Synthesis of polymetallic macrocyclic terpene-derived hybrids

Terpene alkyne systems act as templates in the preparation of natural product hybrids and in macrocyclic structures having up to four terpene units and eight Co-atoms, which are built by using the Nicholas reaction.     

Electroanalytical Determination of Cd(II) and Pb(II) in Bivalve Mollusks using Electrochemically Reduced Graphene Oxide‐based Electrode

An electrochemical sensor for the simultaneous determination of Cd(II) and Pb(II) by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) in bivalve mollusks using a glassy carbon electrode modified with electrochemically reduced graphene oxide has been developed. The modified surface was characterized by cyclic voltammetry, high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR‐SEM), and Raman spectroscopy. The optimum conditions were optimized and a linear range was observed from 15–105 μg L^?1 with a limits of detection of 15 μg L^?1 for Cd(II) and Pb(II). The methodology was validated and applied in different samples of commercial bivalve mollusks with satisfactory results. The high conductivity and greater surface area of the modifying agent improves the preconcentration capacity of the electrochemical sensor, allowing to develop a simple, rapid and sensitive analysis in the detection of lead and cadmium in marine resources.     

The adsorption of dyes used in the textile industry on mesoporous materials

An adsorbent material made with a silica lamellar mesoporous material treated with chitosan has been proved to be useful to adsorb both anionic and cationic dyes used in the textile industry. The two tested dyes Tectilon Blue (anionic) and Rhodamine B (cationic) have different adsorption kinetics reflecting a complex mechanism of the phenomenon. Furthermore, the adsorption capacity and interaction strength of Tectilon Blue is higher than those of Rhodamine B. Tectilon Blue molecules are situated with the molecular plane perpendicular to the adsorbent surface, whilst that of the Rhodamine B molecule is flat and parallel to the surface. The differences may be attributed to the different regions of the adsorbent surface on which the dyes are adsorbed because of their different electric charge.     

Deeper insight into the mechanism of the reaction of photogenerated metallaketenes and imines

The reaction mechanism between Fischer carbene complexes and imines to produce beta-lactams has been studied by a combination of computational (DFT) and experimental methodologies. After the photogeneration of metalla-cyclopropanone species, the reaction initiates by 1,3-migration of the metal fragment from the former carbene carbon atom to the oxygen in the S o hypersurface. In spite of the endothermic nature of this rearrangement, it is biased by the more favorable HOMO(imine)-LUMO+1 interaction in the oxygen-coordinated ketene. This species reacts with the imine to yield metalla-zwitterions, which form the final products through a four electron conrotatory ring closure. The presence of the metal moiety during the whole reaction coordinate is demonstrated by the use of a chiral chromium(0) alkoxycarbene complex, which produces low but significant ee in the reaction with imines. The cis-trans stereoselection derives from the nucleophilic addition of the nitrogen atom of the imine to the oxygen-coordinated ketene, since there are no significant differences between the classical and the metallated processes in the electrocyclation step leading to the final 2-azetidinones.     

Divergent pathways in the reaction of Fischer carbenes and palladium

[reaction: see text] The Pd-catalyzed reaction of beta-arylaminochromium(0) carbene complexes produces by transmetalation the first isolated and X-ray structurally characterized bis-Pd(II) carbene complex, as well as other alternative reaction pathways, such as the oxidative addition-transmetalation sequence, not seen before in this chemistry.     

Preparation, characterization, and Zn(2+) adsorption behavior of chemically modified MCM-41 with 5-mercapto-1-methyltetrazole

A mesoporous silica (MCM-41) has been chemically modified with 5-mercapto-1-methyltetrazole using the homogeneous route. This synthetic route involved the reaction of 5-mercapto-1-methyltetrazole with 3-chloropropyltriethoxysilane prior to immobilization on the support. The resulting material (MTTZ-MCM-41) has been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, nitrogen gas sorption, FT-IR and MAS NMR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, and elemental analysis. The solid was employed as a Zn(II) adsorbent from aqueous solutions at room temperature. The effect of several variables (stirring time, pH, metal concentration, addition of ethanol, presence of other metals in the medium) has been studied using batch and column techniques. Flame atomic absorption spectrometry was used to determine the Zn(II) concentration in the filtrate or in the eluted solution after the adsorption process. Results obtained indicate that under the optimum conditions (pH 8 and 2 h stirring time), the maximum adsorption value for Zn(II) was 1.59+/-0.01 mmol/g, whereas the adsorption capacity of the unmodified mesoporous silica was about 0.010+/-0.001 mmol/g. On the other hand, the Zn(II) adsorption on the MTTZ-MCM-41 was independent of the presence of ethanol and other metals (Cu(II), Mn(II), Ca(II), and Mg(II)) in the medium. Finally, experiments carried out in order to study the regeneration capacity of the MTTZ-MCM-41 revealed that the adsorption capacity of this material was maintained after 3 cycles of the adsorption/desorption process.     

Method for Finding the Exact Effective Hamiltonian of Time‐Driven Quantum Systems

Time‐driven quantum systems are important in many different fields of physics as cold atoms, solid state, optics, etc. Many of their properties are encoded in the time evolution operator or the effective Hamiltonian. Finding these operators usually requires very complex calculations that often involve some approximations. To perform this task, a systematic scheme that can be cast in the form of a symbolic computational algorithm is presented. It is suitable for periodic and non‐periodic potentials and, for convoluted systems, can also be adapted to yield numerical solutions. The method exploits the structure of the associated Lie group and a decomposition of the evolution operator on each group generator. To illustrate the use of the method, five examples are provided: harmonic oscillator with time‐dependent frequency (Paul trap), modulated optical lattice, time‐driven quantum oscillator, a step‐wise driving of a free particle, and the non‐periodic Caldirola‐Kanai Hamiltonian. To the extent of the authors' knowledge, whereas the exact form of Paul trap's evolution operator is well known, its effective Hamiltonian was until now unknown. The remaining four examples accurately reproduce previous results.     

Solid phase extraction of Pb(II) in water samples using a new hybrid inorganic-organic mesoporous silica prior to its determination by FAAS

A mesoporous silica has been chemically modified with 5-mercapto-1-methyltetrazole. The newly synthesized material was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, N₂ adsorption, FT-IR, ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis, and used to preconcentrate Pb(II) from aqueous solutions. The effect of several variables on the adsorption capacity (i.e. stirring time, pH, interfering ions, presence of other heavy metals in the medium, etc.) has been studied using batch and column techniques. The adsorption capacity of the material followed the order: Pb(II) >> Cu(II) > Cd(II) >>Mn(II) > Ni(II) > Co(II). In column experiments a pre-concentration factor of 200 was obtained for Pb(II). Spiked tap water, mineral water and river water were used for the preconcentration and determination of Pb(II) by flame atomic absorption spectrometry, and a 101–103% recovery was obtained. The limit of detection and quantification values of the method were found to be 2.22·10^?6 mM and 8.20·10^?6 mM, respectively. The relative standard deviation for four preconcentration experiments was found to be ≤9% in all cases.     

An effective solution for a real cutting stock problem in manufacturing plastic rolls

We confront a practical cutting stock problem from a production plant of plastic rolls. The problem is a variant of the well-known one dimensional cutting stock, with particular constraints and optimization criteria defined by the experts of the company. We start by giving a problem formulation in which optimization criteria have been considered in linear hierarchy according to expert preferences, and then propose a heuristic solution based on a GRASP algorithm. The generation phase of this algorithm solves a simplified version which is rather similar to the conventional one dimensional cutting stock. To do that, we propose a Sequential Heuristic Randomized Procedure (SHRP). Then in the repairing phase, the solution of the simplified problem is transformed into a solution to the real problem. For experimental study we have chosen a set of problem instances of com-mon use to compare SHRP with another recent approach. Also, we show by means of examples, how our approach works over instances taken from the real production process. All authors are supported by MEC-FEDER Grant TIN2007-67466-C02-01 and by contract CN-05-127 of the University of Oviedo and the company ERVISA, and by FICYT under grant BP04-021.