Reactivity of a N-Coordinated Germylene-Borane Complex: From Ge→B to Ge→Ga Coordination

Reactivity studies of the Ge^II→B complex L(Cl)Ge⋅BH₃ ( 1 ; L=2-Et₂NCH₂-4,6-tBu₂-C₆H₂) were performed to determine the effect on the Ge^II→B donation. N-coordinated compounds L(OtBu)Ge⋅BH₃ ( 2 ) and [LGe⋅BH₃]₂ ( 3 ) were prepared. The possible tuning of the Ge^II→B interaction was proved experimentally, yielding compounds 1-PPh₂-8-(LGe)-C₁₀H₆ ( 4 ) and L(Cl)Ge⋅GaCl₃ ( 5 ) without a Ge^II→B interaction. In 5 , an unprecedented Ge^II→Ga coordination was revealed. The experimental results were complemented by a theoretical study focusing on the bonding in 1 − 5 . The different strength of the Ge^II→E (E=B, Ga) donation was evaluated by using energy decomposition analysis. The basicity of different L(X)Ge groups through proton affinity is also assessed.     

Theorems of Large Deviations in the Approximation by the Compound Poisson Distribution

The paper is devoted to the research of large deviation probabilities in the approximation by compound Poisson law.     

Investigation of the Declared Value of Selenium in Food Supplements by HG-AFS

The method of hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) was optimised for determination of selenium in food supplements. Due to the high and varied content of Cu, Mg and Zn in the samples, the standard addition method was found to be the most appropriate. The reliability of the method was checked by the independent method of radiochemical neutron activation analysis, and good agreement was found between the two methods. HG-AFS is simple and rapid for Se determination in food supplements based on minerals. Agreement between the selenium values found and declared was worse than 10% in 9 out of 13 supplements. Furthermore, 2 of the 14 supplements did not comply with the recommendations stated in the 27^th edition of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia, which states that minerals and vitamins in food supplements should be in the range of 90 and 200% of the declared value.     

Effect of protonation exothermicity on the chemical ionization mass spectra of some alkylbenzenes

The H₂, N₂/H₂, CO₂/H₂, N₂O/H₂, CO/H₂ and CH₄ chemical ionization mass spectra of thirteen C₈ to C₁₁ alkylbenzenes are reported. Characteristic hydride and alkide ion abstraction reactions are observed with all reagent gases. The major fragmentation reactions of [MH]⁺ are olefin elimination to form a protonated arene and arene elimination to form an alkyl ion. From the effect of structure and protonation exothermicity it is concluded that rearrangement of primary alkyl groups to the more stable secondary or tertiary structure occurs prior to alkyl ion formation. A detailed fragmentation mechanism for protonated arenes is proposed. The ‘effective’ proton affinity of the methane-derived reagent system is estimated to be ～556 kJ mol^?1.     

Characterization of a convection-based support microstructure through a flow resistance parameter

Modern convection-based supports differ substantially in pore size, porosity, and microstructure topology. Due to such variability, it is challenging to evaluate the contribution of a particular microstructure topology on flow resistance. We demonstrated that the flow resistance parameter ($\varphi$) introduced decades ago can be used as a criterion to evaluate the effect of microstructure topology on a pressure drop when the pore size is used as a characteristic support dimension. Furthermore, the $\varphi$ value of simple cubic packing was calculated over the entire range of open porosity and compared to the $\varphi$ values determined for pressure drop models derived for particular convection-based supports and experimental values of various convection-based supports from the literature. It was shown that different convection-based supports become clustered into distinct groups when plotted according to their $\varphi$ and open porosity values, allowing their discrimination.     

Non-conventional Behavior of a 2,1-Benzazaphosphole: Heterodiene or Hidden Phosphinidene?

Invited for the cover of this issue are Zoltán Benkő, Libor Dostál and co-workers at the University of Pardubice and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. The image depicts signs for the two different pathways representing the two differing reaction types which were clearly observed for 2,1-benzazaphosphole. Read the full text of the article at 10.1002/chem.202101686 .     

Acid-Catalyzed RNA-Oligomerization from 3’,5’-cGMP

The assembly of ancient informational polymers from nucleotide precursors is the central challenge of life's origin on our planet. Among the possible solutions, dry polymerization of 3’,5’-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (3’,5’-cGMP) has been proposed as a candidate to create oligonucleotides of 15–20 units in length. However, the reported sensitivity of the reaction to the presence of cations raised questions of whether this chemistry could be relevant in a geological context. The experiments in this study show that the presence of cations is not restrictive as long as the reaction is conducted in an acidic environment, in contrast to previous reports that suggested optimal conditions at pH 9.     

Development of optimised synthesis of 4-amino-N-(4-carbamoylphenyl)benzamide for industrial application

An efficient two-step synthetic route for preparation of the important Pigment Yellow 181 intermediate 4-amino-N-(4-carbamoylphenyl)benzamide is described. The synthetic pathway reflects requirements that are important for industrial applications. Optimisation of the reaction steps was performed to improve yields and procedures. The overall yield was higher than 78 %.