It is well known that graphite has a low capacity for Na but a high capacity for other alkali metals. The growing interest in alternative cation batteries beyond Li makes it particularly important to elucidate the origin of this behavior, which is not well understood. In examining this question, we find a quite general phenomenon: among the alkali and alkaline earth metals, Na and Mg generally ...

A number of multiresistant bacterial pathogens inactivate antibiotics by producing Zn(II)-dependent β-lactamases. We show that metal uptake leading to an active dinuclear enzyme in the periplasmic space of Gram-negative bacteria is ensured by a cysteine residue, an unusual metal ligand in oxidizing environments. Kinetic, structural and affinity data show that such Zn(II)-cysteine interaction is...

A well-crystallized single-phase quinary layer transition metal oxide of NaNi1/4Co1/4Fe1/4Mn1/8Ti1/8O2 was successfully synthesized. It exhibited excellent cycle performance and high rate capability as a cathode material for sodium-ion batteries.

The first cyclic analog of a metallothionein (MT) was prepared and analyzed by UV and (magnetic) circular dichroism spectroscopy, ESI-MS as well as NMR spectroscopy. Results reveal that the evaluated cyclic γ-E(c)-1 domain of the wheat MT E(c)-1 retains its ability to coordinate two Zn(II) or Cd(II) ions and adopts a three-dimensional structure that is highly similar to the one of the linear wi...

We have developed a corrosion model that can predict metal oxide growth and dissolution rates as a function of time for a range of solution conditions. Our model considers electrochemical reactions at the metal/oxide and oxide/solution interfaces, and the metal cation flux from the metal to the solution phase through a growing oxide layer, and formulates the key processes using classical chemic...

the complexation of alkali metal cations by the water-soluble p-sulfonic acid calix(4)arenewas thermodynamically characterized using spectrophotometeric data which are consistentwith the formation of a 1:1 complex resulting from electrostatic interactions between thesulfonato groups and alkali metal cations. in this study, we determined the formationconstants (log k) of the complexes and have c...

A series of calculations on the energetics of complexation of alkaline metals with 1,10-phenanthroline are presented. It is an experimental fact that the ordering of the free energy of transfer across the water 1,2-dichloroethane interphase is governed by the charge / size ratio of the diferent cations; the larger cations showing the lower free energy of transfer. This ordering of the free ener...

The orthorhombic B31 structure, typified by MnP, is interpreted as a distortion of the hexagonal NiAs (B8j) structure due to metal-metal bonding within the hexagonal basal planes. The number of d-like electrons per cation is known from the chemical formula provided the Fermi level lies in an energy gap between filled and empty bands of broad-band states, as is generally the case where there is ...

Insect Malpighian tubules secrete fluid into the lumen as part of their function as excretory organs. The underlying ion transport is, when stimulated, faster than in any other known tissue. It is driven by the activity of an H+-transporting V-ATPase situated on the luminal cell membranes. This ATPase, together with cation/H+ antiporter(s), constitutes a common cation pump which can transport s...

The liquid phase esterification of phenyl acetic acid with p-cresol over different metal cation exchanged montmorillonite nanoclays yields p-cresyl phenyl acetate. Different metal cation exchanged montmorillonite nanoclays (M n+ = Al3+, Zn2+, Mn2+, Fe3+, Cu2+) were prepared and the catalytic activity was studied. The esterification reaction was conducted by varying molar ratio of the reactants,...