A Journey from Thermally Tunable Synthesis to Spectroscopy of Phenylmethanimine in Gas Phase and Solution

Phenylmethanimine is an aromatic imine with a twofold relevance in chemistry: organic synthesis and astrochemistry. To tackle both aspects, a multidisciplinary strategy has been exploited and a new, easily accessible synthetic approach to generate stable imine-intermediates in the gas phase and in solution has been introduced. The combination of this formation pathway, based on the thermal decomposition of hydrobenzamide, with a state-of-the-art computational characterization of phenylmethanimine laid the foundation for its first laboratory observation by means of rotational electric resonance spectroscopy. Both E and Z isomers have been accurately characterized, thus providing a reliable basis to guide future astronomical observations. A further characterization has been carried out by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, showing the feasibility of this synthetic approach in solution. The temperature dependence as well as possible mechanisms of the thermolysis process have been examined.     

Between Aromatic and Quinoid Structure: A Symmetrical UV to Vis/NIR Benzothiadiazole Redox Switch

Reversibly switching the light absorption of organic molecules by redox processes is of interest for applications in sensors, light harvesting, smart materials, and medical diagnostics. This work presents a symmetrical benzothiadiazole (BTD) derivative with a high fluorescence quantum yield in solution and in the crystalline state and shows by spectroelectrochemical analysis that reversible switching of UV absorption in the neutral state, to broadband Vis/NIR absorption in the 1st oxidized state, to sharp band Vis absorption in the 2nd oxidized state, is possible. For the one-electron oxidized species, formation of a delocalized radical is confirmed by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroelectrochemistry. Furthermore, our results reveal an increasing quinoidal distortion upon the 1st and 2nd oxidation, which can be used as the leitmotif for the development of BTD based redox switches.     

Melt spinning of propylene carbonate‐plasticized poly(acrylonitrile)‐co‐poly(methyl acrylate)

The primary use of poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) fibers, commonly referred to as acrylic fibers, is in textile applications like clothing, furniture, carpets, and awnings. All commercially available PAN fibers are processed by solution spinning; however, alternative, more cost‐effective processes like melt spinning are still highly desired. Here, the melt spinning of PAN‐co‐poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) plasticized with propylene carbonate (PC) at 175°C is reported. The use of methyl acrylate (MA) as comonomer and PC as an external plasticizer renders the approach a combination of internal and external plasticization. Various mixtures of PAN and PC used in this work were examined by rheology, subjected to melt spinning, followed by discontinuous and continuous washing, respectively. The best fibers were derived from a PAN‐co‐PMA copolymer containing 8.1 mol‐% of MA having a number‐average molecular weight M _n of 34 000 g/mol, spun in the presence of 22.5 wt.‐% of PC. The resulting fibers were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering (WAXS), and were subjected to mechanical testing.