Electrochemical determination of ferrocene diffusion coefficient in liquid media under high CO2 pressure: Application to DMF–CO2 mixtures

Electrochemical method can be useful for the determination of diffusion coefficients in various media. For low polarity media, ultramicroelectrodes are preferably used. In this work, the electro-oxidation of ferrocene has been studied in dimethylformamide (DMF)–CO2 mixtures under various CO2 pressures, using a 100 lm diameter Pt microelectrode. Tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAP) was chosen as the supporting electrolyte. Cyclic voltammetry was used in order to obtain values of diffusion coefficient of ferrocene, which were determined by using the Randles–Sevcik relation. This method proved to be convenient in such low polarity solvent. In addition, fluid phase equilibria of CO2–DMF mixtures were calculated and pressure–composition phases diagrams were established for the concerned binary mixtures, thanks to commercial Prophy PlusTM software (Prosim S.A., France). So, both liquid phase expansion, due to swelling by high-pressure CO2 and effective bulk concentration of ferrocene were estimated. Nevertheless, electrochemical measurements were problematic when high-pressure single phase conditions of CO2–DMF mixtures were reached

Electrocarboxylation in supercritical CO2 and CO2-expanded liquids

In this study, the electrocarboxylation of benzyl chloride in pressurized CO2, or pressurized mixtures of dimethylformamide (DMF) and CO2, was investigated in order to synthesize phenylacetic acid. A stainless steel cathode was used as the working electrode, whereas a sacrificial massive magnesium rod or a platinized platinum grid was used as the anode, tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAP) or tetrakis(decyl)ammonium tetraphenylborate (TDATPhB) being the supporting electrolyte. The electrocarboxylation was carried out at 40 ◦C, at operating pressures of 1, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12MPa, using current densities ranging from 0.1 to 150mAcm−2. It was found that a small amount of DMF was necessary to ensure the solubility of the supporting electrolyte, to obtain sufficient electrical conductivity of the medium. The best resultswere obtained using the magnesium sacrificial anode, at 6MPa. After consumption of the theoretical amount of electrical current (2F mol−1), 65.7% benzyl chloride conversion was reached, together with an 82.4% phenylacetic acid selectivity and a 54.2% faradaic yield. Detected by-productswere toluene, bibenzyle, benzyl alcohol and benzaldehyde

Cleaner Routes for Friedel-Crafts Acylation

Friedel-Crafts acylation is among the most fundamental and useful reactions to yield aromatic ketones but it is one of the less acceptable in terms of unwanted polluting by-products or atom economy because of the overconsumption of catalyst which is used in stoichiometric quantities in the conventional process. This route is nevertheless widely used in the fine chemical industry.In recent years, awareness of the impact of industrial activities on the environment has led chemists to work on new chemical routes, less dangerous and more environmentally friendly.We considered here the acylation of a benzofurane derivative by an acyl chloride, as an intermediary step for a pharmaceutical product. In this study, one of the first alternatives was to replace conventional catalysts (FeCl3 or AlCl3), by reusable solid catalysts. Indeed, a wide variety of new solid catalysts, more efficient and less polluting, has now emerged (zeolites, ion-exchange resins…). In this work, these catalysts were first tested in “conventional” conditions, i.e., using an organic solvent (1,2-dichlorobenzene in our case), to determine the best one, in terms of reactivity, lifetime and reusability. The zeolite Y was found the most appropriate.However, the use of an organic solvent still remains questionable and the use of supercritical carbon dioxide as the solvent was also considered. Its inherent properties include non-flammability, mild critical conditions, tuneable solubility near to the critical point and very low environmental impact. The reaction was operated using a continuous high pressure fixed bed. Results concerning yield and selectivity are presented

Observation of intrinsic size effects in the optical response of individual gold nanoparticles

The Photothermal Heterodyne Imaging method is used to study for the first time the absorption spectra of individual gold nanoparticles with diameters down to 5 nm. Intrinsic size effects wich result in a broadening of the Surface Plasmon resonance are unambiguously observed. Dispersions in the peak energies and homogeneous widths of the single particle resonances are revealed. The experimental results are analysed within the frame of Mie theory

Luminescence Decay and the Absorption Cross-Section of Individual Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

The absorption cross section of highly luminescent individual single-walled carbon nanotubes is determined using time-resolved and cw luminescence spectroscopy. A mean value of 1x10-17 cm2 per carbon atom is obtained for (6,5) tubes excited at their second optical transition, and corroborated by single tube photothermal absorption measurements. Biexponential luminescence decays are systematically observed, with short and long lifetimes around 45 and 250 ps. This behavior is attributed to the band edge exciton fine structure with a dark level lying a few meV below a bright one

Absorption spectroscopy of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes

Current methods for producing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) lead to heterogeneous samples containing mixtures of metallic and semiconducting species with a variety of lengths and defects. Optical detection at the single nanotube level should thus offer the possibility to examine these heterogeneities provided that both SWNT species are equally well detected. Here, we used photothermal heterodyne detection to record absorption images and spectra of individual SWNTs. Because this photothermal method relies only on light absorption, it readily detects metallic nanotubes as well as the emissive semiconducting species. The first and second optical transitions in individual semicontucting nanotubes have been probed. Comparison between the emission and absorption spectra of the lowest-lying optical transition reveal mainly small Stokes shifts. Side bands in the near-infrared absorption spectra are observed and assigned to exciton-phonon bound states. No such sidebands are detected around the lowest transition of metallic nanotubes

Développement de microréacteur pour la synthèse de radio-traceurs pour l'imagerie médicale (TEP)

Cette étude concerne l'optimisation, la conception et la caractérisation de microréacteurs, de type multicanaux, appliqués à l'électrosynthèse organique de composés fluorés à intérêt médical tels que le 2-Fluoro- 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose (18FDG). Les microsystèmes ont connu un développement important ces dernières années dans le domaine de la chimie fine où la volonté est de développer des outils toujours plus compétitifs. Les microréacteurs appliqués à la synthèse offrent l avantage d un rapport surface sur volume de la zone réactionnelle élevé (> 100 cm-1), ce qui améliore nettement les transferts de masse et d énergie et permet de traiter de très faibles quantités dans des conditions plus sûres et plus respectueuses de l environnement. L élément de base du microréacteur est souvent constitué d un simple microcanal qu il est nécessaire de dupliquer pour fournir le débit de production adapté à une application donnée. Ainsi, un microréacteur sera souvent composé d une série de microcanaux disposés en parallèle et connectant un canal distributeur et un canal collecteur. Cette configuration peut entraîner une faible uniformité de la distribution de l écoulement dans les différents microcanaux de réaction et il est particulièrement important d optimiser la géométrie du microréacteur complet pour tendre vers une distribution uniforme des temps de séjour (DTS). Dans le cas de la synthèse électrochimique, les microcanaux sont directement gravés dans deux électrodes placées en vis-à-vis et séparées par une membrane échangeuse d ions. Une optimisation préliminaire de la DTS au sein d une électrode composée de microcanaux parallèles de section rectangulaire est réalisée. L arrivée et la sortie du fluide s effectue par l intermédiaire de deux canaux distributeur et collecteur de section également rectangulaire, mais non constante. L optimisation vise à déterminer une évolution linéaire optimale de la largeur de ces canaux distributeur et collecteur. Un modèle analytique basé sur des hypothèses simplificatrices permet de calculer les différentes pertes de charge ainsi que les débits dans chaque microcanal, dans le cas d un écoulement laminaire de liquide. Les résultats obtenus sont ensuite confirmés par des simulations numériques 3-D, plus précises. Un modèle hybride combinant les simulations numériques pour les canaux distributeur et collecteur et le modèle analytique pour les microcanaux parallèles est également développé. Il permet d augmenter la finesse du maillage dans les zones sensibles de l écoulement, sans nécessité d accroître les ressources informatiques (mémoire et temps de simulation). Les résultats obtenus montrent un très bon accord entre les simulations numériques 3-D, le modèle hybride et le modèle analytique. Sur un exemple de 10 microcanaux parallèles, il est montré que dans le cas de la géométrie initiale, pour laquelle les canaux collecteur et distributeur sont de section constante, des écarts de l ordre de 50 % existent entre les débits traversant les microcanaux latéraux et centraux. Après optimisation, cet écart est réduit à moins de 0,1 %. Le modèle analytique est ensuite étendu au cas d écoulements gazeux en prenant en compte les effets non linéaires et antagonistes de la raréfaction et de la compressibilité de l écoulement. La raréfaction est ici caractérisée par un nombre de Knudsen compris entre 0 et 0,1 et se traduit pas des sauts de vitesse à la paroi ; les écoulements dans ce régime modérément raréfié sont alors correctement modélisés par les équations compressibles de Navier Stokes associées à des conditions de glissement du second ordre en Knudsen, en prenant en compte la géométrie tridimensionnelle des microcanaux de réaction et des canaux collecteur et distributeur. Dans le cas de la géométrie initiale, les écarts entre les débits massiques des canaux latéraux et centraux atteint 48 % ; après optimisation, il n est pas possible d aboutir à une distribution des temps de séjour parfaitement uniforme, mais cet écart est considérablement réduit et devient inférieur à 2 %. A l aide du modèle analytique précédant, deux types d électrodes sont conçues : l une est composée de 150 microcanaux de section rectangulaire (gravés par DRIE sur support silicium) et l autre de 152 microcanaux de section semi-elliptique (réalisés par gravure mécanique). Un bilan thermique du système conduit à la conception d un échangeur de chaleur intégré aux électrodes, permettant une régulation fine de la température du mélange réactionnel. Dans le but de réaliser la réaction de fluoration électrochimique du 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose (DG) en 2- Fluoro-2-Deoxy-D-Glucose (18FDG), l optimisation des conditions opératoires est réalisée en microréacteur ; le comportement de différents solvants (CH3CN, DMF, DME, CH3OH) et différents agents de fluoration (Et3N- 3HF, CsF) est mis en évidence et le choix se porte principalement sur l utilisation du solvant binaire acétonitrile / dimétoxyéthane (CH3CN / DME) et de la triéthyalmine (Et3N-3HF) en tant qu agent de fluoration. Des résultats encourageants sont mis en évidence par analyse en RMN du fluor des produits de la réaction. Par ailleurs, il est montré que le solvant DME ((CH3OCH2)2) est fluoré ; en effet, quatre produits de réaction sont mis en évidence (2 produits monofluorés et 2 produits difluorés) avec des conversions atteignant 27 % pour l un des produits monofluorés.This study focuses on the optimisation, design and characterization of microreactors, of multichannel type, applied to the organic electrosyntheses of fluorinated compounds of medical interest such as the 2-Fluoro-2-Deoxy-D-Glucose (18FDG). Microsystems have known an important development these last years in the field of fine chemicals where the aim is to develop increasingly competitive tools. The microreactors applied to synthesis offer a reaction zone with high surface to volume ratio (> 100 cm-1), which significantly improves mass and energy transfers and allows treating small quantities in safer conditions and a better respect of environment. The basic element of the microreactor is often composed of a single microchannel, which is necessary to duplicate in order to provide the suitable production rate for a given application. Thus, a microreactor is often composed of a series of microchannels arranged in parallel and connecting a distributing channel to a collecting one. This configuration can result in poor uniformity of flow distribution among the reaction microchannels and it is particularly important to optimize the geometry of the microreactor in order to obtain a uniform residence time distribution (RTD). In the case of electrochemical synthesis, microchannels are directly etched into two electrodes facing each other and separated by an ion exchange membrane. A preliminary optimisation of the RTD in an electrode composed of parallel microchannels with rectangular cross-section is performed. The fluid inlet and outlet are connected to a distributing and a collecting channel with non constant rectangular cross-section. The aim of the optimisation is to determine an optimal linear evolution of the width of the distributing and collecting channels. An analytical model based on simplifying assumptions allows calculating the various pressure drops and the flowrate in each microchannel, in the case of a laminar liquid flow. The obtained results are then confirmed by more accurate 3-D numerical simulations. A hybrid model combining numerical simulations for the distributing and collecting channels and the analytical model for the parallel microchannels is also developed. This model allows a more refined mesh in the sensitive areas of the flow, without requiring additional numerical effort (memory and simulation time). The results show a good agreement between the 3-D numerical simulations, the hybrid model and the analytical model. On an example of 10 parallel microchannels, it is shown that in the case of the initial geometry (with a constant cross-section of collecting and distributing channels), the flowrate difference through the lateral and the central microchannels is in the order of 50%. After optimization, this difference is reduced to less than 0.1%. The analytical model is then extended to the case of gas flows, taking into account nonlinear and antagonist effects of rarefaction and compressibility. Rarefaction is characterized by the value of the Knudsen number which remains lower than 0.1; the flow in this moderately rarefied regime is accurately modelled by the compressible Navier-Stokes equations associated with second-order slip boundary conditions, taking into account the three-dimensional geometry of the reaction microchannels and of the collecting and distributing channels. In the case of the initial geometry, the mass flowrate difference between lateral and central channels reaches 48%; after optimization, it is not possible to achieve a perfectly uniform residence time distribution, but this difference is considerably reduced and becomes less than 2%. Using the previous analytical model, two types of electrodes are designed: one is composed of 150 microchannels with rectangular cross-section (etched by DRIE on a silicon wafer) and the second composed of 152 microchannels with semi-elliptical cross-section (made by mechanical etching). A thermal balance of the system leads to the design of a heat exchanger directly integrated to the electrodes, allowing a fine control of the temperature of the reaction mixture. In order to perform the electrochemical fluorination of the 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose (DG) in 2-Fluoro-2-Deoxy-D-Glucose (18FDG), the optimisation of operating conditions is performed in the microreactor; the behaviour of several solvents (CH3CN, DMF, DME, CH3OH) and several fluorinated agents (Et3N-3HF, CsF) is highlighted and the choice is focused on the binary acetonitrile/dimethoxyethane solvent (CH3CN / DME) and the triethylamine as fluorinated agent. Encouraging results are obtained for reaction products by NMR fluorine. Moreover, it is shown that the DME solvent is also fluorinated. Four reaction products (2 monofluorinated and 2 difluorinated products), are obtained with a conversion up to 27% for one of the monofluorinated products.TOULOUSE-INP (315552154) / SudocSudocFranceF

Photothermal heterodyne imaging of individual nonfluorescent nanoclusters and nanocrystals

We introduce a new, highly sensitive, and simple heterodyne optical method for imaging individual nonfluorescent nanoclusters and nanocrystals. A 2 order of magnitude improvement of the signal is achieved compared to previous methods. This allows for the unprecedented detection of individual small absorptive objects such as metallic clusters (of 67 atoms) or nonluminescent semiconductor nanocrystals. The measured signals are in agreement with a calculation based on the scattering field theory from a photothermal-induced modulated index of refraction profile around the nanoparticle

Single NanoParticle Photothermal Tracking (SNaPT) of 5 nm gold beads in live cells

Tracking individual nano-objets in live cells during arbitrary long times is an ubiquitous need in modern biology. We present here a method for tracking individual 5 nm gold nanoparticles on live cells. It relies on the photothermal effect and the detection of the Laser Induced Scattering around a NanoAbsorber (LISNA). The key point for recording trajectories at video rate is the use of a triangulation procedure. The effectiveness of the method is tested against Single fluorescent Molecule Tracking in live COS7 cells on subsecond time scales. We further demonstrate recordings for several minutes of AMPA receptors trajectories on the plasma membrane of live neurons. SNaPT has the unique potential to record arbitrary long trajectory of membrane proteins using non-fluorescent nanometer sized labels

All-optical trion generation in single walled carbon nanotubes

We present evidence of all optical trion generation and emission in undoped single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Luminescence spectra, recorded on individual SWCNTs over a large CW excitation intensity range, show trion emission peaks red-shifted with respect to the bright exciton peak. Clear chirality dependence is observed for 22 separate SWCNT species, allowing for determination of electron-hole exchange interaction and trion binding energy contributions. Luminescence data together with ultrafast pump probe experiments on chirality sorted bulk samples suggest that exciton-exciton annihilation processes generate dissociated carriers that allow for trion creation upon a subsequent photon absorption event.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure