Stopped-flow Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of nitromethane oxidation by the diiron(IV) intermediate of methane monooxygenase

The hydroxylase component (MMOH) of soluble methane monooxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) was reduced to the diiron(II) form and then allowed to react with dioxygen to generate the diiron(IV) intermediate Q in the first phase of a double-mixing stopped-flow experiment. CD3NO2 was then introduced in the second phase of the experiment, which was carried out in D2O at 25 degrees C. The kinetics of the reaction of the substrate with Q were monitored by stopped-flow Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, observing the disappearance of the asymmetric NO2 bending vibration at 1548 cm-1. The data were fit to a single-exponential function, which yielded a kobs of 0.45 +/- 0.07 s-1. This result is in quantitative agreement with a kobs of 0.39 +/- 0.01 s-1 obtained by observing the disappearance of Q by double-mixing stopped-flow optical spectroscopy at its absorption maximum of 420 nm. These results provide for the first time direct monitoring of the hydroxylation of a methane-derived substrate in the MMOH reaction pathway and demonstrate that Q decay occurs concomitantly with substrate consumption.     

Oxidation of coordinated olefins: the reactions of Cl2 with trichloro(ehtylene)platinate(II)

The oxidation of [PtCl₃(C₂H₄)]- by Cl₂ in aqueous solution, to yield CH₂ClCH₂OH and [PtCl₄]^2-, has been shown to proceed through the following sequence of steps: [PtCl₃(C₂H₄)] Cl₂Cl [PtCl₅(CH₂CH₂Cl)]^2-$\text{H}{}_2\text{O}\text{(HCl)}$ [PtCl₅(CH₂CH₂OH)]^2- → [PtCl₄^2- + CH₂ClCH₂OHEach of the steps and intermediates in this mechanistic sequence has been identified and characterized.     

Synthesis and characterization of new polyamides derived from di(4-cyanophenyl)isosorbide

New optically active polyamides were synthesized according to two ways: using a microwave-assisted polycondensation of an optically active isosorbide-derived diacylchloride with different aromatic diamines in NMP and using interfacial polymerization from an isosorbide-derived diamine with different diacylchlorides. The polymers are obtained with inherent viscosities in the range from 0.11 to 1.05 dL/g. The DSC and TGA measurements clearly demonstrate the high thermal stability of these polymers when considering the range of the melting points from 200 °C to 300 °C and the absence of decomposition till 350 °C.     

The Legacy of Raimond Castaing

 In April 1998 Raimond Castaing left the world of electrons, of ions and others particles, his wife and his family, his numerous students, for the world of stars. Raimond Castaing (Fig. 1) had a very strong personality. No one will forget their first meeting with him and all his students remember how brilliant he was as a teacher. A lot of anecdotes about his famous hot temper are still circulating among his friends and his former students. But in this paper, we would like to evoke Castaing’s memory through his achievements in Instrumental Physics, from the time of his doctoral thesis to later developments with his students, which were all centred on the imaging of the microstructures of materials and their quantitative chemical analysis.     

Préparation d'isoxazoles trisubstitués par réduction chimique et électrochimique d'α-acyl β-nitrostilbènes

Nitration of α-acylstilbenes with dinitrogen tetroxide leads to corresponding Z-α-acyl-β-nitrostilbenes. By chemical or electochemical reduction of these compounds, trisubstituted isoxazoles were prepared in good yields.     

Etude des propriétés cristallographiques,diélectriques et d'optique non linéaire de quelques nouvelles phases de composition BaxLi5−2xNb5(1−y)Ta5yO15 et de structure bronzes oxygénés de tungstène quadratiques

Two series of phases with tetragonal bronze-like structure and composition Ba_xLi_5?2xT₅O₁₅ (T = Nb, Ta) have been isolated in the systems BaNb₂O₆LiNbO₃ and BaTa₂O₆LiTaO₃. All these phases show ferroelectric-paraelectric transitions. The Curie temperature increases with the lithium content. The value of T_C for Ba_2.03Li_0.94Nb₅O₁₅ is the highest ever observed for this type of structure: the obtained phases are potentially good materials for the harmonic generation of the 0.53-μm radiation. The optical yield of the niobate Ba_2.14Li_0.71Nb₅O₁₅ is about 2.5 times that of Ba₂NaNb₅O₁₅ and 250 times that of the K.D.P. The crystallographic and dielectric data of the system Ba_2.14Li_0.71Nb₅O₁₅Ba_2.14Li_0.71Ta₅O₁₅ characterize three domains, which are respectively antiferroelectric, ferroelectric, and paraelectric. The Curie temperature and the optical yield decrease with increasing tantalum content.     

Analyse de population dans les calculs LCAO: charges et moments atomiques

Résumé Les auteurs montrent que le moment dipolaire d'une molécule peut, avec une bonne approximation, se réduire à la somme vectorielle des moments atomiques et d'un moment de charges ponctuelles centrées sur les atomes. Les charges ainsi définies sont indépendantes du système d'axes de coordonnées.

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Population analysis by LCAO calculations: Charges and atomic moments

The authors show that the dipole moment of a molecule can be reduced to the vector sum of the atomic moments and of a moment due to point charges centred on atoms with a good accuracy. The so defined charges are independent of the coordinate system.

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Zusammenfassung Die Autoren zeigen, daß das Dipolmoment von Molekülen als Vektorsumme der Atommomente und eines Moments, das von Punktladungen an den Atomen herrührt, dargestellt werden kann. Die dabei definierten Ladungen sind unabhängig vom Koordinatensystem.

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Equipe de Recherche Associée au C.N.R.S. n 22.

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Remerciements. Ce travail a été en partie présenté au 2ème Colloque International des Chimistes Théoriciens d'expression latine (Paris, septembre 1970).Les auteurs remercient les participants à ce Colloque et en particulier Madame A. Pullman et Monsieur P. Claverie pour leurs remarques et leurs suggestions. Leur gratitude va également au Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique pour l'aide matérielle qu'il apporte à ces recherches.     

Préparation de quelques 4-nitroisoxazoles à partir de pseudonitrosites de cétones éthyléniques du type chalcone

The Synthesis of some 4-Nitroisoxazoles from Pseudonitrosites of Chalcones The action of dinitrogen trioxide with α,β-unsaturated ketones of the chalcone type leads to pseudonitrosites (Table 1) which are cyclized to 4-nitro-3,5-diarylisoxazoles (Table 2).     

Cyclocopolymerization of dicyclic dienes and maleic anhydride to fused ring systems

The cyclocopolymerization of maleic anhydride and four 1,5- and 1,6-dienes (bicyclopentene, bicyclohexene, dicyclopentenyl ether, and dicyclohexenyl ether) and one tetraene (quartercyclopentene) is described. Soluble, low molecular weight copolymers were obtained from all five compounds. Their compositions approach 2:1 copolymer ratios. Fused ring structures are proposed as the main repeating units. Among the compounds listed, bicyclopentene copolymerized most easily and gave good conversions for monomer ratios of 2:1. Quartercyclopentene and dicyclopentyl ether, the other five-membered ring compounds, also polymerized to good-to-fair yields. However, a monomer ratio of about 4:1 was required to obtain conversions comparable to a 2:1 maleic anhydride—bicyclopentene polymerization. The six-membered systems, bicyclopentene and dicyclopentenyl ether, gave consistently low conversions, even with a 4:1 monomer ratio. The influence of the initiator system, initiator concentration, and reaction medium was studied on copolymerizations of bicyclopentene. Best results were obtained in acetic anhydride with azobisisobutyronitrile as the initiator.     

Dipolar relaxations in an epoxy-amine system

Dipolar relaxations in a reactive epoxy-amine system based on diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A with 4,4^′-diaminodiphenylsulfone were studied with the Havriliak-Negami function. The system was cured isothermally at 140 °C using simultaneous kinetic and microdielectric studies.The relaxation time was calculated from the frequency f_max of the peak of the loss factor ε^′′ versus frequency f. A linear relation exists between the logarithm of the relaxation time τ and the glass transition temperature T_g. Then, logτ follows the Di Benedetto equation revisited by Pascault and Williams allowing the prediction of the relaxation time τ during cure.The unrelaxed permittivity at high frequency ε_u, the relaxed or static permittivity ε_s and the skewness parameter β were found independent on the conversion or the curing time. The distribution parameter α decreases as curing time t increases. The difficulty of orientation of dipoles in the electric field due to vitrification is responsible of these behaviours.