Atomic layer deposition in nanometer-level replication of cellulosic substances and preparation of photocatalytic TiO2/cellulose composites

TiO2 replicas of filter paper with nanometer-level accuracy were prepared by atomic layer deposition of thin conformal TiO2 coating, followed by a removal of the paper by air-anneal at 450 degrees C. Photocatalytic anatase TiO2/cellulose composites were also made by leaving the paper intact. The TiO2 films were deposited from Ti(OMe)4 and H2O at 150-250 degrees C. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO2/cellulose composite was verified by photocatalytic reduction of Ag(I) from an aqueous solution to Ag nanoparticles on the TiO2 surface. The TiO2/cellulose composites are mechanically more stable than the free-standing TiO2 replicas and are therefore potentially suitable as lightweight, high surface area photocatalysts.     

Geometry prediction of hafnocenes by quantum chemical methods

The performance of quantum chemical methods for geometry prediction of hafnocenes was evaluated. HF, B3LYP and MP2 in combination with nonrelativistic (MHF) and relativistic (MWB and LANL2DZ) basis sets for hafnium together with standard basis sets 3-21G*, 6-31G* and 6-311G** for other elements were applied. Five basic structural parameters of the optimized structures of the hafnocenes were compared with experimental crystal structures obtained from the Cambridge structural database. Altogether 80 hafnocenes were included in the analysis. The results show that relativistic corrections are necessary for Hf atom. However, even the Hartree–Fock (HF) method, when combined with relativistic pseudopotentials, reproduces the experimental crystal structures with significant accuracy. The good performance of the HF method can be understood to originate from the absence of significant near-degeneracy correlations for hafnium. On average, the B3LYP and MP2 methods provide structural parameters somewhat closer to the experimental ones.     

Reaction of ruthenium carbonylcarbide cluster Ru6C(CO)17 with nickelocene and pentamethylcyclopentadiene

The reaction of cluster Ru₆C(CO)₁₇ (1) with nickelocene is studied. Five CO ligands rather than a metal-ligand crown are substituted for two cyclopentadienyl groups to give a new complex Ru₆C(⁵-Cp)₂(CO)₁₂ (2). The reaction of cluster1 with entamethylcyclopentadiene leads to new complex Ru₆C(-¹⁵-CH₂C₅Me₄)(CO)₁₄ (3) containing the cr-bond CH₂-Ru, along with an ⁵-coordinated cyclopentadienyl ring.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1171–1172, June, 1995.     

The temperature-dependent red-shift of the visible absorption spectra of crystal violet in alcohol solutions

The visible absorption spectrum of the triphenylmethane dye, crystal violet, in various alcohol solutions at several temperatures has been recorded and subsequently analyzed by computer fitting. The observed spectral changes do not sustain either the earlier temperature-dependent absorption results of Lewis and co-workers or the concept of two ground-state species in equilibrium.     

Metal clusters on an inert surface: a simple model

The shapes of metal clusters (with 2 to 14 valence electrons) on an inert surface are studied with a simple model based on the ultimate jellium model. It is shown that within certain approximations the surface-cluster interaction can be described with an external potential in the Kohn-Sham method. No restrictions for the cluster geometry are imposed. The results show that depending on the strength of the interaction and on the size of the cluster, the ground state is either planar or three-dimensional, but in many cases both geometries are stable and there is a marked energy barrier between them. The results agree qualitatively with ab initio calculations of Na clusters on a NaCl(100) surface.     

In situ reaction mechanism studies on the atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 from (CH3)2AlCl and water

Reaction mechanisms between dimethylaluminum chloride and deuterated water in the atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Al2O3 were studied at 150-400 degrees C using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and a quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS). The observed reaction byproducts were DCl and CH3D. QMS showed that about one-third of the chlorine, and half of the methyl ligands were released during the (CH3)2AlCl pulse. The growth rate deduced from the QMS and QCM data was in qualitative agreement with the previously published growth rate from ALD film growth experiments.     

The identification of vicinally substituted cyclohexane isomers in their mixtures by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy

The radical addition reactions of organobromine compounds, XBr (X = CH2COOMe, PhCH2, CHBr2 and CCl3) with cyclohexene afforded mixtures of cis/trans isomer pairs of 1-X-2-Br-cyclohexanes. In addition to benzyl benzoyloxy derivatives are formed also, when benzoyl peroxide is used as an initiator. Owing to the great difficulties in separating these cis/trans isomer pairs, they are identified directly in their mixtures by NMR spectroscopy. In addition to one-dimensional (ID) 1H, proton decoupled 13C and DEPT-135, also two-dimensional (2D) 13C-13C INADEQUATE as well as 1H-13C HMQC experiments have been used in assigning the signals of each compound in their mixtures. The identification of each isomer was based on comparison of experimental 3J(H,H) coupling constants with theoretical ones based on the well-known Karplus type relationship. The more stable conformation for each isomer was estimated using the semiempirical AM1 molecular orbital method. The calculations support the isomer pair elucidations.     

Polymerization of ethene with zirconocene catalysts: an experimental and quantum chemical study of the influence of para-substituent in benzyl in bis{η-(1-benzyl)indenyl}zirconium dichlorides

The meso- and rac-like isomers of bis{η⁵-(1-benzyl)indenyl}zirconium dichloride (5), bis{η⁵-(1-para-methoxybenzyl)indenyl}zirconium dichloride (6), bis{η⁵-(1-para-fluoro-benzyl)indenyl}zirconium dichloride (7) and bis{η⁵-(1-phenylethyl)indenyl}zirconium dichloride (8) were synthesized and isolated. Solid-state structures of meso- and rac-like 5 were determined by X-ray structure analysis. Polymerization properties of the methylaluminoxane (MAO) activated diastereomers of complexes 5-8 were studied in ethene polymerizations under different monomer concentrations. The rac-like isomer of 1-phenylethyl-substituted 8/MAO showed significantly higher activity than the 1-benzyl substituted analogs 5-7/MAO. In addition, rac-8/MAO behaves like a single center catalyst producing polyethene with narrow molar mass distribution (1.8-1.9), while diastereomers of 5-7/MAO produce polymers with molar mass distributions varying from 2.7 up to 10.3. The rac and meso-like isomers of 5-7/MAO have different response on the monomer concentration. Quantum chemical calculations suggest a strong interaction between the benzyl substituent and the electron deficient zirconium center. The phenyl metal coordination energies depend on the electronic properties of the para-substituent. In 8/MAO, due to the ethyl spacer, the coordination does not have a significant role and therefore much higher activity and single center polymerization behavior is observed.     

H, C, N NMR, ESI mass spectral and single crystal X-ray structural characterization of three spiro[pyrrolidine-2,3′-oxindoles]

Three spiro[pyrrolidine-2,3′-oxindoles], 1,1′,2,2′,5′,6′,7′,7′a-octahydro-2-oxo-1′-phenyl-spiro[3H-indole-3,3′-[3H]-pyrrolizine]-2′-carboxylic acid methyl ester (1), 1,1′,2,2′,5′,6′,7′,7′a-octahydro-2-oxo-1′-nitro-2′-phenyl-spiro[3H-indole-3, 3′-[3H]-pyrrolizine] (2) and 1,1′,2,2′,5′,6′,7′,7′a-octahydro-2-oxo-1′-nitro-2′-(4″-chlorophenyl)-spiro[3H-indole-3,3′-[3H]-pyrrolizine] (3) have been synthesized and their ¹H, ¹³C and ¹⁵N spectra assigned. The chemical shift assignments are based on Pulsed Field Gradient (PFG) Double Quantum Filter (DQF) ¹H, ¹H correlation spectroscopy (COSY), PFG ¹H, ¹³C Heteronuclear Multiple Quantum Coherence (HMQC) and PFG ¹H,X (X = ¹³C and ¹⁵N) Heteronuclear Multiple Bond Correlation (HMBC) experiments. The single crystal X-ray structures of 1–3 have been determined. Compounds 1 and 2 crystallized in monoclinic space group C2/c and compound 3 in monoclinic space group P2₁/c, respectively. Also the ESI-TOF MS data of 1–3 are given.     

Alnumycins A2 and A3: new inverse-epimeric pairs stereoisomeric to alnumycin A1

Two new pairs of stereoisomeric alnumycin As, A2 {(2)-(1R,1′RS,4′SR,5′SR)} and A3 {(2)-(1R,1′RS,4′SR,5′RS)}, are described. Similar to alnumycin A1 {(2)-(1R,1′RS,4′RS,5′SR)}, each of these naturally occurring compounds is also a pair of C-1 inverse epimers. The relative configurations of the dioxane ring sidechains were assigned on the basis of ¹H NMR NOE contacts and molecular modeling using density functional theory (DFT) at the M06-2X/6-31G(d) level of theory. The absolute configurations of C-1 and the determination of inverse epimeric relationships were achieved by experimental electronic circular dichroism (ECD) measurements, with both aspects confirmed by using the chiral derivatizing agent (CDA) Mosher′s acid chloride {α-methoxy-α-trifluorophenylacetyl chloride (MTPACl)} to effect enantiodifferentiation. The absolute configurations of the dioxane ring using the CDA could only be effected in the case of alnumycin A1, the results of which were in agreement with previous assignments. The dioxane ring conformational mobility and the likely interaction between the MTPA groups coupled with the structural novelty of the diols in the dioxane ring with respect to CDA analysis precluded an absolute configuration assignment for alnumycins A2 and A3 based on empirical comparisons or by computational analysis of through-space NMR shieldings (TSNMRS) emanating from the phenyl groups of the MTPA moieties.