Di-n-butyltin(IV)-catalyzed dimethyl carbonate synthesis from carbon dioxide and methanol: An in situ high pressure Sn{H} NMR spectroscopic study

The reactivity of five di-n-butyltin(IV) complexes, n-Bu₂Sn(OR)₂ (1), n-Bu₂SnO (3), [n-Bu₂Sn(OR)]₂O (4), (n-Bu₂SnO)₂(CO₂) (6) and (n-Bu₂SnO)₆[(n-Bu₂SnOR)₂(CO₃)]₂ (7) (R = CH₃), with CO₂, suggested as possible catalyst precursors and key-intermediates for the direct synthesis of dimethyl carbonate from carbon dioxide and methanol, has been investigated using high-pressure ¹¹⁹Sn{¹H} NMR (HP-NMR) spectroscopy. Four of the five precursors studied, i.e. 3, 4, 6 and 7 give rise to an identical ¹¹⁹Sn{¹H} NMR pattern which can be explicitly attributed to the fingerprint of the dimeric form of the 1-methoxy-3-methylcarbonatotetrabutyldistannoxane {5}₂. However, with 1, a new pair of signals is observed in addition to the characteristic ¹¹⁹Sn{¹H} NMR resonances of the dimeric hemicarbonato species {2}₂ and {5}₂, which can be attributed to the in situ formation of an unprecedented species suggested to be the trinuclear carbonato di-n-butyltin(IV) complex, 8.     

A new method to analyze copolymer based superplasticizer traces in cement leachates

Enhancing the flowing properties of fresh concrete is a crucial step for cement based materials users. This is done by adding polymeric admixtures. Such additives have enabled to improve final mechanicals properties and the development of new materials like high performance or self compacting concrete. Like this, the superplasticizers are used in almost cement based materials, in particular for concrete structures that can have a potential interaction with drinking water. It is then essential to have suitable detection techniques to assess whether these organic compounds are dissolved in water after a leaching process or not. The main constituent of the last generation superplasticizer is a PolyCarboxylate-Ester copolymer (PCE), in addition this organic admixture contains polyethylene oxide (free PEO) which constitutes a synthesis residue. Numerous analytical methods are available to characterize superplasticizer content. Although these techniques work well, they do not bring suitable detection threshold to analyze superplasticizer traces in solution with high mineral content such as leachates of hardened cement based materials formulated with superplasticizers. Moreover those techniques do not enable to distinguish free PEO from PCE in the superplasticizer.Here we discuss two highly sensitive analytical methods based on mass spectrometry suitable to perform a rapid detection of superplasticizer compounds traces in CEM I cement paste leachates: MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, is used to determine the free PEO content in the leachate. However, industrial copolymers (such as PCE) are characterized by high molecular weight and polymolecular index. These two parameters lead to limitation concerning analysis of copolymers by MALDI-TOFMS. In this study, we demonstrate how pyrolysis and a Thermally assisted Hydrolysis/Methylation coupled with a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer, provides good results for the detection of PCE copolymer traces in CEM I cement paste leachates.     

meso-Dithiole and tetrathiafulvalene dipyrromethanes a route to metal dithiole-dipyrrin complexes and to fluorescent tetrathiafulvalene-BODIPY

A series of meso-dithiole and tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) dipyrromethanes have been prepared via the reaction of the appropriate aldehyde with either pyrrole or 3-ethyl-2,4-dimethyl-pyrrole under acid catalysis. Oxidation to the corresponding meso-dithiole dipyrrins is reported together with the formation of the metal chelate complexes (M=Zn, Cu, Ni) as well as the meso-dithiole boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY). The molecular structures of these metal (Cu, Ni) and boron complexes are presented and discussed. According to a similar strategy the meso-TTF BODIPY is prepared and its photophysical properties are presented and compared with those of the meso-dithiole BODIPY.     

Unravelling the mechanism of glycerol hydrogenolysis over rhodium catalyst through combined experimental-theoretical investigations

We report herein a detailed and accurate study of the mechanism of rhodium-catalysed conversion of glycerol into 1,2-propanediol and lactic acid. The first step of the reaction is particularly debated, as it can be either dehydration or dehydrogenation. It is expected that these elementary reactions can be influenced by pH variations and by the nature of the gas phase. These parameters were consequently investigated experimentally. On the other hand, there was a lack of knowledge about the behaviour of glycerol at the surface of the metallic catalyst. A theoretical approach on a model Rh(111) surface was thus implemented in the framework of density functional theory (DFT) to describe the above-mentioned elementary reactions and to calculate the corresponding transition states. The combination of experiment and theory shows that the dehydrogenation into glyceraldehyde is the first step for the glycerol transformation on the Rh/C catalyst in basic media under He or H(2) atmosphere.     

Investigation of the dissociation pathways of metolachlor, acetochlor and alachlor under electron ionization - application to the identification of ozonation products

With the future aim of using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry to characterize the transformation products of ozonated herbicides: metolachlor, acetochlor and alachlor, an interpretation of their electron ionization mass spectra is presented. Fragmentation mechanisms are proposed on the basis of isotopic labelling and multiple-stage mass spectrometry experiments carried out on an ion trap mass spectrometer. We also give examples in order to demonstrate how the elucidation of such fragmentation mechanisms for herbicides may simplify the characterization of their ozonation products.     

Charging megadalton poly(ethylene oxide)s by electrospray ionization. A charge detection mass spectrometry study

Ions from compounds of megadalton (MDa) molecular weight were produced in an electrospray ionization source from solutions of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) samples with average molecular weights ranging from 1,000,000 to 7,000,000 Da. Charge detection mass spectrometry (CDMS) has been used to determine the mass of the MDa PEOs. Simultaneous measurement of the charge and velocity of individual ions allows the mass determination of the ion, after calibration of the instrument with independent samples. In addition to the mass spectra, CDMS generates charge-versus-mass plots, which allow investigation of the charging of electrosprayed ions over a broad range of masses. The experimental charging capacity of MDa PEOs is compared with a simple model based on the affinity of alkali cations for oxygen sites and on the electrostatic potential energy of the charged polymer. The charging capacity of PEOs was also investigated as a function of the concentration of and the type of alkali ions.     

Solvent/base effects in the selective domino synthesis of phenanthridinones that involves high-valent palladium species: experimental and theoretical studies

The domino reaction of o-bromobenzamides 1a-m in the presence of K(2)CO(3) and the [PdCl(2)(PPh(3))(2)] catalyst granted a selective access to phenanthridinones 2 or to the new 1-carboxamide phenanthridinones 3 depending on the solvent, DMF or 1,4-dioxane, respectively. Investigations of the reaction parameters provided the first example of a direct correlation between the base dissociation and the solvent polarity on the selectivity observed. Moreover, mechanistic studies (NMR spectroscopy and ESI-MS monitoring) allowed us to characterize Pd(II) palladacycle 4 and biaryl species as common intermediates for these two domino processes. On that basis, C(sp(2))-C(sp(2)) bond formation is envisaged by generation of a Pd(IV) complex after oxidative addition of 1 into Pd(II) palladacycle 4, a rationale that is supported by DFT calculations. A general catalytic cycle is proposed to account for these observations.     

Synthesis of dodecavalent fullerene-based glycoclusters and evaluation of their binding properties towards a bacterial lectin

Multivalency is playing a major role in biological processes and particularly in lectin-carbohydrate interactions. The design of high-affinity ligands of lectins should provide molecules capable of interfering with these biological processes and potentially inhibit bacterial or viral infections. Azide-alkyne "click" chemistry was applied to the synthesis of dodecavalent fullerene-based glycoclusters. The conjugation could be efficiently performed from alkyne or azide functions on either partners (i.e. hexakis-fullerene adduct or glycoside). PA-IL is a bacterial lectin from the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and is involved in the recognition of glycoconjugates on human tissues. The glycoclusters obtained were evaluated as ligands of PA-IL and for their potential for competing with its binding to glycosylated surfaces. The affinities measured by hemagglutination inhibition assay (HIA), enzyme-linked lectin assay (ELLA), and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) displayed a significant "glycoside cluster effect" with up to a 12,000-fold increase in binding when comparing a monovalent carbohydrate reference probe with a dodecavalent fullerene-based glycocluster, albeit with some differences depending on the analytical technique.     

Enantioselective radical cyclisation reactions of 4-substituted quinolones mediated by a chiral template

Six 4-substituted quinolones 6-8, which bear an ω-iodoalkyl chain, were prepared and subjected to reductive radical cyclisation conditions employing BEt(3)/O(2) as the initiator and either Bu(3)SnH or TMS(3)SiH as hydride source. 4-(4-Iodobutyl)-quinolone (6a) and 4-(3-iodopropylthio)-quinolone (8a) gave the respective 6-endo-cyclisation products in good yields. 4-(3,3-Dimethyl-4-iodobutyl)-quinolone (6b) cyclised in a 5-exo-fashion, while the other substrates delivered only reduction products. The cyclisation reactions could be conducted in the presence of a chiral template (1) with high enantiomeric excess (94-99% ee). The association behaviour of substrate 6a to 1 was studied by NMR titration experiments. In the enantioselective cyclisation of 6b a significant nonlinearity was observed when comparing the product ee with the ee of the template.