Substituent effects in trans‐p,p′‐disubstituted azobenzenes: X‐ray structures at 100 K and DFT‐calculated structures

The crystal and molecular structures of two para‐substituted azobenzenes with π‐electron‐donating –NEt₂ and π‐electron‐withdrawing –COOEt groups are reported, along with the effects of the substituents on the aromaticity of the benzene ring. The deformation of the aromatic ring around the –NEt₂ group in N,N,N′,N′‐tetraethyl‐4,4′‐(diazenediyl)dianiline, C₂₀H₂₈N₄, (I), may be caused by steric hindrance and the π‐electron‐donating effects of the amine group. In this structure, one of the amine N atoms demonstrates clear sp²‐hybridization and the other is slightly shifted from the plane of the surrounding atoms. The molecule of the second azobenzene, diethyl 4,4′‐(diazenediyl)dibenzoate, C₁₈H₁₈N₂O₄, (II), lies on a crystallographic inversion centre. Its geometry is normal and comparable with homologous compounds. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to analyse the changes in the geometry of the studied compounds in the crystalline state and for the isolated molecules. The most significant changes are observed in the values of the N=N—C—C torsion angles, which for the isolated molecules are close to 0.0°. The HOMA (harmonic oscillator model of aromaticity) index, calculated for the benzene ring, demonstrates a slight decrease of the aromaticity in (I) and no substantial changes in (II).     

Influence of supporting ligand microenvironment on the aqueous stability and visible light-induced CO-release reactivity of zinc flavonolato species

The visible light-induced CO-release reactivity of the zinc flavonolato complex [(6-Ph₂TPA)Zn(3-Hfl)]ClO₄ (1) has been investigated in 1?:?1 H₂O?:?DMSO. Additionally, the effect of ligand secondary microenvironment on the aqueous stability and visible light-induced CO-release reactivity of zinc flavonolato species has been evaluated through the preparation, characterization, and examination of the photochemistry of compounds supported by chelate ligands with differing secondary appendages, [(TPA)Zn(3-Hfl)]ClO₄ (3; TPA = tris-2-(pyridylmethyl)amine) and [(bnpapa)Zn(3-Hfl)]ClO₄ (4; bnpapa = N,N-bis((6-neopentylamino-2-pyridyl)methyl)-N-((2-pyridyl)methyl)amine)). Compound 3 undergoes reaction in 1?:?1 H₂O?:?DMSO resulting in the release of the free neutral flavonol. Irradiation of acetonitrile solutions of 3 and 4 at 419 nm under aerobic conditions results in quantitative, photoinduced CO-release. However, the reaction quantum yields under these conditions are lower than that exhibited by 1, with 4 exhibiting an especially low quantum yield. Overall, the results of this study indicate that positioning a zinc flavonolato moiety within a hydrophobic microenvironment is an important design strategy toward further developing such compounds as CO-release agents for use in biological systems.     

3-[2-(Boronophenyl)benzoxazol-5-yl]alanine derivatives as fluorescent monosaccharide sensors

Two 3-[2-(boronophenyl)benzoxazol-5-yl]alanine derivatives were synthesized and their potential application as fluorescent monosaccharide sensors was studied. It was found that both non-proteinogenic amino acids bound glucose and fructose at physiological pH, however, the latter much stronger. As a result they are selective sensors for fructose. Moreover, one of them (3-[2-(3-boronophenyl)benzoxazol-5-yl]alanine methyl ester) can be used to quickly distinguish, which monosaccharide is present in the solution because of the different character of fluorescence intensity changes (increase in the presence of fructose and decrease in the presence of glucose).     

Tuning properties of silver particle monolayers via controlled adsorption-desorption processes

Nanoparticle self-assembly at fluid-fluid interfaces has been traditionally exploited in emulsification, encapsulation and oil recovery, and more recently in emerging applications including functional nanomaterials and biphasic catalysis. We provide a review of the literature focusing on the open challenges that still hamper the broader applicability of this potentially transformative technology, and we outline strategies to achieve improved control over interfacial self-assembly of nanoparticles. First, we discuss means to promote spontaneous adsorption by tuning the interfacial energies of the nanoparticles with the fluids using capping ligands, and the occurrence of energy barriers. We then examine the interactions between interfacial nanoparticles and how they affect the formation of equilibrium interfacial suspensions versus non-equilibrium two-dimensional phases, such as weakly attractive glasses and gels. Important differences with colloidal interactions in a bulk suspension arise due to the discontinuity in solvent properties at the interface. For instance, ligand brushes rearrange in asymmetric configurations, and thus play a significant role in determining interparticle interactions. Finally, we briefly discuss the link between interfacial microstructure and the dynamic response of particle-laden interfaces, including interfacial rheology and the fate of nanoparticle monolayers upon out-of-plane deformation.     

Detection of drug active ingredients by chemometric processing of solid-state NMR spectrometry data -- the case of acetaminophen

This paper presents a preliminary study in building discriminant models from solid-state NMR spectrometry data to detect the presence of acetaminophen in over-the-counter pharmaceutical formulations. The dataset, containing 11 spectra of pure substances and 21 spectra of various formulations, was processed by partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The model found coped with the discrimination, and its quality parameters were acceptable. It was found that standard normal variate preprocessing had almost no influence on unsupervised investigation of the dataset. The influence of variable selection with the uninformative variable elimination by PLS method was studied, reducing the dataset from 7601 variables to around 300 informative variables, but not improving the model performance. The results showed the possibility to construct well-working PLS-DA models from such small datasets without a full experimental design.     

An approach for disaccharide chiron synthesis using a Ferrier-type rearrangement

We report a new approach for the synthesis of new chiral synthons in which two unsaturated sugars are linked via a glycosidic bond. The di-unsaturated disaccharide can be further functionalized using effective, highly selective methods and used in convergent syntheses of relatively complex glycoconjugates. Our approach utilizes in situ generation of active glycosyl donors via Ferrier-type rearrangement under phase-transfer conditions and subsequent reaction with a nucleophile.     

Model potentials in studies of atomic electron density distribution

In density functional theory (DFT ), a many-electron problem for the electron density in atoms may be reduced, according to the Kohn-Sham scheme, to a one-electron problem. In the present work, a variational model is proposed which leads, within some assumptions, to the set of equations describing the change of the electron density ρ and energy ϵ during the ionization process. It is shown that the one-electron density contributions are not necessarily spherically symmetric, but assume the symmetry which depends upon the symmetry of the positive field. A few nonspherically symmetric potentials are studied in the present article. The nonlinear differential equation for density r is formulated and solved for Coulombic, Fues-Kratzer, and Hartmann potentials. The solutions and some particular examples are presented. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Soft-templating synthesis and adsorption properties of mesoporous carbons with embedded silver nanoparticles

Mesoporous carbons containing silver nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized under acidic conditions by employing resorcinol and formaldehyde as carbon precursors and triblock copolymer EO₁₀₁PO₅₆EO₁₀₁ (Lutrol F127) as a soft template. Silver nanoparticles of ∼90 nm were added to the synthesis mixture to achieve 10 wt% and 20 wt% of Ag loading in the carbon. Also, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was introduced to the system in order to improve adsorption properties of the silver-carbon composites and to reinforce its structure. The resulting carbons with incorporated silver nanoparticles featured high surface areas, large total pore volumes and primary mesopores in the range between ∼6–7 nm.