Monodisperse CuPt alloy nanoparticles assembled on reduced graphene oxide as catalysts in the transfer hydrogenation of various functional organic groups

We present herein a new nanocatalyst, namely binary CuPt alloy nanoparticles (NPs) supported on reduced graphene oxide (CuPt‐rGO), as a highly active heterogeneous catalyst for the transfer hydrogenation (TH) protocol that is demonstrated to be applicable over the reduction of various unsaturated organic compounds (olefins, aldehydes/ketones and nitroarenes) in aqueous solutions at room temperature. CuPt alloy NPs were synthesized by the co‐reduction of metal (II) acetylacetonates by borane‐tert‐butylamine (BTB) complex in hot oleylamine (OAm) solution and then assembled on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) via ultrasonic‐assisted liquid phase self‐assembly method. The structure of yielded CuPt NPs and CuPt‐rGO nanocatalyst were characterized by TEM, XRD and ICP‐MS. The activity of Cu₇Pt₃‐rGO nanocatalysts were then tested for the THs that were conducted in a commercially available high‐pressure tube using water as sole solvent and ammonia borane as a hydrogen donor at room temperature. The presented catalytic TH protocol was successfully applied over nitroarenes, olefines and aldehydes/ketones, and all the tested compounds were converted to corresponding reduction products with the yields reaching up to 99% under ambient conditions. Moreover, the Cu₇Pt₃‐rGO nanocatalyst was also reusable in the TH by providing 99% yield after five consecutive runs in TH of nitrobenzene as an example.     

Lubricant properties of Moringa oil using thermal and tribological techniques

The increasing application of biobased lubricants could significantly reduce environmental pollution and contribute to the replacement of petroleum base oils. Vegetable oils are recognized as rapidly biodegradable and are thus promising candidates for use as base fluids in formulation of environment friendly lubricants. Although many vegetable oils have excellent lubricity, they often have poor oxidation and low temperature stability. Here in, we report the lubricant potential of Moringa oil, which has 74% oleic acid content and thus possess improved oxidation stability over many other natural oils. For comparison, Jatropha oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil and sunflower oil were also studied. Among these oils, Moringa oil exhibits the highest thermo-oxidative stability measured using PDSC and TG. Canola oil demonstrated superior low temperature stability as measured using cryogenic DSC, pour point and cloud point measurements. The friction and wear properties were measured using HFRR. Overall, it was concluded that Moringa oil has potential in formulation of industrial fluids for high temperature applications. Names are necessary to report factually on available data; however, the USDA neither guarantees nor warrants the standard of the product, and the use of the name by USDA implies no approval of the product to the exclusion of others that may also be suitable.     

Effect of cationic surfactant adsorption on the rheological and surface properties of bentonite dispersions

In this study, the adsorption, bridging, and intercalation effects of a cationic surfactant, benzyldimethyltetradecyl ammonium chloride (BDTDACl), on bentonite clay suspensions was investigated. The adsorption, rheological behaviors, and colloidal properties of the clay dispersions were determined as a function surfactant concentration. Adsorption isotherms were obtained using the batch-equilibrium technique. The rheological behavior of the clay suspensions was obtained by shear stress-shear rate measurements within 0-350 s-1 shear rates. The structure of the composite particles was analyzed by using X-ray diffraction analysis and it was found that the expansions of basal d-spacings are less than 16.80 A, suggesting a monolayer structure.     

Cobalt-Catalyzed Enantioselective Hydrogenation of Trisubstituted Carbocyclic Olefins: An Access to Chiral Cyclic Amides

The enantioselective hydrogenation of cyclic enamides has been achieved using an earth-abundant cobalt-bisphosphine catalyst. Using CoCl₂/(S,S)-Ph-BPE, several trisubstituted carbocyclic enamides were reduced with high activity and excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99 %) to the corresponding saturated amides. The methodology can be extended to the synthesis of chiral amines by base hydrolysis of the hydrogenation products. Preliminary mechanistic investigations reveal the presence of a high spin cobalt (II) species in the catalytic cycle. We propose that the hydrogenation of the carbon-carbon double bond proceeds via a sigma-bond-metathesis pathway.     

Analysis of Biogenic Amines Using Immunoassays,HPLC, and a Newly Developed IC-MS/MS Technique in Fish Products—A Comparative Study

In this study, comparative analyses were carried out with ion chromatography mass-spectrometry (IC-MS/MS) which has no derivatization step, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique, as well as two quantitative and two semi-quantitative immunoassays. The results demonstrated that HPLC and quantitative immunoassay methods were well-correlated with IC-MS/MS in determining histamine in various types of fish products. The best correlation was observed with the HistaSure ELISA Fast Track kit (R² = 0.9903). More than half of the values (68%) obtained by two methods were also statistically similar. The results of semi-quantitative test kits also supported histamine values estimated by quantitative methods, with some exceptions. The best results were found for HistaSure Lateral Flow in supporting the quantitative techniques. Therefore, these methods are found suitable for monitoring histamine in fish products in terms of food safety. Good correlations were also observed HPLC and IC-MS/MS in determining cadaverine, putrescine, and tyramine with the highest value observed for tyramine as R² = 0.9785. However, no correlation was observed for other biogenic amines, and the majority of the results were significantly different from each other for these amines (p < 0.05). The differences may be caused by the drawbacks reported previously for HPLC. However, further studies are required to confirm the possible effects. This study provides a comparative evaluation of several methods in terms of their suitability in determining biogenic amines in fish products for both monitoring and regulatory purposes.     

FT-IR Spectroscopic Investigations Adsorption of Pyrazinamide and 4-Aminopyrimidine by Clays

The adsorption of pyrazinamide (PZA) and 4-aminopyrimidine (4APM) on natural sepiolite, loughlinite (Na-sepiolite), natural and ion-exchanged montmorillonite (Co- or Cu-montmorillonite) has been investigated using FT-IR spectroscopy. The intercalation of pyrazinamide and 4-aminopyrimidine within natural and ion-exchanged montmorillonites has been shown by X-ray diffraction to increase the interlayer spacing. PZA and 4APM interacted with montmorillonites by direct or indirect coordination (through water molecules) to the exchangeable cations. The spectroscopic results indicate that PZA or 4APM molecules adsorbed on sepiolite and loughlinite are coordinated to Lewis acidic centers or surface hydroxyls by H-bonding interaction through either one of the pyrimidine ring nitrogen lone pairs (in the case of 4APM) or carbonyl group (in the case of PZA).     

A joint theoretical and experimental structural study of two novel 1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-<Emphasis Type="Italic">b</Emphasis>]-1,3,4-thiadiazine derivatives

In this study, two novel 1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-b]-1,3,4-thiadiazine derivatives, 3-[2-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethyl]-6-phenyl-7H-1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-b]-1,3,4-thiadiazine (compound 1) and 3-[2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)ethyl]-6-phenyl-7H-1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-b]-1,3,4-thiadiazine (compound 2), having analgesic–anti-inflammatory activity were synthesized and characterized by IR, ¹H-NMR, and mass spectroscopic techniques besides elementary analysis. Additionally, the structures and molecular packings of the mentioned compounds have been investigated by X-ray single crystal diffraction. The six-membered thiadiazine ring adopts the screw boat conformation in both the compounds. In the crystal packings of the compounds 1 and 2, C–H···N and C–H···O interactions link the molecules into a two-dimensional network and generate infinite chains. Furthermore, C–H···π intermolecular interactions provide further stability to the molecular packing in both the molecules. The conformers have been predicted by the potential energy surface scan employing the AM1 method. Geometry optimizations and electrostatic properties have been obtained using AM1 and ab initio quantum methods.