Nonclassical Recrystallization

Applications in the fields of materials science and nanotechnology increasingly demand monodisperse nanoparticles in size and shape. Up to now, no general purification procedure exists to thoroughly narrow the size and shape distributions of nanoparticles. Here, we show by analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC) as an absolute and quantitative high-resolution method that multiple recrystallizations of nanocrystals to mesocrystals is a very efficient tool to generate nanocrystals with an excellent and so-far unsurpassed size-distribution (PDI_c=1.0001) and shape. Similar to the crystallization of molecular building blocks, nonclassical recrystallization removes “colloidal” impurities (i.e., nanoparticles, which are different in shape and size from the majority) by assembling them into a mesocrystal. In the case of nanocrystals, this assembly can be size- and shape-selective, since mesocrystals show both long-range packing ordering and preferable crystallographic orientation of nanocrystals. Besides the generation of highly monodisperse nanoparticles, these findings provide highly relevant insights into the crystallization of mesocrystals.     

A Highly Selective Synthesis of a Chiral Gamma-amino Trisubstituted Z-Vinyl Ester.1

Application of the Clark Still trifluorethyl phosphonate varient of the Wadsworth-Emmons reaction with a chiral alpha-amino aldehyde results in the highly selective synthesis of a trisubstituted Z-vinyl ester.     

The Ene-Reaction of Phosphaalkynes-Application for the Synthesis of Phosphiranes

Abstract

1,3-Butadienes 1 and 6-Methyl-2H-pyran-2-ones 6 react with two equivalents of phosphaalkynes 2 in a domino-reaction to the diphosphiranes 5 and 9 respectively. Diels-Alder-reaction of 1 with 2 leads to 3 which cannot be isolated. An Ene-reaction of the phosphacyclohexa-1,4-diene 3 with additional 2 gives 4 followed by an intramolecular Diels-Alder-reaction yielding the stable diphosphatricyclooctenes 5.     

An Intramolecular Diels-alder Reaction of a Z-Diene. Generation Of The Chiral Isoindolone Nucleus Of Cytochalasin C.1

Aldol/elimination reactions of ß-ketoamides with methyl glyoxylate result in highly selective production of Z-α,ß-unsaturated amides. An intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of a triply activated dienophile derived from chiral dienylamine 7ZE stereospecifically affords chiral bicyclic lactam 11 at room temperature.     

The morphology of submicronsized core-shell latex particles: an electron microscopy study

The core-shell structure of a range of acrylic-acrylic latexes has been investigated by combining different specimen preparation methods with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (DSTEM) and low-voltage scanning electron microscopy (LV-SEM), including the first reported use of LV-SEM to observe composite latex particles at ambient and subambient temperatures. Spin-coating of liquid latex dispersions directly onto TEM grids or SEM stubs is shown to be a relatively straightforward mean of avoiding film formation during specimen preparation. In conjunction with double staining techniques, it has been found to be particularly convenient for characterizing the fine structure of particles with diameters down to below 100 nm.     

Polymorphs of the Gadolinite-Type Borates ZrB2O5 and HfB2O5 Under Extreme Pressure

Based on the results from previous high-pressure experiments on the gadolinite-type mineral datolite, CaBSiO₄(OH), the behavior of the isostructural borates β-HfB₂O₅ and β-ZrB₂O₅ have been studied by synchrotron-based in situ high-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments. On compression to 120 GPa, both borate layer-structures are preserved. Additionally, at ≈114 GPa, the formation of a second phase can be observed in both compounds. The new high-pressure modification γ-ZrB₂O₅ features a rearrangement of the corner-sharing BO₄ tetrahedra, while still maintaining the four- and eight-membered rings. The new phase γ-HfB₂O₅ contains ten-membered rings including the rare structural motif of edge-sharing BO₄ tetrahedra with exceptionally short B−O and B⋅⋅⋅B distances. For both structures, unusually high coordination numbers are found for the transition metal cations, with ninefold coordinated Hf⁴⁺, and tenfold coordinated Zr⁴⁺, respectively. These findings remarkably show the potential of cold compression as a low-energy pathway to discover metastable structures that exhibit new coordinations and structural motifs.     

La3B6O13(OH): The First Acentric High-Pressure Borate Displaying Edge-Sharing BO4 Tetrahedra

La₃B₆O₁₃(OH) was obtained by a high-pressure/high-temperature experiment at 6 GPa and 1673 K. The compound crystallizes in the space group P2₁ (no. 4) with the lattice parameters a=4.785(2), b=12.880(4), c=7.433(3) Å, and β=90.36(10)°, and is built up of corner- as well as edge-sharing BO₄ tetrahedra. It represents the first acentric high-pressure borate containing these B₂O₆ entities. The compound develops borate layers of „sechser“-rings with the La³⁺ cations positioned between the layers. Single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, vibrational and MAS NMR spectroscopy, second-harmonic generation (SHG) and thermoanalytical measurements, as well as computational methods were used to affirm the proposed structure and the B₂O₆ entities.