Electrochemical activity of nanocrystalline Fe3O4 in aprotic Li and Na salt electrolytes

Fe₃O₄ powders, whose average particle sizes were 400 nm, 100 nm, and 10 nm in diameter, were prepared in order to investigate the effect of particle size on their electrochemical activity. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy measurements confirmed that all the prepared samples were identified as inverse-spinel type Fe₃O₄, whose crystallite/particle sizes were between 400 nm and 10 nm. We found that the electrochemical activity of Fe₃O₄ in a lithium salt electrolyte was enhanced with a decrease in the particle size from 400 nm to 10 nm. The 10 nm nanocrystalline Fe₃O₄ powder demonstrated the high discharge capacities of about 130 and 160 mAh g⁻¹ with a satisfactory capacity retention as the active cathode material of Li and Na batteries, respectively.     

The simplest linear-carbon-chain growth by atomic-carbon addition and ring opening reactions

The formation mechanism of linear-carbon-chain molecules, C n O ( n = 2 - 9), synthesized in the discharge of C 3O 2 has been investigated on the basis of detailed analyses of previously obtained FTMW spectroscopic data. The relative abundances of the C n O products determined from their rotational spectrum intensities agree with those for the C n O (+) ions. The active chemicals in the reaction system include :C and :CCO only, and the observed products exclusively consist of C n O, leading to a likely formation mechanism of the atomic-carbon addition and ring opening reaction. This formation mechanism is simple and efficient, and it is applicable not only to linear-carbon-chains but also to a wide range of carbon processes, in particular, to ultra low temperature or incomplete combustion conditions.     

Characteristics and function of human hemoglobin vesicles as an oxygen carrier

A liposome‐encapsulated human hemoglobin (Neo Red Cell, (NRC) has been developed and evaluated as an artificial oxygen carrier. The NRC is a liposome‐encapsulated highly concentrated (>45%) stroma‐free human hemoglobin with inositol hexaphosphate (IHP as an allosteric effector), a coenzyme and substrates for reducing methemoglobin (metHb). The NRC's surface was coated with polyethylene glycol to prevent aggregation in plasma and to prolong their retention time in the blood stream. The oxygen binding behavior of the NRC in vitro was investigated and it was found that it effectively transports oxygen in vivo as an oxygen carrier. The oxygen binding behavior and kinetics were studied by the stopped‐flow method and the oxygen binding curve of the NRC was determined. The oxygen binding speed and binding coefficient (K_on) of NRC, washed human red blood cells (WRBC) and stroma‐free human hemoglobin (SFHb) were measured by stopped‐flow method. The oxygen binding speed of SFHb was the highest, while that of RBC was the lowest and that of NRC was intermediate. The oxygen binding of NRC ended within 60 msec when deoxy‐NRC was mixed with oxygen. The K_on of NRC was 2.9 × 10⁵, 10 times faster than that of RBC. The oxygen binding curve and P₅₀O₂ of NRC that contained various IHP concentrations were measured. The oxygen‐binding curve of the NRC sequentially shifted to the right as the IHP content was increased. Exchange transfusion of 70% was carried out for rats with NRC containing various concentrations of IHP and of Hb, and investigated the optimum concentration of NRC in vivo. The lactate value after exchange transfusion was three times higher than before exchange transfusion, when rats were subjected to exchange transfused with NRC that did not contain IHP. But the increase of lactate was suppressed when rats were transfused with NRC that contained IHP. When the Hb concentration of NRC was 5 and 6%, exchange transfused rats recovered to normality just like rats transfused with RBC. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Phase transfer catalysis in dehydrofluorination of poly(vinylidene fluoride) by aqueous sodium hydroxide solutions

The reaction of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) powder with aqueous sodium hydroxide solutions in the presence of quaternary ammonium or phosphonium halides as phase transfer catalysts afforded dehydrofluorinated polymers. The structure of the products was investigated by infrared spetroscopy, and a fluorine-substituted conjugated polyene structure was suggested which was found to be stable against air oxidation. Tetrabutylammonium bromide and tetrabutylphosphonium bromide were the most active among the catalysts used. The effects of the reaction conditions on the conversion are described. The treatment of PVDF films under phase transfer conditions increased the wettability of the surface and electric conductivity. The reaction of PVDF with potassium hydroxide in 2-propanol proceeded not only by elimination but also by substitution of hydroxide ions.     

Switchable C- and N-bound isomers of transition-metal cyanocarbanions: synthesis and interconversions of cyclopentadienyl ruthenium complexes of phenylsulfonylacetonitrile anions

The synthesis, structure, and dynamic behavior of bistable C- and N-bound isomers of transition-metal cyanocarbanions are described. A series of C-bound cyclopentadienyl (Cp) ruthenium phosphane complexes, [Ru{CH(CN)SO2Ph}(Cp)L1L2] (3), and their N-bound isomers, [Ru+(Cp)(NCCH(-)SO2Ph)L1L2] (4), were prepared by treating [RuCl(Cp)(PR3)2] with the sodium salt of phenylsulfonylacetonitrile and performing ligand-exchange reactions with the resulting compounds. Structural characterization by X-ray diffraction indicates that the cyanocarbanion moiety of 3 has an alpha-metalated structure, whereas that of 4 has a zwitterionic, end-on structure. Heating these complexes in aprotic solvents gives rise to irreversible linkage isomerization between C- and N-bound isomers, in which the relative thermal stabilities vary greatly depending on the steric and electronic nature of the ligands. Mechanistic studies of N-to-C isomerization revealed that the reaction proceeds irreversibly in a unimolecular manner without the formation of coordinatively unsaturated species. A metal-sliding process, which occurs over the -C-C triple chemical bond N pi-conjugated surface of the cyanocarbanion moiety, was suggested by results from kinetic studies and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. C-to-N isomerizations proceed by the above-mentioned intramolecular process, with a temperature-dependent contribution from the formation and cleavage of mu2-C,N coordination dimers [{Ru{CH(CN)SO2Ph}(Cp)(PPh3)}2] (15 and 16).     

Regio- and stereoselective preparation of dienylcarboxylic acids and dienylphosphonic esters using a (Z)-alkenyl sulfone-titanocene(II) system

Titanocene(II)-promoted alkenylation of functionalized alkynes with (Z)-alkenyl sulfones proceeded with high regio- and stereoselectivity to produce functionalized dienes. Conjugated dienylcarboxylic acids and dienylphosphonic esters were obtained using acetylenic lithium carboxylates and dialkyl phosphonates as starting materials.