Re-reporting the Crystal Structure of Copper Complex from Another Point of View

We faced an example of re-reporting of the crystal structure, which was studied from another perspective. With the development of data-driven science, the efficiency of all researchers may be improved if the rules of data "reuse", which are different from "novelty", are established. In this context, the crystal structure of a copper(II) complex with 2,6-pyridine dicarboxylic acid, C14H8O8CuN2.H2O (monohydrate), was re-determined by us again. It has a different number of crystalline water molecules in a crystal of the same copper(II) complex previously reported (trihydrate). Interestingly, both crystal structures have been reported again and again by many researchers for a long time. What’s novelty for each report?

Beyond the Scope of Each Computational Chemistry

Due to recent advances in computational chemistry, not only computers and analysis programs in crystal structure analysis, but also TD-DFT calculations related to intramolecular electronic states and energies have been easily performed, and detailed discussions have become possible. On the other hand, how to discuss information such as intermolecular interactions, molecular assembly states, and packing, which is beyond the scope of application of each computational chemistry program and theory, is still a subject of research. Here, authors would like to consider what is possible and difficult using a program, for example, Hirshfeld surface analysis.

Alkaline Wood Ash, Turbulence, and Traps with Excess of Sulfuric Acid Do Not Strip Completely the Ammonia off an Agro-waste Digestate

The present study combined two nutrient management strategies to improve the marketability of a waste-derived fertilizer: (a) isolation of ammoniacal nitrogen and (b) preparation of a bulk soil amendment. The wood fly ash with low content of pollutants was added to an agrowaste anaerobic digestate as alkaline stabilizer, which promoted the volatilization of ammonia and adsorption processes, and as nutrient supplement. The 39.71 ± 1.44 g blend was incubated for 60 hours at 20°C and 100 rpm in a closed chamber (250-mL Schott Duran® bottle) with a 5.21 ± 0.10 mL sulfuric acid trap of 10 different concentrations (0.11, 0.21, 0.32, 0.43, 0.54, 0.64, 0.75, 0.86, 0.96, and 1.07 mol/L). For analytical purposes, the sulfuric acid, water-soluble, and water-insoluble fractions of the blend were isolated after the incubation. The 1.07 mol/L sulfuric acid solution contained 23.69 ± 5.72 % more of ammonical nitrogen than the 0.11 mol/L solutions. However, in all cases the amount of nitrogen in the H2SO4 compartment was lower than the one in the water-soluble and water-insoluble fractions. Only the 15.52 ± 2.13 % of the nitrogen accounted after the incubation was found in the H2SO4 trap. The bottleneck of the NH3 stripping process was the rate of mass transfer at the interface between the blended fertilizer and the headspace of the closed chamber. The organic phosphorus was more susceptible to be adsorbed during the alkaline treatment with non-intrusive acidification than the nitrogen and carbon. Activation of the ash as adsorbent before mixing with the digestate should improve the properties of the blend as slow release fertilizer, since more nutrients would end in the water-insoluble fraction.

Characterization and Evaluation of Biofilm Formation by Klebsiella pneumonia MBB9 Isolated from Epilithic Biofilms of the Porter Brook River, Sheffield

Microbes generally attach to surfaces and produce an Extracellular Polymeric Substance (EPS) matrix. The exopolysaccharide production plays a role in biofilm protection against environmental stress factors. Biofilm-forming bacteria exhibit different physiological properties in their response to environmental influences compared with their planktonic counterparts. This study aimed to investigate the impact of changing the concentrations of glucose, peptone, and yeast extract and environmental parameters, such as temperature, pH, anaerobic conditions, osmotic stresses, and growth media on biofilm formation by K. pneumonia MBB9 recovered from river-stones collected from the Porter Brook, Sheffield using crystal violet and resazurin assays in microtiter plates. The different concentrations of glucose (0.25, 0.5 and 1 g L-1), peptone (0.25, 0.5 and 1 g L-1) and yeast extract (0.25, 0.5 and 1 g L-1) as carbon and nitrogen sources found to have an impact on biofilm formation by K. pneumonia MBB9. The greatest biomass level being at 0.25 g L-1 for glucose whereas the density of biofilm increased significantly with increasing the concentration of peptone and yeast extract until 1 g L-1 of peptone and yeast extract, suggesting that higher levels of peptone and yeast extract can be beneficial for biofilm formation by K. pneumonia MBB9 in microtiter plates. The amount of biofilm was high at pH 4.5 and 0.6% NaCl; however, the significant reduction at pH 10.5 and 10.6% NaCl could be as a result of the slow growth under higher NaCl concentrations and highly alkaline condition. High-density biofilm produced at 40 °C; however, a temperature of 50 °C reduced the amount of biofilm by K. pneumonia MBB9, suggesting that more extreme temperatures might affect the formation of biofilm by inhibiting growth. Besides, biofilm production under anaerobic conditions was significantly lower (83% less) than under aerobic environments. Klebsiella pneumonia MBB9 possessed a high capacity to form biofilms on the surface of glass slide coupons.

Attempt to Reduce Potentially Flammable Organic Solvents in Chemical Synthesis

A fire sometimes ignited an organic solvent in a chemical laboratory. A mechanochemical synthesis may be a good way to reduce the amount of organic solvents or without organic solvents compared to conventional synthesis in solutions. The solvent affected the product, namely solvent methanol acted as a ligand, although the quality of the data of X-ray crystallography is usually difficult to report in a strict research article in the case of our Azo-Schiff base metal complexes. Thus substitution of synthesis methods associated with potentially dangerous organic solvents may be possible depending on the application or purpose.

From Students' Questions of Safety Education in a Chemistry Laboratory

Chemists operate fairly scary chemicals with their bare hands, but drug injuries and addiction is very rare. This is because we are familiar with what is dangerous and what is not dangerous, and for that reason, the experimental curriculum is designed with the idea of gaining sufficient experience of failure in the undergraduate years in the chemistry classroom of the university. From the experience of safety education in the author's laboratory, this article will describe some points that are easy to overlook (metal powder), fire extinguishers, and the opinions are divided (cyanide). Beside general viewpoints of chemical aspects fire safety and chemistry experiments similar to that I have written for high-school and college students and teachers, this Editorial focused on “Question” that my (under) graduate students have practically.

Evaluation of Tertiary Reservoir in Hamrin Oil Field, North Iraq

Hamrin oil field is one of the important oil field in northern Iraq. The field represent an asymmetrical anticline that extend North West-South East for more than 101 km, with width (4-7) km. Hamrin oil field was located at the south western boundary of foothill zone of the unstable shelf area according to the tectonic division of Iraq. The Tertiary reservoir represented by Jeribe and Euphrates formations as main reservoirs and Dhiban formation as secondary reservoir that represent an attractive petroleum completion target in Hamrin oil field. The aim of this study is to determine the petrophysical properties of these formations, using log data, because these properties affect the estimate of reserves (porosity and saturation) and well deliverability (permeability). This study shows that the petro physical properties of these formations were controlled by depositional environment, diagenesis and tectonic activity. The evaluation of the petro physical for tertiary reservoir in Hamrin oil field was necessary to choose the best interval for well completion.

Direct Fixation of Atmospheric CO2 towards Chemical Synthesis of Fuel Hydrocarbon

We have reported that fuel hydrocarbon was chemically synthesized from CO2 and activated water. In this report, we show the direct evidence of CO2 fixation from air. CO2 in the air is composed of about 99 % 12C, about 1% 13C, and about one trillionth radioisotope 14C. The extremely trace amount of 14C was measured with liquid scintillation counter by following beta-decay. The newly synthesized hydrocarbon revealed 14.6 dpm/gC. These facts clearly demonstrate direct fixation of atmospheric CO2 toward hydrocarbon synthesis.

Heat Pipe as a Passive Cooling System Driving New Generation of Nuclear Power Plants

The technology of the Heat Pipe (HP) system is very well known for scientists and engineers working in the field of thermal-hydraulic since its invention at Las Alamos Nation Laboratory around the 1960s time frame. It is a passive heat transfer/heat exchanger system that comes in the form of either a constant or variable system without any mechanical built-in moving part. This passive heat transfer system and its augmentation within the core of nuclear power reactors have been proposed in the past few decades. The sodium, potassium, or mercury type heat pipe system using any of these three elements for the cooling system has been considered by many manufacturers of fission reactors and recently fusion reactors particularly Magnetic Confinement Fusion (MCF). Integration of the heat pipes as passive cooling can be seen in a new generation of a nuclear power reactor system that is designed for unconventional application field such as a space-based vehicle for deep space or galaxy exploration, planetary surface-based power plants as well as operation in remote areas on Earth. With the new generation of Small Modular Reactor (SMR) in form of Nuclear Micro Reactors (NMR), this type of fission reactor has integrated Alkali metal heat pipes to a series of Stirling convertors or thermoelectric converters for power generation that would generate anywhere from 13kwt to 3Mwt thermal of power for the energy conversion system.

Synthesis, Characterization and Self-Assembly Properties of a New Copper-Phthalocyanine Core Acrylate Block Copolymer

A new di-block acrylate copolymer with a Copper-Phthalocyanine (CuPc) core has been synthesized via a multi-step reaction scheme involving the atom-transfer radical polymerization. This material displayed amphiphilic character and consists of a CuPc core with eight copolymer arms. This new amphiphilic material and related intermediates have been characterized by UV-Vis, FT-IR, 1H-NMR and elemental analysis. A preliminary study involving self-assembly properties of this material by optical, atomic force and scanning electron microscopies is presented.