Stick-slip of the three-phase line in measurements of dynamic contact angles

Contact angles of a series of n-alkanes (i.e., n-heptane to n-hexadecane) are studied on two functionalized maleimide copolymers (i.e., poly(ethene-alt-N-(4-(perfluoroheptylcarbonyl)aminobutyl)maleimide) (ETMF) and poly(octadecene-alt-N-(4-(perfluoroheptylcarbonyl)aminobutyl)maleimide) (ODMF)). On the homogeneous ETMF films, all liquids show a smooth motion of the three-phase line. In contrast, on ODMF surfaces that are found to consist of mainly fluorocarbons and small patches of hydrocarbons, short-chain n-alkanes show a stick-slip pattern. By increasing the chain length of the probe liquids, stick-slip is reduced significantly. The phenomenon is discussed in the framework of the Cassie equation. It is found that the upper limit of contact angles in the stick-slip pattern is given by the advancing angle that would be obtained on the pure fluorocarbon surface, whereas the lower limit of the stick-slip pattern is given by the Cassie angle.     

Solubility of H2S in ionic liquids [hmim][PF6], [hmim][BF4], and [hmim][Tf2N]

The solubility of hydrogen sulphide in three ionic liquids, viz. 1-hexyl-3-methylilmidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([hmim][PF₆]), 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([hmim][BF₄]), and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ([hmim][Tf₂N]), at temperatures ranging from 303.15 K to 343.15 K and pressures up to 1.1 MPa were determined. The solubility values were correlated using the Krichevsky–Kasarnovsky equation and Henry’s constants were obtained at different temperatures. Partial molar thermodynamic functions of solvation such as standard Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, and entropy were calculated from the solubility results. Comparison of the values obtained show that the solubility of H₂S in these three ionic liquids was in the sequence: [hmim][BF₄] > [hmim][PF₆] ≈ [hmim][Tf₂N].     

Thermally stable and organosoluble binaphthylene‐based poly(urea‐ether‐imide)s: one‐pot preparation and characterization

A new family of wholly aromatic poly(urea‐ether‐imide)s ( 4a–4f ) possessing binaphthylene‐twisted rings was prepared by diphenyl azidophosphate (DPAP)‐activated one‐pot polyaddition reaction of a preformed imide heterocyclic ring‐containing dicarboxylic acid, 2,2′‐bis(4‐trimellitimidophenoxy)‐ 1,1′‐binaphthyl ( 1 ) with various kinds of aromatic diamines ( 3a–3f ). At first, with due attention to structural similarity and to compare the characterization data, a model compound 2 was synthesized by the reaction of diimide‐dicarboxylic acid 1 with two mole equivalents of aniline. In this direct method, the polymers were prepared by polyaddition reactions of the in situ‐formed diisocyanate with the aromatic diamines. Molecular weights of the poly(urea‐ether‐imide)s obtained were evaluated viscometrically, and the inherent viscosities (η_inh) measured were in the range 0.10– 0.25 dl/g. All of the polymers were characterized by FT‐IR spectroscopic method and elemental analysis. All of the resulting polymers exhibited an excellent solubility in common polar solvents such as N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF), and N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMAc). Crystallinity of the resulted polymers was evaluated by wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WXRD) method, and they exhibited nearly a non‐crystalline nature as evidenced by their diffractograms. The glass transition temperatures (T_g) of the polymers determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermograms were in the range of 274–302°C. The temperatures at 10% weight loss (T_d10%) from their thermogravimetric analysis (TGA/DTG) curves were found to be in the range of 389–414°C in nitrogen atmosphere. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Purification, characterization, kinetic properties, and thermal behavior of extracellular polygalacturonase produced by filamentous fungus Tetracoccosporium sp

For the first time, a polygalacturonase from the culture broth of Tetracoccosporium sp. was isolated and incubated at 30°C in an orbital shaker at 160 rpm for 48h. The enzyme was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation and two-step ion-exchange chromatography and had an apparent molecular mass of 36 kDa, as shown by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Its optimum activity was at pH 4.3 and 40°C, and the K _m and V _max values of this enzyme (for polygalacturonic acid) were 3.23 mg/mL and 0.15 μmol/min, respectively. Ag⁺, Co²⁺, EDTA, Tween-20, Tween-80, and Triton X-100 stimulated polygalacturonase activity whereas Al³⁺, Ba²⁺, Ca²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Ni²⁺, Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, and SDS inhibited it. In addition, iodoacetamide and iodoacetic acid did not inhibit enzyme activity at a concentration of 1 mM, indicating that cysteine residues are not part of the catalytic site of polygalacturonase. We studied the kinetic properties and thermal inactivation of polygalacturonase. This enzyme exhibited a t _1/2 of 63 min at 60°C and its specific activity, turnover number, and catalytic efficiency were 6.17 U/mg, 113.64 min⁻¹, and 35.18 mL/(min·mg), respectively. The activation energy (ΔE ^#) for heat inactivation was 5.341 kJ/mol, and the thermodynamic activation parameters ΔG ^#, ΔH ^#, and ΔS ^# were also calculated, revealing a potential application for the industry.     

Hirshfeld surface analysis of two new phosphorothioic triamide structures

Hirshfeld surfaces and two‐dimensional fingerprint plots are used to analyse the intermolecular interactions in two new phosphorothioic triamide structures, namely N,N′,N′′‐tris(3,4‐dimethylphenyl)phosphorothioic triamide acetonitrile hemisolvate, P(S)[NHC₆H₃‐3,4‐(CH₃)₂]₃·0.5CH₃CN or C₂₄H₃₀N₃PS·0.5CH₃CN, (I), and N,N′,N′′‐tris(4‐methylphenyl)phosphorothioic triamide–3‐methylpiperidinium chloride (1/1), P(S)[NHC₆H₄(4‐CH₃)]₃·[3‐CH₃‐C₅H₉NH₂]⁺·Cl⁻ or C₂₁H₂₄N₃PS·C₆H₁₄N⁺·Cl⁻, (II). The asymmetric unit of (I) consists of two independent phosphorothioic triamide molecules and one acetonitrile solvent molecule, whereas for (II), the asymmetric unit is composed of three components (molecule, cation and anion). In the structure of (I), the different components are organized into a six‐molecule aggregate through N—H...S and N—H...N hydrogen bonds. The components of (II) are aggregated into a two‐dimensional array through N—H...S and N—H...Cl hydrogen bonds. Moreover, interesting features of packing arise in this structure due to the presence of a double hydrogen‐bond acceptor (the S atom of the phosphorothioic triamide molecule) and of a double hydrogen‐bond donor (the N—H unit of the cation). For both (I) and (II), the full fingerprint plot of each component is asymmetric as a consequence of the presence of three fragments. These analyses reveal that H...H interactions [67.7 and 64.3% for the two symmetry‐independent phosphorothioic triamide molecules of (I), 30.7% for the acetonitrile solvent of (I), 63.8% in the phosphorothioic triamide molecule of (II) and 62.9% in the 3‐methylpiperidinium cation of (II)] outnumber the other contacts for all the components in both structures, except for the chloride anion of (II), which only receives the Cl...H contact. The phosphorothioic triamide molecules of both structures include unsaturated C atoms, thus presenting C...H/H...C interactions: 17.6 and 21% for the two symmetry‐independent phosphorothioic triamide molecules in (I), and 22.7% for the phosphorothioic triamide molecule of (II). Furthermore, the N—H...S hydrogen bonds in both (I) and (II), and the N—H...Cl hydrogen bonds in (II), are the most prominent interactions, appearing as large red spots on the Hirshfeld surface maps. The N...H/H...N contacts in structure (I) are considerable, whereas for (II), they give a negligible contribution to the total interactions in the system.     

Cup-shaped E,E-stilbenophane: synthesis,crystal structure and supramolecular chemistry

A new E,E-stilbenophane was synthesised and characterised. The crystal structure of this cyclophane shows that this molecule has a cup-shaped structure, which hosts a phenyl ring of neighbouring molecule as guest in its cavity with a π–π distance of about 3.7 Å. Moreover, the NMR spectra and theoretical analysis (gauge-independent atomic orbitals (GIAO) and quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM)) suggest that the silver recognition by E,E-stilbenophane host molecules is based on cation–π interactions in which the π-electrons of the double bonds play a major role.     

An empirical method for predicting detonation pressure of CHNOFCl explosives

This paper describes a new method for prediction of the Chapman-Jouguet detonation pressures of CHNOFCl explosives using the heat of detonation, Q_det, the number of moles of gaseous products of detonation per gram of explosive, α, and the average molecular weight of gaseous products, M. The equation has the form: P_CJ=15.88α(MQ_det)^1/2ρ₀²−11.17, where P_CJ is the Chapman-Jouguet detonation pressure and ρ₀ the loading density. Calculated P_CJ by this procedure show good result with respect to measured detonation pressure for any pure or mixture of ideal and some of less ideal CHNOFCl explosives at ρ₀>0.8 g/cm³.     

An Efficient and Facile Synthesis of Quinoxaline Derivatives Catalyzed by KHSO4 at Room Temperature

Summary. A facile synthesis of quinoxaline derivatives catalyzed by KHSO₄ in very high yields at room temperature is reported.     

A selective electromembrane extraction of uranium (VI) prior to its fluorometric determination in water

A novel method for the selective electromembrane extraction (EME) of U⁶⁺ prior to fluorometric determination has been proposed. The effect of extraction conditions including supported liquid membrane (SLM) composition, extraction time and extraction voltage were investigated. An SLM composition of 1% di-2-ethyl hexyl phosphonic acid in nitrophenyl octyl ether (NPOE) showed good selectivity, recovery and enrichment factor. The best performance was achieved at an extraction potential of 80 volts and an extraction time of 14 minutes Under the optimized conditions, a linear range from 1 to 1000 ng mL⁻¹ and LOD of 0.1 ng mL⁻¹ were obtained for the determination of U⁶⁺. The EME method showed good performance in sample cleanup and the reduction of the interfering effects of Mn²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺, Ni²⁺, Fe³⁺, Co²⁺, Cu²⁺, Cl⁻ and PO₄³⁻ ions during fluorometric determination of uranium in real water samples. The recoveries above 54% and enrichment factors above 64.7 were obtained by the proposed method for real sample analysis.     

Ion pairing, H-bonding, and π–π interactions in copper(II) complex-organo-networks derived from a proton-transfer compound of the 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid

The one-pot reaction between the novel proton transfer compound (pydaH₂)²⁺(phendc)²⁻, LH₂, and Cu(II) afforded the compounds (pydaH)₂[Cu(phendc)₂]·10H₂O, 1, and (pydaH)₂[Cu(phendc)(phendcH)]₂·5H₂O, 2, where pyda=2,6-diaminopyridine, and phendcH₂=1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid. The single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of 1 and 2 revealed that these are two novel self-assembled 3D Cu(II) complex-organo-networks, in which (pydaH)⁺ ions and [Cu(phendc)₂]²⁻ or complex units are held together by ion pairing, H-bonding, and π–π interactions. Magnetic measurements over the temperature range 1.8–310 K revealed no significant magnetic coupling between Cu(II) centers in 1 or 2.