Aggregation and solubility behavior of asphaltenes and their subfractions

Asphaltenes from four different crude oils (Arab Heavy, B6, Canadon Seco, and Hondo) were fractionated in mixtures of heptane and toluene and analyzed chemically, by vapor pressure osmometry (VPO), and by small angle neutron scattering (SANS). Solubility profiles of the asphaltenes and their subfractions indicated strong cooperative asphaltene interactions of a particular subfraction that is polar and hydrogen bonding. This subfraction had lower H/C ratios and modestly higher N, V, Ni, and Fe contents than the less polar and more soluble subfraction of asphaltenes. VPO and SANS studies indicated that the less soluble subfractions formed aggregates that were considerably larger than the more soluble subfractions. In general, asphaltene aggregate size increased with decreasing solvent aromaticity up to the solubility limit, beyond which the aggregate size decreased with heptane addition. The presence of a low wavevector Q feature in the scattering curves at 25 degrees C indicated that the individual aggregates were flocculating; however, the intensity of the feature was diminished upon heating of the samples to 80 degrees C. The solubility mechanism for Canadon Seco asphaltenes, the largest aggregate formers, appears to be dominated by aromatic pi-bonding interactions due to their low H/C ratio and low nitrogen content. B6 and Hondo asphaltenes formed similar-sized aggregates in heptol and the solubility mechanism is most likely driven by polar interactions due to their relatively high H/C ratios and high nitrogen contents. Arab Heavy, the least polar asphaltene, had a H/C ratio similar to Canadon Seco but formed the smallest aggregates in heptol. The enhancement in polar and pi-bonding interactions for the less soluble subfraction indicated by elemental analysis is reflected by the aggregate size from SANS. The less soluble asphaltenes contribute the majority of species responsible for aggregation and likely cause many petroleum production problems such as pipeline deposition and water-in-oil emulsion stabilization.     

P and H NMR studies of the transesterification polymerization of polyphosphonate oligomers

Polymeric phosphonate esters are an interesting class of organophosphorus polymers because both the polymer backbone and phosphorus substituents can be modified. These polymers have been prepared by ring-opening polymerizations of cyclic phosphites, stoichiometric polycondensations of dimethyl phosphonate with diols in conjunction with diazomethane treatment and by transesterification of polyphosphonate oligomers. Our initial attempts to prepare high molecular weight polymeric phosphonate esters by the transesterification methods were unsuccessful. Results indicate that the reactions of dimethyl phosphonate with diols to form polyphosphonate oligomers with only methyl phosphonate end groups are plagued by a serious side reaction that forms phosphonic acid end groups. These end groups do not participate in the transesterification reaction and limit the molecular weights of the polymers that can be obtained. The phosphonic acid end groups can be converted into reactive methyl phosphonate end groups by treatment with diazomethane, however diazomethane is explosive and the polymerization is slow. An alternative route for the production of high molecular weight polymers is the transesterification of the 1,12-bis(methyl phosphonato)dodecane, formed by the reaction of excess dimethyl phosphonate and 1,12-dodecanediol, with a Na₂CO₃ promoter. This allows polymers with molecular weights of up to 4.5×10⁴ to be prepared, and no phosphonic acid end groups are observed in these polymers. Thermal analyses of the poly(1,12-dodecamethylene phosphonate) have shown that this polymer has reasonable thermal stability (onset of thermal decomposition at 273 °C). This polymer also undergoes a cold crystallization process at 15 °C similar to that which has been observed in some polyesters, polyamides and elastomers.     

Infrared and Raman spectra, conformational stability and vibrational assignment of 1-chloro-1-silacyclopentane

Infrared and Raman spectra (3500-60 cm⁻¹) of gas and/or liquid and solid 1-chloro-1-silacyclopentane (c-C₄H₈SiClH) have been recorded and the vibrational data indicate the presence of a single conformer with no symmetry which is consistent with the twisted form. Ab initio calculations with a variety of basis sets up to MP2(full)/aug-cc-pVTZ predict the envelope-axial and envelope-equatorial conformers are saddle points with nearly the same energies but much lower in energy than the planar conformer. Density functional theory calculations by the B3LYP method predicts slightly lower energies for the two envelope forms and considerably lower for the planar form. By utilizing the MP2(full)/6-31G(d) calculations the force constants, frequencies, infrared intensities, band contours, Raman activities, and depolarization values have been obtained to support the vibrational assignment. Estimated r₀ structural parameters have been obtained from adjusted MP2(full)/6-311 + G(d, p) calculations. These experimental and theoretical results are compared to the corresponding quantities of some other five-membered rings.     

A convenient route to lanthanide triiodide THF solvates. Crystal structures of LnI(3)(THF)(4) [Ln = Pr] and LnI(3)(THF)(3.5) [Ln = Nd, Gd, Y

The reaction between 1.5 equiv of elemental iodine and rare earth metals in powder form in THF at room temperature gives the rare earth triiodides LnI(3)(THF)(n)() in good yields. Purification by Soxhlet extraction of the crude solids with THF reliably gives the THF adducts LnI(3)(THF)(4) [Ln = La, Pr] and LnI(3)(THF)(3.5) [Ln = Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy, Er, Tm, Y] as microcrystalline solids. X-ray crystallography reveals that the early, larger lanthanide iodide PrI(3)(THF)(4) crystallizes as discrete molecules having a pentagonal bipyramidal structure, whereas the later, smaller lanthanide iodides LnI(3)(THF)(3.5) [Ln = Nd, Gd, Y] crystallize as solvent-separated ion pairs [LnI(2)(THF)(5)][LnI(4)(THF)(2)] in which the cations adopt a pentagonal bipyramidal geometry and the anions adopt an octahedral geometry in the solid state.     

Novel selectfluor and deoxo-fluor-mediated rearrangements. New 5(6)-methyl and phenyl methanopyrrolidine alcohols and fluorides

Stereoselective syntheses of novel 5,6-difunctionalized-2-azabicyclo[2.1.1]hexanes containing 5-anti-fluoro or hydroxyl in one methano bridge and a variety of syn- or anti-chloro, fluoro, hydroxy, methyl, or phenyl substituents in the other methano bridge have been effected. Rearrangements of iodides to alcohols were initiated using Selectfluor. Rearrangement of alcohols to fluorides was initiated using Deoxo-Fluor. Ring opening of 2-azabicyclo[2.2.0]hex-5-ene exo-epoxide with organocopper reagents is regioselective at C(5).     

Fluorescence Lifetime Spectroscopy of Glioblastoma Multiforme¶

Fluorescence spectroscopy of the endogenous emission of brain tumors has been researched as a potentially important method for the intraoperative localization of brain tumor margins. We investigated the use of time‐resolved, laser‐induced fluorescence spectroscopy for demarcation of primary brain tumors by studying the time‐resolved spectra of gliomas. The fluorescence of human brain samples (glioblastoma multiforme, cortex and white matter: six patients, 23 sites) was induced ex vivo with a pulsed nitrogen laser (337 nm, 3 ns). The time‐resolved spectra were detected in a 360–550 nm wavelength range using a fast digitizer and gated detection. Parameters derived from both the spectral‐ (intensities from narrow spectral bands) and the time domain (average lifetime) measured at 390 and 460 nm were used for tissue characterization. We determined that high‐grade gliomas are characterized by fluorescence lifetimes that varied with the emission wavelength (>3 ns at 390 nm, <1 ns at 460 nm) and their emission is overall longer than that of normal brain tissue. Our study demonstrates that the use of fluorescence lifetime not only improves the specificity of fluorescence measurements but also allows a more robust evaluation of data collected from brain tissue. Combined information from both the spectraland the time domain can enhance the ability of fluorescencebased techniques to diagnose and detect brain tumor margins intraoperatively.     

Absolute rate constants for some hydrogen atom abstraction reactions by a primary fluoroalkyl radical in water

A combination of laser flash photolysis and competitive kinetic methods have been used to measure the absolute bimolecular rate constants for hydrogen atom abstraction in water from a variety of organic substrates including alcohols, ethers, and carboxylic acids by the perfluoroalkyl radical, *CF(2)CF(2)OCF(2)CF(2)SO(3)(-) Na(+). Comparison, where possible, of these rate constants with those previously measured for analogous reactions in the non-polar organic solvent, 1,3-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzene (J. Am. Chem. Soc, 1999, 121, 7335) show that the alcohols react 2-5 times more rapidly in the water solvent and that the ethers react at the same rate in both solvents. A transition state for hydrogen abstraction that is more reminiscent of an "intimate ion pair" than a "solvent separated ion pair" is invoked to explain these modest solvent effects.     

Structure and magnetism of a new pyrazolate bridged iron(II) spin crossover complex displaying a single HS-HS to LS-LS transition

The dinuclear iron(II) complex [(pypzH)(NCSe)Fe([micro sign]-pypz)(2)Fe(NCSe)(pypzH)].2H(2)O displays a single, sharp spin crossover transition between the [HS-HS] and [LS-LS] states and is structurally characterised above and below the T(1/2)= 225 K value     

Trajectory approach to dissipative quantum phase space dynamics: Application to barrier scattering

The Caldeira-Leggett master equation, expressed in Lindblad form, has been used in the numerical study of the effect of a thermal environment on the dynamics of the scattering of a wave packet from a repulsive Eckart barrier. The dynamics are studied in terms of phase space trajectories associated with the distribution function, W(q,p,t). The equations of motion for the trajectories include quantum terms that introduce nonlocality into the motion, which imply that an ensemble of correlated trajectories needs to be propagated. However, use of the derivative propagation method (DPM) allows each trajectory to be propagated individually. This is achieved by deriving equations of motion for the partial derivatives of W(q,p,t) that appear in the master equation. The effects of dissipation on the trajectories are studied and results are shown for the transmission probability. On short time scales, decoherence is demonstrated by a swelling of trajectories into momentum space. For a nondissipative system, a comparison is made of the DPM with the "exact" transmission probability calculated from a fixed grid calculation.