Detection and amplification of chirality by helical polymers

A unique feature of synthetic helical polymers for the detection and amplification of chirality is briefly described in this article. In sharp contrast to host-guest and supramolecular systems that use small synthetic receptor molecules, chirality can be significantly amplified in a helical polymer, such as poly(phenylacetylene)s with functional pendants, which enable the detection of a tiny imbalance in biologically important chiral molecules through a noncovalent bonding interaction with high cooperativity. The rational design of polymeric receptors can be possible by using chromophoric helical polymers combined with functional groups as the pendants, which target particular chiral guest molecules for developing a highly efficient chirality-sensing system. The chirality sensing of other small molecular and supramolecular systems is also briefly described for comparison.     

Cu-loaded dealuminated Y zeolites active in selective catalytic reduction of nitric oxide with ammonia

The selective catalytic reduction of NO with ammonia in the presence of oxygen has been carried out on Cu-loaded dealuminated Y zeolite catalysts. Copper was introduced by the usual ion-exchange procedure with an aqueous solution of cupric acetate. On deeply dealuminated USY zeolites, Cu²⁺ was supported in the amount larger than 2Cu/Al=2, resulting in the formation of CuO fine particles in addition to the isolated and dimer Cu²⁺ species. The specific catalytic activity per surface copper on the CuO particles was very high compared with these Cu²⁺ species. NO adsorption measurement revealed the higher dispersion of CuO on the deeply dealuminated USY than on SiO₂, which made Cu/USY a better catalyst for the reduction of NO. The reaction intermediates were investigated through the IR spectra of adsorbed species.     

Structure and catalytic properties of nanosized alumina supported platinum and palladium particles synthesized by reaction in microemulsion

Mixtures of nanosized platinum and palladium particles have been prepared by reduction of salt-containing microemulsion droplets using hydrazine as the reducing agent. To avoid possible negative effects of the presence of sulfur compounds during the preparation the microemulsion was made using the sulfur-free nonionic polyoxyethylene 4 lauryl ether surfactant. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the as-prepared mixtures contained crystalline platinum particles of fairly homogeneous size (20 to 40 nm) with adsorbed amorphous palladium particles 2 to 5 nm in size. Catalyst samples were prepared by depositing the nanoparticles on a gamma-Al(2)O(3) support followed by heating in air at 600 degrees C. Alloyed particles of platinum and palladium with sizes ranging from 5 to 80 nm were obtained during the heating. The majority of the particles had the fcc structure and their compositional range was dependent upon the Pt:Pd molar ratio of the microemulsion. A catalyst prepared from a microemulsion with a 20:80 Pt:Pd molar ratio showed the highest catalytic activity for CO oxidation, while pure platinum and palladium catalysts showed higher sulfur resistance. These results differ from the performance of conventional wet-impregnated catalysts, where a 50:50 Pt:Pd molar ratio resulted in the highest catalytic activity as well as the highest sulfur resistance.     

Crystal structure analysis of β-tricalcium phosphate Ca3(PO4)2 by neutron powder diffraction

The crystal structure of sintered β-tricalcium phosphate, Ca₃(PO₄)₂, was refined using a high-resolution neutron powder diffraction data and the Rietveld method. This material was confirmed to have a rhombohedral structure (space group R3c, Z=21). Unit-cell parameters with higher precision (a=b=10.4352(2) Å, c=37.4029(5) Å, α=β=90°, and γ=120° in the hexagonal setting) and positional parameters for oxygen with equal precision were obtained by the neutron powder diffraction technique, compared with the single-crystal X-ray diffraction data by Dickens et al. (J. Solid State Chem. 10 (1974) 232). The site Ca(4) with atomic coordinates [0.0, 0.0, −0.0851(6)] was confirmed to be very different from the other four Ca sites: The position Ca(4) is three-fold coordinated with oxygen atoms, and has lower occupancy factor of 0.43(4), and a higher isotropic thermal parameter. On the contrary, each of the Ca(1), Ca(2), Ca(3), and Ca(5) is fully occupied by one Ca atom and these positions are coordinated with seven, eight, eight, and six oxygen atoms, respectively. The bond valence sums of Ca(4) and Ca(5) are lower (0.7) and higher (2.7), respectively, than the others (1.8-2.1).