Cyclodehydration of 1,4-butanediol catalyzed by metal(IV) phosphates

Metal(IV) phosphates of tin, zirconium and titanium in different morphological forms, viz. amorphous, calcined and crystalline, have been used as catalysts for selective cyclodehydration of 1,4-butanediol to tetrahydrofuran. A comparative study of the three catalysts for the above reaction has been carried out to understand the effect of their composition and morphology on the catalytic activity.     

Magnetic susceptibility studies of lead oxyhalide glasses containing transition metal oxides

Magnetic susceptibility studies of lead oxyhalide glasses containing high concentrations of transition metal oxides such as MnO and Fe₂O₃ have been performed. While they exhibit predominantly antiferromagnetic interactions, the low temperature (<100K) region is dominated by paramagnetic contributions. The behaviour in these glasses is found to be similar to that of covalent oxide glasses and is different from that of purely ionic sulphate glasses. Communication No. 324 from the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit.     

Theory of the transmission of metal strip gratings on a dielectric substrate application to submillimeter laser coupling

The advantages of supported metal strip gratings with respect to free-standing metal meshes are pointed out for applications as laser output couplers. A new, simple formula for the power transmission through the strip grating on a dielectric plate is derived from a line equivalent-circuit model. This formula is in good agreement with measurements performed on several samples, at different submillimeter wavelengths. An application to output couplers of far-infrared gas discharge lasers allows to improve the reliability of such lasers.x Unité associée au CNRS. U.A. 836.     

A comparative study on aldol‐type condensation reactions of cyclic,acyclic and substituted cyclic ketones by the W(CO)6/CCl4/UV system

Aldol‐type condensation reactions of a number of cyclic, acyclic and substituted cyclic ketones were investigated using the W(CO)₆/CCl₄/UV system. The progress of the reactions was followed by IR and GC‐MS techniques. The cyclic ketone derivatives with β‐ and γ‐substituent gave the expected condensation products. However, the α‐substituted cyclic, acyclic and unsubstituted cyclic ketones with rings larger than six did not. Formation of [W]–ketone complexes with all of the ketones used was observed by FTIR. With respect to our studies, a mechanism involving an intermediate seven‐coordinate tungsten complex has been proposed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of core‐shell structured carboxylated microparticles with a straightforward procedure and their evaluation as a polymer support

Poly(trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate) microspheres with a narrow size distribution were obtained by precipitation polymerization. They were subsequently modified by surface grafting with acrylic acid in a polar ethanol–water reaction medium, without stabilizer, yielding core‐shell particles with diameters in the micrometer range. The resulting polymeric material was characterized by SEM and potentiometric titration, FTIR spectroscopy, and thermal analysis. It was shown that the particle characteristics (size, size distribution, and functionality) obtained by this straightforward procedure can be controlled by modifying the synthesis parameters (monomer concentration, agitation rate, and temperature). The high functionality, the chemical and physico‐mechanical stability, as well as the possibility to control the performances of the resulting polymeric materials by synthesis allow its applications in various areas. Envisaging separation and catalysis domains, Cu(II), Cd(II), and Cr(III) uptake capacity from aqueous solutions was investigated under noncompetitive conditions as a function of synthesized particle functionality, time, and pH range. It was also found that the addition of the carboxylated microparticles to polyethylene stabilized with α‐tocopherol improved the thermo‐oxidative behaviour of the polymeric material. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5889–5898, 2005     

Conductance studies of some ammonium and alkali metal salts in propylene carbonate

Conductance data are reported for NaI, KI, RbI, CsI, NH₄I, NaClO₄, and KClO₄ in propylene carbonate at 25°C in the concentration range 1×10^–4 –8.3×10^–3M. Analysis of the data with the current conductance theories indicates negligible ion-association, strong cation-solvent and weak anion-solvent interactions.     

Perfluorinated rare earth metals catalyzed nitration of aromatic compounds

The nitration of aromatic compounds can be carried out in the presence of perfluorinated rare earth metal catalyst without halogenated organic solvent.     

Electrochemical synthesis of ammonia using a cell with a Nafion membrane and SmFe_(0.7)Cu_(0.3-x)Ni_xO_3(x=0―0.3) cathode at atmospheric pressure and lower temperature

Samaria-doped ceria Ce0.8Sm0.2O2-δ(SDC) and SmFe0.7Cu0.3-xNixO3 have been synthesized by the sol-gel method and characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD),transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The electrochemical synthesis of ammonia was investigated at atmospheric pressure and low temperature,using the SFCN materials as the cathode,a Nafion membrane as the electrolyte,nickel-doped SDC(Ni-SDC) as the anode and silver-platinum paste as the current collector.Ammonia was synt...     

Polyplatinayne/polyoxometalate composite Langmuir‐Blodgett films: Preparation,structural characterization,and potential optoelectronic applications

A new family of organometallic/inorganic composite Langmuir‐Blodgett (LB) films consisting of rigid‐rod polyplatinayne polymer ([Pt‐T(OMe‐Fl)T]_∞ or [Pt‐T(F‐Fl)T]_∞, where the triplet bonds are abbreviated by T, and fluorene ring by Fl) as the π‐conjugated organometallic molecule, polyoxometalate (POM, POM = K₃PMo₁₂O₄₀, H₃PW₁₂O₄₀, or H₆P₂W₁₈O₆₂) of the Keggin and Dawson structures as the inorganic component, and dimethyldioctadecylammonium bromide (DODA) or a mixture of octadecanoic acid (OA) and docosanoic acid (DA) as the auxiliary film‐forming agent were prepared and characterized by π–A isotherms, UV–Vis absorption spectra, photoluminescence spectra, atomic force microscopy imaging, scanning tunneling microscopy, and low‐angle X‐ray diffraction. Our experimental results indicate that steady, even, and ordered Langmuir and LB films are formed in pure water and polyoxometalate subphases. It was shown that the POM molecules are probably embedded inside the polyplatinayne molecules in the LB film structure and they can quench the luminescence of the Pt polyyne. These Pt‐polyyne based LB films display interesting electric conductivity behavior. [Pt‐T(OMe‐Fl)T]_∞/DODA/HPW₁₂ monolayer film shows a good electrical conductivity, and the tunneling current amounts to ±100 nA when the voltage is set at ±8 V. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 3193–3206, 2008