Microwave extraction of phthalate esters from marine sediment and soil

Summary As part of an on-going ASEAN⁺⁾-Canada Cooperative Programme on Marine Science, microwave-assisted solvent extraction has been employed for the extraction of six phthalate esters from marine sediment and soil samples. Five of the six esters studied are among the United States Environmental Protection Agency's list of top priority pollutants. The effects of extraction solvent, extraction temperature, duration of extraction and extraction volume on the mean recoveries of the six phthalate esters were quantitatively evaluated by means of an analysis of variance, followed by testing the differences among the level means for each condition with least significant difference method. Microwave-assisted solvent extraction allowed comparable or higher recoveries of the six phthalate esters (70.1–91.0%) in comparison with conventional soxhlet (65.5–89.5%) and sonication (64.6–88.6%). The precision of results by microwave-assisted solvent extraction was improved significantly compared to the conventional techniques. The microwave extraction system has many advantages over the soxhlet and sonication extraction, e.g., no laborious clean-up procedure, lower usage of hazardous organic solvent, and larger sample throughput. The technique has been employed for the analysis of native marine sediment and soil samples in Singapore.     

An Efficient Method for Determination of the Degree of Substitution of Cellulose Esters of Long Chain Aliphatic Acids

The determination of the degree of substitution (DS) of fatty acid cellulose esters, representing a broad range of substituents (C₆, C₁₂, C₁₈ and C₂₂), was performed by alkaline hydrolysis of the ester groups and the quantification of fatty acids by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) as their trimethylsilyl derivatives. The method was optimized and compared with established techniques for the DS determination (elemental analysis and alkaline hydrolysis/titrimetry). The results demonstrated that alkaline hydrolysis/GC-MS is a rapid, reliable and powerful method for analysis of fatty acid cellulose esters, particularly when different acyl substituents are present.     

芳甲酸氰基芳甲酯的合成

芳甲酸氰基芳甲酯是重要的有机合成中间体,其现有合成方法采用剧毒氰化物为氰源来合成。 本研究以K₄[Fe(CN)₆]为绿色氰化试剂,芳酰氯为原料,采用一锅两步反应合成芳甲酸氰基芳甲酯。 通过改变第二步反应温度、反应时间、硼氢化钠和催化剂的用量获得最佳反应条件,以61.7%~80.3%的产率合成了10种芳甲酸氰基芳甲酯(2a~2j),产物结构通过傅里叶变换红外光谱仪(FTIR)、核磁共振波谱仪(NMR)分析确认。 根据实验结果,提出了可能的反应机理。 该法避免了对剧毒氰化剂的使用,具有产率高、操作简单、后处理方便等优点。     

Stereoselective synthesis of (Z)-β-fluoro-α,β-unsaturated esters from (Z)-2-fluoro-1-alkenyliodonium salts

(Z)-β-Fluoro-α,β-unsaturated esters were stereoselectively synthesized from (Z)-2-fluoro-1-alkenyliodonium salts by the Pd-catalyzed methoxycarbonylation reaction. The reaction proceeded at room temperature and various functional groups on the substrate can tolerate the reaction conditions.     

A new, one-pot, three-component synthesis of 4H-pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidines, 4H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidines, and 4H-pyrazino[1,2-a]pyrimidines

A new, one-pot and three-component synthesis of 4H-pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidines, 4H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidines, and 4H-pyrazino[1,2-a]pyrimidines is described. The reactive 1:1 zwitterionic intermediate, formed by the addition of isocyanides to dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylates, was trapped by N-(2-heteroaryl)amides to yield a ketenimine intermediate, which was cyclized and then rearranged under the reaction conditions to afford the title compounds under mild reaction conditions in good yields. Single-crystal X-ray analysis conclusively confirms the structure of the obtained bridgehead bicyclic 6-6 heterocyclic compounds.     

Chemoselective hydrolysis of tert-butyl esters in acetonitrile using molecular iodine as a mild and efficient catalyst

A simple, mild and efficient method for the hydrolysis of tert-butyl esters using molecular iodine as a catalyst is described. Acid labile protecting groups, such as N-Boc, OBn, OAc and double bonds, are compatible under the reaction conditions.     

The diphosphate monoanion in the gas phase: a joint mass spectrometric and theoretical study

H(3)P(2)O(7) (-) ions were obtained in an electrospray ion source of a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (ESI/FTICR) mass spectrometer from a CH(3)CN/H(2)O (1:1) pyrophosphoric acid solution and in the ionic source of a triple quadrupole (TQ) mass spectrometer from the chemical ionisation (CI) of pyrophosphoric acid introduced by a thermostatically controlled direct insertion probe. The ions were structurally characterised by mass spectrometric techniques and theoretical calculations. Consistent with collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) mass spectrometric results, theoretical calculations identified the linear diphosphate anion (I) as the most stable isomer on the H(3)P(2)O(7) (-) potential energy surface. The joint application of mass spectrometric techniques and theoretical methods provided information on the dissociative processes of diphosphate anions in the gas phase. Finally, this study provides an insight into the structures and stabilities of the [H(3)PO(4).PO(3)](-), [HP(2)O(6).H(2)O](-) and [H(2)PO(4).HPO(3)](-) clusters and allows the stability and structure of the dimetaphosphate anion, HP(2)O(6) (-), to be investigated at the B3LYP6-31+G* and CCSD(T) levels of theory.     

Bis(pyridine)iodonium tetrafluoroborate (IPy2BF4): a versatile oxidizing reagent

The use of bis(pyridine)iodonium tetrafluoroborate (IPy(2)BF(4)) as an oxidizing agent towards different types of alcohols is reported. The observed reactivity involves different reaction pathways, as a function both of the structures of the starting materials and of the experimental conditions. Interestingly, the title iodine-containing compound is capable of a tuneable reaction with simple cycloalkanols, providing straight and selective access either to omega-iodocarbonyl compounds or to ketones, a previously unreported and chemoselective range of oxidation potential. Furthermore, appropriate conditions for the preparation of aldehydes and esters from primary alcohols by easily performed experimental procedures were also established. The beta-scission reactions of cycloalkanols and the alpha-oxidation processes of primary, secondary and benzylic alcohols are discussed.     

Catalytic ketonisation over oxide catalysts

Activity of pure Al₂O₃ has been studied in cycloketonisation of various dialkyl alkanodiates of general formula (CH₂)_n(COOR)₂, where n = 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 and R = Et, s-Bu and t-Bu at the temperature range 598-723 K in a flow system. The yields of cycloalkanones strongly depend on the size of the ring formed, the structure of alkyl group in ester molecule and on the reaction temperature. Cyclopentanone, cyclohexanone and cycloheptanone were obtained with yields 50-60% from the appropriate diethyl esters. The only low yields (<8%) of cyclooctanone, cyclononane and cycloundecanone were achieved. An increase in the order of the ester alkyl group leads in some cases to higher yields of ketones - di t-butyl hexanodiate yielded 88% of cyclopentanone. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

First synthesis of 2-[alkylamino(diethoxyphosphoryl)methyl]acrylic ethyl esters

The ethyl α-bromomethyl-β-(diethoxyphosphoryl)acrylic acid ester 9 has been prepared by addition of bromine to allylphosphonate 7 then dehydrobromination with DBU in acetonitrile. Reaction of allylic bromide 9 with primary amines in a bimolecular S_N2′-type mecanism in methanol at low temperature, gives rise to the 2-[alkylamino(diethoxyphosphoryl)methyl]acrylic acid ethyl esters 6.