Photochemistry and photopolymerization activity of novel perester derivatives of fluorenone: a conventional and laser flash photolysis study

The photochemistry of three novel t-butylperester derivatives of fluorenone was examined and compared with unsubstituted fluorenone and a mono-t-butylperester of benzophenone using both conventional microsecond and nanosecond laser flash photolysis. On conventional microsecond flash photolysis in 2-propanol, all four fluorenone compounds gave transient absorption in the region 300–400 nm due to a ketyl radical formed from the abstraction of a hydrogen atom from the solvent by the upper excited triplet n—π* state of the fluorenone chromophore. This assignment was confirmed by a pH-dependent study on the transient absorption spectra. The nitro-t-butylperester derivative of fluorenone gave additional absorption above 400 nm due to species associated with the nitro group. No evidence for benzoyloxy radical formation could be found in non-hydrogen-atom-donating solvents with microsecond flash photolysis which is associated with homolysis of the perester groups. On nanosecond laser flash photolysis of the fluorenone compounds at 355 nm excitation in acetonitrile and hexa-fluorobenzene, transient absorptions were observed in the region 320–640 nm due to the corresponding triplet states. All the t-butylperester derivatives showed residual absorbances at longer time delays which were tentatively assigned to the corresponding benzoyloxy radicals produced by homolysis of the perester groups. In contrast, the mono-t-butylperester of benzophenone, included for comparison only, showed very weak transient absorption in the region 320–640 nm compared with that of the strong triplet of benzophenone under the same excitation conditions. The triplet absorptions and lifetimes of the fluorenone compounds were correlated with their photopolymerization activities in bulk methylmethacrylate monomer. In oxygenated solutions, the triplet absorptions of fluorenone and benzophenone were effectively quenched; however, long-lived transient growths were observed for all the t-butylperester derivatives. The intensities of these novel transient absorptions appear to correlate with the total number of t-butylperester groups in the fluorenone molecule and tentative assignments are discussed.     

Analysis of methoxypyrazines in wine using headspace solid phase microextraction with isotope dilution and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography

This study reports an optimized headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) method for the determination of methoxypyrazines in wine. Analysis was performed by using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with novel detection capabilities, including nitrogen phosphorus detection (GC x GC-NPD) and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC x GC-TOFMS). In the latter, stable isotope dilution was performed for the quantitation of 2-methoxy-3-(2-methylpropyl) pyrazine (IBMP), using labelled 2-(2H3)methoxy-3-(2-methylpropyl)pyrazine (d3-IBMP) as the internal standard, and resolution of the two analogues was facilitated using the deconvolution capabilities of the TOFMS. This research represents the first report of HS-SPME with isotope dilution and GC x GC-TOFMS (GC x GC-IDTOFMS). Analysis by GC x GC-NPD enabled detection limits of 0.5 ng/L for the quantitation of IBMP, which was superior to that obtained using GC x GC-IDTOFMS (1.95 ng/L). Nevertheless, both methods were adequately sensitive for real wine analysis, yielding highly comparable IBMP concentrations of 26.1 and 27.8 ng/L, respectively, from a Sauvignon blanc wine. The complexity of the real wine headspace was simplified as a result of selective detection using GC x GC-NPD and, in the case of GC x GC-IDTOFMS, the use of extracted ion chromatograms (EICs).     

Anomalous Stereochemistry in the Wittig Reaction Induced by Nucleophilic Groups in the Phosphonium Ylide

Abstract

Reaction of ylides from 3–9 with benzaldehyde show that carboxylate and oxido functionalities proximate to the ylide center promote anomalously high E stereoselectivity in alkene formation. Through the use of α-deuterated ylides 12–14, an internal “trans-selective Wittig” mechanism was ruled out as a principal source of exaggerated E alkene production.     

Food structure: Roles of mechanical properties and oral processing in determining sensory texture of soft materials

There is a desire to alter food composition to make foods healthier and at the same time not diminish sensory quality. This requires an understanding of key elements of food structure associated with texture perception. Texture, in part, is perceived during oral processing of food. Knowledge of structure–oral processing–texture interrelations could be utilized to develop or prevent specified textural attributes. Overall, the investigation of structure–oral processing–texture interrelations is just starting as a research focus. Factors including non-universal and inconsistent sensory terminology, omission of consideration for structural changes incurred by oral processes, and the lack of cross-disciplinary investigations hamper progress in this field. Consideration of these factors in future investigations on sensory texture will increase the applicability of their findings and bring us closer to understanding the contribution of food structure to sensory texture.     

A Simple Approach for Multi‐fidelity Experimentation Applied to Financial Engineering

In practical applications, information about the accuracy or ‘fidelity’ of alternative surrogate systems may be ambiguous and difficult to determine. To address this problem, we propose to treat surrogate system fidelity level as a categorical factor in optimal response surface design. To design the associated experiments, we apply the Expected Integrated Mean Squared Error optimal design criterion, which takes into account both variance and bias errors. The performance of the proposed design was compared using three test cases to four types of alternatives using the Empirical Integrated Squared Error. Because of its ability to foster relatively accurate predictions, the proposed design is recommended in fidelity experimental design, particularly when the experimenters lack sufficient information about the fidelity levels of surrogate systems. The method was applied to the case of intraday trading optimization in which data were collected from the Taiwan Futures Exchange. We also calculated the implied volatility from the Merton's Jump‐diffusion model via the fast Fourier transform algorithm with three different models of varying fidelity levels. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Titanocene-catalyzed metallation of propargylic acetates in homopropargyl alcohol synthesis

The titanium-catalyzed metallation and subsequent carbonyl addition of propargylic acetates enable the direct formation of homopropargylic alcohols in good yields. The corresponding products were obtained as single regioisomers without the corresponding allene adducts observed.     

Integrating open‐source software applications to build molecular dynamics systems

Three open‐source applications, NanoEngineer‐1, packmol, and mis2lmp are integrated using an open‐source file format to quickly create molecular dynamics (MD) cells for simulation. The three software applications collectively make up the open‐source software (OSS) suite known as MD Studio (MDS). The software is validated through software engineering practices and is verified through simulation of the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol‐a and isophorone diamine (DGEBA/IPD) system. Multiple simulations are run using the MDS software to create MD cells, and the data generated are used to calculate density, bulk modulus, and glass transition temperature of the DGEBA/IPD system. Simulation results compare well with published experimental and numerical results. The MDS software prototype confirms that OSS applications can be analyzed against real‐world research requirements and integrated to create a new capability. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Changes in metal specificity due to iron ligand substitutions in reaction centers fromRhodobacter sphaeroides

Bacterial reaction centers have a single nonheme iron that is located between two bound quinones, Q_A and Q_B, which are the primary and secondary electron acceptors during photosynthesis, respectively. InRhodobacter sphaeroides, the iron is coordinated by four nitrogen atoms, contributed by histidines at L190, L230, M219, and M266, and two oxygen atoms, contributed by Glu at M234. The roles of these ligands in determining the metal-binding specificity and electron transfer properties of the quinones were investigated by mutagenesis. Each of the four His ligands was changed to Glu, Gln, and Cys, whereas Glu was changed to His, Gln, Cys, and Asp. All mutants supported photosynthetic growth except for those with substitutions of Glu or Cys at L190 or M219. The metal specificity of isolated mutant RCs was determined by measurements using atomic absorption and 35 GHz electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The M234 mutants had a lesser iron specificity than the wild type with a mole fraction of 0.7 to 0.8 iron but retained a total metal content of 1.0. All His mutants had an even lower iron content with mole fractions of 0.04 to 0.16. The His to Cys at M266 mutant had a significantly greater amount of bound zinc that was further enhanced when the strain was grown in zinc-supplemented media. The charge recombination rates from Q _B ^?. , which ranged from 0.5 to 1 s^?1 in the mutants, were comparable to the 1 s^?1 value for the wild type. Charge recombination from Q _A ^?. showed complex kinetics, with rates of 15 to 30 s^?1 for the L190, L230, and M234 mutants and 200 s^?1 for the M266 mutants compared with 8 s^?1 for the wild type. The faster rates in the mutants most likely reflected a smaller free energy difference between Q _A ^?. and Φ _A ^? , a nearby bacteriopheophytin, with the smaller energy difference facilitating indirect recombination. All of the mutants transferred electrons to the secondary quinone, with rates (1200 to 4700 s^?1) comparable to that of the native (3700 s^?1). The data demonstrate that neither the ligands nor the bound metal play a critical role in the electron transfer processes at the acceptor side.     

Local strain and defects in silicon wafers due to nanoindentation revealed by full‐field X‐ray microdiffraction imaging

Quantitative characterization of local strain in silicon wafers is critical in view of issues such as wafer handling during manufacturing and strain engineering. In this work, full‐field X‐ray microdiffraction imaging using synchrotron radiation is employed to investigate the long‐range distribution of strain fields in silicon wafers induced by indents under different conditions in order to simulate wafer fabrication damage. The technique provides a detailed quantitative mapping of strain and defect characterization at the micrometer spatial resolution and holds some advantages over conventional methods.     

Pd Uptake and H2S Sensing by an Amphoteric Metal–Organic Framework with a Soft Core and Rigid Side Arms

Molecular components of opposite character are often incorporated within a single system, with a rigid core and flexible side arms being a common design choice. Herein, molecule L has been designed and prepared featuring the reverse design, with rigid side arms (arylalkynyl) serving to calibrate the mobility of the flexible polyether links in the core. Crystallization of this molecule with Pb^II ions led to a dynamic metal–organic framework (MOF) system that not only exhibits dramatic, reversible single‐crystal‐to‐single‐crystal transformations, but combines distinct donor and acceptor characteristics, allowing for substantial uptake of PdCl₂ and colorimetric sensing of H₂S in water.