The application of C-N.M.R. spectroscopy to the determination of the stereochemistry of Diels-Alder adducts

Long-range (³J) ¹³C-H coupling is a reliable probe to evaluate the stereochemistry of cycloaddition products. The method is best applied to carbonyl containing adducts but not restricted to them. Several structures have been revised and new ones evaluated.     

Reduction and methyl transfer kinetics of the alpha subunit from acetyl coenzyme a synthase

Stopped-flow was used to evaluate the methylation and reduction kinetics of the isolated alpha subunit of acetyl-Coenzyme A synthase from Moorella thermoacetica. This catalytically active subunit contains a novel Ni-X-Fe4S4 cluster and a putative unidentified n = 2 redox site called D. The D-site must be reduced for a methyl group to transfer from a corrinoid-iron-sulfur protein, a key step in the catalytic synthesis of acetyl-CoA. The Fe4S4 component of this cluster is also redox active, raising the possibility that it is the D-site or a portion thereof. Results presented demonstrate that the D-site reduces far faster than the Fe4S4 component, effectively eliminating this possibility. Rather, this component may alter catalytically important properties of the Ni center. The D-site is reduced through a pathway that probably does not involve the Fe4S4 component of this active-site cluster.     

ortho Substituent effect on a 1,5-H shift reaction during thermal decomposition of aryltriazenes

An ortho substituent group has a significant effect on thermal decomposition of aryltriazenes. When the ortho methoxy-substituted phenyltriazenes were treated with methyl iodide at 110-130 °C, 1,5-H shift products were obtained in fair to moderate yields.     

Partial oscillator strengths for the photoionization of N2O and CO2 (20–60 eV)

The photoelectron branching ratios and the partial oscillator strengths (cross sections) for photoionisation of the valence orbitals of N₂O and CO₂ have been obtained in the energy range 20–60 eV using the magic angle dipole (e, 2e) method. In addition to single electron ionization processes there is a large contribution from multiple electron transitions at higher energies in agreement with recent theoretical predictions. The photoionization efficiency and the dipole oscillator strenght for total photoabsorption have also been measured.