Fluorine in the Earth and the solar system,where does it come from and can it be found?

This review (1) presents a summary of the distribution of fluorine in different fluid (surficial, subterranean, metamorphic, and magmatic–hydrothermal–geothermal) and solid (oceanic and continental crust, mantle, and core) domains of the Earth, and various extraterrestrial materials and bodies (meteorites, planets and moons, and the Sun); (2) it provides an estimate of the total fluorine abundance for the Earth and in its dominant reservoirs contributing to the Earth's fluorine endowment; and (3) it discusses key observations that could further improve our understanding of fluorine abundances and geochemical systematics.     

Novel biodegradable copolyesters containing blocks of poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) and poly(epsilon-caprolactone): synthesis and characterization

Novel biodegradable polyester block copolymers have been synthesized by using well-defined poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) (PHO) oligomers having a hydroxyl end group and an ester end group with M(n) values of 800, 2,500, 5,300, 8,000, or 20,000 as an elastomeric soft segment and poly(epsilon-caprolactone) as a more crystalline segment. These PHO oligomers prepared by methanolysis were subjected to block copolymerization with epsilon-caprolactone. The chemical structure of the copolymers was confirmed by (1)H NMR and (13)C NMR spectroscopy. All the copolyesters are semi-crystalline and two T(g) were observed by differential scanning calorimetry when the molecular weight of the PHO block is about 20,000.     

Probing new approaches using atmospheric pressure photo ionization for the analysis of brominated flame retardants and their related degradation products by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Atmospheric pressure photo ionisation has been evaluated for the analysis of brominated flame retardants and their related degradation products by LC-MS. Degradation mixtures obtained from the photochemical degradation of tetrabromobisphenol A and decabromodiphenylether were used as model systems for the assessment of the developed methodology. Negative ion mode gave best results for TBBPA and its degradation compounds. [M - H]- ions were formed without the need of using a doping agent. MS and MS/MS experiments allowed the structural identification of new TBBPA "polymeric" degradation compounds formed by attachment of TBBPA moieties and/or their respective cleavage products. In the case of polybromodiphenylethers, the positive mode provided M*+ ions and gave better results for congeners ranging from mono- to pentabromodiphenylethers whereas for higher bromination degrees, the negative ion mode (providing [M - Br + O]- ions) was best suited. Under both positive and negative ionisation modes, the use of toluene as doping agent gave better results. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry by means of atmospheric pressure photo-ionisation was applied to the analysis of aromatic brominated flame retardants and their degradation products. This methodology proved to be particularly useful, for the characterisation and structural identification of some compounds which are not amenable to GC-MS, especially in the case of apolar "polymeric" degradation products of tetrabromobisphenol A investigated in this work.     

Synthesis and the Unique Crystal Structure of [(H2O)⊂(DB18C6)(μ2‐H2O)2/2][(H3O)⊂(DB18C6)(μ2‐H2O)2/2]I3 (DB18C6 = dibenzo‐18‐crown‐6)

In the title compound 1 , the macrocylic ligand DB18C6 arranges to build two types of channels in which either only water or water and H₃O⁺ molecules are stacked to linear polymers. The counter ions, I₃^—, also form chains and fill in the spaces left between the parallel stacks of the crown ethers. Compound 1 should therefore possess interesting conducting properties and might as well serve as model for biological water channels.     

Organometallic early lanthanide clusters: syntheses and X-ray structures of new monocyclopentadienyl complexes

The reaction of Ln(BH(4))(3)(THF)(3) or LnCl(3)(THF)(3) with 1 equiv of KCp*' ligand (Cp' = C(5)Me(4)n-Pr) afforded the new monocyclopentadienyl complexes Cp*'LnX(2)(THF)(n) (X = BH(4), Ln = Sm, n = 1, 1a, Ln = Nd, n = 2, 1b; X = Cl, Ln = Sm, n = 1, 3a) and [Cp*'LnX(2)](n') (X = BH(4), n' = 6, Ln = Sm, 2a, Ln = Nd, 2b; X = Cl, Ln = Nd, 4b). All these compounds were characterized by elemental analysis and (1)H NMR. Crystals of mixed borohydrido/chloro-bridged [Cp*'(6)Ln(6)(BH(4))(12-x))Cl(x)(THF)(n')] (x = 10, n' = 4, Ln = Sm, 2a', Ln = Nd, 2b'; x = 5, n = 2, Ln = Sm, 2a' ') were also isolated. Compounds 2a, 2b, 2a', 2b', and 2a' were structurally characterized; they all exhibit a hexameric structure in the solid state containing the [Cp*(3)Ln(3)X(5)(THF)] building block. The easy clustering of THF adducts first isolated is illustrative of the well-known bridging ability of the BH(4) group. Hexameric 2a was found to be unstable in the presence of THF vapors; this may be correlated to the opening of unsymmetrical borohydride bridges observed in the molecular structure.     

Recent Advances in the Chemistry of “Clusters” and Coordination Polymers of Alkali,Alkaline Earth Metal and Group 11 Compounds

This contribution gives an overview on the different subjects treated in our group. One of our fundamental interests lies in the synthesis and study of low‐dimensional polymer and molecular solid state structures. We have chosen several synthetic approaches in order to obtain such compounds. Firstly, the concept of cutting out structural fragments from a solid state structure of a binary compound will be explained on behalf of BaI₂. Oxygen donor ligands, used as chemical scissors on BaI₂, allow obtaining three‐, two‐, one‐ and zero‐dimensional derived compounds depending on their size and concentration. Thus, a structural genealogy tree for BaI₂ can be established. This method, transferred to alkali halides using crown ethers and calix[n]arenes as delimiting ligands, leads us to the subject of one‐dimensional ionic channels. A second chapter deals with the supramolecular approach for the synthesis of different dimensional polymer structures derived from alkaline earth metal iodides, and based on the combination of metal ion coordination with hydrogen bonding between the cationic complexes and their anions. Under certain circumstances, rules can be established for the prediction of the dimensionality of a given compound, thus contributing to the fundamental problem of structure prediction in crystal engineering. A third part describes a fundamentally new synthetic pathway for generating pure alkaline earth metal cage compounds as well as alkali and alkaline earth mixed metal clusters. In a first step, different molecular precursors, such as solvated alkaline earth metal halides are investigated as a function of the ligand size and reactivity. They are then reacted with some alkali metal compound in order to partially eliminate alkali halide and to form the clusters. The so obtained unique structures of ligand stabilized metal halide, hydroxide and/or alkoxide and aryloxide aggregates are of interest as potential precursors for oxide materials. Approaches to two synthetic methods of the latter, sol‐gel and (MO)‐CVD, are investigated with our compounds. In order to generate single source precursors for oxide materials, we started to investigate transition metal ions, especially Cu and Ag, using multitopic ligands. This has led us into the fundamental problematic of “crystal engineering” and solid state structure prediction and we found ourselves confronted to numerous interesting cases of polymorphism and pseudo‐polymorphism. Weak interactions, such as π‐stacking, H‐bonding and metal‐metal interactions, and solvent, counter ion and concentration effects seem to play important roles in the construction of such low‐dimensional structures. Finally, the physical properties of some of our compounds are described qualitatively in order to show the wide spectrum of possibilities and potential applications for the chemistry in this field.     

Short synthesis of new salacinol analogues and their evaluation as glycosidase inhibitors

Versatile synthesis of some analogues of the naturally-occurring α-glucosidase inhibitor salacinol (1), involving thioanhydro alditol moieties with erythro, d,l-threo, xylo, ribo, d-arabino and d-manno configurations is described. Nucleophilic attack at the least-hindered carbon atom of an l- or d-protected erythritol cyclic sulfate by the thioanhydro alditol sulfur atom yielded the desired zwitterionic compounds. In addition, the preparation of the cyclic sulfates of 2,4-O-benzylidene-d-erythritol and 2,4-O-isopropylidene-l-erythritol was improved. Enzyme inhibition tests showed that most of the new compounds were weak but specific inhibitors, while good inhibitory activity was found for a six-membered ring analogue (β-glucosidase: K_i=16 μM).     

De Broglie's wave particle duality in the stochastic interpretation of quantum mechanics: A testable physical assumption

If one starts from de Broglie's basic relativistic assumptions, i.e., that all particles have an intrinsic real internal vibration in their rest frame, i.e., hv ₀ =m ₀ c ² ; that when they are at any one point in space-time the phase of this vibration cannot depend on the choice of the reference frame, then, one can show (following Mackinnon ⁽¹⁾ ) that there exists a nondispersive wave packet of de Broglie's waves which can be assimilated to the nonlinear soliton wave U ₀ introduced by him in his double solution model of wave mechanics. ⁽²⁾ Since de Broglie's linear pilot waves can be considered to be real waves propagating as collective motions on a covariant subquantum chaotic aether, ⁽³⁾ these new solition waves can be considered as describing the particle's immediate neighborhood, i.e., the aether's reaction to the particle's motion in the stochastic interpretation of quantum mechanics. The existence of such a physical aether (which provides a perfectly causal interpretation of the action-a-distance implied by the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen experiments) can now be proved by establishing the reality of de Broglie's waves in realizable experiments.