Calcium‐containing poly(urethane‐urea)s: Synthesis,spectral, and thermal studies

A calcium salt of mono(hydroxypentyl)phthalate [Ca(HPP)₂] was synthesized by the reaction of 1,5‐pentanediol, phthalic anhydride, and calcium acetate. Four different bisureas such as hexamethylene bis(ω,N‐hydroxyethylurea), tolylene 2,4‐bis(ω,N‐hydroxyethylurea), hexamethylene bis(ω,N‐hydroxypropylurea), and tolylene 2,4‐bis(ω,N‐hydroxypropylurea) were prepared by reacting ethanolamine or propanolamine with hexamethylene diisocyanate (HMDI) or tolylene 2,4‐diisocyanate (TDI). Calcium‐containing poly(urethane‐urea)s (PUUs) were synthesized by reacting HMDI or TDI with 1:1 mixtures of Ca(HPP)₂ and each of the bisureas with di‐n‐butyltin dilaurate as a catalyst. The PUUs were well characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ¹H and ¹³C NMR, solid‐state ¹³C–cross‐polarization/magic‐angle spinning NMR, viscosity, solubility, elemental analysis, and X‐ray diffraction studies. Thermal properties of the polymers were also examined with thermogravimetric analyses and differential scanning calorimetry. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 1809–1819, 2004     

Some properties of an extended Wigner function

A covariant generalisation of Wigner function proposed by us some years ago is reviewed, and its remarkable and useful properties are elucidated; its being a natural solution to a relativistically covariant Liouville equation is also demonstrated.     

Graphitic nanofillers in PMMA nanocomposites—An investigation of particle size and dispersion and their influence on nanocomposite properties

Mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of graphite/PMMA composites have been evaluated as functions of particle size and dispersion of the graphitic nanofiller components via the use of three different graphitic nanofillers: “as received graphite” (ARG), “expanded graphite,” (EG) and “graphite nanoplatelets” (GNPs) EG, a graphitic materials with much lower density than ARG, was prepared from ARG flakes via an acid intercalation and thermal expansion. Subsequent sonication of EG in a liquid yielded GNPs as thin stacks of graphitic platelets with thicknesses of ～10 nm. Solution‐based processing was used to prepare PMMA composites with these three fillers. Dynamic mechanical analysis, thermal analysis, and electrical impedance measurements were carried out on the resulting composites, demonstrating that reduced particle size, high surface area, and increased surface roughness can significantly alter the graphite/polymer interface and enhance the mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of the polymer matrix. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 2097–2112, 2007     

Magnetic behaviour of TbMnFe

Neutron diffraction and M?ssbauer measurements have been carried out on the cubic Laves phase intermetallic TbMnFe. The magnetic moment on the transition metal atom is found to be low, 0.2μ _B, at room temperature. This moment is temperature independent down to 10 K. Magnetic moment on the rare earth atom varies from 2.5μ _B at 296 K to 7.27μ _B at 10 K. M?ssbauer spectra recorded at 298 K and 78 K have magnetic character but there is a large distribution of hyperfine field values. Both these features arise due to magnetic frustration created in the sample due to the competing ferro and antiferromagnetic interactions between the transition metal atoms.     

Synergy between Brønsted acid sites and Lewis acid sites

Synergy between Br?nsted acid sites and Lewis acid sites in mesoporous Al-Zr-TUD-1 was demonstrated to exist in Br?nsted acid catalysed reactions, but not in Lewis acid catalysed reactions.     

A simple TiCl4 promoted arylation of orthoformate and benzyl ethers by N,N-dialkylarylamines

N,N-Dialkylarylamines react with trimethyl orthoformate and TiCl₄ under ambient conditions to give the corresponding formyl derivatives in 75-89% yields, whereas the corresponding arylated products are obtained from benzyl ethers and acetals in 42-78% yields.     

A novel arylation of arylacetic acid esters using tertiary arylamines and TiCl4

The reactions of arylacetic acid esters with tertiary arylamines in the presence of TiCl₄ give α-arylated products in 65-90% yields, as well as 10-20% yields of the corresponding benzidines.     

Synthesis of some benzimidazole‐, benzothiazole‐ and pyridine‐derived chelating agents

Procedures are given for the preparation of new linear bidentate, tetradentate and tripodal heptadentate ligands incorporating benzimidazole, benzothiazole and pyridyl groups. The compounds were characterized by their nmr, uv and mass spectra. The crystal and molecular structure is reported for a chiral benzothiazole derived from camphoric acid.     

Investigation of calcium-induced, noncovalent association of calmodulin with melittin by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Noncovalent association of Ca²⁺-loaded calmodulin with a target peptide melittin was studied by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). ESI-MS does not reveal any binding of the apocalmodulin to the melittin. Partial loading of calmodulin with calcium leads to weak association with melittin. Upon binding of two calcium ions to the protein, changes in the conformation of calmodulin occur; these changes are sufficient to promote binding of melittin. Saturation of the protein with Ca²⁺ (a distribution of up to seven calcium ions is detected) induces a large increase of the binding to melittin. The stoichiometry of peptide binding to calmodulin is 1:1.     

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometric study of encapsulation of amino acids by cyclodextrins

Electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry has been used to study inclusion (host-guest) complexes of cyclodextrins (CDs) with amino acids. Host-guest complexes formed in solution are stable for characterization by ESI mass spectrometry: The relative abundances and the stoichiometry of the complexes formed in solution can, thus, be determined in the gas phase. The studies verified that β- and γ-cyclodextrin better accommodate protonated amino acids than α-cyclodextrin, and that chemically modified cyclodextrins such as heptakis(2,6-di-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin (DM-β-CD) may show profound improvement in complexation. The preferential formation of DM-β-CD-aromatic amino acid over DM-β-CD-aliphatic amino acid complexes is confirmed by the experiments, and the relative gas-phase stabilities determined by repeller-collimator collision-induced dissociation show an identical trend to the complexation in solution. Although molecular mechanics studies also may predict the encapsulation preference of protonated amino acids by cyclodextrins, only small differences in the total complexation energies are obtained because of the inability of the calculations to consider hydrophobic interactions. An experimental approach based on ESI mass spectrometry is, therefore, more reliable in predicting host-guest interactions that involve cyclodextrins and amino acids than the theoretical calculations that employ molecular mechanics models.