A multipolymer system for organocatalytic alcohol oxidation

A system involving two polymer-supported reagents for the selective and organocatalytic oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes or ketones has been developed in which both polymeric reagents can be recovered and reused.     

The Mitsunobu Reaction: Origin,Mechanism, Improvements,and Applications

The Mitsunobu reaction is a widely used and versatile method for the dehydrative oxidation–reduction condensation of an acid/pronucleophile usually with a primary or secondary alcohol that requires the combination of a reducing phosphine reagent together with an oxidizing azo reagent. The utility of this reaction stems from the fact that it is generally highly stereoselective and occurs with inversion of the stereochemical configuration of the alcohol starting material. Furthermore, as carboxylic acids, phenols, imides, sulfonamides, and other compounds can be used as the acid/pronucleophile, this reaction is useful for the preparation of a wide variety of functional groups. This Focus Review of the Mitsunobu reaction summarizes its origins, the current understanding of its mechanism, and recent improvements and applications.     

Synthesis and Spectroscopic Studies of Chosen Heteropolytungstates and Their Ln(III) Complexes

The heteropolytungstates [(Na)P₅W₃₀O₁₁₀]^4– (I), [(Na)Sb₉W₂₁O₈₆]^18– (II) and [(Na)As₄W₄₀O₁₄₀]^27– (III) and the monovacant Keggin structure of the general formula [XW_11–xMo_xO₃₉]^n– (X-Si, P; n = 7 for P and 8 for Si) (IV) as well as their europium(III) complexes were studied. The structures of I–IV as well as the europium(III) encrypted [(Eu)P₅W₃₀O₁₁₀]^12– (VI), [(Eu)Sb₉W₂₁O₈₆]^16– (VII), [(Eu)As₄W₄₀O₁₄₀]^25– (VIII) and sandwiched [Eu(XW_11–xMo_xO₃₉)₂]^n– (n =11 for P and n = 13 for Si) (V) complexes were synthesized and spectroscopically characterized. The complexes were studied using UV-Vis absorption and luminescence, as well as the laser-induced europium ion luminescence spectroscopy. Absorption spectra of Nd(III) were used to characterize the complexes formed. Excitation and emission spectra of Eu(III) were obtained for solid complexes and their solutions. The relative luminescence intensities of the Eu(III) ion, expressed as the ratio of the two strongest lines at 594 nm and 615 nm, = I₆₁₅/I₅₉₄, which is sensitive to the environment of the primary coordination sphere about the Eu(III) ion, was calculated. In the case of the sandwiched [Eu(XW_11–xMo_xO₃₉)₂]^n– complexes a linear dependence of the luminescence quantum yield of Eu(III) ion, , (calculated using [Ru(bpy)₃]Cl₂ as a standard) on the content of Mo (number of atoms, x) in the [Eu(XW_11–xMo_xO₃₉)₂]^n– structure was observed.     

Chemometric and statistical analysis of polyoxometalate interaction with lanthanide(III) ions

Application of CAT (computer-assisted target factor analysis) for quality assessment and quality control in spectroscopy is demonstrated. As a working example, interaction of polyoxometalates (POM) with neodymium in aqueous solutions is followed by UV-Vis spectroscopy. CAT is combined with Monte Carlo and resampling techniques (i.e. threshold bootstrap methods) in order to capture the complete distribution of suitable interpretations of the systems under study. Decisions during the evaluation process are based on statistical criteria conditional on the empirical distributions obtained from CAT. Single component spectra of the Nd-POM solution species are extracted and species concentrations in the experimental samples are obtained together with their respective confidence limits.     

Nonstationary conducting free flow in a transverse magnetic field

In magnetohydrodynamic flow the viscous friction at the walls can be substantial. The role of viscous friction can be considerably reduced by using a free or a semirestricted flow of the conducting fluid. Nonstationary phenomena in one-dimensional motion of a free plane incompressible fluid flow in a transverse magnetic field are examined. The narrow sides of the flow come into contact with the sectional electrodes connected through external circuits with an active-inductive load. The magnetic Reynolds number and the magnetody-dynamic interaction parameter are assumed to be large. When the electric field due to electromagnetic induction in the channel is much smaller than the field due to the external circuits, the problem can be reduced to the characteristic Cauchy problem for a quasilinear hyperbolic system of first-order equations which can be solved by the method of characteristics using a computer.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 4, pp. 34–39, July–August, 1970.     

Shades of green in 15th century paintings: combined microanalysis of the materials using synchrotron radiation XRD, FTIR and XRF

A representative selection of green paintings from fifteenth century Catalonia and the Crown of Aragon are analyzed by a combination of synchrotron radiation microanalytical techniques including FTIR, XRD, and XRF. The green pigments themselves are found to be a mixture of copper acetates/basic copper acetates and basic copper chlorides. Nevertheless, a broader range of green shades were obtained by mixing the green pigment with yellow, white, and blue pigments and applied forming a sequence of micrometric layers. Besides the nature of the pigments themselves, degradation and reaction products, such as carboxylates, formates and oxalates were also identified. Some of the copper based compounds, such as the basic copper chloride, may be either part of the original pigment or a weathering product. The high resolution, high brilliance, and small footprint of synchrotron radiation proved to be essential for the analysis of those submillimetric paint layers made of a large variety of compounds heterogeneous in nature and distribution and present in extremely low concentrations.     

Use of moiré effects in the optical treatment of images of a periodic amplitude grating distorted by a reconstructed wave front

The use of moiré effects in superimposing images of an amplitude grating distorted by a reconstructed wave front for increasing the sensitivity of measurements of the deflection angles of the reconstructed rays is proposed. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 67, 134–136 (July 1997)     

The use of combined synchrotron radiation micro FT-IR and XRD for the characterization of Romanesque wall paintings

The high analytical sensitivity and high spatial resolution of synchrotron radiation-based techniques, in particular SR-XRD and SR-FT-IR, allows the identification of complex micrometric mixtures of compounds that constitute the different layers of ancient paintings. The reliability of the measurements even with an extremely small amount of sampled material is very high, and this is particularly important when analyzing art works. Furthermore, the micro size (10×10μm for FT-IR and 30 to 50 μm squared spot size for XRD) of the beam enables one to obtain detailed compositional profiles from the different chromatic and preparation layers. The sensitivity of the techniques is high enough for the determination of minor and trace compounds, such as reaction and weathering compounds. We report here the identification of pigments in the Romanesque wall paintings found in situ in the church of Saint Eulàlia of Unha place in the Aran valley (central Pyrenees). During the first centuries of the second millennium numerous religious buildings were built in Western Europe in the Romanesque style. In particular, a great number of churches were built in the Pyrenees, most of which were decorated with wall paintings. Although only a few of these paintings have survived, they represent one of the most important collections of Romanesque art, both for their quantity and quality. A full identification of the pigments, binder, supports, and reaction and weathering compounds has been obtained. The results obtained, in particular aerinite as a pigment, indicate a clear connection between the paintings found in this Occitanian church and the Catalan Romanesque paintings from the south bound of the Pyrenees. PACS 61.10.Nz; 07.85.Qe; 82.80.Gk     

Selaginellin A and B, two novel natural pigments isolated from Selaginella tamariscina

Two new unusual natural pigments were first isolated from the whole herbs of Selaginella tamariscina. The structure of selaginellin A (1) was established as (R,S)-4-[(4'-hydroxy-3-((4-hydroxyphenyl)ethynyl)biphenyl-2-yl)(4-hydroxyphenyl)methylene]-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-one and selaginellin B (2) as (R,S)-4-[(4'-methoxy-4-(methyl)-3-((4-methoxyphenyl)ethynyl)biphenyl-2-yl)(4-methoxyphenyl)methylene]-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-one, along with four known biflavonoids, amentoflavone (3), hinokiflavone (4), heveaflavone (5), and 7'-O-methylamentoflavone (6). Their chemical structures were elucidated by spectral analysis of electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS), one-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1D-NMR) and two-dimensional-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (2D-NMR) including (1)H-NMR, (13)C-NMR, distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer (DEPT) and heteronuclear multiple bond coherence (HMBC), and single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques.     

Determination of quinolizidine alkaloids in traditional Chinese herbal drugs by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis.

A rapid method for the determination of quinolizidine alkaloids by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis was developed. A total of 10 alkaloids (matrine, sophocarpine, oxymatrine, oxysophocarpine, sophoridine, cytisine, sophoramine, aloperine, lehmannine and dauricine) could be easily separated within 18 min. A running buffer composed of 50 mM ammonium acetate, 10% tetrahydrofuran and 0.5% acetic acid in methanol was found to be the most suitable for this separation. Five of these alkaloids were selected for further studies. The linear calibration ranges were 2.51-50.1 microg/ml for sophoridine and sophocarpine, 2.71-54.2 microg/ml for matrine, 3.30-65.9 microg/ml for oxymatrine, and 3.10-62.0 microg/ml for oxysophocarpine. The recovery of the five alkaloids was 98.0-101.3% with relative standard deviations from 1.03 to 2.68% (n=5). The limits of detection for all 10 alkaloids were over the range 0.93-2.31 microg/ml. The method was successfully applied to the phytochemical analysis of alkaloid extracts from three commonly used traditional Chinese herbal drugs: Sophora flavescens Ait. (Kushen), S. alopecuroides L. (Kudouzi or Kugancao) and S. tonkinensis Gapnep (Shandougen).