Transalkylation of Higher Trifluoromethylated Fullerenes with C70: A Pathway to New Addition Patterns of C70(CF3)8

We report three new isomers of C₇₀(CF₃)₈, structurally related to p⁷mp‐C₇₀(CF₃)₁₀, that are inaccessible by direct trifluoromethylation, but can be easily identified among the products of the transalkylation of higher trifluoromethylfullerenes with C₇₀. The reported compounds are characterized by UV/Vis, 1 D and 2 D COSY ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy, and DFT calculations. A rather unusual addition pattern is observed in p⁶,i‐C₇₀(CF₃)₈ in which one addend is attached remotely from the others; polarization of the adjacent unsaturated bonds by the addend makes the molecule readily oxidizable.     

Coherence transfer delay optimisation in PSYCOSY experiments

PSYCOSY is an f1 broadband homonuclear decoupled version of the COSY nuclear magnetic resonance pulse sequence. Here, we investigate by a combination of experimental measurements, spatially distributed spin dynamics simulations, and analytical predictions the coherence evolution delay necessary in PSYCOSY experiments to ensure intensity discrimination in favour of the correlations typically arising from short range (ⁿJ, n ≤ 3) ¹H–¹H couplings and show that, in general, a coherence evolution delay of around 35 ms is optimum.     

Stereoselective Synthesis of Multisubstituted Cyclohexanes by Reaction of Conjugated Enynones with Malononitrile in the Presence of LDA

Reaction of linear conjugated enynones, 1,5-diarylpent-2-en-4-yn-1-ones, with malononitrile in the presence of lithium diisopropylamide LDA, as a base, in THF at room temperature for 3–7 h resulted in the formation of the product of dimerization, multisubstituted polyfunctional cyclohexanes, 4-aryl-2,6-bis(arylethynyl)-3-(aryloxomethyl)-4-hydroxycyclohexane-1,1-dicarbonitriles, in yields up to 60%. Varying the reaction conditions by decreasing time and temperature and changing the ratio of starting compounds (enynone and malononitrile) allowed isolating some intermediate compounds, which confirmed a plausible reaction mechanism. The relative stability of possible stereoisomers of such cyclohexanes was estimated by quantum chemical calculations (DFT method). The obtained cyclohexanes were found to possess photoluminescent properties.     

Atomic Layer Deposition of Cobalt Phosphide for Efficient Water Splitting

Transition‐metal phosphides (TMP) prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) are reported for the first time. Ultrathin Co‐P films were deposited by using PH₃ plasma as the phosphorus source and an extra H₂ plasma step to remove excess P in the growing films. The optimized ALD process proceeded by self‐limited layer‐by‐layer growth, and the deposited Co‐P films were highly pure and smooth. The Co‐P films deposited via ALD exhibited better electrochemical and photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activities than similar Co‐P films prepared by the traditional post‐phosphorization method. Moreover, the deposition of ultrathin Co‐P films on periodic trenches was demonstrated, which highlights the broad and promising potential application of this ALD process for a conformal coating of TMP films on complex three‐dimensional (3D) architectures.     

A Predictive Model Towards Site‐Selective Metalations of Functionalized Heterocycles,Arenes, Olefins,and Alkanes using TMPZnCl⋅LiCl

The development of a predictive model towards site‐selective deprotometalation reactions using TMPZnCl?LiCl is reported (TMP=2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidinyl). The pK_a values of functionalized N‐, S‐, and O‐heterocycles, arenes, alkenes, or alkanes were calculated and compared to the experimental deprotonation sites. Large overlap (>80 %) between the calculated and empirical deprotonation sites was observed, showing that thermodynamic factors strongly govern the metalation regioselectivity. In the case of olefins, calculated frozen state energies of the deprotonated substrates allowed a more accurate prediction. Additionally, various new N‐heterocycles were analyzed and the metalation regioselectivities rationalized using the predictive model.     

Identification of pyrrolo-pyridine derivatives as novel class of antibacterials

Molecular Diversity - A series of 5-oxo-4H-pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyridine derivatives was identified as novel class of highly potent antibacterial agents during an extensive large-scale high-throughput...     

Development of a time-resolved white-light interference microscope for optical phase measurements during fs-laser material processing

A modified Mach–Zehnder interferometer set-up combined with microscope objectives has been developed for the measurement of phase changes in the processed material sample, like modification and melting of glass. The white light is generated by focusing ultrafast laser radiation (t _p=80 fs) in a sapphire crystal using a micro-lens array to minimize temporal and spatial fluctuations in the white-light continuum. Lateral and coaxial pump-probe measurements of the phase changes during material processing are performed using two coupled ultrafast laser sources at different repetition rates (f _rep=1 Hz–1 MHz). The optical phase shift and therefore the refractive index of the material are calculated from the interference images using two approaches. The knowledge of the refractive index during the laser processing with a temporal resolution in the ps-range and a spatial resolution of several microns leads to a better understanding of the initial processes for the permanent material modifications.     

Catalytic addition of alcohol to ethyl polyfluorovinyl ethers

Russian Chemical Bulletin -