The application of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography to the analysis of wildfire debris for ignitable liquid residue.

Arsonous wildfires are complex investigations due to the high abundance of natural background compounds and subsequent pyrolysis by-products formed during combustion. These interfering compounds can be present in large concentrations and overwhelm the marker compounds used to identify ignitable liquid residue (ILR). Complex matrix effects often interfere with the identification of ILR, providing ambiguous results. The use of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time of flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-TOFMS) separates natural compounds from interfering with ILR compounds of interest. When compared to standard gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, GC×GC was able to reduce the number of tentative results by 20%. Certain compounds were determined to be unusable for the identification of ILR in wildfire debris samples, in particular the Three Musketeer Group (ethylbenzene, m,p-xylene, and o-xylene), which are ubiquitous in all samples, as well as long chain n-alkylbenzenes, which are formed in the pyrolysis of organic matter. Conversely, the presence of C1- and C2-alkylnaphthalenes were excellent indicators of the presence of gasoline-type ILR. A sizeable number of background samples were collected that helped to provide additional lines of evidence when classifying samples for ILR. Given the complicated matrices encountered in arsonous wildfires, it is evident that GC×GC provides better capabilities at identifying ILR than the standard GC-MS analytical technique.

Polyanionic Ligand Platforms for Methyl- and Dimethylaluminum Arrays.

Trimethylaluminum finds widespread applications in chemical and materials synthesis, most prominently in its partially hydrolyzed form of methylalumoxane (MAO), which is used as a cocatalyst in the polymerization of olefins. This work investigates the sequential reactions of trimethylaluminum with hexaprotic phosphazenes (RNH)6P3N3 (=XH6) equipped with substituents R of varied steric bulk including tert-butyl (1H6), cyclohexyl (2H6), isopropyl (3H6), isobutyl (4H6), ethyl (5H6), propyl (6H6), methyl (7H6), and benzyl (8H6). Similar to MAO, the resulting complexes of polyanionic phosphazenates [XH n] n-6 accommodate multinuclear arrays of [AlMe2]+ and [AlMe]2+. Reactions were monitored by 31P NMR spectroscopy, and structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. They included 1H4(AlMe2)2, 1H3(AlMe2)3, 2H3(AlMe2)3, 3(AlMe2)4AlMe, 4H(AlMe2)5, 4(AlMe2)6, {5H(AlMe2)4}2AlMe, 5(AlMe2)6, 6(AlMe2)6, {7(AlMe2)4AlMe}2, and 8(AlMe2)6. The study shows that subtle variations of the steric properties of the R groups influence the reaction pathways, levels of aggregation, and fluxional behavior. While [AlMe2]+ is the primary product of the metalation, [AlMe]2+ is utilized to alleviate overcrowding or to aid aggregation. At the later stages of metalation, [AlMe2]+ groups start to scramble around congested sites. The ligands proved to be very robust and extremely flexible, offering a unique platform to study complex multinuclear metal arrangements.

Forensic source attribution for toluene in environmental samples.

The formation of toluene by microbiological processes can confound environmental investigations relating to petroleum releases. This is because toluene is a constituent of petroleum and can move readily within wetland environments, and analysis for toluene in relation to a petroleum release can lead to incorrect assignment of detected biogenic toluene as related to the release. No legally defensible method of distinguishing biogenic and petrogenic origins of detectible concentrations of toluene have been demonstrated to date. Using example petrogenic samples and samples of peat from 2 wetland environments, a poor bog and a poor fen, the present study demonstrates the use of an established ASTM International analytical methodology that was originally designed for arson analysis for the determination of the origin of toluene. Environmental forensic data-interpretation methods such as chromatogram inspection and diagnostic ratios are shown to be capable of readily distinguishing biogenic and petrogenic origins of toluene. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:729-737. © 2017 SETAC.

In situ recrystallisation of a coordination polymer with hemilabile linkers.

The variable coordination pattern of a hemilabile phosphazene ligand equipped with six pendent olefin groups facilitates the in situ recrystallisation of a silver(I) complex from an amorphous precipitate into a 1D coordination polymer and its subsequent isomerisation to a 3D coordination network.

A spirocyclic system comprising both phosphazane and phosphazene rings.

The reaction of hexakis(cyclohexylamino) cyclotriphosphazene [NP(CyNH)(2)](3), 1, with phosphorus trichloride yields [NP(CyN)(2)PCl](3), 2, which contains three four-membered phosphazane rings fused in spirocyclic fashion to a central six-membered phosphazene ring and constitutes the first structurally characterized compound that comprises both phosphazene and phosphazane rings. The peripheral P atoms feature stereoactive lone pairs, and, thus, 2 exists in isomeric C(3h) and C(s) forms. The spirocyclic phosphazene-phosphazane derivative 2 carries three reactive PCl functions in peripheral positions, promising an interesting precursor molecule for the synthesis of extended phosphorus nitrogen structures of high rigidity. Extension of the PN moiety can be achieved by reaction of 2 with a primary amine yielding [NP(CyN)(2)PN(H)(t)Bu](3), 3, which features a central scaffold of 6 phosphorus and 12 nitrogen centers and aggregates via N-H...P hydrogen bonds in the solid state. On the contrary, the reaction of 1 with SbCl(3) undergoes incomplete proton abstraction, resulting in the formation of the tricyclic compound N(3)P(3)(CyNH)(4)(CyNSbCl(2))(2), 4, which contains two four-coordinate Sb centers chelated by N(exo)-N(ring) sites of the phosphazene.

Cyclophosphazenes as nodal ligands in coordination polymers.

Herein, we show that cyclotriphosphazenes carrying organo amino side chains, (RNH)6P3N3 [R = n-propyl (1), cyclohexyl (2), benzyl (3)], and (C4H8N)6P3N3 (4) produce supramolecular coordination compounds in conjunction with silver salts by formation of linear N-Ag-N connections via nitrogen centers of the phosphazene ring. Crystalline materials were obtained by layering methanol solutions containing phosphazene ligands with methanol solutions of AgClO4 and AgNO3. The donor ability of the anion and the steric demand of the lipophilic ligand sphere R control the topology of the coordination network: (1)2(AgClO4)3 forms a graphite-type (6,3) network. All three N(ring) atoms of the phosphazene ligand coordinate to silver ions, which, in return, linearly bridge two phosphazene ligands. The phosphazene-Ag(I) arrangement in 1(AgNO3)2 exists of zigzag chains featuring one bridging silver ion and one terminally coordinated silver ion per ligand molecule. The terminally located Ag(I) ions of neighboring chains are bridged by nitrate ions, resulting in a 2D network. Both 2(AgClO4) and 4(AgClO4) contain only one bridging silver ion per phosphazene ligand, which leaves one N(ring) site vacant and gives 1D zigzag chain arrangements. The crystal structures of 3(AgClO4)2 and 3(AgNO3)2 resemble that of 1(AgNO3)2, but show additional Ag-pi(aryl) interactions between the terminally arranged silver ions and benzyl groups. Treatment of 3 with a methanol solution containing both AgNO3 and AgClO4 leads to the heteroanion derivative 3(AgNO3)(AgClO4). Phosphazene ligands 1-3 have the ability to undergo hydrogen bonding to anions via the six NH groups, and the coordination polymers containing these ligands feature dense networks of NH...O bonds.

In situ complexation of lithium chloride by amphiprotic cyclophosphazenes.

The amphiprotic cyclophosphazene [CH3O(CH2)3NH]6P3N3 (1) incorporates lithium chloride via successive protonation with HCl and deprotonation with Bu(n)Li (or vice versa) to generate the coordination polymer 1.2LiCl, a molecular model compound for lithium ion containing solid polymer electrolytes.