From anisole to 1,2,4,5‐tetramethoxybenzene: Theoretical study of the factors that determine the conformation of methoxy groups on a benzene ring

Unhindered ortho‐dimethoxy‐substituted phenyl rings often display a coplanar conformation. A theoretical study of a series of methoxybenzenes consisting of methoxybenzene (anisole), the three dimethoxybenzenes, and 1,2,4,5‐tetramethoxybenzene, at the DFT/B3LYP/6‐311++G** level of theory, allows us to identify the factors influencing the conformational preference and attribute the coplanarity of such methoxy groups to mesomeric effects. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007     

Ein Beitrag zur Bestimmung der niederen Fetts?uren nach der Halbdestillationsmethode

Zusammenfassung Die Verschiebung der Halbdestillationswerte derverdünnten Lösungen der niederen Fettsäuren je nach der Konzentration wurde auf Grund der Untersuchungen vonKonowalow und vonWiegner nachgeprüft.Wie aus den Analysenergebnissen hervorgeht, steigt sowohl der Wert von k als auch der Halbdestillationswert bei Ameisensäure und Essigsäure, deren Halbdestillationswert kleiner als 50% ist, in verdünnten Lösungenfortgesetzt mit zunehmender Konzentration der Lösungen. Bei der Propionsäure und der Buttersäure dagegen, bei denen der Halbdestillationswert schon über 50% beträgt,wächst der Wert von k nur bis zu einer bestimmten, verhältnismäig niedrigen Konzentration — bei der Propionsäure 0,2 n und bei der Buttersäure 0,04 n —an, um von da fortan zu sinken.Beim Analysieren von Zweisäurengemischen, in denen das Aufeinanderwirken der Säuren infolge ihrer verschiedenen Dissoziationskonstanten die Verhältnisse kompliziert, sind die erhaltenen Ergebnisse nicht direkt zu verwerten.Diese Arbeit schließt sich an die Erklärung der Methodik an, die bei dem auf Anregung des Herrn Professor Dr.Unto Vartiovaara durchgeführten Untersuchungen über die bakterielle Cellulosezersetzung gegeben wurde.     

Enantioselective synthesis of an aziridinomitosane and selective functionalizations of a key intermediate

An enantioselective synthesis of mitosane core (-)-1 has been achieved. Key steps include a rapid assembly of a key eight-membered-ring intermediate employing ring-closing metathesis. Kinetic resolution of an advanced secondary alcohol was then accomplished by using a peptide-based asymmetric acyl transfer catalyst that was discovered from a parallel screen of catalyst candidates. Optically pure material was then converted to the mitosane core, which was the subject of additional studies on the selective modification to produce several substituted compounds containing a mitosane ring system.     

Charge Dispersal in the Quinuclidine Radical Cation and in the Quinuclidinium Ion,as Revealed by PE and ICR Spectroscopy

The n ionization energies I and the gas-phase basicities GB of CH₃-, Cl-, or CN-substituted quinuclidines have been measured by PE and ICR spectroscopy. The dependence of the shifts ΔI and ΔGB (relative to the values of the parent molecule) allow conclusions about the charge dispersal accompanying the n ionization or the protonation of quinuclidine in the gas phase. The agreement with the results of a minimal basis set ab initio calculation is excellent. Comparison of the solution pK_a values with either I or GB reveals that 2-substituted quinuclidines exhibit sizeable solvent-induced proximity effects, i.e. that the corresponding quinuclidinium ions are more acidic in solution than expected on the basis of the gas-phase basicities. This agrees with earlier results concerning 2-substituted pyridines.     

Phosphinine-Based Ligands in Gold-Catalyzed Reactions

A series of substituted phosphinines, 1-phosphabarrelenes and 5-phosphasemibullvalenes were synthesized and evaluated for their potential application as ligands in homogeneous catalytic reactions. While their buried volume (%V_bur) was calculated to get insight into the steric properties, [LNi(CO)₃] complexes were prepared in order to determine the corresponding Tolman electronic parameter. ETS-NOCV (extended-transition-state natural orbital for chemical valence) calculations on [LAuCl] complexes further allowed an estimation of the σ- and π-contributions to the L− M interaction. Au^I coordination compounds of selected examples were prepared and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Finally, the three classes of P^III compounds were successfully used in the Au^I-catalyzed cycloisomerization of N-2-propyn-1-ylbenzamide, showing very good activities and selectivities, which are comparable with the reported data of cationic phosphorus-based gold catalysts.     

Chemical characterization of particulate matter (PM) and source apportionment study during winter and summer period for the city of Kozani,Greece

Eordaia basin located in northwest of Greece, comprises an area which is characterized by intense energy related activities, including coal burning at four power plants and the associated mining operations. Air samples of inhalable (PM10) and respirable particles (PM2.5) were collected in cold and warm periods in 2010 at an urban background site of Kozani, the major city and capital of the region which is located close to the power plants. Particulate matter concentration, particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and anionic species concentrations were determined using gravimetric, GC-MS in SIM mode and Ion Chromatography analysis, respectively. For the cold period, the mean PM10 and PM2.5 mass concentration was found to be 19.62 and 14.68 µg m^?3, respectively. Correspondingly, for the warm period, the mean PM10 and PM2.5 values were 35.29 and 25.75 µg m^?3, respectively. In general, the results indicated that the major sources of air pollution in Kozani are traffic, combustion from agricultural activities and lignite power plants emissions, contributing by different percentages to each particle fraction.      

Optimization of Vacuum-Microwave-Assisted Extraction of Natural Polyphenols and Flavonoids from Raw Solid Waste of the Orange Juice Producing Industry at Industrial Scale

Orange pomace (OP) is a solid waste produced in bulk as a byproduct of the orange juice industry and accounts for approximately 50% of the quantity of the fruits processed into juice. In numerous literature references there is information about diverse uses of orange pomace for the production of high-added-value products including production of natural antioxidant and antimicrobial extracts rich in polyphenols and flavonoids which can substitute the hazardous chemical antioxidants/antimicrobials used in agro-food and cosmetics sectors. In this work and for the first time, according to our knowledge, the eco-friendly aqueous vacuum microwave assisted extraction of orange pomace was investigated and optimized at real industrial scale in order to produce aqueous antioxidant/antimicrobial extracts. A Response Surface Optimization methodology with a multipoint historical data experimental design was employed to obtain the optimal values of the process parameters in order to achieve the maximum rates of extraction of OP total polyphenols and/or total flavonoids for economically optimum production at industrial scale. The three factors used for the optimization were: (a) microwave power (b) water to raw pomace ratio and (c) extraction time. Moreover, the effectiveness and statistical soundness of the derived cubic polynomial predictive models were verified by ANOVA.     

Endogenous Nanoparticles Strain Perovskite Host Lattice Providing Oxygen Capacity and Driving Oxygen Exchange and CH4 Conversion to Syngas

Particles dispersed on the surface of oxide supports have enabled a wealth of applications in electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, and heterogeneous catalysis. Dispersing nanoparticles within the bulk of oxides is, however, synthetically much more challenging and therefore less explored, but could open new dimensions to control material properties analogous to substitutional doping of ions in crystal lattices. Here we demonstrate such a concept allowing extensive, controlled growth of metallic nanoparticles, at nanoscale proximity, within a perovskite oxide lattice as well as on its surface. By employing operando techniques, we show that in the emergent nanostructure, the endogenous nanoparticles and the perovskite lattice become reciprocally strained and seamlessly connected, enabling enhanced oxygen exchange. Additionally, even deeply embedded nanoparticles can reversibly exchange oxygen with a methane stream, driving its redox conversion to syngas with remarkable selectivity and long term cyclability while surface particles are present. These results not only exemplify the means to create extensive, self‐strained nanoarchitectures with enhanced oxygen transport and storage capabilities, but also demonstrate that deeply submerged, redox‐active nanoparticles could be entirely accessible to reaction environments, driving redox transformations and thus offering intriguing new alternatives to design materials underpinning several energy conversion technologies.     

Dielectric Relaxation of the β-Cyclodextrin Complexes with Tridecanoic Acid and 1,13-Tridecanedioic Acid

The frequency and temperature dependence of the real (') and imaginary (') parts of the dielectric permittivity of the polycrystalline complex-cyclodextrin-tridecanoic acid in two hydration forms (with 16.2 and 10.7 water molecules) and -cyclodextrin-1,13-tridecanedioic acid with 16.4 and 10.5 water molecules have been investigated, in the frequency range 0.1–100 kHz and temperature range 120–310 K. The dielectric behavior is described well by Debye-type relaxation dispersion. All systems except for the complex of partially dehydrated monocarboxylic acid, exhibit an additional -dispersion, at low frequencies (f < 1000 Hz). Only one-step was found in the ' vs. Tplots of both complexes in the two hydration forms, a fact indicating that the watermolecules cannot be divided into strongly bound and easily movable molecules. The'vs. T plots, at a fixed frequency (200 Hz), show the characteristic peakattributed to a transition between ordered and disordered -CD hydroxyl groupsand water molecules. The transition temperature was 202.7 K for all systems examinedexcept for the complex -CD-tridecanoic acid.16.2 H₂O (214.5 K). This means that the order to disorder transformation process was unaffected by the dehydration process in the case of the dicarboxylic acid complex, whereas in the case of the monocarboxylic acid, it was unexpectedly facilitated. The relaxation time varies with temperature, in a like curve (in the range 8–14 s), with maximum values located at the corresponding order-disorder transition temperatures. The activation energies of the fully hydrated complexes have absolute values of 5 kJ/mol in the range 1.98–3.82 K_{BT transition} which are higher than the corresponding values of :2 kJ/mol of the dehydrated complexes. A thermal hysteresis observed in all complexes is a result of the order-disorder transformation.