Characterization of two hydroxytrichloropicolinic acids: application of the one-bond chlorine-isotope effect in 13C NMR

The structures of 4-hydroxy-3,5,6-trichloropyridine-2-carboxylic acid (1a) and 6-hydroxy-3,4,5-trichloro-2-carboxylic acid (1b) were verified by the NMR analysis of their corresponding methylated and decarboxylated derivatives 2,3,5-trichloro-4-methoxypyridine (5) and 3,4,5-trichloro-2-methoxypyridine (8), respectively. The 6-hydroxy isomer (1a) was found to be in equilibrium with its pyridinone tautomer as evidenced by the formation of significant amounts of 3,4,5-trichloro-1-methyl-6-oxo-1,6-dihydropyridine-2-carboxylic acid methyl ester (6b) on exhaustive methylation. The one-bond chlorine-isotope effect was used and shown to be an effective tool for the identification of chlorinated carbons in (13)C NMR spectra providing an additional tool for solving structural problems in chlorinated compounds.     

Highly active iridium(I) complexes for catalytic hydrogen isotope exchange

Practically convenient methods have been developed for the preparation of new iridium complexes, possessing bulky N-heterocyclic carbene and phosphine ligands; these routinely handled complexes are highly active catalysts within directed hydrogen isotope exchange processes.     

Strong coupling between single photons in semiconductor microcavities

We discuss the observability of strong coupling between single photons in semiconductor microcavities coupled by a chi2 nonlinearity. We present two schemes and analyze the feasibility of their practical implementation in three systems: photonic crystal defects, micropillars, and microdisks, fabricated out of GaAs. We show that, if a weak coherent state is used to enhance the chi2 interaction, the strong coupling regime between two modes at different frequencies occupied by a single photon is within reach of current technology. The unstimulated strong coupling of a single photon and a photon pair is very challenging and will require an improvement in mirocavity quality factors of 2-4 orders of magnitude to be observable.