Pressure and temperature dependent kinetics and the reaction mechanism of Criegee intermediates with vinyl alcohol: a theoretical study.

Criegee intermediates (CIs), the key intermediates in the ozonolysis of olefins in atmosphere, have received much attention due to their high activity. The reaction mechanism of the most simple Criegee intermediate CH2OO with vinyl alcohol (VA) was investigated by using the HL//M06-2X/def2TZVP method. The temperature and pressure dependent rate constant and product branching ratio were calculated using the master equation method. For CH2OO + syn-VA, 1,4-insertion is the main reaction channel while for the CH2OO + anti-VA, cycloaddition and 1,2-insertion into the O-H bond are more favorable than the 1,4-insertion reaction. The 1,4-insertion or cycloaddition intermediates are stabilized collisionally at 300 K and 760 torr, and the dissociation products involving OH are formed at higher temperature and lower pressure. The rate constants of the CH2OO reaction with syn-VA and anti-VA both show negative temperature effects, and they are 2.95 × 10-11 and 2.07 × 10-13 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 at 300 K, respectively, and the former is agreement with the prediction in the literature.

Post-synthetic modification of covalent organic framework for efficient adsorption of organochlorine pesticides from cattle's milk.

Analysis of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) residues in milk faces a significant challenge. Herein, a sea urchin structured covalent organic framework bearing boric acid groups named COF-B(OH)2 was synthesized and applied as a coating material for solid-phase microextraction (SPME) of the OCPs in cattle's milk. Its performance was superior to that of three commonly used commercial SPME fibers, which could be due to the coexistence of hydrogen bonding, halogen bonding, π-stacking and electrostatic interactions. Besides, the fiber coating displayed good stability and reusability. After optimization, a COF-B(OH)2 based SPME coupled with gas chromatography-electron capture detection was established for the sensitive detection of the OCPs from milk samples. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) were between 0.04 and 1.00 µg kg-1. Satisfactory accuracy was achieved with the method recoveries in the range of 87.5 % to 112.5 %. These results manifest the feasibility of the COF-B(OH)2 coated fiber for the enrichment of the trace OCPs from milk samples.

Catalytic Descriptor Exploration for Ru-Based Fischer-Tropsch Catalysts: Effect of Chlorine and Sulfur Addition.

As an important factor in the design of catalysts, catalytic descriptor exploration has emerged as a novel frontier in heterogeneous catalysis. Here, the underlying structure-activity relationships of Ru-based catalysts are theoretically studied to shed light on this area. Calculations of different competing reaction paths suggest that the HCO*-mediated path─because of two synergistic active sites─is more favorable than others. In addition, compared to unadulterated Ru catalysts, the presence of Cl enhances the hydrocarbon production, whereas the presence of S decreases it. After a systematic examination of a series of structure-activity relationships (42 in total), we found that both charge transfer and average charge difference of active Ru atoms are good descriptors for the binding stability of reactants. However, for reactivity the Gibbs free energy of the reactants performs better. More interestingly, due to the quite different catalytic processes of the dissociation and hydrogenation steps, their correlations have opposite slopes.

The Expression and Effect of ABCE1 in Gastric Adenocarcinoma.

ATP-binding cassette E1 (ABCE1) is mainly related to the regulation of viral infection, cell multiplication, and anti-apoptosis. Previous reports confirmed the central role in the regulation of ABCE1 in liver and breast cancer; however, its potential role in gastric adenocarcinoma remains unclear. In our study, siRNA and plasmid were transfected to construct gastric cancer cell lines with low and overexpression of ABCE1, and Western blot, RT-qPCR, and immunohistochemical staining were used to detect ABCE1 expression levels in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines. The effects of ABCE1 on cell growth, metastasis, invasion, cell cycle, and drug resistance were investigated using CCK-8 test, wound healing assay, and clone formation experiment. Functional experiments indicated that si-ABCE1 decreased the proliferation, metastasis, and invasion of gastric adenocarcinoma. Meanwhile, si-ABCE1 has significantly promoted EMT process and enhanced the sensitivity of paclitaxel and cisplatin. In vivo experiments also confirmed that si-ABCE1 group had significantly smaller tumors, and immunohistochemical staining results showed the tumor growth in si-ABCE1 group was reduced obviously. In summary, we found ABCE1 is considered as a crucial role in the evolution of gastric adenocarcinoma and could be a viable therapeutic target for the disease.

A theoretical investigation on the atmospheric degradation of the radical: reactions with NO, NO2, and NO3.

The radical is the key intermediate in the atmospheric oxidation of benzaldehyde, and its further chemistry contributes to local air pollution. The reaction mechanisms of the radical with NO, NO2, and NO3 were studied by quantum chemistry calculations at the CCSD(T)/CBS//M06-2X/def2-TZVP level of theory. The explicit potential energy curves were provided in order to reveal the atmospheric fate of the radical comprehensively. The main products of the reaction of with NO are predicted to be , CO2 and NO2. The reaction of with NO2 is reversible, and its main product would be C6H5C(O)O2NO2 which was predicted to be more stable than PAN (peroxyacetyl nitrate) at room temperature. The decomposition of C6H5C(O)O2NO2 at different ambient temperatures would be a potential long-range transport source of NOx in the atmosphere. The predominant products of the reaction are predicted to be C6H5C(O)O2H, C6H5C(O)OH, O2 and O3, while HO˙ is of minor importance. So, the reaction of with would be an important source of ozone and carboxylic acids in the local atmosphere, and has less contribution to the regeneration of HO˙ radicals. The reaction of with NO3 should mainly produce , CO2, O2 and NO2, which might play an important role in atmospheric chemistry of peroxy radicals at night, but has less contribution to the night-time conversion of ( and RO˙) to ( and HO˙) in the local atmosphere. The results above are in good accordance with the reported experimental observations.

Organocatalysis by Halogen, Chalcogen, and Pnictogen Bond Donors in Halide Abstraction Reactions: An Alternative to Hydrogen Bond-Based Catalysis.

The application of σ-hole interactions (halogen, chalcogen, and pnictogen bonds) in organocatalysis has attracted more and more interest in recent years. The catalysis mechanism of halogen, chalcogen, and pnictogen bonds in the chloride abstraction from Reissert-type substitution of isoquinoline has been investigated by the density functional theory. Compared with the reaction without catalysts, the reactions catalyzed by the σ-hole interactions have lower energy barriers and are more favorable. The formation of the σ-hole interaction between the Cl atom and halogen, chalcogen, and pnictogen bond donors facilitates the chloride abstraction reaction by weakening the strength of the C-Cl bond and decreasing the HOMO-LUMO gap of the reactants. The catalytic activity follows the sequence of pnictogen bonds > chalcogen bonds > halogen bonds and shows an increase from period 3 to 5 in the same group, and pnictogen bond donors, especially tris (pentafluorophenyl) antimony, show the best catalysis performance.

The mechanism of ring-opening polymerization of L-lactide by ICl3 catalysts: Halogen bond catalysis or participating in reactions?

The mechanism of ring-opening polymerization of L-lactide by iodine trichloride (ICl3 ) catalyst has been explored by using density functional theory (DFT) calculations and three catalytic pathways were proposed. The first and second pathways belong to the halogen bond catalysis, and the third pathway involves the ICl3 catalysts participating in reactions. When the carbonyl group was maintained involved in the reaction and activated catalytically by the halogen bond, there are two possible pathways. The first pathway involves only one transition state, and the second pathway requires two transition states. There is another pathway in which ICl3 directly participates in the reaction, it is named the third pathway. Two different transition states of the four-membered rings are generated successively, the transfer of I─O bonds determined the progress of the reaction. Theoretical calculations in this work provide the most basic understanding of ring-opening polymerization of L-lactide by ICl3 catalysts. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Theoretical investigation on the reaction mechanism and kinetics of a Criegee intermediate with ethylene and acetylene.

The detailed reaction mechanism of the Criegee intermediate CH2OO with ethylene and acetylene has been investigated by using the HL//M06-2X/AUG-cc-pVTZ method. The 1,3-cycloaddition of CH2OO to the unsaturated bond of ethylene or acetylene forms a five-membered ring adduct. For the reaction of CH2OO with ethylene, the subsequent ring-opening, H-shift isomerization and decomposition result in the formation of ethenol + HCHO and acetaldehyde + HCHO, and for the reaction of CH2OO with acetylene, the adduct proceeds via ring-opening and H-shift isomerization forming malonaldehyde. The calculated overall rate constant increases in the temperature range of 200-500 K, and at 298 K, it is 3.91 × 10-15 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 for the CH2OO + C2H4 reaction and 1.27 × 10-16 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 for the CH2OO + C2H2 reaction. The product branching ratio of the CH2OO + C2H4 reaction is pressure dependent, and the adduct tends to decompose to ethenol + HCHO and acetaldehyde + HCHO at lower pressures and higher temperatures. For the CH2OO + C2H2 reaction, the adduct isomerizes completely to malonaldehyde in the temperature range of 200-500 K and the pressure range of 100-1000 Torr.

Theoretical Study on the Reaction Mechanism and Kinetics of Criegee Intermediate CH2OO with Acrolein.

The detailed reaction mechanism and kinetics of Criegee intermediate CH2OO with acrolein were investigated. CH2OO may add to the C═O or C═C double bond of acrolein to form a five-membered ring adducts, and it may also insert the terminal oxygen atom or insert itself into the C-H bond of acrolein. The addition reactions are more favorable in energy than the insertion reactions. The master equation calculation show that the most competitive reaction channel is the 1,3-cycloaddition of CH2OO across the C═O double bond forming the secondary ozonide (SOZ). The lowest energy pathway for SOZ decomposition involves the formation of the singlet biradical intermediate by ring fission, the H-shift isomerization and the dissociation to products. The calculated overall rate constant decreases as the temperature increases from 200 to 500 K, and at 298 K, it is 4.31 × 10-12 cm3 molecule-1 s-1. The branching ratio of collisionally stabilized SOZ increases with the increase of pressure. At low pressure, some of SOZ decompose to HCOOH + acrolein or HCHO + acrylic acid. The pressure dependence of this reaction is in agreement with the previous theoretical and experimental observations for the reaction of CH2OO with acetaldehyde.

N···I halogen bonding interactions: influence of Lewis bases on their strength and characters.

Halogen bonding (XB) as an emerging noncovalent interaction, due to its highly directional and devisable properties, has given rise to considerable interest for constructing supramolecular assemblies. In this work, the newly developed density functional M06-2X calculations and the quantum theory of "atoms in molecules" (QTAIM) studies were carried out on a series of N···I halogen bonding to investigate the influence of Lewis bases (XB acceptors) on the XB. For the Lewis base C6-nH6-nNn (n = 1, 2, 3), with the increasing number of nitrogen atom in the aromatic ring, the most negative electrostatic potentials (VS, min) outside the nitrogen atom becomes less negative and the XB becomes weaker. The positive cooperativity exists in the Y(-)-C6H5N···C6F5I, Y(-)-C4H4N2···C6F5I, and Y(-)-C3H3N3···C6F5I (Y(-) = Cl(-), Br(-), I(-)) termolecular complexes: the H bond or anion-π interactions have the ability to enhance the N···I halogen bond and vice versa. With the addition of halogen anions to the XB acceptor, the XB become more covalent, more electronic charge transfer from the XB acceptors to donors, the XB acceptors become more energetically stabilized and XB donors become more destabilized, and the atomic volume attraction of both the nitrogen and iodine atoms become more obvious. From the view of the Laplacian of electron density function, for the XB acceptor, the reactivity zone is the region of valence shell charge concentration (VSCC), where it is a (3, -3) critical point (CP) and referred to as a lump, thus the XB interaction can be classified as a lump-hole interaction. The more negative VS,min outside the nitrogen atom, the stronger the XB, resulting in the greater distance between the (3, -3) CP and the nitrogen nucleus.

Atmospheric reaction of Cl + methacrolein: a theoretical study on the mechanism, and pressure- and temperature-dependent rate constants.

Methacrolein is a major degradation product of isoprene, the reaction of methacrolein with Cl atoms may play some roles in the degradation of isoprene where these species are relatively abundant. However, the energetics and kinetics of this reaction, which govern the reaction branching, are still not well understood so far. In the present study, two-dimensional potential energy surfaces were constructed to analyze the minimum energy path of the barrierless addition process between Cl and the C═C double bond of methacrolein, which reveals that the terminal addition intermediate is directly formed from the addition reaction. The terminal addition intermediate can further yield different products among which the reaction paths abstracting the aldehyde hydrogen atom and the methyl hydrogen atom are dominant reaction exits. The minimum reaction path for the direct aldehydic hydrogen atom abstraction is also obtained. The reaction kinetics was calculated by the variational transition state theory in conjunction with the master equation method. From the theoretical model we predicted that the overall rate constant of the Cl + methacrolein reaction at 297 K and atmospheric pressure is koverall = 2.3× 10(-10) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1), and the branching ratio of the aldehydic hydrogen abstraction is about 12%. The reaction is pressure dependent at P < 10 Torr with the high pressure limit at about 100 Torr. The calculated results could well account for the experimental observations.

Theoretical study on reaction mechanism and kinetics of HNCS with CN.

We presented a theoretical study on the detailed reaction mechanism and kinetics of the CN radical with the HNCS molecule. The barrierless minimum energy path and the most favorable entrance channel have been determined by constructing a two-dimensional potential energy surface of the C atom of CN attacking the HNCS molecule. The reaction of the C atom attacking the S atom was finally identified as the dominant entrance channel based on the rate constants' results calculated with the canonical variational transition state theory. The master equation method was employed to calculate the products' branching ratios, the overall rate constant, and the pressure dependence of the title reaction. The B3LYP∕6-311+G(2d,p) method was employed for all the geometrical optimizations and a multi-level extrapolation method based on the CCSD(T) and MP2(FC) energies was employed for further energy refinements.