Probing the mechanism of Prins cyclisations and application to the synthesis of 4-hydroxytetrahydropyrans

Trapping intermediates on the Prins cyclisation pathway with carbon-based nucleophiles has given further insight into factors affecting the acid-mediated reactions of homoallylic alcohols with aldehydes, enabling the design of efficient syntheses of 4-hydroxy-2,6-disubstituted tetrahydropyrans.     

Synergistic effects in multicomponent electrocatalysts: the Pb-Ir-O system

The ionic interactions were studied in aqueous solutions of Na(3)IrCl(6) + Pb(NO(3))(2) in order to develop a facilitated electrosynthesis of iridium-based catalytic surfaces. Spectroscopic studies indicated that ion pair charge-transfer complexes [IrCl(6)(3-)]-Pb(II) (K = 6 x 10(3)) and [Ir(H(2)O)Cl(5)(2-)]-Pb(II) (K = 2 x 10(3)) were formed in fresh and aged solutions, respectively. Electrochemical studies showed that interactions between the Ir(H(2)O)Cl(5)(2-) and Pb(II) species lead to synergistic lowering of the overpotential that was necessary for nucleation and growth of mixed metal oxide PbIrOx on the surface of glassy carbon electrodes. The Ir:Pb stoichiometry of the PbIrOx surface films was the same (1:1) as that of the high-temperature phase of Pb-Ir-O pyrochlore. Compared to IrOx, the PbIrOx films displayed enhanced catalytic activity toward the electrooxidation of carbohydrates. This was ascribed to synergism that involved retention of carbohydrate molecules at the Pb(II) sites of a PbIrOx film and oxidation at the adjacent Ir(IV) sites. The synergistic electroplating utilizing interactions between the partially aquated transition metal complex and posttransition metal ion represents a new synthetic route to highly homogeneous and reactive films of mixed metal oxides.     

Stereoselective synthesis of 4-hydroxy-2,3,6-trisubstituted tetrahydropyrans

[reaction: see text] Reaction of homoallylic alcohols with aldehydes in the presence of TFA gives, after hydrolysis of the ester, 4-hydroxy-2,3,6-trisubstituted tetrahydropyrans with the creation of three new stereocenters in a single-pot process. By varying the aldehyde component, a variety of functionalized side chains are installed at C-2. The utility of this approach is extended to the enantioselective synthesis of tetrahydropyrans with >99% ee.     

Wisdom of crowds versus groupthink: learning in groups and in isolation

We evaluate the asymptotic performance of boundedly-rational strategies in multi-armed bandit problems, where performance is measured in terms of the tendency (in the limit) to play optimal actions in either (i) isolation or (ii) networks of other learners. We show that, for many strategies commonly employed in economics, psychology, and machine learning, performance in isolation and performance in networks are essentially unrelated. Our results suggest that the performance of various, common boundedly-rational strategies depends crucially upon the social context (if any) in which such strategies are to be employed.     

Annihilation electrogenerated chemiluminescence of mixed metal chelates in solution: modulating emission colour by manipulating the energetics

We demonstrate the mixed annihilation electrogenerated chemiluminescence of tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(ii) with various cyclometalated iridium(iii) chelates. Compared to mixed ECL systems comprising organic luminophores, the absence of T-route pathways enables effective predictions of the observed ECL based on simple estimations of the exergonicity of the reactions leading to excited state production. Moreover, the multiple, closely spaced reductions and oxidations of the metal chelates provide the ability to finely tune the energetics and therefore the observed emission colour. Distinct emissions from multiple luminophores in the same solution are observed in numerous systems. The relative intensity of these emissions and the overall emission colour are dependent on the particular oxidized and reduced species selected by the applied electrochemical potentials. Finally, these studies offer insights into the importance of electronic factors in the question of whether the reduced or oxidized partner becomes excited in annihilation ECL.     

Influence of filter ventilation on the chemical composition of cigarette mainstream smoke

Total yields of cigarette smoke constituents are greatly influenced by smoking behaviour, the tobacco blend as well as a variety of cigarette design parameters. Thereby, filter ventilation, i.e. diluting the smoke by providing a zone of microscopic holes around the circumference of the filter is one method to reduce the yield of ‘tar’ and other smoke compounds. However, little is known how these design variations influence the combustion conditions, and therefore, the overall chemical pattern of the smoke. In this paper single photon ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SPI-TOFMS) is used to characterize and compare cigarettes on a puff-by-puff basis, which differ only in filter ventilation magnitude. The research cigarettes investigated were made from Virginia tobacco and featured filter ventilations of 0% (no ventilation), 35%, and 70%. The cigarettes were smoked under two different puffing regimes, one using the puffing parameters of the conventional International Organization for Standardization (ISO) smoking regime and a more intense smoking condition. Results show that every variation entails a change of the chemical pattern, whereby, in general, cigarettes with 0% filter ventilation as well as the intense smoking regime lead to a more complete combustion compared to the ISO smoking conditions and the high ventilated cigarettes. Changes in the overall patterns can also be observed during the smoking for individual puffs. Some substances dominate the first puff, some species are more pronounced in the middle puffs, whereas others are preferably formed in the last puffs. This demonstrates the high complexity of the occurring processes. Results might help to understand the formation and decomposition reactions taking place when a cigarette is smoked and offer scope for targeted reduction strategies for specific toxicants or groups of toxicants in the smoke.     

Evidence for cobalt-cobalt bond homolysis and wavelength-dependent CO loss in (μ2-alkyne)Co2(CO)6 complexes

Time-resolved infrared spectroscopy was used to probe the photochemistry of three (μ(2)-alkyne)Co(2)(CO)(6) complexes. The data indicate the formation of a triplet diradical species, with lifetimes in the range 38-71 ps. Theoretical calculations support these experimental findings. No evidence for the CO loss species, (μ(2)-alkyne)Co(2)(CO)(5), was observed, and this is rationalized by the low quantum yield for this process at the excitation wavelengths used.     

Gas chromatography-olfactometry

GC-olfactometry (GC-O) refers to the use of human assessors as a sensitive and selective detector for odour-active compounds. The aim of this technique is to determine the odour activity of volatile compounds in a sample extract, and assign a relative importance to each compound. Methods can be classified into three types: detection frequency, dilution to threshold and direct intensity. Dilution to threshold methods measure the potency of odour-active compounds by using a series of extract dilutions, whereas detection frequency and direct-intensity methods measure odour-active compound intensity, or relative importance, in a single concentrated extract. Factors that should be considered to improve the value of GC-O analysis are the extraction method, GC instrument conditions, including the design and operation of the odour port, methods of recording GC-O data and controlling the potential for human assessor bias using experimental design and a trained panel. Considerable emphasis is placed on the requirement for multidimensional GC analysis, and on best practice when using human assessors.