Glow discharge mass spectrometry — A versatile tool for elemental analysis

Summary Among recent MS techniques for elemental analysis, Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometry (GDMS) covers the field of direct analysis of conducting and semiconducting solids. In GDMS, a glow discharge in a working gas — usually Ar — at reduced pressure serves to atomize a solid sample by cathodic sputtering and to ionize the vapourized atoms. Ions are separated according to mass by a quadrupole filter (with low mass resolution) or a double focusing device (with high mass resolution). Use of a working gas implies the appearance of spectral interferences by molecular ions. Analysis may be impeded by these interferences, even in the case of high mass resolution. GDMS shows convincing analytical performance. Detection limits in the low ng/g region and even below can easily be realized. Precision is normally in the low percentage region, and a dynamic region of about nine orders of magnitude may be covered. Matrix effects are of no significant influence, and elemental sensitivities are within one order of magnitude. Semiquantitative analysis without standards is possible with limited accuracy, which is of considerable practical interest in the sub-microtrace region. Application experiences have mainly been gathered in analysis of very pure materials and semiconductors. GDMS has also been applied successfully for analytical characterization of technical surface layers.     

Pentafluoropyridine as a fluorinating reagent for preparing a hydrocarbon soluble β-diketiminatolead(II) monofluoride

A well-designed method for the preparation of a β-diketiminatolead(II) monofluoride has been developed using LPbNMe(2) (L = [CH{C(Me)(2,6-iPr(2)C(6)H(3)N)}(2)]) and pentafluoropyridine (C(5)F(5)N). The resulting LPbF was used for the synthesis of amidinatosilicon(II) monofluoride. Moreover the activation of a ketone was observed when the LPbF was treated with PhCOCF(3).     

Tribenzotriquinacenes bearing six-fold benzofuran extensions: electron-rich C3v-symmetrical hosts for C60

New tribenzotriquinacene (TBTQ) hosts bearing six-fold peripheral benzofuran functionalization have been synthesized. The three polycondensed arene wings were shown to operate optically independently and to generate deeply bowl-shaped C(3v)-symmetrical frameworks that act as relatively weak hosts toward C(60), as revealed by (1)H NMR spectroscopy.     

Striking stability of a substituted silicon(II) bis(trimethylsilyl)amide and the facile Si-Me bond cleavage without a transition metal catalyst

Silicon(II) bis(trimethylsilyl)amide (LSiN(SiMe(3))(2), L= PhC(NtBu)(2)) (2) has been synthesized by the reaction of LSiHCl(2) with KN(SiMe(3))(2) in 1:2 molar ratio in high yield where 1 equiv of the latter functions as a dehydrochlorinating agent. 2 exhibits a high stability up to 154 °C and can be handled in open air for a short period of time without any appreciable decomposition. An amazing five-membered cyclic silene (3) results from the cleavage of one Si-Me bond of 2 with an adamantyl phosphaalkyne. 3 is the first example of a heavy cyclopentene derivative which consists of four different elements, C, N, Si, and P. Both compounds are characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, EI-mass spectrometry, and single crystal X-ray diffraction studies.     

Reactivity studies of a disilene with N2O and elemental sulfur

In a previous contribution, we have reported on a convenient and high yield synthesis of the disilene trans-[(TMS)(2)N(η(1)-Me(5)C(5))Si═Si(η(1)-Me(5)C(5))N(TMS)(2)] (2). Herein, we show the reactions of 2 with N(2)O and S(8). The former reaction affords two isomeric (cis- and trans-) dioxadisiletane ring compounds. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report where both cis-and trans-isomers are isolated from the same disilene precursor and characterized structurally by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. The reaction of 2 with elemental sulfur yields only the trans-isomer. To investigate this dissimilar reaction pattern exhibited by 2, computational studies were performed. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations showed that the two dioxadisiletane ring isomers are isoenergetic, with the trans isomer being slightly more stable than the cis counterpart, by 3.3 kcal/mol, while that is not the case with sulfur. All the isolated compounds are characterized by single-crystal XRD studies, multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, and electron ionization-mass spectrometry (EI-MS).     

Combining magnetic field induced locomotion and supramolecular interaction to micromanipulate glass fibers: toward assembly of complex structures at mesoscale

The formation of ordered complex structures is one of the most challenging fields in the research of biomimic materials because those structures are promising with respect to improving the physical and mechanical properties of man-made materials. In this letter, we have developed a novel approach to fabricating complex structures on the mesoscale by combining magnetic-field-induced locomotion and supramolecular-interaction-assisted immobilization. We have employed a magnetic field to locomote the glass fiber, which was modified by the layer-by-layer self-assembly of magnetic nanoparticles, to desired positions and have exploited the supramolecular interaction to immobilize glass fiber onto the appointed position. By magnetically induced micromanipulation, we can drive another fiber across the former one and finally obtain a crossing structure, which can lead to more complex structures on the mesocale. Moreover, we have constructed a mesoscale structure, termed "CHEM", to demonstrate further the application of this method.