Determination of the degree of cure under dynamic and isothermal curing conditions with electrical impedance spectroscopy

This article presents a new methodology for the quantitative determination of the progress of the curing reaction of a thermosetting resin, using the results of electrical impedance spectroscopy. The method is an extension of the use of the imaginary impedance maximum as a reaction progress indicator and is based on the demonstration of a close correlation between the reaction rate, as measured by conventional differential scanning calorimetry, and the rate of change of the value of the imaginary impedance spectrum maximum. Tests on a commercial aerospace epoxy resin under both isothermal and dynamic heating conditions with calorimetry and impedance spectroscopy have demonstrated the validity of the method and set the accuracy limits involved. This technique can be used as a real-time online control tool for thermoset composite manufacturing. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 146–154, 2004     

Simultaneous Two-Photon Activation of Type-I Photodynamic Therapy Agents

The excitation and emission properties of several psoralen derivatives are compared using conventional single-photon excitation and simultaneous two-photon excitation (TPE). Two-photon excitation is effected using the output of a mode-locked titanium: sapphire laser, the near infrared output of which is used to promote non-resonant TPE directly. Specifically, the excitation spectra and excited-state properties of 8-methoxypsoralen and 4′-aminomethyl-4,5,8-trimethylpsoralen are shown to be equivalent using both modes of excitation. Further, in vitro feasibility of two-photon photodynamic therapy (PDT) is demonstrated using Salmonella typhimurium. Two-photon excitation may be beneficial in the practice of PDT because it would allow replacement of visible or UV excitation light with highly penetrating, nondamag-ing near infrared light and could provide a means for improving localization of therapy. Comparison of possible laser excitation sources for PDT reveals the titanium: sapphire laser to be exceptionally well suited for nonlinear excitation of PDT agents in biological systems due to its extremely short pulse width and high repetition rate that together provide efficient PDT activation and greatly reduced potential for biological damage     

The dissociation energy of CaO

Ab initio calculations using a large STO basis set yield a dissociation energy of 4.07 ± 0.09 eV, suggesting that Irvin and Dagdigian's chemiluminescence value of 4.11 ± 0.07 eV is the most accurate value available.     

Ruthenium dihydride complexes: NMR studies of intramolecular isomerization and fluxionality including the detection of minor isomers by parahydrogen-induced polarization

NMR studies reveal that complexes Ru(CO)(2)(H)(2)L(2) (L = PMe(3), PMe(2)Ph, and AsMe(2)Ph) can have three geometries, ccc, cct-L, and cct-CO, with equilibrium ratios that are highly dependent on the electronic properties of L; the cct-L form is favored, because the sigma-only hydride donor is located trans to CO rather than L. When L = PMe(3), the ccc form is only visible when p-H(2) is used to amplify its spectral features. In contrast, when L = AsMe(2)Ph, the ccc and cct-L forms are present in similar quantities and, hence, must have similar free energies; for this complex, however, the cct-CO isomer is also detectable. These complexes undergo a number of dynamic processes. For L(2) = dppe, an interchange of the hydride positions within the ccc form is shown to be accompanied by synchronized CO exchange and interchange of the two phosphorus atoms. This process is believed to involve the formation of a trigonal bipyramidal transition state containing an eta(2)-H(2) ligand; in view of the fact that k(HH)/k(DD) is 1.04 and the synchronized rotation when L(2) = dppe, this transition state must contain little H-H bonding character. Pathways leading to isomer interconversion are suggested to involve related structures containing eta(2)-H(2) ligands. The inverse kinetic isotope effect, k(HH)/k(DD) = 0.5, observed for the reductive elimination of dihydrogen from Ru(CO)(2)(H)(2)dppe suggests that substantial H-H bond formation occurs before the H(2) is actually released from the complex. Evidence for a substantial steric influence on the entropy of activation explains why Ru(CO)(2)(H)(2)dppe undergoes the most rapid hydride exchange. Our studies also indicate that the species [Ru(CO)(2)L(2)], involved in the addition of H(2) to form Ru(CO)(2)(H)(2)L(2), must have singlet electron configurations.     

On the electron affinity of Cu atom

The electron affinity (EA) of the Cu atom is computed using large STO and GTO basis sets at several levels of correlation. The best computed value is 1     

Synthesis of Naturally Occurring Helminthic Phosphodiesters and Related Analogues

Abstract

Our preliminary findings in the use of 1,3,2-oxazaphospholidin-2-ones (III) as useful synthons in the synthesis of naturally occurring helminthic (worm) phosphodiesters [i.e. Opheline(II, R=Me) and serine ethanolamine phosphate (I, R=NH₂(CO₂H)CHCH₂,R′=H)] and of related compounds are reported. The 1,3,2-oxazaphospholidin-2-ones can be synthesised by routes A and B; once formed these can be ring-opened by acid treatment which causes exclusive N-P bond fission yielding the phosphodiesters (I). Guanidinated phosphodiesters (II) have been made by reacting the corresponding phosphodiesters (I,R′=H) with O-methylisourea.     

Iridium‐Catalyzed Arylative Cyclization of Alkynones by 1,4‐Iridium Migration

1,4‐Metal migrations enable the remote functionalization of C? H bonds, and have been utilized in a wide variety of valuable synthetic methods. The vast majority of existing examples involve the 1,4‐migration of palladium or rhodium. Herein, the stereoselective synthesis of complex polycycles by the iridium‐catalyzed arylative cyclization of alkynones with arylboronic acids is described. To our knowledge, these reactions involve the first reported examples of 1,4‐iridium migration.