Kinetics of the interconversion of parahydrogen and orthohydrogen catalyzed by paramagnetic complex ions

The rate constants of para-/orthohydrogen (p-/o-H2) nuclear spin isomerization have been measured by means of 1H NMR in deuterated solvents at 298.2 K. The indicated reaction is catalyzed by paramagnetic complex ions giving rate constants that are proportional to the concentrations of the catalysts. The second-order rate constants are directly proportional to the squares of the magnetic moments for the solvated metal complexes for two classifications: M(solv)m2+, M = 3d transition metals; Ln(solv)n3+, where in 1:9 D2O-CD3CN the aqua complexes are the predominant species, Ln = lanthanides. The other 3d transition metal complexes with different ligands show rate constants that also depend on the sizes of ligands. Whereas the correlation between the second-order rate constants and magnetic moments is consistent with Wigner's theory, the size of catalyst shows a more modest effect on the rate constants than expected. The effective collision radii of the complexes, calculated from the rate constants, proved to be approximately constant for each series of solvated metal complexes.     

Ruthenium-catalyzed formation of aryl(diphenyl)phosphine oxides by reactions of propargylic alcohols with diphenylphosphine oxide

1,1-Diaryl-1-penten-4-yn-3-ols react with diphenylphosphine oxide in the presence of a thiolate-bridged diruthenium complex as a catalyst and give high yields of aryl(diphenyl)phosphine oxide products via an initial substitution followed by a cyclization at the produced allene intermediate. [reaction: see text]     

Application of water as a solvent in microwave-assisted extraction for analysis of PCBs and CBzs in fly ash

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorobenzenes (CBzs) are two classes of dioxin precursors formed in municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs); they produce negative health effects similar to those of dioxins. Reducing the analytical time required for determining the concentrations of these compounds in MSWIs is important for quickly evaluating their importance and assessing associated health risks. In the present study, water is used as a safe and environmentally friendly solvent in microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) for PCB and CBz analyses. MAE is compared with traditional Soxhlet extraction (SE) to determine the extraction efficiencies. The evaluation of extraction efficiencies shows that MAE has a high extraction efficiency compared with that of SE when water content is lower than 60%. Furthermore, the extraction time and organic solvent consumption are reduced with MAE compared with SE.     

Synthetic studies of vitamin D analogues. XI. Synthesis and differentiation-inducing activity of 1 alpha,25-dihydroxy-22-oxavitamin D3 analogues.

Six analogues of 1 alpha,25-dihydroxy-22-oxavitamin D3 (OCT) (2), 26,27-dimethyl OCT (5), 26,27-diethyl OCT (6), 24-norOCT (7), 24-homoOCT (8), 24-dihomoOCT (9), and 24-trihomoOCT (10) were synthesized from the 20(S)-alcohol (11) as the common starting material. In the activity inducing differentiation of human myeloid leukemia cells (HL-60) into macrophages, 26,27-dimethyl OCT (5) and 24-homoOCT (8) showed the highest activities. The binding properties of these analogues to the chick embryonic intestinal 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1) receptor are also described.     

Aromaticity Relocation in Perylene Derivatives upon Two‐Electron Oxidation To Form Anthracene and Phenanthrene

We prepared perylene dications 1 ²⁺ and 2 ²⁺ by using “capped” perylene derivatives, and for the first time, successfully obtained single crystals of a perylene dication 1 ²⁺ that enabled us to perform its structural analysis. We realized that the substituted aryl groups on perylene control the positions of positive charges, thus the remaining electronic system satisfies Clar's sextet rule toward the highest number of localized sextets. Experimental and theoretical evidence proved that Clar's aromatic π‐sextet rule could be applied even for the dicationic perylenes in a very simple way.     

Polymerization of tetrahydrofuran by AlEt3–H2O promoter system: Rate of propagation reaction

Kinetic studies were carried out on the polymerization of tetrahydrofuran with catalyst systems of aluminum alkyl–epichlorohydrin. As aluminium alkyl species AlEt₃, AlEt₃–H₂O (1:0.1 to 1:1.0), and “oxyaluminum ethyl” were employed. The polymerizations with these catalysts are characterized by a mechanism of stepwise addition without chain transfer or termination, which is expressed by the kinetic relation R_p = K_p[P*] ([M]–[M]_e), where [M] and [M]_e are the instantaneous and equilibrium concentrations of monomer and [P*] is the concentration of propagating species calculated from the amount and molecular weight of the product polymer. The determination of the rate constant k_p for these catalysts has shown that the polymerization rate varied considerably with the change of aluminum alkyl species, i.e., with the water-to-aluminum ratio, but the propagation rate constant itself varied very little. The variation of polymerization rate was, therefore, attributed primarily to the differences in concentration of the propagating species, i.e. the efficiency of the catalyst in forming propagating species. The catalyst efficiency was closely related to the acid strength of the aluminum alkyl species, which was estimated from the magnitude of shift of the xanthone carbonyl band in the infrared spectrum of its coordination complex with aluminum alkyl. The maximal catalyst efficiency was attained at about [H₂O]/[AlEt₃] = 0.75.     

Reactive oligomers. I. Preparation and polymerization of ethylene glycol bis(methyl fumarate)

Ethylene glycol bis(methyl fumarate) (EGBMF) was prepared as a new type of divinyl compound and reactive oligomer: a needle crystal, m.p. 104.5°C. Homopolymerization of EGBMF was carried out in dioxane with 0.1 mol/L AIBN at [M] = 1 mol/L and 60°C; the rate of polymerization was estimated to be 4.44 × 10^?6 mol/L s in a good agreement with diethyl fumarate (DEF). The cyclization constant K_c was obtained as 1.64 mol/L, being rather low compared with diallyl oxalate which is 1,9-diene having two ester groups analogous to EGBMF. Gelatin occurred at about 35% conversion. Finally, the copolymerization of EGBMF (M₁) with diallyl phthalate (DAP) (M₂) is tentatively explored with the intention of the improvement of allyl resins in mechanical properties; remarkable rate enhancement was observed for copolymerization. The monomer reactivity ratios were estimated to be r₁ = 0.96 and r₂ = 0.025, the r₁ value being reduced compared with the DEF-DAP copolymerization system. These results are discussed from the standpoint of steric effect on the polymerization of fumarate as an internal olefin.