Adduct Formation,B−H Activation and Ring Expansion at Room Temperature from Reactions of HBcat with NHCs

We report the reactions of catecholborane (HBcat; 1 ) with unsaturated and saturated NHCs as well as CAAC^Me. Mono‐NHC adducts of the type HBcat?NHC (NHC=nPr₂Im, iPr₂Im, iPr₂Im^Me, and Dipp₂Im) were obtained by stoichiometric reactions of HBcat with the unsaturated NHCs. The reaction of CAAC^Me with HBcat yielded the B?H activated product CAAC^Me(H)Bcat via insertion of the carbine‐carbon atom into the B?H bond. The saturated NHC Dipp₂SIm reacted in a 2:2 ratio yielding an NHC ring‐expanded product at room temperature forming a six‐membered ?B?C=N?C=C?N? ring via C?N bond cleavage and further migration of the hydrides from two HBcat molecules to the former carbene‐carbon atom.     

Modeling Damage Induced Initiation of Explosives

Sandia National Laboratories developed the DaMaGe Initiated Reaction (DMGIR) model to numerically predict weakly supported shock waves that generate an initiation at energy levels below the shock-to-detonation transition (SDT) of an explosive. The DMGIR model couples the strain energy fluence contribution from damage to the initiation process. It does not attempt to include all possible specific initiation mechanisms at the mesoscale, but instead looks at cumulative damage incurred in the explosive through experimental calibration of a small number of material constants. Both shock pressure (hydrostatic) and shear stress (deviatoric) are accounted for in the summation. The model was designed to be robust and relatively simple to calibrate. The DMGIR model is implemented into the Sandia National Laboratories’ CTH shock wave and large deformation code. The model runs concurrently with the existing History Variable Reactive Burn (HVRB) model currently used for shock initiation.     

Hydrophilic domain structure in polymer exchange membranes: Simulations of NMR spin diffusion experiments to address ability for model discrimination

We detail the development of a flexible simulation program (NMR_DIFFSIM) that solves the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spin diffusion equation for arbitrary polymer architectures. The program was used to explore the proton (¹H) NMR spin diffusion behavior predicted for a range of geometrical models describing polymer exchange membranes. These results were also directly compared with the NMR spin diffusion behavior predicted for more complex domain structures obtained from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The numerical implementation and capabilities of NMR_DIFFSIM were demonstrated by evaluating the experimental NMR spin diffusion behavior for the hydrophilic domain structure in sulfonated Diels‐Alder Poly(Phenylene) (SDAPP) polymer membranes. The impact of morphology variations as a function of sulfonation and hydration level on the resulting NMR spin diffusion behavior were determined. These simulations allowed us to critically address the ability of NMR spin diffusion to discriminate between different structural models, and to highlight the extremely high fidelity experimental data required to accomplish this. A direct comparison of experimental double‐quantum‐filtered ¹H NMR spin diffusion in SDAPP membranes to the spin diffusion behavior predicted for MD‐proposed morphologies revealed excellent agreement, providing experimental support for the MD structures at low to moderate hydration levels. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018 , 56, 62–78     

Synthesis of the Tolerance-Inducing Oligosaccharide Lacto-N-Fucopentaose III Bearing an Activated Linker

A concise synthetic route to an immunomodulatory pentasaccharide, lacto-N-fucopentaose III (1) and its corresponding human serum albumin conjugate, is described. Key transformations of the strategy include two highly regio- and stereoselective glycosylations for the construction of disaccharide 10 and pentasaccharide 12, a Birch reduction for deprotection of benzyl ethers, and a UV-promoted radical addition of a thiol to an alkene for modification of the aglycone.     

Preparation of Acyclic N-Acyl-N,O-acetals by Decarboxylation of N-Protected α-Amino Acids and Studies of Asymmetric Amidoalkylation with Trimethylsilyl Cyanide

Oxidative decarboxylation of N-acyl-α-amino acids with lead tetra-acetate followed by treatment with methanol provides a facile method for preparation of acyclic N-acyl-N,O-acetals, which can be used in asymmetric α-amidoalkylation reactions using trimethylsilyl cyanide as nucleophile.     

Radical Generation from the Gas-Phase Activation of Ionized Lipid Ozonides

Reaction products from the ozonolysis of unsaturated lipids at gas–liquid interfaces have the potential to significantly influence the chemical and physical properties of organic aerosols in the atmosphere. In this study, the gas-phase dissociation behavior of lipid secondary ozonides is investigated using ion-trap mass spectrometry. Secondary ozonides were formed by reaction between a thin film of unsaturated lipids (fatty acid methyl esters or phospholipids) with ozone before being transferred to the gas phase as [M + Na]⁺ ions by electrospray ionization. Activation of the ionized ozonides was performed by either energetic collisions with helium buffer-gas or laser photolysis, with both processes yielding similar product distributions. Products arising from the decomposition of the ozonides were characterized by their mass-to-charge ratio and subsequent ion-molecule reactions. Product assignments were rationalized as arising from initial homolysis of the ozonide oxygen–oxygen bond with subsequent decomposition of the nascent biradical intermediate. In addition to classic aldehyde and carbonyl oxide-type fragments, carbon-centered radicals were identified with a number of decomposition pathways that indicated facile unimolecular radical migration. These findings reveal that photoactivation of secondary ozonides formed by the reaction of aerosol-bound lipids with tropospheric ozone may initiate radical-mediated chemistry within the particle resulting in surface modification.

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Equilibrium states,pressure and escape for multimodal maps with holes

For a class of non-uniformly hyperbolic interval maps, we study rates of escape with respect to conformal measures associated with a family of geometric potentials. We establish the existence of physically relevant conditionally invariant measures and equilibrium states and prove a relation between the rate of escape and pressure with respect to these potentials. As a consequence, we obtain a Bowen formula: we express the Hausdorff dimension of the set of points which never exit through the hole in terms of the relevant pressure function. Finally, we obtain an expression for the derivative of the escape rate in the zero-hole limit.