Quantum cluster and embedded cluster approaches were used to investigate the proton transfer reaction for a series of model clusters of zeolite/(H2O)n ; n = 1, 2, 3, and 4, using the B3LYP/6-31G (d,p) level of theory. For both calculations, without promoted water, the hydrogen-bonded dimer of the zeolite/water system exists as a simple hydrogen-bonded complex, ZOH(H2O)2, and no proton transfer ...

High voltage electron microscopy of intact cells prepared by the critical point drying (CPD) procedure has become an important tool in the study of three-dimensional relationships between cytoplasmic organelles. It has been claimed that critical point-dried specimens reveal a structure that is not visible in sections of plastic-embedded material; it has also been claimed that this structure, in...

Nanoscopic and microscopic water droplets and ice crystals embedded in liquid hydrophobic surroundings are key components of aerosols, rocks, oil fields and the human body. The chemical properties of such droplets critically depend on the interfacial structure of the water droplet. Here we report the surface structure of 200 nm-sized water droplets in mixtures of hydrophobic oils and surfactant...

We describe a microfabricated Fabry-Pérot interferometer with nanochannels of various heights between 6 and 20 nm embedded in its cavity. By multiple beam interferometry, the device enables the study of liquid behavior in the nanochannels without using fluorescent substances. During filling studies of ethanol and water, an intriguing filling mode for partially wetting water was observed, tentat...

State-of-the-art chemical bonding analyses show that water clusters have a bifunctional catalytic role in the formation of H2SO4 in acid rain. The embedded H2O monomers mitigate the change in the chemical bonding scenario of the rate-limiting step, reducing thereby the corresponding activation energy in accordance with Hammond's postulate. We expect that the insights given herein will prove use...

We present a new general methodology capable of modeling chemical reactions at solid–liquid interfaces called CECILIA ~combined embedded cluster at the interface with liquid approach!. The main idea is to combine the embedded cluster molecular orbital or density functional methods for describing interactions at the surface of a solid with the dielectric continuum approach for modeling a liquid....

We have developed a unique hydrogel material with a monodisperse face-centered cubic array of spherical water holes. This embedded array of holes Bragg diffracts light due to the refractive index mismatch between the holes and the interstitial gel medium. Through Bragg diffraction and absorption spectral studies, we examined the molecular weight and concentration dependence of the partitioning ...

Freeze-substitution and Epon embedment were quantitatively evaluated for their effectiveness in retaining water-soluble metabolites in plant tissues. Roughly 99% of the 80% (v/v) ethanol-extractable radioactivity in photosynthetically labeled soybean leaf discs and in petiole fragments containing translocated (14)C was retained during freeze-substitution in acetone or propylene oxide and embedm...