S-arylation of mercaptobenzimidazoles using Cu(I) catalysts—experimental and theoretical observations

Substituted 2-mercaptobenzimidazoles (MBI) are an important class of bio-active and industrially important organic compounds. In this Letter, a new synthetic method is presented for the selective S-arylation of MBI with substituted aryl iodides using low cost copper (I) iodide and 1,10-phenanthroline as a catalytic system. The selective formation of S-arylated product was confirmed by several spectroscopic techniques and the vibrational spectrum was found to be in very good agreement with the theoretical spectrum calculated by density functional theory.     

Influence of spacer lengths on the properties of chiral triplet liquid crystals based on estradiol

A series of 3-[ω-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4'-yloxy)alkyl] ethers of estradiol 17-[ω(4-cyanobiphenyl-4'-yloxy)alkanoates] with variable spacers has been prepared as chiral triplet liquid crystals. The compounds show very broad range cholesteric phases and are transformed into cholesteric glasses at room temperature. They exhibit odd-even effects for their cholesteric-isotropic transition temperatures and the associated entropy changes as a function of spacer length. The odd-even effects are observed upon changing the parity of both the ester and of the ether spacer. The best ordering is observed for compounds with an even number of methylene groups both in the ester and the ether spacer. In these cases the three mesogen units are oriented more or less parallel when the alkyl spacers are in the all-trans-conformations. Odd-even effects are also observed for the selective reflection wavelength of the planar cholesteric phase, depending on the parity of both spacers. For several compounds with short spacers the selective reflection wavelength increases strongly with temperature, whereas for other compounds this is almost temperature independent.     

Covalent Surface Modification of Oxide Surfaces

The modification of surfaces by the deposition of a robust overlayer provides an excellent handle with which to tune the properties of a bulk substrate to those of interest. Such control over the surface properties becomes increasingly important with the continuing efforts at down‐sizing the active components in optoelectronic devices, and the corresponding increase in the surface area/volume ratio. Relevant properties to tune include the degree to which a surface is wetted by water or oil. Analogously, for biosensing applications there is an increasing interest in so‐called “romantic surfaces”: surfaces that repel all biological entities, apart from one, to which it binds strongly. Such systems require both long lasting and highly specific tuning of the surface properties. This Review presents one approach to obtain robust surface modifications of the surface of oxides, namely the covalent attachment of monolayers.     

Quantum Chemical Studies on Solvents for Post‐Combustion Carbon Dioxide Capture: Calculation of pKa and Carbamate Stability of Disubstituted Piperazines

Piperazine is a widely studied solvent for post‐combustion carbon dioxide capture. To investigate the possibilities of further improving this process, the electronic and steric effects of ?CH₃, ?CH₂F, ?CH₂OH, ?CH₂NH₂, ?COCH₃, and ?CN groups of 2,5‐disubstituted piperazines on the pK_a and carbamate stability towards hydrolysis are investigated by quantum chemical methods. For the calculations, B3LYP, M11L, and spin‐component‐scaled MP2 (SCS‐MP2) methods are used and coupled with the SMD solvation model. The experimental pK_a values of piperazine, 2‐methylpiperazine, and 2,5‐dimethylpiperazine agree well with the calculated values. The present study indicates that substitution of ?CH₃, ?CH₂NH₂, and ?CH₂OH groups on the 2‐ and 5‐positions of piperazine has a positive impact on the CO₂ absorption capacity by reducing the carbamate stability towards hydrolysis. Furthermore, their higher boiling points, relative to piperazine itself, will lead to a reduction of volatility‐related losses.     

Taming the beast: fluoromesityl groups induce a dramatic stability enhancement in boroles

The electron-deficient pentaarylborole 1-(2′,4′,6′-tris(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-2,3,4,5-tetraphenylborole (1) has been synthesised with the long-term aim of developing borole-based optoelectronic materials. The bulky 2,4,6-tris(trifluoromethyl)phenyl (FMes) group on the boron atom of 1 significantly improves (>600 times) its air stability relative to its mesityl analogue. Moreover, 1 shows good thermal stability without undergoing the dimerisation or isomerisation reactions reported for some other boroles. A triarylborole analogue (2), belonging to a new class of borole with the 3- and 4-positions of the BC₄ ring linked by a –(CH₂)₃– group, has also been synthesised to elucidate the influence of carbon-bonded substituents on the stability of boroles. Both boroles were prepared through the reaction of Li[FMesBF₃] and divinyldilithium reagents, a new and general method for borole syntheses. Compound 2 was found to isomerise through a [1,3]-H shift and double-bond rearrangement to an s-trans-butadienylborane species under highly basic (NaOH) conditions. The increased steric crowding at the boron centre through incorporation of the FMes group does not preclude binding of Lewis bases to either 1 or 2, as demonstrated by their fully reversible binding of pyridine. Interestingly, 1 exhibits a blue-shifted absorption spectrum, as compared with its mesityl analogue, a result contrary to previous understanding of the influence of substituent electronics on the absorption spectra of boroles. Most importantly, these boroles exhibit much greater air-stability than previously reported analogues without sacrificing the strong electron-accepting ability that makes boroles so attractive; indeed, 1 and 2 have very low reduction potentials of –1.52 and –1.69 eV vs. Fc/Fc⁺, respectively.     

TUNA FISH (T-30) – A new proficiency testing material for the determination of As and Hg in seafood

The quality of the aquatic and marine environment can be monitored by the determination of pollutants in organisms living in this environment. Certified reference materials and well-organised proficiency tests are powerful means of ensuring a constant level of quality and verifying the correct application of standardised methods. The preparation of a tuna fish proficiency testing material for the evaluation of quality of As and Hg monitoring in seafood is described. Preparation and characterisation of the material as well as studies on its homogeneity and stability are described. Concentrations of 3.4 ± 0.2 mg/kg total arsenic and 2.91 ± 0.09 mg/kg total mercury have been determined as target values. Moreover indicative values for some trace elements (Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sr) and some major constituents (Al, Br, C, Ca, Cl, Fe, H, K, Mg, N, Na, P, S, Si, Zn) have also been measured.     

Analysis of aliphatic car☐ylic acids and amino acids in effluents of landfills, composting plants and fermentation plants by ion-exclusion and ion-exchange chromatography

Short chain aliphatic acids, including volatile fatty acids (VFAs), di-/tricar☐ylic acids, hydroxy- and keto-acids were analyzed in landfill leachates and related water samples by two independently operated ion-exclusion chromatographic systems, differing mainly in the retention characteristics of the separation columns (Merck Polyspher OA-HY, Dionex HPICE AS6), and in the detection mode (UV absorbance at 210 nm, conductivity). The amino acid content of the samples was determined by ion chromatography. Because methods for amino acids analysis are widely standardized, the main efforts were undertaken to optimize the determination of car☐ylic acids. The VFAs (7 compounds) contributed between 33% and 89% to the sample's dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content. The DOC proportions of the multifunctional acids (9 compounds) ranged from 1.1–49%. Between 0.9% and 13% of the DOC content was apportioned to amino acids. Main components were alanine, valine and leucine. The analytical efficiencies of the ion-exclusion chromatography systems were compared and the specific application properties are discussed.