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1. Secondary organic aerosol formation from the β-pinene+NO₃ system: effect of humidity and peroxy radical fate

   https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-7497-2015  

   Boyd, C. M. ; Sanchez, J. ; Xu, L. ; Eugene, A. J. ; Nah, T. ; Tuet, W. Y. ; Guzman, M. I. ; Ng, N. L. ( January 2015 , Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics)

   Abstract. The formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from the oxidation of β-pinene via nitrate radicals is investigated in the Georgia Tech Environmental Chamber (GTEC) facility. Aerosol yields are determined for experiments performed under both dry (relative humidity (RH) < 2 %) and humid (RH = 50 % and RH = 70 %) conditions. To probe the effects of peroxy radical (RO₂) fate on aerosol formation, "RO₂ + NO₃ dominant" and "RO₂ + HO₂ dominant" experiments are performed. Gas-phase organic nitrate species (with molecular weights of 215, 229, 231, and 245 amu, which likely correspond to molecular formulas of C₁₀H₁₇NO₄, C₁₀H₁₅NO₅, C₁₀H₁₇NO₅, and C₁₀H₁₅NO₆, respectively) are detected by chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CIMS) and their formation mechanisms are proposed. The NO⁺ (at m/z 30) and NO₂⁺ (at m/z 46) ions contribute about 11 % to the combined organics and nitrate signals in the typical aerosol mass spectrum, with the NO⁺ : NO₂⁺ ratio ranging from 4.8 to 10.2 in all experiments conducted. The SOA yields in the "RO₂ + NO₃ dominant" and "RO₂ + HO₂ dominant" experiments are comparable. For a wide range of organic mass loadings (5.1–216.1 μg m^&minus;3), the aerosol mass yield is calculated to be 27.0–104.1 %.more »Although humidity does not appear to affect SOA yields, there is evidence of particle-phase hydrolysis of organic nitrates, which are estimated to compose 45–74 % of the organic aerosol. The extent of organic nitrate hydrolysis is significantly lower than that observed in previous studies on photooxidation of volatile organic compounds in the presence of NO_x. It is estimated that about 90 and 10 % of the organic nitrates formed from the β-pinene+NO₃ reaction are primary organic nitrates and tertiary organic nitrates, respectively. While the primary organic nitrates do not appear to hydrolyze, the tertiary organic nitrates undergo hydrolysis with a lifetime of 3–4.5 h. Results from this laboratory chamber study provide the fundamental data to evaluate the contributions of monoterpene + NO₃ reaction to ambient organic aerosol measured in the southeastern United States, including the Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) and the Southeastern Center for Air Pollution and Epidemiology (SCAPE) study.

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2. Liquid–liquid phase separation in particles containing secondary organic material free of inorganic salts

   https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11261-2017  

   Song, Mijung ; Liu, Pengfei ; Martin, Scot T. ; Bertram, Allan K. ( January 2017 , Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics)

   Particles containing secondary organic material (SOM) are ubiquitous in the atmosphere and play a role in climate and air quality. Recently, research has shown that liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) occurs at high relative humidity (RH) (greater than  ∼  95 %) in α-pinene-derived SOM particles free of inorganic salts, while LLPS does not occur in isoprene-derived SOM particles free of inorganic salts. We expand on these findings by investigating LLPS at 290 ± 1 K in SOM particles free of inorganic salts produced from ozonolysis of β-caryophyllene, ozonolysis of limonene, and photo-oxidation of toluene. LLPS was observed at greater than  ∼  95 % RH in the biogenic SOM particles derived from β-caryophyllene and limonene while LLPS was not observed in the anthropogenic SOM particles derived from toluene. This work combined with the earlier work on LLPS in SOM particles free of inorganic salts suggests that the occurrence of LLPS in SOM particles free of inorganic salts is related to the oxygen-to-carbon elemental ratio (O : C) of the organic material. These results help explain the difference between the hygroscopic parameter κ of SOM particles measured above and below water saturation in the laboratory and field, and have implications for predicting the cloud condensation nucleation properties of SOM particles.
3. Rhodium( i )-catalyzed C6-selective C–H alkenylation and polyenylation of 2-pyridones with alkenyl and conjugated polyenyl carboxylic acids

   https://doi.org/10.1039/C9SC03672E  

   Zhao, Haoqiang ; Xu, Xin ; Luo, Zhenli ; Cao, Lei ; Li, Bohan ; Li, Huanrong ; Xu, Lijin ; Fan, Qinghua ; Walsh, Patrick J. ( November 2019 , Chemical Science)

   A versatile Rh( i )-catalyzed C6-selective decarbonylative C–H alkenylation of 2-pyridones with readily available, and inexpensive alkenyl carboxylic acids has been developed. This directed dehydrogenative cross-coupling reaction affords 6-alkenylated 2-pyridones that would otherwise be difficult to access using conventional C–H functionalization protocols. The reaction occurs with high efficiency and is tolerant of a broad range of functional groups. A wide scope of alkenyl carboxylic acids, including challenging conjugated polyene carboxylic acids, are amenable to this transformation and no addition of external oxidant is required. Mechanistic studies revealed that (1) Boc 2 O acts as the activator for the in situ transformation of the carboxylic acids into anhydrides before oxidative addition by the Rh catalyst, (2) a decarbonylation step is involved in the catalytic cycle, and (3) the C–H bond cleavage is likely the turnover-limiting step.
4. Methyl β-lactoside [methyl β- D -galactopyranosyl-(1→4)-β- D -glucopyranoside] monohydrate: a solvomorphism study

   https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053229621009499  

   Lin, Jieye ; Oliver, Allen G. ; Serianni, Anthony S. ( October 2021 , Acta Crystallographica Section C Structural Chemistry)

   Methyl β-lactoside [methyl β-D-galactopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-glucopyranoside] monohydrate, C 13 H 24 O 11 ·H 2 O, (I), was obtained via spontaneous transformation of methyl β-lactoside methanol solvate, (II), during air-drying. Cremer–Pople puckering parameters indicate that the β-D-Gal p (β-D-galactopyranosyl) and β-D-Glc p (β-D-glucopyranosyl) rings in (I) adopt slightly distorted 4 C 1 chair conformations, with the former distorted towards a boat form ( B C1,C4 ) and the latter towards a twist-boat form ( O5 S C2 ). Puckering parameters for (I) and (II) indicate that the conformation of the βGal p ring is slightly more affected than the βGlc p ring by the solvomorphism. Conformations of the terminal O -glycosidic linkages in (I) and (II) are virtually identical, whereas those of the internal O -glycosidic linkage show torsion-angle changes of 6° in both C—O bonds. The exocyclic hydroxymethyl group in the βGal p residue adopts a gt conformation (C4′ anti to O6′) in both (I) and (II), whereas that in the βGlc p residue adopts a gg ( gauche – gauche ) conformation (H5 anti to O6) in (II) and a gt ( gauche – trans ) conformation (C4 anti to O6) in (I). The latter conformational change is critical tomore »the solvomorphism in that it allows water to participate in three hydrogen bonds in (I) as opposed to only two hydrogen bonds in (II), potentially producing a more energetically stable structure for (I) than for (II). Visual inspection of the crystalline lattice of (II) reveals channels in which methanol solvent resides and through which solvent might exchange during solvomorphism. These channels are less apparent in the crystalline lattice of (I).« less
5. IPr# – highly hindered, broadly applicable N-heterocyclic carbenes

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D1SC02619D  

   Zhao, Qun ; Meng, Guangrong ; Li, Guangchen ; Flach, Carol ; Mendelsohn, Richard ; Lalancette, Roger ; Szostak, Roman ; Szostak, Michal ( August 2021 , Chemical Science)

   IPr (IPr = 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene) represents the most important NHC (NHC = N-heterocyclic carbene) ligand throughout the field of homogeneous catalysis. Herein, we report the synthesis, catalytic activity, and full structural and electronic characterization of novel, sterically-bulky, easily-accessible NHC ligands based on the hash peralkylation concept, including IPr#, Np# and BIAN-IPr#. The new ligands have been commercialized in collaboration with Millipore Sigma: IPr#HCl, 915653; Np#HCl; 915912; BIAN-IPr#HCl, 916420, enabling broad access of the academic and industrial researchers to new ligands for reaction optimization and screening. In particular, the synthesis of IPr# hinges upon cost-effective, modular alkylation of aniline, an industrial chemical that is available in bulk. The generality of this approach in ligand design is demonstrated through facile synthesis of BIAN-IPr# and Np#, two ligands that differ in steric properties and N-wingtip arrangement. The broad activity in various cross-coupling reactions in an array of N–C, O–C, C–Cl, C–Br, C–S and C–H bond cross-couplings is demonstrated. The evaluation of steric, electron-donating and π-accepting properties as well as coordination chemistry to Au( i ), Rh( i ) and Pd( ii ) is presented. Given the tremendous importance of NHC ligands in homogenous catalysis, we expect that this new class of NHCs will findmore »rapid and widespread application.« less