Acid acting as redispersing agent to form stable colloids from photoactive crystalline aqueous sol–gel TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> powder

In this work, the redispersion of three nanocrystalline TiO₂ colloids is studied: one pure and two Fe-doped titania. These three colloids are produced by an easy aqueous sol–gel synthesis using precipitation-acidic peptization of Ti precursor. For the two Fe-doped TiO₂, one is doped during synthesis (primary doping) and the other is doped after the synthesis (secondary doping). The initial colloids are composed of crystalline TiO₂ particles around 7?nm with good photocatalytic properties, tested on PNP degradation under visible light (wavelength >390?nm). The powders obtained by air drying of these three colloids are redispersed in water to produce colloids, which are compared to the initial colloid produced. For each colloid, five cycles of drying redispersion are achieved. The colloids are characterized by dynamic light scattering, zeta potential measurements, inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption–desorption measurements, Mössbauer spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and photocatalytic tests. The results show that similar products are obtained between the cycles, maintaining homologous properties of colloids. This property of redispersion is mainly due to the acid (HNO₃, HCl, or H₂SO₄) which protonates the surface of the TiO₂ nanoparticle leading to high-surface charges and electrostatic repulsions between aggregates. This property can be very useful for industrial applications of this synthesis, especially as it allows the volume and weight to be reduced for transportation and storage. Moreover, results show that the pure TiO₂ powder can be doped during its redispersion step. The redispersion of the TiO₂ developed here is possible without surface functionalization or multiple step processes, contrary to commercial Degussa P25. A 2-year stability study of all the produced colloids has been performed by following the evolution of the macroscopic aspect and the physicochemical properties of these sols. This study showed high stability of the produced colloids.

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Late‐Stage Isotopic Carbon Labeling of Pharmaceutically Relevant Cyclic Ureas Directly from CO2

A robust, click‐chemistry‐inspired procedure for radiolabeling of cyclic ureas was developed. This protocol, suitable for all carbon isotopes (¹¹C, ¹³C, ¹⁴C), is based on the direct functionalization of carbon dioxide: the universal building block for carbon radiolabeling. The strategy is operationally simple and reproducible in different radiochemistry centers, exhibits remarkably wide substrate scope with short reaction times, and demonstrates superior reactivity as compared to previously reported systems. With this procedure, a variety of pharmaceuticals and an unprotected peptide were labeled with high radiochemical efficiency.     

NMR methods for studying the structure and dynamics of oncogenic and antihistaminic peptides in biomembranes

We present several applications of both wide-line and magic angle spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR of bicelles in which are embedded fragments of a tyrosine kinase receptor or enkephalins. The magnetically orientable bicelle membranes are shown to be of particular interest for studying the functional properties of lipids and proteins in a state that is very close to their natural environment. Quadrupolar, dipolar and chemical shielding interactions can be used to determine minute alterations of internal membrane dynamics and the orientation of peptides with respect to the membrane plane. MAS of bicelles can in turn lead to high-resolution proton spectra of hydrated membranes. Using deuterium-proton contrast methods one can then obtain pseudo-high-resolution proton spectra of peptides or proteins embedded in deuterated membranes and determine their atomic 3D structure using quasi-conventional liquid-state NMR methods.     

Unusual gold(I)-catalyzed isomerization of 3-hydroxylated 1,5-enynes: highly substrate-dependent reaction manifolds

[reaction: see text] The gold(I) isomerization of diversely substituted 3-hydroxylated enynes has led to the discovery of three new unreported skeletal rearrangements furnishing structures such as alkylidene-cyclopentenes, cyclohexadienes or alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes under very mild conditions.     

A convenient synthesis of 6,6′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine-4-ester and its application to the preparation of bifunctional lanthanide chelators

We describe a convenient scalable synthesis of 4-carbomethoxy-6,6′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine based on the application of modified Negishi cross-coupling conditions. The use of this building block in the preparation of a number of dissymmetrically 6,6′-trisubstituted-2,2′-bipyridines and of bifunctional lanthanide chelators is also reported.     

Carbodiimide production from cyanamide by UV irradiation and thermal reaction on amorphous water ice

Cyanamide (NH(2)CN), an interstellar molecule, is a relevant molecule in prebiotic chemistry, because it can be converted into urea in liquid water. Carbodiimide (HNCNH), the most stable cyanamide isomer, is able to assemble amino acids into peptides. In this work, using FTIR spectroscopy, we show that carbodiimide can be formed from cyanamide at low temperature (10 K), by a photochemical process in argon matrix, in water matrix, or in solid film. We also report experimental evidence about the carbodiimide formation when cyanamide is condensed at low temperature (50-140 K) on an amorphous water ice surface, or when it is trapped in the water ice. The water ice acts as a catalyst. This isomerization reaction occurs at low temperature (T < 100 K), which agrees with those expected in the interstellar clouds composed of dust grains in which water is the most predominant compound. Finally, the hydrolysis reaction of cyanamide or carbodiimide leading to urea or isourea formation is not observed under our experimental conditions.     

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of (2-Hydroxyethyl) 2-Deoxy-α-D-Threo-Pyranoside 3,4,2′-Trisphosphate,A Mimic of the Second Messenger Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate

ABSTRACT

(2-Hydroxyethyl) 2-deoxy-α-D-threo-pentopyranoside 3,4,2′-trisphosphate (3) has been prepared starting from allyl-α-D-xylopyranoside. The suitably protected 2-deoxy intermediate obtained by judicious selective protection and deprotection has been phosphorylated using the phosphoramidite methodology. Final deprotection gave the expected analogue of myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate.     

Influence of Plasticizers on the Electromechanical Behavior of a P(VDF‐TrFE‐CTFE) Terpolymer: Toward a High Performance of Electrostrictive Blends

This work aims at providing a complete analysis of the effect of plasticizers on the electrostrictive terpolymer performance. To achieve this, several plasticizing agents such as 2‐ethylhexyl phtalate (DEHP), diisononyl phtalate (DINP), and palamoll 652 have been incorporated in the polymer matrix. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed novel materials exhibited excellent electromechanical enhancement in terms of transverse strain and mechanical energy density under a moderate electric field, which is definitively critical in recent microscale actuation. Another objective of this article was to explore material characteristics as a function of the DINP content, and it was found that the plasticizer weigh fraction was the key parameter determining performance of the modified fluorinate terpolymer blends. Accordingly, it was revealed that high performance flexible actuators can be achieved merely by employing a simple and cheap plasticizer, thus making it possible to overcome the current technological barrier of conventional electroactive polymers that suffer from the high applied electric field usually required to reach sufficient strain. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 355–369     

Catalytic stereoselective alkene aziridination with sulfonimidamides

Diastereoselective copper-catalyzed alkene aziridination has been investigated using chiral nitrenes generated from sulfonimidamides in the presence of an iodine(III) oxidant. Starting from a stoichiometric amount of the substrates, the corresponding aziridines were isolated with excellent yields of up to 96%. Good levels of asymmetric induction were obtained in the case of electron-poor olefins, with an optimal de of 94% being reached starting from tert-butyl acrylate. Matching and mismatching effects were also observed upon the use of chiral copper catalysts for the aziridination of styrene.     

Rheological and thermal behaviours of a hyperbranched polycarbosilane

A hyperbranched polymer, a precursor of silicon carbide (SiC), was successfully synthesized using a hydrosilylation reaction with Karstedt's catalyst. This reaction was optimized with the use of a rheometer coupled with an infrared spectrometer. The polymeric precursor was characterized using NMR and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies, and dynamic rheology. The polymerization reaction was followed in situ by combined rheological and infrared measurements, indicating a gel‐like behaviour for alkene conversions higher than 0.55. Overall second‐order kinetics was determined for the hydrosilylation reaction. Pyrolysis at 1400 °C led to porous materials with β‐SiC and free carbon.