Cationic polymerization of cyclic olefins

The polymerization and the polymerizabilities of indene, benzofuran, and 1,2-dihydronaphthalene are discussed from the point of view of ring strain, ring stabilization, and steric hindrance in the transition state. Monomer reactivities of these olefins were estimated from copolymerization with styrene and from the rate of addition of iodine bromide in acetic acid. Rates and degrees of polymerization are compared with monomer reactivities and resonance energies of indene, 1,2-dihydronaphthalene, and benzofuran as a measure of ring strain and stabilization. It is found that indence is 1.5–2.0 times more reactive than styrene. This high reactivity of indene is attributed to the ring strain in the monomer state and to the low amount of steric hindrance in the transition state of the coplanar five-membered cyclic olefin. 1,2-Dihydronaphthalene is strained and therefore reactive, but propagation to higher molecular weight products is impeded due to the steric hindrance. The reactivity of benzofuran is decreased by conjugative stabilization of C?C double bonds at the reaction site.     

Biological stereoselective reduction of 3,3,5-trimethylcyclohexanone by Glomerella cingulata

The microbial transformation of 3,3,5-trimethylcyclohexanone was investigated using the plant pathogenic fungus, Glomerella cingulata. With this organism 3,3,5-trimethylcyclohexanone gave the corresponding cis- and trans-3,3,5-trimethylcyclohexanols with the ratio of 20:1 forming the cis-isomer highly stereoselectively, upon 5 days incubation together with 3,3,5-trimethyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one (isophrone) as a minor product.     

C11H12 Hydrocarbons—II : Preparation of tricyclo[5.4.0.0]undeca-3,8,10-triene a norbornenone route from cycloheptatriene

A stereoselective 6-step synthesis of the C₁₁H₁₂ hydrocarbon cis,anti,cis-tricyclo[5.4.0.0^2,5]undeca-3,8,10-triene (2a) is described. The dichloro compound 3c was prepared by the selective reduction of 3a with chromous perchlorate-ethylenediamine complex, a general reagent for this type of transformation. Irradiation of 3c produced 6a and 7a in ∼ 7:1 ratio. Reduction of the mixture with sodium produced ketal mixture 6b and 7b. The ketals were hydrolyzed to ketones 6c and 7c and the ketones decarbonylated to 2a and an isomeric hydrocarbon tentatively assigned as homobasketene 2b′. Hydrocarbon 2a was readily obtained pure by a silver nitrate extraction procedure and 2b′ by preparative VPC. It was shown that pure 6c gives only 2a and therefore, 7c is the source of 2b′. The stereochemical assignments, based on both spectral and chemical evidence, are discussed.     

Rates of polymer formation and monomer consumption in the solution polymerization of trioxane catalyzed by BF3 · O(C2H5)2

In the solution polymerization of trioxane catalyzed by BF₃ · O(C₂H₅)₂ at 30°C. the amount of the methanol-insoluble polyoxymethylene is less than the amount of monomer consumed. This difference was much larger than the amount of formaldehyde determined in the polymerized system and could not also be explained in terms of the amount of the methanol-soluble oligomer. Tetraoxane was detected in large quantities by gas chromatography in the polymerized solution of trioxane. Therefore, the difference between the amounts of the methanol-insoluble polymer and the monomer consumed was ascribed partly to the formation of tetraoxane. In spite of the fact that tetraoxane was polymerized more easily than trioxane by BF₃ · O(C₂H₅)₂, an almost constant amount of tetraoxane was produced, independent of the kind of solvent and the polymer yield. This suggests the existence of an equilibrium concentration of tetraoxane. On the other hand, the formation of trioxane was observed in the solution polymerization of tetraoxane by BF₃ · O(C₂H₅)₂. This suggests that the formation of tetraoxane during the trioxane polymerization is due to a back-biting reaction in which the growing chain end of trioxane attacks the oxygen atom in its own chain with depolymerization of tetraoxane.     

Large volume preconcentration and purification for determining the240Pu/<Superscript>239</Superscript>Pu isotopic ratio and <Superscript>238</Superscript>Pu/<Superscript>239+240</Superscript>Pu alpha-activity ratio in seawater

Summary The present paper describes a new analytical method for determining the ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu isotopic ratio and ²³⁸Pu/^239+240Pu α -activity ratio in seawater, both of which are important parameters for determining Pu sources in the ocean. Plutonium isotopes were preconcentrated from a large volume of seawater (4700-10800 liter) by solid phase extraction using MnO₂-impregnated fibers and eluted into 3M HCl. After the elution, the Pu species of all oxidation states were converted to Pu(IV) using NaNO₂, purified by solvent extraction using thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA)-benzene, and concentrated in 5 ml of 0.2M HNO₂. The ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu and ²³⁸Pu/^239+240Pu ratios in the 5-ml final solution were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and α-spectrometry, respectively. A pg level of Pu, which was a sufficiently large amount for the determination, was obtained by the solid phase extraction. Through the redox conversion and solvent extraction, the Pu species, such as Pu(III), Pu(IV) and Pu(VI), were collected at a high recovery of 96±2% (n=3) despite the presence of large amounts of Mn, and interfering ²³⁸U (3.3 μg^. l^-1in seawater) was effectively removed with a decontamination factor of 1.7·10⁷. The accuracy of the method for the ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu ratio was verified using reference materials of seawater and a terrestrial soil sample. The present technique was applied to the determination of the ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu and ²³⁸Pu/^239+240Pu ratios in coastal and oceanic water.     

Metal complex with terpyrindine derivative ligand as highly selective colorimetric sensor for iron(Ⅲ)

A new metal complex[MnL₂]（NO₃）₂·CH₃CN（1） was synthesized by reaction of 4’-4-（l,2,4-triazol-l-yl）phenyl -2,2’:6’,2"-terpyridine（L） with manganese nitrate.The structure of the complex was determined by X-ray crystallography.The results of UV-vis studies showed that the complex exhibits colorimetric sensing ability for Fe³⁺,which can be observed by naked eye.     

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of Blue Luminescent Cadmium(II) Coordination Networks with 4,4′-Bis(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)biphenyl from Different Solvent Systems

Two supramolecular complexes, [Cd(bimb)²Cl²] (1) and [Cd(bimb)(DMF)Cl²]·DMF (2) [bimb=4,4′-bis(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)biphenyl], were synthesized by reactions of CdCl²·2.5H²O with bimb ligand in ethanol and N,N′-dimethylformamide (DMF), respectively, and their structures were determined by X-ray crystallography. Complex 1 is an infinite 2D grid network bridged by bimb ligands, and the 2D sheets were further linked by C–H ?Cl hydrogen bonds to form a polycatenated 3D framework. Complex 2 has dicadmium(II) di-μ-chloride units which are connected by bimb bridging ligands to form an infinite non-interpenetrating 2D network. The results provide a nice example of the solvent system exerting a great effect on the construction of supramolecular frameworks.     

Proto‐Urea‐RNA (Wöhler RNA) Containing Unusually Stable Urea Nucleosides

The RNA world hypothesis assumes that life on Earth began with nucleotides that formed information‐carrying RNA oligomers able to self‐replicate. Prebiotic reactions leading to the contemporary nucleosides are now known, but their execution often requires specific starting materials and lengthy reaction sequences. It was therefore proposed that the RNA world was likely proceeded by a proto‐RNA world constructed from molecules that were likely present on the early Earth in greater abundance. Herein, we show that the prebiotic starting molecules bis‐urea (biuret) and tris‐urea (triuret) are able to directly react with ribose. The urea‐ribosides are remarkably stable because they are held together by a network of intramolecular, bifurcated hydrogen bonds. This even allowed the synthesis of phosphoramidite building blocks and incorporation of the units into RNA. Investigations of the nucleotides’ base‐pairing potential showed that triuret:G RNA base pairs closely resemble U:G wobble base pairs. Based on the probable abundance of urea on the early Earth, we postulate that urea‐containing RNA bases are good candidates for a proto‐RNA world.