Synthesis of new enantiomerically pure spirooxindolopyrrolizidines via a three-component asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of azomethine ylides derived from isatin

An efficient, one-pot, three-component procedure for the synthesis of a small library of new chiral spirooxindolopyrrolizidines with high regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselectivity, from the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides and optically active cinnamoyl oxazolidinone is described. The process occurs at room temperature in aqueous ethanol as a green solvent and in the absence of any Lewis acids. The oxazolidinone chiral auxiliary is removed in a non-destructive manner. The reaction mechanism is discussed on the basis of the assignment of the absolute configuration of the cycloadducts, and on theoretical calculations.     

Synthesis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-hydroxy-imidamide-functionalized graphene: an efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction

Metal-free electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are key to the development of efficient, durable, and low-cost alternatives to noble-metal-based electrocatalysts in fuel cell cathodes. In recent years, many efforts are directed to the metal-free catalyst based on heteroatom-doped graphene. In this work, we demonstrate that the graphene surface can be converted into the catalyst for the oxygen reduction by chemical functionalization. In this context, we first synthesized malononitrile-functionalized graphene oxide. Amidoximation of nitrile group and reduction in graphene oxide were then carried out by hydroxylamine in one step. The electrochemical behavior of functionalized graphene-modified electrode for the reduction in oxygen was studied. The results showed that the electrocatalyst fabricated by this method exhibited striking catalytic activities in alkaline solution. In alkaline solution, this catalyst showed a competitive activity to the commercial Pt catalyst via four-electron transfer pathway with better ORR selectivity and stability. In addition, this metal-free electrocatalyst exhibited tolerance to methanol crossover effect. Based on its outstanding performance, this functionalized graphene electrocatalyst showed the promising prospect of a metal-free catalyst for fuel cell with much lower cost than currently used Pt/C catalyst.     

Performance improvement of PDMS/PES membrane by adding silicalite-1 nanoparticles: separation of xenon and krypton

The polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mixed matrix membrane with dispersed phase of nanozeolite silicalite-1 has been synthesized on polyethersulphone (PES) as a support, and its performance in the gas separation of xenon and krypton has been studied. For this purpose, nanozeolite silicalite-1 is synthesized by the hydrothermal clear solution method and is characterized by XRD and SEM analysis. In this research, the separation performance of MMM has also been compared with the polymeric PDMS membrane. Furthermore, the effect of feed pressure and loading percentage of nanozeolite in the polymeric matrix are evaluated. The results indicate that the addition of nanozeolite to the polymeric matrix improves its separation performance, and that the changes of the feed pressure have no major effect. The average permeability of the krypton and xenon gases through the PDMS polymeric membrane is calculated as 1.25 × 10^?9 and 1.78 × 10^?9 cm mol/(cm² s kPa), respectively, while by adding only 5 wt% of nanosilicalite-1 to the polymeric matrix of the membrane, this amount increased to 1.82 × 10^?9 and 8.07 × 10^?9 cm mol/(cm² s kPa), respectively. In addition, the presence of nanosilicalite-1 as the filler leads to an increase in the selectivity of xenon to krypton up to 4.38.     

Ab Initio Study of Conformational Properties of Heteroatom-Containing 1,2-Bisketene Analogues

Abstract

Minimum-energy and transition-state geometries of 4-oxobuta-1,3-diene-1-thione, buta-1,3-diene-1,4-dithione, 4-selenoxobuta-1,3-diene-1-thione, 4-selenoxobuta-1,3-diene-1-one, and buta-1,3-diene-1,4-diselenone were calculated using HF, B3LYP, and MP2 levels of theory and 6–31 + G* basis set by rotation around the related ?C?C? single bonds. In all of the above-mentioned molecules, the s-trans conformation was obtained as the most stable conformer with the 180° dihedral angle. In buta-1,3-diene-1,4-dithione, 4-selenoxobuta-1,3-diene-1-thione, and buta-1,3-diene-1,4-diselenone, the s-cis form of these compounds corresponded to the other energy-minimum geometry. Their skew geometries, with torsional angles approximately 100°, were a transition state for conformational interconversion between the two global minima forms. In 4-oxobuta-1,3-diene-1-thione and 4-selenoxobuta-1,3-diene-1-one, geometries with the C?C?C?C dihedral angles about 51 and 43° (respectively) were attributed to the second energy-minimum geometry. Transition-state structures from both molecules were found in the torsional angles at about 0 and 100°.

Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Silicon and the Related Elements to view the free supplemental file.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT     

A novel covalent functionalisation of poly (styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) with 4-amino benzo-9-crown-3 ether

The grafting of 4-amino benzo-9-crown-3 ether to poly (styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) has been described. The covalent grafting of crown ether has led to a considerable increase in the solubility of polymer in organic solvents such as dimethyl sulphoxide, dimethylformamide and tetrahydrofuran. The highest solubility was attained in DMF and DMSO. The covalently bonded 4-benzo-9-crown-3 ether allowed the hosting of Li⁺. The covalently grafted crown ether to polymer was identified by infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis methods.     

Speciation Analysis of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) after Solid Phase Extraction Using Modified Magnetite Nanoparticles

A new solid phase extraction (SPE) method has been developed for the speciation of Cr(III) and Cr(VI). This method is based on the adsorption of Cr(VI) on modified alumina‐coated magnetite nanoparticles (ACMNPs). Total chromium in different samples was determined as Cr(VI) after oxidation of Cr(III) to Cr(VI) using H₂O₂. The chromium concentration has been determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometric (FAAS) technique and amount of Cr(III) was calculated by substracting the concentration of Cr(VI) from total chromium concentration. The effect of parameters such as pH, amount of adsorbent, contact time, sample volume, eluent type, H₂O₂ concentration and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) concentration as modifier on the quantitative recovery of Cr(VI) were investigated. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the preconcentration factor, detection limit, linear range and relative standard deviation (RSD) of Cr(VI) were 140 (for 350 mL of sample solution), 0.083 ng mL^?1, 0.1‐10.0 ng mL^?1 and 4.6% (for 5.0 ng mL^?1, n = 7), respectively. This method avoided the time‐consuming column‐passing process of loading large volume samples in traditional SPE through the rapid isolation of CTAB@ACMNPs with an adscititious magnet. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination and speciation of chromium in different water and wastewater samples and suitable recoveries were obtained.     

Aromatization of Hantzsch 1,4-Dihydropyridines with Al(NO3)3·9H2O and/or Fe(NO3)3·9H2O in the Presence of Silica Sulfuric Acid Under Mild and Heterogeneous Conditions

A simple and convenient method for the aromatization of Hantzsch 1,4-dihydropyridines to the corresponding pyridines is achieved via combination of aluminum or ferric nitrates and silica sulfuric acid as environmentally friendly and novel oxidizing media. This oxidation was carried out in dichloromethane under heterogeneous conditions with good to excellent yields.     

Synthesis of 2‐Aryl‐5‐oxo‐4‐[2‐(phenylmethylidene)hydrazino]‐2,5‐dihydro‐1H‐pyrrole‐3‐carboxylates by the Reaction between Hydrazones,Acetylenedicarboxylates, and 1‐Aryl‐N,N′‐bis(arylmethylidene)methanediamines

An efficient approach for the preparation of functionalized 2‐aryl‐2,5‐dihydro‐5‐oxo‐4‐[2‐(phenylmethylidene)hydrazino]‐1H‐pyrroles is described. The four‐component reaction between aldehydes, NH₂NH₂?H₂O, dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylates, and 1‐aryl‐N,N′‐bis(arylmethylidene)methanediamines proceeds in EtOH under reflux in good‐to‐excellent yields (Scheme 1). The structures of 4 were corroborated spectroscopically (IR, ¹H‐ and ¹³C‐NMR, and EI‐MS, and, in the case of 4f , by X‐ray crystallography). A plausible mechanism for this type of reaction is proposed (Scheme 2).