Nanostructured Pyrophosphate Na2PdP2O7‐Catalyzed Suzuki‐Miyaura Cross‐Coupling Under Microwave Irradiation

Nanostructured palladium pyrophosphate (Na₂PdP₂O₇) catalyst was synthesized and well characterized by using different techniques (TGA, XRD, SEM, TEM....). This nanocatalyst exhibited excellent catalytic activity in the synthesis of biaryl compounds via Suzuki‐Miyaura cross‐coupling to produce their corresponding products in good to excellent yields under mild conditions. The catalyst is recyclable and was recycled for four runs for the reaction of 4‐bromoacetophenone with phenylboronic acid without appreciable loss of its catalytic activity.     

Studies of structural, dynamical, and interfacial properties of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide ionic liquids by molecular dynamics simulation

Bulk and surface properties of the ionic liquids 1-alkyl-3-methyl-imidazolium iodides ([C(n)mim]I) were simulated by classical molecular dynamics using all atom non-polarizable force field (n = 4, butyl; 6, hexyl; 8, octyl). The structure of ionic liquids were initially optimized by density functional theory and atomic charges obtained by CHELPG method. Reduction of partial atomic charges (by 20% for simulation of density and surface tension, and by 10% for viscosity) found to improve the accuracy, while a non-polarizable force field was applied. Additionally, the simulation ensembles approach the equilibrium faster when the charge reduction is applied. By these refined force field parameters, simulated surface tensions in the range of 323-393 k are quite in agreement with the experiments. Simulation of temperature dependent surface tension of [C(4)mim]I well beyond room temperature (up to 700 K) permits prediction of the critical temperature in agreement with that predicted from experimental surface tension data. Simulated densities in the range of 298-450 K for the three ionic liquids are within 0.8% of the experimental data. Structural properties for [C(4)mim]I were found to be in agreement with the results of Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulation we performed, which indicates a rather well-structured cation-anion interaction and occurs essentially through the imidazolium ring cation. Diffusion coefficient changes with alkyl chain length in the order of [C(8)mim]I > [C(6)mim]I > [C(4)mim]I for the cation and the anion. Formation of a dense domain in subsurface region is quite evident, and progressively becomes denser as the alkyl chain length increases. Bivariate orientational analysis was used to determine the average orientation of molecule in ionic liquids surface, subsurface, and bulk regions. Dynamic bisector-wise and side-wise movement of the imodazolium ring cation in the surface region can be deduced from the bivariate maps. Atom-atom density profile and bivariate analysis indicate that the imidazolium cation takes a spoon like configuration in the surface region and the tilt of alkyl group is a function length of alkyl chain exposing as linear as possible to the vapor phase.     

Study of the Effect of Thermal Dispersion on Internal Natural Convection in Porous Media Using Fourier Series

Transport in Porous Media - Natural convection in a porous enclosure in the presence of thermal dispersion is investigated. The Fourier–Galerkin (FG) spectral element method is adapted to...     

Characterization and catalytic reactivity of xerogel catalysts based on mesoporous zirconia doped with telluric acid prepared by sol–gel method: mechanistic study of acetic acid esterification with benzyl alcohol

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - Our work is focused on the research of new zirconia doped telluric acid catalysts prepared with sol–gel method. Optimization of different...     

Synthesis and characterization of microcrystalline cellulose produced from bacterial cellulose

In this study, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was prepared from the acid hydrolysis of bacterial cellulose (BC) produced in culture medium of static Acetobacter xylinum. The MCC-BC produced an average particle size between 70 and 90 μm and a degree of polymerization (DP) of 250. The characterization of samples was performed by thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The MCC shows a lower thermal stability than the pristine cellulose, which was expected due to the decrease in the DP during the hydrolysis process. In addition, from X-ray diffractograms, we observed a change in the crystalline structure. The images of SEM for the BC and MCC show clear differences with modifications of BC fiber structure and production of particles with characteristics similar to commercial MCC.     

Design of neutral organic superacids using fulvene derivatives with di‐enol substituent

A new class of superacids was designed using enolic derivatives of fulvene. After deprotonation, bond rearrangement leads in a stable conjugate base with an aromatic cyclopentadienyl ring and a carboxyl group. The gas phase enthalpies ( ) of the deprotonation, as an index of acidity, were calculated employing the B3LYP method and 6‐311++G(d,p) and aug‐cc‐PVDZ basis sets. The acidity of these compounds without any electron withdrawing groups was more than H₂SO₄ in gas phase. The acidity increased by substituting electron withdrawing groups (? F, ? CN, and ?O) into the molecules so that we could achieve a cyano derivative of fulvene with = 250 kcal/mol.     

Intramolecular H-transfer in CH2OO and cis-HO3

Intramolecular H-transfer reactions in cis-HO₃ and CH₂OO were studied at the MP2 and B3LYP levels of theory. Activation energies (E _a) and Gibbs free energies of activation (?G ^#) of the H-transfer reactions were calculated. The activation energies of the H-transfer in cis-HO₃ and CH₂OO were about 110 and 130 kJ/mol, respectively. Catalytic effects of some protic molecules including HCOOH, CH₃OH, NH₃, CH₃NH₂, HOCl, H₂O₂, and H₂O, on the activation energies and transition state structures were studied. The more stable transition state structures were obtained in the presence of the protic molecules. Our calculations showed that the protic molecules decrease the activation energies of the H-transfer reactions about 50 kJ/mol.     

The interplay of solvation,molecular conformation and supramolecular assembly in 1,1′‐({[(ethane‐1,2‐diyl)dioxy](1,2‐phenylene)}bis(methanylylidene))bis(thiosemicarbazide) and its N,N‐dimethylformamide disolvate

The wide diversity of applications of thiosemicarbazones and bis(thiosemicarbazones) has seen them used as anticancer and antitubercular agents, and as ligands in metal complexes designed to act as site‐specific radiopharmaceuticals. Molecules of 1,1′‐({[(ethane‐1,2‐diyl)dioxy](1,2‐phenylene)}bis(methanylylidene))bis(thiosemicarbazide) {alternative name: 2,2′‐[ethane‐1,2‐diylbis(oxy)]dibenzaldehyde bis(thiosemicarbazide)}, C₁₈H₂₀N₆O₂S₂, (I), lie across twofold rotation axes in the space group C2/c, with an O—C—C—O torsion angle of −59.62 (13)° and a trans‐planar arrangement of the thiosemicarbazide fragments relative to the adjacent aryl rings. The molecules of (I) are linked by N—H...S hydrogen bonds to form sheets containing R²₄(38) rings and two types of R²₂(8) ring. In the N,N‐dimethylformamide disolvate, C₁₈H₂₀N₆O₂S₂·2C₃H₇NO, (II), the independent molecular components all lie in general positions, but one of the solvent molecules is disordered over two sets of atomic sites having occupancies of 0.839 (3) and 0.161 (3). The O—C—C—O torsion angle in the ArOCH₂CH₂OAr component is −75.91 (14)° and the independent thiosemicarbazide fragments both adopt a cis‐planar arrangement relative to the adjacent aryl rings. The ArOCH₂CH₂OAr components in (II) are linked by N—H...S hydrogen bonds to form deeply puckered sheets containing R²₂(8), R²₄(8) and two types of R²₂(38) rings, and which contain cavities which accommodate all of the solvent molecules in the interior of the sheets. Comparisons are made with some related compounds.