Determination of trace rhodium by supramolecular catalytic kinetic spectrofluorimetry of β-CD-rhodium-KBrO3-vanillin salicylhydrazone

A sensitive catalytic kinetic spectrofluorimetric approach for determining ng mL⁻¹ levels of rhodium is presented, and the possible mechanism of the catalytic reaction was investigated. The determination is based on the catalytic property of rhodium to enhance the reaction of o-vanillin salicylhydrazone (OVSH) with potassium bromate in a water-ethanol medium at pH 4.80 and 45 °C. The presence of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) obviously sensitized the assay due to its high inclusion ability towards OVSH. Under optimized experimental conditions, fluorescence measurements of the β-CD-rhodium-KBrO₃-OVSH catalytic kinetic reaction system were carried out in its fluorescent band centered at λ_ex = 333 nm and λ_em = 476 nm, respectively. The calibration graph was linear over the concentration range of 0.47–100 ng mL⁻¹ with a detection limit of 0.14 ng mL⁻¹. The effect of interferences was discussed, and the results show that the extraction method can be used to separate rhodium from interference species such as iridium. The proposed method, applied to several synthetic mixtures containing rhodium mixed with varying amounts of metal salts, produced satisfactory results.     

Electrodeposition of nanocrystalline zinc from acidic sulfate solutions containing thiourea and benzalacetone as additives

Nanocrystalline zinc coatings were produced by pulse electrodeposition in acid sulfate bath containing thiourea and benzalacetone additives and characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy techniques. The influence of benzalacetone concentration and pulse peak current density on the grain size and crystallographic orientation of zinc deposits was investigated. Zinc electrodeposited from additive-free solutions or with one of the two additives is not composed of nanosized crystals. The mixture additives of thiourea and benzalacetone give rise to the formation of particle-like nanocrystalline zinc with a (10ī1) random orientation. A change in peak current density from 2 to 1 A/cm² only increases the grain size from 60 to 62 nm.     

Unusual regioselectivity of Pd(0)-catalyzed coupling reaction of electron-deficient alkenyl halides with allenic/propargylic zinc reagents. Highly selective synthesis of 6-phenylhex-5-yn-2(or 3)-enoates/enitrile and 4-phenyl-6-substituted-hexa-2,4,5-trienoates

The Pd(0)-catalyzed coupling reaction of electron-deficient alkenyl halides with the organozinc formed by the subsequent treatment of 1-phenylalk-1-yne with n-BuLi and ZnBr2 with or without a catalytic amount of HgCl2 was studied. Both the allene-formation- and the alkyne-formation-type coupling reactions were observed with high regio- and stereoselectivity: the reaction of 1-phenylprop-1-yne afforded 6-phenylhex-5-yn-2(or 3)-enoates and -enitriles, while the reaction of 1-phenylhex-1-yne formed 4-phenyl-6-substituted-hexa-2,4,5-trienoates. A plausible explanation for the regioselectivity was discussed. The double bonds in 6-phenylhex-5-yn- 2-enoates were prone to migrate to the position conjugated with the carbon-carbon triple bonds to form 6-phenylhex-5-yn-3-enoates at higher temperature. The migration did not occur in absence of an excess amount of allenic/propargylic zinc reagent or at low temperature.     

玻璃载体表面脱氧核糖核酸的固定及其化学发光检测

用硅烷化偶联剂把ＤＮＡ直接共价固定在载玻片表面，将辣根过氧化物酶标记的探针与之进行核酸杂交，杂交后用增强的化学发光检测。方法的检出限为７５ｐｇ。研究了ＤＮＡ分子固定在玻璃载体表面的各种条件，并建立了在玻璃载体表面进行核酸杂交的体系，为研究光纤ＤＮＡ生物传感器打下了基础。     

New Stephaoxocane Alkaloids from Stephania longa

Three new stephaoxocane‐type alkaloids, stephalonganines A–C ( 1 – 3 ), together with the known eletefine ( 4 ), were isolated from the whole plant of Stephania longa. Their structures were fully characterized spectroscopically, and the absolute configurations of the new alkaloids were assigned by comparison of their circular‐dichroism (CD) data with those of 1,2‐dihydrostephaoxocanine ( 5 ), in combination with 2D‐NMR experiments.     

Sequosempervirin A, a novel spirocyclic compound from Sequoia sempervirens

A novel spirocyclic compound (4R)-4-(4-hydroxy-benzyl) spiro [4,5] dec-1-en-8-ol (sequosempervirin A) was isolated from the branches and leaves of Sequoia sempervirens. Its structure and relative stereochemistry were mainly determined by MS, 2D NMR and X-ray means, which is the first naturally occurring norlignan containing one spirocycle with C6 (cyclohexane)-C2-C3-C6 skeleton.     

The Mutual Conversion of CO2 and CO in Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD)

Non-equilibrium plasma, which was engendered by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) was used to analyze the mutual conversion between CO₂ and CO. The results showed that the conversion ratio of CO increased monotonously with the increasing voltage. But CO₂ was not so. Its conversion ratio reached maximum when the voltage was 3600 V in Ar system. It also showed that the existence of water molecules was more advanageous for the conversion of CO to CO₂ in Air system than in oxygen system, and the conversion ratio could reach 75.8% when the relative humidity was 100%. We also discussed the energy yield and energy efficiency, and the result was that high voltage and high concentration of reactant was disadvantageous for energy utilization.     

Light- and temperature-assisted spin state annealing: accessing the hidden multistability

Among responsive multistable materials, spin crossover (SCO) systems are of particular interest for stabilizing multiple spin states with various stimulus inputs and physical outputs. Here, in a 2D Hofmann-type coordination polymer, [Fe(isoq)₂{Au(CN)₂}₂] (isoq = isoquinoline), a medium-temperature annealing process is introduced after light/temperature stimulation, which accesses the hidden multistability of the spin state. With the combined effort of magnetic, crystallographic and Mössbauer spectral investigation, these distinct spin states are identified and the light- and temperature-assisted transition pathways are clarified. Such excitation-relaxation and trapping-relaxation joint mechanisms, as ingenious interplays between the kinetic and thermodynamic effects, uncover hidden possibilities for the discovery of multistable materials and the development of multistate intelligent devices.

Two new two-stage manipulation protocols, namely light- and temperature-assisted spin state annealing (LASSA/TASSA), are applied to a spin crossover coordination polymer, [Fe(isoq)₂{Au(CN)₂}₂], revealing the hidden multistability of spin states.     

Room-temperature ferroelectric and ferroelastic orders coexisting in a new tetrafluoroborate-based perovskite

The coexistence of multiferroic orders has attracted increasing attention for its potential applications in multiple-state memory, switches, and computing, but it is still challenging to design single-phase crystalline materials hosting multiferroic orders at above room temperature. By utilizing versatile ABX₃-type perovskites as a structural model, we judiciously introduced a polar organic cation with easily changeable conformations into a tetrafluoroborate-based perovskite system, and successfully obtained an unprecedented molecular perovskite, (homopiperazine-1,4-diium)[K(BF₄)₃], hosting both ferroelectricity and ferroelasticity at above room temperature. By using the combined techniques of variable-temperature single-crystal X-ray structural analyses, differential scanning calorimetry, and dielectric, second harmonic generation, and piezoresponse force microscopy measurements, we demonstrated the domain structures for ferroelectric and ferroelastic orders, and furthermore disclosed how the delicate interplay between stepwise changed dynamics of organic cations and cooperative deformation of the inorganic framework induces ferroelectric and ferroelastic phase transitions at 311 K and 455 K, respectively. This instance, together with the underlying mechanism of ferroic transitions, provides important clues for designing advanced multiferroic materials based on organic–inorganic hybrid crystals.

An unprecedented tetrafluoroborate-based perovskite reveals the coexistence of ferroelastic and ferroelectric transitions arising from delicate interplay between stepwise frozen organic cations and cooperative deformation of the framework.     

Determination of tetracyclines in ovine milk by high-performance liquid chromatography with a coulometric electrode array system

A method has been developed to analyze residual tetracyclines (TCs) (oxytetracycline (OTC), tetracycline (TC), chlortetracycline (CTC), methacycline (MTC), doxycycline (DC)) in ovine milk, using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a coulometric electrode array system. The samples were pretreated, using liquid-liquid extraction based on hexane. The chromatography was performed, using a C18 column (150 mm x 4 mm i.d. and 5 microm) with a mobile phase: sodium phosphate monobasic dihydrate (pH 2.2, 0.05 M)-acetonitrile (78:22, v/v). The flow rate of mobile phase was kept constantly at 1ml/min. The residues were monitored by an ESA electrochemical detector. Potentials of four electrodes in series were set at 400, 660, 680 and 700 mV, respectively. The first electrode was set to remove those interfering substances that may co-elute with TCs and the other three electrodes were used for quantification. The maximal potential of our detection was 700 mV. Calibration curve showed good linearity and the detection limit of TCs was 12.5, 20, 25, 10 and 25 ng/ml, respectively. Optimization of the pH of the mobile phase, the proportion of acetonitrile and the pH of the pretreatment were also performed. Recoveries of TCs from spiked samples were more than 88% and the relative standard deviations were less than 4.3%. This method was reliable, sensitive, economical and suited for routine monitoring of TC residues in ovine dairy milk.