CO2 Fixation and Catalytic Reduction by a Neutral Aluminum Double Bond

CO₂ fixation and reduction to value‐added products is of utmost importance in the battle against rising CO₂ levels in the Earth's atmosphere. An organoaluminum complex containing a formal aluminum double bond (dialumene), and thus an alkene equivalent, was used for the fixation and reduction of CO₂. The CO₂ fixation complex undergoes further reactivity in either the absence or presence of additional CO₂, resulting in the first dialuminum carbonyl and carbonate complexes, respectively. Dialumene ( 1 ) can also be used in the catalytic reduction of CO₂, providing selective formation of a formic acid equivalent via the dialuminum carbonate complex rather than a conventional aluminum–hydride‐based cycle. Not only are the CO₂ reduction products of interest for C₁ added value products, but the organoaluminum complexes isolated represent a significant step forward in the isolation of reactive intermediates proposed in many industrially relevant catalytic processes.     

Effect of Substitution on the Hysteretic Phase Transition in a Bistable Phenalenyl-Based Neutral Radical Molecular Conductor

The ability to tune the physical properties of bistable organic functional materials by means of chemistry can facilitate their development for molecular electronic switching components. The butylamine-containing biphenalenyl boron neutral radical, [Bu]₂B, crystalline compound has recently attracted significant attention by displaying a hysteretic phase transition accompanied by simultaneous bistability in magnetic, electrical, and optical properties close to room temperature. In this report, substitutional doping was applied to [Bu]₂B by crystallizing solid solutions of bistable [Bu]₂B and its non-radical-containing counterpart [Bu]₂Be. With increasing doping degree, the hysteretic phase transition is gradually suppressed in terms of reducing the height, but conserves the width of the hysteresis loop as observed through magnetic susceptibility and electrical conductivity measurements. At the critical doping level of about 6 %, the abrupt transformation of the crystal structure to that of the pure [Bu]₂Be crystal packing was observed, accompanied by a complete collapse of the hysteresis loop. Further study of the structure–properties relationships of bistable neutral radical conductors based on the [Bu]₂B host can be conducted utilizing a variety of biphenalenyl-based molecular conductors.     

Rapid methods for radiostrontium determination in aerosol filters and vegetation in emergency situations using PS resin

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - This study describes a rapid and novelty method for radiostrontium determination in aerosol filters and vegetation based on the use of plastic...     

Automated separation of 99Tc using plastic scintillation resin PSresin and openview automated modular separation system (OPENVIEW-AMSS)

Automated methods for the analysis of radionuclides potentially increase laboratory productivity by reducing operator intervention and increasing the number of samples that can be treated in a given time. To this end, here we report a new openview automated modular separation system which can be used in combination with PSresin, in this case, for the analysis of ⁹⁹Tc. Quality parameters of this method using the automated system were comparable to those obtained manually and quantification of water samples spiked with low levels of ⁹⁹Tc resulted in deviations lower than 10% for all the samples analysed.

     

Arjunolic acid: A promising new building block for nanochemistry

Arjunolic acid, the major extractable constituent of the heavy wood ofTerminalia Arjuna, has the potential to be used as a rigid and functional molecular framework for the construction of nanosized supramolecular architectures and nanomaterials. The nanosized triterpenoid, arjunolic acid, showed efficient gelation of various organic solvents at low concentrations. The low molecular mass gelator molecules self-assembled in the solvents to form fibers of nanometer diameters. The movement of the solvent molecules was hindered inside the fibrous network leading to the formation of a gel     

Amperometric titration of mercury with a stationary platinum electrode in stirred solutions

Amperometric titration of mercury (in the range of 0-4 to 3.5 mg) has been carried out with 2-mercaptobenzoxazole with a stationary electrode in stirred solution in a sodium acetate-acetic acid medium.     

Natural triterpenoids as renewable nanos

Plant metabolites are the most significant source of renewable chemical feedstocks for a sustainable future. Among various plant secondary metabolites, triterpenoids are a large and structurally diverse 30-carbons subset of the major component terpenoids. Whereas the acyclic triterpene squalene can exist in many different conformations, the cyclic triterpenoids are more rigidified and largely chiral. The tetra and pentacyclic triterpenoids are more abundant than other triterpenoids and molecules having ten chiral centers are common. We show that acyclic and mono-cyclic to fused pentacyclic triterpenes are all nano-sized molecules having varied rigid and flexible lengths. Monte-Carlo investigation of their conformational space revealed that the nanometric lengths are maintained even in the folded conformers rendering all the triterpenoids useful as renewable nanos.