Tetrabutylammonium phosphomolybdate on fluorapatite: an efficient solid catalyst for solvent-free selective oxidation of sulfides

A new synthetic method of sulfoxides and sulfones using solvent-free oxidations of sulfides with urea–hydrogen peroxide complex (urea–H₂O₂) and tetrabutylammonium phosphomolybdate catalyst on fluorapatite ((Bu₄N)₃[PMo₁₂O₄₀]/FAp). In the solid-phase system the oxidations of aromatic and alkyl sulfides proceeded at 4–25 °C and the corresponding sulfoxides or sulfones were selectively obtained in good yields by controlling the amount of urea–H₂O₂.     

Total Synthesis of (±)-Nanaomycin A and (±)-Frenolicin

Efficient synthesis of (±)-nanaomycin A and (±)-frenolicin from a versatile intermediate is described.     

Characterization of interface of Al-Ni/a-Si for thin film transistor using high-resolution Rutherford backscattering spectrometry

High-resolution Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (HRBS) in combination with grazing angle argon sputtering was carried out to characterize the interface of aluminum-nickel (Al-Ni) alloy and amorphous-silicon films in a thin film transistor (TFT) for liquid crystal display (LCD). After thinning the top Al-Ni layer by a 1-keV Ar sputtering, the sensitivity of the interface oxygen was improved to be twice higher than that before sputtering. The results revealed that the oxygen at the interface relates to the contact characteristics.     

Heegaard Gradient of Seifert Fibered 3-Manifolds

The infimal Heegaard gradient of a 3-manifold was defined andstudied by Marc Lackenby in an approach towards proving thewell-known virtually Haken conjecture. As instructive examples,Seifert fibered 3-manifolds are considered in this paper. Theauthor shows that a compact orientable Seifert fibered 3-manifoldhas zero infimal Heegaard gradient if and only if it virtuallyfibers over either the circle or a surface other than the 2-sphereor, equivalently, if it has infinite fundamental group. 2000Mathematics Subject Classification 57M10 (primary), 57N10, 57M50(secondary).     

Dissociation channels of silver bromide cluster Ag<Subscript>2</Subscript>Br,silver cluster Ag<Subscript>3</Subscript> and their ions studied by using alkali metal target

Various dissociation channels of silver bromide cluster ion Ag₂Br⁺ and silver cluster ion Ag₃ ⁺ were observed in high-energy collisionally-activated dissociation (CAD) using a Cs target. The fragment patterns of the high-energy CAD were compared with those of the metastable dissociation and low-energy CAD. The difference in the fragment patterns between the high-energy CAD and the other dissociation methods was explained in terms of the internal energy distributions. The dissociation mechanisms of neutral silver bromide cluster Ag₂Br and silver cluster Ag₃ were also investigated by charge inversion mass spectrometry using the Cs target. While the fragment ions AgBr^- and Ag₂ ^- were dominantly observed in the charge inversion spectrum of Ag₂Br⁺, the undissociated ion Ag₃ ^- was observed as a predominant peak in the case of Ag₃ ⁺. The dissociation behavior of Ag₂Br^* can be explained on the basis of the calculated thermochemical data. Contrary to this, the predominant existence of the undissociated Ag₃ ^- cannot be explained by the reported thermochemical data. The existence of undissociated Ag₃ ^- suggests that the dissociation barrier is higher than the internal energy of Ag₃ ^* (theoretical: 1.03 eV, experimental: 2.31 eV) estimated from the ionization potentials of Ag₃ and Cs.     

Encapsulation‐Induced Remarkable Stability of a Hydrogen‐Bonded Heterocapsule

Remarkably enhanced stability of the self‐assembled hydrogen‐bonded heterocapsule 1?2 by the encapsulation of 1,4‐bis(1‐propynyl)benzene 3 a was found with K_a=1.14×10⁹ M ^?1 in CDCl₃ and K_a2=1.59×10⁸ M ^?2 in CD₃OD/CDCl₃ (10 % v/v) at 298 K. The formation of 3 a @( 1?2 ) was enthalpically driven (ΔH°<0 and ΔS°<0) and there was a unique inflection point in the correlation between ΔH° versus ΔS° as a function of polar solvent content. The ab initio calculations revealed that favorable guest–capsule dispersion and electrostatic interactions between the acetylenic parts (triple bonds) of 3 a and the aromatic inner space of 1?2 , as well as less structural deformation of 1?2 upon encapsulation of 3 a , play important roles in the remarkable stability of 3 a @( 1?2 ).