Search Results (4)

Chloromethane (CH₃Cl) is a key chlorinated organic compound not only in atmospheric chemistry, but also in the field of molecular astrophysics and a possible biosignature in exoplanetary atmospheres. While the spectroscopic characterization of the main isotopic species has been addressed in great detail, that of its isotopologues remains incomplete. This work aims at filling this gap by focusing on the bideuterated species, CHD₂Cl, and exploiting both rotational and vibrational spectroscopy in combination with state-of-the-art quantum-chemical (QC) calculations. First, the rotational spectrum of CHD₂Cl has been measured in the millimeter-wave domain, allowing the accurate determination of several spectroscopic constants for four isotopologues, namely ¹²CHD₂³⁵Cl, ¹²CHD₂³⁷Cl, ¹³CHD₂³⁵Cl, and ¹³CHD₂³⁷Cl. The newly determined rotational constants have been used to refine the semi-experimental equilibrium structure of chloromethane. Secondly, the vibrational analysis, supported by high-level QC predictions of vibrational energies, has been conducted in the 500–6200 cm⁻¹ infrared (IR) region, enabling the identification of more than 30 bands including fundamental, overtone, and combination transitions. Finally, chloromethane’s radiative efficiency has been simulated using the QC IR absorption cross-sections, and the effects of isotopologue distribution on the predicted radiative properties have been investigated. All these findings greatly improve the comprehension of the spectroscopic properties of bideuterated chloromethane isotopologues, and of chloromethane in general, and facilitate future terrestrial and extraterrestrial studies. Full article

With the continuous progress of air pollution prevention and control in China, the study of the emission characteristics of vehicles has become increasingly important. An in situ experiment was performed in the Tianfu tunnel in Chengdu to determine the vehicle emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). A total of 50 species of VOCs were quantified in the tunnel, with total concentrations in the range of 32.25–162.18 ppbv in the entrance and 52.90–233.92 ppbv in the exit, respectively. Alkanes were the most abundant group, followed by alkenes, aromatic hydrocarbons, oxygenated VOCs, alkynes and chlorocarbons. The general emission factors of the measured VOCs ranged from 141.71 mg veh⁻¹ km⁻¹ to 236.12 mg veh⁻¹ km⁻¹, and the average ± std was 177.31 ± 24.59 mg veh⁻¹ km⁻¹. The emission factors of diesel-fuelled vehicles, gasoline-fuelled vehicles and natural gas-fuelled vehicles were estimated based on linear regression analysis, with values of 272.39 ± 191.17 mg veh⁻¹ km⁻¹, 185.08 ± 12.85 mg veh⁻¹ km⁻¹ and 158.72 ± 3.21 mg veh⁻¹ km⁻¹, respectively. The results of roadside experiments indicate that the roadside ambience atmosphere contains many species characterized with vehicle emission features. Especially, there were fuel evaporation emission related substances, which were higher in content than tunnel samples. Full article

Several inorganic materials are potentially suitable for enzymatic covalent immobilization, by means of several different techniques. Such materials must meet stringent criteria to be suitable as solid matrices: complete insolubility in water, reasonable mechanical strength and chemical resistance under the operational conditions, the capability to form manageable particles with high surface area, reactivity towards derivatizing/functionalizing agents. Non-specific protein adsorption should be always considered when planning covalent immobilization on inorganic solids. A huge mass of experimental work has shown that silica, silicates, borosilicates and aluminosilicates, alumina, titania, and other oxides, are the materials of choice when attempting enzyme immobilizations on inorganic supports. More recently, some forms of elemental carbon, silicon, and certain metals have been also proposed for certain applications. With regard to the derivatization/functionalization techniques, the use of organosilanes through silanization is undoubtedly the most studied and the most applied, although inorganic bridge formation and acylation with selected acyl halides have been deeply studied. In the present article, the most common inorganic supports for covalent immobilization of the enzymes are reviewed, with particular focus on their advantages and disadvantages in terms of enzyme loadings, operational stability, undesired adsorption, and costs. Mechanisms and methods for covalent immobilization are also discussed, focusing on the most widespread activating approaches (such as glutaraldehyde, cyanogen bromide, divinylsulfone, carbodiimides, carbonyldiimidazole, sulfonyl chlorides, chlorocarbonates, N-hydroxysuccinimides). Full article