Energy-dependent reversal of secondary isotope effects on simple cleavage reactions: Tertiary amine radical cations with deuterium at remote positions

Deuterium substitution at remote sites gives rise to inverse secondary kinetic isotope effects on the α-cleavage of a number of tertiary amines in the ion source, but to normal isotope effects on reactions occurring in the field-free regions. The change from normal to inverse secondary isotope effects when the internal energy of the reacting ions increases is consistent with transition-state models that involve slight lowering of vibrational frequencies also for bonds well removed from the site of cleavage. The isotope effect on the reactions of ions of high internal energy is caused by the influence that even small changes of isotope-dependent frequencies have on the state sums (a statistical weight effect favouring loss of the labelled radical), whereas the behaviour of low-energy ions is determined by the zero-point energy changes which favour loss of the unlabelled fragment.     

Potential of short-column liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometric detection for the rapid study of pesticide degradation

Summary The applicability of solid-phase extraction-LC using two short columns (SPE-LC) and/or single-short-column liquid chromatography (SSC) combined on-line with tandem mass spectrometry (MS) was demonstrated for the rapid study of pesticide degradation. A fast analytical procedure was developed to provide preliminary information concerning experimental conditions, approximate rates of degradation and identity of the degradation products. Surface water samples were spiked at relevant concentration levels with well-known microcontaminants and photolysis was used to transform parent compounds into their degradation products. In general, the strategy was as follows: at 30-min intervals 10-mL samples were on-line enriched, separated by short-column LC and recorded in full-scan MS to obtain information on the disappearance of the parent compound and the appearance of breakdown products. To obtain structural information, product-ion spectra of selected compounds appearing in the full-scan MS chromatogram were recorded; this enabled the identification of several degradation products. Total analysis time of enrichment/separation and detection was about 10–15 min.     

Gas–gas experimental interfacial tension measurement

A thermodynamically stable interface can only exist between two immiscible fluids, nonetheless in this work an “immiscible interface” between two gases (CO₂–methane) has been observed and is documented within this paper. This work is the first ever attempt to measure the interfacial tension (IFT) in a gas–gas system, the interfacial tension of supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO₂–methane) was measured at temperatures of 368.15 and 433.15 K and pressures between 6.9 and 41.37 MPa, using a modified pendant drop method. This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of CO₂ injection into a gas reservoir or enhanced gas recovery.     

Insertion reactions of metal carbonyl anions with methyl formate in the gas phase as revealed by 13C- and D-labeling

School of Chemistry, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia Institute of Mass Spectrometry, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht The gas-phase reactions of coordinatively unsaturated metal carbonyl anions (M(CO) _n ^? , M=Cr, Mn, Fe, Co; n=0-3 and Co(CO)_nNO^?, n=0-2) with unlabeled and D- and ¹³C-labeled methyl formate have been studied with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. The reactions proceed in most instances by loss of one or more CO molecules from the collision complex. In the reactions of the dicarbonyl and tricarbonyl anions with H¹³COOCH₃, part of the eliminated carbon monoxide molecules contain the label revealing the occurrence of initial insertion of the metal center into the bonds adjacent to the carbonyl function of the substrate with formation of five- or six-coordinate intermediates, respectively. In addition, the MnCCO) ₃ ^? , Fe(CO) ₂ ^? , and CoCCO) ₂ ^? ions react by the loss of methanol and a [C,H₂,O] neutral species. The D- and ¹³C-labeling show that methanol is expelled in a reductive elimination from a five- or six-coordinate species, whereas the [C,H₂,O] loss is a more complex process possibly involving the competing losses of formaldehyde and CO + H₂. In the reaction of Fe(CO) ₃ ^? with H ₁₃ ¹³ COOCH₃, a facile consecutive exchange of all three CO ligands of the reactant ion for ¹³CO is observed. This novel reaction appears to involve initial insertion into the H¹³CO—OCH₃-bond followed by facile hydrogen shifts from the formyl ligand to a CO Hgand prior to the loss of unlabeled methyl formate.     

Phase behavior, topology, and growth of neutral catanionic reverse micelles

The ternary catanionic system octylammoniumoctanoate/octane/water is studied by combined SANS, light scattering, conductivity, and phase diagram approach in the water-poor microemulsion region. The sphere-to-cylinder growth and branching depends on the concentration, the water-to-surfactant ratio, and the temperature. The unidimensional growth leads to a network of interconnected wormlike micelles. Like most studied linear nonionic surfactants, in this true catanionic system at equimolarity of anionic and cationic surfactant, the curvature toward water increases with temperature, making connections between cylinders less frequent.     

A new sheathless electrospray interface for coupling of capillary electrophoresis to ion-trap mass spectrometry

A simple laboratory-made sheathless electrospray interface for coupling of capillary electrophoresis to ion-trap mass spectrometry (CE/MS) was developed. The interface was machined in-house and it was designed to be freely interchangeable with the commercially available ionization sources for the mass spectrometer. Sharpened fused-silica capillaries were coated with nickel by a simple electrodeless plating procedure and were used as all-in-one columns/emitters. The electrodeless plating produced a 2-5- micro m thick smooth nickel layer that lasted for more than 8 h of continuous electrospraying. The performance of the CE/MS interface was examined by using four cationic imipramine derivatives as test substances. Relative detection limits were calculated on the basis of the extracted ion electrophorograms and were in the range 6-130 nmol/L, corresponding to absolute detection limits in the range of 20-400 amol. The system was applied for analysis of impurities in an impure imipramine N-oxide preparation, and two of the impurities could be identified on the basis of online-MS(MS) spectra recorded in scan-dependent mode.     

Interactions between Catalysts and Amphiphilic Structures and their Implications for a Protocell Model

One of the essential elements of any cell, including primitive ancestors, is a structural component that protects and confines the metabolism and genes while allowing access to essential nutrients. For the targeted protocell model, bilayers of decanoic acid, a single‐chain fatty acid amphiphile, are used as the container. These bilayers interact with a ruthenium–nucleobase complex, the metabolic complex, to convert amphiphile precursors into more amphiphiles. These interactions are dependent on non‐covalent bonding. The initial rate of conversion of an oily precursor molecule into fatty acid was examined as a function of these interactions. It is shown that the precursor molecule associates strongly with decanoic acid structures. This results in a high dependence of conversion rates on the interaction of the catalyst with the self‐assembled structures. The observed rate logically increases when a tight interaction between catalyst complex and container exists. A strong association between the metabolic complex and the container was achieved by bonding a sufficiently long hydrocarbon tail to the complex. Surprisingly, the rate enhancement was nearly as strong when the ruthenium and nucleobase elements of the complex were each given their own hydrocarbon tail and existed as separate molecules, as when the two elements were covalently bonded to each other and the resulting molecule was given a hydrocarbon tail. These results provide insights into the possibilities and constraints of such a reaction system in relation to building the ultimate protocell.     

Ligand field-actuated redox-activity of acetylacetonate

The quest for simple ligands that enable multi-electron metal–ligand redox chemistry is driven by a desire to replace noble metals in catalysis and to discover novel chemical reactivity. The vast majority of simple ligand systems display electrochemical potentials impractical for catalytic cycles, illustrating the importance of creating new strategies towards energetically aligned ligand frontier and transition metal d orbitals. We herein demonstrate the ability to chemically control the redox-activity of the ubiquitous acetylacetonate (acac) ligand. By employing the ligand field of high-spin Cr(ii) as a switch, we were able to chemically tailor the occurrence of metal–ligand redox events via simple coordination or decoordination of the labile auxiliary ligands. The mechanism of ligand field actuation can be viewed as a destabilization of the d_z² orbital relative to the π* LUMO of acac, which proffers a generalizable strategy to synthetically engineer redox-activity with seemingly redox-inactive ligands.

Tailoring the chemical surroundings of chromium(ii) allows reversible electron-transfer to the ubiquitous, purportedly redox-inactive acetylacetonate.     

Electrochemical surface derivatization of glassy carbon by the reduction of triaryl- and alkyldiphenylsulfonium salts

The range of materials susceptible to electrochemically assisted grafting onto carbon materials has been expanded to include a new group of compounds. This new approach is based on the reduction of symmetrical or unsymmetrical triarylsulfonium salts and alkyldiphenylsulfonium salts. Our findings suggest that it is possible to form layers of aryl moieties on the surface and that the unsymmetrical triarylsulfonium salts cleave upon reduction in a direction dictated by the substituent on the rings (i.e., (4-methoxyphenyl)diphenylsulfonium salt leads to a film made predominantly of phenyl groups, whereas (4-chlorophenyl)diphenylsulfonium salt leads to a mixture of phenyl and chlorophenyl groups). These relationships may be understood by considering the inductive nature of the substituent with regard to the aryl-S bonds and are supported by preparative experiments. Upon reduction, the alkyldiphenylsulfonium salts are found to cleave almost exclusively to an alkyl radical and diphenyl sulfide. As judged from the electrochemical blocking properties of the films made from such species, either relatively thick or compact films are formed. The mass spectrometric analysis indicates that the films are made of a combination of alkyl and aryl groups and possibly related structural derivatives. Importantly, our findings provide evidence that it is possible to graft electrode surfaces with reactive aryl radicals even using precursors reduced at potentials that are substantially more negative than the estimated reduction potential of the grafting radical.