Heterogeneous chemistry between PbSO4 and calcite microparticles using Raman microimaging

Currently, the smelting activities of lead and zinc are the loudest sources of local pollution by emission in the troposphere of dust of micrometer size containing PbSO(4). As the particles evolve in the troposphere, their chemical and physical properties - and hence their characteristics such as toxicity - change by accumulation of atmospheric heterogeneous reactions. Calcite (CaCO(3)) represents a large part of the mineral fraction in tropospheric aerosols with aerodynamic diameters less than 10 microm. The calcite particles are expected to react with PbSO(4) particles. In an effort to model the chemical behaviour of PbSO(4) individual particles in the troposphere, we present the in situ Raman imaging results during the course of the reactions in a water droplet of PbSO(4) particles with a calcite microcrystal surface. The computer-microcontrolled XY scanning and Z focusing of confocal Raman imaging combined with multivariate curve resolution (MCR) of Raman images have resolved the severe spectral overlaps of the Raman spectra which are not resolved by the spatial resolution of the instrument ( approximately 1 microm(3)). The results pointed out the identification and the mapping of Pb(3)(CO(3))(2)(OH)(2), PbCO(3) and CaSO(4).2H(2)O (gypsum) on the calcite surface.     

Preparation of allyl sulfoxides by palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylation of sulfenate anions

Palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylation of sulfenate anions, generated from beta-sulfinylesters by retro-Michael reaction, can take place under biphasic conditions. This new reaction provides a simple, mild, and efficient route to allyl sulfoxides in good yields.     

Effect of temperature on the retention of ionizable compounds in reversed-phase liquid chromatography: application to method development

The analysis of pharmaceutical compounds is often a difficult challenge which requires mathematical tools to improve the quality of the separation method. This work is an attempt to rationalize the anomalous variation of the logarithm of the retention factor with temperature in case of ionizable compounds. The effect of temperature on ionizable compounds was studied within a large range of temperature, ranging from 30 to 130 degrees C. The determination of the so-called chromatographic pKa and the study of its variation with temperature allow to explain why the forms of the van't Hoff curves are so different depending on the type of solute, the type of buffer and the type of the mobile phase. A retention model along with a computation procedure is proposed to optimize both temperature and mobile phase composition and to provide good and robust conditions as shown by illustrative examples.     

Intramolecular additions of various pi-nucleophiles to chemoselectively activated amides and application to the synthesis of (+/-)-tashiromine

[reaction: see text] Vilsmeier-Haack type cyclizations proved to be particularly efficient for generating parts of the polycyclic cores of many alkaloids, although only monocyclizations have so far been reported. With the goal of rapidly and efficiently constructing polycyclic alkaloids, we decided to exploit the Vilsmeier-Haack reaction by utilizing iminium ions successively generated and trapped with tethered nucleophiles. To develop such a strategy, we had to set the first cyclization. This constitutes a great challenge in itself because amide activation conditions are usually not compatible with tethered nucleophiles, except for indoles and aromatic rings which have already been reported. This paper describes the comprehensive study of intramolecular addition of silyl enol ethers, allylsilanes, and enamines to chemoselectively activated formamides, aliphatic amides, and lactams. Good to excellent yields were obtained for the 5-exo, 6-exo, and 6-endo modes of cyclization. Moreover, we demonstrated that the species in solution after the cyclization are iminium ions. This is highly encouraging for the development of bis-cyclization strategies. An expeditious total synthesis of (+/-)-tashiromine is also reported.     

Rapid energy transfer in cascade-type bodipy dyes

Three new molecular dyads, comprising a bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (Bodipy) dye linked to two aromatic polycycles via the boron center, have been synthesized and fully characterized. The polycyclic compounds are either pyrene or perylene, or a mixture of both. Whereas the absorption spectral profiles contain important contributions from each of the subunits, fluorescence occurs exclusively from the Bodipy fragment. Intramolecular excitation energy transfer is extremely efficient in each case, even though spectral overlap integrals for the pyrene-based system are modest. Although these polycycles are sterically congested, molecular dynamics simulations indicate that they are in dynamic motion, and this hinders proper computation of the orientation factors for F?rster-type energy transfer. These new dyes, especially the mixed polycycle system, greatly extend the range of excitation wavelengths that can be used for fluorescence microscopy.     

Tuning anisotropy barriers in a family of tetrairon(III) single-molecule magnets with an S = 5 ground state

Tetrairon(III) Single-Molecule Magnets (SMMs) with a propeller-like structure exhibit tuneable magnetic anisotropy barriers in both height and shape. The clusters [Fe4(L1)2(dpm)6] (1), [Fe4(L2)2(dpm)6] (2), [Fe4(L3)2(dpm)6].Et2O (3.Et2O), and [Fe4(OEt)3(L4)(dpm)6] (4) have been prepared by reaction of [Fe4(OMe)6(dpm)6] (5) with tripodal ligands R-C(CH2OH)3 (H3L1, R = Me; H3L2, R = CH2Br; H3L3, R = Ph; H3L4, R = tBu; Hdpm = dipivaloylmethane). The iron(III) ions exhibit a centered-triangular topology and are linked by six alkoxo bridges, which propagate antiferromagnetic interactions resulting in an S = 5 ground spin state. Single crystals of 4 reproducibly contain at least two geometric isomers. From high-frequency EPR studies, the axial zero-field splitting parameter (D) is invariably negative, as found in 5 (D = -0.21 cm(-1)) and amounts to -0.445 cm(-1) in 1, -0.432 cm(-1) in 2, -0.42 cm(-1) in 3.Et2O, and -0.27 cm(-1) in 4 (dominant isomer). The anisotropy barrier Ueff determined by AC magnetic susceptibility measurements is Ueff/kB = 17.0 K in 1, 16.6 K in 2, 15.6 K in 3.Et2O, 5.95 K in 4, and 3.5 K in 5. Both |D| and U(eff) are found to increase with increasing helical pitch of the Fe(O2Fe)3 core. The fourth-order longitudinal anisotropy parameter B4(0), which affects the shape of the anisotropy barrier, concomitantly changes from positive in 1 ("compressed parabola") to negative in 5 ("stretched parabola"). With the aid of spin Hamiltonian calculations the observed trends have been attributed to fine modulation of single-ion anisotropies induced by a change of helical pitch.     

Magnetic anisotropy of two trinuclear and tetranuclear Cr(III)Ni(II) cyanide-bridged complexes with spin ground states S = 4 and 5

The trinuclear and the tetranuclear complexes [[iPrtacnCr(CN)3]2[Ni(cyclam)]](NO3)2.5H2O 1 (cyclam = 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane, iPrtacn = 1,4,7-tris-isopropyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane) and [[iPrtacnCr(CN)3Ni(Me2bpy)2]2](ClO4)4.2CH3CN 2 (Me2bpy = 4,4-dimethyl-2,2-bipyridine) were synthesized by reacting (iPrtacn)Cr(CN)3 with [Ni(cyclam)](NO3)2 and [Ni(Me2bpy)2(H2O)2](ClO4)2, respectively. The crystallographic structure of the two compounds was solved. The molecular structure of complex 1 consists of a linear Cr-Ni-Cr arrangement with a central Ni(cyclam) unit surrounded by two Cr(iPrtacn)(CN)3 molecules through bridging cyanides. Each peripheral chromium complex has two pending CN ligands. Complex 2 has a square planar arrangement with the metal ions occupying the vertices of the square. Each Cr(iPrtacn)(CN)3 molecule has two bridging and one non-bridging cyanide ligands. The magnetic properties of the two complexes were investigated by susceptibility vs. temperature and magnetization vs. field studies. As expected from the orthogonality of the magnetic orbitals between Cr(III) (t2g3) and Ni(II) (e(g)2) metal ions, a ferromagnetic exchange interaction occurs leading to a spin ground states S = 4 and 5 for 1 and 2, respectively. The magnetization vs. field studies at T = 2, 3 and 4 K showed the presence of a magnetic anisotropy within the ground spin states leading to zero-field splitting parameters obtained by fitting the data D4 = 0.36 cm(-1) and D5 = 0.19 cm(-1) (the indices 4 and 5 refer to the ground states of complexes 1 and 2, respectively). In order to quantify precisely the magnitude of the axial (D) and the rhombic (E) anisotropy parameters, High-field high frequency electron paramagnetic resonance (HF-HFEPR) experiments were carried out. The best simulation of the experimental spectra (at 190 and 285 GHz) gave the following parameters for 1: D4 = 0.312 cm(-1), E4/D4 = 0.01, g4x = 2.003, g4y = 2.017 and g4z = 2.015. For complex 2 two sets of parameters could be extracted from the EPR spectra because a doubling of the resonances were observed and assigned to the presence of complexes with slightly different structures at low temperature: D5 = 0.154 (0.13) cm(-1), E5/D5 = 0.31 (0.31) cm(-1), g4x = 2.04 (2.05), g4y = 2.05 (2.05) and g4z = 2.03 (2.02). The knowledge of the magnetic anisotropy parameters of the mononuclear Cr(iPrtacn)(CN)3, Ni(cyclam)(NCS)2 and Ni(bpy)2(NCS)2 complexes by combining HF-HFEPR studies and calculation using a software based on the angular overlap model (AOM) allowed to determine the orientation of the local D tensors of the metal ions forming the polynuclear complexes. We, subsequently, show that the anisotropy parameters of the polynuclear complexes computed from the projection of the local tensors are in excellent agreement with the experimental ones extracted from the EPR experiments.     

Synthesis and structures of metallocene complexes of iron(II) and ruthenium(II) derived from 9,9′-spirobifluorene

Reaction between 9,9′-spirobifluorene and [CpM]⁺ (where M = Fe and Ru) equivalents gives the complexes [CpRu(η⁶-SBF)][PF₆] (1), [(CpRu)₂(η⁶,η⁶-SBF)][PF₆]₂ (2) and [(CpFe)₂(η⁶,η⁶-SBF)][PF₆]₂ (3), respectively. Single crystal X-ray structures of 1 and 3 show that the metal atoms exhibit distorted η⁶-coordination to SBF phenyl moieties primarily as a consequence of steric interactions between Cp and SBF. The structure of 3 contains each of the possible C₂ enantiomers whereas NMR spectroscopy shows signals consistent with a 1:1 mixture of C₂ and C₁ stereoisomers for both 2 and 3. In conjunction with electrochemical data the observations are consistent with SBF acting as a molecule containing two independent biphenyl moieties.     

Aryl sulfoxides via palladium-catalyzed arylation of sulfenate anions

[Structure: see text] Palladium-catalyzed arylation of sulfenate anions generated from beta-sulfinyl esters can take place under biphasic conditions. This hitherto unknown reaction provides a simple, mild, and efficient route to aryl sulfoxides in good yields. The development of a new pseudo-domino type I procedure involving a sulfinylation followed by a Mirozoki-Heck coupling is also described.