A rapid and convenient oxidation of secondary alcohols

A rapid (normally 20 min to 2 h) and selective oxidation of secondary alcohols to ketones can be achieved using 0.4 equivalents trichloroisocyanuric acid and 1.2 equivalents pyridine at room temperature in ethyl acetate. A likely mechanism for the reaction is proposed.     

Base-catalyzed cross coupling of secondary alcohols and aryl-aldehydes with concomitant oxidation of alcohols to ketones: An alternative route for synthesis of the Claisen-Schmidt condensation products

Base-catalyzed C–C cross coupling of secondary alcohols and aryl-aldehydes was achieved, when an alcoholic solution of an aryl-aldehyde was stirred under reflux for 45 h in the presence of a catalytic (20 mol%) amount of K₂CO₃. The consistent formation of α,α′-bis-(benzylidene) alkanones was obtained in moderate to good yields using various secondary alcohols and substituted aryl-aldehydes. Herein, α,α′-bis-(benzylidene)alkanones, which are the classical products of Claisen-Schmidt (cross aldol) condensation, have been synthesized via an alternative strategy using secondary alcohols. Bis-(benzylidene) alkanones are an integral part of various drug regimes and the production of bis-(benzylidene) alkanones without using any precious metal is a major outcome of the present reaction.     

Preparation and properties of zirconia nanotube-supported 12-tungstophosphoric acid catalyst

Zirconia nanotube-supported H₃PW₁₂O₄0 (HPW) catalysts exhibit high catalytic activities in the synthesis of fatty acid ethyl ester.     

An organoantimony complex with intramolecular N → Sb coordination as effective and recyclable catalyst for the allylation of aldehydes with tetraallyltin

An air-stable hypervalent organoantimony (III) triflate complex (PhN(CH₂C₆H₄)₂SbOSO₂CF₃) having intramolecular N → Sb coordination was synthesized and characterized by techniques such as ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, TG-DSC, X-ray diffraction and elemental analysis. The complex shows relatively strong Lewis acidity (0.8 < H_o ≤ 3.3). It exhibits excellent catalytic performance towards the allylation of aldehydes with tetraallyltin at room temperature, and shows good thermal stability and recyclability. The catalytic system enables convenient and efficient synthesis of homoallylic alcohols.     

Facile synthesis of α, β-unsaturated esters through a one-pot copper-catalyzed aerobic oxidation-Wittig reaction

An efficient one-pot synthesis of α, β-unsaturated esters through the aerobic oxidation – Wittig tandem reaction of alcohols and phosphorous ylide is developed. This new method operates under mild reaction conditions, and uses CuI/TEMPO (TEMPO = 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl) as co-catalyst and air (O₂) as the oxidant. It tolerates a wide range of functionalized benzylic alcohol and aliphatic alcohols.     

Systematic trends in (0 0 1) surface ab initio calculations of ABO3 perovskites

By means of the hybrid exchange–correlation functionals, as it is implemented in the CRYSTAL computer code, ab initio calculations for main ABO₃ perovskite (0 0 1) surfaces, namely SrTiO₃, BaTiO₃, PbTiO₃, CaTiO₃, SrZrO₃, BaZrO₃, PbZrO₃ and CaZrO₃, were performed. For ABO₃ perovskite (0 0 1) surfaces, with a few exceptions, all atoms of the upper surface layer relax inward, all atoms of the second surface layer relax outward, and all third layer atoms, again, inward. The relaxation of (0 0 1) surface metal atoms for ABO₃ perovskite upper two surface layers for both AO and BO₂-terminations, in most cases, are considerably larger than that of oxygen atoms, what leads to a considerable rumpling of the outermost plane. The ABO₃ perovskite (0 0 1) surface energies always are smaller than the (0 1 1) and especially (1 1 1) surface energies. The ABO₃ perovskite AO and BO₂-terminated (0 0 1) surface band gaps always are reduced with respect to the bulk values. The B–O chemical bond population in ABO₃ perovskite bulk always are smaller than near the (0 0 1) and especially (0 1 1) surfaces.     

Enhanced carbon dioxide adsorption performance and kinetic study of K and Al co-doped Li4SiO4

Effective K and Al incorporation in Li₄SiO₄ leads to the broadened adsorption temperature range and enhanced carbon dioxide adsorption performance.     

S-Substituted-2-mercaptobenzthiazolium-based chiral ionic liquids: efficient organocatalysts for enantioselective sodium borohydride reductions of prochiral ketones

Novel chiral ionic liquids having chirality in their cationic part have been synthesized for evaluation of their catalytic potential as organocatalysts in sodium borohydride reduction of prochiral ketones to yield optically active secondary alcohols. The chiral ionic liquids have been synthesized from the reaction of (?)-menthol or (?)-borneol, chloroacetic acid and S-methyl/benzyl-2-mercaptobenzthiazole. The synthesized chiral ionic liquids have been characterized by ¹H, ¹³C NMR and Mass spectrometry. Moderate to excellent enantiomeric excess (ee > 99%) has been obtained in asymmetric sodium borohydride reduction of prochiral ketones using these salts as chiral catalysts.     

Design,synthesis, and fungicidal activity of novel 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives

Employing the intermediate derivatization method (IDM), a series of 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives containing arylpyrazoloxyl moiety were designed and synthesized. In vitro bioassays showed that these compounds have moderate to significant fungicidal activity against rice sheath blight and sorghum anthracnose. Furthermore, compound 20 is a promising fungicide for further development.     

Synthesis,characterization and anti-bacterial activity of divalent transition metal complexes of hydrazine and trimesic acid

Transition metal complexes of trimesic acid and hydrazine mixed-ligands with a general formula M(Htma)(N₂H₄)₂, where, M = Mn, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn; H₃tma = trimesic acid, have been prepared and characterized by elemental, structural, spectral and thermal analyses. For the complexes, the carboxylate ν_asym and ν_sym stretchings are observed at about 1626 and 1367 cm^?1 respectively, with Δν between them of ～260 cm^?1, showing the unidentate coordination of each carboxylate group. The hydrazine moieties are present as bridging bidentates. Electronic and EPR spectral studies suggest an octahedral geometry for the complexes. All these complexes show three steps of decomposition in TGA/DTA. SEM images of CuO and MnO residues obtained from the complexes show nano-sized clusters suggesting that the complexes may be used as precursors for nano-CuO and nano-MnO preparation. The antimicrobial activities of the prepared complexes, against four bacteria have been evaluated.     

Novel dual inhibitors against FP-2 and PfDHFR as potential antimalarial agents: Design,synthesis and biological evaluation

A series of novel 2,4-diaminopyrimidine-modified compounds was designed and synthesized. Compound 14 showed micromolar dual inhibitory effect on both FP-2 and PfDHFR, and potential inhibition to the proliferation of P. falciparum 3D7 strain and chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum Dd2 strain.     

Novel method for the preparation of carbon supported nano-sized amorphous ruthenium oxides for supercapacitors

Nanostructured amorphous RuO₂ · xH₂O/C composite materials are prepared via a modified sol–gel process using glycolic acid. The glycolate anion, which dissociates from glycolic acid at pH 7, behaves as a stabilizer by adsorbing onto the RuO₂ · xH₂O surface, thus resulting in particles with a size of about 2 nm. As evidenced by zeta potential measurements, the surface charge of RuO₂ · xH₂O becomes more electronegative as the amount of glycolic acid increases. After heat treatment at 160 ^oC to remove the stabilizer, RuO₂ · xH₂O/C is found to exhibit an amorphous structure. The specific capacitance of RuO₂ · xH₂O/C particles (40 wt% Ru) prepared in the presence of glycolic acid (0.3 g L⁻¹) is 462 F g⁻¹, which is 30% higher than that of the material prepared in the absence of glycolic acid. Both the nanosized particles and the amorphous structure mainly contribute to this increase in the specific capacitance.     

Highly sensitive fluorescent sensor targeting CuCl2 based on thiophene attached anthracene compound (TA)

A novel thiophene attached anthracene (TA) based fluorescent compound was designed and synthesized. The TA showed a high quantum yield (Qy = 0.34) in regard to fluorescence. We applied this TA compound to detect specific metal compound and found that it could identify CuCl₂ from other metals through dramatic fluorescence change at λ_max = 460 nm. It showed strong quenching fluorescence property with CuCl₂ while with other metal compounds it exhibited strong blue fluorescence emission. UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy clearly demonstrated that the quenching property of TA at λ_max = 460 nm was due to overlapping of the fluorescence peak of TA at λ_max = 460 nm and the absorption band of CuCl₂ (from 190 nm to 525 nm). Binding constant (K′), which was 0.0895 mM^?2, indicated a complexation ratio between TA and CuCl₂ as 1:2 and this interaction induced quenching property.     

Synthesis and combined properties of novel fluorinated cationic surfactants derived from hexafluoropropylene dimer

Three novel fluorinated surfactants with branched short fluorinated tails as hydrophobic groups, ammonium oxide as polar groups are prepared. Surface tension measurement shows that these fluorinated surfactants are ideal compounds to design new formulations in fire-fighting field.     

Photocatalytic hydrogen production from acidic aqueous solution in BODIPY-cobaloxime-ascorbic acid homogeneous system

For the first time, iodinated BODIPY dyes with phenylamine or 8-hydroxylquinoline moiety at the meso-position on the BODIPY core were tested for the light-driven production of H₂ from the acidic aqueous solutions.     

Evidence of an odd–even effect on the thermodynamic parameters of odd fluorotelomer alcohols

A phase transition study, including vapour pressure determinations of odd fluorotelomer alcohols {oFTOH; CF₃(CF₂)_nCH₂OH, with n = 5 to 9}, is reported in order to explore the effect of the successive introduction of –CF₂– groups into the molecule on the thermodynamic properties related to (solid + liquid, solid + gas, and liquid + gas) equilibria. An odd–even effect on the thermodynamic parameters of fusion and sublimation was observed in the homologous series of odd fluorotelomer alcohols indicating an increase of the stability in the crystal packing for the members with an odd number of carbon atoms. The vaporization parameters of o-FTOH were compared with the literature data for their alkane analogues and the results showed a higher volatility of liquid fluorotelomer alcohols than their congeners. The higher molecular conformation restriction of perfluorinated alcohols and/or the higher molar mass seems to contribute to their higher entropy of vaporization which drives the volatility of the 1H,1H-perfluorinated alcohols.     

Nickel-catalyzed decarboxylative coupling of an alkynyl carboxylic acid with aryl iodides

A decarboxylative coupling reaction with an alkynyl carboxylic acid and aryl iodides in the presence of a nickel catalyst was developed. When the reaction was conducted with NiCl₂ (10 mol%), Xantphos (15 mol%), Mn (1.0 equiv), and Cs₂CO₃ (1.5 equiv), the desired diaryl alkynes were formed in moderated to good yields. Furthermore, this method does not produce the diyne, which is formed in the homocoupling of alkynyl carboxylic acids.     

Facile synthesized Cu-SnO2 anode materials with three-dimensional metal cluster conducting architecture for high performance lithium-ion batteries

A novel Cu-SnO₂ anode material derived from Cu₆Sn₅ alloy, retaining high conductivity of Cu and high theoretical capacity of SnO₂ with a facile synthesizing process by oxidation and reduction method. The novel Cu structure penetrates in the composite particles inducing high conductivity and spaceconfined SnO₂, which restrict the pulverization of SnO₂ during lithiation/delithiation process.     

Synthesis,spectroscopic, structural and thermal characterizations of [(C7H6NO4)2TeBr6·4H2O]

Tellurium (IV) complexes with pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate ligand were synthesized by slow evaporation from aqueous solutions yielding a new compound: [(C₇H₆NO₄)₂TeBr₆·4H₂O]. The structure of this compound was solved and refined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The compound is centrosymmetric P2₁/c (N°: 14) with the parameters a = 8.875(5) Å, b = 15.174(5) Å, c = 10.199(5) Å, β = 94.271° (5) and Z = 2. The structure consists of isolated H₂O, isolated [TeBr₆]^2? octahedral anions and (pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate) [C₇H₆NO₄]⁺ cations. The stability of the structure was ensured by ionic and hydrogen bonding contacts (N–H?Br and O–H?Br) and Van-Der Walls interaction. The thermal decomposition of the compound was studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The FTIR and Raman spectroscopy at different temperatures confirm the existence of vibrational modes that correspond to the organic, inorganic and water molecular groups. Additionally, the UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectrum was recorded in order to investigate the band gap nature. The measurements show that this compound exhibits a semiconducting behavior with an optical band gap of 2.66 eV.     

A novel lutetium(III) acetate phthalocyanine directly substituted with N,N’-dimethylaminophenyl groups via CC bonds and its water-soluble derivative for photodynamic therapy

In this study, the novel 4-(N,N′-dimethylamino)phenyl substituted lutetium(III) acetate phthalocyanine (2) and its quaternized derivative (3) were synthesized via a Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction between tetrakis(iodo) lutetium(III)acetate phthalocyanine (1) and 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)phenylboronic acid, and subsequent quaternization using dimethyl sulfate, respectively. The obtained phthalocyanine 3 exhibited excellent solubility in water which is important for photodynamic therapy applications. Photophysical properties such as fluorescence quantum yield and fluorescence lifetime, and photochemical properties such as singlet oxygen generation and photostability were investigated to determine their suitability for photodynamic therapy. The lutetium(III) phthalocyanines, especially quaternized derivative 3, showed promising properties as potential photosensitizers for the treatment of cancer, producing higher singlet oxygen (Φ_Δ = 0.59) than motexafin lutetium (Φ_Δ = 0.31) which is a clinically used lutetium texaphyrin photosensitizer.