Synthesis of difluorinated β-ketosulfones and novel gem-difluoromethylsulfone-containing heterocycles as fluorinated building blocks

A series of new heterocyclic β-ketosulfides was prepared by the reaction of the corresponding heterocyclic thiols with α-bromoacetophenone and its derivatives. Oxidation of the products using m-CPBA gave the corresponding heterocyclic β-ketosulfones, which, on treatment with Selectfluor™ under anhydrous condition underwent electrophilic fluorination resulting in new heterocycles with difluoromethylene moiety adjacent to the sulfur atom and the carbonyl group. Base-induced cleavage of the five types of the resulting products, with different heterocyclic moieties as model compounds, afforded the difluoromethyl sulfones attached to the corresponding heterocycles. They can be considered as interesting fluorinated building blocks for further elaborations.     

Catalytic Combustion of Ethyl Acetate over Nanostructure Cobalt Supported ZSM-5 Zeolite Catalysts

Gas phase catalytic combustion of ethyl acetate, as one of volatile organic compounds (VOC), was studied on nanostructure ZSM-5, HZSM-5 and Co-ZSM-5 with different cobalt loadings. Nanostructure of ZSM-5 was determined by XRD, SEM and TEM. Catalytic studies were carried out under atmospheric pressure in a fixed bed reactor. Results showed that the Co-ZSM-5 catalysts had better activity than others and at temperatures below 350 ℃, amount of Co loading was more effective on catalytic activity. The order of conversion of ethyl acetate over different Co loading is as follows: Co-ZSM-5 (0.75 wt%)＜Co-ZSM-5 (1.5 wt%)＜Co-ZSM-5 (15 wt%)＜Co-ZSM-5 (2.8 wt%). Besides the higher the inlet concentration of ethyl acetate, the lower the conversion yield, and oxygen concentration in catalytic oxidation conditions has not so large influence on conversion. Furthermore, the presence of water vapor in inlet gaseous feed has an inhibitive effect on ethyl acetate conversion and at the temperatures above 400˚C, the effect decreases.     

Bent alkanes in a new thiourea-containing capsule

The synthesis of a cavitand featuring thiourea hydrogen bonding sites and its dimerization in the presence of suitable guests are reported. Dimerization creates a capsule host wider than the corresponding urea or imide structures, and longer alkanes can be accommodated. Specifically, n-C(15)H(32) is encapsulated, but this guest appears folded inside as deduced from NMR studies. Apparently, the plasticity of hydrogen bonds between thiourea groups allows a stable encapsulation complex to persist in solution even though the guest is contorted.     

Theoretical study of hydrogen bonding in homodimers and heterodimers of amide, boronic acid, and carboxylic acid, free and in encapsulation complexes

The homodimers and the heterodimers of two amides, two boronic acids, and two carboxylic acids have been calculated in the gas phase and in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and CCl(4) solvents using the DFT (M06-2X and M06-L) and the MP2 methods in conjunction with the 6-31G(d,p) and 6-311+G(d,p) basis sets. Furthermore, their pairwise coencapsulation was studied to examine its effect on the calculated properties of the hydrogen bonds at the ONIOM[M06-2X/6-31G(d,p);PM6], ONIOM[MP2/6-31G(d,p); PM6], and M06-2X/6-31G(d,p) levels of theory. The present work is directed toward the theoretical rationalization and interpretation of recent experimental results on hydrogen bonding in encaptulation complexes [D. Ajami et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 9689-9691]. The calculated dimerization energy (ΔE) values range from 0.74 to 0.35 eV for the different dimers in the gas phase, with the ordering carboxylic homodimers > amide-carboxylic dimers > amide homodimers > boronic-carboxylic dimers > amide-boronic dimers > boronic homodimers. In solvents, generally smaller ΔE values are calculated with only small variations in the ordering. In the capsule, the ΔE values range between 0.67 and 0.33 eV with practically the same ordering as in the gas phase. The calculated % distributions of the encapsulated dimers, taking into account statistical factors, are in agreement with the experimental distribution, where the occurrence of boronic homodimer dominates, even though it is calculated to have the smallest ΔE.     

Hydration of isocyanates in an expandable, self-assembled capsule

A self-assembled capsule facilitates reactions of isocyanates with water. The capsule provides an amphiphilic environment with hydrophobic aromatic ends and hydrophilic glycoluril units at the center. Reaction takes place in the narrow, cylindrical space to form the N,N-dialkylurea, which then appears in a longer capsule.     

LaZnxFe1-xO3 钙钛矿型纳米催化剂的制备、表征及其甲苯燃烧性能

 Nanostructured LaFeO3 and substituted LaZnxFe1-xO3 (x = 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3) perovskites were synthesized by the sol-gel auto-combustion method and used in the catalytic combustion of toluene. Their structures and surface properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy, BET surface area, and scanning electron microscopy. Characterization data revealed that the total insertion of zinc into LaFeO3 takes place when x ≤ 0.1. However, ZnO segregation occurs to some extent, especially at x > 0.1. The performance of these perovskites was evaluated by toluene combustion. The catalytic activity of the catalysts increased substantially with an increase in zinc substitution. These results can be attributed to the cooperative effect between LaZnxFe1-xO3 and the zinc oxide phases. The relative concentration of these phases determines their oxygen activation ability and reactivity.     

Experimental and computational probes of a self-assembled capsule

[reaction: see text] This research was undertaken to explore the interior surface of a synthetic receptor 1.1 with arylpyridines as guests. The interior surface differentiates the guests through the recognition of their nitrogen atoms. Experimental and computational analyses revealed that there is a delicate balance of attractions and repulsions between the host and the lone pairs of guests.     

Conformations and fluorescence of encapsulated stilbene

Absorption and emission spectra of free and encapsulated stilbene in two different capsules were calculated using the DFT and the TDDFT methodology at the B3LYP, CAM-B3LYP, M06-2X, PBE0, and ωB97X-D/6-31G(d,p) levels of theory. The present work is directed toward the theoretical interpretation of recent experimental results on control of stilbene conformation and fluorescence in capsules [Ams, M. R.; et al. Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2009, 5, 79]. The results of the calculations are in agreement with experiment and show that fluorescence of trans-stilbene persists in the large cage while it is quenched in the small one. It is found that the geometry of trans-stilbene in the ground as well as in the first excited singlet state is unaffected by encapsulation in the large cage, and consequently the absorption and emission spectra are similarly unaffected. In the small cage, the ground state of encapsulated trans-stilbene is distorted, with the two phenyl groups twisted, while the geometry of the excited state, after relaxation, lies at the conical intersection with the ground state. Consequently, there is no emission similar to that of free trans-stilbene, and the state decays nonradiatively to the ground state.