New 19F NMR methodology reveals structures of molecules in complex mixtures of fluorinated compounds

Although the number of natural fluorinated compounds is very small, fluorinated pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals are numerous. ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy has a great potential for the structure elucidation of fluorinated organic molecules, starting with their production by chemical or chemoenzymatic reactions, through monitoring their structural integrity, to their biotic and abiotic transformation and ultimate degradation in the environment. Additionally, choosing to incorporate ¹⁹F into any organic molecule opens a convenient route to study reaction mechanisms and kinetics. Addressing limitations of the existing ¹⁹F NMR techniques, we have developed methodology that uses ¹⁹F as a powerful spectroscopic spy to study mixtures of fluorinated molecules. The proposed ¹⁹F-centred NMR analysis utilises the substantial resolution and sensitivity of ¹⁹F to obtain a large number of NMR parameters, which enable structure determination of fluorinated compounds without the need for their separation or the use of standards. Here we illustrate the ¹⁹F-centred structure determination process and demonstrate its power by successfully elucidating the structures of chloramination disinfectant by-products of a single mono-fluorinated phenolic compound, which would have been impossible otherwise. This novel NMR approach for the structure elucidation of molecules in complex mixtures represents a major contribution towards the analysis of chemical and biological processes involving fluorinated compounds.

¹⁹F-centred NMR structure determination protocol alleviates the need for compound separation. Disinfection byproducts of chloramination were unraveled by analyzing the reaction pathways of a single fluorinated molecule.     

Reduced order fully coupled structural–acoustic analysis via implicit moment matching

A reduced order model is developed for low frequency, undamped, fully coupled structural–acoustic analysis of interior cavities backed by flexible structural systems. The reduced order model is obtained by applying a projection of the coupled system matrices, from a higher dimensional to a lower dimensional subspace, whilst preserving essential properties of the coupled system. The basis vectors for projection are computed efficiently using the Arnoldi algorithm, which generates an orthogonal basis for the Krylov Subspace containing moments of the original system. The key idea of constructing a reduced order model via Krylov Subspaces is to remove the uncontrollable, unobservable and weakly controllable, observable parts without affecting the transfer function of the coupled system. Three computational test cases are analyzed, and the computational gains and the accuracy compared with the direct inversion method in ANSYS.     

The impact of customer returns on pricing and order decisions

In this paper, we address the simultaneous determination of price and inventory replenishment when customers return product to the firm. We examine cases when the quantity of returned product is a function of both the quantity sold and the price, in single and multi-period problems, with and without uncertainty in demand.     

Cation migration upon adsorption of methanol in NaY and NaX faujasite systems: a molecular dynamics approach

Molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out to address the question of cation migration upon adsorption of methanol in NaY and NaX faujasite systems as a function of the loading. For NaY, it has been shown that, at low and intermediate loadings, SII cations can migrate toward the center of the supercage due to strong interactions with the adsorbates, followed by a hopping of SI' from the sodalite cage into the supercage to fill the vacant SII site. A SI' cation can also migrate across the double six ring and takes a SI' vacant position. SI cations mainly remain trapped in their initial sites whatever the loading. At high loading, only limited motions are observed for SII cations due to steric effects induced by the presence of adsorbates within the supercage. For NaX, the SIII' cations which occupy the most accessible adsorption sites are significantly moving upon coordination to the methanol molecules; the extent of this mobility exhibits a maximum for 48 methanol molecules per unit cell before decreasing at higher loadings due to steric hindrance. In addition, the SI' and SII cations remain almost trapped in their initial sites whatever the loading. Indeed, the most probable migration mechanism involves SIII' cation displacements into nearby SIII' sites.     

Modeling the concentration dependence of the methanol self-diffusivity in faujasite systems: comparison with the liquid phase

Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to understand further the concentration dependence of the self-diffusion of methanol in the faujasite zeolite systems. The evolution of the self-diffusivity was investigated as a function of coverage for DAY and NaY systems to study the effect of both the pore confinement and the presence of the extraframework cations within the supercage. It was found that the self-diffusivity decreases with loading for DAY, whereas for NaY it passes through a maximum at intermediate coverage, in agreement with pulse-field gradient NMR and quasi elastic neutron scattering data reported in similar systems. The activation energies of the methanol diffusion corresponding to a combination of both intra- and intercage motions were evaluated as a function of the coverage. The simulated trends are interpreted on the basis of the predominant interactions which take place in both systems. Finally, the preferential arrangement of the adsorbate molecules are provided and compared with those simulated in the liquid phase. For the fully loaded materials, it was seen that the methanol molecules form a one-dimensional hydrogen-bonded chain along the channels in DAY whereas only dimers are present in NaY.     

Organocatalytic enantioselective nucleophilic vinylic substitution by alpha-substituted-alpha-cyanoacetates under phase-transfer conditions

The organocatalytic enantioselective formation of vinyl-substituted all-carbon quaternary stereocenters via nucleophilic vinylic substitution by alpha-substituted-alpha-cyanoacetates is presented. The reaction proceeds well for different alpha-substituted-alpha-cyanoacetates and beta-chloroalkenones using a dimeric cinchona alkaloid phase-transfer catalyst giving the products in good yield and with enantioselectivities up to 98% ee.     

The surface-enhanced Raman spectrum of N-methylpyridinium ion on a silver electrode

The SER spectrum is reported for N-methylpyridinium iodide, an organic cation with no unshared electron pair available for interaction with the electrode. Both Raman- and infrared-active bands are observed with small frequency shifts. No SERS is observed for N-methylpyridinium chloride until trace amounts of iodide are added to the solution.     

DNA reorientation on Au nanoparticles: label-free detection of hybridization by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

DNA sequences attached to Au nanoparticles via thiol linkers stand up from the surface, giving preferential enhancement of the adenine ring breathing SERS band. Non-specific binding via the nucleobases reorients the DNA, reducing this effect. This change in intensity on reorientation was utilised for label-free detection of hybridization of a molecular beacon.