Vol 90, No 11 (2016)

The chemical potential of oxygen Δμ_O relative to its standard state in the gas phase was calculated from the experimental dependences of the oxygen content in various polymorphic modifications of Ca_0.9Pr_0.1MnO_3–δ on the partial pressure and temperature. The partial molar enthalpy \(\Delta {\overline H _O}\) and entropy \(\Delta {\overline S _O}\) of oxygen were obtained from the linear temperature dependences of Δμ_O. Based on the ideal solution approximation, \(\Delta {\overline H _O}\) and \(\Delta {\overline S _O}\) were correlated with the enthalpies and entropies of the defect formation reactions, the concentrations of manganese cations, and the oxygen nonstoichiometry. The thermal excitation of Mn⁴⁺ cations was shown to substantially affect the thermodynamic functions of oxygen.

The enthalpies of the formation and decomposition of hydrogen trioxide are estimated from the heating curves of peroxide-radical condensates synthesized from gaseous O₂ + H₂ mixtures. Enthalpy of decomposition Н₂О₃(aq.) → Н₂О(liq.) + О₂(gas) is −31.2 ± 1.5 kcal/mol, and enthalpy of formation Δ_fH(H₂O₃, aq.) =–37.5 ± 1.6 kcal/mol. Both values correspond to the temperature range of 240–265 K.

The kinetics of the reactions of hydrogen atom abstraction from the C–H bonds of substrates of different structures by phthalimide-N-oxyl radicals is studied. The rate constants of this reaction are measured and the kinetic isotope effects are determined. It is shown that in addition to the thermodynamic factor, Coulomb forces and donor–acceptor interactions affect the reaction between phthalimide-N-oxyl radicals and substrate molecules, altering the shape of the transition state. This favors the tunneling of hydrogen atoms and leads to a substantial reduction in the activation energy of the process.

The catalytic activity in CO oxidation of Ce_xZr_1–xO₂ double oxides prepared using pine sawdust and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as templates is compared. It is found by means of SEM and the low-temperature adsorption of N₂ that biomorphic oxides reproduce the macropore structure of the template. It is shown via XRD and Raman spectroscopy that all samples contained mixed ceria-zirconia oxide. The double oxides form a cubic phase with a lattice of the fluorite type at a ratio of Ce: Zr = 4, regardless of the nature of the template; when Ce: Zr = 1, the biomorphic mixed oxide forms a tetragonal phase. According to Raman spectroscopy and XRD it was shown that the distortion of the oxygen sublattice is higher in biomorphic samples. Energy dispersive analysis shows that Ca impurities were present in the biomorphic samples, introducing additional distortions in the lattice of double oxide and leading to the formation of anionic vacancies. It is found that when Ce: Zr = 4, the conversion of CO on biomorphic oxide in the range of 100–350°C is higher than that observed for Ce_xZr_1–xO₂ (CTAB); reducing the Ce: Zr ratio in the biomorphic sample to 1 results in a marked decrease in CO conversion at 100–200°C. It is concluded that these differences are due to changes in the mobility of the lattice oxygen.

The thermochemical dissolution of L-valine in solvent mixtures H₂O + (formamide, N-methylformamide, and N,N-dimethylformamide) is studied at an organic component concentration of x₂ = 0–0.35 molar fractions and a temperature of 298.15 K. The experimental data are used to calculate standard enthalpies of dissolution, the transferring of L-valine from water to a mixed solvent, and the enthalpy coefficients of pairwise interactions (h_xy) with organic solvent molecules. The correlation between the enthalpy characteristics of the dissolution of L-valine with the composition of aqueous organic mixtures and the nature of the organic solvent (its physicochemical properties) is determined. A comparative analysis of the values of h_xy of a number of aliphatic L-amino acids in similar solvent mixtures with the hydrophobicity parameters of their side chains is performed.

General laws of the photochemical oxidation of atrazine by inorganic peroxo compounds under the impact of solar radiation are studied. It is found that almost complete conversion of atrazine can be achieved via photochemical oxidation with persulfate after 120 min, but no deep mineralization is observed. The effect an aqueous matrix has on the processes of atrazine degradation in combined oxidation systems is considered.

The spectra of Eu, Sr, Eu⁺, and Sr⁺ are used as examples to demonstrate the similarity between the energy characteristics of these elements. It is shown that europium is identical to strontium in the strong and inhomogeneous magnetic field whose source in lanthanides is their empty and compact 4f^{n < 14} core. It is concluded that when it is missing from europium, the latter becomes identical to strontium with no magnetic fields.

The quantum chemical study of the reactivity of a series of oxazole derivatives substituted at 2, 4, and 5 positions was performed using B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) and MP2/6-311++G(d,p) levels of theory. Different substituents have been applied to cover a wide range of electronic effects. On the basis of Fukui functions, oxazole derivatives in the gas phase are found to be suitable nucleophilic sites. For the most of studied substituents, it was observed that the calculated Fukui function f_k^- values at the N-position are small in case of electron-withdrawing substituents, resulting a preferred N-position for hard reactions. In contrast, large f_k^- values in case of electron-donating groups show a preferred N-position for soft reactions. These two local reactivity descriptors predicted the reactivity of the electron-rich oxazoles sequence to be 2-substituted oxazoles > 5-substituted oxazoles > 4-substituted oxazoles, where due to resonance effect, the reactivity toward electrophilic attack at the pyridine nitrogen atom is enhanced by electron donor substituents.

Silver nanoparticles have been prepared and tested for their ecotoxicity using Chlorella vulgaris Beijer. algae as a hydrobiotic test organism and a photometric method of control. The toxicity was supposed to originate from Ag⁺ ions released into the aqueous solution. Also, the toxicity of the stabilizing agent was found to be comparable to that of silver nanoparticles.

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are widely applied in development of composite materials. However, their properties are directly influenced by the degree of uniformity of dispersion of MWCNTs in the material’s matrix. In this paper, the dispersing of raw MWCNTs (R-MWCNTs) and decorated MWCNTs (D-MWCNTs) was studied in aqueous solution. The D-MWCNTs were obtained by chemical modification method by treatment of initial MWCNTs with the mixture of concentrated nitric and sulfuric acids (3: 1 vol/vol). To achieve a good dispersion of the MWCNTs, a method utilizing ultrasonic processing and surfactant (polyvinylpyrrolidone, PVP) was employed. MWCNTs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT–IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The prepared MWCNTs suspensions were investigated by UV spectroscopy, zeta potential measurements, surface tension and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The D-MWCNTs have better dispersibility in aqueous solution; this attributed to the functional groups formed on their surface during chemical modification. The PVP surfactant in a certain concentration of 0.6 g/L has the maximum dispersing effect on MWCNTs in aqueous solution, the optimum concentration ratio of PVP and MWCNTs was 3: 1.

A procedure for analyzing the formation processes of two-dimensional droplets of an adsorbate on a rigid adsorbent support is considered. The molecular theory is based on data on the potential functions between adsorbent atoms and adsorbate molecules. Interactions between nearest neighbors are considered in the quasi-chemical approximation. The internal motions of adsorbent atoms and adsorbate molecules are ignored. Problems of describing the formation of droplets on heterogeneous adsorbents are associated with calculations for binodals (illustrated with the simplest example of two different homogeneous crystal faces) due to the choice of methods for calculating linear tension and the structural model of the region of the liquid–vapor transition. The dependence of the characteristics of droplets in the layered structural model on the method for determining the reference lines of the tension is shown for their metastable and equilibrium states. It is found that for a number of structural parameters, the thermodynamic determination of the line of tensions of metastable droplets can result in nonmonotonic dependences of the linear tension on their radii. The characteristics of two-dimensional liquid–vapor interfaces are compared for two structural models: coordination sphere and layered. It is found that the coordination sphere model allows the exclusion of the structural parameter of the layered model, but both models need refinement at small radii.

The possibility of predicting the breakthrough curves of a phospholipid (PL) during its sorption by mesoporous composites based on MCM-41 using models of the dynamics of sorption that consider the kinetics of adsorption (the Thomas model) and mixed diffusion (the asymptotic model) is demonstrated using phosphatidylcholine (PC) as an example. The effect the kinetic parameters have on the tailing of the sorption front with respect to the mixed diffusion limitation of the sorption of nonpolar biologically active substances (BASes) is shown. It is found that the ordered structure of composite materials based on MCM-41 ensures a high rate of mass transfer and thus little tailing of the sorption front, when compared to sorbents with a lower degree of order (silica gel and polymer materials) during the sorption of a phospholipid under dynamic conditions. Based on calculations of the parameter of pattern Λ under the conditions of the dynamic mode of sorption in mixed diffusion kinetics, it is shown that the sorption of phosphatidylcholine from hexane solutions by mesoporous composites based on MCM-41 allows the sorption chromatographic process to proceed in the most advantageous (quasi-equilibrium) mode.

The sorption of organic molecules on the surfaces of a number of adsorbents based on a microporous copolymer of styrene and divinylbenzene modified with different quantities of uracil is studied by means of inverse gas chromatography at infinite dilution. Samples containing 10^–6, 10^–5, 10^–4, 10^–3, 10^–2, and 0.5 × 10^‒1 weight parts of uracil (the рС of uracil ranges from 1.3 to 6) are studied. The contributions from different intermolecular interactions to the Helmholtz energy of sorption are calculated via the linear free energy relationship. It is found that as the concentration of uracil on the surface of the polymer adsorbent grows, the contributions from different intermolecular interactions and the conventional polarity of the surface have a bend at рС = 3, due probably to the formation of a supramolecular structure of uracil. Based on the obtained results, it is concluded that the formation of the supramolecular structure of uracil on the surface of the polymer adsorbent starts when рС < 3.

Study of the main physicochemical features of the sorption of phenylamide adamantane derivatives on hyper-cross-linked polystyrene from water–acetonitrile solutions shows that both hydrophobic and electronic interactions make a large contribution to retention, especially for a chlorine-containing derivative in which there are π–p and π–d interactions between the outer-shell electrons of the chlorine atom in addition to π–π interactions between aromatic fragments of the sorbate and sorbent.

The static magnetization of CsNa₅M₃(MoO₄)₆ single phase molybdates, where M = Co, Ni, and Mn, is measured at 4–300 K in magnetic fields of up to 20 kOe. It is shown that the materials are paramagnetic. Magnetization as a function of temperature is described using the Curie–Weiss law. The intrinsic magnetic moments of the phases are found to be 9.759 (Co), 6.958 (Ni), and 12.203 Bohr magnetons for manganese molybdates. It is concluded that the charge state of Co, Ni, and Mn cations in the compounds is +2.

The photocatalytic degradation of pefloxacin was studied using modified TiO₂ as a photocatalyst. The effect of various parameters such as the amount of the photocatalyst, the initial concentration of pefloxacin, initial pH value on the process were investigated, and the optimal conditions were determined. The optimal amount of the photocatalyst is 0.3 g/L. The photodegradation rate of pefloxacin decreases with the increase of initial concentration. Alkaline medium is favorable for the photocatalytic degradation process. The primary photo-degradation products were analyzed by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS and thus the process mechanism was discussed.

The corrosion of a Au anode in a solution of 1,3-diaminopropane (DAP) is studied by means of gravimetry. It is found that the products of corrosion of Au electrode in galvanostatic conditions are reduced on a Pt cathode with the formation of either an electrolytic Au deposit or a colloidal solution of metallic Au, depending on the current strength. The kinetics of the dissolution of Au in the presence of DAP is investigated. The formation of a complex of Au with DAP is observed, and a structure for it is proposed.