Development of high-performance liquid chromatographic fingerprints for distinguishing Chinese Angelica from related umbelliferae herbs

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) fingerprint of Chinese Angelica (CA) was developed basing on the consistent chromatograms of 40 CA samples (Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels). The unique properties of this HPLC fingerprints were validated by analyzing 13 related herbs including 4 Japanese Angelicae Root samples (JA, A. acutiloba Kitagawa and A. acutiloba Kitagawa var. sugiyame Hikino), 6 Szechwan Lovage Rhizome samples (SL, Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort.) and 3 Cnidium Rhizome samples (CR, Cnidium officinale Makino). Both correlation coefficients of similarity in chromatograms and relative peak areas of characteristic compounds were calculated for quantitative expression of the HPLC fingerprints. The amount of senkyunolide A in CA was less than 30-fold of that in SL and CR samples, which was used as a chemical marker to distinguish them. JA was easily distinguished from CA, SL and CR based on either chromatographic patterns or the amount of coniferyl ferulate. No obvious difference between SL and CR chromatograms except the relative amount of some compounds, suggesting that SL and CR might have very close relationship in terms of chemotaxonomy. Ferulic acid and Z-ligustilide were unequivocally determined whilst senkyunolide I, senkyunolide H, coniferyl ferulate, senkyunolide A, butylphthalide, E-ligustilide, E-butylidenephthalide, Z-butylidenephthalide and levistolide A were tentatively identified in chromatograms based on their atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) MS data and the comparison of their UV spectra with those published in literatures.     

UV-blocking property of dumbbell-shaped ZnO crystallites on cotton fabrics

A facile process to prepare uniform dumbbell-shaped ZnO crystallites was presented. The evidence in this Article discovered a unique morphological effect on the UV-blocking property. The as-prepared ZnO crystallites were characterized by XRD, HRTEM, FESEM, UV-blocking, and Raman scattering spectra. Our tentative investigation created a breakthrough to both the ultrahigh "Ultraviolet protection factor" (UPF) and the overall-range of complete UV-radiation blocking. Therefore, the as-prepared structural material demonstrated a significant advance in protective functional treatment and provided a potential commercialization.     

Electrochemistry of metallofullerene films: the major isomer of Dy@C82

Solution-cast films of the major isomer of Dy@C(82) (Dy@C(82)(I)) have been studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) in acetonitrile. The films are found to display pronounced and stable redox responses in solution. The reduction/reoxidation processes exhibit large splittings between the first two reduction and reoxidation waves. However, a pair of reversible oxidation and rereduction waves is observed after the reoxidation of a reduced film. The characteristics and the inter-relationship of these waves are uncovered by the CV technique, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV/Vis-NIR spectra. A possible mechanism is proposed for the film electrode processes, which emphasizes the redox-induced structural reorganization of the metallofullerene film by the incorporation and expulsion of electrolyte ions into and out of the film. The influence of the counter ion diffusivity and the ion-pair stability on the electrochemical activity of the metallofullerene film has also been indicated.     

Over 18% binary organic solar cells enabled by isomerization of non-fullerene acceptors with alkylthiophene side chains

Side-chain engineering has been demonstrated as an effective method for fine-tuning the optical, electrical, and morphological properties of organic semiconductors toward efficient organic solar cells (OSCs). In this work, three isomeric non-fullerene small molecule acceptors (SMAs), named BTP-4F-T2C8, BTP-4F-T2EH and BTP-4F-T3EH, with linear and branched alkyl chains substituted on the α or β positions of thiophene as the side chains, were synthesized and systematically investigated. The results demonstrate that the size and substitution position of alkyl side chains can greatly affect the electronic properties, molecular packing as well as crystallinity of the SMAs. After blending with donor polymer D18-Cl, the prominent device performance of 18.25% was achieved by the BTP-4F-T3EH-based solar cells, which is higher than those of the BTP-4F-T2EH-based (17.41%) and BTP-4F-T2C8-based (15.92%) ones. The enhanced performance of the BTP-4F-T3EH-based devices is attributed to its stronger crystallinity, higher electron mobility, suppressed biomolecular recombination, and the appropriate intermolecular interaction with the donor polymer. This work reveals that the side chain isomerization strategy can be a practical way in tuning the molecular packing and blend morphology for improving the performance of organic solar cells.

     

Solvent-assisted catalysis mechanism on Keto–enol tautomerism of cyameluric acid

The keto–enol tautomerism of cyameluric acid, both in gas phase and in water and methanol solution, has been studied at the B3LYP/6-31++g(d,P) level of theory in this paper. The harmonic frequencies of all the structures are calculated. The results show that the transition states of the tautomerism are 4-membered ring conformations in gas phase, whereas 6-membered ring conformations in solution. In the first proton transfer, activation energy ΔE^# is 56.4 and 50.9 kJ/mol for water and methanol solution, respectively, which is much lower than that in gas phase (163.2 kJ/mol). Solvent molecules (water and methanol) produce an important catalytic effect in the tautomerism, especially for methanol-solvated system. NBO analysis shows that there is a strong interaction between cyameluric acid and solvent molecules in transition states. AIM charge analysis indicates that the keto–enol tautomerism shows a certain degree of proton transfer character. From the reaction enthalpy and reaction rate point of view, keto–enol tautomerism in water-solvated and methanol-solvated system is easier than that in gas phase. The keto–enol tautomerisms are endothermic both in gas phase and in solution, so the enol forms are less stable than the keto ones.     

Morphology and tensile properties of glass bead filled low density polyethylene composites: MATERIAL PROPERTIES

The mechanical properties of glass bead filled low density polyethylene (LDPE) composites in tension have been investigated by using an Instron material testing machine. It is found that with increase of the glass bead weight fraction (φ) the tensile modulus (E_c) and the tensile yield stress (σ_yc) increase as a form of nonlinear function but contrary to the elongation strain at break; the correlation between E_c and φ accords with the logarithmic mixing rule and the relationship between σ_y and the volume fraction (φ_f) can be described by means of a second order equation; the effects of the glass bead diameter on the mechanical properties are not large; when φ and the bead size are suitable, the enhanced toughness effect of the filled-systems is more significant; the tensile strength of the glass bead filled system pretreated with a coupling agent are somewhat greater than those of the untreated system. In addition, the morphology of the samples is studied to explain the relationship between the micro-structure and the mechanical properties of the composites.     

Palladium-catalyzed C-O bond formation: direct synthesis of phenols and aryl/alkyl ethers from activated aryl halides

A simple and efficient palladium-catalyzed carbon-oxygen bond formation is reported. The palladium-tri-tert-butylphosphine complex was found to be effective in converting haloarenes to corresponding substituted phenols. This methodology offers a direct transformation of aryl halides to phenols, as well as the straightforward application to generate a wide variety of diaryl or alkyl/aryl ethers.     

Syntheses, Structures, and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Two Crown-like Heteroselenometallic Compounds [Et4N]4[(μ5-WSe4)(CuX)5(μ-X)2] (X = Cl, Br)

Two isostructural crown-like heteroselenometallic cluster compounds, [Et₄N]₄[(μ₅-WSe₄)(CuX)₅(μ-X)₂] (X = Cl 1, Br 2), were prepared from the reactions of [Et₄N]₂[WSe₄] with CuX and [Et₄N]X· xH₂O in the presence of 2-picoline and characterized by single-crystal diffraction analysis. The [(μ₅-WSe₄)(Cu-X)₅(μ-X)₂]⁴⁻ anions in the cluster compounds consists of five CuX fragments coordinated to the five edges of the tetrahedral [WSe₄]²⁻ moiety along with two bridging halides connected to each of the two pairs of the symmetric copper atoms, exhibiting a novel crown-like core structure. The nonlinear optical absorption and refraction of cluster compound 2 were determined to be α₂ = 6.15 × 10⁻¹⁰ m/W and n ₂ = 4.18 × 10⁻¹¹ esu, respectively.     

Correlation and response functions with non-Markovian dissipation: a reduced Liouville-space theory

Based on a recently developed quantum dissipation formulation [R. X. Xu and Y. J. Yan, J. Chem. Phys. 116, 9196 (2002)], we present a reduced Liouville-space approach to evaluate the response and correlation functions of dissipative systems. The weak system-bath interaction is treated properly for its effects on the initial state, the evolution, and the correlation between coherent driving and non-Markovian dissipation. Numerical demonstration shows this correlated effect cannot be neglected even in the calculation of linear response quantities that do not explicitly depend on external fields. Highlighted in this paper is also the proper choice of theory among various formulations in the weak system-bath interaction regime.     

Conformational features and anion-binding properties of calix[4]pyrrole: a theoretical study

The conformational preference of calix[4]pyrrole and its fluoride and chloride anion-binding properties have been investigated by density functional theory calculations. Geometries were optimized by the BLYP/3-21G and BLYP/6-31G methods, and energies were evaluated with the BLYP/6-31+G method. To model the effect of medium, the SCIPCM solvent model was also employed. Four typical conformations of the parent substituent-free calix[4]pyrrole were studied. Both in the gas phase and in CH(2)Cl(2) solution, the stability sequence is predicted to be 1,3-alternate > partial cone > 1,2-alternate > cone. The cone conformation is predicted to be about 16.0 and 11.4 kcal/mol less stable in the gas phase and CH(2)Cl(2) solution, respectively. This is mainly due to electrostatic repulsions arising from the all-syn pyrrole/pyrrole/pyrrole/pyrrole arrangement present in this conformer. The existence of possible 1:1 and 1:2 anion-binding modes were explored in the case of fluoride anion, and the factors favoring the 1:1 binding mode are discussed. The calculated binding energy for fluoride anion is about 15 kcal/mol larger than that for chloride anion. The calculated binding energy for chloride anion agrees with the experimental value very well. The presence of meso-alkyl substituents destabilizes the cone conformer with respect to the 1,3-alternate conformer and, therefore, reduces the anion-binding affinity by 3-4 kcal/mol. The strength of N-H- - -anion hydrogen bonds in the various structures subject to study were estimated on the basis of the calculated anion-binding energies and the predicted structural deformation energies of substituent-free calix[4]pyrrole.