Facile "green" synthesis, characterization, and catalytic function of beta-D-glucose-stabilized Au nanocrystals

We present a straightforward, economically viable, and "green" approach for the synthesis and stabilization of relatively monodisperse Au nanocrystals with an average diameter of 8.2 nm (standard deviation, SD=2.3 nm) by using nontoxic and renewable biochemical of beta-D-glucose and by simply adjusting the pH environment in aqueous medium. The beta-D-glucose acts both as reducing agent and capping agent for the synthesis and stabilization of Au nanocrystals in the system. The UV/Vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron diffraction (ED), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were employed to systematically characterize Au nanocrystals synthesized. Additionally, it is shown that these beta-D-glucose-stabilized Au nanocrystals function as effective catalyst for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol in the presence of NaBH4 (otherwise unfeasible if only the strong reducing agent NaBH4 is employed), which was reflected by the UV/Vis spectra of the catalytic reaction kinetics.     

Gas-phase protonation and deprotonation of acrylonitrile derivatives N[triple chemical bond]C--CH==CH--X (X=CH(3), NH(2), PH(2), SiH(3))

A combined experimental and theoretical study on the gas-phase basicity and acidity of a series of cyanovinyl derivatives is presented. The gas-phase basicities and acidities of (N[triple chemical bond]C--CH==CH--X, X=CH(3), NH(2)) were obtained by means of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry techniques. The corresponding calculated values were obtained at the G3B3 level of theory. The effects of exchanging CH(3) for SiH(3), and NH(2) for PH(2), were analyzed at the same level of theory. For the neutral molecules, the Z isomer is always the dominant species under standard gas-phase conditions at 298 K. The loss of the proton from the substituent X was found systematically to be much more favorable than deprotonation of the HC==CH linking group. The corresponding isomeric E ion is much more stable than the Z ion, so that only the former should be found in the gas phase. The most significant structural changes upon deprotonation occur for the methyl and amino derivatives because, in both cases, deprotonation of X leads to a significant charge delocalization in the corresponding anion. Protonation takes place systematically at the cyano group, whereby the isomeric E ion is again more stable than the Z ion. Push-pull effects explain the preference of aminoacrylonitrile to be protonated at the cyano group, which also explains the high basicity of this derivative relative to other members of the analyzed series that present rather similar gas-phase basicities, GB approximately 780 kJ mol(-1), indicating that the different nature of the substituents has only a weak effect on the intrinsic basicity of the cyano group. The cyanovinyl derivatives have a significantly stronger gas-phase acidity than that of the corresponding vinyl compounds CH(2)==CH--X. This acidity-strengthening effect of the cyano group is attributed to the greater stabilization of the anion with respect to the corresponding neutral compound.     

Nucleophilicity-periodic trends and connection to basicity

The potential energy profiles of 18 identity S(N)2 reactions have been estimated by using G2-type quantum-chemical calculations. The reactions are: X- + CH3-X --> X-CH3 + X- and XH + CH3-XH+ --> +HX-CH3 + XH (X = NH2, OH, F, PH2, SH, Cl, AsH2, SeH, Br). Despite the charge difference, the barrier heights and the geometrical requirements upon going from the reactant to the transition structure are surprisingly similar for X- and XH. The barrier heights decrease on going from left to right in the periodic table, and increasing ionization energy (of X- and XH) is correlated with decreasing barrier. The observed trends are explained in terms of substrates with stronger electrostatic character giving rise to lower energetic barriers due to decreased electron repulsion in the transition structure. On the basis of this study, the relationship between the kinetic concept of nucleophilicity and the thermodynamic concept of basicity has been analyzed and clarified. Since the trends in intrinsic nucleophilicity (only defined for identity reactions) and basicity are opposite, overall nucleophilicity (defined for any reaction) will be determined by the relative contribution of the two factors. Only for strongly exothermic reactions will basicity and nucleophilicity be matching.     

Computational study of the proton affinity and basicity of structurally diverse α1‐adrenoceptor ligands

The α₁‐adrenoceptor is a target for the treatment of several conditions from hypertension to benign prostatic hyperplasia. In this paper, we describe a new analysis approach to explore the conformational space of several ligands of the α₁‐adrenoceptor and we also present the calculation of their proton affinity and basicity. For each compound a conformational search followed by a semi‐empirical optimisation was performed and a selection of conformations for each ligand was subjected to further optimisation using density functional theory methods. Different positions were explored to determine the favoured site of protonation, and then, the proton affinity (in the gas phase) and basicity (using the polarisable continuum model for the aqueous solution) were calculated for each of them. In addition, an alternative method using one explicit water molecule in combination with the polarisable continuum model for aqueous solvent was explored. Moreover, the acid dissociation constant (pK_a) in water of these 26 compounds was calculated because this is an important parameter for a ligand when binding to its receptor. The experimental pK_a values of six of these ligands and those of two compounds with a very low and a very large pK_a were used to validate the theoretical methodology. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mechanism of Conjugated Polymer Organization on SWNT Surfaces

Summary: The interactions between poly{(2,6‐pyridinylenevinylene)‐co‐[(2,5‐dioctyloxy‐p‐phenylene)vinylene]} (PPyPV) and SWNTs have been investigated using UV‐Vis absorption spectroscopy. The SWNTs promoted polymer organization. PPyPV is a Lewis base and can be doped by strong and weak Lewis acids. The basicity strength of the PPyPV depended on the polymer interchain interactions, which were enhanced by the presence of SWNTs. As the SWNT concentration was increased, an increment in the K_b of PPyPV was observed.

     

氢键碱度的神经网络法计算

氢键在生命科学和化学等领域均起着十分重要的作用.化合物可以通过提供质子和接受质子等两种方式与其它化合物形成分子间氢键,其形成氢键的能力分别称为氢键酸度（hydrogen-bondacidity）和氢键碱度(hydrogen-bondbasicity).可以用正辛醇／水分配系数和环己烷／水分配系数的对数差（ΔlogP）[1]、溶剂化显色参数[2－3]等表示化合物形成氢键的能力,其中应用较多的是Abraham等[4]提出的总氢键酸度（）和总氢键碱度（）.但由于和要通过实验得到,繁琐不便,限制了它们的广泛应用.本文用神经网络法研究了理论计算得到的量子化学参数与之间的相…     

玻璃体系中折射碱度的测定

根据ｌｅｗｉｓ的观点,物质的酸碱性与其内部的电子密度分布有关。一些光学特征(如吸收、折射等)是由介质内部电子云分布所决定的,因而反映这些光学特征的光学参数与ｌｅｗｉｓ碱度之间存在着必然的联系,光学碱度[1]的概念就是由此提出的。摩尔折射Ｒ反映了分子中电子云(主要是价电子云)在外电场中变形能力的大小,它与折射率ｎ的关系可通过其分子量Ｍ和密度ｄ由ＬｏｒｅｎｔｚＬｏｒｅｎｔｚ公式得到:Ｒ=ｎ2-1ｎ2 2·Ｍｄ摩尔折射度与折射率一样具有加和性,因此在氧化物玻璃中可由玻璃的摩尔折射度减去阳离子折射度而得到氧离子的离子折射度…     

吸附量热技术和金属氧化物催化剂的表面酸碱性

 探讨了吸附量热技术及其在测定固体表面酸碱性中的应用．使用NH3和CO2为探针分子,吸附量热技术能够定量地描述固体表面酸碱中心的数目和强度分布．结合原位红外光谱,还能够详细地了解表面酸碱中心的性质：金属氧化物表面的Lewis酸中心和碱中心分别是表面配位不饱和的金属离子和氧负离子,Brnsted酸中心和碱中心则是金属氧化物表面的羟基．通过测量吸附热,金属氧化物的表面酸碱性强度可与Sanderson电负性关联起来,也可以考虑使用Drago参数来描述固体表面的酸碱性．根据酸碱性与电负性的关系以及对表面配位不饱和离子的要求,有可能通过选择合适的复合金属氧化物组成,获得具有一定酸（碱）量和酸（碱）强度的固体酸（碱）．     

Enthalpies of Adduct Formation between Boron Trifluoride and Selected Organic Bases in Solution: Toward an Accurate Theoretical Entry to Lewis Basicity

The Lewis basicity of selected organic bases, modeled by the enthalpies of adduct formation between gaseous BF₃ and bases in dichloromethane (DCM) solution, is critically examined. Although experimental enthalpies for a large number of molecules have been reported in the literature, it may be desirable to estimate missing or uncertain data for important Lewis bases. We decided to use high-level ab initio procedures, combined with a polarized continuum solvation model, in which the solvated species were the clusters formed by specific hydrogen bonding of DCM with the Lewis base and the Lewis base/BF₃ adduct. This mode of interaction with DCM corresponds to a specific solvation model (SSM). The results essentially showed that the enthalpy of BF₃ adduct formation in DCM solution was clearly influenced by specific interactions, with DCM acting as hydrogen-bonding donor (HBD) molecule in two ways: base/DCM and adduct/DCM, confirming that specific solvation is an important contribution to experimentally determined Lewis basicity scales. This analysis allowed us to conclude that there are reasons to suspect some gas-phase values to be in error by more than the stated experimental uncertainty. Some experimental values in DCM solution that were uncertain for identified reasons could be complemented by the computed values.