Electrochemically reduced tungsten‐based active species as catalysts for metathesis‐related reactions: ring‐opening metathesis copolymerization of cyclopentene with cyclooctene

The ring‐opened metathesis copolymerization of cyclopentene with cyclooctene by an electrochemically generated WCl₆‐based catalyst has been prepared and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy used to analyse in detail the nature of the homo‐ and hetero‐dyad units. This copolymer was characterized by gel‐permeation chromatography (M_n = 12 900, PDI= 2.2) and differential scanning calorimetry analysis. The glass‐transition temperature T_g of the copolymer was ?18.7 °C. Homopolymerization of cyclopentene is also reported to compare with copolymers produced in this work. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design of an Imipramine‐Selective Electrode Based on an Ion‐Pair and its Application to Pharmaceutical Analysis

Ion‐selective electrodes play an important role in pharmaceutical analysis due to their simplicity, rapidity and accuracy over some other analytical methods. This research introduces the design of an ion‐pair of imipramine‐tetraphenyl borate (IMP‐TPB) based PVC membrane sensor for IMP hydrochloride determination. Effect of the membrane composition, the pH influence and the effect of lipophilic anionic additives on the response characteristics of the electrode were investigated. After a series of experiments, the best electrode performance was accomplished with a membrane composition of 30% PVC, 63% DBP, 5% (IMP‐TPB) and 2% (NaTPB). This electrode illustrated a fast (15 s), stable and Nernstian response across a relatively wide IMP hydrochloride concentration range (10^?5 to 10^?5 M), in the pH range of (3.0–8.0), and it can be used for at least two months without any measurable change in sensitivity. Additionally, the interference between IMP and several drugs and common inorganic anions was negligible as shown by the potentiometric selectivity coefficient data. The membrane sensor was successfully applied to the determination of IMP in tablets and human urine samples, and very good recovery results were obtained.     

Preconcentration of beryllium via octadecyl silica gel microparticles doped with aluminon, and its determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple and sensitive method is presented for solid phase extraction (SPE) and preconcentration of trace quantities of beryllium using octadecyl silica gel modifed with aurin tricarboxylic acid (aluminon). Beryllium is then determined by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. Parameters affecting SPE such as pH, sample solution and eluent flow rate, type, concentration and volume of eluent, interfering ions and breakthrough volume, were investigated. Under optimal conditions, the beryllium ions were retained on the sorbent at pH 6–6.7, while 3.0 mL of 0.05 mol L^?1 HNO₃ is sufficient to elute the ions. The limit of detection (LOD) based on 3σ was 0.8 µg L^?1 for 250 mL sample solution and 5 mL 0.05 mol L^?1 HNO₃ as eluent. The LOD can reach 0.1 µg L^?1 for 1 L sample solution and 3 mL of 0.05 mol L^?1 HNO₃. The accuracy and precision (RSD %) of the method is >90% and <10%, respectively. The method was applied to the determination of beryllium in aqueous samples.     

Nanoscale elastic modulus variation in loaded polymeric micelle reactors

Tapping mode atomic force microscopy (TM-AFM) enables mapping of chemical composition at the nanoscale by taking advantage of the variation in phase angle shift arising from an embedded second phase. We demonstrate that phase contrast can be attributed to the variation in elastic modulus during the imaging of zinc acetate (ZnAc)-loaded reverse polystyrene-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P2VP) diblock co-polymer micelles less than 100 nm in diameter. Three sample configurations were characterized: (i) a 31.6 μm thick polystyrene (PS) support film for eliminating the substrate contribution, (ii) an unfilled PS-b-P2VP micelle supported by the same PS film, and (iii) a ZnAc-loaded PS-b-P2VP micelle supported by the same PS film. Force-indentation (F-I) curves were measured over unloaded micelles on the PS film and over loaded micelles on the PS film, using standard tapping mode probes of three different spring constants, the same cantilevers used for imaging of the samples before and after loading. For calibration of the tip geometry, nanoindentation was performed on the bare PS film. The resulting elastic modulus values extracted by applying the Hertz model were 8.26 ± 3.43 GPa over the loaded micelles and 4.17 ± 1.65 GPa over the unloaded micelles, confirming that phase contrast images of a monolayer of loaded micelles represent maps of the nanoscale chemical and mechanical variation. By calibrating the tip geometry indirectly using a known soft material, we are able to use the same standard tapping mode cantilevers for both imaging and indentation.     

Supramolecular self-assembly of new thiourea derivatives directed by intermolecular hydrogen bonds and weak interactions: crystal structures and Hirshfeld surface analysis

Research on Chemical Intermediates - We synthesized and characterized a series of four closely related thiourea derivatives (1–4) obtained by reaction of 4-R-benzoyl chloride (R: H, Cl, CH3,...     

Switching Stability of Automotive Roll Dynamics Subject to Interval Uncertainty

In this paper we apply some recent results on the stability of switched systems with interval uncertainty for analyzing the roll stability of automotive vehicles subject to bounded parametric uncertainties and switching. The application is motivated by the fact that the roll dynamics of an automotive vehicle is affected in a significant and a nonlinear fashion due to possible sudden switches in the vehicle's center of gravity (CG) height, as well as the uncertainty in the suspension parameters. Utilizing a recent stability result, it is possible to model such parametric variations as bounded interval uncertainties for this problem, and obtain easily verifiable conditions for analyzing the stability of the resulting switched/uncertain system. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Ring‐opening metathesis polymerization of cyclododecene using an electrochemically reduced tungsten‐based catalyst

The ring‐opening metathesis polymerization of cyclododecene using an electrochemically reduced tungsten‐based catalyst (WCl₆? e^?? Al? CH₂Cl₂) is described. In addition, the influence of reaction conditions on the polymerization yield was determined. The resulting polymer has been characterized by NMR, IR, gel permeation chromatography and differential scanning calorimetry. The glass transition temperature and melting point of the polydodecenamer are 19.6°C and 70.0°C respectively. Furthermore, cyclododecene has been polymerized into a low‐molecular‐weight polymer (12.0 × 10³) with a polydispersity of 2.06 in high yields (94%). IR and NMR analysis indicate that the polydodecenamer has a high trans content (60%). Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

γ-Al2O3-Supported 12-Tungstosilicic Acid as an Efficient Heterogeneous Catalyst for the Synthesis of α-Aminonitrile

The multicomponent Strecker reaction using trimethylsilyle cyanide was performed in very short reaction times, and α-aminonitriles were prepared in excellent yields in the presence of a catalytic amount of alumina-supported tungstosilicic acid.     

Decentralised Control Design of Lateral and Vertical Vehicle Dynamics using Passivity

In this paper, we present a novel methodology to design block–diagonal stable decentralised controllers based on the Kalman–Yakubovich–Popov lemma. The approach yields closed–loop systems that are robust with respect to parameter uncertainty and structural perturbations. We demonstrate the methodology by designing controllers for the lateral and vertical subsystems of a vehicle emulator; namely, a test vehicle that can mimic the behaviour of a wide range of vehicles. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)