Effect of the organophosphate structure on the physical and flame‐retardant properties of an epoxy resin

2‐(6‐Oxido‐6H‐dibenzo〈c,e〉〈1,2〉oxa‐phosphorin‐6‐yl)1,4‐benzenediol (ODOPB) and bis(3‐dihydroxyphenyl) phenyl phosphate (BHPP) were successfully synthesized and used as reactive flame retardants in o‐cresol formaldehyde novolac epoxy resin. Because of the rigid, cyclic, side‐chain structure of ODOPB, the resultant phosphorus‐containing epoxy resin exhibited a higher glass‐transition temperature, better flame retardancy, higher modulus, and greater thermal stability than the regular bromine‐containing tetrabromobisphenol A epoxy resin and the linear, main‐chain, phosphorus‐containing BHPP epoxy resin. A UL‐94VO rating was achieved with a phosphorus content as low as 1.1% with ODOPB (comparable to a bromine content of 12% and a phosphorus content of 2.2% with BHPP) in the cured resins, and no fumes or toxic gas emissions were observed. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 369–378, 2002     

Monosubstituted Trinuclear and Tetranuclear VIB Metal Carbonyl Complexes: Syntheses of [{M(CO)5}3(Pf-Pf-Pf)] [Pf-Pf-Pf = PhP(CH2CH2PPh2)2] and [{M(CO)5}4(P-Pf3)] [P-Pf3 = P(CH2CH2PPh2)3] (M = Cr,Mo) and Crystal Structures of the Latter Three

The triligate trimetallic complexes, [{M(CO)₅}₃(Pf-Pf-Pf)] and tetraligate tetrametallic complexes, [{M(CO)₅}₄(P-Pf₃)] (M = Cr and Mo), were prepared from [M(CO) ₆] and the corresponding ligands in MeCN/CH₂Cl₂ promoted by Me₃NO at 0 °C. Crystals of trimer lb are monoclinic, space group P 2₁/n, with a = 13.407(3), b = 15.002(5), c = 26.52(1) Å, β = 90.65(2)°, Z = 4, and R = 0.060 for 2760 observed reflections. Crystals of tetramer 2a are monoclinic, space group P 2₁/c, with a – 14.183(8), b = 29.880(4), c = 16.103(2) Å, β = 94.98(3)°, Z = 4, and R = 0.039 for 5014 observed reflections. Crystals of 2b are monoclinic, space group C 2/c, with a = 42.120(8), b = 13.679(1), c = 23.486(2) Å, β = 92.14(1)°, Z = 8, and R = 0.032 for 6897 observed reflections. Each phosphorus atom of the ligands is coordinated to the M(CO)₅ moiety in each title compounds. The geometry of the four metals is a distorted tetrahedron for the tetramers.     

Palladium(0)‐Catalyzed Single and Double Isonitrile Insertion: A Facile Synthesis of Benzofurans,Indoles, and Isatins

A palladium(0)‐catalyzed cascade process consisting of isonitrile insertion and α‐Csp³?H cross‐coupling can be achieved for the synthesis of benzofurans and indoles. The construction of isatins by a Pd‐catalyzed cascade reaction incorporating double isonitrile insertion, amination, and hydrolysis has also been achieved. The key features of this work include diverse heterocycle synthesis, phosphine‐ligand‐free reaction conditions, a one‐pot procedure, simple and commercially available starting materials, broad functional‐group compatibility, and moderate to good reaction yields.     

FTIR spectroscopy as a tool for nano-material characterization

Covalently grafting functional molecules to carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is an important step to leverage the excellent properties of that nano-fiber in order to exploit its potential in improving the mechanical and thermal properties of a composite material. While Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) spectroscopy can display the various chemical bonding in a material, we found that the existing database in FTIR library does not cover all the bonding information present in functionalized CNTs because the bond between the grafted molecule and the CNT is new in the FTIR study. In order to extend the applicability of FTIR to nano-material, we present a theoretical method to derive FTIR spectroscopy and compare it with our experimental results. In particular, we illustrate a method for the identification of functional molecules grafted on CNTs, and we are able to confirm that the functional molecules are indeed covalently grafted on the CNTs without any alterations to its functional groups.     

Analysis of urinary nucleosides as helper tumor markers in hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common neoplasm in Taiwan, for which early diagnosis is difficult and the prognosis is usually poor. HCC is usually diagnosed by abdominal sonography and serum alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) detection. Modified nucleosides, regarded as indicators for the whole‐body turnover of RNAs, are excreted in abnormal amounts in the urine of patients with malignancies and can serve as tumor markers. We analyzed the excretion patterns of urinary nucleosides from 25 HCC patients and 20 healthy volunteers by high‐performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI‐MS/MS) under optimized conditions. The HPLC/ESI‐MS/MS approach with selective reaction monitoring (SRM) allowed for the sensitive determination of nucleosides in human urine samples. The mean levels of the urinary nucleosides adenosine, cytidine, and inosine were significantly higher in HCC patients than healthy volunteers (average of 1.78‐, 2.26‐, and 1.47‐fold, respectively). However, the mean levels of urinary 1‐methyladenosine, 3‐methylcytidine, uridine, and 2′‐deoxyguanosine were not significantly different. Combined with the determination of serum AFP levels, the higher levels of urinary adenosine, cytidine, and inosine may be additional diagnosis markers for HCC in Taiwanese patients. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pressure-dependent electronic structures in multiferroic DyMnO(3): A combined lifetime-broadening-suppressed x-ray absorption spectroscopy and ab initio electronic structure study

Variations in the electronic structure and structural distortion in multiferroic DyMnO(3) were probed by synchrotron x-ray diffraction, lifetime-broadening-suppressed x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and ab initio electronic structure calculations. The refined x-ray diffraction data enabled an observation of a diminished local Jahn-Teller distortion of Mn sites within MnO(6) octahedra in DyMnO(3) on applying the hydrostatic pressure. The intensity of the white line in Mn K-edge x-ray absorption spectra of DyMnO(3) progressively increased with the increasing pressure. With the increasing hydrostatic pressure, the absorption threshold of an Mn K-edge spectra of DyMnO(3) shifted toward a greater energy, whereas the pre-edge line slightly shifted to a smaller energy. We provide the spectral evidence for the pressure-induced bandwidth broadening for manganites. The intensity enhancement of the white line in Mn K-edge spectra is attributed to a diminished Jahn-Teller distortion of MnO(6) octahedra in compressed DyMnO(3). A comparison of the pressure-dependent XAS spectra with the ab initio electronic structure calculations and full calculations of multiple scattering using the code FDMNES shows the satisfactory agreement between experimental and calculated Mn K-edge spectra.     

Synthesis of amino core compounds of galactosyl phytosyl ceramide analogs for developing iNKT-cell inducers

1-Aminophytosphingosine and 6-aminogalactosyl phytosphingosine were prepared in 61% and 40% yield libraries with 44 carboxylic acids showed that a 4-butylbenzoic acid-derived product exe, respectively. Glycosylation using benzoyl-protected lipid resulted in better a-selectivity for ceramide analogs, but the yield was less than that obtained with benzyl moieties. Screening the amide rted less cytotoxicity. These analogs were purified for validation of immunological potencies and the a-GalCer analog but not the sphingosine analog stimulated human iNKT cell population.     

Field-induced expansion deformation in Pb islands on Cu(111): evidence from energy shift of empty quantum-well states

We use scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to measure the energy shift of empty quantum-well (QW) states in Pb islands on the Cu(111) surface. It is found that, with an increase of the electric field, the behavior of the energy shift can be grouped into two different modes for most QW states. In the first mode, the state energy moves toward high energy monotonically. In the second mode, the state energy shifts to a lower energy initially and then turns around to a higher energy. Moreover, we have observed that the QW states of higher energy behave in preference to the first mode, but they gradually change to the second mode as the Pb island becomes thicker. This thickness-dependent behavior reflects the existence of local expansion in the Pb islands, due to the electric field, and that the expansion is larger for a thicker island. QW states can thus be used for studying the localized lattice deformation in the nanometer scale.     

Multi‐Channel Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) Sensor Based on Artificial Back Propagation Neural (BPN) Network and Multivariate Linear Regression Analysis (MLR) for Organic Vapors

A six‐channel surface acoustic wave (SAW) detection system with a 315 MHz one‐port quartz resonator and a homemade computer interface for signal acquisition and data processing was developed to detect various organic vapors. The oscillating frequency of the SAW quartz crystal decreased due to the adsorption of organic molecules on the coating materials. Polyethylene glycol, 18 crown 6 (18C6), Cr³⁺/cryptand‐22, stearic acid, polyvinylpyrrolidene and triphenyl phosphine coated quartz crystals were used as sensors. An artificial back propagation neural (BPN) network was used to recognize various organic gases such as hexane, 1‐hexene, 1‐hexyne, 1‐propanol, propionaldehyde, propionic acid and 1‐propylamine. It showed not only the distinction of unity of organic vapors but also mixtures of gases. The learning rate and the hidden unit of a neural network system for BPN analysis were investigated. Furthermore, the concentrations of these organic vapors were computed with about 10% error by multivariate linear regression analysis (MLR). MLR analysis with a multichannel SAW sensor was applied to determine the concentration of each component in a mixture of 1‐hexene, 1‐hexyne and propionaldehyde.