Preparation of holographic gratings of liquid crystals dispersed in polyurethane acrylates under controlled reaction conditions.

Transmission gratings of holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (HPDLC) are prepared under controlled reaction conditions by adding various amounts of chain-transfer agent (CTA). The resulting films have a higher gel content with lower cross-link density, less dark reaction, less grating shrinkage with much smoother LC/polymer interfaces, smaller induction period, and fast saturation of diffraction efficiency, which shows a maximum of 95 % with 1 % CTA. An optimum LC content of 35 % is verified on the basis of morphology and reaction kinetics.     

Twofold Brook rearrangement-mediated tandem reactions of δ-silyl-γ,δ-epoxy-α,β-unsaturated acylsilanes with a cyanide ion

Reaction of δ-silyl-γ,δ-epoxy-α,β-unsaturated acylsilanes with KCN in the presence of chloro or cyanoformates gives highly functionalized dienol silyl ether derivatives via a twofold Brook rearrangement-induced tandem sequence.     

Assembled dendritic titanium catalysts for enantioselective hetero-Diels-Alder reaction of aldehydes with Danishefsky's diene

A new type of dendritic 2-amino-2'-hydroxy-1,1'-binaphthyl (NOBIN)-derived Schiff-base ligands have been synthesized and applied to the titanium-catalyzed hetero-Diels-Alder reaction of Danishefsky's diene with aldehydes. These reactions afforded the corresponding 2-substituted 2,3-dihydro-4H-pyran-4-ones in quantitative yields and with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 97.2 % ee). The disposition of the dendritic wedges and the dendron size in the ligands were found to have significant impact on the enantioselectivity of the reaction. The recovered dendritic catalyst could be reused without further addition of the Ti source or a carboxylic acid additive for at least three cycles, retaining similar activity and enantioselectivity. The high stability of this type of assembled dendritic titanium catalyst may be attributed to the stabilization effect of large-sized dendron units in the catalyst molecule. The other important phenomenon observed with this catalyst system is that a higher degree of asymmetric amplification has been achieved by attachment of the dendron unit to the chiral ligand, which represents a new advantage of dendrimer catalysts for asymmetric reactions using chiral ligands of lower optical purity.     

Syntheses, structures and third-order non-linear optical properties of homometal clusters containing molybdenum

Both the homometal cluster [P(ph₄)]₂[Mo₂O₂(μ-S)₂(S₂)₂] (1) and [Mo₂O₂(μ-S)₂(Et₂dtc)₂] (2) (Et₂dtc=diethyl-dithiocarbamate) were successfully synthesized by low-temperature solid-state reactions. X-ray single-crystal diffraction studies suggest that compound (1) is a dinuclear anion cluster, and compound (2) is a dinuclear neutral cluster. The two compounds were characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectra and UV-Vis spectra. The third-order non-linear optical (NLO) properties of the clusters were also investigated and all exhibited nice non-linear absorption and self-defocusing performance with moduli of the hyperpolarizabilities 5.145×10⁻³⁰ esu for (1) and 5.428×10⁻³⁰ esu for (2).     

One-pot synthesis of N-protected α-amino aldehyde acetals from three-component reaction of fluoroalkanesulfonyl azide, vinyl ether and alcohol

A facile one-step method has been developed for the synthesis of N-protected α-amino aldehyde acetals in moderate to good yields by three-component reaction of fluoroalkanesulfonyl azides, vinyl ethers and alcohol at 0 °C within 10 min. This practical synthetic method provides a convenient and expeditious access to N-per(poly)fluoroalkanesulfonyl α-amino aldehyde acetals.     

Facile preparation of organozinc bromides using electrogenerated highly reactive zinc and its use in cross-coupling reaction

Highly reactive zinc was readily prepared by electrolysis of a DMF solution containing pyrene as a mediator with a platinum cathode and a zinc anode. Preferential reduction of pyrene occurred to generate the corresponding radical anion, which reduced zinc ions generated from anodic dissolution to give zero valent zinc with high reactivity. The reactive zinc was successfully used for an efficient transformation of bromoalkanes into the corresponding organozinc bromides. Organozinc bromides obtained were further used successfully in Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction with various aryl iodides and bromides.     

A comparative study of the thermal reactivities of some transition metal oxalates in selected atmospheres

A comparative investigation has been made of the nonisothermal, solid-state thermal decompositions of the oxalates of six divalent transition metals (cations: manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper and zinc) in alternative flowing atmospheres, inert (N₂, CO₂), reducing (H₂) and oxidizing (air). Derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) response peak maxima, providing a measure of reaction temperatures, have been used to determine salt reactivities and thus to characterize the factors that control the relative stabilities of this set of chemically related reactants. Two trends were identified. Trend (1): in the inert and reducing atmospheres, the decomposition temperature (salt stability) increased with rise in enthalpy of formation of the divalent transition metal oxide, MO. It is concluded that the rupture of the cation-oxygen (oxalate) bond is the parameter that determines the stability of salts within this set. Trend (2): the diminution of decomposition temperatures from values for reactions in inert/reducing atmosphere to those for reactions in an oxidizing atmosphere increased with the difference in formation enthalpy between MO and the other participating oxide (MO_3/2 or MO_1/2). The change of cation valence tended to promote reaction, most decompositions in O₂ occurred at lower temperatures, but the magnitude of the effect varied considerably within this set of reactants. Observed variations in stoichiometric and kinetic characteristics with reaction conditions are discussed, together with the mechanisms of thermal decompositions of these solid oxalates.This approach to the elucidation of crystolysis reaction mechanisms emphasizes the value of comparative investigations within the group of chemically related reactants. Previous isothermal kinetic studies had been made for each of the reactants selected here. From these, much has been learned about the form of the (isothermal) solid-state yield-time curves, often interpreted to provide information about the geometry of interface development for the individual rate processes. However, identification of the controls of reactivity, reaction initiation (nucleation) and advance (nucleus growth), is much more difficult to characterize and less progress has been made towards elucidation of the interface chemistry. The trends of reactivity changes with salt compositions, identified here, offer a complementary approach to that provided by the study of single salts. Much of the recent literature on thermal decompositions of solids has been concerned with individual reactants, but many results and conclusions are not presented in the widest possible perspective. Comparisons between systematically related reactants are identified here as providing a chemical context for the elucidation of the chemical steps that participate in interface reactions. The article advocates the use of a more chemical approach in investigations of crystolysis (solid-state chemical) reactions.     

Michael and ring expansion reactions of 6-carboethoxy-3,5-diaryl-2-cyclohexen-1-ones

When -keto-ester1 a was reacted with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate ring expansion occurred to give substituted cyclooctadienones.Michael reactions of the title compounds1 with unsaturated ketones gave adducts, some of which underwent further cyclization reactions. A new route to -tetralone ring system10 via cyclization of the intermediateMichael adduct9 is described.

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Michael- und Ringerweiterungsreaktionen von 6-Carboethoxy-3,5-diaryl-2-cyclohexen-1-onen

Zusammenfassung Bei der Reaktion von -Keto-ester1 a mit Dimethyl-acetylendicarboxylat wurden unter Ringerweiterung substituierte Cyclooctadienone erhalten. DieMichael-Reaktion der Titelverbindung1 mit ungesättigten Ketonen ergab Addukte, von denen einige weitere Cyclisierungsreaktionen eingingen. Es wird ein neuer Weg zum -Tetralonsystem10 über die Cyclisierung des intermediärenMichael-Addukts9 beschrieben.

     

Pulse radiolysis study of I− oxidation with radical anions Cl2 ⋅− in an aqueous solution

Radiation-chemical transformations of chloride solutions in the presence of iodide additives were studied by pulse radiolysis. Radical anion Cl₂ ^⋅− oxidize I⁻ ion, while in the secondary reactions Cl₂ reacts with I⁻ to form a mixed trihalide ion ICl₂ ⁻. A reaction model that satisfactorily describes the experimental data was proposed. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1336–1340, June, 2005.     

Characterization of high-temperature superconductors by electron microprobe analysis

In order to optimize the physical properties of HTSC small single crystals grown from a melt for basic studies of their physical properties the influence of the environment on their impurity content was investigated by EPMA. This requires quantitative analysis of all elements being present in the crystals. The accuracy of results was affected by problems with the choice and quality of standards, by contamination but also by malfunction of microprobe electronics. The HTSC materials were found to react with mills, milling balls, crucibles and the atmosphere. These problems are being discussed and some reactions being studied for Y₁Ba₂Cu₃O_6+x (0 < x < 1) HTSC in A1₂O₃ and ZrO₂ crucibles. The crystals grown contain reproducible amounts of impurities depending on boundary conditions and exhibit a zone structure in composition particularly for Y and Ba within their range of homogeneity.