Radical addition to vinyl sulphones and vinyl phosphonium salts

Alkyl radicals, derived from decarboxylation of carboxylic acids, add readily to phenyl vinyl sulphone and vinyl phosphonium bromide. The adducts may be further converted into a variety of useful synthetic intermediates.     

Kinetic solvent effects on peroxyl radical reactions

Kinetic solvent effects on peroxyl radical reactions are easily determined using a new peroxyester-based radical clock method.     

3-Substituted Sydnone Derivatives. Structures of 3-Cyclohexylsydnone and of Two Forms of 3-(3-Pyridyl)sydnone

The crystal and molecular structures of three sydnone derivatives are reported. The compound 3-cyclohexylsydnone crystallizes in space group C2/c of the monoclinic system with sixteen molecules in a cell of dimensions a = 19.326 (3), b = 9.471 (2), c = 20.005 (4)Å, β = 106.85(1)°. The structure has been refined to a final value of 0.0581 for the conventional R-factor based on 2222 independent observed intensities. Form I of 3-(3-pyridyl)sydnone crystallizes in space group P2/n of the monoclinic system with eight molecules in a cell of dimensions a = 7.317(2), b = 9.283 (2), c = 20.891 (6) Å, β = 99.61(2)°. The structure has been refined to a final value of 0.0514 for the conventional R-factor based on 1208 independent observed intensities. Form II of 3-(3-pyridyl)sydnone crystallizes in space group P2₁/c of the monoclinic system with eight molecules in a cell of dimensions a=9.073 (2), b = 22.267 (5). c = 7.494(2)Å, β = 112.15 (2)°. The structure has been refined to a final value of 0.0462 for the conventional R-factor based on 1330 independent observed intensities. Each of the three structures contains two crystallographically independent molecules in the cell. In the case of 3-cyclohexylsydnone, one of the independent molecules exhibits disorder around the exocyclic bond at N(3). A comparison of bond lengths indicates that the (electron donating) cyclohexyl group brings about enhanced electron density in the N(3)-C(4) bond, and possibly in the N(3)-N(2) bond. All three structures studied here exhibit intermolecular hydrogen bonding involving C(4)-H(4)…O(6) interactions. Although there are no stacking interactions in the cyclohexyl derivative, there is evidence for such interactions in the 3-pyridyl derivatives.     

Economy of proficiency testing: reference versus consensus values

Many proficiency tests are operated with a consensus value derived from the participants’ results. Apart from technical issues, one of the reasons often mentioned is that proficiency tests operated with consensus values would be cheaper than those using reference values obtained from a priori characterisation measurements. The economy of a proficiency test must of course be balanced by the need of the participants, and the quality of the comparison in general. The proficiency tests selected in this study had both a reference value and a consensus value, one of which was used for assessing the performance of the participating laboratories. In this work, both a technical and an economical assessment of how the comparisons were operated is made. From the evaluation, it follows that usually the use of consensus values does not necessarily reduce the costs of a proficiency test. However, frequently it may be observed that the quality of the assessment of the laboratories is better with a reference value. Received: 11 October 2000 Accepted: 3 January 2001     

Determination of As,Cd, Pb,and Hg in urine using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with the direct injection high efficiency nebulizer

The application of the large-bore direct injection high efficiency nebulizer (LB-DIHEN) for the determination of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) in urine by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is described. The LB-DIHEN is compared with the standard method using a concentric pneumatic nebulizer and cyclonic spray chamber. In addition to the toxicological significance of As, Cd, Pb, and Hg, these elements represent a cross-section of analytical issues including spectral interferences (e.g., ⁴⁰Ar³⁵Cl⁺ on ⁷⁵As⁺ and ⁹⁸Mo¹⁶O⁺ on ¹¹⁴Cd⁺) and memory effects (Hg). In this study, the low sample consumption of the LB-DIHEN is used to reduce the volume of urine needed for analysis, and to reduce the volume of final diluted sample required for analysis. Eliminating the spray chamber and reducing the dead volume of the nebulizer reduces memory effects, especially for analytes such as Hg. The Dynamic Reaction Cell (DRC) is used in this study to attenuate the background level of ArCl⁺ in spite of the increase in the solvent load and, in turn, the urine matrix (chloride) delivered to the plasma by the LB-DIHEN. This is the first report on coupling the LB-DIHEN to a standard autosampler for unattended sample analysis. The robustness of direct injection nebulization for routine analysis and the issues associated with automation of the sample introduction process are discussed. Although the figures of merit (sensitivity, limit of detection, and precision) determined for both nebulizers are slightly poorer for the LB-DIHEN than for the concentric pneumatic nebulizer, there is not a clinically significant difference between the results for both sample introduction systems. The accuracy of results is assessed using archived urine materials that are circulated by several different proficiency testing (PT) programs and external quality assessment schemes (EQAS). Results obtained using the LB-DIHEN were within the acceptable range established by a consensus pool generated using different methods, none of which are likely to be using direct injection nebulization. Internal quality control sample results obtained using the LB-DIHEN were compared to those obtained using the conventional nebulizer. Reported results were similar for both nebulizers. Thus, these results show that the LB-DIHEN is certainly feasible for the analysis of urine specimens.     

Investigation of a catalyst ink dispersion using both ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering and cryogenic TEM

The dispersion of Nafion ionomer particles and Pt/C catalyst aggregates in liquid media was studied using both ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering (USAXS) and cryogenic TEM. A systematic approach was taken to study first the dispersion of each component (i.e., ionomer particles and Pt/C aggregates), then the combination of the components, and last the catalyst ink. Multiple-level curve fitting was used to extract the particle size, size distribution, and geometry of the Pt/C aggregates and the Nafion particles in liquid media from the scattering data. The results suggest that the particle size, size distribution, and geometry are not uniform throughout the systems but rather vary significantly. It was found that the interaction of each component (i.e., the Nafion ionomer particles and the Pt/C aggregates) occurs in the dispersion. Cryogenic TEM was used to observe the size and geometry of the particles in liquid directly and to validate the scattering results. The TEM results showed excellent agreement.     

Linking local environments and hyperfine shifts: a combined experimental and theoretical (31)P and (7)Li solid-state NMR study of paramagnetic Fe(III) phosphates

Iron phosphates (FePO(4)) are among the most promising candidate materials for advanced Li-ion battery cathodes. This work reports upon a combined nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experimental and periodic density functional theory (DFT) computational study of the environments and electronic structures occurring in a range of paramagnetic Fe(III) phosphates comprising FePO(4) (heterosite), monoclinic Li(3)Fe(2)(PO(4))(3) (anti-NASICON A type), rhombohedral Li(3)Fe(2)(PO(4))(3) (NASICON B type), LiFeP(2)O(7), orthorhombic FePO(4)·2H(2)O (strengite), monoclinic FePO(4)·2H(2)O (phosphosiderite), and the dehydrated forms of the latter two phases. Many of these materials serve as model compounds relevant to battery chemistry. The (31)P spin-echo mapping and (7)Li magic angle spinning NMR techniques yield the hyperfine shifts of the species of interest, complemented by periodic hybrid functional DFT calculations of the respective hyperfine and quadrupolar tensors. A Curie-Weiss-based magnetic model scaling the DFT-calculated hyperfine parameters from the ferromagnetic into the experimentally relevant paramagnetic state is derived and applied, providing quantitative finite temperature values for each phase. The sensitivity of the hyperfine parameters to the composition of the DFT exchange functional is characterized by the application of hybrid Hamiltonians containing admixtures 0%, 20%, and 35% of Fock exchange. Good agreement between experimental and calculated values is obtained, provided that the residual magnetic couplings persisting in the paramagnetic state are included. The potential applications of a similar combined experimental and theoretical NMR approach to a wider range of cathode materials are discussed.     

Circular dichroism, optical rotation and absolute configuration of 2-cyclohexenone-cis-diol type phenol metabolites: redefining the role of substituents and 2-cyclohexenone conformation in electronic circular dichroism spectra

The absolute configurations of 2-cyclohexenone cis-diol metabolites resulting from the biotransformation of the corresponding phenols have been determined by comparison of their experimental and calculated circular dichroism spectra (TDDFT at the PCM/B2LYP/Aug-cc-pVTZ level), optical rotations (calculated at the PCM/B3LYP/Aug-cc-pVTZ level) and by stereochemical correlation. It is found that circular dichroism spectra and optical rotations of 2-cyclohexenone derivatives are strongly dependent on the ring conformation (M or P sofa S(5) or half-chair), enone non-planarity and the nature and positions of the hydroxy and alkyl substituents. The effect of non-planarity of the enone chromophore, including the distortion of the C=C bond, is determined for the model structures by TDDFT calculations at the PCM/B2LYP/6-311++G(2d,2p) level. Non-planarity of the C=C bond in the enone chromophore is commonly encountered in 2-cyclohexenone derivatives and it is a source of significant rotatory strength contribution to the electronic circular dichroism spectra. It is shown that the two lowest-energy transitions in acrolein and 2-cyclohexenone and its derivatives are n(C=O)-π(C=O)* and π(C=C)-π(C=O)*, as expected, while the shorter-wavelength (below 200 nm) transitions are of more complex nature. In 2-cyclohexenone and its alkyl derivatives it is predominantly a mixture of π(C=C)-π(C=C)* and π(C=C)-σ* transitions, whereas the presence of hydroxy substituent results in a dominant contribution due to the n(OH)-π(C=O)* transition. A generalized model for correlation of the CD spectra of 2-cyclohexenones with their structures is presented.