Thermogravimetric study of the pyrolysis of waste wood

A thermogravimetric study of the pyrolysis of three different types of waste wood (forest wood, old furniture and used pallets) is carried out in a TGA equipment using dynamic and isothermal techniques. Isothermal runs were carried out at two temperature levels, one between 225° and 325°C (low range) and the other, between 700° and 900°C (high range). Results show a good agreement between the kinetic parameters obtained from either dynamic or isothermal techniques. It must be remarked that the own chemical composition of each type of wood together with the compounds added to the wood for each application, play a fundamental role in the kinetic behavior of their thermal decomposition.     

New benzyne approach to the synthesis of dehydroaporphines, 4,5-dioxoaporphines and aristolactams

A new strategy for the synthesis of some aporphinoid alkaloids is described. It is based on the intermolecular Diels-Alder cyclization between benzyne and an appropriate methylene isoquinoline derivative.     

Berechnung von mittleren Schwingungsamplituden einiger tetraedrischer Moleküle und Ionen nach der Methode der charakteristischen Schwingungen

Mean amplitudes of vibration of a series of tetrahedralXY ₄ molecules and ions (hydrides, halides, oxides and oxoanions) have been calculated using the “Method of the Characteristic Vibrations” ofA. Müller. The results indicate that this method leads to very good values for most of the investigated species, and especially in the cases of highM _X/M_Y mass ratio.     

Role of anions on the crystal structures of copper(II) and zinc(II) complexes of a tunable butterfly cyclophane macrocycle

Three crystal structures of a ditopic cyclophane ligand (L) in which two 1,5,8,12-tetraamine molecules have been attached through methylene spacers to the ortho positions of a benzene ring are reported. The first one (1) corresponds to the tetraprotonated free macrocycle (H4L4+) having two tetrachlorozincate(II) counteranions (C24H54O2N8Cl8Zn2, a = 9.1890(2) A, b = 14.0120(3) A, c = 15.3180(3) A, alpha = 89.2320(7) degrees , beta = 82.0740(6) degrees , gamma = 83.017(1) degrees , Z = 2.00, triclinic, P); the second one (2) is of a binuclear Cu2+ complex having coordinated chloride anions and perchlorate counteranions (C24H58O14N8Cl4Cu2 a = 9.9380(2) A, b = 30.2470(6) A, c = 53.143(1) A, orthorhombic, F2dd, Z = 18), and the third one (3) corresponds to an analogous Zn2+ complex that has been crystallized using triflate as counteranion (C26H(51.2)O(6.6)N8Cl2F6S2Zn2 a = 8.472(5) A, b = 9.310(5), c = 13.745(5) A, alpha = 84.262(5) degrees , beta = 77.490(5) degrees , gamma = 73.557(5) degrees , triclinic, P, Z = 2). The analysis of the crystallographic data clearly shows that the conformation of the macrocycle and, in consequence, the overall architecture of the crystals are controlled by the anions present in the moiety, pi-pi-stacking associations, and hydrogen bonding interactions. The protonation and stability constants for the formation of the Cu2+ and Zn2+ complexes in aqueous solution have been determined potentiometrically in 0.15 mol dm(-3) NaClO4 at 298.1 K. Intramolecular hydrogen bonding defines the protonation behavior of the compound. Positive cooperativity is observed in the formation of the Cu2+ complexes.     

Synthesis of statistical glycidyl methacrylate‐n‐vinyl pyrrolidone copolymers and their reaction with naproxen

Free‐radical copolymerization of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) with N‐vinylpyrrolidone (VPD) was carried out at 50 °C using 3.0 mol · L^?1 of N,N′‐dimethylformamide solution and 9.0 · 10^?3 mol · L^?1 of 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator. The modification reaction of GMA‐VPD copolymers with a model bioactive carboxylic acid, 6‐methoxy‐α‐methyl‐2‐naphthaleneacetic acid (naproxen), was studied in the homogeneous phase using basic catalysts. The influence of the type of catalyst and the GMA content was evaluated. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 1192–1199, 2002     

A density functional theory study on the electrocyclization of 1,2,4,6-heptatetraene analogues: converting a pericyclic to a pseudopericyclic reaction

A comprehensive B3LYP/6-31+G* study on the electrocyclization of 1,2,4,6-heptatetraene analogues was conducted. Starting from the cyclization of (2Z)-2,4,5-hexatrienal, a pericyclic disrotatory process favored by the assistance of a electron lone pair, we incorporated small modifications in its molecular structure to obtain a truly pseudopericyclic process. To this purpose electronegative atoms (fluorine and nitrogen) were added to give a more electrophilic character on the carbon atom which is attacked by the electron lone pair of the oxygen atom. The complete pathway for each reaction was determined, and changes in magnetic properties were monitored with a view to estimating the aromatization associated with each process. This information, together with the energetic and structural results, allowed us to classify the reactions as pseudopericyclic or pericyclic. Among all studied reactions only one was a truly pseudopericyclic process and another was a borderline case. The features of this unequivocally pseudopericyclic case were analyzed in depth.     

Synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles on the Au(111) surface

The growth of titanium oxide nanoparticles on reconstructed Au(111) was investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Ti was deposited by physical-vapor deposition at 300 K. Regular arrays of titanium nanoparticles form by preferential nucleation of Ti at the elbow sites of the herringbone reconstruction. The titanium oxide nanoclusters were synthesized by subsequent exposure to O(2) at 300 K. Two-and three-dimensional titanium oxide nanocrystallites form during annealing in the temperature range from 600 to 900 K. At the same time, the Au(111) surface assumes a serrated 110-oriented step-edge morphology suggesting step-edge pinning by titanium oxide nanoparticles. The oxidation state of the titanium oxide nanoparticles varies with annealing temperature. Specifically, annealing to 900 K results in the formation of stoichiometric TiO(2) nanocrystals as judged by the Ti(2p) binding energies measured in the x-ray photoelectron data. The nanodispersed TiO(2) on Au(111) is an ideal system to test the various models proposed for the enhanced catalytic reactivity of supported Au nanoparticles.     

Hydrogen‐bonding patterns in rac‐1‐acetyl‐5‐methyl‐2‐thioxoimidazolidin‐4‐one

In the title compound, C₆H₈N₂O₂S, also known as N‐acetyl‐2‐thiohydantoin–alanine, the molecules are joined by N—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming centrosymmetric R₂²(8) dimers; these dimers are linked by C—H...O interactions to form R₂²(10) rings, thus forming C₂²(10) chains that run along the [101] direction.     

BIOLOGICAL CHEMILUMINESCENCE

Abstract
The nucleobase 5-methylcytosine ( I ) is a minor component of eukaryotic DNA thought to be important in regulation of gene expression. The photochemical reactions of this nucleobase and its 2'-deoxyribonucleoside, 5-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine ( II ), in water have been studied. These reactions lead, respectively, to 3-amino-2-methylacrylamidine ( Ib ) and 3-(2- erythro - d -pentopyranos-1-yl) amino-2-methylacrylamidine ( IIb ) as the main photoproducts. The structure of the photoproducts was established by spectroscopic methods (¹H and ¹³C NMR, UV spectroscopy, electron impact and liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry); in the case of Ib , confirmatory evidence was obtained by chemical methods (photolysis of 5-methyl[2–¹³C]cytosine, hydrolysis of N -carbomethoxy-3-amino-2-methylacryl-amidine and reaction of Ib with 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole to give I ). The quantum yield for formation of Ib was determined to be 1.8 × 10^-3at pH 7.5 while the quantum yield for formation of IIb has a lower value of 0.2 × 10^-3 at pH 7.5. These quantum yields depend strongly on pH and reach maximum values of 2.0 × 10^-3 at pH 7.0 ( Ib ) and 0.6 × 10^-3 at pH 5.0 ( IIb ). The mechanism of formation of Ib (or IIb ) is proposed to involve nucleophilic attack of water on the C-2 position of photoexcited I (or II ), followed by ring opening and decarboxylation of an intermediate carbamic acid.     

A theoretical study on the low-lying excited states of 2,2':5',2'-terthiophene and 2,2':5',2':5',2'-quaterthiophene.

The nature and properties of the low-lying singlet and triplet valence excited states of 2,2':5',2'-terthiophene (terthiophene) and 2,2':5',2':5',2'-quaterthiophene (tetrathiophene) are discussed on the basis of high-level ab initio computations. The spectroscopic features determined experimentally for short alpha-oligothiophenes are rationalised on theoretical grounds. Special attention is devoted to the nonradiative decay process through intersystem crossing (ISC) from the singlet to the triplet manifold, which is known to be relatively less efficient in tetrathiophene. Along the geometry relaxation of the S1 state of terthiophene, the S1 and T2 states become degenerate, which leads to a favourable situation for the occurrence of ISC. The parallel process is expected to be less favoured in tetrathiophene because of the less efficient spin-orbit coupling and the increase of the S1-T2 energy gap.