A Highly Oxidizing and Isolable Oxoruthenium(V) Complex [RuV(N4O)(O)]2+: Electronic Structure,Redox Properties,and Oxidation Reactions Investigated by DFT Calculations

The electronic structure and redox properties of the highly oxidizing, isolable Ru^V?O complex [Ru^V(N₄O)(O)]²⁺, its oxidation reactions with saturated alkanes (cyclohexane and methane) and inorganic substrates (hydrochloric acid and water), and its intermolecular coupling reaction have been examined by DFT calculations. The oxidation reactions with cyclohexane and methane proceed through hydrogen atom transfer in a transition state with a calculated free energy barrier of 10.8 and 23.8 kcal mol^?1, respectively. The overall free energy activation barrier (ΔG^≠=25.5 kcal mol^?1) of oxidation of hydrochloric acid can be decomposed into two parts: the formation of [Ru^III(N₄O)(HOCl)]²⁺ (ΔG=15.0 kcal mol^?1) and the substitution of HOCl by a water molecule (ΔG^≠=10.5 kcal mol^?1). For water oxidation, nucleophilic attack on Ru^V?O by water, leading to O? O bond formation, has a free energy barrier of 24.0 kcal mol^?1, the major component of which comes from the cleavage of the H? OH bond of water. Intermolecular self‐coupling of two molecules of [Ru^V(N₄O)(O)]²⁺ leads to the [(N₄O)Ru^IV? O₂? Ru^III(N₄O)]⁴⁺ complex with a calculated free energy barrier of 12.0 kcal mol^?1.     

Direct conversion of fructose-based carbohydrates to 5-ethoxymethylfurfural catalyzed by AlCl3·6H2O/BF3·(Et)2O in ethanol

Direct conversion of fructose-based carbohydrates to 5-ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF) catalyzed by Lewis acid in ethanol was investigated. It was found that BF₃·(Et)₂O was favorable for 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) etherification to EMF. BF₃·(Et)₂O combination with AlCl₃·6H₂O with the molar ratio of 1 was an effective catalyst system for synthesis of EMF from fructose-based carbohydrates. 55.0%, 45.4% and 23.9% of EMF yields were obtained from fructose, inulin and sucrose under optimized conditions, respectively.     

Solubility of Icariin in a Binary Solvent System of Ethanol and Water

The solubility of icariin in the binary solvent system of ethanol and water was measured by UV–Vis spectrophotometry from 288.2 to 328.2 K. The solubility of icariin in the system increased with increasing temperature. A synergistic effect appeared at x ₂ = 0.4 (equivalent to 68.34 % ethanol, v/v) binary mixture. Solubility data were correlated with the modified Apelblat equation. The enthalpy and entropy of solution were evaluated using van’t Hoff plots.     

Determination of synthetic musks in the sediment of the Taihu lake by using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and GC/MS

Synthetic musks, substitutes for natural musks, are widely distributed in environment. They have been detected in water, sludge, fish, shrimp, mussels and other aquatic animals, and even in human's adipose tissue, blood and breast milk. In this study, a new extraction procedure, based on the accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and in cell clean-up technique was developed and successfully coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for the analysis of musks in sediment samples. With this method, the limits of detection as low as 0.03–0.05?ng?g^?1 and the recovery rate of 86.0%–104% are achieved. When compared with soxhlet extraction (SE) and ultrasonic extraction (USE), ASE not only has the best extraction efficiency but also has advantage in extraction time and solvent consumption. Eight synthetic musks, including six polycyclic musks (Tonalide (AHTN), Galaxolide (HHCB), Phantolide (AHDI), Traseolide (ATII), Cashmeran (DPMI) and Celestolide (ADBI)) and two nitro musks (musk xylene (MX) and musk ketone (MK)), were evaluated in sediment samples collected from 15 selected locations of the Taihu lake, one of the largest freshwater lakes in China. The contents of synthetic musks in sediment samples range from 0.336 to 3.10?ng?g^?1 for HHCB, 0.184 to 1.21?ng?g^?1 for AHTN, below detection limit (BDL) to 0.349?ng?g^?1 for MX, and BDL to 0.0786?ng?g^?1 for MK. The contents of DPMI, ADBI, AHMI and ATII are below detection limit in all samples. The results reflect current status of fragrance compound pollution in this area, and provide basic data for environmental policy making.     

Hierarchical Fe3O4@TiO2 Yolk–Shell Microspheres with Enhanced Microwave‐Absorption Properties

A facile and efficient strategy for the synthesis of hierarchical yolk–shell microspheres with magnetic Fe₃O₄ cores and dielectric TiO₂ shells has been developed. Various Fe₃O₄@TiO₂ yolk–shell microspheres with different core sizes, interstitial void volumes, and shell thicknesses have been successfully synthesized by controlling the synthetic parameters. Moreover, the microwave absorption properties of these yolk–shell microspheres, such as the complex permittivity and permeability, were investigated. The electromagnetic data demonstrate that the as‐synthesized Fe₃O₄@TiO₂ yolk–shell microspheres exhibit significantly enhanced microwave absorption properties compared with pure Fe₃O₄ and our previously reported Fe₃O₄@TiO₂ core–shell microspheres, which may result from the unique yolk–shell structure with a large surface area and high porosity, as well as synergistic effects between the functional Fe₃O₄ cores and TiO₂ shells.     

Water‐Dependent Optical Activity Inversion of Chiral DNA–Silica Assemblies

Chirality is widely found in nature and is expressed hierarchically in many organic–inorganic hybrid materials. Optical activity (OA) is the most fundamental attribute of these chiral materials. In this study, we found that the OA of impeller‐like chiral DNA–silica assemblies (CDSAs) was inverted with the addition of water. The state of DNA under dry and wet conditions, and the dual chirality of chiral DNA layers and twisted helical arrays of opposite handedness in CDSAs were considered to exert predominant effects on the OAs. The circular dichroism (CD) responses for the dry CDSAs were mostly attributed to the chiral arrangement of DNA layers, whereas the opposite CD responses for the wet CDSAs primarily originated from twisted helical arrays of DNA molecules. The observed CD signals were a super‐position of the two opposing OA responses. The increase in the longitudinal relation of DNA molecules due to the recovery of a double‐helical structure of DNA in the presence of water was considered to be the reason for the increase in intensity of the CD signals that originated from the twisted helical array, which led to the inversion of OA of the CDSAs. The inversion of the plasmon‐resonance‐based OAs for the chiral‐arranged achiral Ag nanoparticles (NPs) located in the channels of the CDSAs in dry and wet states further confirmed the dual chirality of DNA packing. Such research on DNA assemblies and metal NPs with dual, opposite chirality assists in the understanding of DNA hierarchical chirality in living systems and the creation of macroscopic ordered helical materials and biosensors.     

气相色谱-三重四极杆串联质谱法快速测定蔬菜水果中129种农药的残留量

采用QuEChERS方法结合气相色谱-串联质谱法(GC-MS/MS)建立了蔬菜、水果中129种农药残留同时检测的分析方法。试样用1%乙酸乙腈均质提取,采用混合型固相分散萃取剂净化后,用GC-MS/MS在多反应离子监测(MRM)模式下进行检测,外标法定量。结果表明,129种药物在一定的含量范围内线性关系良好,相关系数(r2)均大于0.98;不同基质在10 μg/kg添加水平下大部分农药的平均回收率为66.2%～124.7%,相对标准偏差(RSD)为0.9%～24.4%;方法的定量限(LOQ)为0.03～16.7 μg/kg。结果表明,该方法简便快速、灵敏可靠、经济有效,适用于蔬菜、水果中农药多残留的同时快速筛查测定。     

Phosphorescent Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Complexes That Contain Substituted 2‐Acetylbenzo[b]thiophen‐3‐olate Ligand for Red Organic Light‐Emitting Devices

We report the synthesis of a new class of thermally stable and strongly luminescent cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes 1 – 6 , which contain the 2‐acetylbenzo[b]thiophene‐3‐olate (bt) ligand, and their application in organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs). These heteroleptic iridium(III) complexes with bt as the ancillary ligand have a decomposition temperature that is 10–20 % higher and lower emission self‐quenching constants than those of their corresponding complexes with acetylacetonate (acac). The luminescent color of these iridium(III) complexes could be fine‐tuned from orange (e.g., 2‐phenyl‐6‐(trifluoromethyl)benzo[d]thiazole (cf₃bta) for 4 ) to pure red (e.g., lpt (Hlpt=4‐methyl‐2‐(thiophen‐2‐yl)quinolone) for 6 ) by varying the cyclometalating ligands (C‐deprotonated C^N). In particular, highly efficient OLEDs based on 6 as dopant (emitter) and 1,3‐bis(carbazol‐9‐yl)benzene (mCP) as host that exhibit stable red emission over a wide range of brightness with CIE chromaticity coordinates of (0.67, 0.33) well matched to the National Television System Committee (NTSC) standard have been fabricated along with an external quantum efficiency (EQE) and current efficiency of 9 % and 10 cd A^?1, respectively. A further 50 % increase in EQE (>13 %) by replacing mCP with bis[4‐(6H‐indolo[2,3‐b]quinoxalin‐6‐yl)phenyl]diphenylsilane (BIQS) as host for 6 in the red OLED is demonstrated. The performance of OLEDs fabricated with 6 (i.e., [(lpt)₂Ir(bt)]) was comparable to that of the analogous iridium(III) complex that bore acac (i.e., [(lpt)₂Ir(acac)]; 6 a in this work) [Adv. Mater.­ 2011 , 23, 2981] fabricated under similar conditions. By using ntt (Hnnt=3‐hydroxynaphtho[2,3‐b]thiophen‐2‐yl)(thiophen‐2‐yl)methanone) ligand, a substituted derivative of bt, the [(cf₃bta)₂Ir(ntt)] was prepared and found to display deep red emission at around 700 nm with a quantum yield of 12 % in mCP thin film.