Voltammetric Detection of Lead(II) Using Amide‐Cyclam‐ Functionalized Silica‐Modified Carbon Paste Electrodes

2‐(4,8,11‐Triscarbamoylmethyl‐1,4,8,11‐tetraazacyclotetradec‐1‐yl)acetamide (TETAM) derivatives bearing 1, 2, or 4 silylated arms have been synthesized and grafted to the surface of silica gel and ordered mesoporous silica samples. The resulting organic‐inorganic hybrids have been incorporated into carbon paste electrodes and applied to the preconcentration electroanalysis of Pb(II). The attractive recognition properties of these cyclam derivatives functionalized with amide pendent groups toward Pb(II) species and the highly porous structure of the adsorbents can be exploited for the selective and sensitive detection of the target analyte. Various parameters affecting the preconcentration and detection steps have been discussed with respect to the composition and pH of both accumulation and detection media, the nature of the adsorbent (number of silylated groups linking the macrocycle to silica, texture of materials), the accumulation time, and the presence of interfering cations. Under optimal conditions and for 2 min accumulation at open‐circuit, the voltammetric response increased linearly with the Pb(II) concentration in a range extending from 2×10^?7 to 10^?5 M, while a longer accumulation time of 15 min afforded a linear calibration curve between 10^?8 and 10^?7 M with a detection limit of 2.7×10^?9 M which is well below the European regulatory limit of lead in consumption water.     

Cover Picture: Tuning the Rates of Long‐Range Charge Transfer across Phenylene Wires (ChemPhysChem 8/2009)

The central part of the cover picture shows that the rates for long‐range charge transfer across covalent phenylene bridges can be very sensitive to the chemical substituents attached to the individual bridging units. The peripheral parts of the picture illustrate the flash–quench technique employed to investigate intramolecular charge transfer between a phenothiazine donor and a photochemically generated ruthenium(III) complex. On page 1203 , M. E. Walther and O. S. Wenger explain their experimental findings in terms of donor‐bridge energy matching for hole transfer.

     

Optimizing winter road maintenance operations under real-time information

This paper introduces a real-time optimization model that can be used by maintenance managers to develop and evaluate alternative resources allocation plans for winter road maintenance operations. The model takes into account a wide range of road and weather condition factors such as road network topology, road class, weather forecasts, and contractual service levels, and produces a vehicle dispatch schedule that is optimal with respect to operating costs and quality of service. The model is then used in an analysis on a realistic case to illustrate the potential impact of improved information on winter maintenance operations.     

Hypercomplex structures on Courant algebroids

Hypercomplex structures on Courant algebroids unify holomorphic symplectic structures and usual hypercomplex structures. In this Note, we prove the equivalence of two characterizations of hypercomplex structures on Courant algebroids, one in terms of Nijenhuis concomitants and the other in terms of (almost) torsionfree connections for which each of the three complex structures is parallel. To cite this article: M. Stiénon, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 347 (2009).     

Total synthesis and NMR investigations of cylindramide

Cylindramide (1) was built up from three components: a hydroxyornithine derivative 7, a tetrazolylsulfone 8, and a substituted pentalene subunit 9. Derivative 7 was prepared in a six-step reaction sequence involving the Wittig reaction and a Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation starting from N-Boc-3-aminopropanal (12). Tetrazolylsulfone 8 was accessible in four steps from dioxinone 22. The synthesis of the pentalene fragment 9 started from cycloocta-1,5-diene 26, that was converted into enantiopure bicyclo[3.3.0]octanedione 29. The latter was functionalized to give derivative 9. The total synthesis was accomplished by inducing C-C bond formation by Sonogashira coupling of derivatives 9 and 7 followed by olefination with tetrazolylsulfone 8 under Julia-Kocienski conditions, macrocyclization, and subsequent Lacey-Dieckmann condensation to form the tetramic acid unit. As indicated by extensive 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopic investigations (DQF-COSY, ROESY spectra), the stereochemistry of synthetic cylindramide (1) corresponds with that of the naturally occurring product. ROE data were used for molecular modeling of the lowest-energy structures for cylindramide.     

Three-coordinate metal centers in extended transition metal oxides

The n = 3 Ruddlesden-Popper phase Sr3LaFe1.5Co1.5O10+/-delta is capable of sustaining O contents as low as O7.5 with a mean metal oxidation state of +2 and three coordination at the central site in the trilayer of originally octahedral transition metal sites. The shortening of the axial bonds to the flanking octahedral layers stabilizes the low oxidation state and consequent unusual low coordination number of the Fe2+ and Co2+ cations within the extended structure.     

U(SMes*)n, (n = 3, 4) and Ln(SMes*)3 (Ln = La, Ce, Pr, Nd): lanthanide(III)/actinide(III) differentiation in agostic interactions and an unprecedented eta3 ligation mode of the arylthiolate ligand, from X-ray diffraction and DFT analysis

Reaction of U(NEt(2))(4) with HS-2,4,6-(t)Bu(3)C(6)H(2) (HSMes) gave U(SMes)(3)(NEt(2))(py) (1), whereas similar treatment of U[N(SiMe(3))SiMe(2)CH(2)][N(SiMe(3))(2)](2) afforded U(SMes)[N(SiMe(3))(2)](3) (2) and U(SMes)(3)[N(SiMe(3))(2)]. The first neutral homoleptic uranium(IV) thiolate to have been crystallographically characterized, U(SMes)(4) (4), was isolated from the reaction of U(BH(4))(4) and KSMes. The first homoleptic thiolate complex of uranium(III), U(SMes)(3) (5), was synthesized by protonolysis of U[N(SiMe(3))(2)](3) with HSMes in cyclohexane. The crystal structure of 5 exhibits the novel eta(3) ligation mode for the arylthiolate ligand. Comparison of the crystal structure of 5 with those of the isomorphous lanthanide congeners Ln(SMes)(3) (Ln = La, Ce, Pr, and Nd) indicates that the U-S, U-C(ipso)(), and U-C(ortho)() bond lengths are shorter than the corresponding ones in the 4f-element analogues, when taking into account the variation in the ionic radii of the metals. The distance between the uranium and the carbon atoms involved in the U...H-C epsilon agostic interaction of each thiolate ligand is shorter, by approximately 0.05 A, than that expected from a purely ionic bonding model. The lanthanide(III)/actinide(III) differentiation was analyzed by density functional theory (DFT). The nature of the M-S bond is shown to be ionic strongly polarized at the sulfur for M = U and iono-covalent (i.e. strongly ionic with low orbital interaction), for M = Ln. The strength of the U...H-C epsilon agostic interaction is proposed to be controlled by the maximization of the interaction between U(+) and S(-) under steric constraints. The eta(3) ligation mode of the arylthiolate ligand is also obtained from DFT.     

Numerical discrimination of intrachannel cross-phase modulation and intrachannel four-wave mixing and their respective effect on 40 Gbit/s transmissions

We propose a numerical method to accurately discriminate the influence of the different intrachannel nonlinear effects occurring in 40 Gbit/s optical transmissions, following an analogy with methods used to discriminate WDM interchannel effects. In contrast to other studies showing the predominance of intrachannel cross-phase modulation when low-dispersion fibers are used, in our study intrachannel four-wave mixing is the most penalizing effect in all investigated cases.