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Solvent Viscosity (solvent + viscosity)
Selected AbstractsFacile and Reproducible Synthesis of Nanostructured Colloidal ZnO Nanoparticles from Zinc Acetylacetonate: Effect of Experimental Parameters and Mechanistic InvestigationsEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF INORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 33 2009Alessia Famengo Abstract A facile and reproducible route to nanostructured colloidal ZnO nanoparticles was developed by controlled hydrolysis and condensation of zinc acetylacetonate in alkaline conditions. By reaction of an ethanolic solution of Zn(acac)2 with NaOH in a 1:2 molar ratio, after reflux, ZnO spherical nanoparticles were obtained that displayed a homogeneous size distribution; particle diameters ranged from 6 to 10 nm, as evidenced by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. The same reaction was carried out also in water, glycerol and 1,2-propanediol, to investigate the effect of the solvent viscosity and dielectric constant on the final features of the obtained material. Irrespective of the nature of the solvent, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows the formation ofhexagonal ZnO, whereas the presence of residual unreacted Zn(acac)2 could be ruled out. Indeed, different particle sizes and very different morphologies were obtained. Also the reflux step was shown to be a key factor in avoiding the fast precipitation of a floc and achieving a pure compound, which was isolated and thoroughly characterised. The composition of the obtained ZnO was determined by elemental analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), showing the formation of pure ZnO. IR spectroscopy evidenced the presence of adsorbed organic ligands on the colloid surfaces. Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFT) revealed the presence of medium- to high-strength acidic sites on the ZnO surface. To gain a deeper insight into the formation mechanisms of these nanostructures, time-resolved UV/Vis and XAS studies were performed on the ethanol solution used for the synthesis of the oxide and also on the solid specimen, obtained after the refluxing step. No remarkable changes could be evidenced in the solution after the addition of an understoichiometric amount of NaOH, but the growth of the ZnO nanoparticles could be followed by UV/Vis spectra. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009) [source] The application of small porous particles, high temperatures, and high pressures to generate very high resolution LC and LC/MS separationsJOURNAL OF SEPARATION SCIENCE, JSS, Issue 8 2007Robert Plumb Abstract The effect of combining sub-2 ,m porous particles with elevated operating temperatures on chromatographic performance has been investigated in terms of chromatographic efficiency, productivity, peak elution order, and observed operating pressure. The use of elevated temperature in LC does not increase the obtainable performance but allows the same performance to be obtained in less time. Increasing the column temperature did allow the use of longer columns, generating column efficiencies in excess of 100 000 plates and gradient peak capacities approaching 1000. Raising the temperature increased the optimal mobile phase linear velocity, negating somewhat the pressure benefits observed by reducing the solvent viscosity. When operating at higher temperature the analyte retention is not only reduced, but the order of elution will also often change. High temperature separations allowed exotic organic modifiers such as isopropanol to be exploited for alternative selectivity and faster analysis. Finally, care must be taken when using high temperature separations to ensure that the narrow peak widths produced do not compromise the quality of data obtained from detectors such as high resolution mass spectrometers. [source] Fluorescence Lifetimes Study of ,-Tocopherol and Biological Prenylquinols in Organic Solvents and Model MembranesPHOTOCHEMISTRY & PHOTOBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2006Jerzy Kruk ABSTRACT We have found that for biological prenyllipids, such as plastoquinol-9, ,-tocopherol quinol, and ,-tocopherol, the shortest fluorescence lifetimes were found in aprotic solvents (hexane, ethyl acetate) whereas the longest lifetimes were those of ubiquinonol-10 in these solvents. For all the investigated prenyllipids, fluorescence lifetime in alcohols increased along with an increase in solvent viscosity. In a concentrated hexane solution, the lifetimes of prenylquinols considerably decreased. This contrasts with methanol solutions, which is probably due to the self-association of these compounds in aprotic solvents. We have also found a correlation of the Stokes shift of prenyllipids fluorescence with the orientation polarizability of the solvents. Based on data obtained in organic solvents, measurements of the fluorescence lifetimes of prenyllipids in liposomes allowed an estimation of the relative distance of their fluorescent rings from the liposome membrane surface, and was found to be the shortest for ,-tocopherol quinol in egg yolk phosphatidyl-choline liposomes, and increased in the following order: ,-tocopherol in dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine liposomes < ,-tocopherol < plastoquinol-9 < ubiquinol-10 in egg-yolk phosphatidylcholine liposomes. [source] Protein dynamics control proton transfer from bulk solvent to protein interior: A case study with a green fluorescent proteinPROTEIN SCIENCE, Issue 7 2005Anoop M. Saxena Abstract The kinetics of proton transfer in Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) have been studied as a model system for characterizing the correlation between dynamics and function of proteins in general. The kinetics in EGFP (a variant of GFP) were monitored by using a laser-induced pH jump method. The pH was jumped from 8 to 5 by nanosecond flash photolysis of the "caged proton," o -nitrobenzaldehyde, and subsequent proton transfer was monitored by following the decrease in fluorescence intensity. The modulation of proton transfer kinetics by external perturbants such as viscosity, pH, and subdenaturing concentrations of GdnHCl as well as of salts was studied. The rate of proton transfer was inversely proportional to solvent viscosity, suggesting that the rate-limiting step is the transfer of protons through the protein matrix. The rate is accelerated at lower pH values, and measurements of the fluorescence properties of tryptophan 57 suggest that the enhancement in rate is associated with an enhancement in protein dynamics. The rate of proton transfer is nearly independent of temperature, unlike the rate of the reverse process. When the stability of the protein was either decreased or increased by the addition of co-solutes, including the salts KCl, KNO3, and K2SO4, a significant decrease in the rate of proton transfer was observed in all cases. The lack of correlation between the rate of proton transfer and the stability of the protein suggests that the structure is tuned to ensure maximum efficiency of the dynamics that control the proton transfer function of the protein. [source] Effect of solvent on the viscosity changes of coal-oil slurry under high temperature,high pressure during heatingASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 5 2009Yingjie Ren Abstract Heating coal-oil slurry is an important step in direct coal liquefaction. Some physical and chemical properties and the viscosity of coal-oil slurry will be the changes in the heating process. A self-manufactured rotary viscometer that can measure the viscosity of coal slurry at high-pressure temperature was designed. Two kinds of solvents including anthracene oil, Shenhua recycled oil (the catalytic hydrogenation products of Shenhua direct coal liquefaction) and Yanzhou coal were used. The results show that the viscosity of Yanzhou coal-anthracene oil and Shenhua recycled oil slurry decrease firstly with the decreasing of solvent viscosity, then increase with measuring temperature for the absorption and volatilization of the solvent in atmosphere. Both of them have a viscosity peak with increasing measuring temperature in atmosphere. However, the Yanzhou coal-anthracene oil slurry has a viscosity peak at about 583 K under high pressure during heating, while the Yanzhou coal-Shenhua recycled oil slurry does not have a viscosity peak, but coke deposits appear at 623 K and above, under high pressure. In addition, the viscosity,temperature characteristics of thermally treated coal-oil slurry at different temperatures are the same; both have a viscosity peak with increasing heating temperature at the same measuring temperature. Copyright © 2009 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Fluorescence enhancement of warfarin induced by interaction with ,-cyclodextrinBIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 4 2009Jacob M. Vasquez Abstract Warfarin is the most common agent used for control and prevention of venous as well as arterial thromboembolism (blood clots). In aqueous media, warfarin forms inclusion complexes with a family of cyclic oligosaccharides, ,, ,, ,-cyclodextrins (CD). The formation of these complexes results in enhancement of the fluorescence of warfarin. Such spectroscopic changes offer a venue for the development of bioanalytical methodologies for warfarin quantification in biological liquids. We characterized the photophysical properties of warfarin in solvents with varying polarity and viscosity. The fluorescence quantum yield of warfarin correlated: (1) strongly with the solvent viscosity (R = 0.979) and (2) weakly with the solvent polarity (R = 0.118). These findings indicate that it is the change of the viscosity, rather than polarity, of the microenvironment that causes the fluorescence enhancement of warfarin upon binding to ,-CD. Utilizing the observed fluorescence enhancement in fluorescence titration measurements, the binding constants of warfarin to ,-CD were obtained (2.6 × 102 M,1,3.7 × 102 M,1). Using multivariable linear analysis, we extracted the stoichiometry of warfarin-,-CD interaction (1:1). © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2009 [source] Conformational Relaxation of p -Phenylenevinylene Trimers in Solution Studied by Picosecond Time-Resolved FluorescenceCHEMPHYSCHEM, Issue 18 2007Roberto E. Di Paolo Dr. Abstract Two p -phenylenevinylene (PV) trimers, containing 3,-methylbutyloxyl (in MBOPV3) and 2,-ethylhexyloxyl (in EHOPV3) side chains, are used as model compounds of PV-based conjugated polymers (PPV) with the purpose of clarifying the origin of fast (picosecond time) components observed in the fluorescence decays of poly[2-methoxy-5-(2,-ethylhexyloxy)- p -phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV). The fluorescence decays of MBOPV3 and EHOPV3 reveal the presence of similar fast components, which are assigned to excited-state conformational relaxation of the initial population of non-planar trimer conformers to lower-energy, more planar conformers. The rate constant of conformational relaxation kCR is dependent on solvent viscosity and temperature, according to the empirical relationship kCR=a,o,,,exp(,,E,/RT), where a,o,, is the frequency factor, ,o is the pre-exponential coefficient of viscosity, E, is the activation energy of viscous flow. The empirical parameter ,, relating the solvent microscopic friction involved in the conformational change to the macroscopic solvent friction (,=1), depends on the side chain. The fast component in the fluorescence decays of MEH-PPV polymers (PPVs), is assigned to resonance energy transfer from short to longer polymer segments. The present results call for revising this assignment/interpretation to account for the occurrence of conformational relaxation, concurrently with energy transfer, in PPVs. [source] Ultrafast Photoisomerization of Photoactive Yellow Protein Chromophore Analogues in Solution: Influence of the Protonation StateCHEMPHYSCHEM, Issue 8 2006Agathe Espagne Dr. Abstract We investigate solvent viscosity and polarity effects on the photoisomerization of the protonated and deprotonated forms of two analogues of the photoactive yellow protein (PYP) chromophore. These are trans- p -hydroxybenzylidene acetone and trans- p -hydroxyphenyl cinnamate, studied in solutions of different polarity and viscosity at room temperature, by means of femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion. The fluorescence lifetimes of the protonated forms are found to be barely sensitive to solvent viscosity, and to increase with increasing solvent polarity. In contrast, the fluorescence decays of the deprotonated forms are significantly slowed down in viscous media and accelerated in polar solvents. These results elucidate the dramatic influence of the protonation state of the PYP chromophore analogues on their photoinduced dynamics. The viscosity and polarity effects are, respectively, interpreted in terms of different isomerization coordinates and charge redistribution in S1. A trans-to-cis isomerization mechanism involving mainly the ethylenic double-bond torsion and/or solvation is proposed for the anionic forms, whereas "concerted" intramolecular motions are proposed for the neutral forms. [source] |