Total synthesis of (+)-cis-sylvaticin: double oxidative cyclization reactions catalyzed by osmium

The double oxidative cyclization of dienes is a viable procedure for making complex natural products containing cis-THF units. A double deprotection/double oxidative cyclization strategy using catalytic osmium tetroxide was used to construct the bisheterocyclic core of cis-sylvaticin and ultimately confirm its structure. The natural product was then prepared by a short sequence of reactions that is exceptionally concise: the final route being just 13 linear steps and 19 chemical operations in total.     

Effect of europium(III) chloride on the aggregation behavior of sodium dodecyl sulfate

The effect of EuCl3 on the aggregation processes of sodium dodecyl sulfate was investigated. Electrical conductivity data, combined with Eu(III) luminescence measurements, suggest that the formation of micelles involving EuCl3 and SDS occurs at low SDS concentration; the formation of these mixed aggregates was also monitored by light scattering, which indicates that the addition of EuCl3 to SDS concentration at values below the critical micelle concentration of the pure surfactant results in a much higher light scattering than that found just with SDS micelles. It was also found that the Eu(III)/DS- complexes are formed with a binding ratio which varies between 20 and 4, depending on the initial concentration of Eu(III). As the concentration increases, turbidity occurs initially, but solutions become clear subsequently. In contrast to the behavior of SDS in the presence of aluminum(III), no flocculation was observed. From the analysis of electrical conductivity data and comparison with other systems, it is suggested that growth of aggregates happens, probably with formation of nonspherical systems. At the highest concentrations these may involve just Eu(III) and DS- ions. The effect of temperature on the SDS micellization process was studied. The calculated free energy of SDS micellization is not dependent on the initial EuCl3 but is dependent on the final balance between the presence of counterions in solution (ionic strength) and the temperature.     

Fluorescence Study of Dehydroabietic Acid-Based Bipolar Arylamine-Quinoxalines

The absorption and fluorescence spectra, lifetimes and quantum yields of a series of triarylaminequinoxaline bipolar compounds, with and without the bulky dehydroabietic acid group, have been studied in toluene solution. This bulky group is introduced to improve solubility and thermal properties of these systems. It is shown that this does not affect their spectral or photophysical behavior. The compounds show relatively strong fluorescence, with the emission maximum strongly dependent upon the substituents present. Oxidation potentials have also been determined in acetonitrile solution, and again indicate that introduction of the resin acid moiety has no effect on these properties.     

What drives the precipitation of long-chain calcium carboxylates (soaps) in aqueous solution?

The interaction of sodium octanoate, decanoate or dodecanoate with calcium(ii) in aqueous solutions has been studied using turbidity, conductivity and potentiometric measurements. These show a marked alkyl chain length dependence on the behaviour. At the calcium concentration used (1.0 mM), there is little interaction with the octanoate, the decanoate shows initially formation of a 1:1 complex, followed by precipitation, while the dodecanoate precipitates at low surfactant concentrations. The solid calcium carboxylates were prepared, and show lamellar, bilayer structures with planes of calcium(II) ions coordinated to carboxylate groups through bidentate chelate linkages. Thermogravimetry and elemental analyses indicate the presence of coordinated water with the calcium decanoate but not with longer chain carboxylates. The results of both the solution and solid state studies suggest that precipitation of long-chain carboxylates depends on a balance between hydration effects and hydrophobic (largely van der Waals') interactions. Electrostatic effects make little energetic contribution but play the important structural role of ordering the carboxylate anions before precipitation. Differences are observed in the interactions between calcium(II) and long chain alkylcarboxylates and alkylsulfates, and are interpreted in terms of stronger binding to the metal of the carboxylate group. A general mechanism is proposed for calcium carboxylate precipitation from aqueous solution based on this and previous studies.     

Estimation of the emission temperature of an electrodeless discharge lamp and determination of the oscillator strength for the I(P3/2) 183.038 nm resonance transition

The 183.038 nm resonance absorption transition of I(²P_3/2) has been studied using a flash photolysis set-up for gas-phase chemistry and a radio frequency powered electrodeless discharge lamp filled with iodine. The dependence of self-absorption and self-reversal on iodine partial pressure in the discharge volume was measured. The optimum iodine partial pressure, with self-absorption minimized and acceptable intensity, is determined to be approximately 2.5×10⁻³ mbar. A method is described to estimate the temperature of the emitting atoms using direct measurements of relative absorption at different absorber concentrations. This yields an emission temperature of 923±50 K. Using this temperature, the oscillator strength for the I(²P_3/2) transition at 183.038 nm is determined to be f=(3.87±0.57)×10⁻³, corresponding to an absorption cross-section at the center of the line of σ=(5.42±0.8)×10⁻¹⁴ cm² atom⁻¹_. This shows a difference from one of two earlier measurements, but is close to the other. The remaining difference from the latter measurement is probably due to tendencies of opposite biases inherent to the experiments.     

Matrix-isolation spectra of chlorine nitrate

High-resolution FTIR-isolation spectra of chlorine nitrate in nitrogen and argon matrices have been studied and a full analysis based on planar ClONO₂ and known impurities carried out. No evidence for isomers of ClONO₂ has been found; if present, their concentrations must be less than 1% of parent ClONO₂.     

A short story of SIN!

A brief overview is given of the theory of surface-ion neutralization (SIN) by highlighting studies from the pioneering days to the present time. Emphasis is placed on the 1-electron time-dependent Newns-Anderson (TDNA) model, which has played such a key role in studying resonance charge transfer. Recently, a many-electron (ME) version of the TDNA approach has been formulated to treat two or more electron processes, such as Auger transitions. The equation-of-motion technique is used to obtain the TD coefficients from which the required SIN probabilities can be found. After outlining the ME method, two applications are described. The first deals with the Li⁺-Cs/W(110) system, while the second addresses the laser enhancement of SIN, in the case of Li⁺-KBr, and revises some earlier results.     

Three-jet event orientation in ee annihilation: new tests of the Standard Model

We discuss the orientation of e⁺e⁻ → q g events in terms of the polar and azimuthal angles of the event plane w.r.t. the electron beam direction. We define an asymmetry of the azimuthal-angle distribution which, along with the left-right forward-backward polar-angle asymmetry, is sensitive to parity-violating effects in three-jet events; these have yet to be explored experimentally. We have evaluated these observables at O(_s) in perturbative QCD and present their dependence on longitudinal beam polarisation and c.m. energy. We also define a moments analysis in terms of the orientation angles that allows a new and more detailed test of QCD by isolating the six independent helicity cross-sections.