The True Value of a Sample Composition Is There

The core objective of a chemical composition measurement is to determine its true value. However, when measuring the composition of a macroscopic sample with a large number of atoms or molecules, realizing the true value of the measurand at both the macroscopic and microscopic levels remains an unsolved theoretical problem. We find that the true value of a sample composition exists in any subsample of a homogeneous molecular population of the sample. Here, we propose the Central Law of Measurement of the Amount of Substance: “The homogeneity of a sample molecular population represents the measurement accuracy of the sample composition in an analytical procedure”. The Central Law is based on a homogeneous molecular population axiom in which the molecular composition of a sample is identical for any homogeneous subsample. Furthermore, we point out that, at the microscopic scale, Avogadro’s law does not hold true.

Accurate Quantification of Pure Thiacloprid with Mass Balance and Quantitative H-NMR

Thiacloprid is the first-generation neonicotinoid insecticide,which is widely used in modern agriculture.Reference materials are essential for sound measurement and traceability of results in chemical analysis.Pure thiacloprid was comprehensively assessed by two orthonormal methods:mass balance(MB) and quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy(qNMR).From MB,its mass fraction value was 998.4 mg/g with the subtraction of structurally related impurities(99.87%),inorganic impurities(0.006 mg/g),water(0.33 mg/g),and volatile organic solvent(0 mg/g).To guarantee sufficient separation of structurally related purity,peak purity of thiacloprid was evaluated by five points of UV spectra.From the qNMR of hydrogen,its mass fraction value was 995.7 mg/g which was traced to the internal standard(methyl sulfone).Finally,the certified value was assigned to 997 mg/g,together with an expanded uncertainty of 3 mg/g(k=2).This high-purity thiacloprid can be applied to routine monitoring in agriculture and the food fields.