The Co‐Entrapment of a Homogeneous Catalyst and an Ionic Liquid by a Sol–gel Method: Recyclable Ionogel Hydrogenation Catalysts

Molecular hydrogenation catalysts have been co‐entrapped with the ionic liquid [Bmim]NTf₂ inside a silica matrix by a sol–gel method. These catalytic ionogels have been compared to simple catalyst‐doped glasses, the parent homogeneous catalysts, commercial heterogeneous catalysts, and Rh‐doped mesoporous silica. The most active ionogel has been characterised by transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and solid state NMR before and after catalysis. The ionogel catalysts were found to be remarkably active, recyclable and resistant to chemical change.     

Determining the stoichiometry and binding constants of inclusion complexes formed between aromatic compounds and β-cyclodextrin by solid-phase microextraction coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography

The complexation of native β-cyclodextrin (CD) and seven aromatic compounds, namely, phenetole, toluene, m-xylene, naphthalene, biphenyl, fluorene and phenanthrene, has been studied for first time utilizing a solid-phase microextraction (SPME)–high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The stoichiometries of the analyte:β-CD complexes were found to be either 1:1 or 1:2. The formation of 1:2 complexes was confirmed for naphthalene, biphenyl, fluorene, and phenanthrene only when utilizing relatively high concentrations of β-CD (up to 6.6 mM). The 1:2 stoichiometries were confirmed using the classical modified Benesi–Hildebrand (BH) method. The calculated binding constants for 1:1 stoichiometries (K₁) using the SPME method varied from 115.3 M⁻¹ for toluene to 3510 M⁻¹ for phenanthrene, whereas the corresponding values to the 1:2 stoichiometries (K₃) varied from 7.30 × 10⁵ M⁻² for biphenyl to 9.03 × 10⁶ M⁻² for naphthalene.     

Facile Carbon–Fluorine Bond Activation and Subsequent Functionalisation of 1,1‐Difluoroethylene and Tetrafluoroethylene Promoted by Adjacent Metal Centres

The bridging fluoroolefin ligands in the complexes [Ir₂(CH₃)(CO)₂(μ‐olefin)(dppm)₂][OTf] (olefin=tetrafluoroethylene, 1,1‐difluoroethylene; dppm=μ‐Ph₂PCH₂PPh₂; OTf^?=CF₃SO₃^?) are susceptible to facile fluoride ion abstraction. Both fluoroolefin complexes react with trimethylsilyltriflate (Me₃SiOTf) to give the corresponding fluorovinyl products by abstraction of a single fluoride ion. Although the trifluorovinyl ligand is bound to one metal, the monofluorovinyl group is bridging, bound to one metal through carbon and to the other metal through a dative bond from fluorine. Addition of two equivalents of Me₃SiOTf to the tetrafluoroethylene‐bridged species gives the difluorovinylidene‐bridged product [Ir₂(CH₃)(OTf)(CO)₂(μ‐OTf)(μ‐C?CF₂)(dppm)₂][OTf]. The 1,1‐difluoroethylene species is exceedingly reactive, reacting with water to give 2‐fluoropropene and [Ir₂(CO)₂(μ‐OH)(dppm)₂][OTf] and with carbon monoxide to give [Ir₂(CO)₃(μ‐κ¹:η²‐C?CCH₃)(dppm)₂][OTf] together with two equivalents of HF. The trifluorovinyl product [Ir₂(κ¹‐C₂F₃)(OTf)(CO)₂(μ‐H)(μ‐CH₂)(dppm)₂][OTf], obtained through single C? F bond activation of the tetrafluoroethylene‐bridged complex, reacts with H₂ to form trifluoroethylene, allowing the facile replacement of one fluorine in C₂F₄ with hydrogen.     

Amplified Two‐Photon Absorption in Trans‐A2B2‐Porphyrins Bearing Nitrophenylethynyl Substituents

We show that peripheral nitro groups enhance the maximum two‐photon absorption cross‐section of trans‐A₂B₂‐porphyrins bearing two phenylethynyl substituents by more than one order of magnitude. Maximum values as high as 1000 GM result from realization of suitable conditions for effective resonance enhancement along with a lowering of the energy and intensification of the two‐photon allowed transitions in the Soret region.     

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction using an in situ metathesis reaction to form an ionic liquid extraction phase for the preconcentration of aromatic compounds from water

A novel microextraction method is introduced based on dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) in which an in situ metathesis reaction forms a water-immiscible ionic liquid (IL) that preconcentrates aromatic compounds from water followed by separation using high-performance liquid chromatography. The simultaneous extraction and metathesis reaction forming the IL-based extraction phase greatly decreases the extraction time as well as provides higher enrichment factors compared to traditional IL DLLME and direct immersion single-drop microextraction methods. The effects of various experimental parameters including type of extraction solvent, extraction and centrifugation times, volume of the sample solution, extraction IL and exchanging reagent, and addition of organic solvent and salt were investigated and optimized for the extraction of 13 aromatic compounds. The limits of detection for seven polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons varied from 0.02 to 0.3 μg L⁻¹. The method reproducibility produced relative standard deviation values ranging from 3.7% to 6.9%. Four real water samples including tap water, well water, creek water, and river water were analyzed and yielded recoveries ranging from 84% to 115%.      

Determination of the mineral composition of fresh bovine milk from the milk-producing areas located in the State of Sergipe in Brazil and evaluation employing exploratory analysis

In this work, the mineral composition of fresh bovine milk obtained from the milk-producing areas of the Brazilian State of Sergipe was examined. A dry-ashed digestion method and the ICP OES technique were used for the quantification of mineral elements (e.g., Ca, Mg, K, Na, P, Sr and Zn) in 27 samples of milk collected from properties located in milk-producing areas around Nossa Senhora da Glória. The following ranges of values (% m/v) were obtained: 0.063 to 0.117 for Ca; 0.060 to 0.114 for P; 0.024 to 0.064 for Na; and 0.087 to 0.164 for K. The ranges of values (mg L^− 1) for the other mineral elements were also found: 0.68 to 1.89 for Sr; 2.46 to 5.73 for Zn; and 54.2 to 109.9 for Mg. Additionally, the exploratory evaluation of the 27 milk samples was performed using principal component analysis (PCA) involving seven variables dealing with the effect of different management systems (conventional and organic) on milk composition. The results show that there are indeed differences between the mineral composition of milk from properties that use organic practices and those that use conventional management practices.     

Method for the direct determination of available carbohydrates in low-carbohydrate products using high-performance anion exchange chromatography

An improved method for direct determination of available carbohydrates in low-level products has been developed and validated for a low-carbohydrate soy infant formula. The method involves modification of an existing direct determination method to improve specificity, accuracy, detection levels, and run times through a more extensive enzymatic digestion to capture all available (or potentially available) carbohydrates. The digestion hydrolyzes all common sugars, starch, and starch derivatives down to their monosaccharide components, glucose, fructose, and galactose, which are then quantitated by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with photodiode array detection. Method validation consisted of specificity testing and 10 days of analyzing various spike levels of mixed sugars, maltodextrin, and corn starch. The overall RSD was 4.0% across all sample types, which contained within-day and day-to-day components of 3.6 and 3.4%, respectively. Overall average recovery was 99.4% (n = 10). Average recovery for individual spiked samples ranged from 94.1 to 106% (n = 10). It is expected that the method could be applied to a variety of low-carbohydrate foods and beverages.     

Plasma Thermal Conversion of Methane to Acetylene

This paper describes a re-examination of a known process for the direct plasma thermal conversion of methane to acetylene. Conversion efficiencies (% methane converted) approached 100% and acetylene yields in the 90–95% range with 2–4% solid carbon production were demonstrated. Specificity for acetylene was higher than in prior work. Improvements in conversion efficiency, yield, and specificity were due primarily to improved injector design and reactant mixing, and minimization of temperature gradients and cold boundary layers. At the 60-kilowatt scale cooling by wall heat transfer appears to be sufficient to quench the product stream and prevent further reaction of acetylene resulting in the formation of heavier hydrocarbon products or solid carbon. Significantly increasing the quenching rate by aerodynamic expansion of the products through a converging–diverging nozzle led to a reduction in the yield of ethylene but had little effect on the yield of other hydrocarbon products. While greater product selectivity for acetylene has been demonstrated, the specific energy consumption per unit mass of acetylene produced was not improved upon. A kinetic model that includes the reaction mechanisms resulting in the formation of acetylene and heavier hydrocarbons, through benzene, is described.     

An efficient data format for mass spectrometry-based proteomics

The diverse range of mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation along with corresponding proprietary and nonproprietary data formats has generated a proteomics community driven call for a standardized format to facilitate management, processing, storing, visualization, and exchange of both experimental and processed data. To date, significant efforts have been extended towards standardizing XML-based formats for mass spectrometry data representation, despite the recognized inefficiencies associated with storing large numeric datasets in XML. The proteomics community has periodically entertained alternate strategies for data exchange, e.g., using a common application programming interface or a database-derived format. However, these efforts have yet to gain significant attention, mostly because they have not demonstrated significant performance benefits over existing standards, but also due to issues such as extensibility to multidimensional separation systems, robustness of operation, and incomplete or mismatched vocabulary. Here, we describe a format based on standard database principles that offers multiple benefits over existing formats in terms of storage size, ease of processing, data retrieval times, and extensibility to accommodate multidimensional separation systems.     

Coordination chemistry of Si5Cl10 with organocyanides

Organocyanides readily coordinate to decachlorocyclopentasilane (Si(5)Cl(10)) to form "inverse sandwich" compounds 1-3 with a planar Si(5) ring. The products were isolated in high yield and fully characterized by elemental analysis, multinuclear NMR, IR and UV-Vis spectroscopy. While the spectroscopic data suggests the presence of a fairly weak interaction between the Si(5) ring and the coordinative organocyanide ligands, single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies of compound 1 and 2 show μ(5)-coordination of the apical cyano nitrogen atoms to the silicon atoms in the Si(5) ring. Distances between silicon atoms and nitrogen atoms are significantly shorter than a Si-N van der Waals bond but longer than the sum of their covalent radii. Multiple interactions between the cyano groups and equatorial Cl atoms, and intermolecular interactions were observed in the solid state for both compounds 1 and 2.