Five days prior to a seminar, the presenter is to email to Dr. Bonk an abstract of the contents of the seminar and an annotated bibliography of the sources used in preparing the seminar. These should be sent as an email attachment in HTML format (which can be prepared using Netscape Composer). Three days prior to the seminar, the abstract and bibliography will be posted on the Chem 373 web site. A link to that posting will be contained in the email which will be sent to the community announcing the seminar. The formats for the abstract and the bibliography are described in the following.
 

ABSTRACTS (from O'Connor, M. Writing successfully in science, HarperCollinsAcademic: London,1991, pp 70-72.)

An abstract is defined as 'an abbreviated, accurate, representation of the contents of a document, without added interpretation or criticism and without distinction as to who wrote the abstract.'

Abstracts are usually described as informative or indicative or as a combination of the two. Informative abstracts are used for papers describing original research. Indicative or informative-indicative abstracts contain general statements about the subjects covered in the document and are used for reviews, articles, books, or chapters in books.

Of the types of abstracts, the informative abstract is likely more familiar to participants in this seminar course. Publications in the primary literature, based on a doctoral thesis, for instance, utilize informative abstracts. However, the presentations in Chemistry 373 are essentially reviews of published works and are not reports of original research. The appropriate type of abstract for this seminar is the indicative abstract. Following is more information on each of these types of abstracts.
 

INFORMATIVE ABSTRACTS

An informative abstract answers, typically in 100-250 words, the questions Why did you start? What did you do, and how? What did you find? What do your findings mean?

The abstract must be written so that it can stand on its own, without the text. Since the title and abstract are always read together, don't waste words by repeating or paraphrasing the title in the abstract. If the reason for doing the study is not clear from the title or the rest of the abstract, state the purpose. If the type of document (report of original research, review article, etc.) is not clear from the title or the rest of the abstract, mention what it is early in the abstract. Say what you studied and what methods you used. Give the findings concisely and summarize your conclusions.

Try to include in the abstract all the main information covered in the paper. Be as brief and as specific as possible, and write with non-specialists in mind. Sentences should be kept short and simple, dealing with just one topic each and excluding irrelevant points. Emphasize the different points in proportion to the emphasis they receive in the body of the paper. Write complete sentences that follow each other logically. When possible, use active verbs, and use the past tense for what was found. Use the third person unless use of the first person will avoid cumbersome sentence constructions and lead to greater clarity.

Avoid unfamiliar terms, acronyms, abbreviations or symbols; if you must use them, define them at first mention. An example of an informative abstract of a research paper entitled "Visible Light Induced Photocatalytic Behavior of a Layered Perovskite Type Niobate, RbPb₂Nb₃O₁₀" follows.
 

SAMPLE INFORMATIVE ABSTRACT: Photocatalytic behaviors of some modified layered compounds derived from RbPb₂Nb₃O₁₀ which was an ion exchanger with perovskite structure were examined. Under visible light irradiation (>420 nm) RbPb₂Nb₃O₁₀-based catalysts were found to evolve H₂ from an aqueous methanol solution. The rate of H₂ evolution was greatly enhanced by replacing Rb⁺ ion with H⁺ ions. Further increase of the activity was obtained by Pt-loading. When [Pt(NH₃)₄]Cl₂ was used as a precursor for Pt-loading instead of H₂PtCl₄, much higher activity was observed. It was interpreted that in the former case reduced Pt particles were highly dispersed at interlayer spaces due to the intercalation of [Pt(NH₃)₄²⁺] ions prior to the photoreduction, while Pt particles existed only at the external surface of the catalyst in the latter case. The proposed structures for both catalysts were directly supported by TEM and XPS measurements. Several kinds of alcohols (ethanol, 1-propanol, and 1-butanol) were also used as sacrificial reagents. Among them methanol was by far the most suitable one for H₂ evolution. This remarkable shape selectivity was attributed to the intercalation of reactants into the catalyst. (About 180 words)
 

INDICATIVE ABSTRACTS

Indicative abstracts, which are used for reviews (and this seminar), give readers a general idea of the contents of a paper but little, if any, idea of the specific methods or results. For a review paper, the abstract should describe the topic, the scope, the sources reviewed, and the conclusions. An example of an indicative abstract of a review article entitled "Photocatalytic Properties of Ion-Exchangeable Layered Oxides" follows.

SAMPLE INDICATIVE ABSTRACT: The photocatalytic properties of ion-exchangeable layer oxides are reviewed. These materials have the ability to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen via solar energy and thus have potential as a means of generating hydrogen as an alternative fuel. Semiconducting oxides are attractive photocatalytic materials. This review, which covers the primary literature from 1980-1993, considers the case of niobate-based photocatalysts, in particular K₄Nb₆O₁₇, and perovskite-type layered niobates, including those with pillared layers. The catalytic performance of these materials for the photodecomposition of water will be presented. The importance of the surface and bulk chemical properties of these materials to these catalytic properties are described by using the results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, extended X-ray absorption fine structure, and X-ray diffraction studies on these materials. (About 120 words)
 

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

The recommended formats for citing sources are as follows.

Journal: Gopen, G.D.; Swan, J.A. American Scientist1990, 78(6), pp 550-558.
Books: Day, R. How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper; Oryx Press: Phoenix, 1998, pp 1-10.
Books with editor: ACS Style Guide: A Manual for Authors and Editors, 2nd ed.; Dodd, J.S., Ed.; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1997, pp 108-111.
Web Sites: Bonk, J.F. Chemistry 373 Available from http://www.chem.duke.edu/~bonk/Chem373/Chem373.html Accessed 27 August 2001.

The annotation which briefly describes the contents of the reference should immediately follow each reference.
 

SAMPLE ABSTRACT AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

A "sample" abstract and a "sample" bibliography, both adapted from a published review (Tanaka, A., Kondo, J.N., Domen, K. Critical Reviews in Surface Chemistry, 1995, 5(4), pp 305-326), are shown below.

Student Name
Chemistry 373 Seminar
11:50 a.m., DATE, Room 103

TITLE: "Photocataylic Properties of Ion-Exchangeable Layered Oxides"

ABSTRACT: The photocatalytic properties of ion-exchangeable layer oxides will be reviewed. These materials have the ability to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen via solar energy and thus have potential as a means of generating hydrogen as an alternative fuel. Semiconducting oxides are attractive photocatalytic materials. This seminar, which covers the primary literature from 1980-1993, considers the case of niobate-based photocatalysts, in particular K₄Nb₆O₁₇, and perovskite-type layered niobates, including those with pillared layers. The catalytic performance of these materials for the photodecomposition of water will be presented. The importance of the surface and bulk chemical properties of these materials to these catalytic properties will be described by using the results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, extended X-ray absorption fine structure, and X-ray diffraction studies on these materials.
 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Domen, K.; Kudo, A.; Shinozaki, A.; Tanaka, A.; Onishi, T., J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., 1986, p 356. Compares the rates and amounts of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from aqueous alcohol solutions over K₄Nb₆O₁₇^.3H₂O with those over NiO(0.1 wt-%)- K₄Nb₆O₁₇^.3H₂O.

Gasperin, M.; LeBihan, M. T., J. Solid State Chem., 1980, 33, p 83. Describes the X-ray determination of the structure of K₄Nb₆O₁₇^.3H₂O. (In French).

Kinomura, N.; Kumada, N.; Muto, F., J. Chem. Soc., Dalton Trans., 1985, p 2349.  Describes the extent of ion exchange of layered K₄Nb₆O₁₇^.3H₂O with selected mono and divalent ions and the resulting changes in structures as determined by X-ray diffraction.

Kudo, A.; Tanaka, A.; Domen, K.; Maruya, K.; Aika, A.; Onishi, T., J. Catal., 1988, 111, p 67.  Compares the rates and amounts of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from aqueous alcohol solutions over K₄Nb₆O₁₇^.3H₂O with those over powdered combinations of several transition metal oxides and K₄Nb₆O₁₇^.3H₂O.

Landis, M. E.; Aufdembrink, B. A.; Chu, P.; Johnson, I. D.; Kirker, G. W.; Rubin, M. K., J. Am.Chem. Soc., 1991, 113, p 3189. Describes procedures for converting mixtures of dense layered metal oxides and silicates into high surface area zeolites with large interlayer spacings.

Sayama, K.; Tanaka, A.; Domen, K.; Maruya, K.; Onishi, T., J. Catal., 1990, 124, p 541. Relates differing quantum efficiencies at 330 nm of NiO-K₄Nb₆O₁₇3H₂O (5.2%), NiO-Rb₄Nb₆O₁₇^.3H₂O (10%) and NiO-K₂Rb₂Nb₆O₁₇^.3H₂O (3.3%) to differing interlayer spacings.

Yoshimura, J.; Ebina, Y.; Tanaka, A.; Kondo, J.; Domen, K., J. Phys. Chem., 1993, 97, p 1970. Describes visible light ( >420 nm) induced photocatalylic
     behavior of two layered perovskite type niobates, RbPb₂Nb₃O₁₀ and HPb₂Nb₃O₁₀.