State- and bond-selected unimolecular reactions

Unimolecular reactions are crucial chemical events that have been the focus of increasingly sophisticated investigation in the past decade. Unraveling their details is one fundamental goal of experimental and theoretical studies of chemical dynamics. New techniques are revealing the possibilities, and challenges, of eigenstate- and bondspecific unimolecular reactions. These experiments clearly demonstrate the intimate connection between intramolecular processes and unimolecular reaction dynamics and suggest means of exploiting molecular properties to study and control reactions at the level of individual quantum states.     

Laser femtochemistry

Femtochemistry is concerned with the very act of the molecular motion that brings about chemistry, chemical bond breaking, or bond formation on the femtosecond (10(-15) second) time scale. With lasers it is now possible to record snapshots of chemical reactions with sub-angstrom resolution. This strobing of the transition-state region between reagents and products provides real time observations that are fundamental to understanding the dynamics of the chemical bond.     

Theoretical chemistry comes alive: full partner with experiment

During the last decade, advances in computational techniques and in the extraction of chemically useful concepts from electronic wave functions have put theorists into the mainstream of chemistry. Some recent examples of the prediction of spectroscopic quantities and the elucidation of catalytic processes for homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions from theoretical calculations are used to illustrate how theory and experiment are now full partners in chemical research. It is expected that during the next decade the thrust of theoretical chemistry will be to combine the knowledge of fundamental chemical steps and fundamental interactions with advances in chemical dynamics and irreversible statistical mechanics and in computer technology to produce simulations of chemical systems with competing reactions taking place simultaneously at various reaction sites. The promise of such simulation is illustrated by a study of the enzyme thermolysin.     

Laser probing of chemical reaction dynamics

Lasers are used in increasingly sophisticated ways to carry out reactions between molecules in selected vibrational, rotational, and electronic states and to probe the product states of chemical reactions. Such investigations are providing unprecedented insights into chemical reaction dynamics, the study of the detailed motions that molecules undergo in simple chemical reactions. In many cases it is possible to describe the influence that specific types of molecular excitation have on reactive events. Experiments are also being carried out to leam about chemical reactivity as a function of the alignment of reagents. There is increasing excitement concerning the potential of laser methods to interrogate the transition states of molecular reactions.     

Hydrazine-air fuel cells. Hydrazine-air fuel cells emerge from the laboratory

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that continues to generate electrical power as long as reactants are supplied and products are removed at properly controlled rates. An assembly of cells is required within which the conversion of chemical to electrical energy occurs; also required is a set of auxiliary components to supply the reactants and remove the products (including waste heat) under controlled steady-state conditions. In addition to the desired energy-conversion reactions, there are deleterious side reactions that can impair fuel economy. From knowledge of these factors influencing the possible reactions, and guided by principles of elementary chemical thermodynamics, the electrochemist can select optimum conditions for cell performance. It is then the job of the engineer to design auxiliary components and controlling devices to provide the electrochemical cells with the best possible approach to these optimum conditions.     

Computer simulation in chemical kinetics

Numerical methods for modeling complex chemical reactions are being used to gain insight into the mechanisms of these systems as well as to provide a capability for predicting their behavior from a knowledge of elementary physical and chemical processes. The state of the art is reviewed, and some projections about likely future developments are made.     

多媒体技术在无机化学元素部分教学中的应用

元素化学是无机化学的重要组成部分。由于元素化学涉及的内容繁杂，化学反应很多，历年来是教学的难点。本研究结合无机化学元素部分多媒体教学实践，从课前准备，课堂教学，课后总结进行了探讨，指出多媒体技术的引入，提高了教学效果。     

Perovskite oxides: materials science in catalysis

In a time of growing need for catalysts, perovskites have been rediscovered as a family of catalysts of such great diversity that a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines have been brought to bear in their study and application. Because of the wide range of ions and valences which this simple structure can accommodate, the perovskites lend themselves to chemical tailoring. It is relatively simple to synthesize perovskites because of the flexibility of the structure to diverse chemistry. Many of the techniques of ceramic powder preparation are applicable to perovskite catalysts. In their own right, they are therefore of interest as a model system for the correlation of solid-state parameters and catalytic mechanisms. Such correlations [See figure in the PDF file] have recently been found between the rate and selectivity of oxidation-reduction reactions and the thermodynamic and electronic parameters of the solid. For commercial processes such as those mentioned in the introduction, perovskite catalysts have not yet proven to be practical. Much of the initial interest in these catalysts related to their use in automobile exhaust control. Current interest in this field centers on noble metalsubstituted perovskites resistant to S poisoning for single-bed, dual-bed, and three-way catalyst configurations. The formulations commercially tested to date have shown considerable promise, but long-term stability has not yet been achieved. A very large fraction of the elements that make up presently used commercial catalysts can be incorporated in the structure of perovskite oxides. Conversely, it is anticipated that perovskite oxides, appropriately formulated, will show catalytic activity for a large variety of chemical conversions. Even though this expectation is by no means a prediction of commercial success in the face of competition by existing catalyst systems, it makes these oxides attractive models in the study of catalytic chemical conversion. By appropriate formulation many desirable properties can be tailored, including the valence state of transition metal ions, the binding energy and diffusion of O in the lattice, the distance between active sites, and the magnetic and conductive properties of the solid. Only a very small fraction of possible perovskite formulations have been explored as catalysts. It is expected that further investigation will greatly expand the scope of perovskite catalysis, extend the understanding of solid-state parameters in catalysis, and contribute to the development of practical catalytic processes.     

Long-term studies of vegetation dynamics

By integrating a wide range of experimental, comparative, and theoretical approaches, ecologists are starting to gain a detailed understanding of the long-term dynamics of vegetation. We explore how patterns of variation in demographic traits among species have provided insight into the processes that structure plant communities. We find a common set of mechanisms, derived from ecological and evolutionary principles, that underlie the main forces shaping systems as diverse as annual plant communities and tropical forests. Trait variation between species maintains diversity and has important implications for ecosystem processes. Hence, greater understanding of how Earth's vegetation functions will likely require integration of ecosystem science with ideas from plant evolutionary, population, and community ecology.     

Experiments and simulations of ion-enhanced interfacial chemistry on aqueous NaCl aerosols

A combination of experimental, molecular dynamics, and kinetics modeling studies is applied to a system of concentrated aqueous sodium chloride particles suspended in air at room temperature with ozone, irradiated at 254 nanometers to generate hydroxyl radicals. Measurements of the observed gaseous molecular chlorine product are explainable only if reactions at the air-water interface are dominant. Molecular dynamics simulations show the availability of substantial amounts of chloride ions for reaction at the interface, and quantum chemical calculations predict that in the gas phase chloride ions will strongly attract hydroxl radicals. Model extrapolation to the marine boundary layer yields daytime chlorine atom concentrations that are in good agreement with estimates based on field measurements of the decay of selected organics over the Southern Ocean and the North Atlantic. Thus, ion-enhanced interactions with gases at aqueous interfaces may play a more generalized and important role in the chemistry of concentrated inorganic salt solutions than was previously recognized.     

Quantum theory of chemical reaction dynamics

It is now possible to use rigorous quantum scattering theory to perform accurate calculations on the detailed state-to-state dynamics of chemical reactions in the gas phase. Calculations on simple reactions, such as H + D2 --> HD + D and F + H2 --> HF + H, compete with experiment in their accuracy. Recent advances in theory promise to extend such accurate predictions to more complicated reactions, such as OH + H2 --> H2O + H, and even to reactions of molecules on solid surfaces. New experimental techniques for probing reaction transition states, such as negative-ion photodetachment spectroscopy and pump-probe femtosecond spectroscopy, are stimulating the development of new theories.     

Time-resolved photoacoustic calorimetry: probing the energetics and dynamics of fast chemical and biochemical reactions

Time-resolved photoacoustic calorimetry is a new experimental technique that measures the dynamics of enthalpy changes on the time scale of nanoseconds to microseconds for reactions initiated by absorption of light. When the reaction is carried out in water, it is also possible to obtain the dynamics of the corresponding volume changes. This method has been applied to a variety of biochemical, organic, and organometallic reactions.     

Divalent carbon intermediates: laser photolysis and spectroscopy

A brief review is given of the structures of an important class of reactive intermediates, divalent carbon species (carbenes). The electronic properties of carbenes force an unusual electronic character upon these species that, in turn, leads to intriguing physical and chemical properties. Because of the fleeting nature of carbenes, which are extraordinarily reactive, direct investigation of their structural and chemical behavior has presented a challenge to the experimentalist. The application of spectroscopic and ultrafast laser techniques has met this challenge. With the use of laser methods, along with conventional techniques, quantitative evaluation of the energetics, dynamics, and reactivities of a variety of carbenes has been possible.     

Mode-specific energy disposal in the four-atom reaction OH + D2 --> HOD + D

Experiments, employing crossed molecular beams, with vibrational state resolution have been performed on the simplest four-atom reaction, OH + D2 --> HOD + D. In good agreement with the most recent quantum scattering predictions, mode-specific reaction dynamics is observed, with vibration in the newly formed oxygen-deuterium bond preferentially excited to v = 2. This demonstrates that quantum theoretical calculations, which in the past decade have achieved remarkable accuracy for three-atom reactions involving three dimensions, have progressed to the point where it is now possible to accurately predict energy disposal in four-atom reactions involving six dimensions.     

Imaging atomic structure and dynamics with ultrafast x-ray scattering

Measuring atomic-resolution images of materials with x-ray photons during chemical reactions or physical transformations resides at the technological forefront of x-ray science. New x-ray-based experimental capabilities have been closely linked with advances in x-ray sources, a trend that will continue with the impending arrival of x-ray-free electron lasers driven by electron accelerators. We discuss recent advances in ultrafast x-ray science and coherent imaging made possible by linear-accelerator-based light sources. These studies highlight the promise of ultrafast x-ray lasers, as well as the technical challenges and potential range of applications that will accompany these transformative x-ray light sources.     

The discovery of quarks

Quarks are widely recognized today as being among the elementary particles of which matter is composed. The key evidence for their existence came from a series of inelastic electron-nucleon scattering experiments conducted between 1967 and 1973 at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. Other theoretical and experimental advances of the 1970s confirmed this discovery, leading to the present standard model of elementary particle physics.     

SO2在矿质颗粒物表面非均相反应研究进展

我国秋冬季雾霾频发,对人类健康造成巨大威胁。大气中SO_2经系列物理化学反应产生的硫酸盐气溶胶是雾霾产生的元凶,其中矿质颗粒物参与的SO_2表面非均相反应尤为重要,因此,厘清矿质颗粒物表面硫酸盐的形成机制是解析大气雾霾形成的关键科学问题。本文综述了SO_2在不同类型氧化型矿质颗粒物表面非均相反应的研究进展,讨论了多污染物共存体系、湿度和光照对SO_2非均相反应的影响,并对目前矿质颗粒物表面非均相反应研究中存在的问题进行了评述,旨在加深对矿质颗粒物促进硫酸盐形成机制的认识,助力揭示我国雾霾的成因,进而为雾霾治理提供理论指导。     

转Cry1A基因棉对棉蚜生长发育及种群动态的影响

 棉蚜 (AphisgossypiiGlover)是棉花的重要害虫之一。为了明确长江中游棉区Bt棉花对棉蚜发生的影响 ,笔者在实验室和田间研究了Bt棉花棉蚜的发生规律。实验室棉蚜种群生命表的研究表明 ,取食Bt棉花GK19、BG1560和普通棉花泗棉 3号棉蚜的生命参数无显著差别。 2 0 0 1～ 2 0 0 2年在湖北省天门市的大田研究表明 ,Bt棉GK19、BG1560和未施药泗棉 3号棉蚜的发生和危害没有显著差异     

Antibody active sites and immunoglobulin molecules

In order to obtain detailed information about the relationship between structure and function in antibody molecules, a method called affinity labeling has been devised to attach chemical labels specifically to amino acid residues in the active sites of antibody molecules. With antibodies to three different haptens, highly specific labeling of the active sites has been achieved. Tyrosine residues on both heavy and light polypeptide chains have been labeled in a molar ratio close to 2:1, and labels on the two chains are equally specific to the active sites. Peptide fragmentation studies of the labeled chains of one antibody system have shown that: (i) within 25 amino acid residues of the labeled tyrosine on either chain, substantial chemical heterogeneity exists among different antibody molecules of the same specificity; and (ii) the labeled peptide fragments from both chains are very similar in physicochemical characteristics, including average size, heterogeneity, and unusual hydrophobicity. These experimental results have led us to the view that a particular region of the heavy chain and a particular region of the light chain are utilized to construct the active sites of the three different antibodies, differences in specificity arising from chemical perturbations in these two regions. Correlated structural studies of affinity-labeled antibodies and of the homogeneous light chains (Bence Jones proteins) and heavy chains produced in multiple myeloma may permit the identification of these special active-site regions. The view that active sites of different specificity are chemical perturbations of a particular region of the antibody molecule has a possible close analogue in enzyme systems, particularly among the esterases. The marked chemical similarities we have observed between the active site regions of heavy and light chains indicate to us that chemical homologies, but not identities, exist between the chains. This is reinforced by recently obtained amino acid sequence data which reveal homologies between the two chains near their carboxyl-terminals. These results indicate that the structural genes which code for the synthesis of heavy and light chains are related, presumably having arisen from some common ancestral gene during evolution. This conclusion strongly suggests that both heavy and light chains determine antibody specificity, and has important implications for the still-unknow mechanisms of antibody biosynthesis.