Understanding the Solvent Effect on the Catalytic Oxidation of 1,4‐Butanediol in Methanol over Au/TiO2 Catalyst: NMR Diffusion and Relaxation Studies

The effect of water on the catalytic oxidation of 1,4‐butanediol in methanol over Au/TiO₂ has been investigated by catalytic reaction studies and NMR diffusion and relaxation studies. The addition of water to the dry catalytic system led to a decrease of both conversion and selectivity towards dimethyl succinate. Pulsed‐field gradient (PFG)‐NMR spectroscopy was used to assess the effect of water addition on the effective self‐diffusivity of the reactant within the catalyst. NMR relaxation studies were also carried out to probe the strength of surface interaction of the reactant in the absence and presence of water. PFG‐NMR studies revealed that the addition of water to the initial system, although increasing the dilution of the system, leads to a significant decrease of effective diffusion rate of the reactant within the catalyst. From T₁ and T₂ relaxation measurements it was possible to infer the strength of surface interaction of the reactant with the catalyst surface. The addition of water was found to inhibit the adsorption of the reactant over the catalyst surface, with the T₁/T₂ ratio of 1,4‐butanediol decreasing significantly when water was added. The results overall suggest that both the decrease of diffusion rate and adsorption strength of the reactant within the catalyst, due to water addition, limits the access of reactant molecules to the catalytic sites, which results in a decrease of reaction rate and conversion.     

Conformational features and recognition properties of a conformationally blocked calix[7]arene derivative

The shaping of a calix[7]arene macrocycle into cone-like structure 3, through exhaustive alkylation of doubly bridged calix[7]arene derivative 2 with bulky groups, has been investigated. Conformational details about the structure adopted by calix[7]arene derivative 3 in solution have been obtained by using chemical shift surface maps, as previously reported by our group. Thus, chemical shift contour plots indicated that 3 adopted a cone-shaped structure in solution analogous to that adopted by the known p-tert-butylcalix[7]arene heptacarboxylic acid derivative 4. Interestingly, the X-ray structure of derivative 3 showed a high degree of similarity to the theoretical structure, which confirmed the validity of the contour plots method. The preorganized calix[7]arene host 3 showed interesting recognition abilities toward both organic and alkali cations. In fact, an unprecedented endo-cavity complexation of linear and branched alkyl ammonium cations with a larger calix[7]arene host was evidenced. A comparable affinity for branched tBuNH(3)(+) and linear nBuNH(3)(+) guests was observed.     

Acetylene and argon adsorption in a supramolecular organic zeolite

The adsorption properties of a new nanoporous organic zeolite with respect to acetylene and Ar were studied by volumetric adsorption analysis, microcalorimetric experiments, and synchrotron high-resolution X-ray powder diffraction. This allowed us to locate the guest molecules inside the host channels and characterize the host-guest interactions.     

Molecular conformation of cyclenes: Part VI. MINDO/2' study of 1,3-cycloheptadiene,cis- and trans-cyclooctene

Quantum mechanical calculations indicate that the most stable conformation for 1,3-cycloheptadiene is a C_s semi-planar form, for trans-cyclooctene a C₂ twist form and for cis-cyclooctene a form without symmetry. An equilibrium between two C₁ forms and the C_s form can be suggested as a consequence of the negligible rotational barrier in 1,3-cycloheptadiene; no obviously preferred conformations exist in cis-cyclooctene, where the molecule is quite flexible. Theoretical results are consistent with the experimental data available.     

HPLC-DAD determination of plasma levels of the antipsychotic risperidone and its main metabolite for toxicological purposes

A new, rapid analytical method, based on liquid chromatography with diode array detection, has been developed and applied to the determination of risperidone and its main active metabolite 9-hydroxyrisperidone in human plasma. The chromatographic separation was obtained on a C8 (150 x 4.6 mm, 5 microm) column, using a mobile phase composed of acetonitrile (27%) and a pH 3.0 phosphate buffer (73%). A sample clean-up procedure was carried out by using C8 cartridges and eluting the analytes with methanol. The extraction yield was highly satisfactory for both analytes, with average absolute recovery values of about 95%. The experimental conditions permitted the quantitative determination of risperidone and 9-hydroxyrisperidone with high precision (RSD < 3.6%) and satisfactory sensitivity (LOQ = 4 ng mL(-1)). The method was applied to plasma samples from a patient who had tried to poison himself with 150 mg of risperidone, and was undergoing polypharmacy.     

5-Amino-4,5-dihydroisoxazoles. Part I. 5-Amino-3-aryl-4-methylene-4,5-dihydroisoxazoles and 4-aminomethyl-3-arylisoxazoles from 5-amino-4-aminomethyl-3-aryl-4,5-dihydroisoxazoles

5-Amino-4-aminomethyl-3-aryl-4,5-dihydroisoxazoles 2 were obtained by cycloaddition of nitrile oxides to 1,3-diaminopropenes 1. On reaction with methyl iodide the corresponding 4-(quaternary)-ammoniomethyl iodides 3 were formed. These compounds, on reaction with bases, afforded 5-amino-3-aryl-4-methylene-4,5-dihydroisoxazoles 4. The acid-catalyzed deamination of compounds 2 afforded 4-aminomethyl-3-arylisoxa-zoles 5 and 3-arylisoxazoles as retro-Mannich products. The deamination of 2 to yield 5 was also obtained by base catalysis.     

Relaxation spectra of polymer melts from relaxation and steady-state flow data

Accurate measurements of stress relaxation after steady-state flow have been carried out, in the Newtonian flow region, for a polystyrene and a poly(methyl methacrylate) melt, with a cone-and-plate rotational rheometer. From the stress relaxation σ(t) versus t curves the relaxation spectra H were calculated by means of the first approximation equation: \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ H = - ({1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 {\dot \gamma t)d\sigma {{(t)} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{(t)} d}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} d}}}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\dot \gamma t)d\sigma {{(t)} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{(t)} d}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} d}}}\ln t $\end{document}. The shear stress–shear rate curves, σ versus \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\dot \gamma } $\end{document} were also measured, in large ranges of shear rates, for the same melts, and from these data the relaxation spectra H were obtained by means of equations given by Faucher and Ferry. The Faucher equation, \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ H = - \dot \gamma ^2 d{\sigma \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {\sigma d}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} d}\dot \gamma ^2 $\end{document}, has been found to give results which compare satisfactorily with those obtained from the first approximation equation. It has been found that the Ferry equation has to be modified for comparable agreement.     

等级孔分子筛的可控合成、扩散研究及催化应用

等级孔分子筛是一类具有两种或多种以特定形式排布的孔结构的分子筛材料. 多层等级的孔结构使得分子筛孔道内的分子扩散得到显著改善, 进而提升了其在吸附和非均相催化等领域的应用性能. 等级孔分子筛的制备策略通常有两种, 即“自上而下”后处理法(如对母样分子筛进行脱铝、 脱硅产生介孔)和“自下而上”合成法(如软模板、 硬模板法). 本文主要对近20年来等级孔分子筛的合成方法进行了梳理, 并着重介绍了具有较高应用潜力的“自上而下”制备法. 鉴于合成等级孔分子筛的主要目的是提高分子的晶内扩散, 对近年来客体分子在等级孔分子筛内扩散的实验研究也进行了简要综述. 此外, 本文还综合评述了等级孔分子筛与传统分子筛在催化应用中的对比, 以展示前者在提升催化性能方面(如活性、 选择性等)的独特优势.