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Visando a determinação de baixas concentrações de H2O2, HSO3- e Hidroximetanosulfonato (HMS) em água de chuva, desenvolveu-se novos métodos amperométricos em fluxo com detecção em eletrodo de gota pendente de mercúrio. A determinação analítica de H2O2 baseou-se na sua oxidação (reversível) em meio alcalino (NaOH 11mM), no potencial de -0,07V vs Ag/AgCI, em célula de fluxo adaptada a polarógrafo comercial. O limite de detecção foi 0,1 µM. Para obter melhor seletividade, utilizou-se medidas diferenciais com e sem adição da enzima catalase. Para o HSO3- mostrou-se mais favorável sua redução a -0,8V, em meio ácido (tampão de HAc/Ac· 12/12mM). A interferência do oxigênio dissolvido foi eliminada por desgaseificação contínua com nova versão de dispositivo anteriormente desenvolvido. A corrente residual foi determinada mascarando o sinal do HSO3- por adição de HCHO. O HM:S foi determinado indiretamente. Após sua decomposição em HSO3- e HCHO, em pH em tomo de 12, reverteu-se o pH do fluxo para meio ácido e procedeu-se a determinação do HSO3- liberado. Aplicou-se as metodologias desenvolvidas às amostras de água de chuva, durante período de 12 meses. Foram observadas variações das concentrações das referidas espécies químicas em diversos eventos de precipitações, acompanhando-se o ciclo das estações climáticas e a intensidade da radiação solar. As concentrações de H2O2 variaram entre 0,3 a 34µM, HSO3- não foi encontrado no período, enquanto HMS apresentou concentrações entre 0,1 e 1,5µM. / Aiming the detennination of traces of H2O2, HSO3- an hydroximethanesulfonate (HMS) in rain water, a new flow method was developed, with amperometric detection at the hanging mercury drop electrode. The analytical detennination of H2O2 was based on its (reversible) oxidation in alkaline mediwn (NaOH 11 mM), by fitting a new flow adapter to a commercial multimode stand with the electrode operated as HMDE at -0.07V versus Ag/AgCl. Detection limit was 0.1µM. To increase selectivity, differential measurements were done by subtracting the residual current after destruction of the analyte with the enzyme catalase. For the determination of HSO3-, results were more favorable for its reduction at -0.8V in acidic medium (HAc/Ac-) buffer, 12mM/12mM). The residual current was determined by masking the HSO3- signal with HCHO. HMS was determined indirectly. After its decomposition in alkaline medium (pH around 12) into SO3-2 and HCHO, the pH is lowered to 1.5 before detection of the HSO3-. Interference of oxygen was overcome by in-line degassing with a new two channel version of a previously described vacuum operated permeation device. The new methods were applied to rain samples collected during a one year period. Concentration of H2O2 ranged from 0.3 to 34µM. HSO3- was not detected during the period and HMS appeared at concentrations between 0.1 to 1.5µM. Although difficult to interpret, the results show correlation with intensity of solar radiation and, less clearly, with the seasons of the year.

Visando a determinação de baixas concentrações de H2O2, HSO3- e Hidroximetanosulfonato (HMS) em água de chuva, desenvolveu-se novos métodos amperométricos em fluxo com detecção em eletrodo de gota pendente de mercúrio. A determinação analítica de H2O2 baseou-se na sua oxidação (reversível) em meio alcalino (NaOH 11mM), no potencial de -0,07V vs Ag/AgCI, em célula de fluxo adaptada a polarógrafo comercial. O limite de detecção foi 0,1 µM. Para obter melhor seletividade, utilizou-se medidas diferenciais com e sem adição da enzima catalase. Para o HSO3- mostrou-se mais favorável sua redução a -0,8V, em meio ácido (tampão de HAc/Ac· 12/12mM). A interferência do oxigênio dissolvido foi eliminada por desgaseificação contínua com nova versão de dispositivo anteriormente desenvolvido. A corrente residual foi determinada mascarando o sinal do HSO3- por adição de HCHO. O HM:S foi determinado indiretamente. Após sua decomposição em HSO3- e HCHO, em pH em tomo de 12, reverteu-se o pH do fluxo para meio ácido e procedeu-se a determinação do HSO3- liberado. Aplicou-se as metodologias desenvolvidas às amostras de água de chuva, durante período de 12 meses. Foram observadas variações das concentrações das referidas espécies químicas em diversos eventos de precipitações, acompanhando-se o ciclo das estações climáticas e a intensidade da radiação solar. As concentrações de H2O2 variaram entre 0,3 a 34µM, HSO3- não foi encontrado no período, enquanto HMS apresentou concentrações entre 0,1 e 1,5µM. / Aiming the detennination of traces of H2O2, HSO3- an hydroximethanesulfonate (HMS) in rain water, a new flow method was developed, with amperometric detection at the hanging mercury drop electrode. The analytical detennination of H2O2 was based on its (reversible) oxidation in alkaline mediwn (NaOH 11 mM), by fitting a new flow adapter to a commercial multimode stand with the electrode operated as HMDE at -0.07V versus Ag/AgCl. Detection limit was 0.1µM. To increase selectivity, differential measurements were done by subtracting the residual current after destruction of the analyte with the enzyme catalase. For the determination of HSO3-, results were more favorable for its reduction at -0.8V in acidic medium (HAc/Ac-) buffer, 12mM/12mM). The residual current was determined by masking the HSO3- signal with HCHO. HMS was determined indirectly. After its decomposition in alkaline medium (pH around 12) into SO3-2 and HCHO, the pH is lowered to 1.5 before detection of the HSO3-. Interference of oxygen was overcome by in-line degassing with a new two channel version of a previously described vacuum operated permeation device. The new methods were applied to rain samples collected during a one year period. Concentration of H2O2 ranged from 0.3 to 34µM. HSO3- was not detected during the period and HMS appeared at concentrations between 0.1 to 1.5µM. Although difficult to interpret, the results show correlation with intensity of solar radiation and, less clearly, with the seasons of the year.

A series of 3-aminotetralins were synthesized as potential opioid antagonists. Each proposed target compound was based on a 3-(mono- or dialkylamino )-7 -(hydroxy or methoxy)-2, 2-dimethyl-1-tetralone parent structure. Three synthetic schemes were developed utilizing the common intermediate, ethyl3-benzylamino-2, 2-dimethyl-4-(4- methoxyphenyl)butyrate 3. In Scheme I, compound 3 was modified through a series of six steps to obtain 3-(N-methyl-N-cyclopropanecarboxamido )-7 -methoxy-2, 2-dimethyl- 1-hydroxy-1-phenyltetralin (9). To carry out further synthetic steps on the intermediate 9 required the reduction of the amide function, which proved to be problematic in terms of product isolation. Scheme II was a four-step procedure, which utilized the intermediate ethyl 3- amino-2, 2 dimethyl-4-(4-methoxyphenyl)butyrate (4), also utilized in Scheme I. Ester hydrolysis of the amino ester 4 produced the amino acid 12. Internal cyclization of 12 yielded the key intermediate, 3-amino-7 -methoxy-2, 2-dimethyl-1-tetralone (13). TheNalkylation step was carried out on 13 and this yielded the target compounds, 3-[N- ( cyclopropylmethyl)amino ]- and 3-[N, N-( dicyclopropylmethyl)amino ]-7 -methoxy-2, 2- dimethyl-1-tetralone (14, 15). Subsequently, compounds 14 and 15 were 0-demethylated to obtain the respective target compounds, 3-[N-(cyclopropylmethyl)amino]- and 3-[N, N-(dicyclopropylmethyl)amino ]-7-hydroxy-2, 2-dimethyl-1-tetralone (16, 17). Scheme III was an alternate synthetic route to obtain the target compounds 3-[Nmethyl- N-( cyclopropylmethyl)amino ]-2, 2-dimethyl-7-(hydroxy or methoxy)-1-hydroxy- 1-phenyltetralin (10, 11) without the amide reduction step required in Scheme I. The intermediate 3 was N-methylated to form the 3-N-methyl-N-benzylamino ester 18 by the Eschweiler-Clarke procedure. Compound 18 was converted through a series of four steps to obtain 3-[ N-methyl-N-( cyclopropylmethyl)amino ]-7 -methoxy-2, 2-dimethyl-1- tetralone (22), a target compound which was 0-demethylated to obtain compound 23, the 7-0H analog. The mono- and dialkylated 3-aminotetralins were synthesized and confirmed for purity and correct molecular formula by utilizing 1H NMR, 13C NMR, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. The target compounds 14, 15, 16, 17,22 and 23 were converted to their salts and are being analyzed for opioid-related activity in receptor binding assays.

In 1997, a phytoremediation program began at a creosote-contaminated former railroad tie yard in Oneida, Tennessee with the planting of over 1000 hybrid poplar trees onsite. Creosote, a mixture of hazardous chemicals composed of 85% polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) had entered the site soil and ground water. After planting, a seasonal ground water testing program began that monitored the progress of remediation by measuring the concentration of the 10 predominant PAHs in the contaminant plume: naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, and benzo(b)fluoranthene. The concentrations of these compounds steadily decreased over time, but the role the trees played in the remediation was unclear. In order to gain a clearer understanding of the role the trees played in contaminant remediation, chemical analysis of tree tissue began. It was not known whether the trees were taking up PAH contaminants or their metabolites or if the rhizosphere zone created by the trees simply enhanced the ability of the site microflora to degrade the PAH. The objectives of this research were to (1) develop a suitable method for the chemical analysis of tree tissue collected from a field site, (2) determine if there were any chemicals not usually found in poplar trees that occurred in the trees growing over contamination, (3) determine if bud, bark, and twig tissue differed in their ability to predict ground water contamination, and (4) determine if a spatial correlation existed between the aromatic compounds in the tree tissue and the ground water total PAH plume. Two types of tree tissue/ground water comparisons were performed: spatial distribution of isoeugenol concentration in tree tissue with spatial distribution of total PAH in ground water over the area of interest; and the spatial distribution of the quantity of aromatic compounds in tree tissue with the spatial distribution of total PAH concentration in ground water. Due to unit discrepancies between the quantities of interest, all comparisons were made on a percentile basis. Initial tree sampling revealed that several compounds not usually present in poplar trees occurred only in those trees growing over contamination. In the first part of this study, the concentration of one of these chemicals, the substituted phenol isoeugenol, was compared with the concentration of total PAH in ground water from samples collected from February-March 2002. The bark tissue percentiles fell within 20 percentiles of ground water total PAH concentrations in 60% of the study area. The twig tissue showed slightly better agreement, with 67% of the study area differing from ground water by twenty percentiles or less. The second comparison took place over three sampling events: March 2001, July 2001, and February-March 2002. The number of unique aromatic compounds in bark, bud, and twig tissue was compared with the total PAH concentration in ground water. Twig tissue aromatic compound content was the most accurate predictor of ground water contamination among the tissue types. After excluding those chemicals likely to be interferences from consideration, twig tissue aromatic content agreed with ground water total PAH concentration to within 20 percentiles over 2/3 or more of the study area during each sampling event, suggesting the potential uptake of PAHs or their microbial metabolites as a mechanism of phytoremediation at the site. / Master of Science

In the search for novel magnetic materials, systems with strong spin-orbit coupling are a focus. 5d Ir-oxides and 4d Ru-halide, in particular, are associated in this context with a flurry of new theoretical concepts, models, and predictions, and more recently to various exotic topological states. In this thesis, we use computational quantum-chemistry methods to determine nearest-neighbor (NN) magnetic interactions in such systems. We also explore different routes to tune NN exchange couplings and provide guidelines for material design. In the first chapter, an introduction to concepts of electron correlations, spin-orbit coupling and magnetic interactions is provided. Many-body quantum chemistry methods used to determine electronic and magnetic properties of the transition metal systems in this work are outlined in the second chapter. In chapter 3, we determine multiplet-structure, magnetic g factors as well as NN magnetic interaction for the edge-shared 4d5 honeycomb lattice-based system, i.e., α-RuCl3. We find that the the magnetic anisotropy shows up in the form of bond-dependent Kitaev couplings, which defines the largest superexchange energy scale in this system. Magnetic couplings obtained by mapping the ab initio data onto an effective spin Hamiltonian are then used in the the subsequent exact diagonalization calculation to retrieve the magnetic phase diagram as a function of second and third NN coupling. Further, in chapter 4, we investigate the effects of uniform pressure and strain on the magnetic interactions in honeycomb and related lattice-based systems. We find that the Heisenberg and Kitaev terms are affected differently: for strain, in particular, the Heisenberg component decreases more rapidly than the Kitaev counterpart. This suggests a scenario where strain can stabilize a spin liquid state in such materials. In chapter 5, we discuss another factor that allows to modify magnetic couplings, i.e., the electrostatics between layered stackings with different metallic species. We examine magnetic interactions between Ir moments in H3LiIr2O6, a recently proposed Kitaev spin liquid candidate, and clarify the effect of interlayer electrostatics on the anisotropic Kitaev exchange . We show that the precise position of H+ cations between magnetically active [LiIr2O6]3− honeycomb-like layers has a strong impact on the magnitude of Kitaev interactions. In the last chapter, we examine Ir-oxides on the pyrochlore lattice. In these corner-sharing systems the NN anisotropic exchange occurs in the form of antisymmetric exchange, also known as Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) coupling. Our calculations predict that a highly unusual regime can be realized in such systems due to the vanishing NN Heisenberg interaction, making the antisymmetric DM exchange to be the dominant interaction in the oxides where the Ir-O-Ir links show bond-angles less than 125◦. We also confirm the accuracy of the employed quantum-chemistry methods by reproducing experimental data for Sm2Ir2O7.:Table of contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Electronic correlations 2 1.2 Crystal fields and d-level splitting 5 1.3 Spin-orbit Coupling 8 1.4 Magnetic interactions 10 1.5 Conclusions 13 2 Quantum Chemistry Methods 15 2.1 Introduction 15 2.2 Motivation for using quantum chemical approach 17 2.3 The Hartree-Fock approach 19 2.4 Multiconfigurational approach 22 2.5 Multireference configuration interaction 26 2.5.1 Recent developments towards performing FCI 27 2.6 Embedded cluster approach 28 2.7 Conclusions 30 3 Anisotropic spin interactions in α-RuCl3 31 3.1 Introduction 31 3.2 Spin-orbit ground state and excitations 33 3.2.1 Structural details .34 3.2.2 Computational details 37 3.2.3 Results and Discussions 40 3.3 Intersite exchange interactions for j=1/2 moments 44 3.3.1 Kitaev-Heisenberg model and symmetric anisotropies 45 3.3.2 Computational details 49 3.3.3 Results and Discussion 53 3.4 Conclusions 61 x Table of contents 4 Strain and pressure tuned magnetic interactions in Kitaev materials 63 4.1 Introduction 64 4.2 Qualitative analysis: Kitaev-Heisenberg model 65 4.3 Quantitative analysis: ab initio results 66 4.3.1 Computational approach 69 4.3.2 Results and discussion 70 4.4 Experimental results for pressurized α-RuCl3 74 4.4.1 Pressure induced dimerization 75 4.4.2 Ab initio calculations 76 4.5 Conclusions 78 5 Impact of inter-layer species on in-plane magnetism in H3LiIr2O6 79 5.1 Introduction 79 5.2 Structural details 81 5.3 Computational approach 82 5.4 Results and discussion 85 5.4.1 Magnetic couplings 85 5.4.2 Phase diagram and longer-range interactions 86 5.4.3 Position of H cations and effect on in-plane interactions 88 5.4.4 Angle dependence, the Kitaev limit 91 5.5 Conclusions 92 6 Anisotropic spin interactions in pyrochlore iridates 95 6.1 Introduction 95 6.2 Structural details 97 6.3 Computational details 98 6.3.1 Embedded cluster and basis sets 98 6.3.2 Quantum chemistry calculations 99 6.3.3 Effective spin model Hamiltonian 99 6.4 Results and Discussion 101 6.4.1 Magnetic couplings 101 6.4.2 Spin Dynamics 103 6.4.3 Magnetic ground state 105 6.5 Conclusions 109 Summary 111

In the context of the search and tuning for novel magnetic materials, transition metal compounds exhibit remarkable features where the spin-orbit interaction is crucial. The collective interactions between various effects, like spins and charges, create different classes of unique magnetic systems. For heavy transition-metal compounds, the strength of spin-orbital coupling is enhanced. The jeff. = 1/2 Mott insulating state emerges from the combination of the spin-orbit interaction and the electronic correlations. The quantum-chemistry methods are employed in this thesis to investigate single- and two-site magnetic interactions of the selected transition-metal compounds. We also provide different estimations for the single- and two-site magnetic interactions based on the level of calculation accuracy. In this thesis, we apply ab initio quantum-chemistry methods to explore the electronic and magnetic properties of several d/f compounds. The thesis structure is as follows: In Chapter 1, the introduction of the thesis provides a short discussion of the electronic correlations and magnetism in transition metal compounds. In Chapter 2, the fundamentals of the quantum chemistry wavefunction-based approach are covered. This chapter gives an overview of the applied methods in this thesis. In Chapter 3, we discuss the quantum chemistry approach to investigate the material candidates to host Kitaev physics. The technique to obtain the strength of two-site magnetic couplings, including the Kitaev coupling, is discussed in-depth. In Chapter 4, we apply the technique, which is described in Chapter 3, to investigate the two-site magnetic interactions in the H3LiIr2O6, and Cu2IrO2 compounds as Kitaev candidates. The two-site magnetic couplings are reported in these compounds. In Chapter 5, we use quantum chemistry methods to investigate the on-site electronic and magnetic properties in the KCeO2 compound where 4f1 Ce3+ ions form a triangular two-dimensional lattice with sites of effective spin-1/2. Similar ytterbiumbased delafossites had been investigated as candidates for quantum spin liquid ground states. The absence of ordinary magnetic order is characteristic of quantum spinliquid states where quantum entanglements and fractionalized excitations are enriched. In Chapter 6, the magnetic properties of Co 3d8 ions doped in the Li3N crystalline solid are discussed. The results of the quantum chemistry investigation are been set side by side along with the experiment’s results. The Co ion in such a rare environment gives rise to single-site magnetism of an easy-plane anisotropy.:Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vi Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iii 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1.1 Electronic correlations and magnetism in transition metal compounds ...........1 1.2 Thesis outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2 Quantum chemistry methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2.2 Many-electron Hartree-Fock approximation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2.3 Multi-configurational self-consistent field and multi-reference configuration methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 2.4 Spin-orbit interaction and g-factors calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 2.5 Embedded cluster approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 2.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 3 Quantum chemistry investigation of Kitaev material candidates . . . . . . . . . . .21 3.1 Introduction to the Kitaev model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 3.2 Kitaev materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 3.3 Two-site quantum chemistry calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 3.4 Effective Model of Two Spin-1/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 3.5 Non-canonical correspondence between two-site QC results and the effective Hamiltonian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 3.6 Pseudospin coordinate system and canonical correspondence between two-site QC results and the effective Hamiltonian . . . . . . . . . . . 51 3.7 Signs of the g-tensor in the Kitaev limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 3.8 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 4 Kitaev material candidates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 4.2 Details of QC calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 4.3 QC investigation of H3LiIr2O6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 4.4 QC investigation of Cu2IrO3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 4.5 Impact of local symmetries on the obtained sets of magnetic couplings ......... 82 4.6 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 5 Ce ions in two-dimensional triangular spin-1/2 lattices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 5.1 Spin-1/2 frustrated triangular lattice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 5.2 Correlated 4f -compounds as frustrated triangular lattices . . . . . . 94 5.3 Crystal structure of KCeO2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 5.4 QC results for the electronic structure of Ce3+ ions in KCeO2 . . . . 100 5.5 The competition of SOC and crystal field splittings in KCeO2 . . . . 102 5.6 Chapter summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 6 Co-ion substitutes with linear coordination in Li3N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 6.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 6.2 Crystal structure of Li2(Li(1−x)Cox)N and spectroscopic measurements .......112 6.3 QC computational details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 6.4 Ab initio QC investigation of the Co+ 3d8 electronic structure doped into Li3N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 6.5 Chapter summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135