Crystallization of Pseudopolymorphs of Some Gamboge Pigments. Pyridine,Dimethylformamide and Dimethylsulfoxide Solvates of Morellic Acid,Gambogic Acid and Guttiferic Acid

Abstract

Morellic acid, gambogic acid and guttiferic acid are related naturally-occurring xanthone pigments that yield X-ray quality crystals only from solvents like pyridine, dimethylformamide (dmf) and dimethyl sulfoxide (dmso). The structures of four of these crystals have been determined and are found to contain solvents of crystallization. The solvents hydrogen bond to the carboxyl groups with O—H…O/N motifs previously seen in other carboxylic acids. Distinctive, however, is the presence of an extended though somewhat diffuse array of C—H…O hydrogen bonds that aggregates the entire solute-solvent assemblage in a multi-point manner. Pyridine and dmf are able to mimic each other with respect to their hydrogen bond donating and accepting characteristics and in this respect play equivalent roles in their solvates with morellic acid and gambogic acid. Dmso is seen to self-associate in its guttiferic acid solvate. It is possible that these solvents with multiple hydrogen bonding donor and acceptor capability can act as hydrogen bond nucleators, providing just enough rigidity to the solutes to ensure crystallization.     

Theoretical Insights into Intermolecular Hydrogen-Bonding Strengthening in Fluorenone-Methanol Complexes Induced by Electronic Excitation and Bulk Solvent Effect

This work presents a theoretical insight into the variation of the site-specific intermolecular hydrogen-bonding （HB）, formed between C=O group of fluorenone （FN） and O-H groups of methanol （MeOL） molecules, induced by both the electronic excitation and the bulk solvent effect. Through the calculation of molecular ground- and excited-state properties, we not only demonstrate the characters of HB strengthening induced by electronic excitation and the bulk solvent effect but also reveal the underlying physical mechanism which leads to the HB variation. The strengthening of the intermolecular HB in electronically excited states and in liquid solution is characterized by the reduced HB bond-lengths and the red-shift IR spectra accompanied by the increasing intensities of IR absorption corresponding to the characteristic vibrational modes of the O-H and C--O stretching. The HB strengthening in the excited electronic states and in solution mainly arises from the charge redistribution of the FN molecule induced by the electronic excitation and bulk solvent instead of the intermolecular charge transfer. The charge redistribution of the solute molecule increases the partial dipole moment of FN molecule and the FN-MeOL intermolecular interaction, which subsequently leads to the HB strengthening. With the bulk solvent effect getting involved, the theoretical IR spectra of HBed FN-MeOL complexes agree much better with the experiments than those of gas-phase FN-MeOL dimer. All the calculations are carried out based on our developed analytical approaches for the first and second energy derivatives of excited electronic state within the time-dependent density functional theory.     

Synthesis of novel O-alkylbenzochromeno-1,5-benzodiazepinones. Study of the N–H····N and CO····HN hydrogen bonding interactions with 2-aminopyridines

A series of novel 6-(O-alky)lbenzochromeno-1,5-benzodiazepin-2-ones 4a–c was prepared through the condensation between the [1]benzopyrano[4,3-c][1,5]benzodiazepin-7(8H)one 1 and a series of alkylalcohols. Scaffold 4 exhibited interesting hydrogen-bonding interaction with 2-aminopyridine derivatives. The so obtained self-assembled systems 5 were fully characterized by 1D/2D-NMR techniques and mass spectrometry. The hydrogen-bonding interaction was supported by IR and Raman spectroscopy and by ¹H NMR titration experiments, and was confirmed by an X-ray crystal structure analysis.     

Wells–Dawson polyoxometelates [HP2W18–nMonO62]Fe2.5, xH2O; n = 0, 6: Synthesis,spectroscopic characterization and catalytic application for oxidation of dyes

The synthesis, IR, ³¹P NMR and cyclic voltammetry characterizations of new Wells–Dawson-type heteropolyanions that contain iron, HFe_2.5P₂W₁₈O₆₂, 23H₂O and HFe_2.5P₂W₁₂Mo₆O₆₂, 22 H₂O, are reported. The catalytic activity of these compounds was evaluated through the oxidation of methyl violet dye, by hydrogen peroxide. The influence of different parameters such as the initial pH, the initial H₂O₂ concentration, the catalyst mass, and the initial dye concentration have been studied.     

Electrodeposited synthesis of self-supported Ni-P cathode for efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen generation

One of the key challenges for electrochemical water splitting is the development of low-cost and efficient hydrogen evolution cathode. In this work, a self-supported Ni-P cathode was synthesized by a facile electrodeposition method. The composition and morphology were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The Ni-P cathode performed low onset over-potential, good catalytic activity and long-term stability under neutral and alkaline conditions. The mechanism of Ni-P electrode for hydrogen production was discussed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The excellent performance of Ni-P cathode was mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of phosphate anions and the self-supported feature.     

Selective Oxidation of Methane into Methanol Under Mild Conditions

Selective oxidation of methane to methanol under mild conditions has been considered as a dream reaction but suffers from poor efficiency due to the strong C-H bond of methane and easy overoxidation of the methanol product. For overcoming these problems, a series of strategies has been developed for improving methanol productivity with oxidants of hydrogen peroxide and even a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen at mild temperatures. Significant achievements in these strategies using effective catalysts, such as supported metal nanoparticles, colloidal metal nanoparticles, and metal@zeolites are briefly concluded. Moreover, the current challenges, future perspectives for preparing active, selective, and stable catalysts, have been discussed. The zeolite fixed metal nanoparticle structure has been found to boost the reaction by benefiting the formation and enrichment of peroxide intermediates, which might guide the development of more efficient catalysts.     

Hydrogen evolution reaction on Pt and Ru in alkali with volmer-step promotors and electronic structure modulators

Alkaline water electrolysis despite having a variety of choices for anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts out of non-precious metals suffers significantly due to the poor kinetics of cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) even with the state-of-the-art Pt and equally active Ru. The Volmer-step (water dissociation (WD) coupled proton adsorption) of alkaline HER is mostly the rate-determining step (RDS) and costs most of the work required. In this review, recent developments in improving the HER kinetics of Pt and Ru with Volmer-step promotors and electronic structure modulators have been comprehensively analyzed and critically presented with the challenges and prospects.     

Supramolecular Engineering Strategy to Construct BODIPY-Based White Light Emission Materials

Two kinds of 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (BODIPY) dyads BDP-OH containing 4-hydroxystyrene groups and BDP-PY bearing pyridinyl units were prepared. In addition, a naphthalene derivative NAP-PY modified by pyridinyl moieties substituent was made. The above three dyads could be used to construct white-light emission (WLE) material by a supramolecular engineering strategy due to their three primary colors of blue, green and red. The supramolecular correlations between the hydroxyl group of BDP-OH and the pyridinyl groups of NAP-PY and BDP-PY were confirmed by ¹H NMR titration, 2D NOESY and FTIR. A fluorescence monitor application was carried out based on the realization of WLE. This work might be useful for designing other WLE supramolecular systems and image display.     

Synthesis,chiroptical properties of a helical polyacetylene derivative carrying urea moieties

A novel phenylacetylene derivative containing urea groups was synthesized and polymerized with a Rh catalyst to give the corresponding polymer, poly（1） with moderate number-average molecular weights. The poly（1） was soluble in toluene, CHCI3, CH2C12, THF, DMF, and DMSO, but insoluble in hexane, diethyl ether and MeOH. The specific rotation and circular dichroism （CD） spectroscopic studies revealed that poly（1） took predominantly one-handed helical structures. The presence of intramolecular hydrogen bonding was confirmed by liquid-state IR spectroscopy. The helicity of poly（1） could be tuned by temperature and anion. The helical conformation of the polymer was stable against Br but susceptible to F.