A DFT study on the double bond migration of butene catalyzed by ionic pair of 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium fluoride

The double bond migration of butene catalyzed by 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium fluoride (EmimF) has been studied using quantum chemical method. The geometries of reactant, transition state and product for the isomerization have been optimized by density functional theory (DFT) at the B3PW91/6-31G(d,p), 6-311++G(d,p) and aug-cc-PVDZ levels. The computed results show that the 4-H atom on imidazole ring of EmimF has a good catalytic activity to the double bond migration of butene and the catalytic reaction of 1-butene to 2-butene is a synergetic and elementary process. The apparent activation energy of isomerization is about 197 kJ/mol.     

Systematic investigation of the hydrothermal syntheses of Pr(III)-PDA (PDA = pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate anion) metal-organic frameworks

A series of novel two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) praseodymium coordination polymers, namely, {[Pr3(PDA)4(HPDA)(H2O)8] x 8H2O}n (2), {[Pr2(PDA)3(H2O)3] x H2O}n (3), {[Pr(PDA)(H2O)4] x ClO4}n (4), and { [Pr2(PDA)2(H2O)5SO4] x 2H2O}n (5) (PDA = pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic anion), was designed and synthesized under hydrothermal conditions. Complexes 1-3 (chainlike polymer, {[Pr(PDA)(HPDA)(H2O)2] x 4H2O}n (1) was also obtained independently by us, although it has been reported recently by Ghosh et al.) were fabricated successfully by simply tuning the Pr/PDA ratio and exhibited various and intriguing topological structures from a 1D chain to a 3D network. While the synthetic strategy of 5 was triggered and further performed only after 1 was structurally characterized. The complexes were characterized by X-ray single-crystal determination, spectroscopic, and variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility analyses. In complex 2 an unusual nanosized square motif as a building block constructed by eight Pr ions was further assembled into a highly ordered 2D grid compound. In complex 3 the decanuclear Pr metal-based structure as a repeat unit interpenetrated to form a novel 3D polymer. Complex 4 was a 3D network polymer fabricated through a hexanuclear Pr ring as a building block, and ClO4- anions as guests were trapped in the cavity. In complex 5 six Pr atoms, two SO4(2-) anions, and carboxylic oxygen bridges constructed an intriguing rectangle structure as a repeat unit in the grid to form a 2D coordination polymer in which the unique bi-bidentate coordination mode of SO4(2-) anion was observed.     

A 3-D noninterpenetrating diamondoid network of a decanuclear copper(I) complex

The solvothermal reaction of CuCl(2).2H(2)O with pyridine-4-thiol and ethanol yielded a novel photoluminescent 3-D polymeric complex with an interesting decorated diamondoid network that is constructed of decanuclear copper(I) cluster units and mu(4)-Cl ligands. The in situ generation of CuSO(4).5H(2)O implies the spontaneous occurrence of desulfurization and redox reactions in the present system.     

Microemulsion-mediated solvothermal synthesis of SrCO3 nanostructures

The controlled synthesis of SrCO3 nanostructures with different morphologies, such as rodlike, whiskerlike, ellipsoidlike, and spherelike, were successfully achieved by the cationic surfactant-CTAB-microemulsion-mediated solvothermal method. Various comparison experiments showed that fundamental experimental parameters, such as the molar ratio of H2O to CTAB and the concentration of reactants, played important roles in the morphological control of SrCO3 nanostructures. A lower molar ratio of H2O to CTAB favors rodlike products, whereas a higher molar ratio generally leads to the formation of spherical products. A rational mechanism based on fusion, aggregate, and coalescence of microemulsion droplets is proposed for the selective formation of various morphologies. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) were used to characterize the products.     

Adsorption separation of terpene lactones from Ginkgo biloba L. extract using glass fiber membranes modified with octadecyltrichlorosilane

In this study porous glass fiber membranes were modified by reaction with octadecyl-trichlorosilane to form C18 hydrophobic membranes. The contact angle and the CH2 vibration bands at 2855 and 2920 cm(-1) found by FTIR measurements verified the successful immobilization of C18 groups on the glass fiber membranes. The resulting C18 hydrophobic membranes were used to adsorb terpene lactones from crude Ginkgo biloba L. extracts. In batch adsorption processes, the modified C18 membranes exhibited a better adsorption performance than commercial C18 solid phase extraction adsorbents. Different desorption solvents were tested and ethyl acetate was found to preferentially desorb terpene lactones from the modified C18 membranes. In flow adsorption experiments at 1 mL/min, terpene lactone contents higher than 6 wt% (the standardized content) could be achieved in the elution step using ethyl acetate.     

Avoiding negative populations in explicit Poisson tau-leaping

The explicit tau-leaping procedure attempts to speed up the stochastic simulation of a chemically reacting system by approximating the number of firings of each reaction channel during a chosen time increment tau as a Poisson random variable. Since the Poisson random variable can have arbitrarily large sample values, there is always the possibility that this procedure will cause one or more reaction channels to fire so many times during tau that the population of some reactant species will be driven negative. Two recent papers have shown how that unacceptable occurrence can be avoided by replacing the Poisson random variables with binomial random variables, whose values are naturally bounded. This paper describes a modified Poisson tau-leaping procedure that also avoids negative populations, but is easier to implement than the binomial procedure. The new Poisson procedure also introduces a second control parameter, whose value essentially dials the procedure from the original Poisson tau-leaping at one extreme to the exact stochastic simulation algorithm at the other; therefore, the modified Poisson procedure will generally be more accurate than the original Poisson procedure.     

Total synthesis of crotophorbolone

As a natural diterpenoid, crotophorbolone possesses a challenging trans,trans-5/7/6 framework decorated with six contiguous stereogenic centers and is structurally and biogenetically related to tigliane-type diterpenoids with intriguing bioactivities such as phorbol and prostratin. Based on the convergent strategy, we completed an eighteen-step total synthesis of crotophorbolone starting from (−)-carvone and (+)-dimethyl-2,3-O-isopropylidene-l-tartrate. The key elements of the synthesis involve expedient installation of the six-membered ring and the five-membered ring with multiple functional groups at an early stage, cyclization of the seven-membered ring through alkenylation of the ketone between the five-membered ring and the six-membered ring, functional group-sensitive ring-closing metathesis and final selective introduction of hydroxyls at C₂₀ and C₄.

Convergent total synthesis of crotophorbolone was accomplished in 18 longest linear steps. Observation of unexpected thermodynamic stability of a cis,trans-5/7/6 tricycle would benefit synthetic design of tigliane- and daphnane-related diterpenoids.     

Reduction of 4-nitrophenol catalyzed by nitroreductase

The reduction of 4-nitrophenol catalyzed by nitroreductase in the presence of NADH was investigated in this paper.4-Amino- phenol and 4-bydroxylamino-phenol were found in the reductive products.The relationship between reaction time and the reductive ratio were studied.The similar reducing ratios of 4-nitrophenol were obtained under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.The results indicated that an oxygen-insensitive reaction was proceeded in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol and nitroreductase was an oxygen- insensitive enzyme.The reductive products of 4-nitrophenol were determined by HPLC and MS.     

Interfacial properties of self-organized TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanotubes studied by impedance spectroscopy

The semiconductor properties of the interface TiO₂/electrolyte in high organized porous oxide structures were analyzed by means of impedance spectroscopy near the flat band potential. The impedance and capacitance studies performed on the as-anodized and thermally treated samples (anatase) indicate the presence of a duplex structure formed by (1) the oxide at the bottom of the pores and (2) the walls of pores with different donor densities and surface state concentrations.     

Multiple sprayer system for high-throughput electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

A multiple sprayer electrospray ion source for high-throughput analysis is described. The ion source is comprised of multiple electrospray capillaries, each with an ion lens located near the tip. The electric potentials applied to the ion lenses are used to control the sprayers. The use of ion lenses eliminates the need for mechanical blocking devices to selectively enable or disable the sprayers, and results in a less expensive and more reliable set-up. Sprayers can be enabled or disabled within approximately 50-250 ms when the lens potentials are controlled manually. For simultaneous operation of multiple electrospray capillaries, it is advantageous to orient the capillaries so that the spray from each passes directly in front of the entrance aperture of the mass spectrometer.