Dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment of corn stover at high solids concentrations

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - The enzymatic digestibility of a pretreated substrate is enhanced by increasing the severity of the pretreatment conditions, apparently because a greater...     

Zur Elektronenstruktur metallorganischer Komplexe der f‐Elemente. 64 Äußert sich die zwitterionische Natur des Triphenylphosphanoxid‐Liganden auch in seinen spektrochemischen Eigenschaften?

Electronic Structures of Organometallic Compounds of f Elements. 64 Does the Zwitterionic Nature of the Triphenylphosphine Oxide Ligand Manifest itself in its Spectrochemical Properties? The triphenylphosphine oxide mono adducts of the moiety tris(η⁵‐cyclopentadienyl)lanthanide(III) (Ln(Cp)₃; Ln = Pr ( 1 ), La ( 2 )) were synthesized and structurally characterized. The Ln–O distances of these compounds are noticeably shorter than those of the corresponding THF adducts. A crystal field (CF) analysis of the optical spectra of 1 leads to a low absolute value of the quadratic CF parameter which is comparable with those of [Pr(Cp)₃(L)]^? adducts with anionic bases but not with [Pr(Cp)₃(MeTHF)]. Reasons for the latter finding are presented.     

Synthese und Fluoreszenzeigenschaften von cyansubstituierten 2-Aminopyridinen

The synthesis of several 2-aminopyridines is described. The reaction of tetracyanoethylene with 3-imino-propane-carbonitrile gives 2-amino-3,4,5-tricyano-pyridines with alkyl and aryl-substituents, resp., in position 6. Nucleophilic substitution of 2-amino-6-chloro-3,5-dicyanopyridines and 2-amino-6-chloro-3,4,5-tricyano-pyridines with phenolates leads to a variety of pyridines. Spectroscopical data of absorption and fluorescence are presented and the influence of the cyano groups is discussed. The results are in good agreement with quantum chemical calculations (PPP).

Herrn Univ-Prof. Dr.A. Holasek zum 60. Geburtstag gewidmet.     

The determination of manganese by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry with a graphite furnace at constant temperature

Many of the interferences reported earlier for the determination of manganese in a graphite furnace were not found when a modern graphite furnace was used. At high levels of chloride matrix, an interference which was observed in the modern furnace was reduced when manganese was determined under constant temperature conditions. In this work, the sample was introduced on a tungsten wire after the graphite furnace had reached a constant, preset temperature. Drying and ashing were accomplished outside the atomization furnace, reducing contamination from matrix materials.     

π-Bindungsbeitrag in Boranen, 2. Mitt.:Ab initio- und Kraftfeld-Rechnungen von Vinyldifluorboran

Ab initio calculations on vinyldifluoroborane yield a -contribution of 23 kJ/mol (5.5 kcal/mol) mainly due to the C=C bond and not to the lone pairs of the fluorine atoms. The rotational barrier was also determined. The force field calculations favour the interpretation of the bond structure derived from the theab initio results.

     

New features in the catalytic cycle of cytochrome P450 during the formation of compound I from compound 0

Density functional theory (DFT) is applied to the dark section of the catalytic cycle of the enzyme cytochrome P450, namely, the formation of the active species, Compound I (Cpd I), from the ferric-hydroperoxide species (Cpd 0) by a protonation-assisted mechanism. The chosen 96-atom model includes the key functionalities deduced from experiment: Asp(251), Thr(252), Glu(366), and the water channels that relay the protons. The DFT model calculations show that (a) Cpd I is not formed spontaneously from Cpd 0 by direct protonation, nor is the process very exothermic. The process is virtually thermoneutral and involves a significant barrier such that formation of Cpd I is not facile on this route. (b) Along the protonation pathway, there exists an intermediate, a protonated Cpd 0, which is a potent oxidant since it is a ferric complex of water oxide. Preliminary quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical calculations confirm that Cpd 0 and Cpd I are of similar energy for the chosen model and that protonated Cpd 0 may exist as an unstable intermediate. The paper also addresses the essential role of Thr(252) as a hydrogen-bond acceptor (in accord with mutation studies of the OH group to OMe).     

Backbonding contributions to small molecule chemisorption in a metal–organic framework with open copper(i) centers

Metal–organic frameworks are promising materials for applications such as gas capture, separation, and storage, due to their ability to selectively adsorb small molecules. The metal–organic framework Cu^I-MFU-4l, which contains coordinatively unsaturated copper(i) centers, can engage in backbonding interactions with various small molecule guests, motivating the design of frameworks that engage in backbonding and other electronic interactions for highly efficient and selective adsorption. Here, we examine several gases expected to bind to the open copper(i) sites in Cu^I-MFU-4l via different electronic interactions, including σ-donation, π-backbonding, and formal electron transfer. We show that in situ Cu L-edge near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy can elucidate π-backbonding by directly probing excitations to unoccupied backbonding orbitals with Cu d-character, even for gases that participate in other dominant interactions, such as ligand-to-metal σ-donation. First-principles calculations based on density functional theory and time-dependent density functional theory additionally reveal the backbonding molecular orbitals associated with these spectroscopic transitions. The energies of the transitions correlate with the energy levels of the isolated small molecule adsorbates, and the transition intensities are proportional to the binding energies of the guest molecules within Cu^I-MFU-4l. By elucidating the molecular and electronic structure origins of backbonding interactions between electron rich metal centers in metal–organic frameworks and small molecule guests, it is possible to develop guidelines for further molecular-level design of solid-state adsorbents for energy-efficient separations of relevance to industry.

In situ near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy directly probes unoccupied states associated with backbonding interactions between the open metal site in a metal–organic framework and various small molecule guests.     

Kinetics of oil saponification by lead salts in ancient preparations of pharmaceutical lead plasters and painting lead mediums

Lead soaps can be found in archaeological cosmetics as well as in oil paintings, as product of interactions of lead salts with oil. In this context, a better understanding of the formation of lead soaps allows a follow-up of the historical evolution of preparation recipes and provides new insights into conservation conditions. First, ancient recipes of both pharmaceutical lead plasters and painting lead mediums, mixtures of oil and lead salts, were reconstructed. The ester saponification by lead salts is determined by the preparation parameters which were quantified by FT-IR spectrometry. In particular, ATR/FT-IR spectrometer was calibrated by the standard addition method to quantitatively follow the kinetics of this reaction. The influence of different parameters such as temperature, presence of water and choice of lead salts was assessed: the saponification is clearly accelerated by water and heating. This analysis provides chemical explanations to the historical evolution of cosmetic and painting preparation recipes.