A comparative approach to evaluate the toxicity of building materials through life cycle assessment.

Background: This paper addresses the lack of research that compares the toxicity of commonly used construction materials. The toxicity of construction materials has received less attention, despite its importance within the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. All aspects, including toxicity, need to be analysed throughout the life cycle of the material to understand its true behaviour.

Use of Natural-Fiber Bio-Composites in Construction versus Traditional Solutions: Operational and Embodied Energy Assessment.

During the last decades natural polymers have become more and more frequent to replace traditional inorganic stabilizers in building materials. The purpose of this research is to establish a comparison between the most conventional building material solutions for load-bearing walls and a type of biomaterial. This comparison will focus on load-bearing walls as used in a widespread type of twentieth century dwelling construction in Europe and still used in developing countries nowadays.

The role of the C(2) configuration and methyl substitution on the catalytic activity of novel 2,3,3- and 2,7,7-trimethyl-substituted gamma-aminonorbornan-2-ols.

A new set of optically active 2,3,3- and 2,7,7-trimethyl-substituted gamma-aminonorbornan-2-ols have been obtained from 2-methylenenorbornane-1-carbonitriles derived from (+)-camphor and (-)-fenchone and probed as chiral ligands for the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde. This has allowed the study of the structural factors influencing the chirality transfer, such as variation of the relative configuration at C(2) and steric hindrance at C(2), C(3), and C(7) positions of norbornane, which result in the observance of the important role played by the gem-dimethyl position in gamma-aminonorbornan-2-exo-ols. An empirical rationalization of the obtained experimental results has been realized on the basis of energetically-favored diastereomeric Noyori-like transition states.

Electron ionisation mass spectral studies of bridgehead-fused Delta2-norbornanethiazolines.

The electron ionisation (EI) mass spectra of a series of bridgehead-fused Delta2-norbornanethiazolines, a new class of bridgehead-norbornane derivatives, have been studied and their cleavage mechanisms rationalised on the basis of the substituent shifts as well as on the identification of relevant peaks through accurate mass measurements and collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometric experiments. The fragmentation patterns of isomeric pairs of 6,6- and 10,10-dimethylnorbornanethiazolines are almost identical, probably due to an initial isomerisation of molecular ion previous to the fragmentation. In general, the dominant peaks in the spectra of all the studied compounds originate from initial alpha-cleavages of C(5)-C(6) or C(1)-C(10) bonds, followed by concomitant homolytic cleavage of C(1)-C(9) and C(7)-C(10) bonds.

Solvent and stereoelectronic effects on the solvolysis rates of oxaspirocyclopropanated 1-norbornyl triflates and related bridgehead derivatives.

The study of the stereochemical outcome of the solvolysis of oxaspirocyclopropanated 1-norbornyl triflates is highly interesting since these reactions do not lead to the usual retention or fragmentation products but only synthetically interesting rearranged products are enantiospecifically formed. There is no correlation between the experimental solvolysis rates (ln k) and the B3LYP/6-31G(d)-computed ionization energies (Delta E) of the corresponding bridgehead hydrocarbons in gas phase. However, this work demonstrates the existence of a fair linear correlation between the experimental reaction rates and the PCM//B3LYP/6-31G(d)-computed free ionization energies in solution (Delta G).

Synthesis of homoconjugated oligomers derived from 7,7-diphenylnorbornane.

A methodology for the synthesis of monodisperse homoconjugated oligomers (dimer, trimer, and tetramer) derived from cofacial 7,7-diphenylnorbornane (DPN) is described. Extended aromatic homoconjugation is observed in these oligomers as revealed by the electronic spectra. The effective homoconjugation length (EHL) is in the range of 4-5 DPN subunits.

Evidence for different types of water participation in the solvolysis of 1-adamantyl, tert-butyl, and methyl chlorides from density functional theory computations.

[structure: see text] The activation energy in the gas phase (deltaE(double dagger)) and the free energy of activation (deltaG(double dagger)) in water solution for the hydrolysis of the monohydrates of methyl chloride (MeCl), tert-butyl chloride (t-BuCl), and 1-adamantyl chloride (AdCl) have been computed with the B3LYP/631-G(d) method and the polarizable continuum (PCM) solvation model. There is a fair agreement between the deltaG(double dagger) values computed by us and the experimental data. The mechanistic implications of our computations are in severe contradiction with conventional representations.

Enantiospecific access to various C(9),C(10)-disubstituted camphors: scope and limitations.

The valuable chiral sources C(9),C(10)-disubstituted camphors can be enantiospecifically obtained from the corresponding C(9)-substituted camphors by a general and straightforward synthetic method. This method involves the electrophilic treatment of a key 2-methylenenorbornan-1-ol intermediate, followed by a controlled tandem carbon-carbon double-bond addition-Wagner-Meerwein rearrangement of the norbornane framework. Discussion of the results presented suggests possible extensions and limitations of the methodology used.

Self-recognition and hydrogen bonding by polycyclic bridgehead monoalcohols.

Our interest in the relationship between the hydrogen bonding motifs displayed by monoalcohols and the properties of the solids which contain these motifs has led us to determine the crystal structures of three polycyclic bridgehead monoalcohols. One C10H16O isomer crystallises in the space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) but the three molecules which comprise the asymmetric unit are related approximately by the operations of a 3(1) screw axis. They are linked by hydrogen bonds to form an infinite helix.

Complexation behavior of a highly preorganized 7,7-diphenylnorbornane-derived macrocycle: towards the design of molecular clocks.

The syntheses of two new cyclophane hosts, 4 and 6, are described. The main difference between them is the higher degree of preorganization of 4 as a consequence of the inclusion of the 7,7-diphenylnorbornane (DPN) subunit. The inner cavity of 4 adopts a belt-shaped structure, while 6 has a twisted geometry.

C10-substituted camphors and fenchones by electrophilic treatment of 2-methylenenorbornan-1-ols: enantiospecificity, scope, and limitations.

Valuable chiral sources of C(10)-substituted camphors and C(10)-substituted fenchones can be straightforwardly obtained by treatment of an appropriate, easily obtainable, camphor- or fenchone-derived 2-methylenenorbornan-1-ol with an electrophilic reagent. The process takes place via a tandem regioselective carbon-carbon double-bond addition/stereocontrolled Wagner-Meerwein rearrangement. A complete study of the enantiospecificity, scope, and limitations of this process, as well as about the role played by the hydroxyl group attached at the C(1) bridgehead position of the starting 2-methylenenorbornan-1-ols, has been realized.

Comprehensive study of the methyl effect on the solvolysis rates of bridgehead derivatives.

The effect of a bridgehead methyl group on the hydride ion affinity in the gas phase of bicyclo[1.1.1]pent-1-yl (1+), 1-norbornyl (3+), cubyl (5+), 1-adamantyl (7+), bicyclo[2.

An Experimental and Computational Study about the Effect of a Spirocyclopropane Group on the Solvolysis Rates of Bridgehead Triflates.

7',7'-Dimethylspiro[cyclopropane-1,2'-norbornan]-1'-yl triflate (9) was obtained and its solvolysis rates in buffered 60% aqueous ethanol were determined at different temperatures. The solvolytic behavior of 9 and other bridgehead derivatives (13-17, see Table 1) was studied by force-field, semiempirical and ab initio [B3LYP/6-31g(d)] methods. Cation 9(+) is a slightly pyramidal cyclopropylcarbinyl cation in a nearly perpendicular conformation, showing an sp(2)-like hybridization.