Substituent effects on the redox potentials of dihydroxybenzenes: theoretical and experimental study

The redox reactions of p-hydroquinone and pyrocatechol undergo a two-proton-two-electron process in aqueous solution. We calculated their redox potentials at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level, and verified the values by employing cyclic voltammetry experiments. Then we selected seven substituent groups (–F, –Cl, –OH, –COOH, –CN, –NH₂, and –NO₂ groups) to systematically investigate the substituent effect, including the sort, position, and number of the substituent, on the redox potentials of p-hydroquinone and pyrocatechol. The calculated results show that –NH₂ and –OH groups can decrease the redox potentials, while –F, –Cl, –COOH, –CN, and –NO₂ groups increase the potential values of p-hydroquinone and pyrocatechol. The calculations can accurately predict the substituent effects on the redox potentials of pyrocatechol and p-hydroquinone. We would expect that the accurate calculation results for the model systems could be applied in the prediction of electrode potentials of other molecules.     

A simple and efficient copper oxide-catalyzed Barbier–Grignard reaction of unactivated aryl or alkyl bromides with ester

An efficient one-pot route to synthesize tertiary alcohol compounds using Barbier–Grignard reaction of unactivated alkyl or aryl bromides with ester in THF at 65 °C catalyzed by CuO has been developed and systematically investigated. A wide range of substituted tertiary alcohol compounds were obtained in good to high yields. The reaction is highly chemoselective. The mechanism involving the leaving group of R²O^-group is discussed.     

Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction of 1,2-oxaborol-2(5H)-ols with carboxylic anhydrides: a new method to furans

An efficient one-step method has been developed to construct furans via a Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction of 1,2-oxaborol-2(5H)-ols with carboxylic anhydrides. In the presence of Pd(OAc)₂/PCy₃, the multi-substituted alkenylboron compounds could couple with anhydrides to obtain furans in moderate-to-good yields. The addition of bases promoted the coupling reaction, and the plausible reaction mechanism was proposed.     

Pd-catalyzed assembly of phenanthridines from aryl ketone O-acetyloximes and arynes through C–H bond activation

Pd-catalyzed annulation of aryne and aryl ketone O-acetyloxime via C–H bond activation was realized. Through the C–H bond activation/insertion/cyclization/elimination reaction sequence, phenanthridines are successfully constructed, providing an attractive strategy to approach substituted heterocycle without preactivation of starting materials.     

Removal of uranium from aqueous solution by using activated palm kernel shell carbon: adsorption equilibrium and kinetics

Activated palm kernel shell carbon (APKSC) was used to remove U(VI) from aqueous solutions in a batch system. The adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and effects of various parameters, such as temperature, contact time, solution pH, adsorbent dosage, and initial U(VI) concentration on the U(VI) adsorption process were studied. Equilibrium was reached after 120 min in the range of studied U(VI) concentrations and temperatures. U(VI) uptake was insignificantly affected by temperature, but was highly pH dependent, and the optimum pH for removal was 5.5. U(VI) removal efficiency increased with the increasing adsorbent dosage. U(VI) sorption capacity increased with increasing initial U(VI) concentration; any further increases in initial U(VI) concentration above a certain point caused insignificant changes in U(VI) sorption capacity. Isotherm data could be described by the Langmuir isotherm model with a maximum U(VI) adsorption capacity of 51.81 mg/g. Kinetic data were fitted to pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order equations, which suggested that the U(VI) adsorption onto APKSC was better reproduced by the pseudo-second-order model rather than pseudo-first-order model. Our results indicated that APKSC might be used as a cheap adsorbent in the treatment of uranium-containing wastewater.     

Self-calibration method for cerium-doped lanthanum bromide scintillator detector in the 0.1–2.0 MeV energy range

In recent years, the cerium-doped lanthanum bromide, LaBr₃ (Ce = 5 %) detector is increasingly playing an important role in radiation measurements because of its higher energy resolution (~3 % at 662 keV), faster luminescence decay time (~35 ns) and higher detection efficiency compared to 7.65 cm × 7.65 cm NaI(Tl) detector. Intrinsic spectra between 1,800 and 3,000 keV derived from internal radioactivity within LaBr₃(Ce) scintillators have been investigated in some literatures, and these results are confirmed by the experiments in this work. In this paper, a new method for LaBr₃(Ce) detector energy calibration from 100 to 2,000 keV is proposed using the intrinsic spectra (self-calibration) instead of the standard gamma sources. Proof-of-concept experiment results show that self-calibration can guarantee energy accuracy of better than 0.815 % and can be applied outside the laboratory. The stability and applicability of this method are also investigated systematically.     

囊泡状二氧化硅的合成及油气吸附性能

以正硅酸四甲酯(TMOS)为硅源,P123(EO20PO70EO20)为表面活性剂,在p H=6的磷酸缓冲体系中制备了囊泡状二氧化硅材料.利用乙醇萃取脱除模板剂P123,电镜观测结果表明所得二氧化硅具有大孔囊泡结构,N2吸附结果表明其具有高比表面积和大孔容.通过Boehm滴定法确定了硅羟基数量与吸水率呈正相关.用囊泡状二氧化硅材料与商业化活性炭(AC)和硅胶(SG)对水蒸气、正己烷和油气进行静态吸附.在自建的动态正己烷吸附装置上用对囊泡状二氧化硅材料和商业化AC和SG对正己烷进行动态吸附.吸附结果表明,囊泡状二氧化硅材料的静/动态吸附容量和稳定性都远高于商业化活性炭和硅胶.     

基于表面等离子体子共振成像技术研究苏拉明和顺铂对肝癌细胞生长的抑制作用简

基于表面等离子体子共振成像(SPRi)技术提出了一种实时、非标记的新型抗癌药物药效评估方法. 以聚二甲基硅氧烷(PDMS)为材料,制作了包含微柱结构的微流控芯片作为流通反应池,配合自行设计组装的SPRi生物传感器完成肿瘤细胞的特异性捕获及检测,研究了苏拉明和顺铂对肝癌细胞HepG2的生长抑制作用. 同时引入辅助验证实验,即采用常规八肽胆囊收缩素(简称CCK-8)法测定上述药物对肝癌细胞增殖的抑制作用. SPRi检测结果表明,苏拉明和顺铂能抑制肿瘤细胞HepG2增殖并呈现剂量、时间依赖关系.     

一种可用于光降解的纳米氧化锌油水分离网

通过低温水热法在钢丝网上生长六棱柱形的氧化锌纳米柱.包覆了氧化锌纳米柱的钢丝网具有水下超疏油的特殊浸润性,并可用于油水分离.滤网在室温常压下可对含有汽油、柴油和原油等油水混合物进行高效快速分离,分离效率可达98%以上.材料可以承受1.4 kPa的油层压力且可反复使用.由于氧化锌的光响应性强,滤网可快速降解水中的亚甲基蓝,2 h的降解率可达80%.包覆了氧化锌纳米柱的钢丝网具备同时进行油水分离和降解环境中污染物的能力,是一种新型多功能水处理材料.     

多手性中心联萘-2-芳甲羟基-2'-醇(Ar-BINMOLs):一类可应用于不对称催化反应的新型手性配体

近年来,我们基于1,1'-联萘基-2,2'-二酚(BINOL)为手性源成功地发展了一类多手性中心化合物联萘-2-芳甲羟基-2'-醇(Ar-BINMOLs),它是BINOL的单苄醚化合物经过不对称[1,2]-Wittig重排合成得到的,涉及C—O键的断裂与新C—C的构建反应,由轴手性诱导产生新的碳手性中心,结构独特新颖,同时具有C2轴手性和sp3碳手性的光学纯醇酚类化合物.目前,Ar-BINMOLs作为新型手性配体应用于不对称催化反应已有不少的报道.基于BINOL衍生物以及近几年Ar-BINMOLs及其衍生物的研究进展,重点阐述了其作为新型手性配体或手性骨架在不对称催化反应中的应用研究进展.