Metallopyrrole-capped carbon nanocones

We design nickel-doped and nitrogen-doped carbon nanocones with various amounts of buckling that feature square-planar, (approximate) tetrahedral, and octahedral coordination. The optimized geometries and electronic structures of these novel metallocarbon complexes are calculated by using the B3LYP (Gaussian03) and GGA-BLYP (ADF) exchange-correlation functionals. We analyze buckling and stability of the nanocones, and discuss their potential for additional functionalization at the metallic site.     

Properties of wood-polymer composites with a polymer matrix containing sevilens

The effect of vinylacetate unit content in sevilen used as a polymer matrix or polyethylene compatibilizer on the properties of wood-polymer composites with a thermoplastic binders and filler of plant origin is studied. It is shown that the introduction of vinylacetate units decreases the tensile strength, contact elastic modulus, Brinell hardness, and water absorption of the composites, but increases the relative tensile elongation and impact viscosity without notch.     

Preparation and properties of wooden fiberboards with phenol cardanol formaldehyde adhesives

The results of a study of wooden fiberboards, for which phenol cardanol formaldehyde resins with different cardanol content were used as binders, are shown. The influence of technological factors on the bending strength of fiberboards and their water absorption in the case of the use of such binders is shown.     

2-Substituted imidazoles. 1. Reactions of 1-methyl-2-(2-furyl)imidazole with electrophiles

1-Methyl-2-(2-furyl)imidazole has been synthesized. Electrophilic attack (bromination, nitration, formylation, acylation, and hydroxymethylation) occurs in most cases at the free -position of the furan ring.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 10, pp. 1396–1400, October, 1989.     

IN SITU IR SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF HCOOH DECOMPOSITION OVER V-TI-O CATALYST

Decomposition of formic acid over V-Ti-O catalysts was studied by in situ IR spectroscopy. Four surface compounds, among which are H-bonded acid, one mono- and two bidentate formates (BF1 and BF2), were identified in the temperature range of 100-190°C. The activation energy and rate of the BF2 decomposition were found equal to those for the CO formation. This equality points to the involvement of BF2 in the HCOOH decomposition into carbon monoxide.     

Synthesis and Properties of 2-(2-Furyl)- and 2-(2-Thienyl)-1-methylphenanthro[9,10-d]imidazoles

Condensation of 9,10-phenanthrenequinone with 2-furaldehyde and 2-thiophenecarbaldehyde in glacial acetic acid in the presence of ammonium acetate gave 2-(2-furyl)- and 2-(2-thienyl)phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazoles which were converted into the corresponding 1-methyl derivatives. The furan and thiophene rings in the products lose their acidophobic properties. Depending on the conditions, electrophilic substitution reactions in 2-(2-furyl)- and 2-(2-thienyl)phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazoles occur both at the furan (thiophene) and phenanthrene moieties.     

Effects of emulsifier charge and concentration on pancreatic lipolysis. 1. In the absence of bile salts

An in vitro study is performed with sunflower oil-in-water emulsions to clarify the effects of type of used emulsifier, its concentration, and reaction time on the degree of oil lipolysis, α. Anionic, nonionic, and cationic surfactants are studied as emulsifiers. For all systems, three regions are observed when surfactant concentration is scaled with the critical micelle concentration, C(S)/cmc: (1) At C(S) < cmc, α ≈ 0.5 after 30 min and increases up to 0.9 after 4 h. (2) At C(S) ≈ 3 × cmc, α ≈ 0.15 after 30 min and increases steeply up to 0.9 after 2 h for the cationic and nonionic surfactants, whereas it remains around 0.2 for the anionic surfactants. (3) At C(S) above certain threshold value, α = 0 for all studied surfactants, for reaction time up to 8 h. Additional experiments show that the lipase hydrolyzes molecularly soluble substrate (tributirin) at C(S) > cmc, which is a proof that these surfactants do not denature or block the enzyme active center. Thus, we conclude that the mechanism of enzyme inhibition by these surfactants is the formation of a dense adsorption layer on an oil drop surface, which displaces the lipase from direct contact with the triglycerides.     

Interfacial layers from the protein HFBII hydrophobin: dynamic surface tension, dilatational elasticity and relaxation times

The pendant-drop method (with drop-shape analysis) and Langmuir trough are applied to investigate the characteristic relaxation times and elasticity of interfacial layers from the protein HFBII hydrophobin. Such layers undergo a transition from fluid to elastic solid films. The transition is detected as an increase in the error of the fit of the pendant-drop profile by means of the Laplace equation of capillarity. The relaxation of surface tension after interfacial expansion follows an exponential-decay law, which indicates adsorption kinetics under barrier control. The experimental data for the relaxation time suggest that the adsorption rate is determined by the balance of two opposing factors: (i) the barrier to detachment of protein molecules from bulk aggregates and (ii) the attraction of the detached molecules by the adsorption layer due to the hydrophobic surface force. The hydrophobic attraction can explain why a greater surface coverage leads to a faster adsorption. The relaxation of surface tension after interfacial compression follows a different, square-root law. Such behavior can be attributed to surface diffusion of adsorbed protein molecules that are condensing at the periphery of interfacial protein aggregates. The surface dilatational elasticity, E, is determined in experiments on quick expansion or compression of the interfacial protein layers. At lower surface pressures (<11 mN/m) the experiments on expansion, compression and oscillations give close values of E that are increasing with the rise of surface pressure. At higher surface pressures, E exhibits the opposite tendency and the data are scattered. The latter behavior can be explained with a two-dimensional condensation of adsorbed protein molecules at the higher surface pressures. The results could be important for the understanding and control of dynamic processes in foams and emulsions stabilized by hydrophobins, as well as for the modification of solid surfaces by adsorption of such proteins.     

Spectroscopic and computational investigation of the ground and low excited states of some symmetrical heterocyclic disulfides

The electronic absorption and emission spectra of some symmetrical heterocyclic disulfides are investigated. The reversible disulfide — thione transformation in water is discussed in view of the complex equilibrium processes present. UV irradiation and pH influence on the above transformation is also studied. The emission properties at room and low temperature are related to the computed molecular geometries of the ground and low excited states of the compounds.     

Intermolecular interactions of p-nitrophenol with butyl acetate,according to IR spectroscopic data

Infrared difference spectroscopy has been used to study the association of p-nitrophenol (NP) with butyl acetate (BA) in CCl₄ and in undiluted BA. It has been shown that in CCl₄, an associate is formed, [NP·BA] ·BA (Ia), in which one molecule of BA is linked to the NP by a hydrogen bond, and the second BA molecule is linked to the H-complex NP·BA by outer-sphere (dipole-dipole) interaction. In undiluted BA with low concentrations of NP, (Ia) is formed; with high concentrations of NP, an associate [(NP)₂BA] ·mBA is formed, in which two molecules of NP are bonded successively to each other and with a BA molecule; and the number of outer-sphere BA molecules may depend on the concentration of free BA molecules in the solutions.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 593–599, March, 1991.