Hydrothermal reactions of formaldehyde and formic acid: free-energy analysis of equilibrium

The chemical equilibria concerning formaldehyde and formic acid are computationally investigated in water over a wide range of thermodynamic conditions. The free energy is evaluated in the method of energy representation for the solvent effect on the decomposition processes of these two compounds. The solvation is found to suppress the production of nonpolar species from a polar. In the two competitive decomposition reactions of formic acid, the solvent strongly inhibits the decarboxylation (HCOOH-->CO2+H2) and its effect is relatively weak for the decarbonylation (HCOOH-->CO+H2O). The equilibrium weights for the two decomposition pathways of formic acid are determined by the equilibrium constant of the water-gas-shift reaction (CO+H2O-->CO2+H2), which is an essential and useful process in fuel technology. The reaction control by the solvent is then examined for the water-gas-shift reaction. Through the comparison of the equilibrium constants in the absence and presence of solvent, even the favorable side of the reaction is shown to be tuned by the solvent density and temperature. The reaction equilibrium is further treated for aldehyde disproportionation reactions involving formaldehyde and formic acid. The disproportionation reactions are found to be subject to relatively weak solvent effects and to be dominated by the electronic contribution.     

Differential interactions of cyclodextrins with hydrophobic derivatives of sepharose CL-4B

The partition coefficients K_av between the solution phase and octyl- and phenyl-sepharose CL-4B were determined for three cyclodextrins (CDs), -CD, -CD and -CD in various aqueous solutions, as a measure of their interactions with the two hydrophobic ligands. K_av of the CDs increased in the order of -CD<-CD<-CD for octyl-sepharose CL-4B and -CD<-CD<-CD for phenyl-sepharose CL-4B. In all cases, K_av increased by increasing NaCl concentration in the aqueous solution phase and also by lowering temperature, but in the presence of NaBr and NaSCN, both chaotropic salts, K_av decreased markedly. The spontaneity of the transfer of the CDs from the aqueous solution phases to the gel phases was due to the enthalpy decrease. It was shown that discrete separation of the three CDs can be achieved by the hydrophobic chromatography on a short column (1×25cm) of octyl-sepharose CL-4B by adjusting the NaCl concentration and temperature.     

Preparation of phosphorus-containing polymers. XXVII. Polyester-imides that contain phenoxaphosphine rings

New phenoxaphosphine-containing polyester-imides were prepared by the interfacial polycondensation of a dichloroformyl-phenoxaphosphine derivative containing a preformed imide ring with five bisphenols. The polymerizations, which were carried out in a chloroform-aqueous sodium hydroxide mixture, afforded polyester-imides with reduced viscosities of 0.60–1.55 dL/g in 61–95% yields. The preformed imide ring did not undergo hydrolysis under the polymerization conditions. Several of the polymers were soluble in chloroform and could be cast into flexible and transparent films. The phenoxaphosphine-containing polyester-imides have good thermal properties, exhibiting little decomposition below 400°C. They appear to be more thermally stable than phenoxaphosphine-containing polyesters, but are not as thermally stable as the corresponding polyimides and polyamide-imides. The order of thermal stability for phenoxaphosphine-containing polymers in air is polyimide ? polybenzoxazole > polyamide-imide ? polybenzimidazole > polyester-imide > poly-1,3,4-oxadiazole ? polyamide > polyester. The polyester-imides exhibited self-extinguishing behavior.     

Molybdenum oxides as highly effective dehydrative cyclization catalysts for the synthesis of oxazolines and thiazolines

In the presence of molybdenum oxide the dehydrative cyclization of N-acylserines, N-acylthreonines, and N-acylcysteines can be carried out under Dean-Stark conditions in toluene to give oxazolines and thiazolines. The ammonium salts (NH(4))(6)Mo(7)O(24).4H(2)O and (NH(4))(2)MoO(4) have excellent catalytic activities for the dehydrative cyclization of serine and threonine derivatives, and the acetylacetonate complex MoO(2)(acac)(2) has a remarkable catalytic activity for the dehydrative cyclization of cysteine derivatives. In addition, polyaniline-supported MoO(2)(acac)(2) can easily be recovered and reused.     

Retardation of spontaneous polymerization of formaldehyde by acidic substances

The stability of liquid formaldehyde produced by pyrolysis of α-polyoxymethylene was studied in connection with the presence of impurities in the monomer. Liquid monomer was divided into several fractions by means of the distillation. The stability of each fraction for polymerization is dependent on the order of fraction, that is, the monomer obtained in the early fractions of distillation was much more stable with regard to polymerization than later distillate. Analyses of the monomer fractions indicated that various impurities such as carbon dioxide, water, methanol, and methyl formate were present in the early monomer distillates. From the influence of these impurities on the stability of liquid formaldehyde, it was found that small amounts of carbon dioxide and hydrogen cyanide noticeably depressed the polymerization, and that with acetic acid and maleic anhydride the rate of polymerization decreased with small amounts of these compounds but increased with an excess of additive. On the other hand, the addition of these acidic substances did not affect the molecular weight of the polymer produced. From the fact that the acidic substance retards only the initiation of polymerization, it has been concluded that the spontaneous polymerization of formaldehyde in bulk or in toluene solution is initiated by an anionic species.     

NMR studies on the reaction between methacrylonitrile and trimethylaluminum

The reaction of MAN with AlMe₃ was studied by the ¹³C- and ¹H-NMR spectral measurement. In the presence of an excess of AlMe₃, it was found that a 1:1 complex of MAN and AlMe₃ is initially formed and subsequently dimethyl(α-methyl isopropylidene amino)aluminum is produced by the reaction of the complex with AlMe₃. The isolated product was pale yellow crystal (mp 39–40°C). The kinetics of the reaction were also examined.     

Nucleophilic substitution of halopyridines by benzenethiolate anion via a radical chain mechanism

2-Halopyridines 1a-d reacted with sodium thiophenoxide in DMF at 80° to afford the ipso-substitution products. The following relative order of reactivity was observed: 2-iodopyridine ( 1a) ∼ 2-bromopyridine ( 1b) ≫ 2-chloropyridine ( 1c ) ∼ 2-fluoropyridine ( 1d ). The reaction of 1b is inhibited by the electron scavenger azobenzene and by the radical scavenger benzoqoquinone. Furthermore, results of the reaction of 3-bromopyridine ( 2b ) serve to rule out pyridyne mechanism. It is reasonable to suggest therefore that the reaction proceeds through the radical chain process containing one electron transfer, that is S_RN1.     

Nematocidal activity of long alkyl chain amides, amines, and their derivatives on dog roundworm larvae.

The nematocidal activity of amides and amines having a long alkyl chain against the second-stage larva of dog roundworm, Toxocara canis, was examined. Long chain acyl amides with smaller substituents on the nitrogen showed stronger activity and the activity of cyclic amine amides was stronger than that of acyclic ones. In a series of homologous amides, the activity was dependent on the alkyl chain length: it reached a maximum at an optimal chain length and decreased in both shorter and longer homologues. The relationship between the activity and hydrophobicity of the homologues was analysed by the use of the bilinear model. The hydrophobicity of a compound, which gives a maximal activity, was similar for all neutral amides, but amides which have an additional amine group in the molecule had different values. Tertiary amines and their salts having a long alkyl chain also showed nematocidal activities comparable to those of the corresponding amides. The salts killed the larva at concentrations lower than their critical micell concentration, suggesting that they behave as a single molecule for the nematocidal action.     

Cadystin a and b,major unit peptides comprising cadmium binding peptides induced in a fission yeast ----- separation,revision of structures and synthesis

The unit peptide, cadystin, of the cadmium-binding peptides occurring in a fission yeast was further separated into two major components, cadystin A and B, structures of which were determined to be 1 and 2, respectively, and confirmed by synthesis. The structure previously reported for cadystin was thus revised.     

Novel surface modified molecularly imprinted polymer focused on the removal of interference in environmental water samples for chromatographic determination

Uniformly sized molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for bisphenol A (BPA) with surface modification and immobilized intervals of functional monomers afforded by utilizing 4,4'-methylenebisphenol as a pseudo component have been prepared. MIPs for BPA were prepared using 4-vinyl pyridine immobilized in the most effective interval and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a functional monomer and cross-linking agent, respectively. Prepared MIPs showed significant selectivity for BPA retention and removal performance for interference in actual samples as the HPLC stationary phase compared to those of ordinary MIPs. These MIPs were employed as pretreatment media of column switching HPLC and the HPLC system provided a detection limit of 0.36 ppt when electrochemical detection was used. Actual samples, including Suwannee River natural organic matter (NOM), were applied and BPA was detected in the NOM even if widely used UV detection was employed.