Photothermal Oxidation of Cinnamyl Alcohol with Hydrogen Peroxide Catalyzed by Gold Nanoparticle/Antimony-Doped Tin Oxide Nanocrystals

Gold nanoparticles with different mean sizes were formed on antimony-doped tin oxide nanocrystals by the temperature-varied deposition-precipitation method (Au/ATO NCs). Au/ATO NCs possess strong absorption in the near-infrared region due to Drude excitation in addition to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of AuNPs around 530 nm. Au/ATO NCs show thermally activated catalytic activity for the oxidation of cinnamyl alcohol to cinnamaldehyde by hydrogen peroxide. The catalytic activity increases with a decrease in the mean Au particle size (d_Au) at 5.3 nm≤d_Au≤8.2 nm. Light irradiation (λ_ex >660 nm, ∼0.5 sun) of Au/ATO NCs increases the rate of reaction by more than twice with ∼95 % selectivity. Kinetic analyses indicated that the striking enhancement of the reaction stems from the rise in the temperature near the catalyst surface of ∼30 K due to the photothermal effect of the ATO NCs.     

Establishment of hybrid-derived offspring populations in the Ohomopterus ground beetles through unidirectional hybridization

An approach to deduce the mechanism of stabilization of the hybrid-derived populations in the Ohomopterus ground beetles has been made by comparative studies on the phylogenetic trees of the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. A phylogenetic tree based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal gene roughly reflects the relations of morphological species group, while mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (ND5) gene shows a considerable different topology on the tree; there exist several geographically-linked lineages, most of which consist of more than one species. These results suggest that the replacement of mitochondria has occurred widely in the Ohomopterus species. In most cases, hybridization is unidirectional, i.e., the species A (♂) hybridized with another species B (♀) and not vice versa, with accompanied replacement of mitochondria of A by those of B. The results also suggest that partial or complete occupation of the distribution territory by a hybrid-derived morphological species. The morphological appearance of the resultant hybrid-derivatives are recognized as that of the original species A. Emergence of a morphological new species from a hybrid-derived population has been exemplified.     

Dependence of selective enclathration on types of cholic acid crystals

Competitive recrystallizations of cholic acid (CA) from 1:1 binary mixtures of seven mono-substituted benzenes are demonstrated. The order of preference for guests to be incorporated into the cholic acid crystals are as follows: benzene, toluene > n-amylbenzene, n-hexylbenzene > ethylbenzene, n-propylbenzene, n-butylbenzene. These seven compounds afford bilayer type inclusion crystals that are classified into four types based on the host frameworks and host-guest stoichiometries. The order of selective enclathration corresponds to the four types as follows: 1:1 alpha G > 2:1 alpha G > 1:1 beta T or 2:1 alpha T. The preference for the alpha G type was also confirmed by investigating the host frameworks of the crystals obtained from binary mixtures. The dependence of the selectivity on the different types of CA crystals can be understood in terms of the fit of the guest molecule in the host cavity.     

Three-dimensional mesoporous titanosilicates prepared by modified sol-gel method: Ideal gold catalyst supports for enhanced propene epoxidation

Mesoporous titanosilicates with 1-12 mol % Ti content and with three-dimensional wormhole-like mesoporosity are prepared by a modified sol-gel technique. Sorption analysis shows that there is little change in the surface properties with increasing Ti concentration in the samples, implying that Ti atoms either are well-dispersed on the walls of the silica matrix or are present inside the framework with no pore blocking effect. Spectroscopic analysis shows that the Ti atoms are atomically dispersed in the silica matrix even at very high Ti concentration and there is no observable Ti aggregate (anatase) present in the samples. These titanosilicate samples after Au deposition followed by trimethylsilylation (for enhanced hydrophobicity) are highly efficient catalysts for vapor-phase propene epoxidation using O2 and H2. It was possible to achieve commercially desirable performance with about 7% propene conversion, >90% propene oxide selectivity, and about 40% hydrogen efficiency.     

Determination of kinetic parameters for pyrolysis of cellulose and cellulose treated with ammonium phosphate by differential thermal analysis and thermal gravimetric analysis

Activation energy E, pre-exponential factor k₀, and reaction order n for the pyrolysis of α-cellulose and cellulose modified with dihydrogen ammonium phosphate were determined by means of TGA and DTA. The results obtained are E = 53.5 kcal./mole, k₀ = 10^18.8 min.^?1, n = 1 for α-cellulose and E = 32 kcal./mole, k₀ = 10¹² min.^?1, n = 1 for modified cellulose. A new theory of DTA was also developed. This theory, in which it is concluded that the peak value of DTA curve coincides with the maximum rate of reaction, may be used not only for the present work but is generally applicable to DTA studies. Detailed procedures of experiment and theory are described.     

Synthesis and dehydrative condensation of square-planar mono- and dinuclear hydroxopalladium complexes with the hydrotris(3,5-diisopropylpyrazolyl)borato ligand (TpiPr2), TpiPr2(Py)Pd-OH,and (mu-OH)2[PdTpiPr2(H2O)]2

Mono- and dinuclear hydroxopalladium complexes (kappa 2-TpiPr2,X)(py)Pd-OH (1; X = H, Br) and (mu-OH)2[Pd(kappa 2-TpiPr2)(H2O)]2 (2) are prepared by base hydrolysis of the corresponding chloride complexes (kappa 2-TpiPr2,X)(py)Pd-Cl (3) and (mu-Cl)2[Pd(kappa 3-TpiPr2)]2 (4), respectively. Functionalization of the OH part in 1 is effected via dehydrative condensation with protic substrates (H-A) to give a series of substituted products, (kappa 2-TpiPr)(py)Pd-A (5), and treatment of the dinuclear complex 2 with excess acetic acid affords the mononuclear diacetato complex 6, (kappa 2-TpiPr2-H)Pd(OAc)2(HOAc). Complexes 1-4 and 6 have been characterized crystallographically, and it is revealed that complexes 2 and 6 involve cyclic hydrogen-bonding interaction among the nitrogen atom of the pendent noncoordinated pyrazolyl group, the hydrogen atom in the protic part of the ligand (OH, AcOH), and, in the case of 2, an external water molecule.     

Xenophilic complexes bearing a Tp(R) Ligand, [Tp(R)M--M'Ln] [Tp(R) = Tp(iPr2), Tp(#) (Tp(Me2,4-Br)); M=Ni, Co, Fe, Mn; M'Ln = Co(CO)4, Co(CO)3(PPh3), RuCp(CO)2]: the two metal centers are held together not by covalent interaction but by electrostatic attraction

A series of dinuclear complexes, [Tp(R)M--M'L(n)] [Tp(iPr(2) )M--Co(CO)(4) (1; M=Ni, Co, Fe, Mn); Tp(#)M--Co(CO)(4) (1'; M=Ni, Co); Tp(#)Ni--RuCp(CO)(2) (3')] (Tp(iPr(2) )=hydrotris(3,5-diisopropylpyrazolyl)borato; Tp(#) (Tp(Me(2),4-Br))=hydrotris(3,5-dimethyl-4-bromopyrazolyl)borato), has been prepared by treatment of the cationic complexes [Tp(iPr(2) )M(NCMe)(3)]PF(6) or the halo complexes [Tp(#)M--X] with the appropriate metalates. Spectroscopic and crystallographic characterization of 1-3' reveals that the tetrahedral, high-spin Tp(R)M fragment and the coordinatively saturated carbonyl-metal fragment (M'L(n)) are connected only by a metal-metal interaction and, thus, the dinuclear complexes belong to a unique class of xenophilic complexes. The metal-metal interaction in the xenophilic complexes is polarized, as revealed by their nu(CO) vibrations and structural features, which fall between those of reference complexes: covalently bonded species [R--M'L(n)] and ionic species [M'L(n)](-). Unrestricted DFT calculations for the model complexes [Tp(H(2) )Ni--Co(CO)(4)], [Tp(H(2) )Ni--Co(CO)(3)(PH(3))], and [Tp(H(2) )Ni--RuCp(CO)(2)] prove that the two metal centers are held together not by covalent interactions, but by electrostatic attractions. In other words, the obtained xenophilic complexes can be regarded as carbonylmetalates, in which the cationic counterpart interacts with the metal center rather than the oxygen atom of the carbonyl ligand. The xenophilic complexes show divergent reactivity dependent on the properties of donor molecules. Hard (N and O donors) and soft donors (P and C donors) attack the Tp(R)M part and the ML(n) moiety, respectively. The selectivity has been interpreted in terms of the hard-soft theory, and the reactions of the high-spin species 1-3' with singlet donor molecules should involve a spin-crossover process.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of (+)-totarol, (+)-podototarin, (+)-sempervirol, and (+)-jolkinolides E and D

The enzymatic resolution products [(1R,4aR,8aR)-1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8,8a-decahydro-5,5,8a-trimethyl-2-oxo-trans-naphthalene-1-methanol-2-ethylene acetal (8aR)-7 (98% ee) and {acetate of (1S,4aS,8aS)-1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8,8a-decahydro-5,5,8a-trimethyl-2-oxo-trans-naphthalene-1-methanol-2-ethylene acetal} (8aS)-9 (>99% ee)] obtained by the lipase-catalyzed enantioselective acetylation of (±)-7 in the presence of vinyl acetate as an acyl donor were converted to the ,β-unsaturated ketones (8aR)-6 and (8aS)-6, respectively. Concise syntheses of (+)-totarol 1, (+)-podototarin 2 and (+)-sempervirol 3 were achieved based on Michael reactions between (8aS)-6 and the appropriate β-keto ester followed by aldol condensation. The first chiral syntheses of (+)-jolkinolides E 4 and D 5 were achieved from (5R,10R,12R)-12-hydroxypodocarpa-8(14)-en-13-one 15 derived from (8aR)-6.