Ring opening reaction of gem-difluorocyclopropyl ketones with nucleophiles

Syntheses of gem-difluorocyclopropyl ketones (3a–d) and their reactions with nucleophiles are described. Ring opening reactions of 3a,c and d with a methanolate and a thiolate anion took entirely different courses of bond scission of the cyclopropane ring.     

Zirconium-mediated intramolecular ester transfer reaction: synthesis of alpha-substituted gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) derivatives

[reaction: see text]. The zirconium-mediated intramolecular ester transfer reaction of N-alkenyl carbamate derivatives proceeded to give alpha-substituted gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) derivatives in good to excellent yields. Quenching experiments of the reaction mixture with iodine or O2 indicated the presence of a cyclopropane intermediate. The resulting iodide was converted to 2-substituted pyrrolidine-3-carboxylate and/or alpha-alkylidene-gamma-aminobutyric acid derivatives in a stereospecific manner.     

A distance-controlled oligopeptide linker as a novel photo-induced energy transfer switch by secondary structural transition

By using an oligopeptide chain as a functional linker and introducing coumarin 2 and coumarin 343 at the chain ends, an effective photo-induced energy transfer system was constructed and energy transfer from coumarin 2 to coumarin 343 was switched on and off by a solvent-induced helix-coil secondary transition of the oligopeptide chain.     

Effects of hydrogen bonding on metal ion-promoted intramolecular electron transfer and photoinduced electron transfer in a ferrocene-quinone dyad with a rigid amide spacer

A ferrocene-quinone dyad (Fc-Q) with a rigid amide spacer and Fc-(Me)Q dyad, in which the amide proton acting as a hydrogen-bonding acceptor is replaced by the methyl group, are employed to examine the effects of hydrogen bonding on both the thermal and the photoinduced electron-transfer reactions. The hydrogen bonding of the semiquinone radical anion with the amide proton in Fc-Q(.-) produced by the electron-transfer reduction of Fc-Q is indicated by the significant positive shift of the one-electron reduction potential of Fc-Q. The hyperfine coupling constants of Fc-Q(.-) also indicate the existence of hydrogen bonding, agreeing with those predicted by the density functional calculation. The hydrogen-bonding dynamics in the photoinduced electron transfer from the ferrocene (Fc) to the quinone moiety (Q) in Fc-Q have been successfully detected in the femtosecond laser flash photolysis experiments. Thermal intramolecular electron transfer from Fc to Q in Fc-Q and Fc-(Me)Q also occurs efficiently in the presence of metal ions in acetonitrile at 298 K. The hydrogen bond formed between the semiquinone radical anion and the amide proton in Fc-Q results in remarkable acceleration of the rate of metal ion-promoted electron transfer as compared to the rate of Fc-(Me)Q in which hydrogen bonding is prohibited. The metal ion-promoted electron-transfer rates are well correlated with the binding energies of superoxide ion-metal ion complexes, which are derived from the g(zz) values of the ESR spectra.     

Synthesis of poly (ether-sulfone-amide)s by palladium-catalyzed polycondensation of aromatic dibromides containing ether sulfone structure,aromatic diamines,and carbon monoxide

A general method for the preparation of aromatic poly (ether-sulfone-amide)s has been developed. Polymerization is based on the palladium-catalyzed polycondensation of aromatic dibromides containing ether sulfone structural units, aromatic diamines, and carbon monoxide. Reactions were carried out in N, N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) in the presence of palladium catalyst, triphenylphosphine, and 1,8-diazabicyclo [5,4,0]–7–undecene (DBU), and gave a series of poly (ether-sulfone-amide)s with inherent viscosities up to 0.86 dL/g under mild conditions. The polymers were quite soluble in strong acids, dipolar aprotic solvents, and pyridine. Thermogravimetry of the polymers showed excellent thermal stability, indicating that 10% weight losses of the polymers were observed in the range above 470°C in air. The glass transition temperatures of the polymers were around 230°C, which are higher than those of poly (ether-sulfone) analogues. These polymers also showed the good tensile strengths and tensile modulus. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Synthesis of a “molecular rope curtain”: Preparation and characterization of a sliding graft copolymer with grafted poly(ethylene glycol) side chains by the “grafting onto” strategy

A sliding graft copolymer (SGC) with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) side chains was prepared by ester formation between terminal carboxyl groups of oxidized PEG methyl ether with molecular weight of 2000 (mPEG2000‐COOH) and hydroxyl groups of a polyrotaxane consisting of PEG and cyclodextrins (CDs). Formation of the SGC structure was confirmed by ¹H NMR, attenuated total reflectance Fourier‐transformed infrared, and gel permeation chromatography. The SGC was soluble in good solvents of PEG and insoluble in poor solvents of PEG. Estimation of the number of grafted mPEG chains suggested a “rope‐curtain” like structure, in which an mPEG chain is connected to each CD ring. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Nonclassical Urea Oligomers. VII. Binding Specificity of Carbanilido-ethylenimine Oligomer: Absorption Behavior in Suspension

Polyester elastomers were prepared by block copolymerization of dimethyl terephthalate (DMT), butanediol (BDO), and polytetramethylene glycol (PTMG). Polyester from DMT and butanediol forms a high-melting hard segment in block copolyester to prevent undue chain slippage when fibers are stretched. High elongation was provided by soft segment which consisted of condensation product from DMT and PTMG.

Experiments were carried out to determine the effect of composition variables on the properties of these elastomers, such as glass transition temperature, elongation at break, tenacity, and elastic recovery. The study on molecular characteristics of the elastic polyester showed that a leather-like region exists between glassy and rubbery regions. These elastomers were melt-spun to give elastic fibers which are competitive with commercially available Spandex-type fibers.     

Synthesis of Star-Shaped Polymers via Coordination of Bipyridyl-Terminated Polyoxyethylene with Metal Ions

Abstract

This paper describes the synthesis of various star-shaped polymers by means of complexation of bipyridyl-terminated polyoxyethylene with Ru(II) ion. Three kinds of bipyridyl-terminated polyoxyethylenes of different molecular weights were prepared from the corresponding polyoxyethylene monomethyl ethers with narrow molecular weight distributions. Bipyridyl was found to be introduced quantitatively at the end of the polymers based on the results of UV spectra. The formation of a star-shaped polymer was carried out by the reaction of RuCl₃ with three equivalents of bipyridyl-terminated polyoxyethylene. The UV spectrum of the star-shaped polymer obtained supported the formation of a typical Ru(II) tris(bipyridyl) complex. From the results of GPC, the star-shaped polymer obtained had a higher molecular weight than the pre-polymer and showed a narrow molecular weight distribution. In the case of a Ni(II) or a Co(II) complex, however, the star-shaped polymer was found to be dissociated into three linear prepolymers under the conditions of GPC measurement.     

Polymerization of Cyclic Ethers

Abstract

In the present series of studies on the cationic polymerization of cyclic ethers, the reactivities of cyclic ethers were quantified and the effect of the catalyst upon the polymerization kinetics was revealed. These kinetic analyses were successfully performed by means of our “phenoxyl end-capping method”. The change of the reactivity by the ring size of the monomer was interestingly demonstrated. In addition, it is emphasized that the frequency factor as well as the activation energy influence the rate constant of propagation. As to the effect of catalyst upon the polymerization kinetics, the most important conclusion is that the rate constant of propagation changes very little according to the changes of the catalyst components. Variation of the conversion rate by a change of catalyst is due to differences in the rates of the initiation and the termination reactions.