Synthesis and Diels-Alder Reactions of a New Kind of Chiral Dienophiles: Cyclic Vinyl-p-tolylsulfilimines

A new kind of chiral dienophiles, cyclic vinyl-p-tolylsulfilimines (2a and 2b), were obtained from the corresponding (Z)-sulfinylacrylonitriles with HBF(4) and methanol. The asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction of optically pure 2a with cyclopentadiene under mild thermal or catalyzed conditions afforded only the endo-4a adduct with complete endo and pi-facial selectivities. The ability of the sulfilimine moiety to enhance the dienophilic reactivity of the double bond is similar to that of the sulfinyl group.     

Quinones as co-catalysts and models for the surface of active carbon in the phosphovanadomolybdate-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of benzylic and allylic alcohols: synthetic, kinetic, and mechanistic aspects

Quinones have been considered as reactive compounds present on the surface of active carbon. Thus, the co-catalytic use of quinones combined with the phosphovanadomolybdate polyoxometalate, PV2Mo10O40(5-), has been studied as an analogue of the known PV2Mo10O405-/C catalyst in oxidative dehydrogenation reactions. From the synthetic point of view both biphasic the quinone (org)-Na5PV2Mo10O40- (aq) and monophasic quinone (org)- 4Q5PV2Mo10O40-(org) [4Q = (nC4H9)4-N+] systems are effective for the selective oxidation of benzylic and allylic alcohols to their corresponding aldehydes. Kinetic measurements carried out on the model oxidative dehydrogenation of 4-methylbenzyl alcohol in the presence of p-chloranil, 4Q5PV2Mo10O40, and molecular oxygen showed that the reaction was non-elementary, although the 4-methylbenzyl alcohol oxydehydrogenation was the rate-determining step. ESR measurements showed the presence of the semiquinone of p-chloranil, probably as a complex with the polyoxometalate. This proposed complex was shown to be a more potent oxidant than p-chloranil. Thus, for the oxidation of 4-methoxytoluene the semiquinone complex was active, whereas p-chloranil alone was inactive. Beyond the importance of understanding quinone-phosphovanadomolybdate polyoxometalate-catalyzed reactions, insight gained from the formation of semiquinone active species can be applied for heterogeneous and aerobic oxidative transformations catalyzed by PV2Mo10O405- with carbon matrices as active supports.     

Phase diagrams of lyotropic cholesteric fluids

Experimental investigations of lyotropic cholesterics fluids are presented which show that changes in the shape anisotropy and chirality of the micellar population determine the topology of the temperature-concentration phase diagrams. For given amounts of the substances which induce the chirality and modify the shape anisotropy of the micelles, two distinct biaxial cholesteric phases are disclosed in the phase diagrams. This is interpreted in the framework of the catastrophe theory of phase transitions.     

Penrose transformation and complex integral geometry

A survey is given of results on the representation of solutions of systems of massless equations in terms of solutions of the Cauchy-Riemann equations on the space of Penrose twisters. A detailed introduction to the theory of twistors is given. The basic integral transform — the Penrose transformation — is investigated by means of complex integral geometry. Other approaches to the theory of twistors are discussed and compared. In addition, the Yang-Mills equation is considered from the point of view of nonlinear Cauchy-Riemann equations.