Competing reactions of secondary alcohols with sodium hypochlorite promoted by phase-transfer catalysis

With aqueous hypochlorite and a phase transfer catalyst, secondary alcohols undergo hitherto unreported free radical reactions that compete with and effectively limit traditional ketone syntheses. Product mixture profiles are determined by reactant ratios, organic cosolvent, and availability of oxygen to the system. Under argon, over half of substrate alcohols, PhCH(OH)R, are converted to benzaldehyde and free radical products through beta-scission of intermediate alkyl hypochlorites. Secondary alcohols with R containing three or more carbons also may undergo delta chlorination.     

A new ion sensor based on fiber optics

A fluorimetric ion sensor based on fiber optics has been developed that employs Rhodamine 6G hydrophobically and electrostatically "trapped" on a Nafion film. The sensor is based on the measurement of quenching or enhancement of the Rhodamine 6G fluorescence by various ions. It was found that ions such as Co(2+), Cr(3+), Fe(2+), Fe(3+), Cu(2+), Ni(2+) and NH(+)(4) rapidly quench the Rhodamine 6G fluorescence at an initial rate that depends on the concentration of the ion. This quenching is then readily reversed by the addition of "reverser" ions such as H(+), Li(+), Na(+), K(+), Ba(2+), Ca(2+), Mn(2+), Zn(2+) and Mg(2+). Again, the initial rate for the attainment of the original fluorescence was found to depend on the concentration of the reverser ion. Therefore, by monitoring the quenching directly the concentration of quencher ions can be determined. In addition, by loading the film with quencher and monitoring the initial rate of return towards the original baseline signal, it is possible to determine non-quenching ions.     

Effects of Processing Temperature on the Oxygen Quenching Behavior of Tris(4,7′-diphenyl-1,10′-phenanthroline) Ruthenium (II) Sequestered Within Sol-Gel-Derived Xerogel Films

Sol-gel processing methods offer novel pathways for tailoring glasses. Amongst the issues that have received the least attention are the effects of the curing temperature on the behavior and photophysics of a dopant molecule sequestered within a sol-gel-derived xerogel. Of particular interest to our group are the effects of processing variables on the ability of a dopant molecule, that is sequestered within a xerogel glass, to be accessed by an analyte and the distribution of the dopant sites within the xerogel. The thermal stability of the luminophore tris(4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline) ruthenium (II) ([Ru(dpp)₃]²⁺) provides a convenient way to address these issues and develop an understanding of how one might best exploit curing temperature to construct improved chemical sensors. This paper focuses on quantifying how the film curing temperature affects the spectroscopy and O₂ quenching of ([Ru(dpp)₃]²⁺) sequestered within sol-gel-derived xerogel thin films. Our quenching data on films once they have been cured demonstrate that there is a dramatic increase in the sensitivity of the ([Ru(dpp)₃]²⁺) molecules to O₂ quenching when the films have been cured at elevated temperatures. This arises primarily because there are two main types of ([Ru(dpp)₃]²⁺) microenvironments within the glass and higher temperature curing leads to an increase in the bimolecular quenching rate between O₂ and ([Ru(dpp)₃]²⁺). This is accomplished as follows. Below a curing temperature of 100–150°C, 15% of the xerogel-doped ([Ru(dpp)₃]²⁺) molecules are not accessed to any detectable degree by the O₂ molecules during the ([Ru(dpp)₃]²⁺) excited-state luminescence lifetime. However, as the xerogel is cured at or above 150°C, residual silanol-bound waters (or other impurities) dissociate from the xerogel and those ([Ru(dpp)₃]²⁺) molecules that were initially inaccessible become accessible to O₂. The dissociation of these water molecules, plus other events, also causes the originally inaccessible ([Ru(dpp)₃]²⁺) population to ultimately exhibit a quenching rate that is greater than the fraction of initially accessible ([Ru(dpp)₃]²⁺) molecules that were formed under ambient curing conditions.     

Entrainer effect on photochirogenesis in near- and supercritical carbon dioxide: dramatic enhancement of enantioselectivity

Diethyl ether added as an entrainer (cosolvent) to near- and supercritical CO2 significantly enhanced the enantioselectivity of photocyclization of 5,5-diphenyl-4-penten-1-ol sensitized by saccharide naphthalenedicarboxylate to give a cyclization product in enantiomeric excesses much larger than those obtained in conventional organic solvents, revealing the unique features of nc- and sc-CO2 as well as the critical role of entrainer clustering to the intervening diastereomeric exciplex pair.     

The local microenvironment surrounding dansyl molecules attached to controlled pore glass in pure and alcohol-modified supercritical carbon dioxide

We report on the local microenvironment surrounding a free dansyl probe, dansyl attached to controlled pore glass (D-CPG), and dansyl molecules attached to trimethylsilyl-capped CPG (capped D-CPG) in pure and alcohol-modified supercritical CO2. These systems were selected to provide insights into the local microenvironment surrounding a reactive agent immobilized at a silica surface in contact with pure and cosolvent-modified supercritical CO2. Local surface-bound dansyl molecule solvation on the CPG surface depends on the dansyl molecule surface loading, the surface chemistry (uncapped versus capped), the bulk fluid density, and the alcohol gas phase absolute acidity. At high dansyl loadings, the surface-bound dansyl molecules are largely "solvated" by other dansyl molecules and these molecules are not affected significantly by the fluid phase. When the dansyl surface loading decreases, dansyl molecules can be accessed/solvated/wetted by the fluid phase. However, at the lowest dansyl loadings studied, the dansyl molecules are in a fluid inaccessible/restrictive environment and do not sense the fluid phase to any significant degree. In uncapped D-CPG, one can poise the system such that the local concentration of an environmentally less responsible cosolvent (alcohol) in the immediate vicinity of surface-immobilized dansyl molecules can approach 100% even though the bulk solution contains orders of magnitude less of this less environmentally responsible cosolvent. In capped C-CPG, the surface excess is attenuated in comparison to that of uncapped D-CPG. The extent of this cosolvent surface excess is discussed in terms of the dansyl surface loading, the local density fluctuations, the cosolvent and surface silanol gas phase acidities, and the silica surface chemistry. These results also have implications for cleanings, extractions, heterogeneous reactions, separations, and nanomaterial fabrication using supercritical fluids.     

Tight Bounds for Averaging Multi-Frequency Differential Inclusions,Applied to Control Systems

We present new tight bounds for averaging differential inclusions, which we apply to multi-frequency inclusions consisting of a sum of time periodic set-valued mappings. For this family of inclusions we establish a tight estimate of order O (??) on the approximation error. These results are then applied to control systems consisting of a sum of time-periodic functions.     

Ionic Liquids Can Permanently Modify Porous Silicon Surface Chemistry

To develop ionic liquid/porous silicon (IL/pSi) microarrays we have contact pin‐printed 20 hydrophobic and hydrophilic ionic liquids onto as‐prepared, hydrogen‐passivated porous silicon (ap‐pSi) and then determined the individual IL spot size, shape and associated pSi surface chemistry. The results reveal that the hydrophobic ionic liquids oxidize the ap‐pSi slightly. In contrast, the hydrophilic ionic liquids lead to heavily oxidized pSi (i.e., ox‐pSi). The strong oxidation arises from residual water within the hydrophilic ILs that is delivered from these ILs into the ap‐pSi matrix causing oxidation. This phenomenon is less of an issue in the hydrophobic ILs because their water solubility is substantially lower.     

Ratiometric,filter-free optical sensor based on a complementary metal oxide semiconductor buried double junction photodiode

We report a complementary metal oxide semiconductor integrated circuit (CMOS IC) with a buried double junction (BDJ) photodiode that (i) provides a real-time output signal that is related to the intensity ratio at two emission wavelengths and (ii) simultaneously eliminates the need for an optical filter to block Rayleigh scatter. We demonstrate the BDJ platform performance for gaseous NH₃ and aqueous pH detection. We also compare the BDJ performance to parallel results obtained by using a slew scanned fluorimeter (SSF). The BDJ results are functionally equivalent to the SSF results without the need for any wavelength filtering or monochromators and the BDJ platform is not prone to errors associated with source intensity fluctuations or sensor signal drift.     

Quantification of CH⋅⋅⋅π Interactions: Implications on How Substituent Effects Influence Aromatic Interactions

Attractive interactions between a substituted benzene ring and an α‐substituted acetate group were determined experimentally by using the triptycene model system. The attractive interaction correlates well with the Hammett constants σ_m (R²=0.90), but correlates much better with the acidity of the α‐protons (R²=0.98).     

Effects of Intra-BLA Administration of PPAR Antagonists on Formalin-Evoked Nociceptive Behaviour,Fear-Conditioned Analgesia,and Conditioned Fear in the Presence or Absence of Nociceptive Tone in Rats

There is evidence for the involvement of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) in pain, cognition, and anxiety. However, their role in pain–fear interactions is unknown. The amygdala plays a key role in pain, conditioned fear, and fear-conditioned analgesia (FCA). We investigated the effects of intra-basolateral amygdala (BLA) administration of PPARα, PPARβ/δ, and PPARγ antagonists on nociceptive behaviour, FCA, and conditioned fear in the presence or absence of nociceptive tone. Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats received footshock (FC) or no footshock (NFC) in a conditioning arena. Twenty-three and a half hours later, rats received an intraplantar injection of formalin or saline and, 15 min later, intra-BLA microinjections of vehicle, PPARα (GW6471) PPARβ/δ (GSK0660), or PPARγ (GW9662) antagonists before arena re-exposure. Pain and fear-related behaviour were assessed, and neurotransmitters/endocannabinoids measured post-mortem. Intra-BLA administration of PPARα or PPARγ antagonists potentiated freezing in the presence of nociceptive tone. Blockade of all PPAR subtypes in the BLA increased freezing and BLA dopamine levels in NFC rats in the absence of nociceptive tone. Administration of intra-BLA PPARα and PPARγ antagonists increased levels of dopamine in the BLA compared with the vehicle-treated counterparts. In conclusion, PPARα and PPARγ in the BLA play a role in the expression or extinction of conditioned fear in the presence or absence of nociceptive tone.