Adsorption properties of gases on mesoporous chromium silicate

The properties of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide adsorption onto mesoporous chromium silicates were studied by measurements of both the adsorption isotherms and the IR spectra. The pore sizes of two types of chromium silicates, Cr-FSM-16 (Si/Cr=170 (Cr-FSM-16 [170]) and 390 (Cr-FSM-16 [390])), which contain different amount of Cr, were 2.75 nm. BET surface areas of Cr-FSM-16 were 590 m2/g and they were smaller than that onto FSM-16. The initial heat of adsorption of nitrogen onto Cr-FSM-16 was higher than that onto FSM-16. But the initial heat of adsorption of carbon dioxide onto Cr-FSM-16 was smaller than that onto FSM-16. These results indicated that Cr in Cr-FSM-16 decreased adsorption interaction with carbon dioxide. When nitrogen dioxide was adsorbed on FSM-16 and Cr-FSM-16 at 303 K under no light, an absorption band of nitrogen monoxide adsorbed was measured by IR spectroscopy. This decomposition of nitrogen dioxide by FSM-16 and Cr-FSM-16 was caused by SiOH and Cr, respectively.     

Cu-Catalyzed Desulfonylative Amination of Benzhydryl Sulfones

A new method for the synthesis of benzhydryl amines from the reaction of readily available sulfone derivatives with amines is described. The Cu-catalyzed desulfonylative amination not only provides structurally diverse benzhydryl amines in good yields, but is also applicable to iterative and intramolecular aminations. Control experiments suggested that the formation of a Cu-carbene intermediate generated from the sulfone substrate, which represents a new route for desulfonylative transformations.     

Determination of antihyperglycemic biguanides in serum and urine using an ion-pair solid-phase extraction technique followed by HPLC-UV on a pentafluorophenylpropyl column and on an octadecyl column

An HPLC-UV method was established for the determination of metformin and buformin in biological fluids. Metformin was not retained on particles packed in conventional solid-phase extraction cartridges; in contrast, buformin was retained too firmly and not eluted with a solvent for recovery. However, both drugs were retained on particles that had been treated with an ion-pair reagent of heptanesulfonate or dodecylsulfate and recovered almost completely. The recovered fraction was subjected to HPLC on a pentafluorophenylpropyl column which was suitable for the determination of both biguanides in serum and in urine. Limits of quantitation were low enough for clinical use, and reproducibility was high with an RSD of 0.9-2.3%. HPLC on a conventional octadecyl column was suitable only for the determination of buformin in serum since interfering peaks appeared on the chromatograms of urine samples. The method was applied to analysis of some clinical specimens.     

Formation and dissociation of rhodamine 800 dimers in water: steady-state and ultrafast spectroscopic study

We investigated the fundamental photophysics and photochemistry of a cationic dye rhodamine 800 (R800) in water using steady-state and ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopies. In the ground state, the monomer and dimer coexist in equilibrium, which causes significant concentration dependence of UV-visible (vis) absorption spectra. We determined the equilibrium constant as well as the molar absorption spectra of the monomer and dimer from a global fitting analysis of the UV-vis spectra. The obtained pure dimer spectrum indicates that it is a nonparallel H-dimer. In contrast to the absorption spectra, the steady-state fluorescence spectra do not show any noticeable concentration dependence. The fluorescence lifetime was determined as 0.73 ns regardless of the concentration, and the fluorescence of R800 in water was solely attributed to the monomer. In femtosecond time-resolved absorption measurements, we observed the S(n) <-- S1 absorption bands of the monomer and the dimer, as well as the ground-state bleaching signals. It was found that the S1 dimer dissociates to produce the S1 monomer (and the S0 monomer) or relaxes to the S0 dimer with a time constant of as short as 3.0 ps, which brings about the absence of dimer fluorescence.     

Spectroscopic study for photocatalytic decomposition of organic compounds on titanium dioxide containing sulfur under visible light irradiation

Yellowish S-containing TiO2 (S-TiO2) powders were prepared by calcination of a mixture of titanium(III) chloride and ammonium thiocyanate solutions. Three kinds of S-TiO2 were prepared by varying the concentration of ammonium thiocyanate (0.5, 1 or 13 M). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra of the S-TiO2 showed that sulfur atoms existed on the surface of TiO2 powders. But the peaks assigned to S disappeared after Ar+ etching, which means that these atoms were not doped in the bulk of the TiO2 powders. While UV-visible absorption spectra of S-TiO2 showed that the absorption edges of these photocatalysts were seen to shift to a longer wavelength (lower band gap energy) than those of undoped rutile TiO2 prepared and commercial anatase type TiO2 (ST-01). The S-TiO2 (1 M) exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than ST-01 for degradation of methylene blue in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation (lambda > 400 nm). It was also confirmed by IR spectroscopy that acetaldehyde in oxygen under visible light irradiation (lambda > 400 nm) was decomposed to acetic acid by the S-TiO2 and ST-01 at the first decomposition step.     

The dependence of catalytic activities of secondary functional beta-cyclodextrins on cavity structures.

Secondary imidazole-appended beta-cyclodextrin 5 with a nondistorted cavity synthesized from a novel intermediate 3-amino-3-deoxy-beta-cyclodextrin exhibits much greater catalytic activity in the ester hydrolysis than its isomer 6 with a distorted cavity, indicating that the catalytic activities of secondary functional cyclodextrins are dependent on cavity structures.     

Two‐Photon Absorption Properties of Dehydrobenzo[12]annulenes and Hexakis(phenylethynyl)benzenes: Effect of Edge‐Linkage

Two‐photon absorption (TPA) properties of two trefoil‐shaped compounds with different edge linkages—tris(hexadehydrotribenzo[12]annulene) and tris(tetradehydrotribenzo[12]annulene)—and three asterisk‐shaped compounds having no edge‐linkage—hexakis(phenylethynyl)benzenes—are investigated experimentally by the open‐aperture Z‐scan and TPA‐induced fluorescence methods with wavelength tuneable femtosecond pulses. The compound with ethynylene edge‐linkage exhibits the most intense TPA (the maximal TPA cross section is 1300±170 GM at 572 nm where 1 GM=10^?50 cm⁴ s molecule^?1 photon^?1). The TPA activity of the compounds is primarily explained in terms of the planarity of the molecules in relation with the type of edge‐linkage.     

Functionalization of cyclodextrins via reactions of 2,3-anhydrocyclodextrins

Three types of reactions of 2,3-anhydro-beta-cyclodextrins, namely nucleophilic ring-opening, reduction to 2-enopyranose, and reduction to 3-deoxypyranose, have been investigated to regio- and stereoselectively functionalize the secondary face of beta-cyclodextrin. Upon treatment with various nucleophiles, both 2,3-mannoepoxy and 2,3-alloepoxy-beta-cyclodextrins are found to undergo nucleophilic ring-opening reaction generating 3- and 2-modified cyclodextrin derivatives. In each case, the 3-position is more easily accessible than the 2-position. By using these ring-opening reactions, imidazolyl, iodo, azido, and benzylmercapto groups are selectively introduced to the secondary face of beta-cyclodextrin in place of the 2- or 3-hydroxyl groups. The functionalized cyclodextrins have either modified glucosidic subunits or modified altrosidic subunits that make the hydrophobic cavity slightly distorted from that of native beta-cyclodextrin. Thiourea also reacts with the cyclodextrin epoxides. In this case, thiirane and olefin species are generated instead of any ring-opening products. By ameliorating the reaction condition, cyclodextrin olefin, diene, and triene derivatives are prepared in moderate to good yields. Reduction of per[6-(tert-butyldimethyl)silyl]-beta-cyclodextrin permannoepoxide with lithium aluminum hydride produces the per(3-deoxy)-beta-cyclomannin. All these chemically modified cyclodextrins are structurally well characterized and most of them are expected to serve as versatile scaffolds for diverse purposes such as the construction of catalysts and development of synthetic receptors and molecular containers.     

Preparation of non-peptide,highly potent and selective antagonists of arginine vasopressin V1A receptor by introduction of alkoxy groups

A series of compounds structurally related to 4'-[(4,4-difluoro-5-methylidene-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-1-benzoazepin-1-yl)carbonyl]benzanilide were synthesized and evaluated for arginine vasopressin (AVP) antagonistic activity. Compounds with alkoxy groups (especially ethoxy group) at the 2'-position of benzanilide possessed potent affinity and selectivity for the V1A receptor versus V2 receptor. Further study has shown that the introduction of 4,4-dimethylaminopiperidino and morpholino groups at carbonylmethylene exhibited more potent affinity and selectivity for V1A receptors. Consequently, we found that the (Z)-4'-([4,4-Difluoro-5-[(4-dimethylaminopiperidino)carbonylmethylene]-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-1-benzoazepin-1-yl]carbonyl)-2-ethoxybenzanilide monohydrochloride (8d) and the (Z)-4'-[(4,4-Difluoro-5-morpholinocarbamoylethylene-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-1-benzoazepin-1-yl)carbonyl]-2-ethoxybenzanilide (8q) exhibited potent and selective V1A receptor antagonist activity. The synthesis and pharmacological properties of these compounds are detailed in this paper.