Heteropoly Acids as Heterogeneous and Reusable Catalyst for α-Thiocyanation of Ketones

Simple, efficient, and mild method for α-thiocyanation of ketones in presence of heteropolyacid has been developed. This methodology offered α-oxothiocyanates in good to excellent yields at room temperature in a highly selective manner. The catalyst could be efficiently recovered from the reaction and reused.     

Oil Base Mud. Part I: Synthesis of Some Local Surfactants Used as Primary Emulsifiers for Oil Base Mud and Evaluation of Their Rheology Properties

Six oil soluble nonionic surfactants with different HLBs have been prepared. Their HLBs situate between 3.9 and 6.7. Transesterification was carried out for glycerol and triethanol amine with oleic acid at different moles to obtain six emusilifiers. They named glycerol momooleate (I), glycerol diooleate (II), glycerol trioleate (III), triethanol amine mono-, di- and tri-oleate (IV), (V,) and (VI). The chemical structure was confirmed using; the elemental analysis, FTIR and ¹HNMR. They were evaluated as a primary emulsifiers (PE) for thdrilling fluids (oil base mud) comparing with a currently used primary emulsifier (Fc). The water in oil base mud (w/o emulsions) was prepared. The concentration of emulsifiers and their HLB exhibited interesting rheology properties including shear-thinning behavior, yield value, viscoelastic effects, thixtropy, gel strength, and filtration loss. The rheology properties of such emulsions strongly depended on the average size distribution of the dispersed droplets that could be varied both with the bulk concentration and HLB value of the emulsifiers. The interfacial and surface properties of these emulsifiers suggest that the droplet size of the dispersed phase and bulk concentration are strongly related to the HLB value of emulsifiers. The w/o emulsion (mud formulation) stability is sensitive to the droplet size of the dispersed phase and HLB value of the used emulsifier. The results were discussed on the light the chemical structure of the primary emulsifiers and the emulsion ingredients.     

Synthesis of Some Oil Spill Dispersants Based on Sorbitol Esters and Their Capability to Disperse Crude Oil on Seawater to Alleviate Its Accumulation and Environmental Impact

In this respect mono‐, di‐, and tri‐ sorbitol oleate esters [SMO, SDO, and STO] were prepared and then ethoxylated using ethylene oxide to obtain six sorbitol esters at different ethylene oxide content (e.o=5, 12, 15, 20, 35, and 45). They were tested as oil spill dispersants individually and in blends. From the obtained data, it was found that the blends are more effective than the corresponding individual surfactants. The maximum dispersion capability for the prepared surfactants was obtained at HLB range from 9 to 11 for the both individual surfactants and blends. The increase of total carbon number in the surfactant alkyl group leads to increase dispersion capability of the dispersant. The wide range of ethylene oxide content was used, but the maximum dispersion efficiency was obtained at ethylene oxide=20 in E(20)STO. Meanwhile, the dispersion capability increases when the interfacial tension decreases.     

Micellar Enhanced Ultrafiltration of Reactive Black 5 from Aqueous Solution by Cationic Surfactants

Reactive black 5 (RB-5) dye was removed from a water stream using two cationic surfactants, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), via micellar enhanced ultrafiltration. Three membranes with different pore size were used for the determination of rejection coefficient and permeate flux of the solution at 1.5 bar trans-membrane pressure (TMP). The two surfactants (CPC and CTAB) played an almost negligible role in rejection efficiency with 5000 and 10,000 molecular weight cut-off membrane (MWCO), respectively. In this case, high rejection and low permeate flux was the result of a larger molecular size of RB-5 DYE being retained by comparatively smaller sized pores of membrane via ultrafiltration. However, CPC and CTAB surfactants showed 83% and 98% rejection coefficient, respectively, at a concentration greater than their CMC values against 30,000 MWCO. Permeate flux remained low and constant in presence of 5000 and 10,000 MWCO with a small variation against 30,000 MWCO for the two surfactants, thereby no appreciable effect on both surfactant concentrations on concentration polarization was estimated. Thus, RB-5 dye alone was determined to be responsible for membrane plugging or concentration polarization and ultimately for low permeate flux. The effect of trans-membrane pressure was also investigated during this study.     

The Surface and Thermodynamic Properties of Ethoxylated Sodium Monoalkyl Sulfosuccinate Surfactants

A series of ethoxylated sodium monooctyl sulfosuccinates [E(n)SMOSS] and ethoxylated sodium monolauryl sulfosuccinates [E(n)SMLSS] have different units of ethylene oxide (n = 9, 14, 23) were synthesized. The surface and thermodynamic properties of these surfactants have been compared with sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate surfactant (SDOSS) as a commonly used surfactant. The surface tension measurements at 25, 35, 45, and 55°C were used to determine of the critical micelle concentration (CMC) and surface active properties of these surfactants. The effect of the ethylene oxide (EO) unit and the alkyl chain length on the surface properties for the prepared surfactants was studied. The results show that the ethoxylated sodium monoalkyl sulfosuccinates generally have lower values of CMC than that of sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate. The values of surface active parameters indicate that the ethoxylated sodium monooctyl sulfosuccinates and ethoxylated sodium monolauryl sulfosuccinates surfactants have adsorption properties better than the sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate surfactant as a resulted presence of ethylene oxide in molecules of the prepared surfactants. The thermodynamic parameters show that the (EO) unites in the chemical structure of ethoxylated sodium monoalkyl sulfosuccinate surfactants improve their micellization and adsorption properties.     

A new mathematical model for the enzymatic kinetic resolution of racemates

A mathematical model is presented for the kinetic resolution of racemates. It takes all intermediate binding steps into account and assumes that such steps are reversible. The model describing dynamics of the chiral reaction products consists of two nonlinear differential equations. With this model, the enantioselectivity of enzyme has been studied. Mathematical and numerical simulation of the model show that there are several ways to control the enantiomeric ratio (E) but the affinity and the binding rates of the intermediate enzyme complex to the racemic substrates are the key steps for the enzyme enantioselectivity.     

Spectrophotometric method for determination of atrazine and its application to commercial formulations and real samples

A simple sensitive spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of atrazine in herbicide formulations and real samples. The method was based on the reaction of atrazine with pyridine to form a quaternary halide which in the presence of alkali forms a carbinol base. The heterocyclic ring of the carbinol base breaks and forms the glutaconic dialdehyde. The glutaconic dialdehyde group was coupled with sulfanilic acid to form a yellow coloured product having λ _max 450 nm or coupled with aniline to form a orange red coloured product having λ _max 480 nm. The Beer's law was obeyed over the range from 0.1 to 25 µg mL^?1 and molar absorptivity 1.5 × 10⁴ L mol^?1 cm^?1 for sulfanilic acid, and from 0.08 to 12 µg mL^?1 and molar absorptivity 1.3 × 10⁴ L mol^?1 cm^?1 for aniline were observed. The reaction conditions and other analytical parameters were optimised. The proposed method has been successfully applied for the analysis of commercial formulations and real samples.     

Determination of Trace Elements in Tea and Coffee by Neutron Activation Analysis

Thermal neutron activation analysis, a high-resolution Ge(Li) gamma-ray spectrometer, and an IBM 360/67 digital computer were used to determine the concentration of Na, K, Sc, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Se, Br, Rb, Sb, Cs, and Hg in ground coffee and tea. This nondestructive multielement technique requires neither pre- nor postirradiation chemistry and eliminates problems of reagent contamination. The method is simple, precise and sensitive to 15 elements. Interferences from fast neutron (n, p) and (n, α) reactions are small and, if necessary, corrections may be applied easily. This technique can be applied to percolated tea and coffee.     

Synthesis, structure, and electronic calculations of group VII substituted pyridazines

A series of 5,6-fused ring cyclopentadienyl tricarbonyl manganese and rhenium complexes, [M(CO)₃{η ⁵-1,2-C₅H₃(1,4-(R)₂N₂C₂}] (2a–3d) were isolated by employing an off-metal ring closure route. Reacting thallium cyclopentadienide (Cp) salts (1a–d) with [MBr(CO)₅] (M = Mn, Re) provided pyridazyl complexes (2a–3d) in high yield (75–99 %). Spectroscopic characterization (NMR, IR, MS) confirmed the identity of the desired organometallic pyridazines. The off-metal synthetic pathway employed did improve upon the isolation of these complexes as compared to previously reported routes. The molecular and electronic structure of complexes 2a–3d and their optimal energy structures have been characterized with quantum chemistry calculations. Vibrational frequencies calculated were compared to their experimental counterparts. The excited state calculations predict that the dominant low-energy transition involves a ligand-to-metal charge transfer.     

Synthesis of Sugars From D-Ribonolactone. II. An Alternative Synthesis of D-Erythrose

D-Erythrose was synthesized in four steps from D-ribono-1,4-lactone via the 3,5-O-benzylidene derivative of the latter compound. Reduction of the benzylidene D-ribonolactone, and periodate cleavage of the resulting 3,5-O-benzylidene-D- ribitol were performed in a one-flask reaction. The ensuing 2,4-O-benzylidene-D-erythrose was hydrolyzed with 10% acetic acid to obtain syrupy D-erythrose.