Effect of the milling process on the thermal behavior and crystallinity of buckwheat starch

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Buckwheat starch is an alternative source to supply the high global demand for starch. The properties of starch can be modified through chemical and...     

Probing the Catalytic Activity of Reduced Graphene Oxide Decorated with Au Nanoparticles Triggered by Visible Light

Hybrid materials in which reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is decorated with Au nanoparticles (rGO–Au NPs) were obtained by the in situ reduction of GO and AuCl₄^?_(aq) by ascorbic acid. On laser excitation, rGO could be oxidized as a result of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) excitation in the Au NPs, which generates activated O₂ through the transfer of SPR‐excited hot electrons to O₂ molecules adsorbed from air. The SPR‐mediated catalytic oxidation of p‐aminothiophenol (PATP) to p,p′‐dimercaptoazobenzene (DMAB) was then employed as a model reaction to probe the effect of rGO as a support for Au NPs on their SPR‐mediated catalytic activities. The increased conversion of PATP to DMAB relative to individual Au NPs indicated that charge‐transfer processes from rGO to Au took place and contributed to improved SPR‐mediated activity. Since the transfer of electrons from Au to adsorbed O₂ molecules is the crucial step for PATP oxidation, in addition to the SPR‐excited hot electrons of Au NPs, the transfer of electrons from rGO to Au contributed to increasing the electron density of Au above the Fermi level and thus the Au‐to‐O₂ charge‐transfer process.     

Mössbauer and magnetic studies of parent material from argentine pampas soils

In order to establish a correlation between the different types of soils using hyperfine and magnetic parameters as climatic and environmental proxies, we have studied the differentiation of soil developed around 38.5° south latitude, in the central Pampas of Argentina, by means of Mössbauer spectroscopy and environmental magnetism. The soils transect (climosequence) investigated stretches from the drier west (around 64° W) to the more humid east (at around 59° W) in the Buenos Aires Province, covering a distance of 600 km. The soils studied developed during recent Holocene geologic times in a landscape characterized by small relict plateaus, slopes and depressions, dunes and prairies. The parent material consists of eolian sandy silts overlying calcrete layers. The low mean annual precipitation in the western parts of the region gives rise to soils without B-horizons, which limits the agricultural use of land. The preliminary results show an increase of the paramagnetic Fe³⁺ relative concentration from west to east in the soils investigated. Magnetite is probably mainly responsible for the observed enhancement in the susceptibility values. The magnetic response of the parent material is similar to that of the loess part of the previously investigated loess–paleosol sequences of the Argentine loess plateau.     

Syntheses of halogenated ethenyl isocyanide chromium complexes as organometallic precursor molecules for ethenyl and ethynyl isocyanides

The radical alkylation of tetraethylammonium pentacarbonyl(cyano)chromate 1 yielded the halogenated ethyl isocyanide complexes [(CO)5Cr(CN-CClX-CClYF)] 3 (a, X= Cl, Y= F; b, X = F, Y= F and c, X=Y= Cl). Dehalogenation of 3 using zinc in diethyl ether gave [(CO)5Cr(CN-CX=CFY)] 4. The compounds 4a, b reacted with various nucleophiles exclusively at the difluoromethylene group. The unstable phosphorane 5, which is formed on reaction of 4b with trimethylphosphane, decomposed thermally and on hydrolysis yielding pentacarbonyl(1,2-difluoroethenyl isocyanide)chromium (6). The cyano substituent can be introduced in the beta position of the isocyanide function by reaction of 4a, b with potassium cyanide, leading to the formation of [(CO)5Cr(CN-CX=CF-CN)] (7). Reactions of 4a, b with organolithium or organomagnesium compounds yielded [(CO)5Cr(CN-CX=CF-R)] (8) and [(CO)5Cr(CN-CF=CF-C...C-CF=CF-NC)Cr(CO)5] (10). The trimethylsilyl group in 8a, b, d could be removed by a solution of potassium carbonate in methanol leading to [(CO)5Cr(CN-CX=CF-Cn-H)] (11) (n=2,4). Octacarbonyldicobalt reacted with 8e under coordination of the C-C triple bond to the hexacarbonyldicobalt fragment, resulting in the cluster compound 12. The crystal and molecular structure of 8i, 11 a, b, and 12 were elucidated by X-ray crystallography. The alkenyl and alkynyl isocyanides CN-CCl=CF2 (13a), CN-CF=CF2 (13b), CN-CCl=CClF (13c), CN-CF=CFH (14), CN-CC-H (15), CN-CC-CN (16), and CN-CCl=CF-CN (17) were obtained by flash vacuum pyrolysis of 4a, 4b, 4c, 6, and 7a, respectively.     

The observation of a large gauche preference when 2-fluoroethylamine and 2-fluoroethanol become protonated

The energies of the gauche and anti conformers of 2-fluoroethylamine, 2-fluoroethanol and their protonated analogues are calculated using density functional theory. Unlike the non protonated systems, the protonated systems show a strong gauche effect where the C-F and the C-(+)NH(3) or C-F and C-(+)OH(2) bonds are gauche rather than anti to each other. Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies of 2-fluoroethylammonium compounds identify the same conformational preference.     

Comment: 2004's fastest organic and biomolecular chemistry!

In January 2003, the Royal Society of Chemistry launched Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry (OBC)--a journal promising to provide high quality research from all aspects of synthetic, physical and biomolecular organic chemistry. The journal was set to build upon the foundations laid down by its predecessor publications (J. Chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. 1 and J. Chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. 2) as well as complement the subject coverage already published in prestigious general chemistry journals such as Chemical Communications and Chemical Society Reviews. Nearly two years on, just how is the programme developing and what can the community expect to see from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)?