The Darzens condensation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and ketones

The one-pot Darzens condensation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and ketones with enolates of an α-bromo ester or ketone is described.     

Palladium(II)-catalyzed oxidative Heck coupling of thiazole-4-carboxylates

Oxidative Heck coupling of thiazole-4-carboxylates via palladium(II)-catalyzed C-H bond activation has been achieved in moderate to good yields. No ligand, and no acidic additive were used in the reaction. The results showed that this protocol tolerated a series of substitutions on the thiazole ring. A preliminary attempt of direct arylation with p-xylene via Pd(II)-catalyzed C-H bond activation has also been done.     

Correlation between proton transfer and 35Cl NQR frequency as well as molecular geometry of chloranilic acid in co‐crystals with some organic bases

Proton transfer in hydrogen‐bonded organic co‐crystals of chloranilic acid with some organic bases was investigated by nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) spectroscopy. The ³⁵Cl NQR frequencies of chloranilic acid molecule as well as ¹⁴N NQR frequencies of the organic base molecule were measured with the conventional pulse methods as well as double‐resonance methods, respectively. The extent of proton transfer in the O···H···N hydrogen bond was estimated from Townes–Dailey analysis of the ¹⁴N NQR parameters. The ³⁵Cl NQR frequency and molecular geometry of chloranilic acid are correlated to the extent of proton transfer in the protonation process of the organic base molecule. It is shown that the hydrogen bond affects the π‐electron system of chloranilic acid. Geometry dependence of the O···H···N hydrogen bond, i.e. the H? N valence bond order versus the hydrogen‐bond geometry correlation is also discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optical detection of Cu ion using a SQ-dye containing polymeric thin-film on Au surface

In this study, we have fabricated Cu²⁺ ion sensor using a squarylium dye (SQ-dye) containing polymeric thin-film. Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) was used as a signal amplifier to achieve high sensitivity and large linear dynamic range for detection of Cu²⁺ ion. High selectivity to Cu²⁺ ion was obtained by the effective electro-static interaction between SQ-dye and Cu²⁺ ion in the polymeric film. The optimal analytical condition of high selectivity and sensitivity in the wider linear dynamic range obtained in this study may be a result of the cooperative ‘hard-soft’ metal ion-ligand interaction and effective detection of refractive index changes by the complexation of Cu²⁺ ion and SQ-dye in SPR measurement. Among 10 different alkali metal, alkaline earth metal, and transition metal ions, SQ-dye in poly(vinylchloride)–poly(vinyl acetate)–poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVC–PVAc–PVA) copolymer film showed the highest selectivity to Cu²⁺ ion. Although the interaction between SQ-dye and metal ions has not been well understood, both cooperative ‘hard-soft’ metal ion-ligand interaction and size-selective recognition of Cu²⁺ ion to SQ-dye may contribute to high selectivity. Furthermore, additional sensitivity in the detection of Cu²⁺ ion by SPR was obtained by matching the wavelength of probing radiation of SPR and absorption maximum of SQ-dye at 675 nm, which allow to detect small changes in the refractive index by complex formation on the sensing surface. This result may apply in development of the Cu²⁺ ion selective sensor for medical, biochemical, and environmental applications.     

Copper(I) 3-Methylsalicylate Mediates the Chan–Lam N-Arylation of Heterocycles

Copper(I) 3-methylsalicylate (CuMeSal) mediates N-arylation reactions between aryl boronic acids and aromatic heterocycles (Chan–Lam coupling) under moderate reaction conditions (K₂CO₃, methanol, 65 °C, in air, 3–5 h). Both electron-rich and electron-deficient aryl boronic acids and a diverse set of N-heterocycles were allowed to react and gave N-arylation products in reasonable yields, which demonstrate the utility of this catalyst.     

Evaluation of various fire retardants for use in wood flour-polyethylene composites

Wood-plastic composites represent a growing class of materials used by the residential construction industry and the furniture industry. For some applications in these industries, the fire performance of the material must be known, and in some cases improved. However, the fire performance of wood-plastic composites is not well understood, and there is little information regarding the effectiveness of various fire retardants in the public domain. We used oxygen index and cone calorimeter tests to characterize the fire performance of wood flour-polyethylene composites, and compared the results with unfilled polyethylene and solid wood. We then evaluated the effect of five additive-type fire retardants on fire performance. Generally, magnesium hydroxide and ammonium polyphosphate improved the fire performance of WPCs the most while a bromine-based fire retardant and zinc borate improved fire performance the least.     

Evaluation of separation quality in two-dimensional hyphenated chromatography

In this paper, a novel criterion named the overlap index (OVI) has been proposed to evaluate the separation quality in two-dimensional hyphenated chromatography. This criterion, which is obtained from the maximum value of the Gram determinant constructed by the key spectra, can reveal the degree of two-dimensional hyphenated chromatographic separation. The key spectra are selected based on the so-called D-optimal criterion. According to its geometrical sense meaning the volume spanned by the constructed vectors, OVI criterion can practically reflect the overlap degree of chromatographic peaks. The OVI criterion is further interpreted by comparing the resolution of two-dimensional data into pure chromatograms and spectra. The successful application of this OVI criterion to both of simulated two-dimensional hyphenated data and the real case in analyzing the six reference phenolic compounds from Ginkgo biloba L-leaves shows its reliability and practicality.     

Thermal degradation and flame retardance in copolymers of methyl methacrylate with diethyl(methacryloyloxymethyl)phosphonate

Methyl methacrylate (MMA) has been free radically copolymerized, both in bulk and in solution, with diethyl(methacryloyloxymethyl)phosphonate (DEMMP), to give polymers which are significantly flame retarded when compared with PMMA, as indicated by the results of limiting oxygen index (LOI) measurements, UL 94 tests, and the results of cone calorimetric experiments. The physical and mechanical properties of the copolymers are similar to those of PMMA, except that the bulk copolymers are slightly crosslinked, and are better than those of PMMA flame retarded to a similar extent by some phosphate and phosphonate additives. Examination of the some of the gaseous products of pyrolysis and combustion, and of chars produced on burning, show that flame retardation occurs in the copolymers by both a condensed-phase and a vapour-phase mechanism. The condensed-phase mechanism is shown to involve generation of phosphorus acid species followed by reaction of these with MMA units giving rise to methacrylic acid units. The methacrylic acid units subsequently form anhydride links, which probably impede depolymerization of the remaining MMA sequences, resulting in evolution of less MMA (the major fuel when MMA-based polymers burn). By undergoing decarboxylation, leading to interchain cyclisation and, eventually, to aromaticisation, the anhydride units are probably also the principal precursors to char.