Near UV quantum yields for rotenone and piperonyl butoxide

Rotenone and piperonyl butoxide (PBO) mixtures, so-called "synergized" rotenone, are invaluable in fisheries management where they are used to protect the habitat of endangered, native species and promote desirable gamefish populations. Continued use of synergized rotenone is threatened by inadequate control of persistence in surface water, especially where drinking water supplies are impacted. The photochemical kinetics of these chemicals were studied in the laboratory with a goal to better understand their fate in natural water. Disappearance quantum yields (phi) were determined in polychromatic light from fluorescent lamps emitting maximally at 350 nm. Rotenone, PBO and trifluralin, an actinometer, were irradiated as aqueous solutions at 25 or 50 microg L(-1) and the piscicides were determined by electrospray-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (ESI-LC-MS). In the photoreactor rotenone and PBO photodegraded with first-order half-lives of 500 and 220 min, respectively, and corresponding quantum yields of 0.00015 and 0.034. Rotenone absorbs sunlight strongly, while PRO does not. Differences in spectal overlap tended to counteract the disparities in phi and, in general, mathematical modeling indicates moderately rapid direct photolysis rates for both substances in surface water.     

Importance of dynamic surface tension to the residual water content of fabrics

At the end of the final spin cycle of the laundry process, the residual moisture content (RMC) of fabric is directly related to the dynamic surface tension of the residual water in the fabric. The LaPlace equation for capillary rise predicts that the capillary rise of solutions in a capillary is proportional to the surface tension at the air-liquid interface. If fabric can be considered to be a large ensemble of capillaries due to interfiber spacing, then the RMC of fabrics will be directly related to the surface tension of residual solution in the fabric. The use of a tailored rinse additive has the potential to decrease the surface tension of solution significantly, thus leading to a decrease in the residual water content of the fabric. It is expected that as the surfactant concentration increases the surface tension decreases. Hence, the RMC of fabrics must decrease with increasing surfactant concentration. However, a peak is observed in the RMC of fabrics before the critical micelle concentration (CMC) is reached. Prior to the CMC, it is proposed that a sudden adsorption of surfactant is occurring on the fabric surface leading to a decrease in bulk monomer concentration. The decrease in free monomer concentration should result in an increase in the equilibrium surface tension of the residual solution leading to a concomitant increase in RMC. Because the dynamic surface tension is measured on a short time scale (on the order of milliseconds), there will be less adsorption of monomer onto the newly created air-liquid interface of the bubbles during the measurement process. This decrease in adsorption should lead to a pronounced increase in the dynamic surface tension. This indeed was observed. The RMC correlates very well with the dynamic surface tension of the residual solution.     

Superdeformed bands in195Tl

Two superdeformed (SD) bands have been found and assigned to¹⁹⁵Tl on the basis of excitation function and cross bombardment results. The two bands are almost identical in transition energies to those observed in¹⁹³Tl. They are signature partners with a splitting, presumably due to the proton i_13/2 (=5/2) orbital, characteristic of all known SD bands in the thallium isotopes. Their alignments relative to the¹⁹³Tl bands were found to be zero.On leave from Comision National de Energia Atomica 1429 Buenos Aires, Argentina.     

Electrically actuated, pressure-driven microfluidic pumps

In order to make the lab-on-a-chip concept a reality, it is desirable to have an integrated component capable of pumping fluids through microchannels. We have developed novel, electrically actuated micropumps and have integrated them with microfluidic systems. These devices utilize the build-up of electrolysis gases to achieve pressure-driven pumping, only require small voltages (approximately 10 V), and have approximate dimensions of 5 cm x 3 cm x 2 cm. Furthermore, these micropumps are composed of relatively inexpensive materials, and the reversible sealability of their poly(dimethylsiloxane) body to different microfluidic arrays enables repeated uses of the same pump. Under an applied potential of 10 V, three different micropumps had average flow rates of 8-13 microL min(-1) for water being pumped through five different 2 cm-long, 5500 microm(2) cross-sectional-area channels in poly(methyl methacrylate), in approximate agreement with predicted pump rates. We have also evaluated pump operation at the lower applied potential of 8 V and observed an average flow rate of 6.1 microL min(-1) for a pump-channel system. The current micropump design is capable of sustaining pumping pressures in the range of 300 kPa. The various advantages of these micropumps make them well suited for use in lab-on-a-chip analysis techniques.     

Extending the nitrogen-heterosuperbenzene family: the spectroscopic, redox, and photophysical properties of "half-cyclized" N-1/2HSB and Its Ru(II) complex

Oxidative cyclodehydrogenation is an important process in the formation of the new graphene, N-(1)/(2)HSB 2. This heteropolyaromatic results from the FeCl(3)-catalyzed oxidative cyclodehydrogenation of 1,2-dipyrimidyl-3,4,5,6-tetra-(4-tert-butylphenyl)benzene. Three new C-C bonds are formed that lock the two pyrimidines in a molecular platform comprising eight fused aromatic rings flanked by two remaining "uncyclized" phenyl rings. Mechanistically intriguing is the fact that N-HSB 1, the product of six C-C bond fusions, is co-synthesized with its "half-cyclized" daughter in this reaction. 1 and 2 have the same bidentate N-atom arrangement. This facilitates formation of the heteroleptic Ru(II) complexes, [Ru(bpy)(2)(2)](PF(6))(2) 4 and [Ru(bpy)(2)(1)](PF(6))(2) 3, which differ in the size and planarity of their aromatic ligands. The new ligand 2 and its complex 4 are characterized by (1)H NMR, IR, ESI-MS, and accurate mass methods. 2 exhibits photophysical properties that are consistent with a reduction of the pi/pi framework, a concomitant increase in the energy of the LUMO, and a blue-shift of the solvent-dependent fluorescence (lambda(em) = 474 nm, phi(F) = 0.55, toluene) as compared to its parent. Complex 4 absorbs throughout the visible region and borders on near-IR emitter character, exhibiting a slightly blue-shifted (3)MLCT emission (868 nm, CH(3)CN) as compared to that of [Ru(bpy)(2)(1)](PF(6))(2) 3 (880 nm, CH(3)CN). Electrochemical analyses permit further elucidation of the intermolecular interactions of 3 and 4. These and the concentration and temperature-dependent NMR spectra of 4 confirm it to be nonaggregating, a direct result of the two uncyclized and rotatable phenyl rings in 2.     

Ion-induced nucleation in solution: promotion of solute nucleation in charged levitated droplets

We have investigated the nucleation and growth of sodium chloride in both single quiescent charged droplets and charged droplet populations that were levitated in an electrodynamic levitation trap (EDLT). In both cases, the magnitude of a droplet's net excess charge (ions(DNEC)) influenced NaCl nucleation and growth, albeit in different capacities. We have termed the phenomenon ion-induced nucleation in solution. For single quiescent levitated droplets, an increase in ions(DNEC) resulted in a significant promotion of NaCl nucleation, as determined by the number of crystals observed. For levitated droplet populations, a change in NaCl crystal habit, from regular cubic shapes to dome-shaped dendrites, was observed once a surface charge density threshold of -9 x 10(-4) e.nm(-2) was surpassed. Although promotion of NaCl nucleation was observed for droplet population experiments, this can be attributed in part to the increased rate of solvent evaporation observed for levitated droplet populations having a high net charge. Promotion of nucleation was also observed for two organic acids, 2,4,6-trihydroxyacetophenone monohydrate (THAP) and alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA). These results are of direct relevance to processes that occur in both soft-ionization techniques for mass spectrometry and to a variety of industrial processes. To this end, we have demonstrated the use of ion-induced nucleation in solution to form ammonium nitrate particles from levitated droplets to be used in in vitro toxicology studies of ambient particle types.     

Iridium(III) Complexes Bearing Pyrene‐Functionalized 1,10‐Phenanthroline Ligands as Highly Efficient Sensitizers for Triplet–Triplet Annihilation Upconversion

“Chemistry‐on‐the‐complex” synthetic methods have allowed the selective addition of 1‐ethynylpyrene appendages to the 3‐, 5‐, 3,8‐ and 5,6‐positions of Ir^III‐coordinated 1,10‐phenanthroline via Sonogashira cross‐coupling. The resulting suite of complexes has given rise to the first rationalization of their absorption and emission properties as a function of the number and position of the pyrene moieties. Strong absorption in the visible region (e.g. 3,8‐substituted Ir‐3 : λ_abs=481 nm, ?=52 400 m ^?1 cm^?1) and long‐lived triplet excited states (e.g. 5‐substituted Ir‐2 : τ_T=367.7 μs) were observed for the complexes in deaerated CH₂Cl₂. On testing the series as triplet sensitizers for triplet–triplet annihilation upconversion, those Ir^III complexes bearing pyrenyl appendages at the 3‐ and 3,8‐positions ( Ir‐1 , Ir‐3 ) were found to give optimal upconversion quantum yields (30.2 % and 31.6 % respectively).