Time-resolved flash spectroscopic investigations of the reactions of singlet arylhalocarbenes

The results of time-resolved laser flash spectrometric studies of singlet arylhalocarbenes are reviewed. In particular, the absolute rate constants for reactions of phenylchlorocarbene and related carbenes with alkenes are summarized and systematized. The experiments described provide the basis for a detailed examination of carbenic reactivity-selectivity principles. The results of studies on the influence of temperature on the absolute rate constants for carbene reactions are consistent with the existence of transient carbene/alkene intermediates.     

The effect of pH on the photophysics and photochemistry of disulphonated aluminum phthalocyanine

The results of a study of the effect of pH on the photophysics and photochemistry of di-sulphonated aluminum phthalocyanine (AlPcS₂) in aqueous solution are presented. The pH dependence of the triplet quantum yield, fluorescence quantum yield, singlet-oxygen quantum yield, triplet lifetime, fluorescence lifetime and apparent dimerization constants is investigated and the results interpreted in terms of the pH dependence of the nature of the axial ligands. Evidence that the aluminum–axial ligand bond strength, rather than dimer binding energy that determines the extent of dimerization is provided by semi-empirical and ab initio calculations. Possible dimer structures obtained using ab initio calculations are discussed.     

Structural characterization of the 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ion pair using ab initio methods

Ab initio theoretical methods are used to investigate the gas-phase ion pairs of the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride. Multiple stable conformers with the chloride anion positioned (in-plane) around the imidazolium ring or above the C2-H bond are determined. The relative energy ordering of the conformers is examined at the B3LYP, MP2, and CCSD(T) levels. Zero-point energies, BSSE, and basis set effects are examined. For accurate results, correlation (dispersion) effects must be included. The most stable conformers are essentially degenerate and have the chloride H-bonding to, or lying above, the C2-H bond. Other conformers are found to lie approximately 30 and approximately 60 kJ mol(-1) higher in energy. Results are compared with those from recent simulations and experimental studies. The effect of the chloride anion on rotation of the butyl chain is investigated and found to lower some rotational barriers while enhancing others. The origin of the rotational barriers is determined. The number and type of hydrogen bonds formed between the imidazolium cation and chloride anion is found to vary significantly among conformers. No evidence of a possible intra C(alkyl)-H...pi interaction is obtained; however, hints of a Cl...pi interaction are found. The vibrational spectrum of each conformer is examined, and the origin of multiple (H-bonding) features in the vibrational spectrum of the ionic liquid explained.     

Kinetic determinations of accurate relative oxidation potentials of amines with reactive radical cations

Accurate oxidation potentials for organic compounds are critical for the evaluation of thermodynamic and kinetic properties of their radical cations. Except when using a specialized apparatus, electrochemical oxidation of molecules with reactive radical cations is usually an irreversible process, providing peak potentials, E(p), rather than thermodynamically meaningful oxidation potentials, E(ox). In a previous study on amines with radical cations that underwent rapid decarboxylation, we estimated E(ox) by correcting the E(p) from cyclic voltammetry with rate constants for decarboxylation obtained using laser flash photolysis. Here we use redox equilibration experiments to determine accurate relative oxidation potentials for the same amines. We also describe an extension of these experiments to show how relative oxidation potentials can be obtained in the absence of equilibrium, from a complete kinetic analysis of the reversible redox kinetics. The results provide support for the previous cyclic voltammetry/laser flash photolysis method for determining oxidation potentials.     

Extensions and covers for semigroups whose idempotents form a left regular band

Proper extensions that are “injective on ℒ-related idempotents” of ℛ-unipotent  semigroups, and much more generally of the class of generalised left restriction semigroups possessing the ample and congruence conditions, referred to here as glrac semigroups, are described as certain subalgebras of a λ-semidirect product of a left regular band by an ℛ-unipotent or by a glrac semigroup, respectively. An example of such is the generalized Szendrei expansion.     

Perfection for pomonoids

A pomonoid S is a monoid equipped with a partial order that is compatible with the binary operation. In the same way that M-acts over a monoid M correspond to the representation of M by transformations of sets, S-posets correspond to the representation of a pomonoid S by order preserving transformations of posets.