Textural and surface chemistry of activated bagasse and its role in the removal of chromium ions from solution

The role of the surface chemical and physical properties of activated carbon in the removal of chromium was investigated. This was conducted by fitting the chromium removal by adsorption and reduction to Cr(III) to the physical properties including total surface and pore size of the carbon and its chemical property globally measured using carbon pH. The role of heteroatoms—sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen, to chromium removal was also investigated. This study showed that the structural and chemical properties displayed dual and conflicting properties in removing chromium. As such efficiencies gained in controlling the structure of the carbon are minimal. Optimal carbon properties which exhibited high chromium adsorption included high surface area, large pore size, high quantities of sulfur and nitrogen and minimal hydrogen and oxygen contents.     

Assignment of absolute configuration to SCH 351448 via total synthesis

The synthesis and absolute configuration of SCH 351448, an interesting ionophoric natural product, are reported herein. Mukaiyama aldol-Prins and segment-coupling Prins reactions were employed to construct the constituent tetrahydropyrans of SCH 351448. Efforts to assemble the C2-symmetric core of the natural product by a templated olefin metathesis strategy are described; however, a stepwise fragment assembly was ultimately utilized to complete the target molecule.     

Formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from acetylene over nanosized olivine-type silicates

The formation mechanism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules in interstellar and circumstellar environments is not well understood although the presence of these molecules is widely accepted. In this paper, addition and aromatization reactions of acetylene over astrophysically relevant nesosilicate particles are reported. Gas-phase PAHs produced from exposure of acetylene gas to crystalline silicates using pulsed supersonic jet expansion (SJE) conditions were detected by time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS). The PAHs produced were further confirmed in a separate experiment using a continuous flow fixed-bed reactor in which acetylene was introduced at atmospheric pressure. The gas-phase effluent and solutions of the carbonaceous compounds deposited on the nesosilicate particles were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A mechanism for PAH formation is proposed in which the Mg(2+) ions in the nesosilicate particles act as Lewis acid sites for the acetylene reactions. Our studies indicate that the formation of PAHs in mixed-chemistry astrophysical environments could arise from acetylene interacting with olivine nano-particles. These nesosilicate particles are capable of providing catalytic centres for adsorption and activation of acetylene molecules that are present in the circumstellar environments of mass-losing carbon stars. The structure and physical properties of the particles were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) techniques.     

Synthesis and characterization of 11-vertex platinaborane compounds having nido-PtB10H12 and nido-Pt2B9H10 skeletons

The reaction of closo-[B₁₀H₁₀]²⁻ with [PtCl₂(PPh₃)₂] in MeOH at reflux affords the B-methoxy substituted 11-vertex nido-platinaborane compound [(PPh₃)₂PtB₁₀H₁₀-8-H_0.5(OCH₃)_0.5-10-(OCH₃)] (1) and the known species [(PPh₃)₂PtB₁₀H₁₁-8-(OCH₃)] (2) and 1,6-(PPh₃)₂B₁₀H₈ (3). The same reaction under solvothermal condition gives the partially degraded diplatinaborane [(PPh₃)₂(μ-PPh₂)Pt₂B₉H₇-3,9,11-(OMe)₃] (4) with a novel nido-Pt₂B₉H₁₀ skeleton. The new metallaborane compounds have been characterized by spectroscopic methods and single-crystal X-ray analyses. In particular, computational/theoretical chemistry supports the ultimate structural confirmation of 4. The structures of these metallaboranes exhibit interesting intra- and/or intermolecular C-H?O hydrogen bonding interactions.     

Molecular simulation of hydrophobin adsorption at an oil-water interface

Hydrophobins are small, amphiphilic proteins expressed by strains of filamentous fungi. They fulfill a number of biological functions, often related to adsorption at hydrophobic interfaces, and have been investigated for a number of applications in materials science and biotechnology. In order to understand the biological function and applications of these proteins, a microscopic picture of the adsorption of these proteins at interfaces is needed. Using molecular dynamics simulations with a chemically detailed coarse-grained potential, the behavior of typical hydrophobins at the water-octane interface is studied. Calculation of the interfacial adsorption strengths indicates that the adsorption is essentially irreversible, with adsorption strengths of the order of 100 k(B)T (comparable to values determined for synthetic nanoparticles but significantly larger than small molecule surfactants and biomolecules). The protein structure at the interface is unchanged at the interface, which is consistent with the biological function of these proteins. Comparison of native proteins with pseudoproteins that consist of uniform particles shows that the surface structure of these proteins has a large effect on the interfacial adsorption strengths, as does the flexibility of the protein.     

Recursive methods for a multi-dimensional risk process with common shocks

In this paper, a multi-dimensional risk model with common shocks is studied. Using a simple probabilistic approach via observing the risk processes at claim instants, recursive integral formulas are developed for the survival probabilities as well as for a class of Gerber-Shiu expected discounted penalty functions that include the surplus levels at ruin. Under the assumption of exponential or mixed Erlang claims, the recursive integrals can be simplified to give recursive sums which are computationally more tractable. Numerical examples including an optimal capital allocation problem are also given towards the end.     

Roles of the textural and surface chemical properties of activated carbon in the adsorption of acid blue dye

This study has demonstrated the use of empirical modeling in resolving the effects of individual carbon properties on acid blue dye adsorption. Acid blue dye adsorption tests were conducted on activated carbons prepared from bagasse by physical (CO2) and chemical (ZnCl2, MgCl2 and CaCl2) techniques. Empirical models based on the carbon textural (surface area and pore size) properties and the surface chemistry inferred from heteroatom (C,H, N, and S) concentration and carbon surface pH were used to resolve the effects of individual carbon properties on acid blue dye adsorption. This form of analysis was conducted to optimize carbon preparation properties, forming the foundation for tailor-making adsorbents from bagasse suitable for acid dye adsorption. A series of statistical analyses (partial F-tests to establish the parameter significance) measured variants including the mean square error, r2 and adjusted r2, normality, and randomness of residuals, and formed the basis for testing the adequacy of these models. The empirical models suggest that a combination of suitable pore structure and distinct basic surface chemistry generated by sulfur- and nitrogen-based groups, which were also elucidated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, is necessary to promote acid dye adsorption.     

Maoecrystal Z, a cytotoxic diterpene from Isodon eriocalyx with a unique skeleton

[structure: see text] A novel diterpene with an unprecedented tetracyclic 6,7:8,15-di-seco-7,20-olide-6,8-cyclo-ent-kaurane skeleton, named maoecrystal Z (1), has been isolated from the leaves of a Chinese medicinal herb, Isodon eriocalyx (Labiatae). Its structure was determined by comprehensive NMR and MS spectroscopic analysis coupled with single-crystal X-ray crystallographic diffraction. Compound 1 exhibited comparable inhibitory effect against human K562 leukemia, MCF7 breast, and A2780 ovarian tumor cells with IC(50) = 2.90, 1.63, and 1.45 microg/mL and with camptothecin and paclitaxel as the positive controls.