Open-shell spherical aromaticity: the 2N2 + 2N + 1 (with S = N + ½) rule

4N Baird's rule represented the extension of Hückel's 4N + 2 rule to triplet state systems. In this work we extend the 2(N + 1)(2) Hirsch rule for spherical aromatic species to open-shell spherical compounds and we provide evidence that those spherical species having a same-spin half-filled last energy level with the rest of the levels being fully-filled, i.e., those having 2N(2) + 2N + 1 electrons and S = N + ?, are aromatic.     

Investigation of an acid-base and redox molecular switch: from bulk to the single-molecule level

In this work we investigate a new fluorescent molecular switch based on the interconversion between the fluorescent zwitterionic form (ZW1) and the non-fluorescent anionic state (MC2) of a spirocyclic Meisenheimer complex of 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene. Density functional theory molecular orbital calculations reveal that photo-induced electron transfer from a guanidine group to the trinitrocyclohexadiene fluorophore of the complex quenches the emission from MC2. Protonation, as well as coordination of other Lewis acids to the guanidine group, suppress the quenching mechanism and allow the complex to fluoresce. In agreement with the calculations, reversible on-off fluorescence switching of the ZW1-MC2 bulk system occurs by protonation-deprotonation of the guanidine moiety upon acid-base addition. Interestingly, spectroelectrochemical ensemble measurements show that switching of the ZW1-MC2 pair can also be attained electrochemically, thus unraveling the versatile functioning of this system. The ultimate limit of monitoring the reversible on-off operation of individual switch molecules is reached by means of single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy, which demonstrates the potential of the ZW1-MC2 system to be used as a true single-molecule switch on the nanometer scale.     

Harnessing the Dual Properties of Thiol‐Grafted Cellulose Paper for Click Reactions: A Powerful Reducing Agent and Adsorbent for Cu

A new approach exploiting the dual properties of thiol‐grafted cellulose paper for promoting copper‐catalyzed [3+2]‐cycloadditions of organic azides with alkynes and adsorbing residual copper species in solution was developed. The thiol‐grafted cellulose paper, used as a paper strip, effects the reduction of Cu^II to catalytically active Cu^I and acts as a powerful adsorbent for copper, thereby facilitating the work‐up process and leaving the crude mixture almost free of copper residues after a single filtration.     

LC-MS ion maps for the characterization of aniline derivatives of fatty acids and triglycerides in laboratory-denatured rapeseed oil

In 1981 Spain went through a unique epidemic associated with a food-borne vector, affecting more than 20,000 people with over 800 deaths, which came to be known as the Toxic Oil Syndrome (TOS). Early epidemiological studies showed a link between this illness and the ingestion of rapeseed oil denatured with 2% aniline. This oil, originally aniline-denatured for industrial use, was fraudulently processed in an attempt to remove free aniline, and marketed as edible oil. Fatty acid anilides (FAA), monoesters and diesters of 3-(N-phenylamino)-1,2-propanediol (PAP) are present in oil samples as they arise in the refining process from reactions of aniline with constituent fatty acids and triglycerides of the oil matrix and are the only extraneous compounds found in these samples. To expand the search for the causative agents in TOS-associated oils and to look for new aniline-related compounds, an exhaustive characterization of laboratory-processed oils was undertaken. These oils, in the presence of aniline doped with 14C labelled aniline, were submitted to the laboratory conditions required for the generation of PAPs and FAAs. Laboratory-generated oil samples were submitted to a liquid-liquid extraction procedure to remove the unreacted aniline. The extract was processed by double solid-phase extraction to improve detection limits for minor amine-containing compounds in oils. The extracts enriched in aniline derivatives were submitted to on-line HPLC-UV-APCI-MS. Using two-dimensional ion maps, the components of several families of derivatives were readily identified. Additionally, the extracts were also fractionated by HPLC-UV and the fractions were analyzed by HPLC-APCI-MS/MS to obtain structural information. Standards of some of these compounds were synthesized and analyzed to confirm the results. A total of 115 aniline derivatives from 9 aniline-related families were identified in these oil samples. These included fatty acid anilides and an extensive array of phenylaminopropanediol esters distributed in eight major compound classes.     

Reaction Mechanism and Regioselectivity of the Bingel–Hirsch Addition of Dimethyl Bromomalonate to La@C2v‐C82

We quantum chemically explore the thermodynamics and kinetics of all 65 possible mechanistic pathways of the Bingel–Hirsch addition of dimethyl bromomalonate to the endohedral metallofullerene La@C_2v‐C₈₂ that result from the combination of 24 nonequivalent carbon atoms and 35 different bonds present in La@C_2v‐C₈₂ by using dispersion‐corrected DFT calculations. Experimentally, this reaction leads to four singly bonded derivatives and one fulleroid adduct. Of these five products, only the singly bonded derivative on C23 could be experimentally identified unambiguously. Our calculations show that La@C_2v‐C₈₂ is not particularly regioselective under Bingel–Hirsch conditions. From the obtained results, however, it is possible to make a tentative assignment of the products observed experimentally. We propose that the observed fulleroid adduct results from the attack at bond 19 and that the singly bonded derivatives correspond to the C2, C19, C21, and C23 initial attacks. However, other possibilities cannot be ruled out completely.     

Mineralogical evolution of cement pastes at early ages based on thermogravimetric analysis (TG)

Ordinary thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and high-resolution TG tests were carried out on three different Portland cement pastes to study the phases present during the first day of hydration. Tests were run at 1, 6, 12 and 24 h of hydration, in order to determine the phases at these ages. High-resolution TG tests were used to separate decompositions presented in the 100–200 °C interval. The non-evaporable water determined by TG was used to determine hydration degree for the different ages. The effect of particle size distribution (PSD) on mineralogical evolution was established, as well as the addition of calcite as mineralogical filler. Finer PSD and calcite addition accelerate the hydration process, increasing the hydration degree on the first day of reaction between water and cement. According to high-resolution TG results, it was demonstrated that ettringite was the only decomposed phase in the 100–200 °C interval during the first 6 h of hydration for all studied cements. C-S-H phase starts to appear in all cements after 12 h of hydration.     

Di­chloro(d‐me­thionine‐N,S)plati­num(II) at 130 K

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [PtCl₂(C₅H₁₁NO₂S)], a d ‐me­thionine derivative, contains two mol­ecules with opposite chirality at the S atoms. The amino acid acts as a bidentate ligand and coordinates simultaneously through the N (amino) and S (thio­ether) atoms. The mol­ecules are packed in pairs which are connected through two hydrogen bonds between the protonated carboxyl groups, with O?O distances of 2.633 (10) and 2.663 (12) Å.     

Photoinduced molecular reorientation dynamics in confined domains of Langmuir monolayers

In a photoresponsive Langmuir monolayer comprised of smectic-C-like domains of mesogenic trans-azobenzene derivative embedded within an isotropic matrix of its cis isomer counterpart, several structurally differing circular droplets were irradiated with linearly polarized light. This report describes the structural rearrangements that occurred in these droplets upon illumination followed by Brewster angle microscopy analysis. Starting from initial well-characterized and symmetric states, final photoaligned situations were reached in which the azimuth angles of the rod-shaped elongated molecules were found to be perpendicular to the electric component of the excitation light. The dynamical aspects of the photoalignments, including their transient patterns, are captured by a theoretical model that couples a relaxational principle incorporating long-range elastic forces with a kinetic formalism presenting an anisotropic rate law.     

Properties of poly(3-halidethiophene)s

The influence of the halogen atom on the intrinsic properties of poly(3-halidethiophene)s has been investigated using experimental and theoretical methodologies. Specifically, the electrochemical, electrical, electronic and morphological properties of poly(3-bromothiophene) have been determined and compared with those recently reported for poly(3-chlorothiophene) [Aradilla et al., Polym. Chem., 2012, 3, 436.]. The electrochemical stability and porosity are smaller for poly(3-bromothiophene) than for poly(3-chlorothiophene) while the π-π* lowest transition energy is higher for the former than for the latter. Moreover, quantum mechanical calculations on model oligomers have evidenced that the conformational properties of poly(3-halidethiophene)s, where the halogen is fluorine, chloride or bromine, are dominated by steric interactions and, therefore, are significantly influenced by the size of the halogen atoms. Both the ionization potential and the π-π* lowest transition energy have been predicted to increase slightly when the π-donor character of the halogen atom decreases, in agreement with experimental observations.