Ruthenium(II) complexes of monodonor ligands: efficient reagents for asymmetric ketone hydrogenation

[Chemical reaction: See text] A series of BINOL-derived ligands have been prepared and incorporated into ruthenium(II) complexes containing a diamine ligand. The complexes have proven to be excellent catalysts for the asymmetric hydrogenation of ketones, giving reduction products with enantiomeric excesses of up to 99%.     

Rhodium-catalyzed reductive aldol reactions using aldehydes as the stoichiometric reductants

Chelated acyl rhodium hydrides, generated from the addition of [Rh(dppe)]ClO4 to beta-sulfide-substituted aldehydes, can function as the stoichiometric reductants in reductive aldol processes. Unsaturated nitriles, esters, and ketones can be used as enolate equivalents, and a variety of simple alpha- and beta-substituted aldehydes can be employed. The use of a second, more electrophilic, aldehyde allows three-component reactions to be performed.     

Non-linear dielectric spectroscopy: antifouling and stabilisation of electrodes by a polymer coating

Non-linear dielectric spectroscopy (NLDS) has previously been shown to produce quantitative information that is indicative of the metabolic state of various organisms, by modeling the non-linear effects of their membranous enzymes on an applied oscillating electromagnetic field using supervised multivariate analysis methods. However, the instability of the characteristics of the measuring apparatus rendered the process temperamental at best in the laboratory and impractical for field use. The main practical problem, of the non-stationarity of the electrode-solution interface and the ease with which the electrode surfaces are subject to protein fouling. It is addressed by applying a thin, electrically transparent antifouling coat to the electrodes. This reduces the interminable cleaning procedures previously required to prepare the electrodes for use, increases their usable lifetime before recleaning, and also improves the precision and linearity of multivariate models on NLDS data.     

Probing the electronic structures of ternary perovskite and pyrochlore oxides containing Sn(4+) or Sb(5+)

Experimental and computational studies were performed to understand the electronic structure of ternary perovskites (ASnO(3), A = Ca, Sr, Ba, Cd), pyrochlores (RE(2)Sn(2)O(7), RE = Y, La, Lu; Cd(2)Sb(2)O(7)), and defect pyrochlore oxides (Ag(2)Sb(2)O(6)) containing the main group ions Sn(4+) and Sb(5+). In all compounds, the lowest energy states in the conduction band arise primarily from the antibonding Sn/Sb 5s-O 2p interaction. In the alkaline-earth stannate perovskites (BaSnO(3), SrSnO(3), and CaSnO(3)) the conduction bandwidth decreases strongly in response to the octahedral tilting distortion triggered by the decreasing size of the alkaline-earth cation. This in turn leads to a corresponding increase in the band gap from 3.1 eV in BaSnO(3) to 4.4 eV in CaSnO(3). The band gap of CdSnO(3) is relatively small (3.0 eV) considering the large octahedral tilting distortion. The origin of this apparent anomaly is the mixing between the empty Cd 5s orbitals and the antibonding Sn 5s-O 2p states. This mixing leads to a widening of the conduction band and a corresponding decrease in the band gap. The participation of the normally inert A-site cation in the electronic structure near the Fermi level can be considered an inductive effect, as it utilizes substitution on the A-site to directly modify the electronic structure of the SnO(3)(2)(-) framework. While the pyrochlore structure is more complicated, the energy level and width of the lowest energy conduction band can be analyzed in a manner similar to that utilized on the perovskite structure. The Sn-O-Sn and Sb-O-Sb bonds are highly distorted from linear geometry in pyrochlore, leading to a relatively narrow conduction band and a wide band gap. In Cd(2)Sb(2)O(7) and Ag(2)Sb(2)O(6) the Cd(2+) and Ag(+) ions exhibit a strong inductive effect that widens the conduction band and lowers the band gap significantly, very similar to the effect observed in the perovskite form of CdSnO(3).     

Hydrolysis of cellobiose by immobilized β-glucosidase entrapped in maintenance-free gel spheres

A crude preparation of Aspergillus niger β-glucosidase (27.5 cello-biase U/mg protein at 40°C, pH 5.0) was immobilized on concanavalin A-Sepharose (CAS). The cellobiase activity of the immobilized enzyme was 1334 U/mg dried CAS or 108 U/mL CAS gel. The β-glucosidase-CAS complex was entrapped within crosslinked propylene glycol alginate/bone-geletin gel spheres that possessed between 0.67 and 2.35 cellobiase U/mL spheres, depending on their size. The effect of cellobiose concentration (10–300 mM) on the activity of native, immobilized, and gel-entrapped enzyme was determined. It was shown that concentrations of cellobiose between 10 and 180 mM were not inhibitory to the entrapped enzyme, although inhibition was found to occur with the native and immobilized enzyme. Exogenous ion addition was not necessary to maintain the structural integrity of the spheres, which were stable for 4 d at 40°C.     

Electrogravitational induction and rotation

The Faradayan hypothesis of inductive coupling of the electromagnetic and gravitational fields is briefly discussed. An experiment designed to test the hypothesis wherein samples are spun to see if any electrogravitational charge is induced is described. Results of the experiment are reported. They imply the induction of a charge density * for spinning samples that behaves as *=_ma, where _m is the mass density of an element of matter experiencing an acceleration a, and is the coupling coefficient for the hypothetical electrogravitational induction effect. In this experiment, is found to have the value(9.6±3.3)×10 ^–13 statcoulombs/dyne. Tests that seem to rule out explanations of the observed charges in terms of conventional charging mechanisms are considered.     

Mixed valence in YBaFe(2)O(5)

YBaFe(2)O(5) has been synthesized by heating a nanoscale citrate precursor in a carefully controlled reducing environment. Successful synthesis of a single-phase sample can only be achieved in a narrow window of oxygen partial pressures and temperatures. YBaFe(2)O(5) adopts an oxygen-deficient perovskite-type structure, which contains double layers of corner sharing FeO(5) square pyramids separated by Y(3+) ions. At T(N) congruent with 430 K, tetragonal (P4/mmm) and paramagnetic YBaFe(2)O(5) orders antiferromagnetically (AFM) experiencing a slight orthorhombic distortion (Pmmm). Around this temperature, it can be characterized as a class-III mixed valence (MV) compound, where all iron atoms exist as equivalent MV Fe(2.5+) ions. The magnetic structure is characterized by AFM Fe-O-Fe superexchange coupling within the double layers and a ferromagnetic Fe-Fe direct-exchange coupling between neighboring double layers. Upon cooling below approximately 335 K, a premonitory charge ordering (2Fe(2.5+) --> Fe(2.5+delta) + Fe(2.5)(-delta)) into a class-II MV phase takes place. This transition is detected by differential scanning calorimetry, but powder diffraction techniques fail to detect any volume change or a long-range structural order. At approximately 308 K, a complete charge ordering (2Fe(2.5+) --> Fe(2+) + Fe(3+)) into a class-I MV compound takes place. This charge localization triggers a number of changes in the crystal, magnetic, and electronic structure of YBaFe(2)O(5). The magnetic structure rearranges to a G-type AFM structure, where both the Fe-O-Fe superexchange and the Fe-Fe direct-exchange couplings are antiferromagnetic. The crystal structure rearranges (Pmma) to accommodate alternating chains of Fe(2+) and Fe(3+) running along b and an unexpectedly large cooperative Jahn-Teller distortion about the high-spin Fe(2+) ions. This order of charges does not fulfill the Anderson condition, and it rather corresponds to an ordering of doubly occupied Fe(2+) d(xz) orbitals. Comparisons with YBaMn(2)O(5) and YBaCo(2)O(5) are made to highlight the impact of changing the d-electron count.     

Molten salt flux synthesis and structure of the new layered uranyl tellurite, K4[(UO2)5(TeO3)2O5]

The reaction of UO₃ and TeO₃ with a KCl flux at 800 °C for 3 days yields single crystals of K₄[(UO₂)₅(TeO₃)₂O₅]. The structure of the title compound consists of layered, two-dimensional sheets arranged in a stair-like topology separated by potassium cations. Contained within these sheets are one-dimensional uranium oxide ribbons consisting of UO₇ pentagonal bipyramids and UO₆ tetragonal bipyramids. The ribbons are in turn linked by corner-sharing with trigonal pyramidal TeO₃ units to form sheets. The lone-pair of electrons from the TeO₃ groups are oriented in opposite directions with respect to one another on each side of the sheets rendering each individual sheet nonpolar. The potassium cations form contacts with nearby tellurite units and axial uranyl oxygen atoms. Crystallographic data (193 K, MoKα, ): triclinic, space group , , , , α=99.642(1)°, β=93.591(1)°, γ=100.506(1)°, , Z=1,R(F)=4.19% for 149 parameters and 2583 reflections with I>2σ(I).     

New -lactam antibiotics. Preparation of 7-aminocephalocillanic acid

‘7-aminocephalocillanic acid’ 1 , an intermediate for the preparation of new β-lactam antibiotics was prepared by transforming the β-lactam carbinol 2a to the phosphorane 9a through several steps. Oxydation of 9a with DMSO/Ac₂O led directly to the cyclized ester 11a , which has been converted into 1 by known methods.