Donor–acceptor complexes in copolymerization. XLIX. Cationic polymerization of donor monomers in presence of polar solvents and acrylic monomers. A revised mechanism for polymerization of comonomer complexes

α-Methylstyrene (MS) and isobutyl vinyl ether (VE) readily polymerize, styrene (S) polymerizes to a small extent, and isobutylene (IB), butadiene (BD), and isoprene (IP) fail to polymerize in the presence of catalytic amounts of AlCl₃ when propionitrile, ethyl propionate, and methyl isobutyrate are used as reaction media. MS polymerizes readily and S polymerizes with difficulty in the presence of AlCl₃ to yield homopolymers when acrylonitrile (AN) is present and copolymers with ethyl acrylate (EA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA). VE readily homopolymerizes, while IB, BD, and IP fail to polymerize in the presence of AlCl₃ and the acrylic monomers. VE readily homopolymerizes, S and MS polymerize to a very small extent, and IB, BD, and IP do not polymerize in the presence of ethylaluminum sesquichloride (EASC) in polar solvents. VE readily homopolymerizes in the presence of EASC and the acrylic monomers. MS polymerizes to a small extent in the presence of EASC and the acrylic monomers to yield equimolar copolymers with EA and MMA and a mixture of cationic homopolymer and equimolar copolymer with AN. S yields equimolar copolymers in low yield in the presence of EASC and the acrylic monomers. IB, BD, and IP in the presence of EASC do not polymerize to any significant extent when EA is present, form AN-rich copolymers and yield poly(methyl methacrylate) in the presence of MMA. A revised mechanism is presented for the formation of cationic, radical, random, and alternating copolymers as well as alternating copolymer graft copolymers in the copolymerization of donor and acceptor monomers.     

Anti-glycating and anti-oxidant compounds from traditionally used anti-diabetic plant Geigeria alata(DC) Oliv. & Hiern.

Abstract

A new sesquiterpene lactone geigerianoloide (1) and four known flavonoids axillarin (2), quercetin (3), 3-methoxy-5,7,3',4'-tetrahydroxy-flavone (4) and hispidulin (5) were isolated from Geigeria alata (DC) Oliv. & Hiern. (Asteraceae). Structures were deduced using ¹H- and ¹³C- NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, while the structure of compound 1 was also deduced using X-ray crystallography technique.

Geigeria alata is traditionally used for diabetes, therefore compounds were tested for anti-glycation activity, in which compounds 2 and 3 showed potent activities (IC₅₀ values of 246.97?±?0.83 and 262.37?±?0.22 µM, respectively) compared to IC₅₀ value 294.50?±?1.5 µM of rutin. Moreover, compound 4 exhibited a comparable activity to rutin (IC₅₀?=?293.28?±?1.34 µM). Compound 5 showed a weak activity.

Compounds 2, 3, and 4 exhibited potent DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC₅₀?=?0.1?±?0.00, 0.13?±?0.00 and 0.15?±?0.01 µM, respectively). Compounds 2, 3, and 4 demonstrated significant superoxide anion scavenging activity with IC₅₀ values of 0.14?±?0.001, 0.17?±?0.00, and 0.11?±?0.006 µM, respectively.     

Particle tracking velocimetry with an ant colony optimization algorithm

A new concept algorithm based on the ant colony optimization is developed for the use in 2-D and 3-D particle tracking velocimetry (PTV). In the particle matching process of PTV, the ant colony optimization is usually aimed at minimization of the sum of the distances between the first-frame and second-frame particles. But this type of minimization often goes unsuccessfully in the regions where the particles are located very close to each other. In order to avoid this flaw, a new type of minimization is attempted using a physical property corresponding to the flow consistency or the quasi-rigidity of particle distribution patterns. Specifically, the ant colony optimization is now aimed at minimization of the sum of the relaxation of neighbor particles. In the present study, the new algorithm is applied to sets of 2-D and 3-D synthetic particle images as well as the experimental images with successful results.     

Structures,energetics and vibrational spectra of (H2O)32 clusters: a journey from model potentials to correlated theory

Empirical model potentials are found to be very useful for generating most competitive minima of large water clusters, whereas correlated (e.g. second order-Møller–Plesset perturbation (MP2) theory or higher) calculations are necessary for predicting their accurate energetics and vibrational features. The present study reports the structures and energetics of (H₂O)₃₂ clusters at MP2 level using aug-cc-pvDZ basis set, starting with low-lying structures generated from model potentials. Such high-end and accurate calculations are made feasible by the cost-effective fragment-based molecular tailoring approach (MTA) in conjunction with the grafting procedure. The latter is found to yield electronic energies with a sub-millihartree accuracy with reference to their full calculation counterparts. The vibrational spectra of nine low-lying (H₂O)₃₂ isomers are obtained from the corresponding MTA-based Hessian matrix. All these low-lying isomers show almost similar spectral features, which are in fair agreement with the experiment. The experimental spectrum of (H₂O)₃₂ is thus better understood from the vibrational features of this set of very closely spaced isomers. The present case study of (H₂O)₃₂ clearly demonstrates the efficacy in obtaining accurate structures, energetics and spectra at correlated level of theory by combining model potential-based structures with fragmentation methods.     

Optimization of process for the production of bio-oil from eucalyptus wood

The pyrolysis of eucalyptus wood was carried out in a batch reactor to optimize the yield of bio-oil.Effect of various parameters like feed(particle) size,temperature,presence of catalyst and heating rate on the yield of bio-oil was investigated.The optimum conditions for high yield of bio-oil are for the particle size 2 mm~5 mm(average l/d=12.84/2.03 mm) at 450 ℃ in high heating rate.The reaction kinetics and the quality of bio-oil produced are independent of the presence of different catalysts like mordenite,kaoline clay,fly ash and silica alumina.The physical properties like odour,colour,PH,viscosity,heating value were determined.The FT-IR analysis of bio-oil indicates the presence of different functional groups such as monomeric alcohol,phenol,ketones,aldehydes,carboxylic acid,amines,and nitro compounds.The composition of the bio-oil at different conditions was analyzed using GC-MS and found that the components are temperature dependent but independent of catalysts used.     

Development and testing of an algorithm for efficient MP2/CCSD(T) energy estimation of molecular clusters with the 2–body approach

This work reports the development and testing of an automated algorithm for estimating the energies of weakly bound molecular clusters employing correlated theory. Firstly, the monomers and dimers of (homo/hetero) clusters are identified, and the sum of one-body and two-body contributions to correlation energy is calculated. The addition of this contribution to the Hartree-Fock full calculation (FC) energies provides a good estimate of the total energies at Møller–Plesset second-order perturbation theory (MP2)/coupled-cluster method with singles and doubles (CCSD) (T)-level theory using augmented Dunning basis sets. The estimated energies for several test clusters show an excellent agreement with their FC counterparts, with a substantial wall-clock time saving employing off-the-shelf hardware. Furthermore, the complete basis set (CBS) limit for MP2 energy computed using the two-body approach also agrees with its CBS energy with its FC counterpart.     

Catalytic performances of kaoline and silica alumina in the thermal degradation of polypropylene

Polypropylene was cracked thermally and catalytically in the presence of kaoline and silica alumina in a semi batch reactor in the temperature range 400℃～550℃ in order to obtain suitable liquid fuels.The dependencies between process temperatures,types of catalyst,feed compositions and product yields of the obtained fuel fractions were found.It was observed that up to 450℃ thermal cracking temperature,the major product of pyrolysis was liquid oil and the major product at other higher temperatures(475℃～550℃) ...     

Donor–acceptor complexes in copolymerization. LVIII. Alternating diene–dienophile copolymers. 12. Structure of furan–maleic anhydride copolymers prepared from the monomers and the diels-Alder adduct

The copolymerization of furan with maleic anhydride in the presence of a perester or azobisiso-butyronitrile at 50 or 70°C yields an unsaturated equimolar, alternating copolymer in which the furan units have 3,4 unsaturation and 2,5 linkages. The furan–maleic anhydride Diels-Alder adduct undergoes retrograde dissociation in solution at 70°C and, in the presence of radical catalysts, yields the same unsaturated alternating copolymer as is obtained from the monomers. The adduct undergoes homopolymerization in the presence of a rapidly decomposing perester at 50°C to yield a saturated polymer having a rearranged structure containing 3-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane-5,6-dicarboxylic anhydride repeating units with 2,7 linkages.