Asymmetric Carroll rearrangement of allyl alpha-acetamido-beta-ketocarboxylates catalysed by a chiral palladium complex

Asymmetric decarboxylative rearrangement (Carroll rearrangement) of allyl alpha-acetamido-beta-ketocarboxylates was catalysed by a palladium complex modified with a chiral phosphine ligand, giving optically active gamma,delta-unsaturated alpha-aminoketones with up to 90% ee.     

The translation-rotation paradox in the nucleation theory

The factor of 10¹⁷ proposed by Lothe and Pound in the theory of nucleation of droplets from the vapor phase is studied using classical statistical mechanics. The controversial factor is derived from partition functions for an isolatedn-mer and for ann-molecular cluster imbedded in the bulk liquid phase. The rotational degrees of freedom have no place in, in agreement with Reiss, Katz, and Cohen's treatment. It is proved that the surface free energy of a cluster is proportional to the surface area. The estimate of what Lothe and Pound called the replacement term is different from those of previous authors. It is concluded that is written as a ratio = _g/_l, where _g and _l , are the volumes per molecule in the gas phase and in the liquid phase, respectively. For water at 300K, is approximately equal to 10₄.     

Solid-state polymerization of N-carboxy-L-leucine anhydride crystals in n-hexane

4-Isobutyloxazolidinedione, L -leucine N-carboxy anhydride, was polymerized to produce high molecular weight polymer with triethylamine in n-hexane which is not a solvent for the N-carboxy anhydride and poly-L -leucine. It was found that as the crystal size became smaller, the total surface area was increased, the initial rate of polymerization was increased, and inherent viscosity of the formed polymer was decreased.     

Heteropoly compounds as octahedral high valence complex. Spectrochemical properties of Waugh-structure enneamolybdonickelate(IV) and enneamolybdomanganate(IV) ions

Electronic absorption and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectra in UV-vis region of Waugh-structure [XMo₉O₃₂]^6?(X = Ni(IV), Mn(IV)) ion in aqueous solution and solid IR spectra have been measured. The Ni(IV) ion in the polyanion has a low-spin d⁶ electronic configuration and the Mn(IV) ion has a d³ configuration. Visible absorption spectrum of the nickelate(IV) polyanion is interpreted to be mainly governed by charge-transfer transitions of the “ligand”, Mo₉O₃₂, to Ni(IV) ion, rather than d-d transitions, while visible absorption of the manganate(IV) polyanion is governed, to a great extent, by d-d transitions. It is indicated by the MCD spectrum that the splitting of the first d-d absorption in the manganate(IV) polyanion is due to a contribution of the spin-forbiden transition, rather than from a trigonal splitting of the spin-allowed transition. Absorption and MCD spectra in UV region are due to charge-transfer transition within a common “ligand”, which are less influenced by the kind of heteroatom, Ni(IV) or Mn(IV). The MCD pattern by the intra-ligand charge-transfer is especially characteristic of the Waugh-structure polyanions.     

Efficiency at maximum power of low-dissipation Carnot engines

We study the efficiency at maximum power, η*, of engines performing finite-time Carnot cycles between a hot and a cold reservoir at temperatures Th and Tc, respectively. For engines reaching Carnot efficiency ηC=1-Tc/Th in the reversible limit (long cycle time, zero dissipation), we find in the limit of low dissipation that η* is bounded from above by ηC/(2-ηC) and from below by ηC/2. These bounds are reached when the ratio of the dissipation during the cold and hot isothermal phases tend, respectively, to zero or infinity. For symmetric dissipation (ratio one) the Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency ηCA=1-√Tc/Th] is recovered.     

Stress-assisted nucleation and growth of γ″ and γ′ precipitates in a Cu–1.2 wt%Be–0.1 wt%Co alloy aged at 320°C

An investigation by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy of the precipitation process during ageing a Cu–1.2?wt%Be–0.1?wt%Co alloy at 320°C has revealed that the transition phases follow a γ″→ γ″?+?γ′?→?γ sequence. The γ′ phase heterogeneously precipitates on the γ″ phase. The effects of an external stress on the nucleation and growth of disc-shaped γ″ and plate-shaped γ′ precipitates have been examined for the alloy aged at 320°C. A compressive stress applied in the [001] direction during ageing preferentially accelerates the nucleation and growth of the γ″ variant normal to the [001] axis among three crystallographically equivalent variants and the specific four γ′ variants formed on the γ″ variant normal to the [001] axis. A tensile stress does not significantly affect those of γ″ and γ′ precipitates. The critical diameter of the disc-shaped γ″ nucleus is estimated as about 1?nm from evaluation of the interaction energy between the applied stress and the misfit strains of γ″ precipitates. It is proposed that applied external stress does not affect the diffusion rate but the interphase boundary velocity.