Intramolecular oxyselenenylation and deselenenylation reactions in water, conducted by employing polymer-supported arylselenenyl bromide

After immobilizing arylselenenyl bromide on polymer resin, the oxyselenenylation reaction of olefin was carried out in water. An amphiphilic polymer-supported arylselenenyl bromide was employed, and various intramolecular oxyselenenylation and deselenenylation reactions proceeded smoothly in water in fair chemical yields (up to an 83% yield).     

Vibrational predissociation of H5 +

The full nine-dimensional vibrational Hamiltonian for H5 + described in the literature [Kraemer et al., J. Mol. Spectrosc. 164, 500 (1994)] is adopted here for an approximate evaluation of the spectral linewidths of the observed H-H stretching modes of the H5 + ion and the corresponding modes of its D5 + isotopomer. In this approximation the high dimensionality of the original Hamiltonian is reduced to a three-dimensional model Hamiltonian which takes only the H-H stretching modes and the molecular dissociation mode into consideration assuming that they are adiabatically separable from the remaining modes. To make the calculations numerically feasible, the molecular degenerate ("skeletal") vibrations are assumed to take place in harmonic potentials, and the effect of the internal propeller rotation is completely disregarded. The linewidths calculated in this approximation are too small to explain the broad shapes of the observed spectral transitions. It can thus be argued that the failure to resolve rotational structure in the observed bands is mainly due to spectral congestion and only partly due to predissociation of the H5 + cluster.     

Controlled growth for synthesizing a compact mordenite membrane

Controlling the growth of zeolite crystals on a porous alumina support is essential for preparing a compact zeolite membarne. First, mordenite seed crystals applied on a nonporous -alumina disk were grown and morphological change of mordenite crystals were observed in the course of growth. Then, mordenite membranes were synthesized on a porous -alumina tube under the same conditions employed in the study using the alumina disks. We found that seed crystal growth was widely controllable by changing water content in reaction solution, which resulted in better control of the morphology of mordenite crystals for synthesizing a thin compact mordenite membrane. Separation properties for mordenite membranes were studied in water–hydrogen binary system at 473 K with 10 kPa of water partial pressure, where no capillary condensation was expected in non-zeolitic pores. Separation factor for a mordenite membrane with a few defects was poor; however, a defect-free mordenite membrane prepared under a suitable condition highly separated steam from hydrogen.     

Chemoselective transfer hydrodechlorination of aryl chlorides catalyzed by Cp*Rh complexes

An effective Cp*Rh catalyzed transfer hydrodechlorination of aryl chlorides was achieved with high tolerance towards a variety of functional groups using 2-butanol as a hydrogen source.     

Monitoring the aggregation processes of amyloid-β using a spin-labeled, fluorescent nitroxyl radical

Amyloid nitroxyl radical (nitroxide) ligands were used to detect amyloid-β fibrils, the main constituents of senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease, using anisotropic ESR spectra, and were found to affect the aggregation process due to the radical functionality. These compounds have great potential as novel and multifunctional probes, combining spin labels, spin probes, and fluorescence probes.     

Characterization of a mesophilic aliphatic-aromatic copolyester-degrading fungus

We isolated 5 mesophilic microorganisms that form clear zones around the colony on an opaque medium containing the aliphatic-aromatic copolyester poly(60 mol% butylene adipate-co-40 mol% butylene terephthalate) (PBAT). Among all strains, the fungal strain NKCM1712 degraded PBAT at the fastest rate (3.5 ± 0.3 μg cm⁻² h⁻¹). Genetic and morphological analyses revealed that this strain was closely related to Isaria fumosorosea (phylum Ascomycota). Mass spectroscopic analysis revealed that the degradation products were T, AB, TB, BAB, and ABT (T, terephthalic acid unit; A, adipic acid unit; B, 1,4-butanediol unit)] in the culture of the strain that used PBAT as the sole carbon source. Furthermore, the PBAT degradation ability of this strain in terms of BOD suggested that it could utilize the PBAT degradation products as growth substrates. This is the first report of a mesophilic strain that can mineralize an aliphatic-aromatic polyester into carbon dioxide on its own.     

Tin-free radical addition of acyloxymethyl to imines

Acyloxymethyl radicals were generated from the corresponding iodomethyl esters and successfully underwent addition to the CN bond of N-Ts, N-PMP, and N-Dpp imines by the action of dimethylzinc or triethylborane. Ethyl acetate, toluene, and benzene as well as dichloromethane were suitable solvents. The utility of acyloxymethyl radicals as a hydroxymethyl anion equivalent was highlighted by the facile hydrolysis of the acyloxy moiety of the adducts to give the corresponding amino alcohol derivatives in good to high yield.     

Redox regulation of helical structures in short peptides with an intramolecular ferrocenyl cross-linking agent

We redox-regulated alpha-helicity of short peptides intramolecularly cross-linked with a ferrocenyl linker between amino acid side chains. The helical content of the cross-linked peptide was estimated to be 56% in the neutral state of the ferrocene core at 25 degrees C. The addition of an oxidant to the solution of the cross-linked peptide enhanced the helicity up to 75%. The increased helical content returned to the same level as that in the previous ferrocene state by further addition of a reductant.     

Chaotic Vibrations of a Cylindrical Shell-Panel with an In-Plane Elastic-Support at Boundary

This paper presents numerical results on chaotic vibrations of a shallow cylindrical shell-panel under harmonic lateral excitation. The shell, with a rectangular boundary, is simply supported for deflection and the shell is constrained elastically in an in-plane direction. Using the Donnell--Mushtari--Vlasov equation, modified with an inertia force, the basic equation is reduced to a nonlinear differential equation of a multiple-degree-of-freedom system by the Galerkin procedure. To estimate regions of the chaos, first, nonlinear responses of steady state vibration are calculated by the harmonic balance method. Next, time progresses of the chaotic response are obtained numerically by the Runge--Kutta--Gill method. The chaos accompanied with a dynamic snap-through of the shell is identified both by the Lyapunov exponent and the Poincaré projection onto the phase space. The Lyapunov dimension is carefully examined by increasing the assumed modes of vibration. The effects of the in-plane elastic constraint on the chaos of the shell are discussed.