Serial potentiometric and conductometric detection in fast non-suppressed ion chromatography applied to the analysis of filter collected airborne particulates

Non-suppressed ion chromatography (NSIC) has been optimized to permit the determination of chloride, nitrate and sulfate in the low mg/l concentration range within 3 min. Using conductometric detection the extraneous (positive) injection peak was found to adversely affect the early eluting chloride signal when samples with high amounts of total cations are analyzed. The serial arrangement of a downstream potentiometric detector with a chloride ion selective electrode, which does not respond to other alterations of the composition of the eluent than the change in chloride concentrations, is shown to be suitable for interference-free, sensitive and reliable chloride evaluation. Application of the proposed system to the determination of chloride in extracts of filter collected airborne particulates revealed (for those samples that could be evaluated by both detection methods) high precision and no systematic deviations between conductometric and potentiometric detection.Dedicated to Professor Dr. Peter Brätter on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of Secondary (E)-allyl alcohols from acetylenes and aldehydes via (1-alkenyl)zinc intermediates. Preliminary Communication

Hydroboration of aliphatic 1-alkynes with freshly prepared dicyclohexylborane (1 mol-equiv., hexane), treatment of the resulting [(E)-1-alkenyl]boranes 5 with Et₂Zn or Me₂Zn (1.05 mol-equiv.) followed by addition of (?)-3-exo-(dimethylamino)isoborneol (DAIB, 8 ; 0.01 mol-equiv.), subsequent addition of a solution of an aromatic or aliphatic aldehyde (1 mol-equiv., hexane), and quenching with aq. NH₄Cl provided (E)-allyl alcohols 6 usually in 70–95% yield with 79–98% enantiomeric excess (Scheme 3 and Table).     

Thermal and photochemical studies with stilbene oxides intramolecular trapping of carbonyl ylide intermediates

The annelated tetrahydrofuran derivatives 14 and 15, resp., are formed in moderate yield by intramolecular trapping reaction of the carbonyl ylide intermediates 9, which are generated either by thermal ring opening of the trans-stilbene oxides 7t/8t or by photolysis of the cis-isomers 7c/8c.     

Second-order nonlinear optical properties of the Ag(111)/electrolyte interface in the presence of self-assembled monolayers containing conjugated pi systems. I. Alpha-functionalized terthiophene films on Ag(111)

The nonlinear optical properties of self-assembled monolayers obtained from bonding two different alpha-functionalized terthiophenes (alpha-T3) to (111) silver electrode surfaces have been investigated using second harmonic generation (SHG). The two (alpha-T3) compounds used were functionalized with alkane chains of different lengths (C8 and C4), and each was terminated with a thiol anchoring group. A nitrile group was attached to the terminal thiophene ring of the (alpha-T3) compound with the C4 chain. The orientation of the polarization of the incident beam was changed systematically and gradually between "p" and "s" orientation and the SH signal (isotropic and anisotropic contributions) analyzed in both directions ("P" and "S"). The symmetry of the system was reduced by the presence of the adlayers from C3v to C3. The dependence on the applied potential and the incident wavelength has also been studied. The relative magnitudes and phases of the various second-order tensor elements have been estimated and compared with the values for a bare surface. A resonance process in the (alpha-T3) pi moiety has been investigated, and from this, the effective "band-gap" energies of the organic semiconductor SAMs (i.e., the energy difference between the pi-pi bands) have been estimated.     

Synthesis of 2,3-dihydropyrazolo[5,1-b]thiazoles via a tandem condensation sulfur-extrusion reaction

2,3-Dihydropyrazolo[5,1-b]thiazoles 3 are the first representatives of a heterocyclic system, which are conveniently prepared by heating 3-aminorhodanines 1 with ethyl 2-bromo-3,3-diethoxypropionate ( 2 ), via a tandem condensation-sulfur extrusion reaction.     

Copper—A “Modern” Bioelement

Copper is a bioessential element in biology with truly unique chemical characteristics in its two relevant oxidation states +I and +II. Significant progress has been made in recent years in the elucidation of the frequently surprising biochemistry of this trace element. Those advances were especially furthered through mutual stimulation involving results from biochemistry, molecular biology, and medicine on one hand and the synthesis as well as the structural and spectroscopic characterization of low molecular weight model complexes on the other. The most notable features of protein-bound active copper are its almost exclusive function in the metabolism of O₂ or N/O compounds (NO, N₂O) and its frequent association with oxidizing organic and inorganic radicals such as tyrosyl, semiquinones, superoxide, or nitrosyl. This unique biological role of copper can be rationalized given its chemical and assumed evolutionary background.     

A Convergent Synthesis of (±)-α- and β-Himachalenes

(±)-α and β-Himachalene, 5 and 6 , have been synthesized in a convergent manner from 3,3-dimethylacrolein ( 9 ), the ester enolate 10 and the silyloxypentadienyllithium 7 . The key steps are the regioselective γ-addition of the dienal 13 to 7 and the intramolecular Diels-Alder addition 15 → 16 . Hydrogenolysis of the diethylphosphate group and functionalization at C (5) completed the synthesis of 5 and 6 .     

Combined electron diffraction,conformational energy and vibrational investigations of cis-1,4-ditertiary butyl-cyclohexane

The structure of cis-1,4-ditertiarybutylcyclohexane(DTBC) was investigated by combined electron diffraction, conformational and vibrational analyses in order to obtain results which are more conclusive than those previously obtained by electron diffraction alone. In this study, first the minimum energy conformations for DTBC were calculated by the Westheimer-Hendrickson procedure using various force fields described in the literature; the same fields and the minimum energy conformations were used in subsequent vibrational analyses to calculate the mean amplitudes of vibration for each minimum energy conformation of DTBC; these mean amplitudes and the corresponding internuclear distances were then used to calculate the theoretical electron diffraction radial distribution curves which were compared to the experimental curves. The results indicate that the conformational energies of all the minimum energy chair and non-chair forms of DTBC are very similar. In excellent agreement with this, the theoretical radial distribution curves of all minimum energy forms have to be mixed for a best fit to the experimental radial distribution curve. A least squares analysis of the mixture under the described conditions yields for 110 °C a composition of approximately one third chair and two thirds non-chair forms. The quality of the empirical conformational force fields has a definite influence on the reliability of these results.     

Structures of Addition Products of Acetylenedicarboxylic Acid Esters with Various Dinucleophiles. An application of C,H-spin-coupling constants

Heterocyclic compounds obtained by addition of acetylenedicarboxylic acid esters to thioureas, cyclic amidines and o-difunctionalized aromatic systems have been studied by ¹³C-NMR. In particular, C, H-spin-coupling constants over two and three bonds were used to differentiate between the various constitutional isomers and to establish the configuration of trisubstituted exocyclic C, C-double bonds. The configurational significance and diagnostic value of vicinal cis and trans C,H-spin coupling is again demonstrated in the present series.