Chemoselective hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes with modified Pd/C catalyst

Selective hydrogenation of α, β-unsaturated aldehydes with modified Pd/C catalyst was developed.The reduction of C=O bond could be efficiently inhibited by the addition of carbonates,and high selectivity to the corresponding saturated aldehydes was achieved under mild conditions.This protocol provides an alternative for efficient preparation of saturated aldehydes.     

Terpenoids from Loxocalyx urticifolius

Two new diterpenoids, loxocalyxin A ( 1 ) and 13‐epiloxocalyxin A ( 2 ), and two new sesquiterpenoids, loxocalyxins B and C ( 3 and 4 , resp.), together with three known compounds, were isolated from the MeOH extract of the whole plant of Loxocalyx urticifolius Hemsl . The structures of the new compounds were established by means of spectroscopic analysis including one‐ and two‐dimensional NMR spectroscopy. All new structures were confirmed by X‐ray crystallographic analysis. Their absolute configurations were established.     

Plasmonic nanostructures for local field enhancement in the UV region

In this work we describe an ultraviolet subwavelength focusing in plasmonic nanostructures. A system which provides a 20–25 times local field enhancement at a wavelength of 350 nm is proposed. This system represents a metalized V-shaped groove in a surface of a dielectric medium. Subwavelength focusing is achieved by a plasmon wave propagation along the surface of metal film and by the transfer of electromagnetic field through the dielectric medium. The influence of system parameters on a local field enhancement is investigated. A simplified model that allows for determining the geometric parameters of an optimized resonator is proposed.     

Definable nilpotent and soluble envelopes in groups without the independence property

We prove that in a group without the independence property a nilpotent subgroup is always contained in a definable nilpotent subgroup of the same nilpotency class. The analogue for the soluble case is also shown when the subgroup is normal in the ambient group.     

General relationships for isovalent cation substitution into oxides with the rocksalt structure

Isovalent cation substitution into rocksalt oxides, MO, has been investigated using atomistic simulation. A strain related parameter, ε, is established that relates the size of a substitutional cation to the host lattice ion for which it has been substituted. This has allowed us to identify relationships between solution energy, defect volume and a strain parameter, which are general for any rocksalt oxide host lattice and as such are predictive for any combination of a divalent cation and rocksalt host lattice.