C-H activations at iridium(I) square-planar complexes promoted by a fifth ligand

In the presence of ligands such as acetonitrile, ethylene, or propylene, the Ir(I) complex [Ir(1,2,5,6-eta-C8H12)(NCMe)(PMe3)]BF4 (1) transforms into the Ir(III) derivatives [Ir(1-kappa-4,5,6-eta-C8H12)(NCMe)(L)(PMe3)]BF4 (L = NCMe, 2; eta2-C2H4, 3; eta2-C3H6, 4), respectively, through a sequence of C-H oxidative addition and insertion elementary steps. The rate of this transformation depends on the nature of L and, in the case of NCMe, the pseudo-first-order rate constants display a dependence upon ligand concentration suggesting the formation of five-coordinate reaction intermediates. A similar reaction between 1 and vinyl acetate affords the Ir(III) complex [Ir(1-kappa-4,5,6-eta-C8H12){kappa-O-eta2-OC(Me)OC2H3}(PMe3)]BF4 (7) via the isolable five-coordinate Ir(I) compound [Ir(1,2,5,6-eta-C8H12){kappa-O-eta2-OC(Me)OC2H3}(PMe3)]BF4 (6). DFT (B3LYP) calculations in model complexes show that reactions initiated by acetonitrile or ethylene five-coordinate adducts involve C-H oxidative addition transition states of lower energy than that found in the absence of these ligands. Key species in these ligand-assisted transformations are the distorted (nonsquare-planar) intermediates preceding the intramolecular C-H oxidative addition step, which are generated after release of one cyclooctadiene double bond from the five-coordinate species. The feasibility of this mechanism is also investigated for complexes [IrCl(L)(PiPr3)2] (L = eta2-C2H4, 27; eta2-C3H6, 28). In the presence of NCMe, these complexes afford the C-H activation products [IrClH(CH=CHR)(NCMe)(PiPr3)2] (R = H, 29; Me, 30) via the common cyclometalated intermediate [IrClH{kappa-P,C-P(iPr)2CH(CH3)CH2}(NCMe)(PiPr3)] (31). The most effective C-H oxidative addition mechanism seems to involve three-coordinate intermediates generated by photochemical release of the alkene ligand. However, in the absence of light, the reaction rates display dependences upon NCMe concentration again indicating the intermediacy of five-coordinate acetonitrile adducts.     

Influence of thermal fluctuations on interfacial electron transfer in functionalized TiO2 semiconductors

The influence of thermal fluctuations on the dynamics of interfacial electron transfer in sensitized TiO2-anatase semiconductors is investigated by combining ab initio DFT molecular dynamics simulations and quantum dynamics propagation of transient electronic excitations. It is shown that thermal nuclear fluctuations speed up the underlying interfacial electron transfer dynamics by introducing nonadiabatic transitions between electron acceptor states, localized in the vicinity of the photoexcited adsorbate, and delocalized states extended throughout the semiconductor material, creating additional relaxation pathways for carrier diffusion. Furthermore, it is shown that room-temperature thermal fluctuations reduce the anisotropic character of charge diffusion along different directions in the anatase crystal and make similar the rates for electron injection from adsorbate states of different character. The reported results are particularly relevant to the understanding of temperature effects on surface charge separation mechanisms in molecular-based photo-optic devices.     

Sugar cane bagasse lignin as a stabilizer for rubbers: Part II—Butadiene rubber

In this work we have studied the stabilizing effect of the lignin, obtained as a by-product of the acid hydrolysis of sugar cane bagasse, herein called sugar cane bagasse lignin, on the thermal and environmental degradation of butadiene rubber. This stabilizer was investigated in various concentrations in the pure form and as a substitute for a hindered phenol, in a commercially used formulation also containing a p-phenylene-diamine. For thermal degradation the stabilization level of the commercial sample is reached with 1·3% of pure lignin and the substitution of the hindered phenol in the commercial formulation increased the stabilization by a factor of 1·2. In the environmental ageing experiments the performance of the rubber stabilized with lignin was poorer than that of the commercial sample. This behaviour is assigned to the strong degradative effect of light on the rubber.     

Spinodal for the solution-to-crystal phase transformation

The formation of crystalline nuclei from solution has been shown for many systems to occur in two steps: the formation of quasidroplets of a disordered intermediate, followed by the nucleation of ordered crystalline embryos within these droplets. The rate of each step depends on a respective free-energy barrier and on the growth rate of its near-critical clusters. We address experimentally the relative significance of the free-energy barriers and the kinetic factors for the nucleation of crystals from solution using a model protein system. We show that crystal nucleation is 8-10 orders of magnitude slower than the nucleation of dense liquid droplets, i.e., the second step is rate determining. We show that at supersaturations of three or four k(B)T units, crystal nuclei of five, four, or three molecules transform into single-molecule nuclei, i.e., the significant nucleation barrier vanishes below the thermal energy of the molecules. We show that the main factor, which determines the rate of crystal nucleation, is the slow growth of the near-critical ordered clusters within the quasidroplets of the disordered intermediate. Analogous to the spinodal in supersaturated fluids, we define a solution-to-crystal spinodal from the transition to single-molecule crystalline nuclei. We show that heterogeneous nucleation centers accelerate nucleation not only because of the wettinglike effects that lower the nucleation barrier, as envisioned by classical theory, but by helping the kinetics of growth of the ordered crystalline embryos.     

Microwave spectrum and Structure of Benzenesulphonyl chloride

The microwave spectrum has been investigated for the molecule of Benzenesulphonyl chloride within the 8–18 Ghz frequency region. Several a and b type bands corresponding to the Cl³⁵ and Cl³⁷ Isotopes were observed and assigned.

We have also used the CNDO/2 method in order to estimate some molecular parameters and the dipole moment. The theoretical calculation and the experimental data have been joined to derive a reliable structure of the molecule concluding that the Cl is located on the plane of the benzene ring.     

Microcalorimetric determination of the activity of supercritical extracts of wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.) over Spodoptera littoralis

The aim of this study is to develop a method and to determine by means of isothermal microcalorimetry the activity of supercritical extracts obtained from growth-controlled wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.) over Spodoptera littoralis L. (S. littoralis), a polyphagous pest of the Mediterranean crops. In order to achieve this goal, a three-step microcalorimetric method has been developed to insure the quality of the measurements and the validity of the results. Once optimized, different extracts of wormwood obtained by means of supercritical fluid extraction and by traditional methods have been used to investigate their effects over S. littoralis. The microcalorimetric method serves as a tool to complement other bioassays found in the literature. Several extracts from supercritical extractions with solvent density ranging from 485.5 to 819.5 kg m^?3 have been tested. The influence of an entrainer addition to the supercritical fluid has also been investigated. The traditional extracts were obtained by hydrodistillation and organic Soxhlet extraction. The supercritical extracts were more efficient against S. littoralis than the traditionally obtained extracts.     

Aspects of spin-orbit effects in compounds containing heavy elements

This perspective article discusses some widely-known and some less-known consequences of spin-orbit effects in inorganic chemistry, and provides a brief outline of the theoretical methods currently in use, along with a discussion of recent developments and selected applications. This is of critical importance in the interpretation of the electronic delocalization, optical and magnetic properties and Jahn–Teller effects of compounds containing heavy elements.     

Nonuniform Dichotomies via Lyapunov Functions

For a nonautonomous linear equation x′ =  A(t)x we show how to characterize a nonuniform exponential dichotomy using strict Lyapunov functions. In particular, the stable and unstable subspaces are obtained from invariant families of cones determined by each Lyapunov function. We also obtain converse theorems, constructing explicitly a family of strict Lyapunov functions for each nonuniform exponential dichotomy. We emphasize that nonuniform exponential dichotomies include as a very particular case (uniform) exponential dichotomies.