Phase Separation in Methylsiloxane Sol-Gel Systems in a Small Confined Space

The organo-siloxane gel with co-continuous structure derived from methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) was synthesized in a confined space between parallel plates by inducing spinodal decomposition during sol-gel transition. The resultant gel morphology was 3-dimensionally observed by laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). The sliced LSCM photographs revealed that the confined gels have inhomogeneity perpendicular to the plate, exhibiting a layered structure. The layered structure can be divided into three regions according to their morphology; interface, near-surface layer, bulk phase. The organo-siloxane depletion layer had formed in the vicinity of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic plates, and the bulk phase had formed slight away from the plates exhibited co-continuous structure. In addition, the confined gels exhibited no shrinkage during drying process that resulted in the larger domain size compared to the monolithic gel. The attractive interaction between the plates and the resultant organo-siloxane phase accounts for the inhibition of shrinkage of confined gels.     

A novel neolignan, mansoxetane, and two new sesquiterpenes, mansonones R and S, from Mansonia gagei

Three new compounds, mansoxetane; 4′-(3-hydroxy-1,2-oxetanyl)-2′,2-dihydroxy-4-(2-formyl-1-ethyl)-6′,6-dimethoxy biphenyl, and mansonones R and S, together with two previously reported coumarins, mansorins A and C, and four known mansonones, mansonones C, E, G and H, were obtained from the methanolic extract of the heartwood from Mansonia gagei Drumm. Their structures were established by spectroscopic methods.     

Establishment of de facto standard catalysts in the polypropylene industry

Polypropylene (PP) has become an indispensable material in our daily lives. Annual worldwide production of PP is now more than 30000000 tons and is predicted to grow at an annual rate of about 6% during the first decade of the 21st century. Commercial production of PP began in 1957 with the use of TiCl(3) catalysts established by Ziegler and Natta. However, the low activities and low stereospecificities of the catalysts resulted in large amounts of catalyst residue and atactic PP in the product, necessitating steps for their removal in commercial production. As a means of finding appropriate catalysts, we developed MgCl(2)-supported TiCl(4) catalysts, which basic concept was introduction of organic compounds onto the inorganic crystal catalyst surface. This addition led to remarkable enhancements in stereospecificity with extremely high activity. Use of the new catalysts enlarged and simplified the PP production process by eliminating the steps previously required for removal of catalyst residue and atactic PP. In addition, it greatly improved the properties of the PP, enabling a much wider range of PP applications by replacing metal and engineering plastics with the highly stereoregular PP. Therefore, these catalysts helped the rapid establishment of the current PP industry and now play a major role in production. The latest MgCl(2)-supported TiCl(4) catalyst is providing precise control of the isotactic PP structure. Future expectations for this type of catalyst are to acquire a single-site nature and to contribute to the creation of a new class of hybrid materials.     

Vesicle formation in oleyldimethylamine oxide/sodium oleate mixtures

Vesicle formation in a mixture of oleyldimethylamine oxide (OleylDMAO) and sodium oleate (NaOl) was investigated by viscoelastic measurements and cryoscopic transmission electron micrograph (cryo-TEM) observations. The viscoelastic properties changed with increasing mole fraction of NaOl (X _NaOl) from the Maxwell behavior of OleylDMAO solutions (X _NaOl=0) suggesting a transient network of long flexible chains. For X _NaOl=0.2 and 0.4 mixtures, both the shear storage modulus G and the shear loss modulus G showed weak dependences on angular frequency with a relation G>G. From cryo-TEM observations, vesicles coexisted with threadlike micelles in mixtures of X _NaOl=0.2 and 0.3. As X _NaOl increased further (X _NaOl=0.5 and 0.6), threadlike micelles disappeared and the coexistence of vesicles and globular micelles was observed. At X _NaOl=0.5, the viscosity decreased remarkably, which was consistent with the disappearance of threadlike micelles. The results indicated that vesicles were formed by the addition of NaOl to OleylDMAO solutions, contrary to the expectation of a decrease of the packing parameter with the introduction of electric charges.     

Multipoint recognition of catecholamines by hydrindacene-based receptors accompanied by the complexation-induced conformational switching

The molecular recognition of catecholamines by hydrindacene-based receptors 1 and 2, as well as the durene-based receptor 3, and the guest-induced conformational changes are reported. These receptors selectively bind adrenaline and dopamine salts through the guests' ammonium group and 3-hydroxyl group on the aromatic ring. In the case of adrenaline, an additional hydrogen bond with a benzylic hydroxyl group is formed. In 2 % CD3CN/CDCl3, the association constants are of the order of 10(4) M(-1), which is much larger than with guests without the 3-hydroxyl groups (10(3) M(-1)). The two amide groups of receptor 1 can rotate freely around the C(aromatic)--C(amide) bond, whereas the tert-amide in 2 changes between two stable conformations at a slow enough rate to allow detection by (1)H NMR spectroscopy. In the absence of a guest molecule, the syn-conformer is less stable than the anti-conformer. On complex formation with adrenaline, the syn-conformer becomes dominant due to an intramolecular dipole-reversal effect in addition to multipoint hydrogen bonding.     

Pd-catalyzed selective addition of heteroaromatic C-H bonds to C-C triple bonds under mild conditions

Simple heteroarenes such as pyrroles and indoles undergo addition reactions to C-C triple bonds in the presence of a catalytic amount of Pd(OAc)(2) under very mild conditions, affording cis-heteroarylalkenes in most cases. The cleavage of aromatic C-H bonds is the possible rate-determining step in CH(2)Cl(2), and the addition of heteroaromatic C-H bonds to C-C triple bonds is in a trans-fashion.     

Laser photolysis studies of the photochemical reactions of chromium(III) octaethylporphyrin and tetramesitylporphyrin complexes in toluene solution

A nanosecond laser photolysis study was carried out for the Cr(III) porphyrin complexes of 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethylporphyrin, [Cr(OEP)(Cl)(L)], and of 5,10,15,20-tetramesitylporphyrin, [Cr(TMP)(Cl)(L)], in toluene containing water and an excess amount of L (L = axial ligand). The laser photolysis generates the triplet excited state of the parent complex as well as a five-coordinate complex, [Cr(porphyrin)(Cl)], produced by the photodissociation of the axial ligand L. The yields for the formation of the triplet state and the photodissociation of L are found to markedly depend on the nature of both L and porphyrin ligand. The five-coordinate [Cr(porphyrin)(Cl)] readily reacts with both H(2)O and L in the bulk solution to give [Cr(porphyrin)(Cl)(H(2)O)] and [Cr(porphyrin)(Cl)(L)], respectively. The axial H(2)O ligand in [Cr(porphyrin)(Cl)(H(2)O)] is then substituted by the ligand L to regenerate the original complex [Cr(porphyrin)(Cl)(L)]. In principle, the substitution reaction takes place by the dissociative mechanism: the first step is the dissociation of H(2)O from [Cr(porphyrin)(Cl)(H(2)O)], followed by the reaction of the five-coordinate [Cr(porphyrin)(Cl)] with the ligand L to regenerate [Cr(porphyrin)(Cl)(L)]. The rate constants for this ligand substitution reaction are found to exhibit bell-shaped ligand concentration dependence. The detailed kinetic analysis revealed that both ligands L and H(2)O in toluene make a hydrogen bond with the axial H(2)O ligand in [Cr(porphyrin)(Cl)(H(2)O)] to yield dead-end complexes for the substitution reaction. The reaction mechanisms are discussed on the basis of the substituent effects of the porphyrin peripheral groups and the kinetic parameters determined from the temperature dependence of the rate constants.     

Surface grafting of polymers onto inorganic ultrafine particles: Reaction of functional polymers with acid anhydride groups introduced onto inorganic ultrafine particles

The surface grafting onto inorganic ultrafine particles, such as silica, titanium oxide, and ferrite, by the reaction of acid anhydride groups on the surfaces with functional polymers having hydroxyl and amino groups was examined. The introduction of acid anhydride groups onto inorganic ultrafine particle was achieved by the reaction of hydroxyl groups on these surfaces with 4-trimethoxysilyltetrahydrophthalic anhydride in toluene. The amount of acid anhydride groups introduced onto the surface of ultrafine silica, titanium oxide, and ferrite was determined to be 0.96, 0.47, and 0.31 mmol/g, respectively, by elemental analysis. Functional polymers having terminal hydroxyl or amino groups, such as diol-type poly(propylene glycol) (PPG), and diamine-type polydimethylsiloxane (SDA), reacted with acid anhydride groups on these ultrafine particles to give polymer-grafted ultrafine particles: PPG and SDA were considered to be grafted onto these surfaces with ester and amide bond, respectively. The percentage of grafting increased with increasing acid anhydride group content of the surface: the percentage of grafting of SDA (M_n = 3.9 × 10³) onto silica, titanium oxide, and ferrite reaching 64.7, 33.7, and 24.1%, respectively. These polymer-grafted ultrafine particles gave a stable colloidal dispersion in organic solvents.     

The crystal structures of α- and β-CdUO4

The structural parameters of α- and β-CdUO₄ crystals are determined by X-ray powder diffraction technique. α-CdUO₄ is rhombohedral and cell parameters are a = 6.233(3) Å and α = 36.12(5)°. β-CdUO₄ crystallizes in a C-centered orthorhombic cell with a = 7.023(4), b = 6.849(3), c = 3.514 (2) Å. The space groups are $\text{R}\text{3}\text{m}$ for α-CdUO₄ and Cmmm for β-CdUO₄. α-CdUO₄: 1U in (000), 1Cd in ($\text{1}\text{2}\text{1}\text{2}\text{1}\text{2}$), 2O(1) in ±(uuu), 2O(2) in ±(vvv); u = 0.113, v = 0.350, Z = 1. β-CdUO₄: 2U in ($\text{000;}\text{1}\text{2}\text{1}\text{2}\text{0}$), 2Cd in ($\text{1}\text{2}\text{0}\text{1}\text{2}\text{; 0}\text{1}\text{2}\text{,}\text{1}\text{2}$), 4O(1) in ($\text{0, ±y, 0;}\text{1}\text{2}\text{,}\text{1}\text{2}\text{±y, 0}$), 4O(2) in ($\text{±x, 0,}\text{1}\text{2}\text{;}\text{1}\text{2}\text{±x,}\text{1}\text{2}\text{,}\text{1}\text{2}$); x = 0.159, y = 0.278, Z = 2. β-CdUO₄ contains collinear uranyl UO²⁺₂ groups with a UO(1) distance of 1.91 Å, located either along or parallel to the c axis whereas the UO(1) bond length in α-CdUO₄ is 1.98 Å which is longer than the usual uranyl bond length.