Cascade reaction for 3-pyrrolines and pyrroles from nitroallylic acetates and N-mesyl 2-aminoethanones

Cascade reactions of nitroallylic acetates with methanesulfonyl 2-aminoethanones affords either the 3-pyrrolines or the pyrroles in one pot depending on reaction solvents and temperature. A possible mechanism for the entire sequence is proposed.     

Enhancement inhibition efficiency of PBTCA depending on the inclusion complex with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin

For the first time, hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) has been brought in to include 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid (PBTCA) in order to enhance inhibition efficiency of PBTCA, which leads a new approach to study oil–gas field corrosion inhibition in the process of acid treatment. Based on the host–guest inclusion reaction, the inclusion complex of PBTCA with HP-β-CD has been prepared in the laboratory. UV–Vis absorption spectrum was applied to study the inclusion behavior of PBTCA with HP-β-CD. The results revealed that PBTCA with HP-β-CD can form a 1:1 stoichiometry inclusion complex. The 1:1 inclusion complex synthesized by using lyophilization was further characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Besides, inhibition effect of the inclusion complex on the corrosion inhibition of Q235 carbon steel has been investigated in 0.1 M sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) solution using potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the presence of the inclusion complex better achieved the anti-corrosion property in aggressive medium than was the case with alone PBTCA and the highest inhibition efficiency of the inclusion complex over 90 % was obtained, which are suggestive of the active effect of the inclusion complex for improving inhibition efficiency of PBTCA. Meanwhile, the results obtained from SEM further showed that the inclusion complex acts as a more efficient corrosion inhibitor for Q235 carbon steel in H₂SO₄ medium.     

Cucurbit[7]uril promoting PdCl2-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of benzyl halides and arylboronic acids in aqueous media

The research provides a novel approach for producing diarylmethane derivatives using CB[7]–NaCl–PdCl₂ catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling reaction of benzyl chloride derivatives and arylboronic acids in ethanol aqueous solution.     

Self-calibration method for cerium-doped lanthanum bromide scintillator detector in the 0.1–2.0 MeV energy range

In recent years, the cerium-doped lanthanum bromide, LaBr₃ (Ce = 5 %) detector is increasingly playing an important role in radiation measurements because of its higher energy resolution (~3 % at 662 keV), faster luminescence decay time (~35 ns) and higher detection efficiency compared to 7.65 cm × 7.65 cm NaI(Tl) detector. Intrinsic spectra between 1,800 and 3,000 keV derived from internal radioactivity within LaBr₃(Ce) scintillators have been investigated in some literatures, and these results are confirmed by the experiments in this work. In this paper, a new method for LaBr₃(Ce) detector energy calibration from 100 to 2,000 keV is proposed using the intrinsic spectra (self-calibration) instead of the standard gamma sources. Proof-of-concept experiment results show that self-calibration can guarantee energy accuracy of better than 0.815 % and can be applied outside the laboratory. The stability and applicability of this method are also investigated systematically.     

Transformations of iodine species inside elliptical channels of AlPO4‐11 crystals at low temperature: a Raman study

Raman spectra of iodine species confined in one‐dimensional elliptical channels of AlPO₄‐11 (AEL) crystals have been studied from room temperature down to −196 °C. As temperature decreases, thermal fluctuations of individual iodine molecules confined in AEL channels are slowed down and they prefer to rotate to channel axis direction, which increases the population of iodine molecules along channel axis (i.e., lying molecules and chains). Such temperature‐driven orientation transformation of iodine molecules is found to be reversible upon heating up to room temperature. The experimental observations are in good agreement with our theoretical simulations by molecular dynamics on low density iodine‐filled AEL crystals. We thus provide a new way to modulate the orientation of iodine molecules in nanochannels, which may have implications in low‐temperature‐sensitive nanoscale devices. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Imaging intrinsic diffusion of bridge-bonded oxygen vacancies on TiO2(110)

We report the first measurements and calculations of the intrinsic mobility of bridge-bonded oxygen (BBO) vacancies on a rutile TiO2(110). The sequences of isothermal (340-420 K) scanning tunneling microscope images show that BBO vacancies migrate along BBO rows. The hopping rate increases exponentially with increasing temperature with an experimental activation energy of 1.15 eV. Density functional theory calculations are in very good agreement giving an energy barrier for hopping of 1.03 eV. Both theory and experiment indicate repulsive interactions between vacancies on a given BBO row.     

Incompatibility networks as models of scale-free small-world graphs

We make a mapping from Sierpinski fractals to a new class of networks, the incompatibility networks, which are scale-free, small-world, disassortative, and maximal planar graphs. Some relevant characteristics of the networks such as degree distribution, clustering coefficient, average path length, and degree correlations are computed analytically and found to be peculiarly rich. The method of network representation can be applied to some real-life systems making it possible to study the complexity of real networked systems within the framework of complex network theory.     

In situ synthesis of CdS/ZnS composite nanoparticles from ZIF-8 for visible light disposal of Cr(VI)

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework (ZIF-8) micropolyhedra were employed as a raw material for the synthesis of fine cadmium sulfide/zinc sulfide (CdS/ZnS)...