Mukaiyama–Michael Reactions with trans‐2,5‐Diarylpyrrolidine Catalysts: Enantioselectivity Arises from Attractive Noncovalent Interactions,Not from Steric Hindrance

The scope of the enantioselective Mukaiyama–Michael reactions catalyzed by trans‐2,5‐diphenylpyrrolidine has been expanded to include both α‐ and β‐substituted enals. However, the rationalization of the observed enantioselectivity is far from obvious since the catalyst is not very sterically hindered. DFT calculations were carried out to rationalize the observed stereoselectivities. Transition states of the C?C bond formation between iminium intermediates and silyloxyfurans were located and their relative energies were used to estimate the stereoselectivity data. We find excellent agreement between the predicted and observed stereoselectivities. The analysis of intermolecular forces reveals that the enantioselectivity is mostly due to stabilizing noncovalent interactions between the reacting partners, not due to steric hindrance. The role of attractive noncovalent interactions in enantioselective catalysis may be underappreciated.     

Electronic properties of austenite and martensite Fe-9%Mn alloys

We calculate the electronic properties of austenite and martensite Fe-9%Mn alloys using the self consistent full-potential linearized-plane-wave method under the generalized gradient approximation full lattice relaxation. By minimizing total-energy, the lattice constants in their ground states were determined. We discuss the total energy dependence of the volume, and density of states (DOS).      

Gas-phase conformations and exciton couplings in 5,6,11,12-tetrahydrodibenzo[a,e]cyclooctene

The conformations and exciton couplings in 5,6,11,12-tetrahydrodibenzo[a,e]cyclooctene (THDC) have been studied using resonance-enhanced two-photon ionization spectroscopy in a supersonic jet expansion. It has been estimated from the spectral analysis that 90% of THDC exists in the twist-boat (TB) conformation; the chair (C) conformer constitutes the remaining 10%. Most of the vibronic activity in the spectrum of THDC is associated with the symmetric flapping of the aromatic rings of the TB conformer. The observed S₁/S₂ exciton splitting of the TB conformer is 100 cm^?1. The S₁/S₂ transition of the C conformer is found to be forbidden. The exciton splittings of the C and TB conformers were estimated by the spectral analysis of two deuterated isotopomers of THDC. The estimated exciton splittings of the C and TB conformers are 14.7 and 101.9 cm^?1, respectively. The supramolecular model of bichromophores with identical chromophores at the CIS/6-31+G(d)//HF/6-31+G(d) level of theory predicted electronic coupling energies that are very close to the experimental exciton coupling energies.     

Effects of the bond dilution on the phase diagrams of a spin-1 transverse Ising model with crystal field interaction on a honeycomb lattice

A bond diluted spin-1 Ising model with crystal and transverse field interactions is examined for honeycomb lattice by introducing an effective field approximation that takes into account the correlations between different spins that emerge when expanding the identities. The effects of the crystal field as well as the transverse field and dilution on the phase diagrams and order parameter m_z are discussed in detail. A number of interesting and unusual phenomena such as reentrant phenomena and three successive phase transitions originating from the crystal field as well as the transverse field and bond dilution have been found.     

Diffusive Propagation of Wave Packets in a Fluctuating Periodic Potential

We consider the evolution of a tight binding wave packet propagating in a fluctuating periodic potential. If the fluctuations stem from a stationary Markov process satisfying certain technical criteria, we show that the square amplitude of the wave packet after diffusive rescaling converges to a superposition of solutions of a heat equation.     

New Cytotoxic Laurene‐, Cuparene‐, and Laurokamurene‐Type Sesquiterpenes from the Red Alga Laurencia obtusa

Three new sesquiterpene alcohols, laur‐2‐ene‐3,12‐diol ( 1 ), cuparene‐3,12‐diol ( 2 ), and 8,11‐dihydro‐1‐methoxylaurokamuren‐12‐ol ( 3 ), along with one known diterpene, kahukuen‐10‐ol ( 4 ) have been isolated from the organic extract of the red alga Laurencia obtusa. The chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. The cytotoxicity of the isolated compounds were evaluated against three cancer cell lines, i.e., KB, HepG2, and MCF‐7. Compound 4 exhibited a wide range of cytotoxic activity against KB, HepG2, and MCF‐7 cell lines with IC₅₀ of 0.100, 0.057, and 0.054 μm, respectively. In addition, 1 showed moderate activities towards KB and MCF‐7 cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 0.171 and 0.184 μM , respectively and 2 exhibited a moderate activity against KB cell line at a concentration of 0.213 μg/ml. On the other hand, compound 3 exhibited no cytotoxic activity against any of the three cell lines.     

Activated nitriles in heterocyclic synthesis. Part III. Synthesis of N-amino-2-pyridone,pyranopyrazole and thiazolopyridine derivatives

The reaction of 2-cyanoethanoic acid hydrazide and arylidenemalononitrile was studied as a new route for the synthesis of N-amino-2-pyridones. Pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole and thiazolo[2,3-a]pyridine could be prepared from the reaction of arylideneazolones with the same reagent.     

Investigation of the spectral content of a cw CO laser output using a high-resolution scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer

The use of a scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer of variable length (variable resolution) for investigating the output of a cw CO laser is reported. Under experimental conditions required to achieve maximum power it was found that the laser output consisted of two or more simultaneously occuring transitions due to the overlapping nature of the vibration- rotation bands. The frequency differences between these transitions were measured to an accuracy of 0.01 cm^-1. Operation of the CO laser on a single vibration-rotation transition was obtained by controlling the laser gain with the experimental variables of discharge pressure, gas temperature, and optical alignment. An alternative approach of obtaining monochromatic radiation, by using a Fabry-Perot interferometer as a frequency selective filter external to the CO laser, is reported.