Polymer-protected palladium nanoparticles. Morphologies and catalytic selectivities

Colloidal palladium nanocatalysts prepared by in situ reductions of palladium chloride were immobilized and protected by either of two water-soluble polymers. The particle sizes and size distributions of the palladium colloids were determined by transmission electron microscopy. Their selectivities as catalysts were determined by comparing the extents of hydrogenation of carefully chosen pairs of small-molecule olefins. There was found to be high hydrogenation selectivity with regard to cyclic vs. noncyclic olefins. Selectivity was relatively low, however, among olefins that differed only in size (such as hexene vs. octene), or olefins differing only with regard to the positions of the double bonds (such as 1-octene vs. 3-octene). Selectivity could be improved by careful choice of the immobilizing polymer, and by its use at relatively high concentrations.     

Clicked Isoreticular Metal–Organic Frameworks and Their High Performance in the Selective Capture and Separation of Large Organic Molecules

Three highly porous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with a uniform rht‐type topological network but hierarchical pores were successfully constructed by the assembly of triazole‐containing dendritic hexacarboxylate ligands with Zn^II ions. These transparent MOF crystals present gradually increasing pore sizes upon extension of the length of the organic backbone, as clearly identified by structural analysis and gas‐adsorption experiments. The inherent accessibility of the pores to large molecules endows these materials with unique properties for the uptake of large guest molecules. The visible selective adsorption of dye molecules makes these MOFs highly promising porous materials for pore‐size‐dependent large‐molecule capture and separation.     

Application of a multivariate approach for analyte focusing by micelle collapse‐micellar electrokinetic chromatography for analyzing sunscreen agents in cosmetics

The operating parameters that affect the performance of the online preconcentration technique “analyte focusing by micelle collapse‐MEKC (AFMC‐MEKC)” were examined using a multivariate approach involving experimental design to determine the sunscreen agents in cosmetics. Compared to the single‐variable approach, the advantage of the multivariate approach was that many factors could be investigated simultaneously to obtain the best separation condition. A fractional factorial design was used to identify the fewest significant factors in the central composite design (cCD). The cCD was adopted for evaluating the location of the minimum or maximum response in this study. The influences of the experimental variables on the response were investigated by applying a chromatographic exponential function. The optimized condition and the relationship between the experimental variables were acquired using the JMP software. The ANOVA analysis indicated that the Tris pH value, SDS concentration, and ethanol percentage influenced the separation quality and significantly contributed to the model. The optimized condition of the running buffer was 10 mM Tris buffer (pH 9.5) containing 60 mM SDS, 7 mM γ‐CD, and 20% v/v ethanol. The sample was prepared in 100 mM Tris buffer (pH 9.0) containing 7.5 mM SDS and 20% v/v ethanol. The SDS concentration in the sample matrix was slightly greater than the CMC value that makes the micelle be easily collapsed and the analytes be accumulated in the capillary. In addition, sunscreen agents in cosmetics after 1000‐fold dilution were successfully determined by AFMC‐MEKC.     

Temperature‐Induced Transformation from Large Compound Vesicles to Worm‐like Aggregates by ABC Triblock Copolymer

Two triblock polymers, tetraaniline‐block‐poly(N‐isopropyl acrylamide)‐block‐poly(hydroxyethyl acrylate) (TA‐b‐PNIPAM‐b‐PHEA) and TA‐b‐PHEA‐b‐PNIPAM, were synthesized with unambiguous structure by a two step method. The difference of these two diblock polymers is the connection order of carboxyl group to block, e.g., carboxyl group to PNIPAM block for PNIPAM‐b‐PHEA and to PHEA block for PHEA‐b‐PNIPAM. Secondly, block tetraaniline was linked to the diblock polymer through amidation to yield the corresponding triblock copolymer. Both of them have almost the identical chemical compositions. The only difference is the connection order of each block in the triblock polymers. When they were self‐assembled at 45°C in a suitable solution, both of their aggregates have spherical shape with slight defects on their surface with the average diameter of about 400 nm. However, when their aggregate dispersion was cooled down to 20°C, only TA‐b‐PHEA‐b‐PNIPAM's morphology changed, forming worm‐like aggregates with the diameter of about 100–200 nm transformed from spherical aggregates. Both amphiphilic property and position of each block in this triblock copolymer are very essential for this morphology transformation. Since the worm‐like aggregates presented here by our group have hollow structure inside, its controlled release properties for doxorubicin were evaluated. Drug release experiment indicated that along with the temperature changes, the rearrangement of the intermediate layer structure caused morphology change in aggregate, thus accelerating the speed of drug release.     

稳态荧光探针法测定三聚季铵盐表面活性剂的胶束聚集数

以芘为荧光探针, 十六烷基氯化吡啶(CPC)为猝灭剂, 以芘的饱和水溶液为溶剂配制表面活性剂溶液, 根据芘的荧光强度之比I1/I3随表面活性剂水溶液浓度的变化, 测定了三聚季铵盐表面活性剂CTTTA的cmc值, 测定值与表面张力法测定的cmc值一致；当猝灭剂CPC的浓度取0.1~0.3 mmol·L-1范围时, 用稳态荧光探针法测定了CTTTA的胶束聚集数. 实验数据表明, 表面活性剂溶液浓度为6~10倍cmc时, 胶束聚集数N随表面活性剂浓度增大而线性增大, 并用外推法得到CTTTA的临界胶束聚集数.     

Hydrogen‐Bonding Induced Cooperative Effect on the Energy Transfer in Helical Polynorbornenes Appended with Porphyrin‐Containing Amidic Alanine Linkers

Polynorbornenes appended with porphyrins containing a range of different linkers are synthesized. The use of bisamidic chiral alanine linkers between the pending porphyrins and the polymeric backbone has been shown to bring the adjacent porphyrin chromophores to more suitable orientation for exciton coupling owing to hydrogen bonding between the adjacent linkers. The hydrogen bonding between the adjacent pendants in these polymers may induce a cooperative effect and therefore render single‐handed helical structures for these polymers. Such a cooperative effect is reflected in the enhancement of FRET efficiencies between zinc–porphyrin and free base porphyrin in random copolymers.     

Formation and structures of Pd(II) N,S-heterocyclic carbene-pyridyl mixed-ligand complexes

Mononuclear mixed-ligand complexes of Pd(II) containing a N,S-heterocyclic carbene (NSHC) with a secondary alkyl N-substituent and pyridyl ligand, with the general formula [PdI₂(C₁₀H₁₁NS)L] (C₁₀H₁₁NS = 3-isopropylbenzothiazolin-2-ylidene; L = pyridine, 2-aminopyridine, 3-iodopyridine and 4-tert-butyl-pyridine) have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray single-crystal crystallography. Both solution and solid-state structures, as evident from their ¹H NMR spectra and X-ray structures, show anagostic γ-hydrogen interactions of metal with methine of the substituent on the carbene or pyridyl ligand giving 5-membered-chelate-like structures.     

Efficient synthesis of N-benzyl-3-aminopyrrolidine-2,5-dione and N-benzyl-3-aminopyrrolidin-2-one

Reaction of N-tert-butyloxycarbonylasparagine (Boc-Asn) with 2 equiv of benzyl bromide in presence of cesium carbonate led to N-benzyl-3-Boc-amino-pyrrolidin-2,5-dione 1a (N-benzyl-3-Boc-aminosuccinimide). Borane dimethylsulfide reduced 3-Boc-aminopyrrolidine-2,5-dione 1a into 3-Boc-aminopyrrolidin-2-one 2a. The same procedure could also be used to prepare derivatives 1 and 2 substituted on the aromatic ring.     

Trigonal‐Bipyramidal and Square‐Pyramidal Chromium?Manganese Chalcogenide Clusters, [E2CrMn2(CO)n]2− (E=S,Se, Te; n=9, 10): Synthesis,Electrochemistry, UV/Vis Absorption,and Computational Studies

The reactions of E powder (E=S, Se) with a mixture of Cr(CO)₆ and Mn₂(CO)₁₀ in concentrated solutions of KOH/MeOH produced two new mixed Cr? Mn? carbonyl clusters, [E₂CrMn₂(CO)₉]^2? (E=S, 1 ; Se, 2 ). Clusters 1 and 2 were isostructural with one another and each displayed a trigonal‐bipyramidal structure, with the CrMn₂ triangle axially capped by two μ₃‐E atoms. The analogous telluride cluster, [Te₂CrMn₂(CO)₉]^2? ( 3 ), was obtained from the ring‐closure of Te₂Mn₂ ring complex [Te₂Mn₂Cr₂(CO)₁₈]^2? ( 4 ). Upon bubbling with CO, clusters 2 and 3 were readily converted into square‐pyramidal clusters, [E₂CrMn₂(CO)₁₀]^2? (E=Se, 5 ; Te, 6 ), accompanied with the cleavage of one Cr? Mn bond. According to SQUID analysis, cluster 6 was paramagnetic, with S=1 at room temperature; however, the Se analogue ( 5 ) was spectroscopically proposed to be diamagnetic, as verified by TD‐DFT calculations. Cluster 6 could be further carbonylated, with cleavage of the Mn? Mn bond to produce a new arachno‐cluster, [Te₂CrMn₂(CO)₁₁]^2? ( 7 ). The formation and structural isomers, as well as electrochemistry and UV/Vis absorption, of these clusters were also elucidated by DFT calculations.     

Preparation and characterization of standard reference material 1849 infant/adult nutritional formula

Standard Reference Material (SRM) 1849 Infant/Adult Nutritional Formula has been issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a replacement for SRM 1846 Infant Formula, issued in 1996. Extraction characteristics of SRM 1846 have changed over time, as have NIST's analytical capabilities. While certified mass fraction values were provided for five constituents in SRM 1846 (four vitamins plus iodine), certified mass fraction values for 43 constituents are provided in SRM 1849 (fatty acids, elements, and vitamins) and reference mass fraction values are provided for an additional 43 constituents including amino acids and nucleotides, making it the most extensively characterized food-matrix SRM available from NIST.