Selective Oxidation of Alcohols with a New Reagent: Iron(III) Nitrate Supported on Aluminum Silicate

A selective and effective oxidation of alcohols, except aliphatic alcohols, such as 1‐hexanol or 1‐octyl alcohol, to the corresponding aldehydes and ketones using a new reagent, iron(III) nitrate supported on aluminum silicate, under heterogeneous conditions with reflux with 85–98% yield is described.     

Two-worker blocking congestion model with walk speed m in a no-passing circular passage system

This paper introduces a blocking model and closed-form expression of two workers traveling with walk speed m (m = integer) in a no-passing circular-passage system of n stations and assuming n = m + 2, 2m + 2, …. We develop a Discrete-Timed Markov Chain (DTMC) model to capture the workers’ changes of walk, pick, and blocked states, and quantify the throughput loss from blocking congestion by deriving a steady state probability in a closed-form expression. We validate the model with a simulation study. Additional simulation comparisons show that the proposed throughput model gives a good approximation of a general-sized system of n stations (i.e., n > 2), a practical walk speed system of real number m (i.e., m ? 1), and a bucket brigade order picking application.     

Synthesis and applications of a novel supramolecular polymer network with multiple H‐bonded melamine pendants and uracil crosslinkers

A conjugated main‐chain copolymer ( PBT ) consisting of bithiazole, dithieno[3,2‐b:2′,3′‐d]pyrroles (DTP), and pendent melamine units was synthesized by Stille polymerization, which can be hydrogen‐bonded (H‐bonded) with proper molar amounts of bi‐functional π‐conjugated crosslinker F (i.e., two uracil motifs covalently attached to a fluorene core through triple bonds symmetrically) to develop a novel supramolecular polymer network ( PBT/F ). The effects of multiple H‐bonds on light harvesting capabilities, HOMO levels, and photovoltaic properties of polymer PBT and H‐bonded polymer network PBT/F are investigated. The formation of supramolecular polymer network ( PBT/F ) between PBT and F was confirmed by FTIR and XRD measurements. Because of the stronger light absorption, lower HOMO level, and higher crystallinity of H‐bonded polymer network PBT/F , the solar cell device containing PBT/F showed better photovoltaic properties than that containing polymer PBT . The preliminary results show that the solar cell device containing 1:1 weight ratio of PBT/F and [6,6]‐phenyl C₇₁ butyric acid methyl ester (PC₇₁BM) offers the best power conversion efficiency (PCE) value of 0.86% with a short‐circuit current density (J_sc) of 4.97 mA/cm², an open circuit voltage (V_oc) of 0.55 V, and a fill factor (FF) of 31.5%. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Tupisteroide A–C,three new polyhydroxylated steroidal constituents from the roots of Tupistra chinensis

Three new steroidal compounds with polyhydroxy groups, tupisteroide A–C (1–3), were obtained from the roots of Tupistra chinensis, together with one known compound (4) that was isolated from this plant for the first time. The structures of tupisteroide A–C were determined on the basis of one‐ and two‐dimensional NMR spectroscopy, including ¹H–¹H Correlation Spectroscopy, Heteronuclear Multiple Bond Correlation, and Heteronuclear Single Quantum Coherence experiments. The isolated compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against A549, HepG2, and CaSki cancer cell lines in vitro. Among them, compounds 1, 2, and 4 did not show significant inhibitory activity, but compound 3 showed cytotoxicity against A549 cancer cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 25.0 μM. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fabrication of a sol–gel derived microporous zirconia membrane for nanofiltration

This paper reports the fabrication and nanofiltration properties of a sol–gel derived microporous zirconia membrane. Effects of synthesis parameters, including hydrolysis time, hydrolysis temperature, hydrolysis ratio and chelating agent dopant, on the state and size of polymeric zirconia sol, were investigated. Highly reproducible and stable zirconia sol after refluxing at 40 °C for 180 min, with an average particle size of approximately 8.6 nm, was synthesized with a recipe of [Zirconium n-propoxide]: [Diethanolamine]: [1-propanol]: [H₂O] being 1: 2.2: 28.7: 9.4 (in molar ratio). The sol was subsequently used for the fabrication of microporous ZrO₂ membranes onto alumina supported mesoporous γ-Al₂O₃ layers. ZrO₂ membranes with molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of 354, 1,195, corresponding to the pore size of 0.94 and 1.75 nm, were successfully fabricated. Ionic retention properties of such ZrO₂ membranes with respect to electrolyte solutions, like MgCl₂, CaCl₂, NaCl and Na₂SO₄, were also determined. Effects of parameters such as concentration of salt solutions and trans-membrane pressure on retention rates of microporous ZrO₂ membranes were studied in detail. Results showed that zirconium n-propoxide derived microporous ZrO₂ membranes exhibited comparatively high retention rates towards divalent ions like Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺, while much lower retention rates were observed for mono-valent ion (Na⁺) in the present study, which are the characteristics of nanofiltration membranes.