Dielectric relaxation analysis of cellulose oligomers and polymers in dependency on their chain length

For all cellulose‐like oligo‐ and polyglucans, beginning with the dimer cellobiose, a broad relaxation process at low temperatures is observed using the dielectric relaxation spectroscopy method. This relaxation has its molecular origin in orientational motions of the sugar rings via the glucosidic linkages. We investigated the dynamics of this main chain motion for β(1‐4) oligoglucans with 2, 3, 4, or 5 anhydroglucose units (AGUs), as well as for β(1‐4) polyglucans having a degree of polymerization molecular weight averages (DP_w) of 23, 37, 50, and 140 up to 3000. As a result we found that the activation energy (E_a) of the segmental chain motion has the lowest value (32 ± 1 kJ/mol) for cellobiose, followed by passing through a maximum for a DP between 7 and 15 with E_a = 51 ± 1 kJ/mol. Subsequently, the activation energy is decreased at a value around 44.8 ± 1.2 kJ/mol for chains containing more than 100 AGUs. Obviously, from a distinctly molecular dimension (DP_w ～ 100) the mean number of AGUs that take part in the local chain motions and cross‐correlation between the motions of neighboring AGUs are nearly the same and the chain length has no influence on the segmental motion. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 39: 2491–2500, 2001     

Kinetic study of copper(I)‐catalyzed click chemistry step‐growth polymerization

Oligomers and polymers containing triazole units were synthesized by the copper(I)‐catalyzed 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition step‐growth polymerization of four difunctional azides and alkynes. In a first part, monofunctional benzyl azide was used as a chain terminator for the polyaddition of 1,6‐diazidohexane and α,ω‐bis(O‐propargyl)diethylene glycol, leading to polytriazole oligomers of controlled average degree of polymerization (DP_n = 3–20), to perform kinetic studies on low‐viscosity compounds. The monitoring of the step‐growth click polymerization by ¹H NMR at 25, 45, and 60 °C allowed the determination of the activation energy of this click chemistry promoted polyaddition process, that is, E_a = 45 ± 5 kJ/mol. The influence of the catalyst content (0.1–5 mol % of Cu(PPh₃)₃Br according to azide or alkyne functionalities) was also examined for polymerization kinetics performed at 60 °C. In a second part, four high molar mass polytriazoles were synthesized from stoichiometric combinations of diazide and dialkyne monomers above with p‐xylylene diazide and α,ω‐bis(O‐propargyl)bisphenol A. The resulting polymers were characterized by DSC, TGA, SEC, and ¹H NMR. Solubility and thermal properties of the resulting polytriazoles were discussed based on the monomers chemical structure and thermal analyses. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 5506–5517, 2008     

Polymerization of 1,3‐dienes with functional groups. III. Free‐radical polymerization of N,N‐diethyl‐2‐methylene‐3‐butenamide

Free‐radical homo‐ and copolymerization behavior of N,N‐diethyl‐2‐methylene‐3‐butenamide (DEA) was investigated. When the monomer was heated in bulk at 60 °C for 25 h without initiator, rubbery, solid gel was formed by the thermal polymerization. No such reaction was observed when the polymerization was carried out in 2 mol/L of benzene solution with with 1 mol % of azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as an initiator. The polymerization rate (R_p) equation was R_p ∝ [DEA]^1.1[AIBN]^0.51, and the overall activation energy of polymerization was calculated 84.1 kJ/mol. The microstructure of the resulting polymer was exclusively a 1,4‐structure where both 1,4‐E and 1,4‐Z structures were included. From the product analysis of the telomerization with tert‐butylmercaptan as a telogen, the modes of monomer addition were estimated to be both 1,4‐ and 4,1‐addition. The copolymerizations of this monomer with styrene and/or chloroprene as comonomers were also carried out in benzene solution at 60 °C. In the copolymerization with styrene, the monomer reactivity ratios obtained were r₁ = 5.83 and r₂ = 0.05, and the Q and e values were Q = 8.4 and e = 0.33, respectively. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 999–1007, 2004     

Studies on curing kinetics of a novel combined liquid crystalline epoxy containing tetramethylbiphenyl and aromatic ester‐type mesogenic group with diaminodiphenylsulfone

The curing kinetics of a novel liquid crystalline epoxy resin with combining biphenyl and aromatic ester‐type mesogenic unit, diglycidyl ether of 4,4′‐bis(4‐hydroxybenzoyloxy)‐3,3′,5,5′‐tetramethyl biphenyl (DGE‐BHBTMBP), and the curing agent diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS) was studied using the advanced isoconvensional method (AICM). DGE‐BHBTMBP/DDS curing system was investigated the curing behavior by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) during isothermal and nonisothermal processes. Only one exothermal peak appeared in isothermal DSC curves. A variation of the effective activation energy with the extent of conversion was obtained by AICM. Three different curing stages were confirmed. In the initial curing stage, the value of E_a is dramatically decreased from ～90 to ～20 kJ/mol in the conversion region 0–0.2 for the formation of LC phase. In the middle stage, the value of E_a keeps about ～80 kJ/mol for cooperative effect of reaction mechanism and diffusion control. In the final stage, a significant increase of E_a from 84 to 136 kJ/mol could be caused by the mobility of longer polymer chains. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3922–3928, 2007     

Thermosetting polymers from epoxy resin and a Nickel catalyst of diethylenetriamine

The kinetics and mechanism of cure reaction of DGEBA using a chelate of Ni(II) with diethylenetriamine (dien), Ni(dien)₂I_2, as a curing agent was studied by DSC. TG curve of the complex curing agent showed mass loss in two region of temperature: 200–320 and 450–550 °C. Dynamic DSC measurements showed only one exothermic peak with a maximum about 250 °C depending on the heating rate. According to the methods of KAS and Ozawa–Flynn–Wall the values of E _a were 92.5 and 96.2 kJ/mol, respectively. The isoconversional kinetic analysis in whole range of conversion, α = 0.02–0.95, showed small changes in the E _a values in the region of α = 0.04–0.6 and most likely represent some average values (E _a = 110 kJ/mol) between the values of E _a of non-autocatalyzed and autocatalyzed reactions. Using the sole dependence of E _a on α, the time required to reach fully cured materials under isothermal conditions were also predicted and compared with the experimental results.     

Hydrogen bond effect of azido polyurethane elastomer by dynamic mechanical analysis

Hydrogen bond effects in azido polyurethane elastomers (APUE) have been studied by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and the results show that the hydrogen bond effect has stronger temperature dependence. The activation energy of hydrogen bond dissociation (E_a) and the hydrogen bond density (vs/V) have been evaluated from the elastic modulus–temperature relationship. The calculated E_a in this work is much higher than the reported values of normal polyurethane elastomer (PUE). The values of E_a are 81.3, 68.1, 53.3, and 42.3 kJ/mol at 150, 110, 50, and 20 Hz, respectively, for PUE‐1 (CPPB/HDI trimer elastomer); 94.6, 75.8, 48.4, and 36.9 kJ/mol at 150, 110, 50, and 20 Hz, respectively, for PUE‐2 (APPB/HDI trimer elastomer); 82.1, 74.4, 59.8, and 46.5 kJ/mol at 150, 110, 50, and 20 Hz, respectively, for PUE‐3 (APPB/HDI trimer/EG elastomer); 145, 124, 88.0, and 75.5 kJ/mol at 150, 110, 50, and 20 Hz, respectively, for PUE‐4 (APPB/HDI trimer/BD elastomer); and 72.2, 64.3, 49.8, and 39.9 KJ/mol at 150, 110, 50, and 20 Hz, respectively, for PUE‐5 (APPB/HDI trimer/HD elastomer). The DMA estimations are semiquantitative for it ignores other physical crosslinking effects and the results give relative order of vs/V and E_a. The values of vs/V of crosslinked APUE (PUE‐3, PUE‐4, and PUE‐5) are much higher than PUE‐2. The test frequency could affect the values of vs/V and higher frequency would minify the difference of the values of vs/V for two given temperatures. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2841–2851, 2006     

Chain transfer by addition–substitution–fragmentation mechanism. I. End–functional polymers by a single-step free radical transfer reaction: Use of a new allylic linear peroxyketal

A new chain transfer agent, ethyl 2-[1-(1-n-butoxyethylperoxy) ethyl] propenoate (EBEPEP) was used in the free radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), styrene (St), and butyl acrylate (BA) to produce end-functional polymers by a radical addition–substitution–fragmentation mechanism. The chain transfer constants (C_tr) for EBEPEP in the three monomers polymerization at 60°C were determined from measurements of the degrees of polymerization. The C_tr were determined to be 0.086, 0.91, and 0.63 in MMA, St, and BA, respectively. EBEPEP behaves nearly as an “azeotropic” transfer agent for styrene at 60°C. The activation energy, E_atr, for the chain transfer reaction of EBEPEP with PMMA radicals was determined to be 29.5 kJ/mol. Thermal stability of peroxyketal EBEPEP in the polymerization medium was estimated from the DSC measurements of the activation energy, E_ath = 133.5 kJ/mol, and the rate constants, k_th, of the thermolysis to various temperature. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Kinetics of D,L–Lactide Polymerization Initiated with Zirconium Acetylacetonate

The kinetic of D,L-lactide polymerization in presence of biocompatible zirconium acetylacetonate initiator was studied by differential scanning calorimetry in isothermal mode at various temperatures and initiator concentrations. The enthalpy of D,L-lactide polymerization measured directly in DSC cell was found to be ΔH=−17.8±1.4 kJ mol⁻¹. Kinetic curves of D,L-lactide polymerization and propagation rate constants were determined for polymerization with zirconium acetylacetonate at concentrations of 250–1000 ppm and temperature of 160–220 °C. Using model or reversible polymerization the following kinetic and thermodynamic parameters were calculated: activation energy E_a=44.51±5.35 kJ mol⁻¹, preexponential constant lnA=15.47±1.38, entropy of polymerization ΔS=−25.14 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹. The effect of reaction conditions on the molecular weight of poly(D,L-lactide) was shown.     

Iodine binding capacity and iodine binding energy of glycogen

The iodine binding capacity (IBC) of glycogen is around 0.30% (w/w) at 3°C. The amount of iodine complexed comprises about 12.5% of the mass of glycogen that takes part in the glycogen–iodine (GI) complex formation. This suggests involvement of four iodine atoms for every 25 anhydroglucose units (AGU, C₆H₁₀O₅). Since the chromophore is due to the I₄ unit within the helix of 11 AGUs, only 44% of the AGUs (11 out of 25) are involved in the complex formation. The heat of formation of the GI complex is around −40 kJ/mol of I₂ bonded. These results suggest remarkable similarities with those of the amylopectin–iodine (API) complex. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 1409–1412, 1997     

Non-isothermal kinetics of free-radical polymerization of 2,2-dinitro-1-butyl acrylate

The free-radical bulk polymerization of 2,2-dinitro-1-butyl-acrylate (DNBA) in the presence of 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as the initiator was investigated by DSC in the non-isothermal mode. Kissinger and Ozawa methods were applied to determine the activation energy (E _a) and the reaction order of free-radical polymerization. The results showed that the temperature of exothermic polymerization peaks increased with increasing the heating rate. The reaction order of non-isothermal polymerization of DNBA in the presence of AIBN is approximately 1. The average activation energy (92.91±1.88 kJ mol ⁻¹) obtained was smaller slightly than the value of E _a=96.82 kJ mol⁻¹ found with the Barrett method.     

Quantitative studies on furfural and organic acid formation during hydrothermal,acidic and alkaline degradation ofD-xylose

Summary Chromatographic analysis of the degradation ofD-xylose either in plain water or aqueous sulfuric acid at temperatures ranging from 180 – 220°C gave up to 50 mol% of furfural. Activation energies did not differ significantly between reactions in plain water (E _a =119.4 kJ/mol), 0.001M H₂SO₄ (E _a =120.6 kJ/mol), 0.01M H₂SO₄ (E _a =130.8 kJ/mol), and 0.1M H₂SO₄ (E _a =120.7 kJ/mol). However, under alkaline conditions the activation energy was only 63.7 kJ/mol, indicating a different reaction mechanism. Isotachophoretic analyses revealed the formation of pyruvic, formic, glycolic, lactic, and acetic acid. While the relative yields of these acids ranged from 0.8 to 7% under hydrothermal and acidic conditions, 10 – 23% were obtained in alkaline degradation.

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Quantitative Studien zur Bildung von Furfural und organischen Säuren während des hydrothermalen, sauren und alkalischen Abbaues vonD-Xylose

Zusammenfassung Die chromatographische Analyse des Abbaues vonD-Xylose in reinem Wasser und Schwefelsäure bei Temperaturen von 180 – 220°C ergab die Bildung von bis zu 50 mol% Furfural. In bezug auf die Aktivierungsenergie zeigten sich keine signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen dem Abbau vonD-Xylose in reinem Wasser (E _a =119.4 kJ/mol), 0.001M H₂SO₄ (E _a =120.6 kJ/mol), 0.01M H₂SO₄ (E _a =130.8 kJ/mol), and 0.1M H₂SO₄ (E _a =120.7 kJ/mol). Unter alkalischen Bedingungen hingegen betrug die Aktivierungsenergie nur 63.7 kJ/mol. Dies weist auf einen unterschiedlichen Reaktionsmechanismus hin. Ferner konnte mittels Isotachophorese die Bildung von Brenztraubensäure, Ameisensäure, Glycolsäure, Milchsäure und Essigsäure nachgewiesen werden. Während sich die relativen Ausbeuten in Wasser und Schwefelsäure zwischen 0.8 und 7% bewegten, betrugen sie unter alkalischen Bedingungen 10 bis 23%.

     

Effect of nanosilica on the kinetics of cure reaction and thermal degradation of epoxy resin

Nanocomposites from nanoscale silica particles(NS),diglycidylether of bisphenol-A based epoxy(DGEBA),and 3,5-diamino-N-(4-(quinolin-8-yloxy) phenyl) benzamide(DQPB) as curing agent were obtained from direct blending of these materials.The effect of nanosilica(NS) particles as catalyst on the cure reaction of DGEBA/DQPB system was studied by using non-isothermal DSC technique.The activation energy(E_a) was obtained by using Kissinger and Ozawa equations. The E_a value of curing of DGEBA/DQPB/10%NS system showed a decrease of about 10 kJ/mol indicating the catalytic effect of NS particles on the cure reaction.The E_a values of thermal degradation of the cured samples of both systems were 148 kJ/mol and 160 kJ/mol,respectively.The addition of 10%of NS to the curing mixture did not have much effect on the initial decomposition temperature(T_i) but increased the char residues from 20%to 28%at 650℃.     

Polymerization of 1,3‐dienes with functional groups. II. Free‐radical polymerization of N‐(2‐methylene‐3‐butenoyl)piperidine

The free‐radical homopolymerization and copolymerization behavior of N‐(2‐methylene‐3‐butenoyl)piperidine was investigated. When the monomer was heated in bulk at 60 °C for 25 h without an initiator, about 30% of the monomer was consumed by the thermal polymerization and the Diels–Alder reaction. No such side reaction was observed when the polymerization was carried out in a benzene solution with 1 mol % 2,2′‐azobisisobutylonitrile (AIBN) as an initiator. The polymerization rate equation was found to be R_p ∝ [AIBN]^0.507[M]^1.04, and the overall activation energy of polymerization was calculated to be 89.5 kJ/mol. The microstructure of the resulting polymer was exclusively a 1,4‐structure that included both 1,4‐E and 1,4‐Z configurations. The copolymerizations of this monomer with styrene and/or chloroprene as comonomers were carried out in benzene solutions at 60 °C with AIBN as an initiator. In the copolymerization with styrene, the monomer reactivity ratios were r₁ = 6.10 and r₂ = 0.03, and the Q and e values were calculated to be 10.8 and 0.45, respectively. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1545–1552, 2003     

Thermal rearrangements of polybutadienes with different vinyl contents

A study was made of the loss of double bonds in equibinary (1,4-1,2) polybutadiene (EB) and in polybutadienes with 30% 1,2, 70% 1,4 (FI), and 10% 1,2, 90% 1,4 (DI) double-bond content, when heated in vacuum under nonpyrolytic conditions (temperature range 220–280°C). These polymers were found to undergo second-order loss of 1,2 unsaturation with similar activation energies (E_a = 34.0 ± 3 kcal/mole), by analogy to the previously reported thermally induced loss of double bonds in 1,2-polybutadiene (VB) (E_a = 33.6 ± 3 kcal/mole). Moreover, EB and FI exhibited also second-order loss of 1,4 unsaturation, with E_a ca. 36 and 40 kcal/mole, respectively, while DI showed negligible loss of 1,4 unsaturation below 260°C, in common with cis-1,4-polybutadiene (CB) (with 2% 1,2 double bonds) examined earlier. The loss of 1,2 double bonds in the various polybutadienes with different vinyl contents is accompanied by substantial methyl production, ranging from about one methyl group formed for every 4–5 vinyl units lost in VB, to one methyl for every two vinyls lost in EB, and to almost one methyl for each vinyl lost in DI or CB. Mechanisms are proposed for the thermally induced loss of 1,2 and 1,4 unsaturation in various polybutadienes and for the accompanying methyl production.     

Chemistry of trifluorostyrenes and their dimmers: 3. Solvent effect on the kinetic parameters of the thermal cyclodimerization of α, β, β-trifluorostyrene1

Rate constants for the thermal cyclodimerization of α, β, β-trifluorostyrene (TFS) were determined in six solvents at 393°K. The products of this reaction were mixtures of roughly equal amounts of cis-trans isomers. The rate constants in 3 solvents, were calculated according to Arrhenius equation. In n-hexane, log A = 6.02±0.18, E_a= 19.5±0.3 kcal.mol^?1; in glyme, logA = 5.31 ± 0.19, E_a= 18.0±0.3 kcal.mol^?1; in methanol, IogA=4.93±0.13, E_a=17.1±0.3 kcal mol^?1. All data are consistent with a stepwise radical mechanism, and our reaction in this solvent series obeys an isokinetic relationship, with β = 478°K.     

Single electron transfer‐living radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate catalyzed by ytterbium powder

Zerovalent ytterbium (Yb) powder is firstly used as a catalyst in single electron transfer‐living radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate initiated by carbon tetrachloride in N, N‐dimethylformamide (DMF) and dimethyl sulfoxide, respectively. Polymerization proceeds in a “living”/controlled way as evidenced by kinetic studies and chain extension results, producing well‐defined polymers with controlled degree of polymerization and narrow molecular weight distribution. The apparent activation energy of polymerization in DMF is accounted to be 36.2 kJ/mol, and the energy of equilibrium state is calculated to be 13.9 kJ/mol. An increase in the concentration of Yb(0) yields a higher monomer conversion. It is observed that polymerization rate experiments a rapid increase in the presence of more polar solvent water, and increasing in the content of H₂O results in an increase in the apparent rate constant of polymerization, and a decrease in the molecular weight distribution. The reaction rate and molecular weight increase along with the decrease of DMF content. The effect of Yb(0) powder content, different ligands and concentration of initiator on the polymerization is also investigated. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Refined ab initio 6-31G split-valence basis set optimization of the molecular structures of biphenyl in twisted,planar, and perpendicular conformations

Improved full ab initio optimizations of the molecular structure of biphenyl in twisted minimum energy, coplanar, and perpendicular conformations by use of Poles's GAUSSIAN 82 program have been performed in the 6-31G basis set. These lead to geometries and energies of much higher reliability than our earlier STO-3G results. The torsional angle Φ_min obtained now is 45.41° in close agreement with the recent experimental value of 44.4° ± 1.2°. Calculated CC distances may be converted to experimental ED r_g-values by means of independently determined linear regression correlations with very high statistical confidence, although they agree better with experimental x ray data for coplanar biphenyl without this correction. Calculated intramolecular angles are very similar for both STO-3G and 6-31G basis sets. The calculated torsional energy barrier towards Φ = 90° (ΔE⁹⁰) is 6.76 kJ/mol in close agreement with the experimental-31G value of 6.5 ± 2.0 kJ/mol. For coplanar biphenyl with D_2h-symmetry the calculated torsional energy barrier ΔE⁰ is 13.26 kJ/mol which is surprisingly much higher than the experimental value of 6.0 ± 2.1 kJ/mol. This discrepancy could not be resolved by optimizations assumed for two kinds of distortions of planarity of orthohydrogens from the molecular plane of the coplanar carbon atoms. But for the twisted minimum energy conformation asymmetric bending of ortho-H atoms lead to a torsional angle Φ_min = 44.74° together with a dihedral angle towards ortho-H of 1.22°, and consequently even to an increase of torsional energy barriers to ΔE⁰ = 13.51 and ΔE⁹⁰ = 6.91 kJ/mol.     

Kinetics of the thermal isomerization of 1,1,2,2‐tetramethylcyclopropane

Reaction rates for the structural isomerization of 1,1,2,2‐tetramethylcyclopropane to 2,4‐dimethyl‐2‐pentene have been measured over a wide temperature range, 672–750 K in a static reactor and 1000–1120 K in a single‐pulse shock tube. The combined data from the two temperature regions give Arrhenius parameters E_a=64.7 (±0.5) kcal/mol and log₁₀(A, s^?1) = 15.47 (±0.13). These values lie at the upper end of the ranges of E_a and log A values (62.2–64.7 kcal/mol and 14.82–15.55, respectively) obtained from three previous experimental studies, each of which covered a narrower temperature range. The previously noted trend toward lower E_a values for structural isomerization of methylcyclopropanes as methyl substitution increases extends only through the dimethylcyclopropanes (1,1‐ and 1,2‐); E_a then appears to increase with further methyl substitution. In contrast, the pre‐exponential factors for isomerization of cyclopropane and all of the methylcyclopropanes through tetramethylcyclopropane lie within ±0.3 of log₁₀(A, s^?1) = 15.2 and show no particular trend with increasing substitution. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 38: 483–488, 2006     

Absolute rate constants for the addition of hydroxymethyl radicals to alkenes in methanol solution

Absolute rate constants and their temperature dependencies were determined for the addition of hydroxymethyl radicals (CH₂OH) to 20 mono- or 1,1-disubstituted alkenes (CH₂ = CXY) in methanol by time-resolved electron spin resonance spectroscopy. With the alkene substituents the rate constants at 298 K (k₂₉₈) vary from 180 M^?1s^?1 (ethyl vinylether) to 2.1 middot; 10⁶ M^?1s^?1 (acrolein). The frequency factors obey log A/M^?1s^?1 = 8.1 ± 0.1, whereas the activation energies (E_a) range from 11.6 kJ/mol (methacrylonitrile) to 35.7 kJ/mol (ethyl vinylether). As shown by good correlations with the alkene electron affinities (EA), log k₂₉₈/M^?1s^?1 = 5.57 + 1.53 · EA/eV (R² = 0.820) and E_a = 15.86 ? 7.38 · EA/eV (R² = 0.773), hydroxymethyl is a nucleophilic radical, and its addition rates are strongly influenced by polar effects. No apparent correlation was found between E_a or log k₂₉₈ with the overall reaction enthalpy. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Solution-Structure and Aggregation Behavior of Two Dilithiostyrene Derivatives

The solution structure and the aggregation behavior of (E)-2-lithio-1-(2-lithiophenyl)-1-phenylpent-1-ene ( 1 ) and (Z)-2-lithio-1-(2-lithiophenyl)ethene ( 2 ) were investigated by one- and two-dimensional ¹H-, ¹³C-, and ⁶Li-NMR spectroscopy. In Et₂O, both systems form dimers which show homonuclear scalar ⁶Li,⁶Li spin-spin coupling. In the case of 2 , extensive ⁶Li,¹H coupling is observed. In tetrahdrofuran and in the presence of 2 mol of N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylylenediamine (tmeda), the dimeric structure of 1 coexists with a monomer. The activation parameters for intra-aggregate exchange in the dimers of 1 and 2 ( 1 (Et₂O): ΔH≠ = 62.6 ± 13.9 kJ/mol, ΔS≠ = 5.8 ± 14.0 J/mol K, ΔG≠(263) = 61.1 kJ/mol; 2 (dimethoxyethane): ΔH≠ = 36.9 ± 6.5 kJ/mol, ΔS≠ = ?61 ± 25 J/mol K, ΔG≠(263) = 54.0 kJ/mol) and the thermodynamic parameters for the dimer-monomer equilibrium for 1 (ΔH°; = 26.7 ± 5.5 kJ/mol, ΔS° = 63 ± 27 J/mol K), where the monomer is favored at low temperature, were determined by dynamic NMR studies.