Bis(pyrazole)- and bis(pyrazolyl)-palladium complexes as phenylacetylene polymerization catalysts

Two types of pyrazole-based palladium complexes were used to catalyze the polymerization of phenylacetylene. Catalysts with electron-withdrawing linkers, [{1,3-(3,5-R₂pzCO)₂C₆H₄}Pd₂Cl₂(μ-Cl)₂] (R = ^tBu (1), Ph (2), Me (3), [{2,6-(3,5-R₂pzCO)₂C₅H₃N)}PdCl₂] (R = ^tBu (4), Me (5)), show high conversion; whilst those with simple pyrazole ligands, [(3,5-R₂pz)₂PdCl₂] (R = H (6), Me (7), ^tBu (8)), [(3,5-^tBu₂pz)₂PdCl(Me)] (9), have much lower conversions. Conversion greatly improved when 9 was used to catalyze the co-polymerization of sulfur dioxide and phenylacetylene. Both types of catalysts produce predominantly trans–cisoidal polyphenylacetylene.     

Synthesis of Some C‐4 Hydroxybenzo[c]pyrans: A New Approach

A new synthetic approach to the synthesis of some epimeric C‐4‐hydroxy‐benzo[c]pyrans is described. A key step in their formation is stereoisomerisation of a nonconjugated ortho alkenylphenylketone and ‐ester using palladium bisacetonitrile [bisacetonitriledichloropalladium(II)] to give the corresponding conjugated E stereoisomers which cyclize on treatment with meta‐chloroperbenzoic acid (m‐CPBA) to afford the target compounds.     

An Electrochemical Aptamer Biosensor for Bisphenol A on a Carbon Nanofibre-silver Nanoparticle Immobilisation Platform

A nanocomposite platform of silver nanoparticles and carbon nanofibres (AgCNFs) was used to immobilise a bisphenol A specific 63-mer ssDNA aptamer to form a biosensor. The fabrication process of the biosensor was studied with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry in the presence of [Fe(CN)₆]^3−/4− as redox probe. The biosensor detected bisphenol A in a linear range of 0.1–10 nM, with a limit of detection of 0.39 nM using square wave voltammetry (SWV). The biosensor exhibited good selectivity in the presence of interfering species at 100-fold concentrations and was used to detect BPA in real water sample.     

Gold-dendrimer Nanocomposite Based Electrochemical Sensor for Dopamine

An electrochemical sensor for dopamine was developed by electrodepositing poly(propylene imine) (PPI) dendrimer and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Electrochemical characterisation of the sensor was carried out by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in ferri/ferrocyanide electrolyte. The nanocomposite electrode (GCE-PPI-AuNPs) showed improved electroactive surface area and electrochemical response over bare GCE. The sensor recorded a detection limit of 0.16 μM over a concentration range of 0.1 μM to 125 μM. The sensor was applied for dopamine detection in human serum samples and in the presence of interfering substances such as ascorbic acid and epinephrine.     

Synthesis, characterization and bromination of bis(phosphinoferrocenyl) gold(I) compounds

Reaction of [(dppf)Au₂Br₂] (3) {dppf = 1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene} and [(dippf)Au₂Br₂] (4) {dippf = 1,1′-bis(diisopropylphosphino)ferrocene} with excess bromine yields two new complexes [(C₅H₄Br₃)(PR₂)AuBr] (R = Ph, 5; R = i-Pr, 6). Bromination of the free diphosphinoferrocene ligands produces the expected brominated cyclopentenes (C₅H₄Br₃)(PR₂) (R = Ph, 7; R = i-Pr, 8) in good yields; however, these compounds could not be complexed to gold due to reduced basicity of 7 and 8. When the bromination is performed under wet aerobic conditions the oxidized pseudo-centrosymmetric product, [doppf][FeBr₄] (9) {doppf = 1,1′-bis(oxodiphenylphosphino)ferrocene, is formed as the major product. Solid-state structures of 1, 2, 4, 6, and 9 have been established by means of single-crystal X-ray crystallography.     

Dichlorido{2‐[(3,5‐diphenyl‐1H‐pyrazol‐1‐yl‐κN2)methyl]pyridine‐κN}palladium(II)

The title compound, [PdCl₂(C₂₁H₁₇N₃)], is a member of a sequence of Pd, Pt and Co dichloride complexes bearing polysubstituted (pyrazol‐1‐ylmethyl)pyridine ligands. It is shown that there is a correlation between the steric bulkiness of the bidentate (pyrazol‐1‐ylmethyl)pyridine ligands and the Pd—N_pyrazole distances, i.e. the larger the ligand, the longer the bond. In contrast, no trend is observed between the steric properties of the ligand and the Pd—N_pyridine bond lengths.     

Evaluation of a Chaotrope and Kosmotrope in the Multivariate Optimization of PHW-ATPE of Solasodine from Leaves of Solanum mauritianum

A hyphenated pressurized hot water—aqueous two-phase extraction (PHW-ATPE) method was applied to extract solasodine from Solanum mauritianum (S. mauritianum). A central composite design (CCD) was applied to determine the optimal conditions for the extraction of solasodine. The parameters evaluated included the percentage concentration of salt (NaCl or Na₂CO₃) and temperature. The fit of the central composite design response surface model for PHW-ATPE to the data generated a model with a good quadratic fit (R² = 0.901). The statistically significant (p < 0.05) parameters, such as the linear and quadratic effects of the concentration of salt (%) powder, had a significant impact on the extraction of solasodine. The application of multiply charged salts such as Na₂CO₃ (kosmotrope) was shown to be a comparably better extractant of solasodine than NaCl (chaotrope) due to the salting-out effect. The optimized conditions for extraction of solasodine with NaCl or Na₂CO₃ were a temperature of 80 °C at a salt concentration of 20%. The maximum extraction of solasodine was 300.79 mg kg⁻¹ and 162.34 mg kg⁻¹ for Na₂CO₃ and NaCl, respectively.