Molecular orientation of azobenzene chromophores in ultrathin polymer nanosheets studied by attenuated total reflection spectroscopy

This paper describes characterization of molecular orientation for azobenzene moieties in a polymer nanosheet. Copolymers of N-[4-(phenylazo)phenyl] acrylamide (PAZoA) with tert-pentyl acrylamide (tPA) were synthesized and the monolayers deposited on tapered quartz waveguides by Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) technique. Spectroscopic properties of the copolymer (p(tPA/PAZoA)) monolayers were monitored by integrated optical waveguide technique on the molecular level. Molecular orientation of the azobenzene was precisely determined by polarized absorption spectra. It was found that the azobenzene groups took a horizontal orientation and distributed uniformly in the p(tPA/PAZoA) monolayer without significant PAZoA aggregation. Photoisomerization process from trans to cis form was also investigated. More than half of the trans form (60–70%) was photoisomerized under unpolarized light irradiation, and the photoisomerization rate was independent on the PAZoA contents. This implies that the microenvironment of PAZoA moieties was almost the same in three different p(tPA/PAZoA) monolayers.     

Synthesis of 12-deoxyroyleanone, cryptoquinone, 11,14-dihydroxy-8,11,13-abietatrien-7-one, and related derivatives from dehydroabietic acid

Naturally occurring abietane quinones and hydroquinone, namely, 12-deoxyroyleanone (1a), cryptoquinone (4a), and 11,14-dihydroxyabieta-8,11,13-trien-7-one (5a), together with the epimers of tryptoquinones D (2) and F (3), were first synthesized from dehydroabietic acid (6).     

New ferromagnets of Sr8ARe3Cu4O24 (A=Sr, Ca) with an ordered perovskite structure

New phases Sr₈ARe₃Cu₄O₂₄ (A=Sr,Ca) were discovered under high-pressure/high-temperature condition. X-ray powder diffraction and electron diffraction studies for these phases indicated that they have an ordered perovskite-type structure with cubic lattices of ∼8 Å. They showed ferromagnetism at room temperature when they were synthesized under high-oxygen-pressure condition. The Ca-containing phase has a very high T_c of 440 K with a spontaneous magnetization of ∼1 μ_B/f.u.     

Low temperature properties of acetonitrile confined in MCM-41

The effect of confinement on the phase changes and dynamics of acetonitrile in mesoporous MCM-41 was studied by use of adsorption, FT-IR, DSC, and quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) measurements. Acetonitrile molecules in a monolayer interact strongly with surface hydroxyls to be registered and perturb the triple bond in the C[triple bond]N group. Adsorbed molecules above the monolayer through to the central part of the cylindrical pores are capillary condensed molecules (cc-acetonitrile), but they do not show the hysteresis loop in adsorption-desorption isotherms, i.e., second order capillary condensation. FT-IR measurements indicated that the condensed phase is very similar to the bulk liquid. The cc-acetonitrile freezes at temperatures that depend on the pore size of the MCM-41 down to 29.1 A (C14), below which it is not frozen. In addition, phase changes between alpha-type and beta-type acetonitriles were observed below the melting points. Application of the Gibbs-Thomson equation, assuming the unfrozen layer thickness to be 0.7 nm, gave the interface free energy differences between the interfaces, i.e., Deltagamma(l/alpha) = 22.4 mJ m(-2) for the liquid/pore surface (ps) and alpha-type/ps, and Deltagamma(alpha/beta) = 3.17 mJ m(-2) for alpha-type/ps and beta-type/ps, respectively. QENS experiments substantiate the differing behaviors of monolayer acetonitrile and cc-acetonitrile. The monolayer acetonitrile molecules are anchored so as not to translate. The two Lorentzian analysis of QENS spectra for cc-acetonitriles showed translational motion but markedly slowed. However, the activation energy for cc-acetonitrile in MCM-41 (C18) is 7.0 kJ mol(-1) compared to the bulk value of 12.7 kJ mol(-1). The relaxation times for tumbling rotational diffusion of cc-acetonitrile are similar to bulk values.     

Synthesis, structure and thermal stability of fully hydrophobic porphyrin-DNA conjugates

The DNAs modified with tetraphenyl porphyrin at the center of 13mer oligonucleotide were synthesized using phosphoramidite chemistry and automated DNA synthesis. When the porphyrin modified oligonucleotide was annealed with its complementary strand, they formed a standard B-form duplex. The porphyrin moiety intercalated in the duplex, and moderately lowered the thermal stability.     

Multiple fluorescence spectra and stable encapsulation of 7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin and rhodamine 6g in silicate glasses by the sol-gel method

7-Hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin(4-methylumbelliferone, HMC) and Rhodamine 6G(R6G) were encapsulated into silicate polymeric glass prepared by the sol-gel method under acidic, basic, and neutral conditions from tetraethyl orthosilicate. The fluorescence spectra of these molecules encapsulated into the xerogel state depend on the used catalysts. Three types of fluorescence emissions having peak wavelengths of ca. 390 nm, 470 nm, and 550 run, respectively, were observed simultaneously in the xerogel state composed of HMC and R6G which were prepared by acid catalysts. The encapsulated HMC remains stable for more than one year in the prepared xerogel. The results open the way to the development of simultaneous three-band laser emissions. The observation of the fluorescence spectrum of HMC is useful for a molecular level photophysical probe elucidating the structural changes oftetraethyl orthosilicate during sol to gel to xerogel transitions.     

Derivatives Of ditraizinylamine and tritriazinylamine

2-Arylamino-4,6-dichloro-s-triazine reacts with cyanuric chloride in the presence of alkali to yield N,N-bis(4,6-dichloro-s-triazin-2-yl)-arylamine. In like manner, 2-substituted o-chloro-, p-chloro-, o-nitro- and p-carbomethoxyphenylamino-4,6-dimethoxy-s-triazines react with cyanuric chloride to yield the corresponding 4,6-dichloro-s-triazin-2-yl-4′,6′-dimethoxy-s-triazin-2′-ylaryl-amine, while anilino-, p-toluidino, o- and p-methoxyphenylamino and o-carbomethoxyphenylamino derivatives did not. The reaction of cyanuric chloride with 2,4-dichloro-6-ethylamino-s-triazine in the presence of alkali yields the condensation product of the ditriazinylamine type and the reaction of cyanuric chloride with ammonia yields N,N-bis(4,6-dichloro-s-triazin-2-yl)- or tris(4,6-dichloro-s-triazin-2-yl)amine.