Studies aimed at the synthesis of morphine V an economic approach to (±)-reticuline from 3,4-dihydropapaverine

Regioselective demethylation of 3,4-dihydropapaveraldine ($\text{2}$a) at 7 and 3' positions affords a properly substituted diphenolic key intermidiate ($\text{2}$d) for the synthesis of reticuline and N-norreticuline.     

Distributed feedback multipeak laser emission in Rhodamine 6G doped organic-inorganic hybrids

Organic-inorganic hybrid materials were prepared from an ureasil precursor (ureapropyltriethoxysilane designated as UPTES) and acrylic acid modified zirconium (IV) n-propoxide. Thin films containing rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) were prepared by spin-coating on glass substrates with different Zr:Si molar ratios (Zr:Si = 75:25, 50:50 and 25:75). Refractive index, thickness, number of propagating modes and attenuation coefficient were measured at 543.5, 632.8 and 1550 nm wavelengths by the prism coupling technique. Distributed feedback (DFB) laser effect was observed and studied as a function of films thickness and refractive index.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">J/Ψ</Emphasis>production

For more than 25 yearsJΨ production has helped to sharpen our understanding of QCD. In proton induced reaction some observations are rather well understood while others are still unclear. The current status of the theory ofJΨ production will be sketched, paying special attention to the issues of formation time andJΨ re-interaction in a nuclear medium.     

Lattice vibrations of armchair carbon nanotubes: phonons,soliton deformations and lattice discreteness effects

Small and large-amplitude elastic deformations of the armchair structure of single-walled carbon nanotubes are investigated with emphasis on the cylindrical geometry. As starting model, we consider a discrete one-dimensional lattice of atoms interacting via a Lennard-Jones type two-body potential. In an expansion scheme using cylindrical coordinates where radial displacements are assumed negligible compared to the angular motions, a sine-lattice Hamiltonian is derived. In the limit of small-amplitude angular displacements, the dispersion spectrum of acoustic phonons is derived and the associate characteristic frequency is given as a function of parameters of the model. In the large-amplitude regime, lattice vibrations give rise to kink-type deformations which move undergoing lattice dispersion and lattice discreteness effects. The dispersion law of the kink motion is obtained and shown to lower the effect of lattice discreteness, giving rise to a vanishing Peierls stress for kink sizes of the order of a few lattice spacings. Implications of the coupling of two armchair structures on the stability of vibrational modes of an individual armchair nanotube are also discussed. A gap of forbidden modes is predicted in the phonon spectrum while the energy needed to create a kink deformation in individual nanotubes is shifted in the presence of a wall-to-wall interaction.Received: 2 August 2004, Published online: 14 December 2004PACS: 81.07.De Nanotubes - 62.30. + d Mechanical and elastic waves-vibrations - 63.22. + m Phonons in low-dimensional nanoscale materials - 63.20.Ry Anharmonic lattices modes     

Extraction-ability and -selectivity of tetra-aza-crown ethers for transition metal cations

In order to investigate the relative effects of the differences between the structures and lipophilicities of 1, 10-dioxa-4, 7, 13, 16-tetra-azacyclo-octadecane (TA-18-crown-6) and the tetrabenzyl derivative of 1,10-dioxa-4, 7, 13, 16-tetra-azacyclo-octadecane (TBTA-18-crown-6) on their extraction-abilities and -selectivities for transition metal cations, constants of the overall extraction (logK _ex) of 1:1 (M:L) complexes, the distribution (K _D) for two diluents (CH₂Cl₂ and CHCl₃) with different dielectric constants have been determined at 25 ± 0.1 °C. The magnitude of logK _ex is largely determined by that of K _D. The equilibrium constants of TA-18-crown-6 have been compared with those of TBTA-18-crown-6. It is found that:(i) logK _ex sequences of TA-18-crown-6 and TBTA-18-crown-6 for transition metals in CH₂Cl₂ lie in order: Fe³⁺ > Cu²⁺ > Mn²⁺ > Co²⁺ > Cd²⁺ > Ni²⁺ > Zn²⁺ and Fe³⁺ > Cu²⁺ > Co²⁺ > Mn²⁺ > Ni²⁺ > Cd²⁺ > Zn²⁺ respectively; (ii) the stability sequences of two types of tetra-aza-crown ethers with the transition metal cations in CHCl₃ are the same as follows: Fe³⁺ > Ni²⁺ > Cu²⁺ > Co²⁺ > Zn²⁺ > Cd²⁺ > Mn²⁺, and (iii) unusual selectivities are observed for transition metal-tetra-aza-crowns, e.g. the high Fe³⁺/M ⁿ⁺ selectivity factors (S_f) of TA-18-crown-6, except for the competitive-extractions for the special case in CHCl₃ of TBTA-18-crown-6, it was found that the Mn²⁺/M ⁿ⁺ values were relatively higher according to the other transition metal cations. A systematic sequence in these two types of solvents is not found for a given transition metal cation in terms of the variation of selectivity with the tetra-aza-crown ethers. The results provide alternatives for the rational design of other specific ligands on the transition metal cations.