N-heterocyclic carbene-mediated formal [3+3] annulation of isatin-derived α, β-unsaturated acids: Access to functionalized 3,4′-spirooxindole δ-lactones

An in situ activation of isatin-derived α,β-unsaturated acids 2 for the generation of isatin-derived α,β-unsaturated acyl azoliums II was described. The acyl azoliums II were successfully applied to undergo a formal [3 + 3] annulation with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds to access functionalized 3,4′-spirooxindole δ-lactones 4. A scale-up synthesis and an enantioselective variant of this protocol were also investigated. The stable and easily prepared acids 2 may be further utilized as promising versatile electrophilic 1,3-synthons for divergent synthesis of spirooxindoles.     

An efficient method for the synthesis of gem-difluoroolefins

A series of gem-difluoroolefin derivatives were synthesized in moderate to good yields by the reaction of α,α-difluoro-β-carbonyl benzothiazol-2-yl sulfones (DFBTs) with various carbon nucleophiles. Using dl-proline as organocatalyst, the reaction of DFBT with acetone gave a tertiary alcohol, which could be further converted to the corresponding difluoroolefin by LDA.     

Research on the Solid State Fermentation of Jerusalem Artichoke Pomace for Producing <Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>-2,3-Butanediol by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paenibacillus polymyxa</Emphasis> ZJ-9

R,R-2,3-butanediol (R,R-2,3-BD) was produced by Paenibacillus polymyxa ZJ-9, which was capable of utilizing inulin without previous hydrolysis. The Jerusalem artichoke pomace (JAP) derived from the conversion of Jerusalem artichoke powder into inulin extract, which was usually used for biorefinery by submerged fermentation (SMF), was utilized in solid state fermentation (SSF) to produce R,R-2,3-BD. In this study, the fermentation parameters of SSF were optimized and determined in flasks. A novel bioreactor was designed and assembled for the laboratory scale-up of SSF, with a maximum yield of R,R-2,3-BD (67.90 g/kg (JAP)). This result is a 36.3% improvement compared with the flasks. Based on the same bath of Jerusalem artichoke powder, the total output of R,R-2,3-BD increased by 38.8% for the SSF of JAP combined with the SMF of inulin extraction. Overall, the utilization of JAP for R,R-2,3-BD production was beneficial to the comprehensive utilization of Jerusalem artichoke tuber.     

Novel gel polymer electrolyte based on matrix of PMMA modified with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - One novel cage kind of polyhedral ligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS), for modification application of gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) in lithium ion batteries...     

Phosphorylation of graphehe oxide to improve adsorption of U(VI) from aquaeous solutions

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The graphene oxide (GO) was functionalized with phosphate groups and applied as an effective adsorbent for the removal of uranium from aqueous...     

Accurate Theoretical Study of LiS Radical and Its Singly Charged Cation and Anion in their Ground Electronic State

Potential energies of LiS(²Π), LiS^-(¹Σ⁺) and LiS⁺(³Σ^-) are calculated by using the multireference configuration interaction method including Davidson correction and the augmented correlation-consistent basis sets aug-cc-PV(X+d)Z (X=T, Q). Such obtained potential energies are subsequently extrapolated to the complete basis set limit. Both the core-valence correction and the relativistic effect are also considered. The analytical potential energy functions are then obtained by fitting such accurate energies utilizing a least-squares fitting procedure. By using such analytical potential energy functions, we obtain the accurate spectroscopic parameters, complete set of vibrational levels and classical turning points. The present results are compared well with the experimental and other theoretical work.     

Numerical Investigation on 1,3-Butadiene/Propyne Co-pyrolysis and Insight into Synergistic Effect on Aromatic Hydrocarbon Formation

A numerical investigation on the co-pyrolysis of 1,3-butadiene and propyne is performed to explore the synergistic effect between fuel components on aromatic hydrocarbon formation.A detailed kinetic model of 1,3-butadiene/propyne co-pyrolysis with the sub-mechanism of aromatic hydrocarbon formation is developed and validated on previous 1,3-butadiene and propyne pyrolysis experiments.The model is able to reproduce both the single component pyrolysis and the co-pyrolysis experiments,as well as the synergistic effect between 1,3-butadiene and propyne on the formation of a series of aromatic hydrocarbons.Based on the rate of production and sensitivity analyses,key reaction pathways in the fuel decomposition and aromatic hydrocarbon formation processes are revealed and insight into the synergistic effect on aromatic hydrocarbon formation is also achieved.The synergistic effect results from the interaction between 1,3-butadiene and propyne.The easily happened chain initiation in the 1,3-butadiene decomposition provides an abundant radical pool for propyne to undergo the H-atom abstraction and produce propargyl radical which plays key roles in the formation of aromatic hydrocarbons.Besides,the 1,3-butadiene/propyne co-pyrolysis includes high concentration levels of C3 and C4 precursors simultaneously,which stimulates the formation of key aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene and naphthalene.     

Exploring the Interactions of Atomic Oxygen on Silver Clusters with Hydrogen

The interactions between Ag_nO^-(n=1-8) and H₂ (or D₂) were explored by combination of the mass spectroscopy experiments and density function theory (DFT) calculations. The experiments found that all oxygen atoms in Ag_nO^-(n=1-8) are inert in the interactions with H₂ or D₂ at the low temperature of 150 K, which is in contrast to their high reactivity with CO under the same condition. These observations are parallel with the preferential oxidation (PROX) of CO in excess hydrogen catalyzed by dispersed silver species in the condensed phase. Possible reaction paths between Ag_nO^-(n=1-8) and H₂ were explored using DFT calculations. The results indicated that adsorption of H₂ on any site of Ag_nO^-(n=1-8) is extremely weak, and oxidation of H₂ by any kind of oxygen in Ag_nO^-(n=1-8) has an apparent barrier strongly dependent on the adsorption style of the "O". These experiments and theoretical results about cluster reactions provided molecule-level insights into the activity of atomic oxygen on real silver catalysts.     

Solid acids assisted matrix solid‐phase dispersion microextraction of alkaloids by capillary electrophoresis coupled with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

The quantification of three alkaloids is important because quantitative study is a means of assessing the reliability of the experimental method, and three alkaloids of peimine, peiminine, and peimisine are main active ingredients in Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2015. An effective method based on the matrix solid‐phase dispersion microextraction was developed for the extraction of alkaloid compounds in Fritillariae Thunbergii Bulbus. Target analytes were analyzed by capillary electrophoresis coupled with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. The optimized experimental condition was that 50 mg Fritillariae Thunbergii Bulbus was blended homogeneously with 10 mg citric acid for 5 min. Two hundred microliters of water acidized by 1 mol/L hydrochloric acid (pH = 4.5) was selected to elute tested alkaloids. The results demonstrated that the investigated method had low limits of detection (1.32–1.59 ng/mL), good recoveries (86.63–98.12%), and reproducibility (relative standard deviations of peak areas < 0.87%). The proposed matrix solid‐phase dispersion microextraction coupled with capillary electrophoresis combined with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry was successfully applied for the extraction of alkaloids in plants.     

Challenge and Solution of Characterizing Glass Transition Temperature for Conjugated Polymers by Differential Scanning Calorimetry

Thermomechanical properties of polymers highly depend on their glass transition temperature (T _g). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is commonly used to measure T _g of polymers. However, many conjugated polymers (CPs), especially donor–acceptor CPs (D–A CPs), do not show a clear glass transition when measured by conventional DSC using simple heat and cool scan. In this work, we discuss the origin of the difficulty for measuring T _g in such type of polymers. The changes in specific heat capacity (Δc _p) at T _g were accurately probed for a series of CPs by DSC. The results showed a significant decrease in Δc _p from flexible polymer (0.28 J g^?1 K^?1 for polystyrene) to rigid CPs (10^?3 J g^?1 K^?1 for a naphthalene diimide‐based D–A CP). When a conjugation breaker unit (flexible unit) is added to the D–A CPs, we observed restoration of the Δc _p at T _g by a factor of 10, confirming that backbone rigidity reduces the Δc _p. Additionally, an increase in the crystalline fraction of the CPs further reduces Δc _p. We conclude that the difficulties of determining T _g for CPs using DSC are mainly due to rigid backbone and semicrystalline nature. We also demonstrate that physical aging can be used on DSC to help locate and confirm the glass transition for D‐A CPs with weak transition signals. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 1635–1644