Rh(II) catalysed intramolecular C-H insertion of diazo substrates in water: a simple and efficient approach to catalyst reuse

Water is an efficient solvent for the Rh2(OAc)4 catalysed intramolecular C-H insertion of a range of diazo substrates without competitive water insertion. Due to the high solubility and stability of the catalyst in water, the catalyst can be efficiently reused.     

Organocatalytic asymmetric assembly reactions: one-pot synthesis of functionalized beta-amino alcohols from aldehydes,ketones, and azodicarboxylates

[reaction: see text] l-Proline catalyzed the enzyme-like direct asymmetric assembly of aldehydes, ketones, and azodicarboxylic acid esters to provide optically active beta-amino alcohols. This assembly reaction uses both aldehydes and ketones as donors in one pot. The aldol-derived stereocenter is formed with a reduced facial selectivity in reactions involving (R)-amino aldehydes. The reactions can be performed on a multigram scale under operationally simple and safe conditions without the requirement of an inert atmosphere or dry solvents.     

Reduction of sulfoxides with boranes catalyzed by MoO2Cl2

The first example of an organic reduction with boranes catalyzed by a high valent oxo-complex is reported. The systems catecholborane/MoO₂Cl₂(H₂O)₂ (5 mol %) and BH₃·THF/MoO₂Cl₂ (5 mol %) proved to be very efficient for the reduction of sulfoxides to the corresponding sulfides in excellent yields.     

31P NMR spectroscopy as a powerful tool for the determination of enantiomeric excess and absolute configurations of alpha-amino acids

An easy method for the determination of the enantiomeric excess (ee) of mixtures of alpha-amino acids, and also for the elucidation of the absolute configuration of each component of the mixture, is reported. The method is based on the formation of diastereoisomers by reaction of the enantiomerically pure acetylacetonate derivative [Pd(acac-O,O')(P(2)-dach)]ClO(4) (4) [P(2)-dach = (1R,2R)-C(6)H(10)(NHPPh(2))(2)] with d,l-mixtures of alpha-amino acids AaH (Pd:AaH = 1:1 molar ratio, refluxing MeOH). The reaction occurs with protonation of the acac ligand and N,O-coordination of the amino acidate group, giving the corresponding [Pd(Aa-N,O)(P(2)-dach)]ClO(4) complexes l-5 and d-6. The composition of these mixtures of amino acidate complexes was analyzed by integration of the corresponding peaks (four doublets, two for each diastereomer) in their (31)P((1)H) NMR spectra. A series of 14 alpha-amino acids was studied (a, alanine; b, 2-aminobutyric acid; c, valine; d, phenylalanine; e, proline; f, leucine; g, isoleucine; h, norleucine; i, serine; j, threonine; k, methionine; l, aspartic acid; m, glutamine; n, cysteine), and excellent agreement between the expected values of ee and those obtained from integration of the (31)P((1)H) NMR spectra was obtained. Moreover, the position of the signals of each isomer is diagnostic, in such a way that the outer doublets are always due to the l-derivatives 5a-l, while the inner ones are due to the d-derivatives 6a-l, allowing the assignation of absolute configurations to each isomer in the mixture.     

The correlation of the stability constants of 1,3-dicarbonylic monochelates of Iron(III) with the acid dissociation constants of the ligand

The variation of the logrithms of stability constants of iron(III) monochelated compounds with structurally similar 1,3-dicarbonylic compounds has been found to be an essentially linear function of the negative logarithms of the acid ionization constant of the ligands. An analytical correlation which could be useful to predict equilibrium constants of iron(III) chelates has been developed. From spectrophotometric and potentiometric data a quantitative evaluation of the stability of the complex has been carried out. Results have provided information regarding substituent effects on the equilibrium constants.     

Synthesis of new colloidal formations during the strengthening of different activated hydrated metallurgical slags

This paper reports on a comparison of experimental researches on the hydration hardening of different types of dumped ferrous slag (DFS) (blast furnace, open hearth, electric steel and converter), non-activated and activated with small (2%) additions of Portland cement or lime. Activation was found to accelerate the strengthening processes in the early stages of hydration resulting from the growth of colloidal sol–gel new formations in a more alkaline environment. Over time, these formations became denser and transformed into stone-like amorphous materials with a uniaxial strength of up to 47.6 MPa at 1 year of age. All these types of slag can, therefore, be used in different applications, for example, like traditional binders, such as Portland cement, to different ceramic goods, new construction materials, etc. But till now the results of this research were used only for the preparing of binder materials for natural soils strengthening as road bases in Russia. Highways whose roadbeds were built with these DFS as binder materials have shown excellent performance indices in different parts of Russia, including Siberia and northern regions.     

The extraordinary ability of guanidinate derivatives to stabilize higher oxidation numbers in dimetal units by modification of redox potentials: structures of Mo(2)(5+) and Mo(2)(6+) compounds

Full characterization of the first homologous series of dimolybdenum paddlewheel compounds having electronic configurations of the types sigma(2)pi(4)delta(x), x = 2, 1, 0, and Mo-Mo bond orders of 4, 3.5, and 3, respectively, has been accomplished with the guanidinate-type ligand hpp (hpp = the anion of 1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidine). Essentially quantitative oxidation of Mo(2)(hpp)(4), 1, by CH(2)Cl(2) gives Mo(2)(hpp)(4)Cl, 2. The halide in 2 can be replaced by reaction with TlBF(4) to produce Mo(2)(hpp)(4)(BF(4)), 3. Further oxidation of 2 by AgBF(4) produces Mo(2)(hpp)(4)ClBF(4), 4. The change from bond order 4 (in 1) to 3.5 in Mo(2)(hpp)(4)Cl is accompanied by an increase in the Mo-Mo bond length of 0.061 to 2.1280(4) A. A further increase of 0.044 A in the Mo-Mo distance to 2.172(1) A is observed as the bond order decreases to 3 in 4. At the same time, the Mo-N distances decrease smoothly as the oxidation state of the Mo atoms increases. Electrochemical studies have shown two chemically reversible processes at very negative potentials, E(1)(1/2)= -0.444 V and E(2)(1/2)= -1.271 V versus Ag/AgCl. These correspond to the processes Mo(2)(6+/5+) and Mo(2)(5+/4+), respectively. The latter potential is displaced by over 1.5 V relative to those of the Mo(2)(formamidinate)(4) compounds and the first one has never been observed in such complexes. Thus, in surprising contrast to previously observed behavior of the dimolybdenum unit, when it is surrounded by the very basic guanidinate ligand hpp, there is an extraordinary stabilization of the higher oxidation numbers of the molybdenum atoms.     

Determination of metal impurities in electrolytic iron by GF-AAS using electric dispersion in liquid medium

A laboratory-built electrospark system, operated in liquid medium, is used as dispersion method for metallic samples. The metallic colloidal solutions formed upon electrocorrosion behave as typical lyophobic colloidal systems, which are highly stable. The parameters influencing the formation of the colloidal solutions are optimized so that the electrospark system can be used in combination with graphite furnace-atomic absorption spectrometry for trace metal determinations. Dispersion rates for electrolytic iron range from 50 to 125 g min^–1, depending on the power. The colloidal solutions show the same atomization behaviour as true solutions, which makes calibration with aqueous standards feasible. The method has been used to determine manganese, chromium und copper in the NIST SRM 665 electrolytic iron.     

Quantum field theory in curved space-time as thermo field dynamics

The strong analogy between states defined in the context of quantum field theory in curved space-time (QFT-CST) and the ones defined in the thermo field dynamics (TFD) of Takahashi and Umezawa [1] is shown. This analogy is useful in order to introduce the entropy operator in CST in the same way as in TFD. When the extremum condition in the thermodynamical potential is imposed, a family of Bogoliubov transformations that give us a planckian spectrum is found, even in pathological cases such as the minimally coupled scalar field.     

Energy of the Photosubstitutionally Reactive Excited State of Pentaammine(pyridine)ruthenium(II)

The photosensitized aquation of pentaammine(pyridine)ruthenium(II) by several dyes has been studied under conditions where only the sensitizers absorb light. The ratio of the quantum yields for ammine and pyridine substitution was the same as that for direct photoaquation. Sensitization was effective with singlet sensitizers Rhodamine-B (17 452 cm(-)(1)) and Safranine-T (17 690 cm(-)(1)), as well as the triplet sensitizer biacetyl (19 000 cm(-)(1)), but no reaction was observed with Neutral-Red (16 900 cm(-)(1)). The results indicate that the excited state precursor of the observed photosubstitution in the complex lies in the energy range between 17 000 and 17 700 cm(-)(1).