The inorganic composition of the bark and leaf of a plant from the Amazon rainforest, Andira surinamensis, was determined using two non-destructive, multi-element techniques: X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). XRF measurements were made using both a conventional X-ray source and synchrotron radiation. It was observed that although magnesium, aluminum, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, and potassium are present in higher concentrations in the leaf, calcium is about three times more concentrated in the bark. Manganese, iron, copper, zinc, strontium and barium were also detected, with barium showing a concentration above the minimum toxicity level for plants. Chemical speciation of sulfur, performed using the X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) technique, showed that sulfur is present in several oxidation states, with a much larger contribution from the inorganic sulfate in the leaves. The article evidences that the combined use of synchrotron radiation and non-destructive multi-element techniques allows for an efficient and accurate determination of the inorganic composition and chemical speciation in plants.

A argila comercial brasileira Bentonit Brasgel® foi caracterizada por análises química e textural, DRX e RMN no estado sólido de 27Al and 29Si, que indicaram a presença de quartzo-alfa e esmectita como argilo-minerais. Essa argila se mostrou um catalisador eficiente para a conversão de alquenos nos respectivos epóxidos através da reação com iodo/água seguida de adição de KOH em hexano in situ (80-91 %). Resultados similares foram obtidos usando-se Bentonit Brasgel™ intercalada com Ag(I).

The commercial Brazilian clay Bentonit Brasgel™ was characterized by chemical and textural analyses, XRD, and 27Al and 29Si MAS-NMR, that indicated the presence of alpha-quartz and smectite as clay-minerals. This natural clay proved to be an efficient catalyst for the conversion of alkenes into epoxides by the reaction with iodine/water followed by in situ addition of KOH in hexane (80-91 % yield). Similar results were obtained with Bentonit Brasgel™ intercalated with Ag(I).

A reação de alquenos com o ácido tricloro-isocianúrico ou N-bromo-sacarina ou I2 / Fe2(SO4)3 na presença de DMF, seguida de tratamento em meio aquoso, leva à formação dos respectivos beta-halo-formatos com alta regio- e estereosseletividade.

The reaction of alkenes with trichloroisocyanuric acid or N-bromosaccharin or I2 / Fe2(SO4)3 in the presence of DMF followed by aqueous work-up led to the corresponding beta-haloformate in high regio- and stereoselectivity.