Solvation dynamics of coumarin 153 in alcohols confined in silica nanochannels

Solvation dynamics in alcohols confined in silica nanochannels was examined by time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy using coumarin 153 (C153) as a fluorescent probe. Surfactant-templated mesoporous silica was fabricated inside the pores of an anodic alumina membrane. The surfactant was removed by calcination to give mesoporous silica (Cal-NAM) containing one-dimensional (1D) silica nanochannels (diameter, 3.1 nm) whose inner surface was covered with silanol groups. By treating Cal-NAM with trimethylchlorosilane, trimethylsilyl (TMS) groups were formed on the inner surface of the silica nanochannels (TMS-NAM). Fluorescence dynamic Stokes shifts of C153 were measured in alcohols (ethanol, butanol, hexanol, and decanol) confined in the silica nanochannels of Cal- and TMS-NAMs, and the time-dependent fluorescence decay profiles could be best fitted by a biexponential function. The estimated solvent relaxation times were much larger than those observed in bulk alcohols for both Cal- and TMS-NAMs when ethanol or butanol was used as a solvent, indicating that the mobility of these alcohol molecules was restricted within the silica nanochannels. However, hexanol or decanol in Cal- and TMS-NAMs did not cause a remarkable increase in the solvent relaxation time in contrast to ethanol or butanol. Therefore, it was concluded that a relatively rigid assembly of alcohols (an alcohol chain) was formed within the silica nanochannels by hydrogen bonding interaction and van der Waals force between the surface functional groups of the silica nanochannels and alcohol molecules and by the successive interaction between alcohol molecules when alcohol with a short alkyl chain (ethanol or butanol) was used as a solvent.     

Analytical separation of tea catechins and food-related polyphenols by high-speed counter-current chromatography

High-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) using the type-J coil planet centrifuge was applied to compositional analysis of tea catechins and separation of other food-related polyphenols. The HSCCC separation of nine different standard compounds and those from extracts of commercial tea leaves was performed with a two-phase solvent system composed of tert-butyl methyl ether-acetonitrile-0.1% aqueous trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) (2:2:3, v/v/v) by eluting the upper organic phase at a flow rate of 2 ml/min. The main compounds in the extract of non-fermented green tea were found to be monomeric catechins, their galloylated esters and caffeine. In addition to these compounds, oxidized pigments, such as hydrophobic theaflavins (TFs) and polar thearubigins (TRs) were also separated and detected from the extracts of semi-fermented oolong tea and fermented black tea. Furthermore, several food-related polyphenols, such as condensed catechin oligomers (procyanidins), phenolic acids and flavonol glycosides were clearly separated under the same HSCCC condition. These separation profiles of HSCCC provide useful information about the hydrophobic diversity of these bioactive polyphenols present in various types of teas and food products.     

Adsorption and micelle formation of alkylammonium chloride-alkyltrimethylammonium chloride mixtures

The surface tension of the aqueous solutions of binary cationic surfactant mixtures of (1) dodecylammnonium chloride (DAC)-tetradecyltrimethylammonium chloride (TTAC), (2) decylammonium chloride (DeAC)-dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride (DTAC), and (3) DAC-DTAC was measured as a function of the total molality and composition of surfactants at 298.15 K. The compositions of surfactants in the adsorbed film and micelle were evaluated and the phase diagram of adsorption and that of micelle formation were constructed. Furthermore the excess Gibbs energies of adsorption and micelle formation were calculated to estimate the deviation from the corresponding ideal mixing. It was found that the surface and micelle are enriched in trimethylammonium salts in (1) and (2), while in ammonium salt in (3) compared to the bulk solution. On the other hand, the micelle is enriched in trimethylammonium salts compared to the surface at the critical micelle concentration (CMC) in all the systems. The miscibility of the surfactants was clarified from the standpoints of the structure of the head group and of the matching between the size of polar head group of surfactants and the difference in hydrocarbon chain length.     

New synthetic method for orsellic acid type macrolides by intramolecular alkylation of protected cyanohydrin. The synthesis of (±)-zearalenone.

Zearalenone was synthesized by a general cyclization method of orsellic acid type macrolides having ketone moiety using the intramolecular alkylation of the protected cyanohydrin. This alkylation tolerates the presence of ester group and requires short reaction time.     

Experimental and theoretical study on gas-phase ion/molecule reactions of silver trimer cation, Ag3+, with 12-crown-4

The reaction mechanisms of silver trimer cation, Ag3+, with 12-crown-4 (12C4) were studied experimentally and theoretically. Using a cylindrical ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometer, gas-phase ion/molecule reactions of Ag3+ with 12C4 were observed. Metal-ligand complexes of [Ag(12C4)]+, [Ag3(12C4)]+ and [Ag3(12C4)2]+, and of [Ag(12C4)2]+ and [Ag3(12C4)3]+, were observed as the reaction intermediates and terminal products, respectively. The formations of the [Ag12C4]+ and [Ag(12C4)2]+ complexes indicated that the neutral dimer (Ag2) had been eliminated from the trimer cation. From the results of ab initio calculations at the HF/LanL2DZ level of theory and the experiments, it is suggested that three 12C4 molecules can attach to Ag3+ through consecutive reactions and that neutral Ag2 can be easily eliminated from [Ag3(12C4)]+.     

Cooperative catalytic reactions using distinct transition-metal catalysts: ruthenium- and copper-catalyzed enantioselective propargylic alkylation

The enantioselective propargylic alkylation of propargylic alcohols with β-ketoesters in the presence of a thiolate-bridged diruthenium complex and a copper complex as co-catalyst affords the corresponding propargylic alkylated products in excellent yields as a mixture of two diastereoisomers with high enantioselectivity (up to 95% enantiomeric excess (ee)). The findings reported herein not only open up a new type of enantioselective propargylic substitution reaction, but also a new aspect of cooperative catalytic reactions using distinct transition metals to realize a useful transformation that cannot be achieved by a single catalyst.     

Synthesis, reactivity, and properties of N-fused porphyrin manganese(I) tricarbonyl complexes

The reactions of N-fused tetraphenylporphyrin (NFTPP, 1a) and its 21-substituted derivatives, 21-Br-NFTPP (1b), 21-NO(2)-NFTPP (1c), and 21-Bz-NFTPP (1d), with Mn(CO)(5)Br gave the manganese(I) tricarbonyl complexes bearing N-fused tetraphenylporphyrinato ligands (2a-d), respectively, in 46-99% yields. The complexes were characterized by mass, IR, (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy, and the final structural proof was evident from the X-ray crystallographic analysis for 2a. The crystals of 2a·CH(2)Cl(2) belong to the monoclinic space group P2(1)/n (#14), with a = 15.007(2) ?, b = 12.5455(19) ?, c = 21.150(3) ?, β = 102.227(4)°, and Z = 4. The lengths (?) of three manganese-nitrogen and three manganese-carbon bonds are inequivalent respectively [Mn-N(2), 2.007(2); Mn-N(23), 2.033(2); Mn-N(24), 1.988(3); and Mn-CO, 1.798(4), 1.804(4), 1.841(3)], reflecting the asymmetric structure of the NFp ligand. The aromatic substitution reactions of 2a, such as nitration, formylation, and chlorination, proceeded without a loss of center metal to give the corresponding 21-nitro (2c), 21-formyl (2e), and 21-chloro (2f) derivatives, regioselectively. In the electrochemical measurements of 2, one reversible oxidation and two reversible reduction waves were observed. The redox potentials of 2 indicate the narrow energy gaps between the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) being consistent with the electronic absorption spectra that display the absorption edges over 1000 nm. Protonation occurred at the inner core nitrogen of 2a upon the addition of acids, which is inferred from the (1)H NMR spectra as well as theoretical calculations. By a treatment with amine N-oxides, demetalation of 2 proceeded to afford the corresponding NFP free-bases (1).     

Nickel(II) oxide surface-modified titanium(IV) dioxide as a visible-light-active photocatalyst

The electronic modification of TiO(2) with highly dispersed NiO particles smaller than ca. 2 nm by the chemisorption-calcination-cycle technique has given rise to a high level of visible-light-activity exceeding that of iron oxide-surface modified TiO(2) simultaneously with the UV-light-activity being significantly increased.     

Excitation-energy migration in self-assembled cyclic zinc(II)-porphyrin arrays: a close mimicry of a natural light-harvesting system

The excitation-energy-hopping (EEH) times within two-dimensional cyclic zinc(II)-porphyrin arrays 5 and 6, which were prepared by intermolecular coordination and ring-closing metathesis reaction of olefins, were deduced by modeling the EEH process based on the anisotropy depolarization as well as the exciton-exciton annihilation dynamics. Assuming the number of energy-hopping sites N = 5 and 6, the two different experimental observables, that is, anisotropy depolarization and exciton-excition annihilation times, consistently give the EEH times of 8.0 +/- 0.5 and 5.3 +/- 0.6 ps through the 1,3-phenylene linkages of 5 and 6, respectively. Accordingly, the self-assembled cyclic porphyrin arrays have proven to be well-defined two-dimensional models for natural light-harvesting complexes.