Highly Selective,High‐Capacity Separation of o‐Xylene from C8 Aromatics by a Switching Adsorbent Layered Material

Purification of the C₈ aromatics (xylenes and ethylbenzene) is particularly challenging because of their similar physical properties. It is also relevant because of their industrial utility. Physisorptive separation of C₈ aromatics has long been suggested as an energy efficient solution but no physisorbent has yet combined high selectivity (>5) with high adsorption capacity (>50 wt %). Now a counterintuitive approach to the adsorptive separation of o‐xylene from other C₈ aromatics involves the study of a known nonporous layered material, [Co(bipy)₂(NCS)₂]_n ( sql‐1‐Co‐NCS ), which can reversibly switch to C₈ aromatics loaded phases with different switching pressures and kinetics, manifesting benchmark o‐xylene selectivity (S_OX/EB≈60) and high saturation capacity (>80 wt %). Structural insight into the observed selectivity and capacity is gained by analysis of the crystal structures of C₈ aromatics loaded phases.     

Catalytic Performance of Modified HMCM‐22 Catalysts in Xylene Isomerization

HMCM‐22 catalysts modified with La₂O₃ (5% La) and MgO (≈0.87% Mg) were prepared respectively by impregnation method, and were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, N₂ physical adsorption‐desorption and temperature‐programmed desorption of NH₃. The effect of supported metallic oxides (La₂O₃, MgO) on catalytic performance in xylene isomerization of C8 aromatics (ethylbenzene, m‐xylene and o‐xylene) was investigated in detail. The experimental results showed that 5% La/HMCM‐22 catalyst had higher isomerization activity and stronger shape‐selectivity than 0.87% Mg/HMCM‐22 catalyst, owing to its more acid sites and smaller pore size. And the loading amount of La was optimized to be about 7%. Moreover, supporting metal over 7% La/HMCM‐22, respectively with 0.3% Pt, 3% Ni and 3% Mo, was carried out to prepare bifunctional isomerization catalysts. In comparison, 3% Mo/7% La/HMCM‐22 showed the best catalytic performance with both high activity and high selectivity, with the low hydrocracking of m‐xylene and o‐xylene. Besides, the optimal reaction conditions were found: 340°C, 1.5 MPa H₂, WHSV 4 h^?1 and H₂/C8 4 mol/mol. Under the above conditions, ethylbenzene conversion was up to 20%, para‐selectivity was over 23% with low xylene loss of 2.9%.     

Selective vapor‐phase oxidation of o‐xylene to phthalic anhydride over Co‐Mn/H3PW12O40@TiO2 using molecular oxygen as a green oxidant

The oxidation of o‐xylene to phthalic anhydride over Co‐Mn/H₃PW₁₂O₄₀@TiO₂ was investigated. The experimental results demonstrated that the prepared catalyst effectively catalyzed the oxidation of o‐xylene to phthalic anhydride. Also, the synergistic effect between three metals plays vital roles in this reaction. From a green chemistry point of view, this method is environmentally friendly due to carrying out the oxidation in a fixed‐bed reactor under solvent‐free condition and using molecular oxygen as a green and cheap oxidizing agent. The resulting solid catalysts were characterized by FT‐IR, XRD, XPS, ICP‐OES, FESEM, TEM, EDX, DR‐UV spectroscopy, BET and thermogravimetric analysis. The oxidation of o‐xylene yields four products: o‐tolualdehyde, phthaldialdehyde, phthalide and finally phthalic anhydride as the main product. The reaction conditions for oxidation of o‐xylene were optimized by varying the temperature, weight hourly space velocity and oxygen flow rate (contact time). The optimum weight percentage of phosphotungstic acid (HPW) and Co/Mn for phthalic anhydride production were 15 wt % and 2 wt%, respectively. The best Co/Mn ratio was found to be 10/1. Oxygen flow rate was very important on the phthalic anhydride formation. The optimum conditions for oxidation of o‐xylene were T = 370 °C, WHSV = 0.5 h^?1 and oxygen flow rate = 10 mL min^?1. Under optimized conditions, a maximum of 88.2% conversion and 75.5% selectivity to phthalic anhydride was achieved with the fresh catalyst. Moreover, reusability of the catalyst was studied and catalytic activity remained unchanged after at least five cycles.     

Influence of Metallic Modification on Ethylbenzene Dealkylation over ZSM‐5 Zeolites

A series of metal‐modified HZSM‐5 catalysts were prepared by impregnation and were used for ethylbenzene dealkylation of the mixed C8 aromatics (ethylbenzene, m‐xylene and o‐xylene). The effects of different supported metals (Pt, Pd, Ni, Mo) on catalytic performance, including reaction conditions, were investigated. The physicochemical properties of catalysts were characterized by means of XRD, BET, TEM and NH₃‐TPD. Experimental results showed that metallic modification obviously increased the ethylbenzene conversion and reduced the coke deposition, greatly improving the catalyst stability. The distinction of ethylbenzene conversion depended on the interaction between hydrogenation reactivity and acidic cracking of bifunctional metal‐modified zeolites. Compared with Pt and Ni, Pd and Mo were easier to disperse into HZSM‐5 micropores during loading metals. The acidic density of different metal‐modified HZSM‐5 declined in the following order: HZSM‐5>Pt/HZSM‐5>Pd/HZSM‐5>Ni/HZSM‐5>Mo/HZSM‐5. The activity of ethylene hydrogenation decreased with Pt/HZSM‐5>Pd/HZSM‐5>Ni/HZSM‐5>Mo/HZSM‐5. In comparison, Pd/HZSM‐5 showed the best catalytic performance with both high activity and high selectivity, with less cracking loss of m‐xylene and o‐xylene. Moreover, the following reaction conditions were found to be preferable for ethylbenzene dealkylation over Pd/HZSM‐5: 340°C, 1.5 MPa H₂, WHSV 4 h^?1, H₂/C8 4 mol/mol.     

Efficient Separation of n‐Butene and iso‐Butene by Flexible Ultramicroporous Metal‐Organic Frameworks with Pocket‐like Cavities

Efficient separation of n‐butene (n‐C₄H₈) and iso‐butene (iso‐C₄H₈) is of significance for the upgrading of C4 olefins to high‐value end products but remains one of the major challenges in hydrocarbon purifications owing to their similar structures. Herein, we report a flexible metal‐organic framework, MnINA (INA=isonicotinate), featuring one‐dimensional pore channels with periodically large pocket‐like cavities connected by narrow bottlenecks, for the first time for efficient n‐/iso‐C₄H₈ separation. MnINA with smaller pore size (4.62 Å) compared with CuINA (4.84 Å), exhibits steep adsorption isotherms and high capacity of 1.79 mmol g^?1 for n‐C₄H₈ (4.46 Å) through strong host‐guest interactions via C?H???π bonding. The narrow bottlenecks exert barriers for the large molecules of iso‐C₄H₈ (4.84 Å) within the gate‐opening pressure range of 0–0.1 bar. This gives rise to MnINA with excellent separation selectivity of 327.7 for n‐/iso‐C₄H₈ mixture. The adsorption mechanism for n‐C₄H₈ and the gate‐opening effect were investigated by dispersion‐corrected density functional (DFT‐D) theory, verifying the strong interactions between n‐C₄H₈ and the frameworks as well as the gate‐opening effect derived from the rotation of organic linkers. The breakthrough tests confirmed MnINA and CuINA can be promising candidates for n‐/iso‐C₄H₈ separation.     

Co‐catalyst effects on the thermal stability/activity of N,N,N‐Co ethylene polymerization Catalysts Bearing Fluoro‐Substituted N‐2,6‐dibenzhydrylphenyl groups

The unsymmetrical bis (arylimino)pyridines, 2‐[CMeN{2,6‐{(4‐FC₆H₄)₂CH}₂–4‐t‐BuC₆H₂}]‐6‐(CMeNAr)C₅H₃N (Ar = 2,6‐Me₂C₆H₃ L1 , 2,6‐Et₂C₆H₃ L2 , 2,6‐i‐Pr₂C₆H₃ L3 , 2,4,6‐Me₃C₆H₂ L4 , 2,6‐Et₂–4‐MeC₆H₂ L5 ), each containing one N‐aryl group bedecked with ortho‐substituted fluorobenzhydryl groups, have been employed in the preparation of the corresponding five‐coordinate cobalt (II) chelates, LCoCl₂ ( Co1 – Co5 ); the symmetrical comparator [2,6‐{CMeN(2,6‐(4‐FC₆H₄)₂CH)₂–4‐t‐BuC₆H₂}₂C₅H₃N]CoCl₂ (Co6) is also reported. All cobaltous complexes are paramagnetic and have been characterized by ¹H/¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy, FT‐IR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The molecular structures of Co3 and Co6 highlight the different degrees of steric protection given to the metal center by the particular N‐aryl group combination. Depending on the aluminoxane co‐catalyst employed to activate the cobalt precatalyst, distinct variations in thermal stability and activity of the catalyst towards ethylene polymerization were exhibited. In particular with MAO, the resultant catalysts reached their optimal performance at 70 °C delivering high activities of up to 10.1 × 10⁶ g PE (mol of Co)^?1 h^?1 with Co1  >  Co4  >  Co2  >  Co5  >  Co3 >>  Co6 . On the other hand, using MMAO, the catalysts operate most effectively at 30 °C but are by comparison less productive. In general, the polyethylenes were highly linear, narrowly disperse and displayed a wide range of molecular weights [M_w range: 18.5–58.7 kg mol^?1 (MAO); 206.1–352.5 kg mol^?1 (MMAO)].     

Separating Xylene Isomers by Commensurate Stacking of p‐Xylene within Channels of MAF‐X8

The development of energy‐efficient processes for selective separation of p‐xylene from mixtures with its isomers is of vital importance in the petrochemical industries. Current industrial practice uses BaX zeolite that has high adsorption selectivity for p‐xylene. Finding para‐selective structures is challenging. With state‐of‐the‐art simulation methodologies we systematically screened a wide variety of zeolites and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). Our investigations highlight the crucial importance of the channel dimension on the separation. MAF‐X8 is particularly noteworthy because the channel dimensions and geometry allow “commensurate stacking” which we exploit as a separation mechanism at saturation conditions. Due to a significantly improved capacity compared to BaX, the cycle times for p‐xylene with MAF‐X8 are found to be about a factor of 4.5 longer. This is expected to result in significant process improvements.     

Arene Selectivity by a Flexible Coordination Polymer Host

The coordination polymers [Ag₄(O₂CCF₃)₄(phen)₃] ? phen ? arene ( 1? phen ? arene) (phen=phenazine; arene=toluene, p‐xylene or benzene) have been synthesised from the solution phase in a series of arene solvents and crystallographically characterised. By contrast, analogous syntheses from o‐xylene and m‐xylene as the solvent yield the solvent‐free coordination polymer [Ag₄(O₂CCF₃)₄(phen)₂] ( 2 ). Toluene, p‐xylene and benzene have been successfully used in mixed‐arene syntheses to template the formation of coordination polymers 1? phen ? arene, which incorporate o‐ or m‐xylene. The selectivity of 1? phen ? arene for the arene guests was determined, through pairwise competition experiments, to be p‐xylene>toluene≈benzene>o‐xylene>m‐xylene. The largest selectivity coefficient was determined as 14.2 for p‐xylene:m‐xylene and the smallest was 1.0 for toluene:benzene.     

Donor property of cobalt(II) Schiff base complexes toward triphenyltin(IV)‐chloride: A kinetic study

In this study, some cobalt(II)tetraaza Schiff base complexes were used as donors in coordinating to triphenyltin(IV)chloride as acceptors; the kinetics and mechanism of the adduct formation were studied spectrophotometrically. Co(II)tetraaza Schiff base complexes used were [Co(amaen)][N,N′‐ethylene‐bis‐(o‐amino‐α‐methylbenzylideneiminato)cobalt(II)] ( 1 ), [Co(appn)] [N,N′‐1,2‐propylene‐bis‐(o‐amino‐α‐phenylbenzylideneiminato)cobalt(II)] ( 2 ), [Co(ampen)] [N,N′‐ethylene‐bis‐(o‐amino‐α‐phenylbenzylideneiminato)cobalt‐(II)] ( 3 ), [Co(cappn)][N,N′‐1,2‐proylene‐bis‐(5‐chloro‐o‐amino‐α‐phenylbenzylideneiminato)cobalt(II)] ( 4 ), and [Co(campen)] [N,N′‐ethylene‐bis‐(5‐chloro‐o‐amino‐α‐phenylbenzylid‐eneiminato)cobalt(II)] ( 5 ). The reactivity trend of the complexes in interaction with triphenyltin(IV)chloride was Co(amaen) > Co(appn) > Co(ampen) > Co(cappn) > Co(campen). The linear plots of k_obs versus the molar concentration of the triphenyltin(IV)chloride, a high span of the second‐order rate constant k₂ values, and large negative values of ΔS^≠ and low ΔH^≠ values suggest an associative (A) mechanism for the acceptor–donor adduct formation. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 44: 635–640, 2012     

Pure and Palladium‐Loaded Co3O4 Hollow Hierarchical Nanostructures with Giant and Ultraselective Chemiresistivity to Xylene and Toluene

Pure and palladium‐loaded Co₃O₄ hollow hierarchical nanostructures consisting of nanosheets have been prepared by solvothermal self‐assembly. The nanostructures exhibited an ultrahigh response and selectivity towards p‐xylene and toluene. The responses (resistance ratio) of the palladium‐loaded Co₃O₄ hollow hierarchical nanostructures to 5 ppm of p‐xylene and toluene were as high as 361 and 305, respectively, whereas the selectivity values (response ratios) towards p‐xylene and toluene over interference from ethanol were 18.1 and 16.1, respectively. We attributed the giant response and unprecedented high selectivity towards methylbenzenes to the abundant adsorption of oxygen by Co₃O₄, the high chemiresistive variation in the Co₃O₄ nanosheets (thickness≈11 nm), and the catalytic promotion of the specific gas‐sensing reaction. The morphological design of the p‐type Co₃O₄ nanostructures and loading of the palladium catalyst have paved a new way to monitoring the most representative indoor air pollutants in a highly selective, sensitive, and reliable manner.     

Theoretical investigation on the detailed mechanism of the OH‐initiated atmospheric photooxidation of o‐xylene

The reaction mechanism for o‐xylene with OH radical and O₂ was studied by density functional theory (DFT) method. The geometries of the reactants, intermediates, transition states, and products were optimized at B3LYP/6‐31G(d,p) level. The corresponding vibration frequencies were calculated at the same level. The single‐point calculations for all the stationary points were carried out at the B3LYP/6‐311++G(2df,2pd) level using the B3LYP/6‐31G(d,p) optimized geometries. Reaction energies for the formation of the aromatic intermediate radicals have been obtained to determine their relative stability and reversibility, and their activation barriers have been analyzed to assess the energetically favorable pathways to propagate the o‐xylene oxidation. The results of the theoretical study indicate that OH addition to o‐xylene forms ipso, meta, and para isomers of o‐xylene‐OH adducts, and the ipso o‐xylene adduct is the most stable among these isomers. Oxygen is expected to add to the o‐xylene‐OH adducts forming o‐xylene peroxy radicals. And subsequent ring closure of the peroxyl radicals to form bicyclic radicals. With relatively low barriers, isomerization of the o‐xylene bicyclic radicals to more stable epoxide radicals likely occurs, competing with O₂ addition to form bicyclic peroxy radicals. The study provides thermochemical data for assessment of the photochemical production potential of ozone and formation of toxic products and secondary organic aerosol from o‐xylene photooxidation. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2008     

Creation of Well‐Defined “Mid‐Sized” Micropores in Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes

Carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membranes are candidates for the separation of organic molecules due to their stability, ability to be scaled at practical form factors, and the avoidance of expensive supports or complex multi‐step fabrication processes. A critical challenge is the creation of “mid‐range” (e.g., 5–9 Å) microstructures that allow for facile permeation of organic solvents and selection between similarly‐sized guest molecules. Here, we create these microstructures via the pyrolysis of a microporous polymer (PIM‐1) under low concentrations of hydrogen gas. The introduction of H₂ inhibits aromatization of the decomposing polymer and ultimately results in the creation of a well‐defined bimodal pore network that exhibits an ultramicropore size of 5.1 Å. The H₂ assisted CMS dense membranes show a dramatic increase in p‐xylene ideal permeability (≈15 times), with little loss in p‐xylene/o‐xylene selectivity (18.8 vs. 25.0) when compared to PIM‐1 membranes pyrolyzed under a pure argon atmosphere. This approach is successfully extended to hollow fiber membranes operating in organic solvent reverse osmosis mode, highlighting the potential of this approach to be translated from the laboratory to the field.     

Nanopatterned Superlattices in Self‐Assembled C2‐Symmetric Oligodimethylsiloxane‐Based Benzene‐1,3,5‐Tricarboxamides

The synthesis of C₃‐ and C₂‐symmetric benzene‐1,3,5‐tricarboxamides (BTAs) containing well‐defined oligodimethylsiloxane (oDMS) and/or alkyl side chains has been carried out. The influence of the bulkiness of the oDMS chains in the aggregation behavior of dilute solutions of the oDMS‐BTAs in methylcyclohexane was studied by temperature‐dependent UV spectroscopy. The formation of hierarchically self‐assembled aggregates was observed at different BTA concentrations, the tendency of aggregation increases by shortening or removing oDMS chains. Chiral BTAs were investigated with circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, showing a stronger tendency to aggregate than the achiral ones. Majority rules experiments show a linear behavior consistent with the existence of a high mismatch penalty energy. The most efficient oDMS‐BTAs organogelators have the ability to form stable organogels at 5 mg mL^?1 (0.75 wt %) in hexane. Solid‐state characterization techniques indicate the formation of an intermolecular threefold hydrogen bonding between adjacent molecules forming thermotropic liquid crystals, exhibiting a hexagonal columnar organization from room temperature to above 150 °C. A decrease of the clearing temperatures was observed when increasing the number and length of the oligodimethylsiloxane chains. In addition to the three‐fold hydrogen bonding that leads to columnar liquid crystalline phase, segregation between the oDMS and aliphatic chains takes place in the BTA functionalized with two alkyl and one oDMS chain leading to a superlattice within the hexagonal structure with potential applications in lithography.     

Three p‐xylene‐solvated pseudopolymorphs of bis[1,3‐bis(pentafluorophenyl)propane‐1,3‐dionato]copper(II)

The Cu²⁺ ions in the title compounds, namely bis[1,3‐bis(pentafluorophenyl)propane‐1,3‐dionato‐κ²O,O′]copper(II) p‐xylene n‐solvate, [Cu(C₁₅HF₁₀O₂)₂]·nC₈H₁₀, with n = 1, (I), n = 2, (II), and n = 4, (III), are coordinated by two 1,3‐bis(pentafluorophenyl)propane‐1,3‐dionate ligands. The coordination complexes of (I) and (II) have crystallographic inversion symmetry at the Cu atom and the p‐xylene molecule in (I) also lies across an inversion centre. The p‐xylene molecules in (I) and (II) interact with the pentafluorophenyl groups of the complex via arene–perfluoroarene interactions. In the crystal of (III), two of the p‐xylene molecules interact with the pentafluorophenyl groups via arene–perfluoroarene interactions. The other two p‐xylene molecules are located on the CuO₄ coordination plane, forming a uniform cavity produced by metal...π interactions.     

[C12mim]Br: A Temperature‐dependent Phase Transfer Catalyst and Its Application for Aerobic Oxidative Synthesis of 2‐Aryl Benzimidazoles,Benzoxazoles or Benzothiozoles Catalyzed by TEMPO Based Ionic Liquid

The application of [C₁₂mim]Br ionic liquid/o‐xylene temperature‐dependent biphasic system into the [Imim‐TEMPO][Cl]/O₂‐promoted condensation between o‐phenylenediamines, o‐aminophenol or o‐aminothiophenol with aldehydes for preparing benzimidazoles, benzoxazoles or benzothiozoles is described. Several aldehydes and o‐phenylenediamines, o‐aminophenol or o‐aminothiophenol were reacted efficiently to form corresponding products in excellent yields. Both the [Imim‐TEMPO][Cl] and [C₁₂mim]Br could be reused at least eight times without significantly decreasing the catalytic activity.     

Thiol‐ene click derived structurally well‐defined per(3,5‐dimethyl)phenylcarbamoylated cationic cyclodextrin separation material for achiral and chiral chromatography

In this work, a novel single sulfoether‐bridged cationic per(3,5‐dimethyl)phenylcarbamoylated‐β‐cyclodextrin separation material was prepared by thiol‐ene click chemistry and characterized by using FTIR spectroscopy, solid‐state ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis, which confirmed the correct structure. The separation material exhibited a good achiral separation performance for benzene homologues and phenylamine analogs, especially o‐xylene and m‐xylene, and m‐phenylenediamine and o‐phenylenediamine can be discriminated by the (3,5‐dimethyl)phenylcarbamoyl cyclodextrins. The chiral resolving ability of the separation material was evaluated by discriminating various isoxazolines, flavonoids, and β‐blockers in reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography. For isoxazolines, the material showed the best chiral discrimination toward 3‐aryl‐5‐(2‐oxopyrrolidin‐1‐yl)‐isoxazolines, where the resolution for 3ClPh‐OPr  reached 6.03. For flavonoids, it exhibited more efficient separation to the ones with more hydrophobic substituents, with a resolution of 5.93 for 6‐hydroxyflavanone. β‐Blockers were also enantioseparated satisfactorily on the material. The as‐prepared separation material is a good member of the thiol‐ene click derived cyclodextrin stationary phase family.     

Synthesis and anti‐HIV activity of new 2‐thiolumazine and 2‐thiouracil metal complexes

A series of new Cu(II), Pt(II), VO(II), Fe(II), and Co(II) complexes ( 1‐‐5 ) with 3‐methyl‐6,7‐diphenyllumazine are described. Similarly, complexes from 2‐thiouracil with Cu(II) ( 6,7 ) and Pt(II) ( 8 ) have been prepared and characterized by spectroscopic methods. All the complexes were assayed for their anti‐HIV‐1 and HIV‐2 activity by examination of their inhibition of HIV‐induced cytopathogenicity in MT‐4 cells. Compound 3 was found to be the most active inhibitor against HIV‐2 in cell culture (EC₅₀ = >18.9 μ g/mL, selectivity index (SI) = 3), which provided a good lead for further optimization. Compounds 6 and 7 exhibited some activity (EC₅₀ = >7.12 μ g/mL and >2.23 μ g/mL) against HIV‐1 and HIV‐2, but no selectivity was observed (SI <1). © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 22:44–50, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com . DOI 10.1002/hc.20654     

Poly­[di­aqua­cobalt(II)‐di‐μ4‐benzene‐1,2,4‐tri­carboxyl­ato‐bis­[1,10‐phenanthrolinecobalt(II)]]

In the polymeric title compound, [Co₃(btc)₂(phen)₂(H₂O)₂]_n [btc is the benzene‐1,2,4‐tri­carboxyl­ate trianion (C₉H₃O₆) and phen is 1,10‐phenanthroline (C₁₂H₈N₂)], there are two different Co centres, Co1 and Co2. The Co1 centre has a deformed trigonal–bipyramidal geometry, while the Co2 centre lies on an inversion centre and has distorted octahedral geometry. Moreover, the 1,2‐di­carboxyl­ate groups of one btc ligand bridge the two adjacent Co2 centres, and each Co2 centre is coordinated by four carboxyl­ate O atoms from four different btc ligands, forming a novel kind of intersecting double‐chain structure, with a Co⋯Co separation of 7.755 Å, along the a axis. On the other hand, the two Co1 centres are bridged by two btc ligands and chelated by phen mol­ecules, respectively, producing a binuclear unit with a Co⋯Co separation of 8.406 Å, and these binuclear units are linked by btc bridges and Co2 centres to extend hybrid chains of Co1 and Co2 along the [101] direction. Furthermore, each btc ligand acts as a pentadentate bridge, linking the Co2 double‐chain structures and the hybrid chains of Co1 and Co2 to yield a two‐dimensional network, and this leads to the formation of very different kinds of voids.     

Liquid chromatographic behavior of two alanine‐substituted calix[4]arene‐bonded silica gel stationary phases

Two new kinds of alanine‐substituted calix[4]arene stationary phases of 5,11,17,23‐p‐tert‐butyl‐25,27‐bis(l ‐alanine‐methylester‐N‐carbonyl‐methoxy)‐26,28‐dihyroxycalix[4]arene‐bonded silica gel stationary phase (BABS4) and 5, 11, 17, 23‐p‐tert‐butyl‐25,26,27,28‐tetra(l ‐alanine‐methylester‐N‐carbonyl‐methoxy)‐calix[4]arene‐bonded silica gel stationary phase (TABS4) were prepared and characterized in the present study. They were compared with each other and investigated in terms of their chromatographic performance by using polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, disubstituted benzene isomers, and mono‐substituted benzenes as solute probes. The results indicated that both BABS4 and TABS4 exhibited multiple interactions with analytes. In addition, the commonly used Tanaka characterization protocol for the evaluation of commercially available stationary phases was applied to evaluate the properties of these two new functionalized calixarene stationary phases. The Tanaka test results were compared with Zorbax Eclipse XDB C₁₈ and Kromasil phenyl columns, respectively. BABS4 has stronger hydrogen‐bonding capacity and ion‐exchange capacity than TABS4, and features weaker hydrophobicity and hydrophobic selectivity. Both of them behave similarly in stereoselectivity. Both BABS4 and TABS4 are weaker than C₁₈ and phenyl stationary phases in hydrophobicity and hydrophobic selectivity.     

Determination of absolute photoionization cross‐sections of aromatics and aromatic derivatives

The absolute photoionization cross‐sections of aromatics and aromatic derivatives including toluene, ethylbenzene, n‐propylbenzene, o‐xylene, m‐xylene, p‐xylene, 1,3,5‐trimethylbenzene, styrene, phenylacetylene, indene, indane, 1‐methylnaphthalene, benzyl alcohol and benzaldehyde were measured at the photon energy range from ionization thresholds to 11.7 eV. The experiments were performed by tunable synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization mass spectrometry. Benzene was chosen as a calibration standard, since its photoionization cross‐section is well known. Binary liquid mixtures of the investigated molecules and benzene were used in the measurements. Photo‐induced fragments from the molecules were also observed, and their photoionization cross‐sections are also presented. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.