Vol. 115 No. 3 (2019)

 Esta entrevista se publicó previamente en el Vol. 110  Núm. 2 (2014)  de Anales de Química. 

Carbon dioxide capture and separation is a burning problem for the energetic implications that the emissions of this gas entail. The search of proper materials that improve conventional industrial processes is a challenge that gets even more complicated with a range of promising emerging possibilities. In this work, we analyze one of the options that have recently been proposed for carbon dioxide uptake and separation processes. This consists of the use of crystalline porous materials impregnated with ionic liquids. The use of state-of-the-art molecular simulation methods allows us to identify the effect exerted in these processes by the nature of the solvent, the composition of the ionic liquid, and its distribution inside the pores of the crystal.

The formation of biorreversible derivatives of drugs –prodrugs– can be recognized as a tool to improve the behaviour of drugs with various difficulties in their clinical use. The present work revises relevant examples of prodrugs used in therapy in Spain, often explaining their behaviour with very simple models, depending on the pKa of the functional groups present in the molecule, or their hydrophobicity values –log P–. In all the examples, calculated values have been used for these parameters, obtained using simple computational tools.

This paper reviews the biological role of nitrate and its two derivatives, the nitrite anion and nitric oxide. The harmful or beneficial character of them is discussed.

Keywords: Nitrates, nitrites, nitric oxide, nitric oxide synthase, dietary

This work reviews the most significant historical milestones of the periodic system, with an especial emphasis on female contributions to the quest and study of new chemical elements. Moreover, the story of meitnerium, the only element named after a real woman, is proposed as a novel educational tool to include the gender dimension in the subject of Physics and Chemistry in Secondary Education.

El presente artículo pretende ser un homenaje a los 150 años de la propuesta que realizara Dimitri Mendeleiev sobre la ordenación periódica de los elementos químicos y del International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements (IYPT2019). En él referimos la historia que hay detrás de la creación de la Tabla Periódica con muestras reales de los elementos químicos, que se encuentra en el Departamento de Química Inorgánica de la Universidad de Sevilla.

The assignment of four quantum numbers to the so called differentiating electron, considered as the last to be “located” in the electronic configuration of an atom, may help to confuse electrons with the spin-orbitals used to obtain a good approximation to the poliatomic atom wave function. But, using those four quantum numbers to deduce which is the atom concerned is an artificial unnecessary problem based in arbitrary rules which, furthermore, leads to failures when the electronic configurations are exceptions to the aufbau, a case very frequent among the transition elements, the lantanides and the actinides. Instead of helping to understand the atomic electronic structure, this problem is very capable of arising severe conceptual errors. Therefore, its inclusion in learning programs of secondary school chemistry should not be encouraged.

We study the initial growth rate in marine salt crystals which have been formed by solvent evaporation from its own saturated solution. We show the different crystallization process depending on the season in which we carry out this process. At the beginning of the summer, the growth rate is significantly higher if we compare it to the one obtained in early autumn. In addition, the crystallization of NaCl is not possible in mid-autumn. These results suggest further research in order to optimize the end of the crystallization period and the beginning of the extraction period of salt crystals.

Keywords: sodium chloride, marine salt, crystallization, growth rate, solvent evaporation

The International Quality labels of Chemistry Euro-bacher® and Euro-master®, created by the European agency European Chemistry Thematic Network Association (ECTN), are evaluated by the National Agency for the Evaluation of Quality and Accreditation (Spanish acronym ANECA) in collaboration with the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry (Spanish acronym RSEQ) since 2018 with the aim of granting international recognition to university training programs of Spanish and Latin American universities in an evaluation process invol-ving academics, professionals, students and quality technicians, selected between the two institutions. 2 university programs have obtained the Euro-bachelor® label in 2018. These results must be renewed within 6 years when they are Bachelor’s degrees and 4 years if they were Master’s degrees or similar.

Un artículo reciente en Nature ofrece un panorama de la ciencia europea basado en un análisis numérico del gasto de los distintos países en ciencia y el número de citas en comparación con otras potencias mundiales como Estados Unidos y China. De este análisis surgen datos curiosos.

Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba: In memoriam