的FT-IR研究

用傅立叶变换红外光谱对乙烯基甲醚/交替马来酸酐共聚物多缩乙二醇酯体系(CBP和CBPS单离子体系)和聚氧化乙烯共混物及其盐复合物的结构和相容性进行了研究，对主要红外光谱峰作了归属。结果表明，CBP与PEO、CBP、PEO和LiClO4分子间作用力较弱，易出现相分离，温度变化对CBP/PEO的相容性无影响，只影响PEO的结晶，加入LiClO4抑制了PEO的结晶。在CBPS/PE共混体系中存在着强的离子—偶极相互作用，改善了相容性，得到了热力学相容体系。共混比影响离子—偶极键浓度，对键强影响不大，此外还有弱的偶极—偶极相互作用存在

苯乙烯-丁二烯-苯乙烯/聚乙烯基甲基醚共混体系相容性的FT-IR及DSC研究

嵌段高聚物、均聚物共混体系相容性是近年来研究的热点。本工作以光学显微镜、DSC、FT-IR为手段,研究了三嵌段高聚物苯乙烯-丁二烯-苯乙烯(SBS);SBS-48、SBS-30,SBS-28与聚乙烯基甲基醚共混体系的相容性。DSC结果表明,随SBS中PS含量的升高,体系相容性变好,PS段分子量增大,也有助于体系相容。FT-IR结果表明PVME中COCH_3在1100cm~(-1)附近呈现的双峰的相对强度对体系的相容性十分敏感,而由于苯环C—H振动产生的698cm~(-1)峰位却不象PS/PVME体系那样随相容性的改变而有显著的改变。总而言之,嵌段高聚物SBS/均聚物PVME共混体系中,体系的相容性依赖于嵌段高聚物在体系中的组份含量及嵌段高聚物中PS的重量百分含量,PS段分子量的大小对体系相容性也有影响。