Homoleptic Organoderivatives of High‐Valent Nickel(III)

Homoleptic perhalophenyl derivatives of divalent nickel complexes with the general formula [NBu₄]₂[Ni^II (C₆X₅)₄] [X=F ( 1 ), Cl ( 2 )] have been prepared by low‐temperature treatment of the halo‐complex precursor [NBu₄]₂[NiBr₄] with the corresponding organolithium reagent LiC₆X₅. Compounds 1 and 2 are electrochemically related by reversible one‐electron exchange processes with the corresponding organometallate(III) compounds [NBu₄][Ni^III (C₆X₅)₄] [X=F ( 3 ), Cl ( 4 )]. The potentials of the [Ni^III (C₆X₅)₄]^?/[Ni^II (C₆X₅)₄]^2? couples are +0.07 and ?0.11 V for X=F or Cl, respectively. Compounds 3 and 4 have also been prepared and isolated in good yield by chemical oxidation of 1 or 2 with bromine or the amminium salt [N(C₆H₄Br‐4)₃][SbCl₆]. The [Ni^III (C₆X₅)₄]^? species have SP‐4 structures in the salts 3 and 4 , as established by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction methods. The [Ni^II (C₆F₅)₄]^2? ion in the parent compound 1 has also been found to exhibit a rather similar SP‐4 structure. According to their SP‐4 geometry, the Ni^III compounds (d⁷) behave as S=1/2 systems both at microscopic (EPR) and macroscopic levels (ac and dc magnetization measurements). The spin Hamiltonian parameters obtained from the analysis of the magnetic behavior of 3 and 4 within the framework of ligand field theory show that the unpaired electron is centered mainly on the metal atom, with >97 % estimated d contribution. Thermal decomposition of 3 and 4 proceeds with formation of the corresponding C₆X₅? C₆X₅ coupling compounds.     

Linear compartmental systems: II—A software to obtain the symbolic kinetic equations

Software has been implemented in this work to take full advantage of the characteristics of current operating systems and to provide the optimized symbolic kinetic equations for the linear compartmental systems derived in part I of this series. This software, called RM-w2011, is implemented using the C# language and runs under Windows XP, Vista and 7. It is applicable to any linear compartmental system, closed or open, and with a zero input in one or more of its compartments. Apart from the optimized equations that the software provides, if so desired, non optimized equations are offered to compare the advantage of using optimized equations while using non optimized ones, whenever they do not coincide. Moreover, the software circumvents the limitations of other previous software tools that operated with non optimized symbolic equations.     

Photoinduced optical anisotropy in azobenzene containing block copolymer–homopolymer blends. Influence of microstructure and molecular weight

Microstructure in two diblock methacrylic azo polymers and in some of their blends with PMMA of different molecular weights as well as their photoinduced anisotropy have been investigated. The block copolymers have similar structure but different azo content and degree of polymerization. A synthetic strategy based on a controlled radical polymerization (ATRP) of polymeric blocks and their coupling by click chemistry has been applied to obtain an azo block copolymer of high molecular weight. Microphase segregation has been observed in the block copolymers and in most of the blends. In blends of the block copolymer with lower degree of polymerization (Block 1) azo microdomains change from lamellar to spherical morphology when the azo content decreases from 24 to 3 wt.%. In the block copolymer with higher degree of polymerization (Block 2) and its blends, down to 3 wt.% azo content, spherical azo microdomains have been found. A decrease of the order parameter (η) and the photoinduced birefringence normalized to the azo content (|Δn|_norm) has been found in blends of Block 1 when the azo content decreases. However, |Δn|_norm and η values similar to those in the azo homopolymer have been observed in Block 2 and its blends. These blends can be used to lower the azo content while keeping a photoinduced response similar to that in the azo homopolymer.     

Simple Designs for the Construction of Complex Trans-Fused Polyether Toxin Frameworks. A Convergent Strategy Based on Hydroxy Ketone Cyclization of C-Linked Oxacycles

A single, unified convergent strategy for the stereocontrolled synthesis of trans-fused polyethers was developed. It was demonstrated that the epimerization and reductive intramolecular coupling of hydroxy ketones in reactions with silane-Lewis acids (SI-LA) to generate ethers in C-linked oxacycles is affected by its conformational preference in a predictable manner. The obtained results make evident that the influence of hydrogen bonding between a hemiketal hydroxyl and a 1,3-diaxial C-O bond is regular and predictable and that convergent synthesis of trans-fused polyethers may confidently be conducted on driving ring closure to oxane rings under thermodynamic conditions     

Evaluation of triclosan and biphenylol in marine sediments and urban wastewaters by pressurized liquid extraction and solid phase extraction followed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry

Analytical methods, based on GC–MS and LC–MS, for the determination of traces of 2,4,4′-trichloro-2′-hydroxydiphenyl ether (triclosan) and biphenylol in urban wastewater and marine sediments were developed. These methods involve the use of diverse analytical techniques, such as solid phase extraction (SPE) and pressurized liquid extraction for sample preparation, and GC–negative chemical ionization MS and LC–electrospray ionization (ESI) MS–MS for identification and quantification. The recoveries of triclosan and biphenylol were 84 and 80% in wastewater and 100 and 73% in sediments, respectively. Detection limits obtained were in the range of ppb and ppt. To prove their applicability to real samples and as part of a more extensive monitoring program, the developed methods were applied to the analysis of wastewater samples, coming from an urban wastewater treatment plant (UWWTP), and of marine sediment samples collected at the outflow of two UWWTPs to the sea. Results obtained reveal the presence of triclosan in all the samples at concentrations that ranged from 0.8 to 37.8 μg/l in wastewater and from 0.27 to 130.7 μg/kg in sediments. These preliminary data reinforce the interest for further research on this topic.     

Simultaneous extraction of tocotrienols and tocopherols from cereals using pressurized liquid extraction prior to LC determination

Tocopherols and tocotrienols have been simultaneously determined in food samples using a rapid and simple analytical method including pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and LC with electrochemical detection. Separation was carried out on a Phenomenex Synergi 4 μm Hydro‐RP 80A column, using a solution of 2.5 mM acetic acid/sodium acetate in methanol/water (99:1, v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Column temperature was maintained at 30°C. Detection was performed by coulometric detection at 500 mV except for (β+γ)‐tocotrienol, in wheat and rye samples, which was at +350 mV. A palm oil containing a relatively large amount of γ‐tocotrienol and lower concentrations of α‐ and δ‐tocotrienols and α‐ and γ‐tocopherols was used to provide reference retention times for the tocotrienols. Analyte quantification was performed using the external standard method. The calibration equations of tocopherols were used to quantify both tocopherols and their corresponding tocotrienols. The extraction recoveries obtained using the optimized PLE conditions were in the 80–114% range, with RSDs lower than 15%. The method was successfully applied to the determination of tocotrienols and tocopherols in cereal (wheat, rye, barley, maize and oat) and palm oil samples.     

Metal-catalyzed oxidation and epoxidation of alpha-hydroxy vinyl and dienyl sulfoxides

Treatment of acyclic alpha-hydroxyalkyl alpha,beta-unsaturated sulfoxides with t-BuOOH/VO(acac)2 results in rapid oxidation to the unsaturated sulfones followed by an unusual regio- and stereoselective epoxidation at the unsaturated sulfones; this methodology has been applied to the preparation of carbohydrate-like fragments.     

On Ovals of Riemann Surfaces of Even Genera

Let X be a Riemann surface of genus g2. A symmetry of of X is an antiholomorphic involution acting of X. A classical theorem of Harnack states that the set Fix () of fixed points of is either emplty or it consists of g+1 disjoint simple closed curves called, following Hilberts terminology, the ovals of . A Riemann surface admitting a symmetry corresponds to a real algebraic curve and nonconjugate symmetries correspond to different real models of the curve. The number of ovals of the symmetry equals the number of connected components of the corresponding real model. It is well known that two symmetries of a Riemann surface of genus g have at most 2g+2 ovals, and the bound is attained for every genus and just for commuting symmetries. Natanzon showed that three and four nonconjugate symmetries of a Riemann surface of genus g have at most 2g+4 and 2g+8 ovals respectively, and these bounds are attained for every odd genus and for commuting symmetries. Natanzon found that a Riemann surface of genus g has at most 2( +1) nonconjugate symmetries and, again, this bound is attained for infinitely many of g. Recently we have showed that a Riemann surface of even genus g admits at most four symmetries. Our aim here is to show, using NEC groups and combinatorial methods, that three nonconjugate symmetries of a surface of even genus g has at most 2g+3 ovals and, surprisingly, if such a surface admits four nonconjugate symmetries then its total number of ovals does not exceed 2g+2. Furthermore, we show that this last bound is sharp for every even genus g and for surfaces with automorphism group D _n × Z₂, for each n dividing 2g.     

Synthesis and characterization of new five-coordinate platinum nitrosyl derivatives: density functional theory study of their electronic structure

The neutral, five-coordinate platinum nitrosyl compounds [Pt(C(6)F(5))(3)(L)(NO)] (2) [L=CNtBu (2 a), NC(5)H(4)Me-4 (2 b), PPhMe(2) (2 c), PPh(3) (2 d) and tht (2 e)] have been prepared by the reaction of [NBu(4)][Pt(C(6)F(5))(3)(L)] (1) with NOClO(4) in CH(2)Cl(2). The ionic compound [N(PPh(3))(2)][Pt(C(6)F(5))(4)(NO)] (4) has been prepared in a similar way starting from the homoleptic species [N(PPh(3))(2)](2)[Pt(C(6)F(5))(4)] (3). Compounds 2 and 4 are all diamagnetic with [PtNO](8) electronic configuration and show nu(NO) stretching frequencies at around 1800 cm(-1). The crystal and molecular structures of 2 c and 4 have been established by X-ray diffraction methods. The coordination environment for the Pt center in both compounds can be described as square pyramidal (SPY-5). Bent nitrosyl coordination is observed in both cases with Pt-N-O angles of 120.1(6) and 130.2(7) degrees for 2 c and 4, respectively. The bonding mechanism of the nitrosyl ligand coordinated to various model [Pt(II)R(4)](2-) (R=H, Me, Cl, CN, C(6)F(5) or C(6)Cl(5)) and [Pt(C(6)F(5))(3)(L)](-) (L=CNMe, PH(3)) systems has been studied by density functional calculations at the B3LYP level of theory, using the SDD basis set. The R(4)Pt-NO and (C(6)F(5))(3)(L)Pt-NO interactions generally involve two components: i) a direct Pt-NO bonding interaction and ii) multicenter-bonding interactions between the N atom of the NO ligand and the donor atoms of the R and L ligands. Moreover, with the more complex R groups, C(6)F(5) or C(6)Cl(5), a third component has been found to arise, which involves multicenter electrostatic interactions between the positively charged NO ligand and the negatively charged halo-substituents in the ortho-position of the C(6)X(5) groups (X=F, Cl). The contribution of each component to the Pt-NO bonding in R(4)Pt-NO and (C(6)F(5))(3)(L)Pt-NO compounds seems to be modulated by the electronic and steric effects of the R and L ligands.