Rigid bis-zinc(II) salphen building blocks for the formation of template-assisted bidentate ligands and their application in catalysis

The template-induced formation of chelating bidentate ligands by the selective self-assembly of two monodentate pyridyl phosphorus ligands on a rigid bis-zinc(II) salphen template with two identical binding sites was studied. Using UV-vis, NMR-spectroscopy and X-ray analysis the formed structures were unambiguously proven. The application of these templated bidentate ligands in transition metal catalysis showed, in most cases, typical bidentate character. Compared to previous work based on a more flexible bis-zinc(II) porphyrin template, the current catalytic data suggest that the rigidity of the template is not an important factor for the improvement of the regio- and enantioselectivity under the applied reaction conditions.     

Automated on-line gel permeation chromatography-gas chromatography for the determination of organophosphorus pesticides in olive oil

An on-line combination of gel permeation chromatography and gas chromatography has been designed using either a laboratory-built or a commercially available LC-GC apparatus to determine organophosphorus pesticides in olive oil. Gel permeation chromatography was used for sample pretreatment, viz. to separate the low-molecular-mass pesticides from the higher-molecular-mass fat constituents of the oil. A mixture of n-decane and the azeotropic mixture of ethyl acetate and cyclohexane was found to give an adequate separation between the fat and the organophosphorus pesticides. The pesticide-containing fraction, monitored by a UV detector, was transferred on-line to the gas chromatograph using a loop-type interface. n-Decane (6%, v/v) was added to the eluent in order to widen the application range of the transfer technique towards more volatile pesticides. After solvent evaporation through the solvent vapour exit and subsequent GC separation, the compounds were selectively detected with a thermionic or a flame photometric detector. The set-up allowed the direct analysis of oil samples after dilution in the gel permeation chromatography eluent without further sample clean-up. Detection limits were about 5 and 10 μg/kg with the thermionic and the flame photometric detector, respectively, when using an injection volume of only 30 μl of the 20-fold diluted oil. The total procedure was linear in the 0.01–10 mg/kg range for both detectors. For twenty organophosphorus pesticides, the relative standard deviations were 3–13% at the 20–60 μg/kg level.     

A trapping column for the coupling of reversed-phase liquid chromatography and capillary gas chromatography

A new technique for coupling reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) with gas chromatography is described. A fraction eluting from an RPLC column is trapped on a short column packed with polymeric adsorbent. After the mobile phase has been displaced with water, the analytes are desorbed with ethyl acetate. Following a delay time to enable the water to be flushed to waste, the ethyl acetate containing the analytes is introduced into the gas chromatograph under conditions suitable for partially concurrent solvent evaporation, i.e. below the solvent boiling point and at a rate just exceeding the evaporation rate. Post-column addition of water to the RPLC eluent helps to prevent breakthrough of compounds which are only modestly retained on the trapping column. The relationship between the capacity factors of the analytes on the trapping column and the required dilution factor is discussed. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are used as test compounds to study the system.     

Template-induced formation of heterobidentate ligands and their application in the asymmetric hydroformylation of styrene

We report the template-induced formation of chelating heterobidentate ligands by the selective self-assembly of two different monodentate ligands on a rigid bis-zinc(II)-salphen template with two identical binding sites; these templated heterobidentate ligands induce much higher enantioselectivities (up to 72% ee) in the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric hydroformylation of styrene than any of the corresponding homobidentate ligands or non-templated mixed ligand combinations (up to 13% ee).     

Supraphos: A supramolecular strategy to prepare bidentate ligands

Herein, we report a new strategy for the preparation of chelating bidentate ligands, which involves the mixing of two mondentate ligands functionalized with complementary binding sites. The assembly process is based on selective metal-ligand interactions employing phosphite zinc(II) porphyrins 1-6 and the nitrogen-containing phosphorus ligands b-i (Scheme 1). Only 14 monodentate ligands were utilized to generate a library of 48 palladium catalysts based on supraphos-type bidentate ligands. The characterization of rhodium complexes based on representative Supramolecular bidentate ligands and the comparison of their performance in the hydroformylation of styrene will be presented. The current library of catalysts was tested in the asymmetric palladium-catalyzed alkylation of rac-1,3-diphenyl-2-propenyl acetate, which resulted in a large variety in the observed enantioselectivity for the different catalysts. Importantly, small variations in the supraphos building blocks, lead to large differences in the enantioselectivity imposed by the catalyst, the most selective catalyst producing 97% ee.     

HARVESTING ECONOMIC MODELS AND CATCH‐TO‐BIOMASS DEPENDENCE: THE CASE OF SMALL PELAGIC FISH

Abstract In the case of small pelagic fish, it seems reasonable to consider harvest functions depending nonlinearly on fishing effort and fish stock. Indeed, empirical evidence about these fish species suggests that marginal catch does not necessarily react in a linear way neither to changes in fishing effort nor in fish stock levels. This is in contradiction with traditional fishery economic models where catch‐to‐input marginal productivities are normally assumed to be constant. While allowing for nonlinearities in both catch‐to‐effort and catch‐to‐stock parameters, this paper extends the traditional single‐stock harvesting economic model by focusing on the dependence of the stationary solutions upon the nonlinear catch‐to‐stock parameter. Thus, we analyze equilibrium responses to changes in this parameter, which in turn may be triggered either by climatic or technological change. Given the focus in this study on the case of small pelagic fish, the analysis considers positive but small values for the catch‐to‐stock parameter.