Chemistry in the Old Northwest

Author Institution: Departments of Chemistry and History of Science, University of WisconsinImmediately after the War for Independence, Americans began to move westward in earnest. There were numerous factors pulling migrants westward, among them the fertile land which had a particular appeal for farmers. Ohio felt the impact first; settlement of Wisconsin was delayed until opening of the lead mines during the later Indian wars. Settlers in the Northwest Territory revealed a penchant for the exploitation of the territory's resources and the creation of educational institutions. Excellence of the soil led to significant agricultural expansion and, later, to growth of an innovative food industry. Mineral resources stimulated the growth of a metals industry and an energy industry based first on coal, then on petroleum. The extensive forests in the northern part of the territory supplied a forest products industry. Pioneer developments took place without benefit of science but after 1850 science took on increasing significance as the colleges and universities prepared individuals for a role in the innovative growth of agriculture, industry, and medicine. A critical question revolves around the disproportionate regional excellence in science (chemistry in particular) shown by universities and colleges of the region

The Development of modern chemistry

xii, 851 p.; 21 cm

Structural Features of a Family of Coumarin-Enamine Fluorescent Chemodosimeters for Ion Pairs

A family of coumarin–enamine chemodosimeters is evaluated for their potential use as fluorescent molecular probes for multiple analytes [cadmium(II), cobalt(II), copper(II), iron(II), nickel(II), lead(II), and zinc(II)], as their chloride and acetate salts. These fluorophores displayed excellent optical spectroscopic modulation when exposed to ion pairs with different Lewis acidic and basic properties in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The chemodosimeters were designed to undergo excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT), which leads to significant Stokes shifts (ca. 225 nm) and lower-energy fluorescence emission (ca. 575 nm). A more basic anion, e.g., acetate, inhibited the ESIPT mechanism by deprotonation of the enol, producing a binding pocket (N^O– chelate) that can coordinate to an appropriate metal ion. Coordination of the metal ions enhances the fluorescent intensity via the chelation-enhanced fluorescence emission mechanism. Subjecting the spectroscopic data to linear discriminant analysis provided insights into the source of these systems’ markedly different behavior toward ion pairs, despite the subtle structural differences in the organic framework. These compounds are examples of versatile, low-molecular-weight, dual-channel fluorescent sensors for ion-pair recognition. This study paves the way for using these probes as practical components of a sensing array for different metal ions and their respective anions

Sociologists of the Unexpected: Edward A. Ross and Georg Simmel on the Unintended Consequences of Modernity

Groß M. Sociologists of the Unexpected: Edward A. Ross and Georg Simmel on the Unintended Consequences of Modernity. The American Sociologist. 2003;34(4):40-58