Selective Catalytic Isomerization of β-Pinene Oxide to Perillyl Alcohol Enhanced by Protic Tetraimidazolium Nitrate

A series of tetraimidazolium salts with different anions was prepared and applied in the isomerization of β-pinene oxide. After examining the activity of different catalysts, a remarkable enhancement of the selectivity of perillyl alcohol (47 %) was obtained over [PEimi][HNO₃]₄ under mild reaction conditions and using DMSO as the solvent. Furthermore, noncovalent interactions between solvent molecules and the catalyst were found by FT-IR spectroscopy and confirmed by computational chemistry. The homogeneous catalyst showed excellent stability and was reused up to six times without significant loss.     

Dynamic behavior and stability analysis of nonlinear modes in the fourth-order generalized Ginzburg–Landau model with near $$\mathcal{PT}$$ PT -symmetric potentials

Nonlinear Dynamics - Parametrically excited oscillators are used in several domains, in particular to improve the dynamical behaviour of systems like in the case of the parametric amplification or...     

Microtextures Induced by Nanosecond Laser on Ni–Co Alloy Coatings

Ni–Co alloys have a wide range of applications in various fields owning to their excellent physical, chemical, and mechanical properties. In this paper, we prepare Ni–Co alloy coatings on 316L stain steel surfaces by electroplating. We present a novel approach utilizing a nanosecond laser to induce microtextures on Ni–Co alloy coatings. We study experimentally the effects of laser power and scanning rate on the surface morphologies of Ni–Co alloy coatings. The results indicate that the shape and size of induced microtextures can be controlled by the laser power and scanning rate. The size of grains increases with increase in the work current of the laser (WCL) at a certain scanning rate. With the WCL constant, the size of grains decreases with increase in scanning rate while their average height increases. It is a simple and easily-controlled method for the fabrication of microstructures on Ni–Co alloy coatings, which has promising applications in investigations of the properties of microtextured surfaces, such as friction, adhesion, and wetting.     

Metabolic profiles of dioscin in rats revealed by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Dioscin (DIS), one of the most abundant bioactive steroidal saponins in Dioscorea sp., is used as a complementary medicine to treat coronary disease and angina pectoris in China. Although the pharmacological activities and pharmacokinetics of DIS have been well demonstrated, information regarding the final metabolic fates is very limited. This study investigated the in vivo metabolic profiles of DIS after oral administration by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry method. The structures of the metabolites were identified and tentatively characterized by means of comparing the molecular mass, retention time and fragmentation pattern of the analytes with those of the parent compound. A total of eight metabolites, including seven phase I and one phase II metabolites, were detected and tentatively identified for the first time. Oxidation, deglycosylation and glucuronidation were found to be the major metabolic processes of the compound in rats. In addition, a possible metabolic pathway on the biotransformation of DIS in vivo was proposed. This study provides valuable and new information on the metabolism of DIS, which will be helpful for further understanding its mechanism of action. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Utilizing the Space‐Charge Region of the FeNi‐LDH/CoP p‐n Junction to Promote Performance in Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalysis

The modulation of electron density is an effective option for efficient alternative electrocatalysts. Here, p‐n junctions are constructed in 3D free‐standing FeNi‐LDH/CoP/carbon cloth (CC) electrode (LDH=layered double hydroxide). The positively charged FeNi‐LDH in the space‐charge region can significantly boost oxygen evolution reaction. Therefore, the j at 1.485 V (vs. RHE) of FeNi‐LDH/CoP/CC achieves ca. 10‐fold and ca. 100‐fold increases compared to those of FeNi‐LDH/CC and CoP/CC, respectively. Density functional theory calculation reveals OH^? has a stronger trend to adsorb on the surface of FeNi‐LDH side in the p‐n junction compared to individual FeNi‐LDH further verifying the synergistic effect in the p‐n junction. Additionally, it represents excellent activity toward water splitting. The utilization of heterojunctions would open up an entirely new possibility to purposefully regulate the electronic structure of active sites and promote their catalytic activities.     

Surface of room temperature ionic liquid [bmim][PF6] studied by polarization- and experimental configuration-dependent sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy

Understanding and control of the surface properties such as molecular orientations are of great importance in numerous applications of ionic liquids. However, there remain discrepancies among the previous experimental and theoretical studies on the surface orientation and structures of room temperature ionic liquids(RTIL) systems. In this article, the orientation of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium([bmin]) cation at the air/liquid interface of a characteristic RTIL, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate([bmim][PF6]), was investigated by the sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy(SFG-VS). Detailed polarization and experimental configuration analyses of the SFG-VS spectra showed the possibility of a small spectral splitting in the CH3 symmetric stretching region, which can be further attributed to the probable existence of multiple orientations for the interfacial [bmim] cations. In addition, the(N)–CH3 vibrations were absent, ruling out the prediction by several recent molecular dynamics simulations which state that portions of the [bmim] cations orient with a standing-up(N)–CH3 group at the ionic liquid surface. Hence, new realistic theoretical models have to be developed to reflect the complex nature of the ionic liquid surface.