Shear layer instabilities in low-density transverse jets

The near-field shear layer instabilities forming in round transverse jets of variable (reduced) densities relative to the crossflow are investigated through gas-phase experiments. Jets composed of helium and nitrogen mixtures are injected from a converging nozzle mounted flush with an injection wall into air crossflow, allowing the jet-to-crossflow density ratio S to be varied between 1.00, the equidensity case, and 0.14, at constant jet Reynolds number Re _j ?=?1,800. Jet-to-crossflow momentum flux ratios J are examined in the range $\infty>J\geq5$ at incremental values of the density ratio S. The results of single-component hotwire measurements in the jet shear layer indicate that a transition to global instability likely occurs as J is brought below approximately 10, and/or as S is brought below approximately 0.45?C0.40. This observation appears to link many previous independent studies of both equidensity transverse jets and low-density free jets, which may become globally unstable under alteration of J and S, respectively. However, the dynamical character of the transition to global instability in the low-density transverse jet displays differences under independent variation of J and S, which may indicate the predominance of different modes.     

The Development of Bulky Palladium NHC Complexes for the Most-Challenging Cross-Coupling Reactions

Palladium‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reactions enable organic chemists to form C? C bonds in targeted positions and under mild conditions. Although phosphine ligands have been intensively researched, in the search for even better cross‐coupling catalysts attention has recently turned to the use of N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands, which form a strong bond to the palladium center. PEPPSI (pyridine‐enhanced precatalyst preparation, stabilization, and initiation) palladium precatalysts with bulky NHC ligands have established themselves as successful alternatives to palladium phosphine complexes. This Review shows the success of these species in Suzuki–Miyaura, Negishi, and Stille–Migita cross‐couplings as well as in amination and sulfination reactions.     

Multi component self-assembly: supramolecular organic frameworks containing metal-rotaxane subunits (RSOFs)

A facile, one-pot synthesis of rotaxanated supramolecular organic frameworks (RSOFs) is reported. These systems consist of bis-carboxylate anions threaded through the core of tetraimidazolium macrocycles. Trivalent metal cations, yttrium(III) and smaller lanthanides, are used to "lock" the threaded strut in place. This results in the formation of three-dimensional RSOFs.     

Driven dynamics and rotary echo of a qubit tunably coupled to a harmonic oscillator

We have investigated the driven dynamics of a superconducting flux qubit that is tunably coupled to a microwave resonator. We find that the qubit experiences an oscillating field mediated by off-resonant driving of the resonator, leading to strong modifications of the qubit Rabi frequency. This opens an additional noise channel, and we find that low-frequency noise in the coupling parameter causes a reduction of the coherence time during driven evolution. The noise can be mitigated with the rotary-echo pulse sequence, which, for driven systems, is analogous to the Hahn-echo sequence.     

Reactivity of Cr(III) μ-oxo compounds: catalyst regeneration and atom transfer processes

Oxidation of CpCr[(XylNCMe)(2)CH] (Xyl = 2,6-Me(2)C(6)H(3)) with pyridine N-oxide or air generated the μ-oxo dimer, {CpCr[(XylNCMe)(2)CH]}(2)(μ-O). The μ-oxo dimer was converted to paramagnetic Cr(III) CpCr[(XylNCMe)(2)CH](X) complexes (X = OH, O(2)CPh, Cl, OTs) via protonolysis reactions. The related Cr(III) alkoxide complexes (X = OCMe(3), OCMe(2)Ph) were prepared by salt metathesis and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The interconversion of the Cr(III) complexes and their reduction back to Cr(II) with Mn powder were monitored using UV-vis spectroscopy. The related CpCr[(DepNCMe)(2)CH] (Dep = 2,6-Et(2)C(6)H(3)) Cr(II) complex was studied for catalytic oxygen atom transfer reactions with PPh(3) using O(2) or air. Both Cr(II) complexes reacted with pyridine N-oxide and γ-terpinene to give the corresponding Cr(III) hydroxide complexes. When CpCr[(DepNCMe)(2)CH] was treated with pyridine N-oxide in benzene in the absence of hydrogen atom donors, a dimeric Cr(III) hydroxide product was isolated and structurally characterized, apparently resulting from intramolecular hydrogen atom abstraction of a secondary benzylic ligand C-H bond followed by intermolecular C-C bond formation. The use of very bulky hexaisopropylterphenyl ligand substituents did not preclude the formation of the analogous μ-oxo dimer, which was characterized by X-ray diffraction. Attempts to develop a chromium-catalyzed intermolecular hydrogen atom transfer process based on these reactions were unsuccessful. The protonolysis and reduction reactions of the μ-oxo dimer were used to improve the previously reported Cr-catalyzed radical cyclization of a bromoacetal.     

Probing the QCD critical point with relativistic heavy-ion collisions

We utilize an event-by-event relativistic hydrodynamic calculation performed at a number of different incident beam energies to investigate the creation of hot and dense QCD matter near the critical point. Using state-of-the-art analysis and visualization tools we demonstrate that each collision event probes QCD matter characterized by a wide range of temperatures and baryo-chemical potentials, making a dynamical response of the system to the vicinity of the critical point very difficult to isolate above the background.     

A new series of potentially hexadentate ligands derived from 2,2′-bipyridine

Reaction of 2,2′-bipyridine-6-carboxaldehyde with the appropriate aliphatic diamine in MeOH and subsequent reduction with NaBH₄ gives the new, potentially hexadentate, ligands N,N′-bis(2,2′-bipyridin-6-ylmethyl)ethane-1,2-diamine (bmet), N,N′-bis(2,2′-bipyridin-6-ylmethyl)propane-1,3-diamine (bmpp) and N,N′-bis(2,2′-bipyridin-6-ylmethyl)hexane-1,6-diamine (bmhx). The syntheses and characterisation of these ligands are reported; the ligands are isolated as the hydrochloride salts, with purification effected by either recrystallisation or cation exchange chromatography. [Co(bmet)](ClO₄)₃ · H₂O is obtained on reaction of bmet · 4.25HCl · 2.5H₂O with Na₃[Co(O₂CO)₃] · 3H₂O, and X-ray structural analysis shows this to have a pair of very short Co–N bonds. The synthesis and characterisation of the first coordination complex containing 6-(aminomethyl)-2,2′-bipyridine (amb) is also described.     

Poisoning of heterogeneous, late transition metal dehydrocoupling catalysts by boranes and other group 13 hydrides

Borane reagents are widely used as reductants for the generation of colloidal metals. When treated with a variety of heterogeneous catalysts such as colloidal Rh, Rh/Al2O3, and Rh(0) black, BH3.THF (THF = tetrahydrofuran) was found to generate H2 gas with the concomitant formation of a passivating boron layer on the surface of the Rh metal, thereby acting as a poison and rendering the catalyst inactive toward the dehydrocoupling of Me2NH.BH3. Analogous poisoning effects were also detected for (i) colloidal Rh treated with other species containing B-H bonds such as [HB-NH]3, or Ga-H bonds such as those present in GaH3.OEt2, (ii) colloidal Rh that was generated from Rh(I) and Rh(III) salts using borane or borohydrides as reductants, and (iii) for other metals such as Ru and Pd. In contrast, analogous poisoning effects were not detected for the catalytic hydrogenation of cyclohexene using Rh/Al2O3 or the Pd-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling of PhB(OH)2 and PhI. These results suggest that although this poisoning behavior is not a universal phenomenon, the observation that such boron layers are formed and surface passivation may exist needs to be carefully considered when borane reagents are used for the generation of metal colloids for catalytic or materials science applications.     

A synthetic reaction network: chemical amplification using nonequilibrium autocatalytic reactions coupled in time

This article reports a functional chemical reaction network synthesized in a microfluidic device. This chemical network performs chemical 5000-fold amplification and shows a threshold response. It operates in a feedforward manner in two stages: the output of the first stage becomes the input of the second stage. Each stage of amplification is performed by a reaction autocatalytic in Co(2+). The microfluidic network is used to maintain the two chemical reactions away from equilibrium and control the interactions between them in time. Time control is achieved as described previously (Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2003, 42, 768) by compartmentalizing the reaction mixture inside plugs which are aqueous droplets carried through a microchannel by an immiscible fluorinated fluid. Autocatalytic reaction displayed sensitivity to mixing; more rapid mixing corresponded to slower reaction rates. Synthetic chemical reaction networks may help understand the function of biochemical reaction networks, the goal of systems biology. They may also find practical applications. For example, the system described here may be used to detect visually, in a simple format, picoliter volumes of nanomolar concentrations of Co(2+), an environmental pollutant.     

Ambient temperature, tandem catalytic dehydrocoupling-hydrogenation reactions using Rh colloids and Me2NH.BH3 as a stoichiometric H2 source

Highly active Rh colloids, generated in situ during the catalytic dehydrocoupling of Me2NH.BH3 using [{Rh(cod)(mu-Cl)}2] as a precatalyst, are capable of efficiently hydrogenating alkenes at 25 degrees C in a one-pot procedure using only the evolved H2 from the initial dehydrocoupling reaction.