Theoretical Investigations of State Specific Hydrogen Atom Transfer in 8-Formyl-7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin

Excited state intramolecular hydrogen transfer (ESIHT) reaction of 8-formyl-7-hydroxy-4-methyl coumarin (FC) in its pure and hydrated state FC-(H2O)4 (FCH) has been studied by implementing state specific time dependent density functional theory (SS-TDDFT) along with the effective fragment potential (EFP1) method for solvation with discrete water molecules. The intramolecular hydrogen bond formed between hydroxyl hydrogen (H18) and formyl oxygen (O15) and intermolecular hydrogen bonds formed due to microsolvation were explored. The studies of electrostatic potential, natural charge analysis, difference electron density map and UV-Vis spectra of both FC and FCH molecules establish the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) states of the molecules. The vertical excitation from S0 to S1 state causes the transfer of hydroxyl hydrogen to formyl oxygen and from S1 to S3 causes the transfer of the hydrogen atom back to hydroxyl oxygen. Potential energy surface scans along intramolecular hydrogen bonding at the ground and excited states confirm the state specific ESIHT reaction in both FC and FCH molecules.

Theoretical insights into the antiradical activity and copper-catalysed oxidative damage of mexidol in the physiological environment

Mexidol ( MD , 2-ethyl-6-methyl-3-hydroxypyridine) is a registered therapeutic agent for the treatment of anxiety disorders. The chemical structure suggests that MD may also act as an antioxidant. In this study, the hydroperoxyl radical scavenging activity of MD was studied to establish baseline antioxidant activity, followed by an investigation of the effect of MD on the copper-catalysed oxidative damage in biological systems, using computational methods. It was found that MD exhibits moderate radical scavenging activity against HOO • in water and pentyl ethanoate solvents following the single electron transfer and formal hydrogen transfer mechanisms, respectively. MD can chelate Cu(II), forming complexes that are much harder to reduce than free Cu(II): MD chelation completely quenches the Cu(II) reduction by ascorbic acid and suppresses the rate of reduction reaction by O 2 ⋅ − that are the main reductants of Cu(II) in biological environments. Therefore, MD exerts its anti-HO • activity primarily as an OIL-1 inhibitor.

Thermal Analysis of Plastics Used in the Food Industry

Fires in landfills, where used plastic packaging waste is discarded, have shown how great a fire hazard these types of materials pose. In this study, the course of thermo-oxidation of samples made of polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) based plastics was determined. Based on an analysis of the dissociation energy of bonds between atoms in a polymer molecule, the mechanisms responsible for the character and course of degradation were observed. It was found that the degradation rate of PP and PS could be a result of the stability of C-H bonds on the tertiary carbon atom. In the case of PS, due to facilitated intramolecular hydrogen transfer, stabilization of hydroperoxide, and formation of a stable tertiary alcohol molecule, the onset of degradation is shifted towards higher temperatures than in the case of PP. Notably, the PP fragmentation occurs to a greater extent due to the easier course of β-scission. In addition, it was found that during a fire, the least amount of heat would be generated by thermo-oxidation of PS-based plastics. This is a result of the formation of a styrene molecule during decomposition that, due to the high stability of bonds in the aromatic ring, escapes from the combustion zone without oxidation. It has been proven that the greatest thermal effect accompanies PET decomposition, during which a phenyl radical is produced, where the C-H bonds break more easily in comparison with the bonds of an intact ring.

Gas-Transport Characteristics of PdCu–Nb–PdCu Membranes Modified with Nanostructured Palladium Coating

A method for obtaining composite gas-diffusion PdCu–Nb–PdCu membranes modified with a nanostructured crystalline coating was developed to increase the performance of Nb-based membranes. A modifying functional layer with a controlled size and composition was synthesized by electrochemical deposition, which made it possible to determine a certain geometric shape for palladium nanocrystallites. Developed PdCu–Nb–PdCu membranes have demonstrated flux values up to 0.232 mmol s−1 m−2 in the processes of diffusion purification of hydrogen at 400 °C. A very significant difference in the hydrogen fluxes through the modified and non-modified composite PdCu–Nb–PdCu membranes reached 1.73 times at the lower threshold temperature of 300 °C. Cu doping of protective layer did not affect the selective properties of the membranes, which was confirmed by the obtained high selectivity values up to 1323, and made it possible to reduce the noble metal content. The research data indicate that the modification of the membrane surface significantly accelerates the hydrogen transfer process at sufficiently low temperatures due to the acceleration of dissociative–associative processes on the surface. The reported approach demonstrates new possibilities for creating productive and cost-efficient membranes based on niobium.

Antioxidant Activity of Eugenol And Its Acetyl And Nitroderivatives: A DFT Approach of DPPH Test.

This work evaluates the antioxidant potential of acetyl and nitro derivatives of eugenol through computational techniques. Structural analysis and Hydrogen Atomic Transfer (HAT) antioxidant mechanism were investigated by density functional theory (DFT). Each molecular structure was optimized by the hybrid functional M06-2X with a basis set 6-31+G(d,p), and the HAT mechanism with HO, HOO, CH3O, DPPH radicals was evaluated. In agreement with experimental data from previous studies, two steps of hydrogen transfer were tested. Thermodynamic data showed the need for two stages of hydrogen transfer, followed by the formation of quinones to make the reaction with DPPH spontaneous. Theoretical kinetic data showed that the preferred antioxidant site depends on the instability of the attacking radical and confirmed the antioxidant profile of eugenol (E1) and 5-allyl-3-nitrobenzene-1,2-diol (E5) in the DPPH test. This study shows that the 4-allyl-2-methoxy-(4-nitrophenol) (E4) structure also has an anti-radical activity that is not seen in the experimental due to chemoselectivity of DPPH.

Recyclable Zr/Hf-Containing Acid-Base Bifunctional Catalysts for Hydrogen Transfer Upgrading of Biofuranics: A Review

The massive burning of a large amount of fossil energy has caused a lot of serious environmental issues (e.g., air pollution and climate change), urging people to efficiently explore and valorize sustainable alternatives. Biomass is being deemed as the only organic carbon-containing renewable resource for the production of net-zero carbon emission fuels and fine chemicals. Regarding this, the selective transformation of high-oxygen biomass feedstocks by catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) is a very promising strategy to realize the carbon cycle. Among them, the important Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley (MPV) reaction is believed to be capable of replacing the traditional hydrogenation strategy which generally requires high-pressure H2 and precious metals, aiming to upgrade biomass into downstream biochemical products and fuels. Employing bifunctional heterogeneous catalysts with both acidic and basic sites is needed to catalyze the MPV reaction, which is the key point for domino/cascade reaction in one pot that can eliminate the relevant complicated separation/purification step. Zirconium (Zr) and hafnium (Hf), belonging to transition metals, rich in reserves, can demonstrate similar catalytic efficiency for MPV reaction as that of precious metals. This review introduced the application of recyclable heterogeneous non-noble Zr/Hf-containing catalysts with acid-base bifunctionality for CTH reaction using the safe liquid hydrogen donor. The corresponding catalysts were classified into different types including Zr/Hf-containing metal oxides, supported materials, zeolites, metal-organic frameworks, metal-organic hybrids, and their respective pros and cons were compared and discussed comprehensively. Emphasis was placed on evaluating the bifunctionality of catalytic material and the key role of the active site corresponding to the structure of the catalyst in the MPV reaction. Finally, a concise summary and prospect were also provided centering on the development and suggestion of Zr/Hf-containing acid-base bifunctional catalysts for CTH.

Investigations of the Effect of H2 in CO Oxidation over Ceria Catalysts

The preferential CO oxidation (so-called CO-PROX) is the selective CO oxidation amid H2-rich atmospheres, a process where ceria-based materials are consolidated catalysts. This article aims to disentangle the potential CO–H2 synergism under CO-PROX conditions on the low-index ceria surfaces (111), (110) and (100). Polycrystalline ceria, nanorods and ceria nanocubes were prepared to assess the physicochemical features of the targeted surfaces. Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier-transformed spectroscopy (DRIFTS) shows that ceria surfaces are strongly carbonated even at room temperature by the effect of CO, with their depletion related to the CO oxidation onset. Conversely, formate species formed upon OH + CO interaction appear at temperatures around 60 °C and remain adsorbed regardless the reaction degree, indicating that these species do not take part in the CO oxidation. Density functional theory calculations (DFT) reveal that ceria facets exhibit high OH coverages all along the CO-PROX reaction, whilst CO is only chemisorbed on the (110) termination. A CO oxidation mechanism that explains the early formation of carbonates on ceria and the effect of the OH coverage in the overall catalytic cycle is proposed. In short, hydroxyl groups induce surface defects on ceria that increase the COx–catalyst interaction, revealed by the CO adsorption energies and the stabilization of intermediates and readsorbed products. In addition, high OH coverages are shown to facilitate the hydrogen transfer to form less stable HCOx products, which, in the case of the (110) and (100), is key to prevent surface poisoning. Altogether, this work sheds light on the yet unclear CO–H2 interactions on ceria surfaces during CO-PROX reaction, providing valuable insights to guide the design of more efficient reactors and catalysts for this process.

Computational Assessment and Understanding of C6 Product Selectivity for Chromium Phosphinoamidine Catalyzed Ethylene Trimerization

One approach to selectively generate 1-hexene is through ethylene trimerization using highly active Cr N-phosphinoamidine catalysts ((P,N)Cr). Depending on the ligand, (P,N)Cr catalysts can either generate nearly pure 1-hexene or form 1-hexene with significant mixtures of other C6 mass products, for example methylenecyclopentane. Here we report DFT transition state modeling examining 1-hexene catalysis pathways as well as pathways that lead to alternative C6 mass products. This provided qualitative and semi-quantitative modeling of the experimental 1-hexene purity values for several (P,N)Cr catalysts. Consistent with previous computational studies, the key 1-hexene purity-determining transition states were determined to be β-hydrogen transfer structures from the metallacycloheptane intermediate. The origin of selectivity for these (P,N)Cr catalysts can be attributed to steric effects in the transition-state structure with coordinated ethylene that leads to C6 impurities.

Highly Efficient Kinetic Resolution of Aryl-Alkenyl Alcohols by Ru-Catalyzed Hydrogen Transfer

No matter through asymmetric reduction of ketones or kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols, enantioselective synthesis of the corresponding secondary alcohols is challenging when the two groups attached to the prochiral or chiral centers are spatially or electronically similar. For examples, dialkyl (sp3 vs. sp3), diaryl (sp2 vs. sp2), and aryl-alkenyl (sp2 vs. sp2) alcohols are difficult to produce with high enantioselectivities. By exploiting our recently developed Ru-catalysts of minimal stereogenicity, we reported herein a highly efficient kinetic resolution of aryl-alkenyl alcohols through hydrogen transfer. This method enabled such versatile chiral building blocks for organic synthesis as allylic alcohols, to be readily accessed with excellent enantiomeric excesses at practically useful conversions.