Voltammetric study of the sodium ion transfer across micro-water/1,2-dichloroethane interface facilitated by terminal-vinyl liquid crystal crown ether

Sodium ion transfer across micro-water/1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) interface facilitated by a novel ionophore, terminal-vinyl liquid crystal crown ether (LCCE) was studied by cyclic voltammetry. LCCEs have potential applications because of their physicochemical properties and the utilization of crown ethers as selective ionophoric units in other functionalized compounds are interesting. Host-guest-type behavior for such compounds in the liquid-crystalline state is studied. The experimental results suggest that the transfer of the sodium ion facilitated by LCCE was controlled by diffusion of LCCE from bulk solution of DCE to the interface. The diffusion coefficient of LCCE in DCE was calculated to be equal to (3.62 +/- 0.20) x 10(-6) cm(2)/s. Steady-state voltammograms are due to sodium ion transfer facilitated by the formation of 1: 1 metal (M)-LCCE complex at the interface and the mechanism tends to be transfer by interfacial complexation or dissociation (TIC or TID). The stability constant of the complex formed was determined to be log beta(o) = 5.5 in DCE phase. The influence of parameters such as concentration of sodium ion and concentration of LCCE on the sodium ion transfer was investigated.

Hydrothermal synthesis and X-ray single crystal structure of bimetallic cluster complex [{Co(phen)(2)}(2)V4O12]center dot H2O

A new bimetallic cluster complex with the formula [{Co(phen)(2)}(2)V4O12](H2O)-H-. was synthesized from the hydrothermal reaction of V2O5, H2C2O4, Co(NO3)(2), 1,10-phenanthroline (phen), (C4H9)(4)NOH and water. The compound crystallizes in an orthorhombic system with space group Pbcn and unit cell parameters a = 19.106(3) Angstrom, b = 15.250(3) Angstrom, c = 16.321(2) Angstrom, V = 4755.4(13) Angstrom(3), Z = 4 and R = 0.0318. The bimetallic cluster complex [{Co(phen)(2)}(2)V4O12](H2O)-H-. is composed of a discrete V4O124- cluster eovalently attached to two [Co(phen)(2)](2+) fragments and the discrete hexanuclear bimetallic clusters of [{Co(phen)(2)}(V4O12)-V-2](H2O)-H-. are further extended into interesting three-dimensional supermolecular arrays via pi-pi stacking interactions of phen groups. Other characterizations by elemental analysis, IR, and thermal analysis are also described.

STUDIES ON THE SYNTHETIC, STRUCTURAL, ELECTRICAL, AND MAGNETIC-PROPERTIES OF THE NEW LAYERED OXIDES LN(2)MCO(2)O(7) (LN=SM, GD, M=SR, BA)

Three new oxides Ln(2)MCo(2)O(7) (Ln = Sm, Gd; M = Sr, Ba) have been synthesized in solid state reaction method. The powder X-ray diffraction spectra show that they are all isostructural with Sr3Ti2O7. The electrical resistivities in the temperature range 300-1100 K show that they are all semiconductors, and a transition to metals is observed at 1053, 1053, and 573 K for Sm2SrCo2O7, Gd2SrCo2O7, and Sm2BaCo2O7, respectively. The magnetic suspectivities of Gd2SrCo2O7 in the temperature range 300-673 K fit the Curie-Weiss law well. A plateau is observed in the curves of Sm(2)MCo(2)O(7) (M = Sr, Ba) which is attributed to the configuration state change of Co(III) from low spin to high spin. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.

Two-electron-one-photon M1 and E2 transitions between the states of the 2p(3) and 2s(2)2p odd configurations for B-like ions with 18 <= Z <= 92

Two-electron-one-photon (TEOP) M1 and E2 transition energies, line strengths and transition probabilities between the states of the 2p(3) and 2s(2)2p odd configurations for B-like ions with 18 <= Z <= 92 have been calculated using the GRASP2K package based on the multiconfiguration Dirac-Hartree-Fock (MCDHF) method. Employing active-space techniques to expand the configuration list, we have systematically considered the valence, core-valence and core-core electron correlation effects. Breit interaction and quantum electrodynamical (QED) effects were also included to correct atomic state wavefunctions and the corresponding energies. Influences of electron correlation, Breit interaction and QED effects on transition energies and line strengths of the TEOP M1 and E2 transitions were analysed in detail. The present results were also compared with other theoretical and experimental values.

Effect of the nucleating agent 1,3 : 2,4-di(3,4-dimethylbenzylidene) sorbitol on the gamma phase content of propylene/ethylene copolymer

The influence of the concentration of a nucleating agent (NA), namely 1,3:2,4-di(3,4-dimethylbenzylidene) sorbitol (DMDBS), on the gamma phase content in a propylene/ethylene copolymer was investigated by means of Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Wide-Angle X-ray Diffraction (WAXD), Small- Angle X-ray Scatter (SAXS) and Polarized Optical Microscopy (POM).

The nature of the interaction between polyaniline and 2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole in electrochemical redox processes

The interaction between polyaniline (PAn) and 2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole (DMcT) was investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry and UV-visible spectroscopy. The results show that the polymerization-depolymerization reaction of DMcT or its dilithium salt Li(2)DMcT is a kinetically quasi-reversible process. PAn exhibits very weak electrochemical activity in neutral propylene carbonate. After doping with protonic acid, such as hydrochloric acid or maleic acid etc., however, it shows an extensively enhanced electroactivity. For the complex system, PAn-DMcT or PAn-Li(2)DMcT, polyaniline has no catalytic activity for the electrochemical polymerization-depolymerization reaction of DMcT or DMcT(2-). Instead, the enhancement of the electrochemical redox activity of PAn-DMcT system compared with that of PAn, DMcT, Li(2)DMcT, and PAn-Li(2)DMcT comes from the protonic doping of PAn by DMcT.

Up-conversion spectrum properties of the oxy-fluoride glass co-doped with Er3+ and Yb3+

Up-conversion of 45PbF(2)-45GeO(2)-10WO(3) oxy-fluoride glasses co-doped with Yb3+ and Er3+ ions were prepared by fusion method through melting at 1223 K and then annealing at 653 K for 4 h. Transmittance of the undoped host glass was beyond 73% in a range of 0.6-2.5 mu m and the co-doped glasses still provided good transmittance beyond 50%. Refractive indices of the host and co-doped glasses were 1.517 and 1.650, respectively. Blue, green and red fluorescence spectra were observed in a range of 400-700 nm under 980 nm diode laser excitation. Up-conversion spectra at about 410, 518, 530and 650 nm were assigned to the 4f electron transitions of H-2(9/2) -> I-4(15)/(2), H-2(15/2) -> I-4(15/2) S-4(3/2) -> I-4(15/2) and F-4(9/2) -> I-4(15/2) of Er3+ ion, respectively. The mechanism of energy transfer between Yb3+ and Er3+ ions in the glass was analyzed. Raman shift shows the non-radiative relaxation of the glass sample is low.

Investigation on nonradiative decay of the (Er3+I13/2)-I-4 -> I-4(15/2) transition in different tellurite glass matrix

Three kinds of Er3+-doped tellurite glasses with different hydroxyl groups are prepared by the conventional melt-quenching method. Infrared spectra are measured to estimate the exact content of OH- groups in samples. The maximum phonon energy in glasses are obtained by measuring the Raman scattering spectra. The strength parameters Omega(t) (t = 2, 4, 6) for all the samples are calculated and compared. The nonradiative decay rate of the Er3+ I-4(13/2) -> I-4(15/2) transition are calculated for the glass samples with different phonon energy and OH- group contents. Finally, the effect of OH- groups on fluorescence decay rate of Er3+ is analysed, the constant KOH-Er Of TWN, TZPL and TZL glasses are calculated to be 9.2 x 10(-19) cm(4)s(-1), 5.9 x 10(-19) cm(4)s(-1), and 3.5 x 10(-19) cm(4)s(-1), respectively.

Molecular evidence for the monophyly of East Asian groups of Cyprinidae (Teleostei : Cypriniformes) derived from the nuclear recombination activating gene 2 sequences

The family Cyprinidae is one of the largest families of fishes in the world and a well-known component of the East Asian freshwater fish fauna. However, the phylogenetic relationships among cyprinids are still poorly understood despite much effort paid on the cyprinid molecular phylogenetics. Original nucleotide sequence data of the nuclear recombination activating gene 2 were collected from 109 cyprinid species and four non-cyprinid cypriniform outgroup taxa and used to infer the cyprinid phylogenetic relationships and to estimate node divergence times. Phylogenetic reconstructions using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian analysis retrieved the same clades, only branching order within these clades varied slightly between trees. Although the morphological diversity is remarkable, the endemic cyprinid taxa in East Asia emerged as a monophyletic clade referred to as Xenocypridini. The monophyly for the subfamilies including Cyprininae and Leuciscinae, as well as the tribes including Labeonini, Gobionini, Acheilognathini, and Leuciscini, was also well resolved with high nodal support. Analysis of the RAG2 gene supported the following cyprinid molecular phylogeny: the Danioninae is the most basal subfamily within the family Cyprinidae and the Cyprininae is the sister group of the Leuciscinae. The divergence times were estimated for the nodes corresponding to the principal clades within the Cyprinidae. The family Cyprinidae appears to have originated in the mid-Eocene in Asia, with the cladogenic event of the key basal group Danioninae occurring in the early Oligocene (about 31-30 MYA), and the origins of the two subfamilies, Cyprininae and Leuciscinae, occurring in the mid-Oligocene (around 26 MYA). (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cloning and characterization of the gene for UDPGlc dehydrogenase from the cyanobacterium, Microcystis aeruginosa FACHB 905

Using degenerate primers based on conserved regions of the UDP-glucose dehydrogenase (UDPGDH) gene, an initial 476-bp DNA fragment was amplified from the water-bloom forming cyanobacterium, Microcystis aeruginosa FACHB 905. TAIL-PCR and ligation-mediated PCR were used to amplify the flanking regions to isolate an about 2.5-kb genomic DNA fragment. Sequence analysis revealed an ORF encoding a putative 462 amino acid protein, designated Mud for Microcystis UDPGDH. The Mud amino acid sequence is closely related to UDPGDH sequences from cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC6803 (73% identity, 81% similarity), and bacterium Bacillus subtilis (51% identity and 67% similarity). The cloned mud gene was expressed in Escherichia coli using the pGEX-4T-1 fusion expression vector system to generate a GST-Mud fusion protein that exhibited UDPGDH activity. The cytosolic fraction of M aeruginosa FACHB 905 was subjected to Western analysis with an anti-Mud antibody, which revealed a single band of approximately 49 kD, consistent with the deduced molecular mass of the enzyme. The Mud protein could thus be characterized as a UDP-glucose dehydrogenase, which was a key enzyme for polysaccharide synthesis and has, for the first time, been studied in algae.

Excitation and dissociation of tungsten hexacarbonyl W(CO)(6): Statistical and nonstatistical dissociation processes

We have studied the excitation and dissociation processes of the molecule W(CO)(6) in collisions with low kinetic energy (3 keV) protons, monocharged fluorine, and chlorine ions using double charge transfer spectroscopy. By analyzing the kinetic energy loss of the projectile anions, we measured the excitation energy distribution of the produced transient dications W(CO)(6)(2+). By coincidence measurements between the anions and the stable or fragments of W(CO)(6)(2+), we determined the energy distribution for each dissociation channel. Based on the experimental data, the emission of the first CO was tentatively attributed to a nonstatistical direct dissociation process and the emission of the second or more CO ligands was attributed to the statistical dissociation processes. The dissociation energies for the successive breaking of the W-CO bond were estimated using a cascade model. The ratio between charge separation and evaporation (by the loss of CO+ and CO, respectively) channels was estimated to be 6% in the case of Cl+ impact. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3523347]