Variable coordination of amine functionalised N-heterocyclic carbene ligands to Ru, Rh and Rr: C-H and N-H activation and catalytic transfer hydrogenation

Chelating amine and amido complexes of late transition metals are highly valuable bifunctional catalysts in organic synthesis, but complexes of bidentate amine–NHC and amido–NHC ligands are scarce. Hence, we report the reactions of a secondary-amine functionalised imidazolium salt 2a and a primary-amine functionalised imidazolium salt 2b with [( p -cymene)RuCl 2 ] 2 and [Cp*MCl 2 ] 2 (M = Rh, Ir). Treating 2a with [Cp*MCl 2 ] 2 and NaOAc gave the cyclometallated compounds Cp*M(C,C)I (M = Rh, 3 ;M = Ir, 4 ), resulting from aromatic C–H activation. In contrast, treating 2b with [( p -cymene)RuCl 2 ] 2 ,Ag 2 O and KI gave the amine–NHC complex [( p -cymene)Ru(C,NH 2 )I]I ( 5 ). The reaction of 2b with [Cp*MCl 2 ] 2 (M = Rh, Ir), NaO t Bu and KI gave the amine–NHC complex [Cp*Rh(NH 2 )I]I ( 6 ) or the amido–NHC complex Cp*Ir(C,NH)I ( 7 ); both protonation states of the Ir complex could be accessed: treating 7 with trifluoroacetic acid gave the amine–NHC complex [Cp*Ir(C,NH 2 )I][CF 3 CO 2 ]( 8 ). These are the first primary amine– or amido–NHC complexes of Rh and Ir. Solid-state structures of the complexes 3–8 have been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Complexes 5 , 6 and 7 are pre-catalysts for the catalytic transfer hydrogenation of acetophenone to 1-phenylethanol, with ruthenium complex 5 demonstrating especially high reactivity

γ\gamma - Z interferometry at a Φ\Phi-factory

We analyze the possibilities that the proposed $\Phi$-factories offer to measure $\gamma-Z$ interference. In the unpolarized beam case, we study different signatures in the $\rho \pi$ channel, taking advantage of the presence of the near-by $a_1$ resonance. We build a C-odd forward-backward asymmetry, estimated to be around $10^{-5}$, and (P-even, T-even) and (P-odd, T-odd) alignments of the $\rho$, to be seen from the angular distribution of its $\pi \pi$ decay products. With polarized electrons a left-right asymmetry around $2\times 10^{-4}$ is present in all channels. At leading order this asymmetry is independent of hadronic matrix elements and is sensitive to the $Z^0-s\bar{s}$ vector coupling. In the $\rho \pi$ channel, a combined left-right forward-backward asymmetry is considered.Comment: 29 pages + 6 figures. Some changes concerning $a_1$ observables, especially related with possible 2 $\gamma$ contribution

Novel Approaches towards Highly Selective Self-Powered Gas Sensors

The prevailing design approaches of semiconductor gas sensors struggle to overcome most of their current limitations such as poor selectivity, and high power consumption. Herein, a new sensing concept based on devices that are capable of detecting gases without the need of any external power sources required to activate interaction of gases with sensor or to generate the sensor read out signal. Based on the integration of complementary functionalities (namely; powering and sensing) in a singular nanostructure, self-sustained gas sensors will be demonstrated. Moreover, a rational methodology to design organic surface functionalization that provide high selectivity towards single gas species will also be discussed. Specifically, theoretical results, confirmed experimentally, indicate that precisely tuning of the sterical and electronic structure of sensor material/organic interfaces can lead to unprecedented selectivity values, comparable to those typical of bioselective processes. Finally, an integrated gas sensor that combine both the self-powering and selective detection strategies in one single device will also be presented. © 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Infrared and visual lunar occultations measurements of stellar diameters and new binary stars detections at the Calar Alto 1.5m telescope

We present a program of routine lunar occultations, at optical and near-IR wavelengths, recently started at the 1.5m Spanish telescope at the Calar Alto Observatory. Both a CCD and an infrared array detector are used. The program is aimed mainly at the detection and investigation of binary systems, although results in other areas of stellar research are also anticipated. Occultations are reported for a total of 40 stars. Among these, SAO 164567, SAO 78258 and AG+24 788 have been discovered to be binaries, with projected separations as small as 0.006". Furthermore, binarity is suspected in the case of SAO 78119 and SAO 79251. Additionally, the angular diameter of the late-type giant 30 Psc and of the infrared star V349 Gem have been accurately measured, this latter for the first time. We finally evaluate the instrumentation performance in terms of limiting magnitude and angular resolution, and discuss applications to larger telescopes.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, LaTeX, uses aa.cls. Accepted for publication in A&

On the development and application of intrusive sensors for two-phase flows characterization in complez environments

Intrusive sensors are widely employed in numerous industrial applications to determine the phase fraction in gas-liquid two-phase flows. Such applications include those in the chemical, nuclear, and oil industries. This study aims to investigate the use of three distinct intrusive sensor topologies, specifically intended for underwater applications, wherein the detailed characterization of the disperse phase is the primary objective. Examples of such applications include aeration diffusers in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and fish farming facilities.Peer Reviewe

Violation of quark-hadron duality and spectral chiral moments in QCD

We analyze the spectral moments of the V-A two-point correlation function. Using all known short-distance constraints and the most recent experimental data from tau decays, we determine the lowest spectral moments, trying to assess the uncertainties associated with the so-called violations of quark-hadron duality. We have generated a large number of 'acceptable' spectral functions, satisfying all conditions, and have used them to extract the wanted hadronic parameters through a careful statistical analysis. We obtain accurate values for the ChPT couplings L10 and C87, and a realistic determination of the dimension six and eight contributions in the operator product expansion, O6=(-5.4^{+3.6}_{-1.6})*10^-3 GeV^6 and O8=(-8.9^{+12.6}_{-7.4})*10^-3 GeV^8, showing that the duality-violation effects have been usually underestimated in previous literature

Tenth-Order Lepton Anomalous Magnetic Moment -- Sixth-Order Vertices Containing Vacuum-Polarization Subdiagrams

This paper reports the values of contributions to the electron g-2 from 300 Feynman diagrams of the gauge-invariant Set III(a) and 450 Feynman diagrams of the gauge-invariant Set III(b). The evaluation is carried out in two versions. Version A is to start from the sixth-order magnetic anomaly M_6 obtained in the previous work. The mass-independent contributions of Set III(a) and Set III(b) are 2.1275 (2) and 3.3271 (6) in units of (alpha/pi)^5, respectively. Version B is based on the recently-developed automatic code generation scheme. This method yields 2.1271 (3) and 3.3271 (8) in units of (alpha/pi)^5, respectively. They are in excellent agreement with the results of the first method within the uncertainties of numerical integration. Combining these results as statistically independent we obtain the best values, 2.1273 (2), and 3.3271 (5) times (alpha/pi)^5, for the mass-independent contributions of the Set III(a) and Set III(b), respectively. We have also evaluated mass-dependent contributions of diagrams containing muon and/or tau-particle loop. Including them the total contribution of Set III(a) is 2.1349 (2) and that of Set III(b) is 3.3299 (5) in units of (alpha/pi)^5. The total contributions to the muon g-2 of various leptonic vacuum-polarization loops of Set III(a) and Set III(b) are 112.418 (32) and 15.407 (5) in units of (alpha/pi)^5, respectively.Comment: 31 pages, 4 figure

The BKB_K Kaon Parameter in the Chiral Limit

We introduce four-point functions in the hadronic ladder resummation approach to large $N_c$ QCD Green functions. We determine the relevant one to calculate the $B_K$ kaon parameter in the chiral limit. This four-point function contains both the large momenta QCD OPE and the small momenta ChPT at NLO limits, analytically. We get $\hat B_K^\chi = 0.38 \pm 0.15$. We also give the ChPT result at NLO for the relevant four-point function to calculate $B_K$ outside the chiral limit, while the leading QCD OPE is the same as the chiral limit one.Comment: 17 page

Electromagnetic form factors of charged and neutral kaons in an extended vector-meson-dominance model

A model is developed for electromagnetic form factors of the charged and neutral K-mesons. The formalism is based on ChPT Lagrangians with vector mesons. The form factors, calculated without fitting parameters, are in a good agreement with experiment for space-like and time-like photon momenta. Contribution of the two-kaon channels to the muon anomalous magnetic moment a_\mu is calculated.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Eur. Phys. J.

New 4-(N-cinnamoylbutyl)aminoacridines as potential multi-stage antiplasmodial leads

A novel family of 4-aminoacridine derivatives was obtained by linking this heteroaromatic core to different trans-cinnamic acids. The 4-(N-cinnamoylbutyl)aminoacridines obtained exhibited in vitro activity in the low- or sub-micromolar range against (i) hepatic stages of Plasmodium berghei, (ii) erythrocytic forms of Plasmodium falciparum, and (iii) early and mature gametocytes of Plasmodium falciparum. The most active compound, having a meta-fluorocinnamoyl group linked to the acridine core, was 20- and 120-fold more potent, respectively, against the hepatic and gametocyte stages of Plasmodium infection than the reference drug, primaquine. Moreover, no cytotoxicity towards mammalian and red blood cells at the concentrations tested was observed for any of the compounds under investigation. These novel conjugates represent promising leads for the development of new multi-target antiplasmodials.Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved