Photochemical reaction channels of OCS with Cl2, ICl, or IBr isolated together in an argon matrix: isolation of syn-iodocarbonylsulfenyl bromide

The photolytically induced reactions of a dihalogen XY (= Cl2, ICl, or IBr) with OCS isolated together in an Ar matrix at about 15 K lead to different photoproducts depending on the natures of X and Y. In addition to the known species ClCO*, OCCl2, syn-ClC(O)SCl, syn-ClC(O)SSCl, IC(O)Cl, IC(O)Br, and syn-BrC(O)SBr, syn-iodocarbonylsulfenyl bromide, syn-IC(O)SBr, has thus been identified for the first time as a photoproduct of the reactions involving IBr. The first product to be formed in the reactions with Cl2 or ICl is the ClCO* radical which reacts subsequently with halogen or sulfur atoms or other matrix guests to give the corresponding carbonyl dihalide (OCCl2 and IC(O)Cl), syn-ClC(O)SCl or syn-ClC(O)SSCl. The analogous reaction with IBr affords syn-BrC(O)SBr, IC(O)Br, and syn-IC(O)SBr. The changes have been followed, the products characterized experimentally by IR measurements, and the spectra analyzed in the light of the results of appropriate theoretical calculations.     

Multilevel and density functional electronic structure calculations of proton affinities and gas-phase basicities involved in biological phosphoryl transfer

Five multilevel model chemistries (CBS-QB3, G3B3, G3MP2B3, MCG3/3, and MC-QCISD/3) and seven hybrid density functional methods (PBE0, B1B95, B3LYP, MPW1KCIS, PBE1KCIS, and MPW1B95) have been applied to the calculation of gas-phase basicity and proton affinity values for a series of 17 molecules relevant to the study of biological phosphoryl transfer. In addition, W1 calculations were performed on a subset of molecules. The accuracy of the methods was assessed and the nature of systematic errors was explored, leading to the introduction of a set of effective bond enthalpy and entropy correction terms. The multicoefficient correlation methods (MCG3/3 and MC-QCISD), with inclusion of specific zero-point scale factors, slightly outperform the other multilevel methods tested (CBS-QB3, G3B3, and G3MP2B3), with significantly less computational cost, and in the case of MC-QCISD, slightly less severe scaling. Four density functional methods, PBE1KCIS, MPW1B95, PBE0, and B1B95 perform nearly as well as the multilevel methods. These results provide an important set of benchmarks relevant to biological phosphoryl transfer reactions.     

Theoretical studies on the tautomerism of 1,5,6,7-tetrahydro-4H-indazol-4-ones

Computational studies on three tautomeric forms of four 1,5,6,7-tetrahydro- 4H-indazol-4-one derivatives: 1,5,6,7-tetrahydro-4H-indazol-4-one (1), 6,6-dimethyl- 1,5,6,7-tetrahydro-4H-indazol-4-one (2), 3-methyl-1,5,6,7-tetrahydro-4H-indazol-4-one (3) and 3,6,6-trimethyl-1,5,6,7-tetrahydro-4H-indazol-4-one (4), have been performed at different levels, ranging from semiempirical AM1, ab initio Hartree-Fock HF/6-31G* and HF/6-31G** to B3LYP/6-31G** density functional calculations. These calculations have been used to establish the most stable tautomer, which in all cases was in agreement with the experimental data.     

1,4-Benzodiazepine N-nitrosoamidines: useful intermediates in the synthesis of tricyclic benzodiazepines

1,4-Benzodiazepine N-nitrosoamidines have been used as scaffolds for the preparation of different tricyclic derivatives. Replacement of the N-nitrosoamidine moiety through treatment with the nucleophiles acetylhydrazine, aminoacetaldehyde dimethylacetal and 1-amino-2-propanol, followed by an acid-catalyzed cyclization step, afforded triazolo and imidazobenzodiazepines 1, 6, and 7, respectively, in good yields. When acetylhydrazine is used as a nucleophile, the overall process provides an alternative route to alprazolam (1b) and triazolam (1c), respectively.     

Structure,thermal properties,conductivity and electrochemical stability of di-urethanesil hybrids doped with LiCF<Subscript>3</Subscript>SO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

Variable chain length di-urethane cross-linked poly(oxyethylene) (POE)/siloxane hybrid networks were prepared by application of a sol-gel strategy. These materials, designated as di-urethanesils (represented as d-Ut(Y′), where Y′ indicates the average molecular weight of the polymer segment), were doped with lithium triflate (LiCF₃SO₃). The two host hybrid matrices used, d-Ut(300) and d-Ut(600), incorporate POE chains with approximately 6 and 13 (OCH₂CH₂) repeat units, respectively. All the samples studied, with compositions ∞ > n ≥ 1 (where n is the molar ratio of (OCH₂CH₂) repeat units per Li⁺), are entirely amorphous. The di-urethanesils are thermally stable up to at least 200 °C. At room temperature the conductivity maxima of the d-Ut(300)- and d-Ut(600)-based di-urethanesil families are located at n = 1 (approximately 2.0 × 10⁻⁶ and 7.4 × 10⁻⁵ Scm⁻¹, respectively). At about 100 °C, both these samples also exhibit the highest conductivity of the two electrolyte systems (approximately 1.6 × 10⁻⁴ and 1.0 × 10⁻³ Scm⁻¹, respectively). The d-Ut(600)-based xerogel with n = 1 displays excellent redox stability.     

Remarks on the Configuration Space Approach to?Spin-Statistics

The angular momentum operators for a system of two spin-zero indistinguishable particles are constructed, using Isham’s Canonical Group Quantization method. This mathematically rigorous method provides a hint at the correct definition of (total) angular momentum operators, for arbitrary spin, in a system of indistinguishable particles. The connection with other configuration space approaches to spin-statistics is discussed, as well as the relevance of the obtained results in view of a possible alternative proof of the spin-statistics theorem.     

Correcting non-linear lens distortion in cameras without using a model

Camera lens distortion calibration is the first step in resolving any metric application with a camera. To date, lens distortion was corrected using some existing lens distortion non-metric or self-calibration methods. Using a lens distortion model means defining a global rule to correct the entire image. This global rule does not take into account particular lens distortion effects not represented by the model. Moreover, to calibrate the model, only some features of the scene such as straight lines, circles or vanishing points are used. Since only the feature of the scene used to calibrate the model is guaranteed by the distortion rectification, it is certain that the model will not be precise. The result is an approximation of the real image distortion.To improve the lens distortion rectification, a method without using a model is proposed. Using a set of control points distributed across the entire image, they are corrected to assure all the restrictions of the scene. With both sets of points, the points detected in the image and the undistorted ones, image local transformations are defined considering only nearby control points. Rather than calibrating a global model, local functions are characterized. The distortion correction is defined by a rectification surface composed of local surface patches each influenced by nearby control points. This method is more sensitive to local deformations and allows the image to be corrected in accordance with its distortion.