Preparation of Polyuronic Acid from Cellulose by TEMPO-mediated Oxidation

Various cellulose samples were oxidized by 2,2,6,6,-tetramethylpipelidine-1-oxyl radical (TEMPO)-NaBr-NaClO systems, and the effects of oxidation conditions on chemical structures and degrees of polymerization of the products obtained were studied. In the case of regenerated and mercerized celluloses, almost all C6 primary alcohol groups were selectively oxidized to carboxyl groups, and water-soluble polyglucuronic acid (cellouronic acid) sodium salts were obtained almost quantitatively; the degrees of polymerization were influenced greatly by the amount of TEMPO added, and the oxidation time and temperatures. Cellouronic acids prepared from mercerized linter and kraft pulps had size exclusion chromatograms with two separate peaks due to higher and lower molecular weight fractions. On the other hand, only small amounts of carboxyl groups were introduced into native cellulose samples. Since polyglucuronic acids prepared from cellulose by the TEMPO–NaBr– NaClO systems regularly consist of the glucuronic acid repeating unit, differing from the conventional water-soluble cellulose derivatives, they may open new fields of cellulose utilization.     

Selective stoichiometric and catalytic oxidation of lower alkanes in the system Co(III)-CF3COOH

It has been found that cobalt(III) trifluoroacetate is capable of oxidizing with a high selectivity (90%) methane to methyltrifluoroacetate at 130–180°C and 10–40 atm. In the presence of oxygen the selective oxidation of methane proceeds catalytically with respect to the cobalt salt. Ethane and propane are oxidized with the formation of ethanol and isopropanol trifluoroacetates, respectively (yield 80%). The further oxidation of triethanol trifluoroacetate leads to the formation of the ethyleneglycol ester, together with products of the splitting of the C-C bond in the alkyl group of the initial ester. The data obtained lead to the assumption that the reactions of the alkanes and alkyl esters with Co(III) include an electron transfer stage from the RH molecule to the Co(III) ion, with the intermediate formation of the cation radical RH⁺.N. S. Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Éksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 301–307, May–June, 1991. Original article submitted February 19, 1991.     

Solid phase oxidation of arsenite and the effect of gamma radiation

The oxidation of solid arsenite by bromate, chlorate and perchlorate ions has been studied at different temperatures and at a constant composition of 12. Arsenite is completely oxidized to arsenate. The fraction oxidized // — time /t/ data are reproducible. The rate of oxidation increases with an increase in temperature. Gamma radiation has no significant effect on the temperature independence of the oxidation process of this particular composition, although delayed oxidation appears with irradiated systems. The kinetics of oxidation process follows the conventional first order. The activation energies for the oxidation of As/III/ to As/V/ are 30.5, 44.0 and 67.9 kJ mol^–1, respectively, for bromate, chlorate and perchlorate systems, and for irradiated 29.8 and 67.3 kJ mol^–1, respectively, for bromate and perchlorate systems.     

Effect of the chemical nature of the support on the properties of platinum catalysts for the combined oxidation of CO and H2

The steady-state rate of hydrogen oxidation catalyzed by platinum on an inert support (corundum) is greater than the rate of oxidation of carbon monoxide, while the rate of hydrogen oxidation on a platinum-vanadium catalyst is less than the rate of oxidation of carbon monoxide. The conditions for the complete selective oxidation of the reaction mixture components were determined. Hydrogen is oxidized on the Pt/corundum cataljst at 273K in a non-steady-state mode, while CO is oxidized on the same catalyst at 273 K and on Pt/BaSO₄-V₂O₅ at 383–393K in a steady-state mode.Deceased.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i éksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 81–85, March–April, 1995.     

Thermal and radiation annealing in131I−-doped periodate crystals

Isothermal annealing at temperatures between 90 and 250°C and radiation annealing at 40, –76 and –196°C were studied in sodium periodate crystals doped by rapid crystallization and by spray techniques. The results showed the occurrence of transfer annealing because the dopant was converted to the oxidized forms of iodate and periodate depending on the treatment conditions. Similarities with the annealing behaviour of recoil species in neutron irradiated periodate systems are established and the Bellido and Wiles stepwise oxidation model is used to explain the mechanism of the processes.     

Preparation and properties of [PtII(SS)(NN)]-type complexes and their iodine-doped analogues

Summary Complexes of the general formula [Pt(SS) (NN)], where SS is dddt (5,6-dihydro-1,4-dithiin-2,3-dithiolate) or pddt (6,7-dihydro-5H-1,4-dithiepin-2,3-dithiolate) and NN is bipy (2,2-bipyridine) or phen (1,10-phenanthroline), were prepared by the reaction of [PtCl₂(NN)] with dithiolate ligands. The¹H-n.m.r. spectra shows upfield shifts in the bipy or phen signals upon substitution of the chlorides in [PtCl₂(bipy)] or [PtCl₂(phen)] by dddt or pddt. The u.v.-vis. spectra exhibits intense intramolecular ligand-to-ligand charge transfer bands ca. 600 nm. Cyclic voltammograms show a reversible oxidation step, assigned to [Pt(SS) (NN)]⁰/[Pt(SS)(NN)]⁺. When the complexes were partially oxidized by I₂, two broad e.s.r. signals atg = 1.91,g = 2.02 appeared. Raman spectra show the presence of I ₃ ^– and I^5/– in the iodine-doped complexes. The electrical conductivities of the neutral mixed ligand complexes (10^–9-10^–10S cm^–1) are raised to 10^–7–10^–8S cm^–1 by I₂ doping.     

Ceramic glaze analysis by simultaneous in-beam PGAA and XRFS

Twenty-one ready-to-use hobby glazes, of which 18 were labeled safe for food containers (SFFC), were analyzed for Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Gd, Hf, K, Mn, Na, Pb, Si, Sm, Sr, Ti, Zn, and Zr by neutron capture prompt -ray activation analysis (PGAA). Simultaneously, Pb was also determined by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRFS) using Pb K X-rays induced by the -ray component of the neutron beam. The XRFS limits of detection were 200–400 g Pb·g^–1 (dry weight), a factor of 100 better than those for PGAA. Pb concentrations (by dry weight; with weight losses ranging from 28 to 49% after air-drying) found were 0.16–27.2% in the SFFC glazes and 0.86–32% in the other glazes. The SFFC glazes contained from <0.6 to 202 g Cd·g^–1, and Co, Cr, and Cu (elements which may enhance Pb leaching from fired glazes) were found in concentrations up to 1.2, 2.7, and 5.6%, respectively. Method accuracy was demonstrated with the analysis of soil, fly ash, and glass standard reference materials.     

Insights into the Oxidation Chemistry of SiOC Ceramics Derived from Silsesquioxanes

We have undertaken a systematic study of the oxidation chemistry for a range of SiOC ceramics derived from silsesquioxane polymeric precursors. This study examines the oxidation for 500 hours at 600, 800, 1000 and 1200°C for four SiOC powders. The material changes upon oxidation were characterized qualitatively by color change and optical microscopy and quantitatively by weight and composition change. In this study we employ a very easy method that uses the weight change upon oxidation and a carbon analysis after oxidation to arrive at the composition of the oxidized SiOC. Combined these qualitative and quantitative techniques have shown that on oxidation at 800 and 600°C the SiOC composition is more rapidly changed to that of silica than oxidation over the same time frame at 1000 or 1200°C. The data indicates that this difference is due to the relative rates of oxidation of the excess carbon versus the Si—C bonds in the SiOC. At lower temperatures initially the carbon oxidation predominates which leads to higher porosity throughout the material and an increase in the surface area with eventually complete oxidation to silica. At higher temperatures the Si—C bond oxidation rate is comparable to the rate of oxidation of carbon. This allows a silica-like surface to build up on the SiOC, which slows all subsequent reactions due to the necessity to diffuse O2 in and COx out of the bulk. Under these oxidation conditions materials that originally contain high amounts of excess carbon are more quickly oxidized to silica than those that contain minimal amounts of excess carbon, as confirmed by elemental analysis and optical microscopy. Regardless of the time or temperature of the oxidation conditions no materials were found to be completely stable to oxidation. SiOC materials with low levels of excess carbon showed the best resistance to change upon oxidation.     

Synthesis and study of indolo[2,3-b]quinoxaline derivatives

The corresponding indolo[2,3-b]quinoxalines and spiro(benzimidazoline-2,3-indoline)-2-ones are formed in the reaction of 2,5-dibutoxy-o-phenylenediamine (I) with 5-nitro- and N-acetylisatin in 50–80% acetic acid, while the corresponding spiro(2H-benzimidazole-2,3-indole)-2-ones are formed additionally in the reaction of 2,5-dibutoxy- and 2,5-diheptyloxy-o-phenylenediamine with isatin and N-methylisatin. 6-Acyl and 6- and 5-alkyl derivatives were obtained as a result of acylation and alkylation of a number of 6H-indolo[2,3-b]quinoxalines; the 5-substituted compounds are formed in trace amounts. The IR and electronic spectra of the synthesized compounds were studied.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 249–254, February, 1981.     

Formation of radicals in the photodestruction of polypropylene

Conclusions In the UV irradiation (wavelength interval 236–800 m) of polypropylene (atactic and isotactic) and polyethylene at temperatures of 77–123°K, a substantial amount (10¹⁸–10¹⁹ g^–1) of radicals of various types are formed. Hydroperoxide groups are among the main sources of radicals in the case of oxidized polypropylene.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 778–783, April, 1967.     

Study of the influence of chemical modification of the tryptophan residues in the molecules ofDatura innoxia lectins on their hemagglutinating activity

It has been found that inDatura innoxia lectins 21% of the tryptophan residues are selectively oxidized by N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) under nondenaturing conditions, which shows that one or two residues are exposed on the surface of the molecule. At the same time the hemagglutinating activity (HA) decreases by 50%. When half of all the Trp is oxidized only 30% of the HA is retained. A sharp fall in the HA on the oxidation of 1/7 of all the Trp indicates the great importance of at least one residue for the interaction of the lectin with erythrocytes. In the hydrophobic region of the molecule 79% of the Trp is screened, and this is exposed in 8 M urea.Institute of the Chemistry of Plant Substances, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, fax (3712) 40 64 75. Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 5, pp. 738–741, September–October, 1997.     

Asymmetric halogenation and hydrohalogenation of ethyltrans-cinnamate in crystalline cyclodextrin complexes

The gas-solid halogenation and hydrohalogenation using microcrystalline cyclodextrin complexes are found to be efficient for production of the optical active halides of ethyltrans-cinnamate in moderate optical yields: On exposure to HBr at 20°C for 15–20 hr, the cinnamate in solid - and -cyclodextrin complexes yields ethyl R-(+)-3-bromo-3-phenylpropanoate in 46% e.e., and S-(–)-enantiomer in 31% e.e., respectively. No addition nor substitution products are obtained with HC1 vapor at 0–50°C for 15–65 hr. Bromination of the -cyclodextrin complex results in the formation of optical active ethylerythro-2,3-dibromo-3-phenylpropanoate, while chlorination gives the optical active mixture oftrans andcis addition products, ethylerythro- andthreo-2,3-dichloro-3-phenylpropanoates in 60–80% yields. Mechanism of chiral induction in the present gas-solid reaction has been proposed on the basis of the crystal structure of the complex.     

New functional microspheres with active succinimide groups

Radiation-induced polymerization of monomers, for example N-methacryl-oxysuccinimide (MASu) and diethylene glycol dimethacrylate (2G), in ethyl propionate, was performed from +25°C to –78°C. The copoly (MASu/2G) microspheres were obtained in MASu monomer compositions of 30 wt % or below. The average particle diameter of copoly(MASu/2G, 20/80 wt %) microspheres obtained at irradiation temperatures of 25°, 0°, and –43 °C were 0.81±0.29, 0.63±0.26, and 0.90±0.43 m, respectively. No microspheres were formed when irradiated at –78 °C. The reactivity of the succinimide groups on the surface of copoly(MASu/2G, 20/80 wt%) microspheres was checked by reacting with ethylene diamine. The maximal amount of reacting succinimide groups was 9.4±0.5 nol/g, which corresponds to about 1 % of the total number of succinimide groups in the microsphere.     

Mullite Fibre Mats by a Sol-Gel Spinning Technique

Fine grained, microcrystalline mullite (Al_4+2x Si_2–2x O_10–x) fibre mats with a web-like structure were fabricated by a sol-gel spinning technique using a multi-orifice spinneret. Points of contact in gel fibre mats helped in the formation of a web-like fibrous body having reasonable strength and very little dust formation after calcination. Strong and resilient fibres with diameters in the range 3–12 m were obtained by a single-step sol-gel method from spinnable sols devoid of organics as the binder aid. Crystallization of -alumina and mullite at about 900°C and 1250°C, respectively was confirmed by differential thermal analysis (DTA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Thermogravimetry (TG) indicated the removal of most of the volatiles at about 500°C accompanied by a weight loss of about 48%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows the presence of small grains (80–150 nm in size) in the fibres calcined at 1250°C. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) indicated the sequence of transformations taking place during heat-treatment of gel fibres at different temperatures. The individual fibres in the mats calcined at 1250°C exhibited a tensile strength of 1300–1600 MPa.     

Oxidation of wood cellulose using 2-azaadamantane N-oxyl (AZADO) or 1-methyl-AZADO catalyst in NaBr/NaClO system

A wood cellulose was oxidized with catalytic amounts of 2-azaadamantane N-oxyl (AZADO) or 1-methyl-AZADO, in an NaBr/NaClO system, in water at pH 10. The oxidation efficiency, carboxylate/aldehyde contents, and degree of polymerization (DP_v) of the oxidized celluloses thus obtained were evaluated in terms of the amount of AZADO or 1-methyl-AZADO catalyst added, in comparison with those prepared using the TEMPO/NaBr/NaClO system. When the AZADO/NaBr/NaClO and 1-methyl-AZADO/NaBr/NaClO oxidation systems were applied to wood cellulose using the same molar amount of TEMPO, the oxidation time needed for the preparation of oxidized celluloses with carboxylate contents of 1.2–1.3 mmol/g was reduced from ≈80 to 10–15 min. Moreover, the molar amounts of AZADO and 1-methyl-AZADO that had to be added for the preparation of oxidized celluloses with carboxylate contents of 1.2–1.3 mmol/g were reduced to 1/32 and 1/16 of the amount of TEMPO added, respectively. The DP_v values for the AZADO- and 1-methyl-AZADO-oxidized celluloses after NaBH₄ treatment were in the range of 600–800. This indicated that not only C6-carboxylate groups but also C2/C3 ketones were formed to some extent on the crystalline cellulose microfibril surfaces during the AZADO- and 1-methyl-AZADO-mediated oxidation. When the AZADO-oxidized wood cellulose, which had a carboxylate content of 1.2 mmol/g, was mechanically disintegrated in water, an almost transparent dispersion consisting of individually nano-dispersed oxidized cellulose nanofibrils was obtained, with a nanofibrillation yield of 89 %.     

Synthesis of 2,3-dioxo-2,3-dihydro-4-methyl-6-chloro-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridine and its 1-α-L-arabinopyranoside

A new type of isatin analog-2,3-dioxo-2,3-dihydro-4-methyl-6-chloro-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridine — was obtained by oxidation of 4-methyl-6-chloro-1H-pyrrolo(2,3-b]pyridine. Condensation of L-arabinose with 4-methyl-6-chloro-2,3-dihydropyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridine and subsequent acetylation and dehydrogenation gave 1-(2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl--L-arabinopyranosyl)-4-methyl-6-chloropyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridine, which served as the starting compound for the synthesis of 1--L-arabinopyranosyl-4-methyl-6-chloropyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridine. Oxidation of 1-(2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-L-arabinopyranosyl)-4-methyl-6-chloropyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridine gave 1-(2,3.4-tri-O-acetyl--L-arabinopyranosyl)-2,3-dioxo-2,3-dihydro-4-methyl-6-chloropyrrolo [2,3-b]pyridine.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 8, pp. 1083–1086, August, 1977.     

Difference spectrophotometric determination of some pharmaceutically important thioxanthene derivatives in dosage forms

A Spectrophotometric method is described for the rapid determination of four thioxanthene derivatives, namely chlorprothixene, thiothixene, flupenthixol hydrochloride and clopenthixol hydrochloride. The method is based on measuring the first derivative spectrum (D ₁) of the oxidized drug relative to a solution of the underivatized drug. At the wavelength of maximum difference in first derivative (range 285–315 nm), only the oxidation products have an appreciable difference in first derivative and the oxidizing agent has no absorbance. The oxidation products (assumed to be the thioxanthone sulphoxides) are formed rapidly at room temperature by the addition of peroxyacetic acid, prepared by the slow reaction of hydrogen peroxide and glacial acetic acid. The first derivative of the absorbance is proportional to the concentration of the drugs in solution over the ranges 2–14 g ml^–1 for chloroprothixene, 2–20 g ml^–1 for clopenthixol hydrochloride, 2–24 g ml^–1 for thiothixene and 4–40 g ml^–1 for flupenthixol hydrochloride. The method is specific for the intact drug and can be adopted in the presence of oxidative and photochemical decomposition products and tablet excipients. The recoveries ranged from 99.7 ± 1.3 to 100.2 ± 1.5%. The validity of the method was tested by analysing synthetic samples of thioxanthenes and some dosage forms containing the drugs; the results were in accordance with those given by the official methods.     

HPLC Separation of O-Acylated Flavonoids and Biflavones from Some Species of Gymnospermae

Flavonoids present in the extracts from leaves of Pseudotsuga menziesii (Pinaceae), Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgoaceae) and Podocarpus dacrydioides (Podocarpaceae) were separated by use of the reversed phase HPLC method. The analysed compounds belong to different groups of flavonoids – biflavones (amentoflavone, bilobetin, 5–methoxybilobetin, podocarpusflavone A, sequoiaflavone, podocarpusflavone B, ginkgetin, isoginkgetin, sciadopitysin, kayaflavone, hinokiflavone, 2,3–dihydrosciadopitysin, 2,3–dihydroisoginkgetin), O–acylated flavonol glycosides (daglesiosides I, II, III, IV, trans–tiliroside, trans–ditiliroside), flavonol O–glycosides (astragalin, isoquercetin) and flavonol aglycones (kaempferol, quercetin, isorhamnetin). The conditions for flavonoid separation were optimized using various RP–18 columns. The chromatographic resolution was performed with isocratic or gradient elution – optimized by Drylab program or by traditional trial-and-error method, depending on the composition of flavonoid complex.     

Chemical conversion of various celluloses to glucose and its derivatives in supercritical water

The supercritical water biomass conversion system was designed and developed in our laboratory. The reaction vessel with cellulose sample was treated with this system at supercritical state of water for a designated period (3–105s) under the conditions of a tin bath temperature of 500°C and pressure of 35MPa. The recovered products of hydrolysates were then analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. The obtained results indicated that a high amount of glucose and levoglucosan can be achieved from both celluloses I and II for 5–10s supercritical treatment, while that from starch for 3–5s treatment. Although this difference could be due to a difference in the molecular structure between cellulose and starch, a difference between celluloses I and II was not significant. Instead, an accessibility of the water towards cellulose molecules seemed to be significant for their chemical conversion. With the longer treatment, amounts of these compounds observed were decreased due to decomposition. Therefore, it may be concluded that, compared with acid hydrolysis or enzymatic saccharification, cellulose may be hydrolyzed to glucose and its derivatives more or less to the same degree as in corn starch under supercritical state. This finding suggests that the supercritical treatment can overcome the difficulties in hydrolyzing cellulose to glucose, found in the acid hydrolysis or enzymatic saccharification techniques.     

Reactions of 2,7-Dimethyloxepin with Dimethyldioxirane and Methyl(trifluoromethyl)dioxirane: Ring Opening and Probable Observation of the Intermediate “2,3-Epoxyoxepin”

The reactions of dimethyldioxirane (7) and methyl(trifluoromethyl)dioxirane (8) with 2,7-dimethyloxepin (4) both yielded Z,Z-3,5-octadiene-2,7-dione (Z,Z-6) as their initial stable products. This is the first published reaction of a dioxirane with an isolable pure oxepin. Reaction of the dienedione Z,Z-6 with one mole equivalent of either 7 or 8 yielded the corresponding monoepoxide. Treatment of this monoepoxide with another equivalent of 8 yielded the corresponding diepoxides (probably meso and R,S). The suggestion of Murray and co-workers that dioxiranes may model some of the reactivities of monooxygenases and their rapid epoxidations of alkenes under neutral conditions at low temperatures suggested their use. Our initial attempts to directly observe the putative intermediate 1,3-dimethyl-2,8-dioxabicyclo-[5.1.0]octa-3,5-diene (2,7-dimethyl-2,3-oxepin (2)] at low temperatures (ca. –60°C) yielded promising but inconclusive results when dimethyldioxirane (7) was employed. The epoxidation reaction was sufficiently slow that it only occurred measurably above –30°C, a temperature at which thermal ring opening to the dienedione is competitive. Initial reactions with the much more reactive methyl)trifluoromethyl)dioxirane (8) led to immediate ring opening at temperatures as low as –80°C. Since 8 is known to isomerize to methyl trifluoroacetate and since water is present, a trace of trifluoroacetic acid was suspected of catalyzing the ring opening of 2. Thus, inclusion of either suspended Na₂HPO₄ or miscible 2,6-di-t-butylpyridine at –80°C yielded an intermediate stable up to ca. 0°C, which is likely to be the 2,3-epoxyoxepin 2.