Microwave Assisted Conversion of Oximes and Semicarbazones to Carbonyl Compounds Using Benzyltriphenylphosphonium Peroxymonosulfate

Summary.  Benzyltriphenylphosphonium peroxymonosulfate in the presence of catalytic amounts of bismuth chloride was found to be an efficient and mild reagent for the oxidative cleavage of oximes and semicarbazones to the corresponding carbonyl compounds under microwave irradiation. Corresponding author. E-mail: haji@cc.iut.ac.ir Received March 4, 2002; accepted (revised) April 8, 2002     

Insertion of benzothiazolium compounds into montmorillonite interlayers

Benzothiazolium compounds exhibit pronounced antimicrobial activities and stimulation effects on plant growth. When applied to fields they can pollute soil colloids. In contact with the soil they can potentially interact with a clay fraction giving rise to clay organocomplexes. Model intercalation complexes were prepared using monoionic montmorillonite and a variety of water-soluble benzothia zolium salts. It was found that the adsorption into the silicate interlayer space proceeds via a cation exchange process. Substantial differences were observed in the extent of the reaction between non-substituted andN-substituted species. The sulphur atoms present in the benzothiazolium molecules repel the surface oxygen atom: this is considered to be the factor responsible for prevention of insertion of the guest cations perpendicular to the layers.     

Thermal Behavior of Urea-(D) Tartaric Acid and Urea-(DL) Tartaric Acid Crystals

The thermal behavior of two new non-linear optical (NLO) materials, urea-(D) tartaric acid (UDT) and urea-(DL) tartaric acid (UDLT) were studied by using DSC, TG and TMA. The results show that: 1) The two crystals have different melting points but similar decomposition temperatures due to the influences of intermolecular forces, which is attributed to the stereo effects of (D)-tartaric and (DL)-tartaric acid molecules; 2) There was only thermal expansion and no thermal contraction when the UDT and UDLT crystals were heated; 3) There was no phase transition within the measured temperature range; 4) The thermal expansion of the UDT and UDLT crystals shows a small anisotropy; 5) The specific heats of UDT and UDLT change linearly with temperature in the measured temperature range and the value for UDT is 1.321 J g-1 K-1 at 320 K while the specific heat of UDLT is 1.357 J g-1 K-1 at the same temperature. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Influence of humic substances on sorption and methylation processes of inorganic- and organo-tin species

The influence of humic substances on sorption and methylation processes for inorganic- and organotin species is presented. Four sediment samples from different locations of the Rivers Elbe, Mulde and Spittelwasser, Germany, with different organotin and humic contents were selected to extract the humic and fulvic acids. The various fractions—the original sediment, the humic acid, the fulvic acid and the residual sediment—were analysed for their organotin content. The individual buyltin species show quite different distribution patterns. Monobutyltin is found mostly associated with humic acids. Dibutyltin shows a nonunique behaviour. At low total organotin content, dibutyltin is found bonded to humic and fulvic acids, whereas at high organotin content dibutyltin is distributed more with the residual sediment. Most of the tributyltin remains in the sediment unextracted; only small quantities of it are in the fulvic acid fraction. Tetrabutyltin is only in the humic acid fraction when it binds to humic matter; it mostly remains in the sediment. General observations indicate that ionic butyltin species bind to fulvic acids whereas the non-polar tetrabutyltin is not found in the fulvic acid fractions in any of the samples. The appearance of monomethyl- and dimethyl-tin species in the humic and fulvic acid fractions after the alkaline extraction was surprising. There is a correlation between the humic content of the sample and the formation of methyltin species. Evidence is provided by experiments that humic substances act as methylation agents.     

Diastereoselective Photochemical Synthesis of α-Amino-β-hydroxyketones by Photocycloaddition of Carbonyl Compounds to 2,5-Dimethyl-4-isobutyloxazole

Summary. The photocycloaddition of aldehydes and α-ketoesters to 2,5-dimethyl-4-isobutyloxazole leads to bicyclic oxetanes with high to moderate (exo) diastereoselectivity that can be easily ring-opened to give α-amino-β-hydroxyketones.     

Synthesis of Surface-Modified Nanoparticles via Cycloaddition-Reactions

Summary. The surface modification of nanoparticles via azide/alkine-1,3-dipolar cycloaddition-reactions is described. Ligand exchange onto various nanoparticles was monitored by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and formed the basis for the attachment of ligands onto the nanoparticles and their subsequent modification by dipolar cycloaddition reactions. Nanoparticle-surfaces were monitored by binding onto self-assembled monolayers derivatized with matching supramolecular interactions after derivatization.     

Activity evaluation of carbon paste electrodes loaded with pt nanoparticles prepared in different radiolytic conditions

Three Pt-based catalysts prepared in different radiolytic conditions and supported on graphite powder were packed into a carbon paste electrode configuration. They were compared to each other, to the commercial (Pt) deposited on activated carbon powder (Johnson Matthey) and to pure Vulcan XC-72 for their respective abilities toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The Tafel parameters were determined for all these electrodes. From the I–V curves and their quantitative treatment, the following order of activity emerged unambiguously and reads: (PtCO)₂ (fcc structure) > (PtCO)₁ (Chini cluster) > (Pt)_neat > (Pt)_JM (Johnson Matthey) ≫ (Vulcan XC-72). As expected, all the Pt-loaded electrodes were more efficient than Vulcan XC-72. The classification appears to be linked with the mean nanoparticle size, and for comparable sizes, with the surface morphology of the materials. The results and the stability of the electrodes suggest that the small particle sizes and the good dispersity on the carbon support were maintained during the HER.