Imidazole facilitates electron transfer from organic reductants

In cyclic voltammetry studies at pH 8, imidazole facilitates oxidation of organic compounds that normally lose hydrogen atoms. High concentrations of imidazole shift the oxidizing wave of ascorbic acid, 2,3-dimethoxy-5-methyl-1,4-hydroquinone, and the vitamin E analogue Trolox toward lower potentials. By contrast, imidazole has no effect on the cyclic voltammogram of methyl viologen, which undergoes electron rather than hydrogen-atom transfer. The effect of imidazole is observed at pH 8.0 but only to a lesser extent at pH 5.5 indicating that imidazole must be unprotonated to facilitate oxidation. Digital simulation shows that these results are consistent with a mechanism in which imidazole acts as a proton acceptor permitting concerted proton/electron transfer by the organic reductant.     

DFT study of the geometry and energy order of the low singlet and triplet states of [d4-eta5-CpMo(CO)2X] 16-electron complexes (X = halogen, CN, H, and CH3)

DFT methods have been used to investigate the dependence of the geometry and energy order of the low energy states of [d(4)-eta(5)-CpMo(CO)(2)X] 16-electron complexes on X (X = halogen, CN, H and CH(3)). The calculations use a double-zeta plus polarization valence basis set on all atoms and utilize relativistic ECPs on Mo and the heavier halogens. In every case two singlet and two triplet electronic states have been considered and minimized at the B3LYP level. For X = Cl, additional calculations were carried out at the BPW91, CCSD(T), and CASSCF levels. In the C(s) point group, the singlet states are from the (1a')(2)(1a')(2) and (1a')(2)(2a')(2) configurations of the valence d(4) electrons of the metal, and are denoted (1)A'-a and (1)A'-b, respectively. The triplet species are for the lowest (3)A' and (3)A' states from the (1a')(2)(2a')(1)(1a')(1) and (1a')(2)(1a')(1)(2a')(1) d(4) configurations. For all substituents, the geometry of both the singlet and triplet states is found to distort substantially from the uniform 3-leg piano-stool structural motif, a behavior that can be related to Jahn-Teller effects. When X is a halogen or a methyl, (1)A'-b is predicted to be lower than (1)A'-a, while the reverse order of these two singlet states is calculated for X = H and CN. For all substituents (3)A' is substantially higher than (3)A'. In turn, the energy of (3)A' is calculated to be comparable to the lower singlet state of each complex. Attempts are made to rationalize some of these results using qualitative MO theory.     

Preferential magnetic nanoparticle uptake by bone marrow derived macrophages sub-populations: effect of surface coating on polarization,toxicity, and in vivo MRI detection

For the first time, we report the successful application of inhouse synthesized CdS quantum dots (QDs) with particle sizes between 1 and 7 nm exhibiting excellent fungicidal activity based on the interactions with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida utilis. The growth curves and the growth rates of both fungi were established in the presence of three varying concentrations of CdS QDs. It was observed that the CdS QDs were highly inhibitory even at the lowest concentration of 10 mg/L used in this study, while the untreated control cells followed a normal growth pattern in the cases of both Saccharomyces and Candida. MALDI-MS was applied to substantiate the observations obtained by direct cell count method. It was observed that the trend observed in the case of Saccharomyces and Candida was well-represented in the MALDI-MS spectra. This study proposes a mechanism for the first time based on MALDI-MS results, that the CdS QDs interact with the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and remove small molecules from EPS layer; on the other hand, it was observed that CdS QDs at all concentrations lead to enrichment of protein signals in MALDI-MS. We have substantiated these results by quantifying the EPS in the control and treated cells and also using TEM to further confirm the results.     

Intermolecular cyclization of cinnamoyl isothiocyanate: A new synthetic entry for pyrimidine,triazine, and triazole candidates

An efficient and facile protocol for the synthesis of azine and azole ring systems was reported. Whereas, reaction of cinnamoyl isothiocyanate with N-nucleophile containing compounds (namely, p-aminophenol (2), N¹-phenylbenzene-1,4-diamine (5) and p-aminoacetophenone (8)) tolerated thiourea derivatives 3, 6, and 9, respectively. The later compounds underwent intramolecular cyclization upon treatment with EtONa to give pyrimidinethiones 4, 7, and 10, respectively, in moderate yield (74–79%). Compound 9 underwent intramolecular cyclization and condensation upon reaction with NaOH and benzaldehyde to give pyrimidinethione 12. Thiosemicarbazides 14 and 19 were obtained through reaction of heteroallen 1 with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine 13 and hydrazone 18, respectively. Compound 14 was cyclized to pyrimidinethione 15 and triazine derivatives 17 through its reaction with EtONa at room temperature and refluxing temperature, respectively. Finally, base mediated and oxidative cyclization of thiourea derivative 19 with EtONa, Br₂/AcOH, and Pb(OAc)₂ afforded thiadiazole 20, benzothiazolotriazole 21, and triazolethione 22 derivatives, respectively.     

Nanocomposite smart hydrogels with improved responsiveness and mechanical properties: A mini review

Responsive hydrogels have the ability to change their volume, transparency, or other properties in response to external chemical and/or physical stimuli. The responsiveness properties including responsive rate and degree, as well as mechanical properties such as Young's modulus, toughness, breaking strength, and breaking strain are crucial parameters of the smart hydrogels that determine the scope of hydrogel applications such as soft actuators, artificial muscles, and tissue engineering scaffolds. In this paper, the development of the nanocomposite smart hydrogels, which can achieve both improved responsiveness and mechanical properties, is reviewed. First, the fabrication approaches for building the nanocomposite networks by doping organic or inorganic nanomaterials via crosslinking or blending strategies are introduced. Then, the mechanisms used to improve both responsiveness and mechanical properties of nanocomposite responsive hydrogels are discussed. Finally, the perspectives as well as current challenges of such nanocomposite responsive hydrogels are addressed. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018 , 56, 1306–1313     

The small-scale titrimetric determination of complex cyanides

Summary Ferrocyanide, or ferricyanide after reduction, may be precipitated as uranyl ferrocyanide, the precipitate decomposed with alkali, and the uranium corresponding to the complex cyanide determined titrimetrically by standard methods. An alternative method, which can also be applied to cobalticyanide, is to decompose the precipitate produced with iron(II) ion, and to determine the resulting iron(III) by standard procedures. Alternatively, a known excess of iron(II) may be added, and the excess determined titrimetrically. The method may be applied to amounts of 1–100 mg of the complex ion, titrations are of the order of 1–6 ml, and relative errors over the stated range are of the order of ±2%.

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Zusammenfassung Cyanoferrat(II) oder Cyanoferrat(III), nachdem dieses reduziert wurde, lassen sich bestimmen, indem man als Uranylcyanoferrat(II) fällt, den Niederschlag mit Alkali zersetzt und die äquivalente Uranmenge nach einer Standardmethode titriert. Ein anderer Weg, der auch für die Bestimmung von Cyanokobaltat geeignet ist, führt über die Zersetzung des mit Eisen(II) erhaltenen Niederschlages und die Bestimmung des dabei entstandenen dreiwertigen Eisens nach Standardmethoden. Schließlich kann man einen gemessenen Überschuß Eisen(II) zusetzen und diesen titrieren. Das Verfahren eignet sich für 1 bis 100 mg Komplexion. Dabei werden 1 bis 6 ml Maßlösung verbraucht. Der relative Fehler beträgt ±2%.

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Résumé On peut précipiter les ferrocyanures, ou bien les ferricyanures après réduction, à l'état de ferrocyanure d'uranyle, décomposer le précipité par une base et doser par titrimétrie, au moyen de méthodes classiques, l'uranium correspondant au cyanure complexe. Une variante de la méthode, également applicable aux cobalticyanures, consiste à décomposer le précipité obtenu avec l'ion Fe-II et à doser le fer-III résultant suivant des procédés classiques. Une autre variante consiste aussi à ajouter un excès connu de fer-II et à doser l'excès par titrimétrie. On peut appliquer la méthode aux quantités de l'ordre de 1 à 100mg d'ion complexe et opérer sur 1 à 6ml environ avec des erreurs relatives de l'ordre de ±2% sur le domaine en question.

     

Addition of alkyl radicals to transition-metal-coordinated CO: calculation of the reaction of [Ru(CO)5] and related complexes and relevance to alkane carbonylation

Electronic structure methods have been used to study the transition state and products of the reaction between alkyl radicals and CO coordinated in transition-metal complexes. At the B3LYP DFT level, methyl addition to a carbonyl of [Ru(CO)5] or [Ru(CO)3(dmpe)] is calculated to be about 6 kcal/mol more exothermic than addition to free CO. In contrast, methyl addition to [Mo(CO)6] is 12 kcal/mol less exothermic than addition to CO, while the reaction enthalpy of methyl addition to [Pd(CO)4] is comparable to that of free CO. Related results are obtained at the CCSD-T level and for the reactions of the cyclohexyl radical. The transition state for these reactions is characterized by significant distortion of the geometry of the reactant complex, which include lengthening and bending of the M-CO bond, but with negligible C-C bond formation. Accordingly, the activation energy for addition to coordinated carbonyls is 2-10 kcal/mol greater than that of addition to free CO. Additional calculations were also carried out on representative unsaturated metal carbonyls. The calculated results afford an understanding of the mechanism of previously reported photochemical alkane carbonylation systems utilizing d(8)-ML5 metal carbonyls as cocatalysts. In particular, it is strongly indicated that such systems operate via direct attack by an alkyl radical at a CO ligand, a reaction that has not previously been proposed.     

Simple and efficient synthesis of racemic 2-(tert-butoxycarbon-ylamino)-2-methyl-3-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)propanoic acid, a new derivative of β-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)alanine

A simple synthetic approach to racemic N-tert-butyloxycarbonyl-2-methyl-3-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)alanine (5) in four steps and 68% overall yield starting from oxazoline derivative 1 is reported. This synthesis involves the alkylation of 1H-1,2,4-triazole with an O-tosyloxazoline derivative, followed by an oxazoline ring-opening reaction and oxidation of the N-protected β?aminoalcohol by potassium permanganate.     

An ab Initio Study of Some Phenyl- and (Halophenyl)alkali Compounds

Ab initio calculations are presented for alkali metal derivatives of fluoro- and chlorobenzenes for comparison with previously determined experimental substitutent effects. Calculated substituent effects for one alkali metal are linearly related to those of another. (Difluorophenyl)lithiums show additivity of substituent effects calculated from (monofluorophenyl)lithiums but dichloro derivatives do not, an effect attributed to the higher polarizability of chlorine. meta- and para-fluoro substituents show excellent agreement with experiment. ortho-fluoro and chlorine substituents do not. These differences are rationalized.