Willem H. Mulder

Cation disorder in dolomite, CaMg(CO3)2, and its influence on the aragonite + magnesite ↔ dolomite reaction boundary

Abstract The structure of dolomite, CaMg(CO3)2, was determined from 298 to 1466 K at a constant pressure of about 3 GPa using in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction data to investigate the state of disorder. An order parameter s, defined as 2 xCa - 1, varies from s = 1 (where xCa = 1) for a completely ordered dolomite to s = 0 (where xCa = 0.5) for a completely disordered dolomite. On heating, there is no measured change in s until the temperature is high enough to cause exchange of Ca2+ and Mg2+ cations. Significant disorder began to occur at about 1234 K [s = 0.83(1)] and increases along a smooth pathway to T = 1466 K [s = 0.12(5)]. The R3 - ↔ R3 - c transition in dolomite is described by a modified Bragg-Williams thermodynamic model with the following molar free energy of disorder, G̅d (T; s) = RTc[1 - s2 + 1/2 a(s4 - 1) - (T/Tc) {2 ln2 - (1+s) ln(1 + s) - (1 - s) ln(1 - s)}]. Using Tc = 1466 K and a = -0.29, this model provides an excellent agreement with experimental data. Moreover, the maximum enthalpy of disorder, H̅d(s = 0) = RTc(1 - 1/2 a) ~ 14 kJ/mol, agrees with published calorimetric data. A thermodynamic description of the aragonite + magnesite ↔ dolomite reaction boundary is also presented and it reproduces the main qualitative features correctly.

Optosensing properties of fac-Re(CO)(3)(dpknph)Cl (dpknph=di-2-pyridyl ketone p-nitrophenyl hydrazone).

Optical and thermodynamic measurements on fac-Re(CO)(3)(dpknph)Cl in polar non aqueous solvents revealed the existence of two interlocked conformational forms for fac-Re(CO)(3)(dpknph)Cl. The equilibrium distribution of the low (alpha-) and high (beta-) energy conformations is solvent dependent, controlled by the dipole moment of the solvent molecules and their orientation around the total dipole of fac-Re(CO)(3)(dpknph)Cl. The interplay between the alpha- and beta-conformations of fac-Re(CO)(3)(dpknph)Cl, allowed calculations of their extinction coefficients, by forcing the equilibrium to shift to one conformation, using chemical stimuli. In DMSO and DMF extinction coefficients of 87 000+/-2000 and 35 000+/-2000 M(-1) cm(-1) were calculated for the beta- and alpha-conformations of fac-Re(CO)(3)(dpknph)Cl at lambda(max.), respectively. Thermo-optical measurements on fac-Re(CO)(3)(dpknph)Cl, allowed calculations of the activation parameters for the interconversion between the alpha- and beta-conformations of fac-Re(CO)(3)(dpknph)Cl. In DMSO and DMF changes in enthalpy (DeltaH(ø)) of -11.2+/-1.3 and 10.9+/-0.5 kJmol(-1), entropy (DeltaS(ø)) of -12.7+/-4.3 and 29.4+/-1.7 JK(-1) mol(-1), and free energy (DeltaG(ø)) of -7.5+/-0.2 and+2.2+/-0.2 kJmol(-1) and hence equilibrium constants of 20.9+/-1.7 and 0.4+/-0.1 were calculated for fac-Re(CO)(3)(dpknph) at 295 K. The high values for the extinction coefficients and low values for the activation parameters for the interconversion between the alpha- and beta-conformations of fac-Re(CO)(3)(dpknph)Cl, in polar non aqueous solvents allowed the use of these systems as molecular sensors to probe their structural relaxation and interactions with their surroundings. These systems (fac-Re(CO)(3)(dpknph)Cl and surrounding solvent molecules) optically sense chemical and physical stimuli and their sensing power depends on the intensity and nature of these stimuli, i.e. the systems exhibit a high degree of sensitivity and selectivity.

Synthesis, spectroscopy, thermodynamics and structure of [ZnCl2 (η3-dpktch)] (η3-dpktch = N,N,O- di-2-pyridyl ketone thiophene-2-carboxylic acid hydrazone)

When dpktch was reacted with ZnCl2 in refluxing acetonitrile in air [ZnCl2(η3-dpktch)] was isolated in good yield. Infrared spectra suggest weaker binding of dpktch in [ZnCl2(η3-dpktch)] than in [CdCl2(η3-dpktch)]. 1H-NMR studies in non-aqueous media show that [ZnCl2(η3-dpktch)] is sensitive to changes in its environment and exchanges its amide proton. Electronic absorption spectral measurements confirmed the sensitivity of [ZnCl2(η3-dpktch)] to changes in its surroundings and show inter-conversion between two intra-ligand-charge-transfer transitions (ILCT) at 330 ± 2 nm and 404 ± 2 associated with [ZnCl2(η3-dpktch)] and its conjugate base. Thermo-optical measurements in non-aqueous dmf and dmso show facile inter-conversion between [ZnCl2(η3-dpktch)] and its conjugate base, respectively. Also, it is shown that protonation of dmf by [ZnCl2(η3-dpktch)] is exothermic (standard enthalpy of protonation ΔHθ  = −40.7 ± 1.8 kJ mol−1), but endothermic for dmso (ΔHθ  = +8.3 ± 1.5 kJ mol−1). Chemical stimuli in concentrations as low as 5.0 × 10−7 M can be detected and determined using [ZnCl2(η3-dpktch)] in non-aqueous media. X-ray crystallographic studies on a monoclinic, P21/n single crystal of [ZnCl2(η3-dpktch)] confirmed the N,N,O-coordination of dpktch and revealed interdigitated units of [ZnCl2(η3-dpktch)] connected via a web of hydrogen bonds.

Effect of medium relaxation on the acidity constants of electronically excited states obtained by the Förster cycle method

Abstract The theoretical basis for the calculation of acid dissociation constants in the lowest excited singlet or triplet state of organic compounds has been reexamined in light of a recent study on solvatochromism. A mathematical analysis based on the Onsager cavity model reveals that the absorption or emission frequency of an acid and its conjugate base, as they appear in the Forster equation, should be replaced with the averages of absorption and emission frequencies corresponding to the 0–0 transition of acid and base, respectively, in order to account for Franck–Condon effects on the free energy balance. The free energy of spontaneous medium relaxation is found to be the same for absorption and emission, and proportional to one-half of the Stokes shift. The main premise of the proposed method, besides the obvious requirement that both the acid and its conjugate base should fluoresce or phosphoresce, is that each excited state exists long enough for equilibrium with the medium to be established prior to emission.

Success and failure of polarized-ion models: Bending and atomization energy of groups 2 and 12 dihalides

Polarized-ion models—with and without dipole reaction fields and charge-quadrupole interaction—are evaluated in calculating atomization energies, bond angles, and bending force constants of groups 2 and 12 dihalides. A study of the sensitivity to changes in the input parameters reveals a strong dependence on dipole polarizabilities. The charge–quadrupole bending terms of a multipole expansion are important for quasi-linear molecules, where the preceding terms in the expansion tend to cancel each other. They normally stabilize the linear geometry, but enhance bent structures, if a certain criterion for the ratio of quadrupole polarizabilities of metal and halide ions is fulfilled. The models explain the bent alkaline earth halides, but fail spectacularly for the group 12 halides—HgBr2 and HgI2 are even calculated as unstable relative to the constituent atoms. The unexpected weakness of ionic bonds is related to the large increase of the ionization energies by relativistic effects and the lanthanide contrac...

Proton transfer voltammetry at electrodes modified with acid thiol monolayers.

By combining a description of the potential profile at electrodes coated with acid thiol monolayers with a quadratic relationship between activation energy and electrode potential, a rather simple expression for proton transfer voltammograms is derived. Our electrostatic analysis shows that proton transfer can only produce narrow voltammetric peaks when the immobilized acid groups lie close to the metal substrate. Quantitative fits of experimental voltammograms obtained with an Au(111) electrode modified with a 11-mercaptoundecanoic monolayer at pH 8.5 reveal that less than 1% of the carboxylic groups in the monolayer participate in the potential induced proton transfer process and that these groups lay close to the metal surface. A preliminary analysis of the kinetic parameters suggests that the interfacial electric field facilitates an intrinsically slow proton exchange between a proton donor and acceptor pair that are not in close contact with each other at the interface.

Mikanolide from Jamaican Mikania micrantha.

Mikanolide [systematic names: 1,10:2,3-diepoxy-6,8-dihydroxy-11-vinylgermacr-4-ene 12,14-di-gamma-lactone and 7,10a-dimethyl-1a,1b,2a,6a,7,9a,10,10a-octahydro-4H-6,3-methenofuro[3,2-c]bisoxireno[f,h]oxacycloundecin-4,8(6H)-dione], C(15)H(14)O(6), derived from a variety of Mikania micrantha growing in Portland, Jamaica, contains a methylcyclodecane ring fused to an unsaturated planar alpha,gamma-lactone, an envelope-type near-planar vinyl-beta,gamma-lactone and two epoxide moieties. The crystal packing shows stacks of mikanolide molecules interlocked via a network of non-classical C-H...O hydrogen bonds between the lactone units.

Two mercury drops on a conducting surface in a mercurous ion solution as a model for electrochemical Ostwald ripening

The stability of an electrodeposited collection of metal particles under open-cell conditions is investigated, using mercury on platinum as a model. The agglomeration process is analysed for the case of two mercury droplets which constitute a local cell. It is shown that, making some reasonable simplifying assumptions, the model allows the formulation of an analytical solution for the volume ratio of the droplets as a function of time, which can be cast in dimensionless form. Some typical values for agglomeration times are given.

Synthesis and Structure of a Novel Substituted Benzothiazolyl-N-phenyl-2-pyridinecarbothioamide; Kinetics of Formation and Electrochemistry of Two of its Palladium Pincer Complexes

The synthesis and crystal structures of bis-N-(2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)pyridine-2,6-dicarbothioamide (dicarbothioamide I) and 6-(4,7-dimethoxy-2-benzothiazolyl)-N-(2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-2-pyridinecarbothioamide (L1) as well as the syntheses of the palladium(ii) chloride and acetate pincer complexes are reported. The stability constant for the palladium complex formation at 25°C was found to be (2.04 ± 0.26) × 104 dm3 mol–1 and (2.30 ± 0.19) × 104 dm3 mol–1 with ΔfH = 8 ± 1 kJ mol–1, ΔfSθ = 108 ± 10 J K–1 mol–1, and ΔfH = 17 ± 4 kJ mol–1 and ΔfSθ = 140 ± 20 J K–1 mol–1 for the PdClL1 and Pd(OAc)L1, respectively. The kinetics of formation of the palladium(ii) complexes were investigated and the mechanism is proposed to be associative in nature (ΔH1‡ = 34 ± 2 kJ mol–1 and ΔS1‡ = –113 ± 8 J K–1 mol–1, and ΔH1‡ = 37 ± 3 kJ mol–1 and ΔS1‡ = –100 ± 8 J K–1 mol–1 for the PdClL1 and Pd(OAc)L1 species, respectively). The electrochemical measurements of the acetonitrile solutions revealed irreversible electron transfers consistent with the electrochemical decomposition of the ligand and its coordination complexes.

The use of size distributions of circular domains in Langmuir monolayers for determining physical parameters of surfactants.

An analysis of equilibrium size distributions of circular liquid-condensed (LC) domains in amphiphilic monolayers at the air/water interface, gleaned from microscopic images, is presented in terms of Gaussians fitted to a theoretical expression derived previously. It is demonstrated how, in principle, important properties of the monolayer, such as molecular dipole moments of surfactant head groups and line tension of the liquid-condensed/liquid-expanded phase boundary, can be obtained by combining the results of this simplified analysis with information from X-ray diffraction or surface pressure measurements.