Synthesis, characterization, and catalase activity of a water-soluble diMn(III) complex of a sulphonato-substituted Schiff base ligand: an efficient catalyst for H2O2 disproportionation

A new diMn(III) complex, Na[Mn(2)(3-Me-5-SO(3)-salpentO)(μ-MeO)(μ-AcO)(H(2)O)]·4H(2)O (1), where salpentOH = 1,5-bis(salicylidenamino) pentan-3-ol, was synthesized and structurally characterized. The complex possesses a bis(μ-alkoxo)(μ-acetato) triply bridged diMn(III) core, the structure of which is retained upon dissolution. Complex 1 is highly efficient to disproportionate H(2)O(2) in an aqueous solution of pH ≥ 8.5 or in DMF, with only a slight decrease of activity. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, EPR, and UV-vis spectroscopy used to monitor the H(2)O(2) disproportionation in buffered basic medium, suggest that the major active form of the catalyst during cycling occurs in the Mn(III)(2) oxidation state and that the starting complex retains the dinuclearity and composition during catalysis, with the acetate that moves from bridging to terminal ligand. UV-vis and Raman spectroscopy of H(2)O(2) + 1 + Bu(4)NOH mixtures in DMF suggest that the catalytic cycle involves Mn(III)(2)/Mn(IV)(2) oxidation levels. At pH 10.6 in an Et(3)N/Et(3)NH(+) buffer, complex 1 catalyzes dismutation of H(2)O(2) with saturation kinetics on the substrate, first order dependence on the catalyst, and k(cat)/K(M) = 16(1) × 10(2) s(-1) M(-1). During catalysis, the exogenous base contributes to retain the integrity of the bis(μ-alkoxo) doubly bridged diMn core and favors the formation of the catalyst-peroxide adduct (low value of K(M)), rendering 1 a highly efficient catalyst for H(2)O(2) disproportionation.     

Combinatorial synthesis and characterization of metal-open frameworks in mild and friendly conditions: application to CO₂ adsorption

Combinatorial screening using precipitation methods at room temperature can lead to a great diversity of carboxylate based Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) including already known or original porous solids. The investigation of the synthesis of MOFs in different solvent and solvent mixtures includes the use of solvents such as alcohols and tetrahydrofuran (THF) which would greatly facilitate large scale production. We also show the application of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and clustering techniques on large libraries of XRD diffraction files in order to identify classes of similar phases and peculiar phases. The combinatorial screening of 105 samples in the La/btc system has led to the identification of two phases which are solvent depending. On the La(btc) compound, the CO? adsorption measurements reveal a guest-host interactions as supported by XRD phase transformation upon thermal treatment. The mass transport can be assigned to a "single file diffusion" regime due to the one dimensional channel porous structure associated to small pore size.     

Slow relaxation of the magnetization in non-linear optical active layered mixed metal oxalate chains

New Co(II) members of the family of multifunctional materials of general formula [DAMS](4)[M(2)Co(C(2)O(4))(6)]·2DAMBA·2H(2)O (M(III) = Rh, Fe, Cr; DAMBA = para-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde and [DAMS(+)] = trans-4-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)-1-methylpyridinium) have been isolated and characterized. Such new hybrid mixed metal oxalates are isostructural with the previously investigated containing Zn(II), Mn(II), and Ni(II). This allows to preserve the exceptional second harmonic generation (SHG) activity, due to both the large molecular quadratic hyperpolarizability of [DAMS(+)] and the efficiency of the crystalline network which organizes [DAMS(+)] into head-to-tail arranged J-type aggregates, and to further tune the magnetic properties. In particular, the magnetic data of the Rh(III) derivative demonstrate that high spin octacoordinated Co(II) centers behave very similarly to the hexacoordinated Co(II) ones, being dominated by a large orbital contribution. The Cr(III) derivative is characterized by ferromagnetic Cr(III)-Co(II) interactions. Most relevantly, the Fe(III) compound is characterized by a moderate antiferromagnetic interaction between Fe(III) and Co(II), resulting in a ferrimagnetic like structure. Its low temperature dynamic magnetic properties were found to follow a thermally activated behavior (τ(0) = 8.6 × 10(-11) s and ΔE = 21.4 K) and make this a candidate for the second oxalate-based single chain magnet (SCM) reported up to date, a property which in this case is coupled to the second order non linear optical (NLO) ones.     

Ternary choices in repeated games and border collision bifurcations

Several recent contributions formalize and analyze binary choices games with externalities as those described by Schelling. Nevertheless, in the real world choices are not always binary, and players have often to decide among more than two alternatives. These kinds of interactions are examined in game theory where, starting from the well known rock-paper-scissor game, several other kinds of strategic interactions involving more than two choices are examined. In this paper we investigate how the dynamics evolve introducing one more option in binary choice games with externalities. The dynamics we obtain are always in a stable regime, that is, the structurally stable dynamics are only attracting cycles, but of any possible positive integer as period. We show that, depending on the structure of the game, the dynamics can be quite different from those existing when considering binary choices. The bifurcation structure, due to border collisions, is explained, showing the existence of so-called big-bang bifurcation points.     

Sharp boundedness and continuity results for the singular porous medium equation

This paper generalizes Shelah’s generic pair conjecture (now theorem) for the measurable cardinal case from first order theories to finite diagrams. We use homogeneous models in the place of saturated models.     

Large-eddy simulation of impinging jets on smooth and rough surfaces

We performed large-eddy simulations (LES) of forced impinging jets over smooth and rough surfaces, containing large-scale, azimuthal vortices generated by the enhanced primary instability in the jet shear layer. The interaction between these vortices and the turbulence in the wall jet that is formed downstream of the impingement region determines their rate of decay. To explore the surface-roughness effects on the evolution of the vortices, sand-grain-like surfaces are generated using uniformly distributed but randomly oriented ellipsoids. The flow is compared to our previous LES of jets impinging on a smooth surface. In spite of the severe modification caused by the roughness on the near-wall flow, the vortex development is not significantly altered. Slightly faster decay of the primary vortices is observed in the rough-wall case compared to the smooth-wall one; the secondary vortex that detaches from the wall and is lifted up has larger vorticity. The highly disturbed near-wall flow is advected outward and affects the evolution of the primary vortex for a longer period during the vortex interaction. The robust turbulent generation mechanism in the outer shear layer, however, mitigates the changes in vortex behaviour. The momentum deficit and the enhancement of turbulence due to the surface roughness play a key role during this process.     

Existence of connections on superbundles

We show that the existence of a connection on a super vector bundle or on a principal super fibre bundle is equivalent to the vanishing of a cohomological invariant of the superbundle. This invariant is proved to vanish in the case of a De Witt base supermanifold. Finally, some examples are discussed.