Studies in sesquiterpenes—LVI: Isolongifolene (part 7): mechanism of rearrangement of longifolene to isolongifolene—II

The question of possible neutral intermediates which may lie on the reaction pathway in going from longifolene to isolongifolene has been investigated using BF₃·Et₂O-AcOD and D₃PO₄-dioxane, as reagents. It has been found that longicyclene is not an obligatory intermediate. The mode of cleavage of cyclopropane ring in longicyclene has been investigated.     

Novelties of solid-liquid phase transfer catalysed synthesis of p-toluenesulfonyl fluoride from p-toluenesulfonyl chloride

Organic sulfonyl fluorides are of interest owing to their insecticidal, germicidal and enzyme inhibitory properties. In the current work, synthesis of p-toluenesufonyl fluoride was accomplished by reacting p-toluenesulfonyl chloride with solid potassium fluoride using PEG-400 as a catalyst under solid-liquid phase transfer catalysis (S-L PTC) at 30 °C. p-Toluenesulfonyl fluoride is used as peroxygen bleach activator. It also finds use in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The mechanism is based on homogeneous solubilization of solid. PEG forms a complex with metal cation which associates with the nucleophile and it participates in SN₂ type reactions. The reaction is intrinsically kinetically controlled. A complete theoretical analysis is done to determine both the rate constant and equilibrium constant from the same set of data. The activation energy and Gibbs free energy are also calculated.     

4-Oxatricyclo[5.2.1.0(2,6)]decan-10-one and 4-oxatricyclo[5.2.1.0(2,6)]dec-8-en-10-one. Experimental and DFT investigations of the pi-selectivities.

Ab initio MO and experimental pi-selectivities of hydride additions to 4-oxatricyclo[5.2.1.0(2,6)]decan-10-one and 4-oxatricyclo[5.2.1.0(2,6)]dec-8-en-10-one are described. The interactions of sigma(C1-C2) and sigma(C6-C7) with pi(C=O), on one hand, and those of sigma(C1-C9) and sigma(C7-C8) with pi(C=O), on the other hand, support anti-selectivities for both. This is in full accordance with the experiments. The arguments that are based on electrostatic interactions and electron donation from the ring oxygen do not apply.     

Fenugreek mucilage as a flocculating agent for sewage treatment

The use of fenugreek mucilage, a natural polysaccharide and a direct food additive, as a flocculating agent for removal of suspended and dissolved solids from sewage effluent has been reported. A flocculation study has been done by the standard jar test method. The percent removal of suspended solid (SS) and dissolved solid (TDS) was determined by varying the polymer dose, pH and contact time. X-ray diffraction patterns of the solid waste material of mucilage and flocs (so obtained after treatment) were used to suggest the incorporation of the crystalline waste material in the mucilage. The optimal mucilage concentration was found to be 0.16 mg/l. The suitable pH range for maximum solid removal (SS and TDS) was alkaline and the time required for treatment was 1-3 h.     

Carboxylation and Mitsunobu reaction of amines to give carbamates: retention vs inversion of configuration is substituent-dependent

A mild method for the synthesis of carbamates from amino alcohols involves sequential carboxylation with carbon dioxide, followed by a Mitsunobu reaction. Unexpectedly, the stereochemical course of the Mitsunobu reaction is dependent on whether the carbamic acid intermediate is N-substituted with hydrogen (retention) or carbon (inversion).     

Phosphomolybdic acid-catalyzed efficient one-pot three-component aza-Diels-Alder reactions under solvent-free conditions: a facile synthesis of trans-fused pyrano- and furanotetrahydroquinolines

trans-Fused pyrano- and furanotetrahydroquinoline derivatives have been synthesized via a one-pot three-component aza-Diels-Alder reaction of aryl imines formed in situ from aromatic amines and arylaldehydes with cyclic enol ethers,such as 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran and 2,3-dihydrofuran,in the presence of 1 mol % of phosphomolybdic acid under solvent-free conditions at room temperature in good to excellent yields.     

Determination of H2 and D2 content in metals and alloys using hot vacuum extraction

A hot vacuum extraction technique for the determination of hydrogen in metal and alloy samples has been standardised. After measuring the total pressure of the evolved gases, individual hydrogen and deuterium intensities are measured using an on-line quadrupole mass spectrometer. Synthetic mixtures of H₂ and D₂, in known concentrations, have been analysed by QMS and an analytical expression correlating the measured [D₂]/[HD] intensity ratio with the mole fraction of deuterium in the synthetic mixture has been arrived at. The precision and accuracy in the measurement of hydrogen is about 10% at 50 ppmw level.     

Synthesis of Pharmaceutical Intermediates by Toluene Benzylation over Heteropoly Acids on Different Support

Selective formation of pharmaceutical intermediates like diphenylmethane, dimethyl- diphenylmethane, benzyl toluene and benzoic acid by liquid phase, toluene benzylation with benzyl chloride as a benzylating agent, was systematically studied over plane clay (K-10, montmorillonite), plane H-Beta, plane MFI structured titanosilicate (TS-1) and heteropoly acids [HPA, namely dodeca-tungstophosphoric acid [H3PO4.12WO3.xH2O] (TPA), dodeca-molybdo phosphoric acid ammonium salt hydrate [H12Mo12N3O40P aq] (DMAA), sodium tungstate hydrated purified [Na12WO4.2H2O] (STH)] supported on clay, H-beta and TS-1. The 20%TPA/Clay, 30%TPA/H-Beta and 30%TPA/TS-l, were observed to be the best catalyst samples over plane clay, plane H-Beta and plane TS-1. The catalyst samples are compared with respect to benzyl chloride conversion and selectivities for diphenylmethane, dimethyl-diphenylmethane, benzyl toluene and benzoic acid. The reaction follows the pseudo-first order rate power law model. The apparent rate constants are calculated and compared with the reported ones.     

Synthesis and characterization of SPE membrane based on sulfonated FEP‐g‐acrylic acid by radiation induced graft copolymerization for PEM fuel cell

A Novel solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) membrane containing both ? COOH and ? SO₃H group has been prepared by simultaneous method of radiation grafting of acrylic acid onto FEP followed by sulfonation. The presence of weakly acidic acrylic acid controls the swelling in water while ? SO₃H group provides conductivity due to its strongly ionic characteristic. FEP‐g‐acrylic acid and its sulfonated derivatives were characterized by their properties. While the mechanical properties decreased, other properties such as ion exchange capacity (IEC), water uptake and ionic conductivity increased with increase in graft content. These properties further changed on sulfonation. Acrylic acid being weakly acidic in nature, conductivity values of the grafted membrane were quite low. However, introduction of strong ? SO₃H group resulted in conductivity closer to Nafion 117. Few sulfonated membranes have been tested with respect to H₂/O₂ fuel cell performance. Short‐term fuel cell test for 100 hr gave a stable performance. These membranes are less expensive compared to Nafion. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Linear and Nonlinear Analyses of the Onset of Buoyancy-Induced Instability in an Unbounded Porous Medium Saturated by Miscible Fluids

This study analyzes the stability of an initially sharp interface between two miscible fluids in a porous medium. Linear stability equations are first derived using the similarity variable of the basic state, and then transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations using a spectral expansion with and without quasi-steady-state approximation (QSSA). These transformed equations are solved using the eigenanalysis and initial value problem approach. The initial growth rate analysis shows that initially the system is unconditionally stable. The stability characteristics obtained under the present QSSA are quantitatively same as those obtained without the QSSA. To support these theoretical results, numerical simulations are conducted using the Fourier-spectral method. The results of theoretical linear stability analyses and the numerical simulations validate to each other.