Thermal behaviour of carbon clusters and small fullerenes

The structural and thermal properties of small carbon clusters (C _N , N = 13, 20, and 32) are investigated by constant energy Molecular Dynamics simulations over a wide range of temperatures, i.e., from T = 0K to above the melting point of graphitic carbon. The Tersoff interatomic potential [6] is used to mimic the covalent bond between the carbon atoms in the cluster. We find that small carbon clusters start to fragment or to evaporate atoms or C₂ or C₃ units before fully developing a liquidlike phase. As a consequence, some relevant isomers (such as rings, bowls, hollow cages) are thermally isolated from each other i.e., there are no thermally activated isomerization transitions between them. Possible implications of our results on the growth mechanism of fullerenes are discussed.     

A high performance system to study the influence of temperature in on-line solid-phase extraction capillary electrophoresis

A novel high performance system to control the temperature of the microcartridge in on-line solid phase extraction capillary electrophoresis (SPE–CE) is introduced. The mini-device consists in a thermostatic bath that fits inside of the cassette of any commercial CE instrument, while its temperature is controlled from an external circuit of liquid connecting three different water baths. The circuits are controlled from a switchboard connected to an array of electrovalves that allow to rapidly alternate the water circulation through the mini-thermostatic-bath between temperatures from 5 to 90 °C. The combination of the mini-device and the forced-air thermostatization system of the commercial CE instrument allows to optimize independently the temperature of the sample loading, the clean-up, the analyte elution and the electrophoretic separation steps.     

Combined Experimental and Computational Investigations of Rhodium‐Catalysed CH Functionalisation of Pyrazoles with Alkenes

Detailed experimental and computational studies have been carried out on the oxidative coupling of the alkenes C₂H₃Y (Y=CO₂Me ( a ), Ph ( b ), C(O)Me ( c )) with 3‐aryl‐5‐R‐pyrazoles (R=Me ( 1 a ), Ph ( 1 b ), CF₃ ( 1 c )) using a [Rh(MeCN)₃Cp*][PF₆]₂/Cu(OAc)₂ ? H₂O catalyst system. In the reaction of methyl acrylate with 1 a , up to five products ( 2 aa – 6 aa ) were formed, including the trans monovinyl product, either complexed within a novel Cu^I dimer ( 2 aa ) or as the free species ( 3 aa ), and a divinyl species ( 6 aa ); both 3 aa and 6 aa underwent cyclisation by an aza‐Michael reaction to give fused heterocycles 4 aa and 5 aa , respectively. With styrene, only trans mono‐ and divinylation products were observed, whereas with methyl vinyl ketone, a stronger Michael acceptor, only cyclised oxidative coupling products were formed. Density functional theory calculations were performed to characterise the different migratory insertion and β‐H transfer steps implicated in the reactions of 1 a with methyl acrylate and styrene. The calculations showed a clear kinetic preference for 2,1‐insertion and the formation of trans vinyl products, consistent with the experimental results.     

Transferring Ions from Solution to the Gas Phase: The Two Basic Principles

The efficient formation of gaseous ions is the crucial step in all successful mass spectrometric experiments. The invention of electrospray ionization (ESI) has strongly facilitated this step by transferring preformed ions directly from solution to the gas phase – thereby circumventing the need to first convert analytes to the gas phase and then ionize them – and therefore ESI has become an extremely useful and widely applied MS technique. The invention of sonic spray ionization (SSI) has also allowed for the transfer of ions from solution into the gas phase, but without the assistance of a voltage or heating. Numerous ionization techniques, using similar principles to those applied in either ESI or SSI, have subsequently been developed. Although experimental conditions used in such techniques vary markedly, herein we argue that they are all based on either one of two basic principles by which ions can be transferred from solution to the gas phase, that is: via (1) neutralizing the counter ion, or (2) separating the ions. We have selected 35 such techniques and categorized them accordingly. This article thereby aims to establish the basic principles by which gaseous ions can be obtained from solvated ions. We further propose that any new ionization technique used to transfer solvated ions to the gas phase will similarly fall into one of these two mechanistic categories.

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Constant Mean Curvature Surfaces in $${\mathbb {M}}^2(c)\times \mathbb {R}$$ and Finite Total Curvature

We consider surfaces with parallel mean curvature vector field and finite total curvature in product spaces of type \({\mathbb {M}}^n(c)\times {\mathbb {R}}\), where \({\mathbb {M}}^n(c)\) is a space form and characterize certain of these surfaces. When \(n=2\), our results are similar to those obtained in Bérard et al. (Ann Glob Anal Geom 16(3):273–290, 1998) for surfaces with constant mean curvature in space forms.     

Positive ground state of coupled systems of Schrödinger equations in involving critical exponential growth

In this paper, we study the existence of a positive ground state solution to the following coupled system of nonlinear Schrödinger equations: where the nonlinearities f₁(x,s) and f₂(x,s) are superlinear at infinity and have exponential critical growth of the Trudinger‐Moser type. The potentials V₁(x) and V₂(x) are nonnegative and satisfy a condition involving the coupling term λ(x), namely, λ(x)²<δ²V₁(x)V₂(x) for some 0<δ<1. For this purpose, we use the minimization technique over the Nehari manifold and strong maximum principle to get a positive ground state solution. Moreover, by using a bootstrap argument and L^q‐estimates, we get regularity and asymptotic behavior.     

Facile Synthesis and Structural Characterization by NMR,ESI–MS/MS and DFT Calculations of New (E)‐6‐[2‐Ferrocenylalkylidenehydrazino]nicotinic Hydrazides and Their (E)‐Ferrocenyl‐pyrazolyl‐pyridine Heterocyclic System

This paper reports a facile and convenient access by a conventional thermal procedure in ethanol as solvent to a new examples of (E)‐6‐[2‐ferrocenylalkylidenehydrazino]nicotinic hydrazides ( 3 ) (53–72%) from the quimioselective reactions of 6‐hydrazinonicotinc hydrazide ( 1 ) with acylferrocenes ( 2 ), where acyl = formyl and acetyl. Subsequently, cyclocondensation reactions of ferrocenylalkylidene hydrazones ( 3 ) with 4‐R¹‐4‐alkoxy‐1,1,1‐trifluoroalk‐3‐en‐2‐ones ( 4 ), where R¹ = Me, Ph, 2‐Furyl, to obtain new six heterocyclic derivatives as (E)‐pyrazolyl‐pyridinohydrazones ( 5 ) (58–63%), are also presented. The structures of these new heterocyclic compounds 5 containing an organometallic unit were characterized and studied by NMR, ESI–MS/MS techniques. DFT calculations were also employed to assign the E configuration for compounds 3 and 5 .