Efficient method for the synthesis of chiral pyrrolidine derivatives via ring-closing enyne metathesis reaction

[reaction: see text] A series of new pyrrolidine derivatives were prepared directly in very good yields, from the substrates containing a basic or nucleophilic N atom via ring-closing enyne metathesis reaction under mild reaction conditions. Moreover, the reaction occurs smoothly without the presence of ethylene gas.     

Neutral Higgs sector of the MSSM with explicit CP violation and non-holomorphic soft breaking

Using the effective potential method, we computed one-loop corrections to the mass matrix of neutral Higgs bosons of the Non-Holomorphic Supersymmetric Standard Model (NHSSM) with explicit CP violation, where the radiative corrections due to the quarks and squarks of the third generation were taken into account. We observed that the non-holomorphic trilinear couplings can compete with the holomorphic ones in CP violating issues for the mass and mixing of the neutral Higgs bosons.     

Controlled observation of nondegenerate cavity modes in a microdroplet on a superhydrophobic surface

We demonstrate controlled lifting of the azimuthal degeneracy of the whispering gallery modes (WGMs) of single glycerol-water microdroplets standing on a superhydrophobic surface by using a uniform electric field. A good agreement is observed between the measured spectral positions of the nondegenerate WGMs and predictions made for a prolate spheroid. Our results reveal fewer azimuthal modes than expected from an ideal spherical microdroplet due to the truncation by the surface. We use this difference to estimate the contact angles of the microdroplets.     

Polymer micelles from tadpole-shaped amphiphilic block-graft copolymers prepared by “Grafting-through” ATRP

A series of tadpole-shaped block-graft amphiphilic copolymers, i.e., block copolymers consisting of a cylindrical hydrophilic brush block and a coiled hydrophobic block were synthesized using “grafting-through” atom transfer radical polymerization. A tadpole-shaped block-graft copolymer from polystyrene bromide and a methacryloyl-terminated poly(tert-butyl acrylate) was prepared first. Then, hydrolysis of the poly(tert-butyl acrylate) side chains to polyacrylic acid side chains provided tadpole-shaped block-graft amphiphilic copolymers, which formed pH responsive micelles in water, the latter being confirmed by dynamic light scattering and atomic force microscopy.     

Stereoselective hydroxycarbonylation of vinyl bromides to alpha,beta-unsaturated carboxylic acids in the ionic liquid [BMIM]PF6

(E/Z)-isomers containing vinyl bromides were stereoselectively carbonylated to the corresponding (E)-alpha,beta-ethylenic carboxylic acids in the ionic liquid [BMIM]PF6. Vinyl dibromides also underwent hydroxycarbonylation to give monoacids. The products are pure by proton NMR spectroscopic determination without purification by silica gel column chromatography or recrystallization.     

Numerical solutions of the Gardner equation by extended form of the cubic B-splines

The extended definition of the polynomial B-splines may give a chance to improve the results obtained by the classical cubic polynomial B-splines. The optimum value of the extension parameter can be determined by scanning some intervals containing zero. This study aims to solve some initial boundary value problems constructed for the Gardner equation by the extended cubic B-spline collocation method. The test problems are derived from some analytical studies to validate the efficiency and accuracy of the suggested method. The conservation laws are also determined to observe whether the test problems remain constant as expected from the theoretical aspect. The stability of the proposed method is investigated by the von Neumann analysis.     

Nanoscale flexoelectric energy harvesting

One of the most tantalizing applications of piezoelectricity is to harvest energy from ambient mechanical vibrations for powering micro and nano devices. However, piezoelectricity is restricted only to certain materials and is severely compromised at high temperatures. In this article, we examine in detail, the possibility of using the phenomenon of flexoelectricity for energy harvesting. The flexoelectric effect is universally present in all dielectrics and exhibits a strong scaling with size. Using a simple beam-based paradigmatical design, we theoretically and computationally examine flexoelectric energy harvesting under harmonic mechanical excitation. We find that the output power density and conversion efficiency increase significantly when the beam thickness reduces from micro to nanoscale and flexoelectricity-based energy harvesting can be a viable alternative to piezoelectrics. Specifically, the conversion efficiency in flexoelectric transduction at sub-micron thickness levels is observed to increase by two orders of magnitude as the thickness is reduced by an order of magnitude. The flexoelectric energy harvester works even for a single layer beam with a symmetric cross section which is not possible in piezoelectric energy harvesting. Our results also pave the way for exploration of high temperature energy harvesting since unlike piezoelectricity, flexoelectricity persists well beyond the Curie temperatures of the high electromechanical coupling ferroelectrics that are often used.     

Hydrogen Bonded Supramolecular Network from a Mixed Valence Cobalt System: Synthesis and Crystal Structure of [Co(H2O)6][Co(pydc)2(en)]2·14H2O

Abstract  

The [Co(H₂O)₆][Co(pydc)₂(en)]₂·14H₂O (1) compound (H₂pydc = Pyridine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid and en = ethylenediamine) was synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, magnetic and spectroscopic measurements (UV–Vis and IR spectra) and single crystal X-ray diffraction technique. There are two coordination spheres with different charges inside this aqueous compound of ionic character. The cationic part is composed of Co(II) encircled by six aqua ligand. Whereas the anionic part contains two anions complex unit each with −1 charge and have Co(III) ions in the centre. As a result different coordination spheres have cobalt ions with different states. The crystallographic analysis revealed that 1 consists of both discrete one-cationic and two-anionic entities, [Co(H₂O)₆]²⁺ and [Co(pydc)₂(en)]₂⁻ and fourteen crystal water molecules. Two water molecules within the water cluster act as hydrogen-bonding acceptors, whereas one water molecule acts as a hydrogen-bonding donor to form a discrete water trimer. These water molecules have stabilized the crystal structure by strong hydrogen bonding interactions.     

The mixed vertex packing problem

We study a generalization of the vertex packing problem having both binary and bounded continuous variables, called the mixed vertex packing problem (MVPP). The well-known vertex packing model arises as a subproblem or relaxation of many 0-1 integer problems, whereas the mixed vertex packing model arises as a natural counterpart of vertex packing in the context of mixed 0-1 integer programming. We describe strong valid inequalities for the convex hull of solutions to the MVPP and separation algorithms for these inequalities. We give a summary of computational results with a branch-and-cut algorithm for solving the MVPP and using it to solve general mixed-integer problems. Received: June 1998 / Accepted: February 2000?Published online September 20, 2000     

Rhodium(I) catalyzed carbonylation reactions of halides and ethers

Benzylic bromides and methyl iodide react with ethers, carbon monoxide, potassium iodide, and the dimer of chloro(1,5-hexadiene)rhodium($\text{I}$) to give esters in good yields.