Synthesis of nanoporous materials for preconcentration and determination of trace elements by ICP-AES ; Investigation and elimination of the memory effects of mercury, gold, silver and boron in ICP-AES

Nanoporous materials with large surface area and well-ordered pore structure have been synthesized. Thiol groups were grafted on the materials' surface to make heavy metal ion pre-concentration media. The adsorption properties ofthe materials were explored. Mercury, gold and silver can be strongly adsorbed by these materials, even in the presence of alkaline earth metal ion. Though the materials can adsorb other heavy metal ions such as lead and copper, they show differential adsorption ability when several ions are present in solution. The adsorption sequence is: mercury> == silver> copper » lead and cadmium. In the second part of this work, the memory effects of mercury, gold, silver and boron were investigated. The addition of 2% L-cysteine and 1% thiourea eliminates the problems of the three metal ions completely. The wash-out time for mercury dropped from more than 20 minutes to 18 seconds, and the wash-out time for gold decreased from more than 30 minutes to 49 seconds. The memory effect of boron can be reduced by the use of mannitol.

The development of automated methods for the determination of trace concentrations of carbomate pesticides in water using solid sorbent pre-concentration methods and high performance liquid chromatography /

Several automated reversed-phase HPLC methods have been developed to determine trace concentrations of carbamate pesticides (which are of concern in Ontario environmental samples) in water by utilizing two solid sorbent extraction techniques. One of the methods is known as on-line pre-concentration'. This technique involves passing 100 milliliters of sample water through a 3 cm pre-column, packed with 5 micron ODS sorbent, at flow rates varying from 5-10 mUmin. By the use of a valve apparatus, the HPLC system is then switched to a gradient mobile phase program consisting of acetonitrile and water. The analytes, Propoxur, Carbofuran, Carbaryl, Propham, Captan, Chloropropham, Barban, and Butylate, which are pre-concentrated on the pre-column, are eluted and separated on a 25 cm C-8 analytical column and determined by UV absorption at 220 nm. The total analytical time is 60 minutes, and the pre-column can be used repeatedly for the analysis of as many as thirty samples. The method is highly sensitive as 100 percent of the analytes present in the sample can be injected into the HPLC. No breakthrough of any of the analytes was observed and the minimum detectable concentrations range from 10 to 480 ng/L. The developed method is totally automated for the analysis of one sample. When the above mobile phase is modified with a buffer solution, Aminocarb, Benomyl, and its degradation product, MBC, can also be detected along with the above pesticides with baseline resolution for all of the analytes. The method can also be easily modified to determine Benomyl and MBC both as solute and as particulate matter. By using a commercially available solid phase extraction cartridge, in lieu of a pre-column, for the extraction and concentration of analytes, a completely automated method has been developed with the aid of the Waters Millilab Workstation. Sample water is loaded at 10 mL/min through a cartridge and the concentrated analytes are eluted from the sorbent with acetonitrile. The resulting eluate is blown-down under nitrogen, made up to volume with water, and injected into the HPLC. The total analytical time is 90 minutes. Fifty percent of the analytes present in the sample can be injected into the HPLC, and recoveries for the above eight pesticides ranged from 84 to 93 percent. The minimum detectable concentrations range from 20 to 960 ng/L. The developed method is totally automated for the analysis of up to thirty consecutive samples. The method has proven to be applicable to both purer water samples as well as untreated lake water samples.

Phonon spectra and thermal properties of some fcc metals using embedded-atom potentials /

By employing the embedded-atom potentials of Mei et ai.[l], we have calculated the dynamical matrices and phonon dispersion curves for six fee metals (Cu,Ag,Au,Ni,Pd and Pt). We have also investigated, within the quasiharmonic approximation, some other thermal properties of these metals which depend on the phonon density of states, such as the temperature dependence of lattice constant, coefficient of linear thermal expansion, isothermal and adiabatic bulk moduli, heat capacities at constant volume and constant pressure, Griineisen parameter and Debye temperature. The computed results are compared with the experimental findings wherever possible. The comparison shows a generally good agreement between the theoretical values and experimental data for all properties except the discrepancies of phonon frequencies and Debye temperature for Pd, Pt and Au. Further, we modify the parameters of this model for Pd and Pt and obtain the phonon dispersion curves which is in good agreement with experimental data.

Genesis and distribution of Mississippi Valley-type ore assemblages in Middle Silurian strata, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario /

Presently non-commercial occurrences of Mississippi Valley-type ore assemblages in the Middle Silurian strata of the Niagara Peninsula have been studied. Based on this detailed study, a new poly-stage genetic model is proposed which relates ore mineralization in carbonate environments to the evolution of the sedimentary basin. Sulphide ore mineralization occurred during two episodes: 1. During the late diagenesis stage, which is characterized by compaction-maturation of the sediments, the initial mineralization took place by upward and outward movement of connate waters. Metals were probably supplied from all the sediments regardless of their specific lithologies. However, clay minerals were possibly the main contributors. The possible source of sulphur was from petroleum-type hydrocarbons presently mixed with the sediments at the site of ore deposition. Evidence for this is the fact that the greatest abundance of ore minerals is in petroliferous carbonates. The hydrocarbons probably represent liquids remaining after upward migration to the overlying Guelph-Salina reservoirs. The majority of sphalerite and galena formed during this period, as well as accessory pyrite, marcasite, chalcopyrite, chalcocite, arsenopyrite, and pyrrhotite; and secondary dolomite, calcite, celestite, and gypsum. 2. During the presently ongoing surface erosion and weathering phase, which is marked by the downward movement of groundwater, preexisting sulphides were probably remobilized, and trace amounts of lead and zinc were leached from the host material, by groundwaters. Metal sulphides precipitated at, or below, the water table, or where atmospheric oxygen could raise the Eh of groundwaters to the point where soluble metal complexes are unstable and native sulphur co-precipitates with sphalerite and galena. This process, which can be observed today, also results in the transport and deposition of the host rock material. Breakdown of pre-existing sulphide and sulphate, as well as hydrocarbon present in the host rock, provided sulphur necessary for sulphide precipitation. The galena and sphalerite are accompanied by dolomite, calcite, gypsum, anglesite, native sulphur and possibly zincite.

Sample preparation and heavy metal determination by atomic spectrometry /

Microwave digestions of mercury in Standards Reference Material (SRM) coal samples with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide in quartz vessels were compared with Teflon® vessel digestion by using flow injection cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. Teflon® vessels gave poor reproducibiUty and tended to deliver high values, while the digestion results from quartz vessel show good agreement with certificate values and better standard deviations. Trace level elements (Ag, Ba, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Pb, Sn, Ti, V and Zn) in used oil and residual oil samples were determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. Different microwave digestion programs were developed for each sample and most of the results are in good agreement with certified values. The disagreement with values for Ag was due to the precipitation of Ag in sample; while Sn, V and Zn values had good recoveries from the spike test, which suggests that these certified values might need to be reconsidered. Gold, silver, copper, cadmium, cobalt, nickel and zinc were determined by continuous hydride generation inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. The performance of two sample introduction systems: MSIS™ and gas-liquid separator were compared. Under the respective optimum conditions, MSIS^"^ showed better sensitivity and lower detection limits for Ag, Cd, Cu, Co and similar values for Au, Ni and Zn to those for the gas-liquid separator.

Application of [Lambda] to the fourth perturbation theory in calculating the equation of state of rare gas solids and fcc metals

We have calculated the thermodynamic properties of monatomic fcc crystals from the high temperature limit of the Helmholtz free energy. This equation of state included the static and vibrational energy components. The latter contribution was calculated to order A4 of perturbation theory, for a range of crystal volumes, in which a nearest neighbour central force model was used. We have calculated the lattice constant, the coefficient of volume expansion, the specific heat at constant volume and at constant pressure, the adiabatic and the isothermal bulk modulus, and the Gruneisen parameter, for two of the rare gas solids, Xe and Kr, and for the fcc metals Cu, Ag, Au, Al, and Pb. The LennardJones and the Morse potential were each used to represent the atomic interactions for the rare gas solids, and only the Morse potential was used for the fcc metals. The thermodynamic properties obtained from the A4 equation of state with the Lennard-Jones potential, seem to be in reasonable agreement with experiment for temperatures up to about threequarters of the melting temperature. However, for the higher temperatures, the results are less than satisfactory. For Xe and Kr, the thermodynamic properties calculated from the A2 equation of state with the Morse potential, are qualitatively similar to the A 2 results obtained with the Lennard-Jones potential, however, the properties obtained from the A4 equation of state are in good agreement with experiment, since the contribution from the A4 terms seem to be small. The lattice contribution to the thermal properties of the fcc metals was calculated from the A4 equation of state, and these results produced a slight improvement over the properties calculated from the A2 equation of state. In order to compare the calculated specific heats and bulk moduli results with experiment~ the electronic contribution to thermal properties was taken into account~ by using the free electron model. We found that the results varied significantly with the value chosen for the number of free electrons per atom.

Investigation of the composition of linear alkylbenzenes with emphasis on the identification and quantitation of some trace compounds using GS/MS system in both electron impact and chemical ionization modes

Linear alkylbenzenes, LAB, formed by the Alel3 or HF catalyzed alkylation of benzene are common raw materials for surfactant manufacture. Normally they are sulphonated using S03 or oleum to give the corresponding linear alkylbenzene sulphonates In >95 % yield. As concern has grown about the environmental impact of surfactants,' questions have been raised about the trace levels of unreacted raw materials, linear alkylbenzenes and minor impurities present in them. With the advent of modem analytical instruments and techniques, namely GCIMS, the opportunity has arisen to identify the exact nature of these impurities and to determine the actual levels of them present in the commercial linear ,alkylbenzenes. The object of the proposed study was to separate, identify and quantify major and minor components (1-10%) in commercial linear alkylbenzenes. The focus of this study was on the structure elucidation and determination of impurities and on the qualitative determination of them in all analyzed linear alkylbenzene samples. A gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, (GCIMS) study was performed o~ five samples from the same manufacturer (different production dates) and then it was followed by the analyses of ten commercial linear alkylbenzenes from four different suppliers. All the major components, namely linear alkylbenzene isomers, followed the same elution pattern with the 2-phenyl isomer eluting last. The individual isomers were identified by interpretation of their electron impact and chemical ionization mass spectra. The percent isomer distribution was found to be different from sample to sample. Average molecular weights were calculated using two methods, GC and GCIMS, and compared with the results reported on the Certificate of Analyses (C.O.A.) provided by the manufacturers of commercial linear alkylbenzenes. The GC results in most cases agreed with the reported values, whereas GC/MS results were significantly lower, between 0.41 and 3.29 amu. The minor components, impurities such as branched alkylbenzenes and dialkyltetralins eluted according to their molecular weights. Their fragmentation patterns were studied using electron impact ionization mode and their molecular weight ions confirmed by a 'soft ionization technique', chemical ionization. The level of impurities present i~ the analyzed commercial linear alkylbenzenes was expressed as the percent of the total sample weight, as well as, in mg/g. The percent of impurities was observed to vary between 4.5 % and 16.8 % with the highest being in sample "I". Quantitation (mg/g) of impurities such as branched alkylbenzenes and dialkyltetralins was done using cis/trans-l,4,6,7-tetramethyltetralin as an internal standard. Samples were analyzed using .GC/MS system operating under full scan and single ion monitoring data acquisition modes. The latter data acquisition mode, which offers higher sensitivity, was used to analyze all samples under investigation for presence of linear dialkyltetralins. Dialkyltetralins were reported quantitatively, whereas branched alkylbenzenes were reported semi-qualitatively. The GC/MS method that was developed during the course of this study allowed identification of some other trace impurities present in commercial LABs. Compounds such as non-linear dialkyltetralins, dialkylindanes, diphenylalkanes and alkylnaphthalenes were identified but their detailed structure elucidation and the quantitation was beyond the scope of this study. However, further investigation of these compounds will be the subject of a future study.

Molecular dynamics calculation of mean square displacement in alkali metals and rare gas solids and comparison with lattice dynamics

Molec ul ar dynamics calculations of the mean sq ua re displacement have been carried out for the alkali metals Na, K and Cs and for an fcc nearest neighbour Lennard-Jones model applicable to rare gas solids. The computations for the alkalis were done for several temperatures for temperature vol ume a swell as for the the ze r 0 pressure ze ro zero pressure volume corresponding to each temperature. In the fcc case, results were obtained for a wide range of both the temperature and density. Lattice dynamics calculations of the harmonic and the lowe s t order anharmonic (cubic and quartic) contributions to the mean square displacement were performed for the same potential models as in the molecular dynamics calculations. The Brillouin zone sums arising in the harmonic and the quartic terms were computed for very large numbers of points in q-space, and were extrapolated to obtain results ful converged with respect to the number of points in the Brillouin zone.An excellent agreement between the lattice dynamics results was observed molecular dynamics and in the case of all the alkali metals, e~ept for the zero pressure case of CSt where the difference is about 15 % near the melting temperature. It was concluded that for the alkalis, the lowest order perturbation theory works well even at temperat ures close to the melting temperat ure. For the fcc nearest neighbour model it was found that the number of particles (256) used for the molecular dynamics calculations, produces a result which is somewhere between 10 and 20 % smaller than the value converged with respect to the number of particles. However, the general temperature dependence of the mean square displacement is the same in molecular dynamics and lattice dynamics for all temperatures at the highest densities examined, while at higher volumes and high temperatures the results diverge. This indicates the importance of the higher order (eg. ~* ) perturbation theory contributions in these cases.

On the anharmonic, multi-phonon, Debye-Waller contributions to the phonon-limited resistivity of metals : applications to Na and K

The anharmonic, multi-phonon (MP), and Oebye-Waller factor (OW) contributions to the phonon limited resistivity (;0) of metals derived by Shukla and Muller (1979) by the doubletime temperature dependent Green function method have been numerically evaluated for Na and K in the high temperature limit. The anharmonic contributions arise from the cubic and quartic shift of phonons (CS, QS), and phonon width (W) and the interference term (1). The QS, MP and OW contributions to I' are also derived by the matrix element method and the results are in agreement with those of Shukla and Muller (1979). In the high temperature limit, the contributions to;O from each of the above mentioned terms are of the type BT2 For numerical calculations suitable expressions are derived for the anharmonic contributions to ~ in terms of the third and fourth rank tensors obtained by the Ewald procedure. The numerical calculation of the contributions to;O from the OW, MP term and the QS have been done exactly and from the CS, Wand I terms only approximately in the partial and total Einstein approximations (PEA, TEA), using a first principle approach (Shukla and Taylor (1976)). The results obtained indicate that there is a strong pairwise cancellation between the: OW and MP terms, the QS and CS and the Wand I terms. The sum total of these contributions to;O for Na and K amounts to 4 to 11% and 2 to 7%, respectively, in the PEA while in the TEA they amount to 3 to 7% and 1 to 4%, respectively, in the temperature range.

On the formulation and the calculation of the harmonic contributions to the Debye-Waller factor in metals (sodium)

The algebraic expressions for the anharmonic contributions to the Debye-Waller factor up to 0(A ) and 0 L% ) £ where ^ is the scattering wave-vector] have been derived in a form suitable for cubic metals with small ion cores where the interatomic potential extends to many neighbours. This has been achieved in terms of various wave-vector dependent tensors, following the work of Shukla and Taylor (1974) on the cubic anharmonic Helmholtz free energy. The contribution to the various wave-vector dependent tensors from the coulomb and the electron-ion terms in the interatomic metallic potential has been obtained by the Ewald procedure. All the restricted multiple whole B r i l l o u i n zone (B.Z.) sums are reduced to single whole B.Z. sums by using the plane wave representation of the delta function. These single whole B.Z. sums are further reduced to the •%?? portion of the B.Z. following Shukla and Wilk (1974) and Shukla and Taylor (1974). Numerical calculations have been performed for sodium where the Born-Mayer term in the interatomic potential has been neglected because i t is small £ Vosko (1964)3 • *n o^er to compare our calculated results with the experimental results of Dawton (1937), we have also calculated the r a t io of the intensities at different temperatures for the lowest five reflections (110), (200), (220), (310) and (400) . Our calculated quasi-harmonic results agree reasonably well with the experimental results at temperatures (T) of the order of the Debye temperature ( 0 ). For T » © ^ 9 our calculated anharmonic results are found to be in good agreement with the experimental results.The anomalous terms in the Debye-Waller factor are found not to be negligible for certain reflections even for T ^ ©^ . At temperature T yy Op 9 where the temperature is of the order of the melting temperature (Xm) » "the anomalous terms are found to be important almost for all the f i ve reflections.