Single C−F Bond Cleavage of Trifluoromethylarenes with an ortho‐Silyl Group

The transformation of a single C−F bond of trifluoromethylarenes bearing a hydrosilyl group at the ortho position was achieved. The activation of the hydrosilyl group with a trityl cation in the presence of nucleophiles allowed for selective C−F bond functionalization, for example, by allylation, carboxylation, or chlorination. Further derivatization of the resulting fluorosilylarenes afforded various aromatic difluoromethylene compounds.     

The rhodophytin and chondriol natural products; structures of several new acetylenes from laurencia, and a reassignment of structure for cis-rhodophytin

The structures of five new halogenated vinyl acetylenes are described which are natural products from various species of the red seaweed Laurencia. The structure of epoxyrhodophytin (1) was determined by spectral, chemical, and X-ray diffraction analyses. The structures of trans-rhodophytin (5) and trans-chondriol (8) are based on chemical and spectral comparisons with the previously reported compounds cis-rhodophytin (4) and cis-chondriol (7). The structures of cis-chondrin (14) and trans-chondrin (15) were secured by synthesis from cis- and trans-chondriol, respectively. The reactivity of these enol-ethers to various conditions of catalytic hydrogenation has been examined in detail. Hydrogenation yields an unexpected and facile incorporation of oxygen into the reaction products. Based upon these studies, and upon combustion analysis, the structure of rhodophytin has been revised as the vinyl ether rather than the vinyl peroxide originally proposed.     

Reactions of aromatic nitro,nitroso, hydroxylamino azoxy,azo and hydrazo compounds with selenol

Relative reactivities of aromatic nitro, nitroso, hydroxylamino, azoxy, azo and hydrazo compounds in the reduction with RSe^? were found to fall in the following order :

     

Experimental and modeling study of the high-temperature combustion chemistry of tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol

Lignocellulosic tetrahydrofuranic (THF) biofuels have been identified as promising fuel candidates for spark-ignition (SI) engines. To support the potential use as transportation biofuels, fundamental studies of their combustion and emission behavior are highly important. In the present study, the high-temperature (HT) combustion chemistry of tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA), a THF based biofuel, was investigated using a comprehensive experimental and numerical approach.Representative chemical species profiles in a stoichiometric premixed methane flame doped with ～20% (molar) THFA at 5.3 kPa were measured using online gas chromatography. The flame temperature was obtained by NO laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) thermometry. More than 40 chemical products were identified and quantified. Many of them such as ethylene, formaldehyde, acrolein, allyl alcohol, 2,3-dihydrofuran, 3,4-dihydropyran, 4-pentenal, and tetrahydrofuran-2-carbaldehyde are fuel-specific decomposition products formed in rather high concentrations. In the numerical part, as a complement to kinetic modeling, high-level theoretical calculations were performed to identify plausible reaction pathways that lead to the observed products. Furthermore, the rate coefficients of important reactions and the thermochemical properties of the related species were calculated. A detailed kinetic model for high-temperature combustion of THFA was developed, which reasonably predicts the experimental data. Subsequent rate analysis showed that THFA is mainly consumed by H-abstraction reactions yielding several fuel radicals that in turn undergo either β-scission reactions or intramolecular radical addition that effectively leads to ring enlargement. The importance of specific reaction channels generally correlates with bond dissociation energies. Along THFA reaction routes, the derived species with cis configuration were found to be thermodynamically more stable than their corresponding trans configuration, which differs from usual observations for hydrocarbons.     

Galaxies: A Very Short Introduction,by J. Gribbin

A brief outline of conventional symmetry studies of crystalline solids using Bravais lattices, point groups and space groups is presented, leading up to the recent development by Shubnikov of the idea of antisymmetry and the subsequent derivation of the black and white Bravais lattices and of the black and white point groups and space groups. These groups are also called magnetic groups or Shubnikov groups.

The results of neutron-diffraction experiments have made it clear that there are many crystals whose structures must be described by one of these Shubnikov groups rather than by one of the ordinary point groups or space groups. The relationship between a structure with the symmetry of one of the Shubnikov point groups and the magnetic properties, paramagnetism, diamagnetism, ferromagnetism, ferrimagnetism or anti-ferromagnetism, which it is able to exhibit is also considered.     

Fast method development of rooibos tea phenolics using a variable column length strategy

The development of a method for the separation of standard compounds of the 15 main phenolics found in rooibos tea is presented. The separation of these compounds in a single HPLC analysis is particularly challenging due to the similarity of rooibos phenolics. As a result, multiple methods are often required to analyze all major phenolics in rooibos tea samples. The method development process is significantly enhanced in this study by using the recently introduced automated column coupler in combination with the variable column length strategy. This strategy consists of performing the initial scouting runs, wherein the best separation conditions are determined, on a short column and subsequently fine-tuning the separation on longer columns to benefit from their higher separation performance. It is demonstrated that the method development process can further be expedited by operating each column length at the maximum pressure, in this case 1000 bar. Although this holds in general, it is even more the case for the presently considered sample, since the selectivity of the sample is more pressure- than temperature-dependent. Applying the optimized method to unfermented and fermented aqueous rooibos tea extracts in combination with Q-TOF mass spectrometry, some 30 phenolic compounds are tentatively identified.     

The first x-ray structure determination of a z-phosphaethylene: z-2-phenyl-1-(2,4,6-tri-t-butylphenyl)phosphaethylene

The sterically protected $\text{Z}$-phosphaethylene, $\text{Z}$-2-phenyl-1-(2,4,6-tri-t-butylphenyl)phosphaethylene (1-Z), was analyzed by X-ray crystallography.     

An energy storage principle using bipolar porous polymeric frameworks

Packed with energy: Amorphous covalent triazine-based frameworks were used as a cathode material, with the aim of developing an energy storage principle that can deliver a 2-3 times higher specific energy than current batteries with a high rate capability. The material undergoes a unique Faradaic reaction, as it can be present in both a p-doped and an n-doped state (see picture).