Stereoselective vinylation of aryl N-(2-pyridylsulfonyl) aldimines with 1-alkenyl-1,1-heterobimetallic reagents

Vinylation of aryl N-(2-pyridylsulfonyl) aldimines with versatile 1-alkenyl-1,1-borozinc heterobimetallic reagents is disclosed. In situ hydroboration of air-stable B(pin)-alkynes followed by chemoselective transmetalation with dimethylzinc and addition to aldimines provides B(pin)-substituted allylic amines in 53-93% yield in a one-pot procedure. The addition step can be followed by either B-C bond oxidation to provide α-amino ketones (71-98% yield) or Suzuki cross-coupling to furnish trisubstituted 2-arylated (E)-allylic amines (51-73% yield).     

Near-field subsurface detection using metamaterial inspired probes

Recently, it was shown that single negative media can significantly enhance the sensitivity of near-field probes. Inspired by this recent finding, a new near-field probe is proposed for noninvasive subsurface detection. The new probe uses a single split ring resonator (SRR) instead of a periodic arrangement of SRRs for negative material realization. Experimental tests were conducted to detect the presence of cracks on aluminum plates, the presence of small aluminum blocks located behind a layer of ground chicken (lossy medium), and the presence of a small aluminum block submerged in sodium chloride solution (lossy medium) with a salinity of 1%. Preliminary results show that the proposed near-field probe enables detection of electrically small targets buried in lossy media.     

Cubic versus spherical magnetic nanoparticles: the role of surface anisotropy

The magnetic properties of maghemite (gamma-Fe2O3) cubic and spherical nanoparticles of similar sizes have been experimentally and theoretically studied. The blocking temperature, T(B), of the nanoparticles depends on their shape, with the spherical ones exhibiting larger T(B). Other low temperature properties such as saturation magnetization, coercivity, loop shift or spin canting are rather similar. The experimental effective anisotropy and the Monte Carlo simulations indicate that the different random surface anisotropy of the two morphologies combined with the low magnetocrystalline anisotropy of gamma-Fe2O3 is the origin of these effects.     

Crystal structure of Li2B12H12: a possible intermediate species in the decomposition of LiBH4

The crystal structure of solvent-free Li2B12H12 has been determined by powder X-ray diffraction and confirmed by a combination of neutron vibrational spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. This compound is a possible intermediate in the dehydrogenation of LiBH4, and its structural characterization is crucial for understanding the decomposition and regeneration of LiBH4. Our results reveal that the structure of Li2B12H12 differs from other known alkali-metal (K, Rb, and Cs) derivatives.     

Comparison of different water-miscible solvents for the preparation of plasma and urine samples in metabolic profiling studies

The Lowry method and a capillary electrophoresis method were used to analyse protein residues in the supernatant after solvent deproteination of plasma. Acetonitrile and acetone were much more effective than methanol and ethanol at reducing the levels of proteins in plasma. The ability of different solvents to decrease levels of phospholipids in plasma samples was assessed using electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (MS). Phospholipid signals can obscure differences between samples in general metabolite profiling (i.e. non-target compound) studies. Acetonitrile was much more effective than methanol in reducing the MS signal due to phospholipids in plasma which is a consequence of the poor solubility of phospholipids in acetonitrile. The capability of the solvents at reducing salts in urine samples was also studied by using an amperometric method. Using this approach little difference was detected between methanol, ethanol, acetonitrile and acetone in their ability to desalt urine samples.     

Bioactive phenolic amides from Celtis africana

Nine compounds have been isolated for the first time from Celtis africana, namely trans-N-coumaroyltyramine (1), trans-N-feruloyltyramine (2), trans-N-caffeoyltyramine (3), lauric acid (4), oleic acid (5), palmitic acid (6), lupeol (7), β-sitosterol (8) and oleanolic acid (9), respectively. Their structures have been elucidated by different spectroscopic techniques. The isolated compounds were screened for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and acetylcholinestrease enzyme inhibitory activities. Compounds 1-3 showed significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities and weak to moderate acetylcholinestrease enzyme inhibition activity.     

Low temperature synthesis of cubic phase zinc sulfide quantum dots

In this study, we report on a new method for the synthesis of ZnS quantum dots (QDs). The synthesis was carried out at low temperature by a chemical reaction between zinc ions and freshly reduced sulfide ions in ethanol as reaction medium. Zinc chloride and elemental sulfur were used as zinc and sulfur sources, respectively and hydrazine hydrate was used as a strong reducing agent to convert elemental sulfur (S₈) into highly reactive sulfide ions (S²⁻) which react spontaneously with zinc ions. This facile, less toxic, inexpensive route has a high yield for the synthesis of high quality metal sulfide QDs. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image analysis and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) reveal that ZnS QDs are less than 3 nm in diameter and are of cubic crystalline phase. The UV-Vis absorption spectrum shows an absorption peak at 253 nm corresponding to a band gap of 4.9 eV, which is high when compared to the bulk value of 3.68 eV revealing strong quantum confinement. PL emission transitions are observed at 314 nm and 439 nm and related to point defects in ZnS QDs.     

Intramolecular arene epoxidation by phosphadioxiranes

Singlet oxygen reacts with binaphthyl phosphine derivatives such as 1,1'-binaphthyl di-tert-butyl phosphine to form the corresponding binaphthyl-2-oxide phosphine oxides. This new intramolecular arene epoxidation reaction proceeds with complete retention of stereochemistry. The binaphthyl-2-oxide di-tert-butyl phosphine oxide undergoes a slow "NIH-rearrangement" to form the corresponding hydroxylated product. A transient phosphadioxirane intermediate has been directly observed by low-temperature NMR. Kinetic analyses show that all of the phosphadioxirane intermediate is converted to product. [reaction: see text]     

Fe3O4 and gamma-Fe2O3 nanoparticles for the adsorption of Co2+ from aqueous solution

The adsorption of Co2+ ions from nitrate solutions using iron oxide nanoparticles of magnetite (Fe3O4) and maghemite (gamma-Fe2O3) has been studied. The adsorption of Co2+ ions on the surface of the particles was investigated under different conditions of oxide content, contact time, solution pH, and initial Co2+ ion concentration. It has been found that the equilibrium can be attained in less than 5 min. The maximum loading capacity of Fe3O4 and gamma-Fe2O3 nanoparticles is 5.8 x 10(-5) and 3.7 x 10(-5) mol m(-2), respectively, which are much higher than the previously studied, iron oxides and conventional ion exchange resins. Co2+ ions were also recovered by dilute nitric acid from the loaded gamma-Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 with an efficiency of 86 and 30%, respectively. That has been explained by the different mechanisms by including both the surface and structural loadings of Co2+ ions. The surface adsorption of Co2+ on Fe3O4 and gamma-Fe2O3 nanoparticles has been found to have the same mechanism of ion exchange reaction between Co2+ in the solution and proton bonded on the particle surface. The conditional equilibrium constants of surface adsorption of Co2+ on Fe3O4 and gamma-Fe2O3 nanoparticles have been determined to be log K=-3.3+/-0.3 and -3.1+/-0.2, respectively. The structural loading of Co2+ ions into Fe3O4 lattice has been found to be the ion exchange reaction between Co2+ and Fe2+ while that into gamma-Fe2O3 lattice to fill its vacancy. The effect of temperature on the adsorption of Co2+ was also investigated, and the value of enthalpy change was determined to be 19 kJ mol(-1).     

Photostability of lasing process from water solution of Rhodamine 6G with gold nanoparticles

We report the lasing performance and photobleaching of gain material containing a water solution of Rhodamine 6G dye and gold nanoparticles (NPs). In comparison to a pure dye solution, the investigated material demonstrated both enhancement and quenching of the lasing output, depending on the relative concentration of the gold NPs. Although the presence of NPs with an optimized concentration looks preferable in terms of the lasing output enhancement, such additives deteriorate the operational resource of the gain material; i.e., the photobleaching rate speeds up.