Epoxy-silica/clay nanocomposite for silver-based antibacterial thin coatings: structure and ionic mobility

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - A novel material was developed using sol-gel chemistry and an environmental-friendly grafting process of clay nanoparticles. In a previous work of our...     

Remote stereocontrol by the sulfinyl group: Mukaiyama aldol reactions of (S)-2-[2-(p-tolylsulfinyl)phenyl]acetaldehyde in the asymmetric synthesis of β-hydroxyacids and 1,3-diols

(S)-2-[2-(p-Tolylsulfinyl)phenyl]acetaldehyde reacts with different O-silylated ketenethioacetals in the presence of Yb(OTf)₃ yielding β-hydroxythioesters in high yields and diastereoselectivities. The obtained compounds were readily transformed into β-hydroxyacids and their corresponding diols. These Mukaiyama aldol reactions are a direct evidence of the ability of the sulfinyl group to control 1,5- and 1,6-asymmetric induction processes.     

Preparation of rhodium–phyllosilicate catalysts without leaching in liquid-phase 1-hexene hydrogenation

Rhodium catalysts have been prepared on palygorskite and montmorillonite (clay) supports by reduction with hydrogen (1 atmosphere) at room temperature of a cationic organometallic rhodium compound anchored to the support. The activity of these catalysts for the hydrogenation of liquid-phase 1-hexene remains constant with increase of prehydrogenation time and with re-use for several runs. No rhodium leaching is observed.     

Packing Non-Zero A-Paths In Group-Labelled Graphs

Let G=(V,E) be an oriented graph whose edges are labelled by the elements of a group Γ and let A⊂V. An A-path is a path whose ends are both in A. The weight of a path P in G is the sum of the group values on forward oriented arcs minus the sum of the backward oriented arcs in P. (If Γ is not abelian, we sum the labels in their order along the path.) We are interested in the maximum number of vertex-disjoint A-paths each of non-zero weight. When A = V this problem is equivalent to the maximum matching problem. The general case also includes Mader's S-paths problem. We prove that for any positive integer k, either there are k vertex-disjoint A-paths each of non-zero weight, or there is a set of at most 2k −2 vertices that meets each of the non-zero A-paths. This result is obtained as a consequence of an exact min-max theorem. These results were obtained at a workshop on Structural Graph Theory at the PIMS Institute in Vancouver, Canada. This research was partially conducted during the period the first author served as a Clay Mathematics Institute Long-Term Prize Fellow.     

Convergence of multistep discretizations of DAEs

Standard ODE methods such as linear multistep methods encounter difficulties when applied to differential-algebraic equations (DAEs) of index greater than 1. In particular, previous results for index 2 DAEs have practically ruled out the use of all explicit methods and of implicit multistep methods other than backward difference formulas (BDFs) because of stability considerations. In this paper we embed known results for semi-explicit index 1 and 2 DAEs in a more comprehensive theory based on compound multistep and one-leg discretizations. This explains and characterizes the necessary requirements that a method must fulfill in order to be applicable to semi-explicit DAEs. Thus we conclude that the most useful discretizations are those that avoid discretization of the constraint. A freer use of e.g. explicit methods for the non-stiff differential part of the DAE is then possible.Dedicated to Germund Dahlquist on the occasion of his 70th birthdayThis author thanks the Centro de Estadística y Software Matemático de la Universidad Simón Bolivar (CESMa) for permitting her free use of its research facilities.Partial support by the Swedish Research Council for Engineering Sciences TFR under contract no. 222/91-405.     

Diameter graphs of polygons and the proof of a conjecture of Graham

We show that for an n-gon with unit diameter to have maximum area, its diameter graph must contain a cycle, and we derive an isodiametric theorem for such n-gons in terms of the length of the cycle. We then apply this theorem to prove Graham's 1975 conjecture that the diameter graph of a maximal 2m-gon (m?3) must be a cycle of length 2m−1 with one additional edge attached to it.     

Production and characterization of refractive index gratings in high-birefringence fibre optics

In this work, we report production and modelling of both Bragg gratings and rocking filters in high birefringence fibre optics. Bragg gratings are produced by UV (257.0 nm) external interferometric exposition of a frequency-doubled Ar⁺ ion laser, whereas for rocking filters formation the visible Ar⁺ ion laser lines in 488.0 and 514.5 nm are used in an internal method. The spectral characteristics due to the birefringence properties are studied through numerical methods and experimental techniques. The spectral responsivity of the structures under temperature changes and stress application is presented.     

Micellar effect in hydroformylation of high olefin catalysed by water-soluble rhodium complexes associated with sulfonated diphosphines

High linear alkenes (1-octene and 1-decene) have been hydroformylated using water-soluble rhodium complexes associated with sulfonated diphosphines in the presence of ionic surfactants or methanol. In all cases, the hydroformylation activities were higher than in experiments without additives. The selectivity in aldehydes was higher when we used cetyltrimethylammonium hydrogensulfate (CTAHSO₄) as the surfactant or methanol as the co-solvent.