Synthesis and properties of poly(amic acid)s and polyimides based on 2,2′,6,6′‐biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride

Poly(amic acid)s (PAAs) having the high solution stability and transmittance at 365 nm for photosensitive polyimides have been developed. PAAs with a twisted conformation in the main chains were prepared from 2,2′,6,6′‐biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (2,2′,6,6′‐BPDA) and aromatic diamines. Imidization of PAAs was achieved by chemical treatment using trifluoroacetic anhydride. Among them, the PAA derived from 2,2′,6,6′‐BPDA and 4,4′‐(1,3‐phenylenedioxy)dianiline was converted to the polyimide by thermal treatment. The heating at 300 °C under nitrogen did not complete thermal imidization of PAAs having glass‐transition temperatures (T_g)s higher than 300 °C to the corresponding PIs. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 6385–6393, 2006     

Single molecular multianalyte sensor: jewel pendant ligand

[structure: see text] The jewel pendant ligand has multiple chromogenic units combined in a single molecule with the dyes linked to a semiselective binding site by three heteroatoms (O, N, S) having different HSAB characteristics, to indicate diverse response to individual transition metal ions. Using a single-molecular multianalyte sensor, multiple analytes could be determined with a minimal sensing system.     

Enantioselective Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction promoted by a heterobimetallic complex with a Lewis base

A new double-activation catalysis is presented for the Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction of an α,β-unsaturated ketone and an aldehyde by the combined use of a heterobimetallic asymmetric complex and tributylphosphine ((n-Bu)₃P) to afford the α-methylene-β-hydroxy ketone with up to 99% ee.     

Ruthenium-catalyzed carbonylative cycloaddition of alpha-keto lactones with alkenes or alkynes: the participation of an ester-carbonyl group in cycloaddition reactions as the two-atom assembling unit

The reaction of benzofuran-2,3-dione derivatives 1 with CO and alkenes (or alkynes) results in a carbonylative [2+2+1] cycloaddition in which the ester-carbonyl group is incorporated into a two-atom assembling unit to give spirolactone derivatives 2. This reaction provides the first example of an ester-carbonyl group participating in a carbonylative cycloaddition reaction.     

Solubilization and applications of single-walled carbon nanotubes into aqueous and organic media by the use of nanometer size-controlled fluoroalkyl end-capped oligomeric aggregates

We have studied on the solubilization of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SW-CNTs) into aqueous and organic media by the use of a variety of nanometer size-controlled fluorinated self-assemblies, which were formed by the aggregations of end-capped fluoroalkyl segments in fluoroalkyl end-capped acrylic acid oligomers [R_F-(ACA)_n-R_F], N,N-dimethylacrylamide oligomers [R_F-(DMAA)_n-R_F], acryloylmorpholine oligomers [R_F-(ACMO)_n-R_F], and N-(1,1-dimethyl-3-oxobutyl)acrylamide oligomers [R_F-(DOBAA)_n-R_F]. Fluorinated self assemblies formed in organic media (colorless solutions) could solubilize SW-CNTs into organic media to afford the transparent pale yellow solutions. The dynamic light scattering measurements showed that the size of fluorinated self-assemblies increased after the solubilization of SW-CNTs into organic media. It was suggested that the solubilization of SW-CNTs into organic media is due to the encapsulation of SW-CNTs into fluorinated assemblies. Fluorinated assemblies were also able to solubilize SW-CNTs into water to give the transparent gray solutions. Among a variety of fluorinated assemblies, fluorinated assemblies formed by R_F-(ACMO)_n-R_F [R_F = CF(CF₃)OC₆F₁₃] oligomer was more effective for the solubilization of SW-CNTs into both aqueous and organic media. Contact angle measurements of dodecane and the fluorescence spectra for poly(methyl methacrylate) cast film modified by fluorinated self-assemblies—SW-CNTs complexes showed that SW-CNTs are dispersed above the PMMA surface.     

Force in scf theories

A new force approach is reported in which we improve the wavefunction so that the Hellmann-Feynman theorem is satisfied. A sufficient condition for the Hellmann-Feynman theorem to be satisfied is that the basis set includes AO derivatives ?x_r/?x_rfor any basis x_r. Here we test a procedure in which only the first derivative AOs are added to the “parent” AOs. The results are very encouraging.     

Bifunctional organocatalysts for enantioselective aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction

The efficient and novel bifunctional organocatalyst for the enantioselective aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman (aza-MBH) reaction has been established with (S)-3-(N-isopropyl-N-3-pyridinylaminomethyl)BINOL for the first time. The reaction proved to be deeply influenced by the position of the Lewis base attached to BINOL. The acid-base-mediated functionalities for the activation of the substrate and the fixing of conformation of the organocatalyst are harmoniously performed to promote the reaction with high enantiocontrol.     

Synthesis and properties of novel fluoroalkyl end‐capped oligomers having adamantane units in the main chains via a radical process

Fluoroalkanoyl peroxides were reacted with adamantane in the presence of radical polymerizable monomers such as acrylic acid, acryloylmorpholine, and N,N‐dimethylacrylamide to afford fluoroalkyl end‐capped oligomers having adamantane units in the main chains via a radical process under very mild conditions. Thermal stability of these new fluorinated adamantane co‐oligomers thus obtained became higher than that of the corresponding fluorinated homo‐oligomers having no adamantane units. Interestingly, these fluorinated adamantane co‐oligomers exhibited good solubility in traditional organic solvents such as methanol, ethanol, tetrahydrofuran, chloroform, benzene, dimethylsulfoxide and N,N‐dimethylformamide including water, although the parent adamantane exhibited no solubility in water, methanol and dimethylsulfoxide. Furthermore, these adamantane co‐oligomers were able to reduce the surface tension effectively to form the nanometer size‐controlled self‐assembled fluorinated molecular aggregates. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric determination of oxolinic acid in fish using selected ion monitoring

A gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) method is described for the determination of oxolinic acid in fish tissues. oxolinic acid is reduced with sodium tetrahydroborate to permit GC analysis. The sample is homogenized with phosphate buffer (pH 6) and extracted with ethyl acetate. The extract is partitioned between sodium hydrogencarbonate solution and the aqueous phase is acidified and re-extracted with ethyl acetate. The residue from the ethyl acetate extract is dissolved in methanol and reduced with sodium tetrahydroborate. The reduction product is extracted with diethyl ether and analysed by GC-MS in the selected ion monitoring mode for the ions at m/z 204, 219 and 176. The detection limit is 0.001 mg/kg and the recoveries were 95.6% [relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) 7.7%] at 0.1 mg/kg and 72.9% (R.S.D. 13.3%) at 0.01 mg/kg fortification levels in fish.