Gas chromatographic determination of some phenolic compounds in fuels and engine oil after simultaneous derivatization and microextraction

In this study, a simultaneous derivatization/air‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction method has been developed for sample preparation of some phenolic compounds in fuels and engine oil. Analytes are transferred by back liquid–liquid extraction into NaOH solution and then are derivatized with butyl chloroformate and extracted simultaneously into carbon tetrachloride. The extracted derivatized analytes are analyzed using gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. The effect of extracting solvent type, derivatization agent and extraction solvent volumes, ionic strength of the aqueous solution, number of extraction cycles, etc., on the extraction efficiency is investigated. The calibration graphs are linear in the range of 3–10 000 μg/L. Enhancement factors, enrichment factors, and extraction recoveries are in the ranges of 497 to 1471, 571 to 991, and 60 to 109%, respectively. Detection limits are obtained in the range of 0.8 to 2.0 μg/L. Relative standard deviations for the extraction of each selected phenols are in the ranges of 2–4% for intraday (n = 6) and 3–6% (n = 5) for interday precisions for 200 μg/L. This technique is successfully applied for the extraction, preconcentration, and determination of the selected phenols in gasoline, kerosene, gas oil, and engine oil.     

Nano-Fe3O4-encapsulated silica particles bearing sulfonic acid groups as a magnetically separable catalyst for green synthesis of 1,1-diacetates

Sulfonic acid-functionalized silica-coated nano-Fe₃O₄particles (Fe₃O₄@SiO₂–SO₃H) serve as a novel heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of acylals by direct condensation of aldehydes with acetic anhydride under solvent-free conditions at room temperature in short reaction times and excellent yields. The catalyst could be easily separated from the final product using an external magnet and reused several times without consequential loss of reactivity.     

Biomimetic Mussel Adhesive Inspired Anchor to Design ZnO@Poly(3‐Hexylthiophene) Hybrid Core@Corona Nanoparticles

The functionalization of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles by poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) brush is completed by the combination of a mussel inspired biomimetic anchoring group and Huisgen cyclo‐addition “click chemistry.” Herein, the direct coupling of an azide modified catechol derivative with an alkyne end‐functionalized P3HT is described. This macromolecular binding agent is used to access core@corona ZnO@P3HT with a stable and homogeneous conjugated organic corona. Preliminary photoluminescence measurement proves an efficient electron transfer from the donor P3HT to the acceptor ZnO nanoparticles upon grafting, thus demonstrating the potential of such a combination in organic electronics.

     

Method development for mono- and disaccharides monitoring in cell culture medium by capillary and microchip electrophoresis

The rapidly growing, competitive biopharmaceutical market requires tight bioprocess monitoring. An integrated, automated platform for the routine online/at-line monitoring of key factors in the cell culture medium could greatly improve process monitoring. Mono- and disaccharides, as the main energy and carbon source, are one of these key factors. A CE-LIF method was developed for the analysis of several mono- and disaccharides, considering requirements and restrictions for analysis in an integrated, automated monitoring platform, such as the possibility for miniaturization to microchip electrophoresis. Analysis was performed after fluorescent derivatization with 8-aminopyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid. The derivatisation reaction and the separation BGE were optimized using design of experiments. The developed method is applicable to the complex matrix of cell culture medium and proved transferable to microchip electrophoresis.     

Synthesis and properties of thermally stable polyimides bearing pendent fluorene moieties

A new diamine monomer containing fluorene unit, 3,5‐diamino‐N‐(9H‐fluoren‐2‐yl)benzamide was successfully synthesized via the condensation of 2‐aminofluorene and 3,5‐dinitrobenzoyl chloride and subsequent reduction of the dinitro compound. A series of novel aromatic polyimides having pendent fluorenamide moieties were prepared from the reaction of the diamine monomer and various tetracarboxylic dianhydrides by a conventional two‐step polymerization process. The polyimides were obtained in quantitative yields with inherent viscosities of 0.33–0.44 dl/g. The resulting polymers dissolved in N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone, N,N‐dimethylacetamide, N,N‐dimethylformamide, and dimethyl sulfoxide. The glass transition temperature of these polymers was in the range of 261–289°C. They were fairly stable up to a temperature around 450°C and lost 10% weight in the range of 498–556°C in nitrogen. The UV–vis absorption spectra showed that all of the polymers had absorption maxima around 320 nm. Cyclic voltammograms of the polyimides revealed an oxidation wave with a peak around 1.3 V. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intrinsic viscosity of aqueous suspensions of cellulose nanofibrils

Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) from wood fibers are of increasing interest to industry because they are from renewable sources and are biodegradable. Owing to their high aspect ratio, they produce viscous suspensions and stiff gels that are strengthened by interfibrillar hydrogen bonds. In this study, the viscosity of aqueous CNF suspensions, at dilute concentrations ( \(nL^{3}<1\) ), was measured at various pH values by addition of HCl, and at various ionic strengths by addition of NaCl and \(\hbox {CaCl}_{2}\) . The results show that the primary electroviscous effect significantly increases the intrinsic viscosity. The intrinsic viscosity under conditions where the surface charge of nanofibrils is fully screened is in good agreement with the predictions of classical theory for dispersions of rodlike particles at low shear rates. Increasing the ionic strength up to \(\kappa d\approx 1\) decreases the intrinsic viscosity; at \(\kappa d>1\) , the intrinsic viscosity increases because of fibril aggregation and increase of the effective volume fraction.     

Assessment of Thermal Stability and Detonation Performance of 4-Amino-1,2,4-triazolium Nitrate as compared to 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene for Melt-cast Explosives

4-Amino-1,2,4-triazolium nitrate (4-ATN) is an energetic and non-sensitive ionic liquid, which was introduced as a good candidate in previous works for the replacement of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) in melt-cast explosives. Since previous studies used pure nitric acid for nitration of 4-ATN, the effect of the use of low price industrial nitric acids (50 %, 70 % and 98 %) is investigated on the percent yields of 4-ATN. The thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry (TGA/DSC) are done on the synthesized 4-ATN with impure nitric acid at a heating rate of 10 K · min^–1 by the vacuum system. The obtained TGA/DSC curves confirm decomposition of 4-ATN involving melting and dissociation. Derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) curves of 4-ATN at various heating rates are applied to obtain activation energy of thermolysis by several model-free techniques. The calculated activation energies are in the range 78.7–87.7 kJ · mol^–1, which are about 10 kJ · mol^–1 more than the reported activation energy of industrial TNT (purity 98.2 %), i.e. 66–70 kJ · mol^–1. Assessments of detonation performance of 4-ATN are also compared with TNT, which show higher detonation performance of 4-ATN. Thus, 4-ATN can be used with nitramine compounds as melt-cast explosives with higher thermal stability and detonation performance than corresponding nitramine compound/TNT explosives.     

One-pot synthesis of new hydantoin (thiohydantoin) derivatives and evaluation of their antibacterial and antioxidant activities

One-pot four-component reactions of phenacyl bromides, parabanic or thioparabanic acids, thiophenols, and triphenylphosphine in the presence of triethylamine afforded new derivatives of hydantoin or thiohydantoin in good to high yields (65%-90%). Their antibacterial activities were evaluated against two Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) and two Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Among the synthesized compounds, the obtained products from 2-hydroxythiophenol exhibited higher antibacterial activity than those obtained from 2-aminothiophenol. Compound 9l including N,N′^′-diphenyl thiohydantoin moiety showed the highest antibacterial activity (26.0 ± 01.4) against B subtilis, in comparison with other synthesized samples. The antioxidant activities of the synthesized hydantoins and thiohydantoins were investigated by DPPH radical-scavenging based on Blois method. The results showed that all the compounds have high DPPH inhibition potency (77.4%-83.9%) that it could be due to existence of heteroatoms with lone pair electrons and exchangeable protons on their NH₂ and OH groups.     

Rapid and green synthesis of 4H-benzo[b]pyrans using triethanolamine as an efficient homogeneous catalyst under ambient conditions

Research on Chemical Intermediates - 4H-benzo[b]pyrans were obtained rapidly in high yields using triethanolamine as an efficient, eco-friendly and low-cost basic catalyst. One-pot three-component...