Click chemistry in materials synthesis. III. Metal‐adhesive polymers from Cu(I)‐catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition

1,2,3‐Triazole‐based polymers generated from the Cu(I)‐catalyzed cycloaddition between multivalent azides and acetylenes are effective adhesive materials for metal surfaces. The adhesive capacities of candidate mixtures of azide and alkyne components were measured by a modified peel test, using a customized adhesive tester. A particularly effective tetravalent alkyne and trivalent azide combination was identified, giving exceptional strength that matches or exceeds the best commercial formulations. The addition of Cu catalyst was found to be important for the synthesis of stronger adhesive polymers when cured at room temperature. Heating also accelerated curing rates, but the maximum adhesive strengths achieved at both room temperature and high temperature were the same, suggesting that crosslinking reaches the same advanced point in all cases. Polytriazoles also form adhesives to aluminum, but copper is bound more effectively, presumably because active Cu(I) ions may be leached from the surface to promote crosslinking and adhesion. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 5182–5189, 2007     

Structural and magnetic investigations of the mixed-valence Fe(II,III) two-dimensional layer complex, [Fe2(II) Fe2(III)(HCOO)10(C6H7N)6]n.

The structure of the complex, [Fe2(II)Fe2(III)(HCOO)10(C6H7N6)n, (1) exhibits a neutral two-dimensional layer network of alternating iron(II) and iron(III) ions, bridged equatorially by formate groups. All iron atoms are octahedrally coordinated, with iron(III) coordinating axially to one gamma-picoline and one formate group, while the iron(II) centers interact axially with two gamma-picoline groups, above and below the layer plane. The complex crystallizes in the triclinic space group P1 at all studied temperatures [at 120 K, the cell dimensions are: a = 10.228(1), b = 12.071(1), c = 12.072(1) A, alpha = 89.801(2), beta = 71.149(2), gamma = 73.371(2) degrees]. An intralayer antiferromagnetic exchange interaction of J = -2.8 cm(-1) between iron(II) and iron(III) was observed in the magnetic studies. Decreasing the temperature to close to 20 K causes a magnetic-ordering phenomenon to occur and a low-temperature phase with a long-range antiferromagnetic spin orientation appears. The magnetic phase transition was confirmed by M?ssbauer spectroscopic studies at temperatures above and below the critical temperature. Structural information of 1 from synchrotron X-ray diffraction data collected at room temperature and 16 K suggests that the antiferromagnetic ordering is caused by an enhanced pi-pi interaction between chi-picoline groups from adjacent layers.     

Expanded chemistry of formamidine ureas

[reaction: see text] Formamidine ureas display a rich manifold of reactivity. Thiols induce substitution at the carbonyl carbon to give thiolcarbamates; base-mediated alkylation and acylation occurs at the terminal urea nitrogen, and a new fragmentation/acylation pathway has been uncovered with isocyanates.     

Encapsulation and sustained release of a model drug, indomethacin, using CO(2)-based microencapsulation

A carbon dioxide (CO(2))-based microencapsulation technique was used to impregnate indomethacin, a model drug, into biodegradable polymer nanoparticles. Compressed CO(2) was emulsified into aqueous suspensions of biodegradable particles. The CO(2) plasticizes the biodegradable polymers, increasing the drug diffusion rate in the particles so that drug loading is enhanced. Four types of biodegradable polymers were investigated, including poly(d,l-lactic acid) (PLA), poly(d,l-lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) with two different molar ratios of LA to GA, and a poly(d,l-lactic acid-b-ethylene glycol) (PLA-PEG) block copolymer. Biodegradable nanoparticles were prepared from polymer solutions through nonsolvent-induced precipitation in the presence of surfactants. Indomethacin was incorporated into biodegradable nanoparticles with no change of the particle size and morphology. The effects of a variety of experimental variables on the drug loadings were investigated. It was found that the drug loading was the highest for PLA homopolymer and decreased in PLGA copolymers as the fraction of glycolic acid increased. Indomethacin was predicted to have higher solubility in PLA than in PLGA based on the calculated solubility parameters. The drug loading in PLA increased markedly as the temperature for impregnation was increased from 35 to 45 degrees C. Drug release from the particles is a diffusion-controlled process, and sustained release can be maintained over 10 h. A simple Fickian diffusion model was used to estimate the diffusion coefficients of indomethacin in the biodegradable polymers. The diffusion coefficients are consistent with previous studies, suggesting that the polymer properties are unchanged by supercritical fluid processing. Supercritical CO(2) is nontoxic, easily separated from the polymers, can extract residual organic solvent, and can sterilize biodegradable polymers. The CO(2)-based microencapsulation technique is promising for the production of drug delivery devices without the use of harmful solvents.     

Host-guest chemistry of the chromium-wheel complex [Cr8F8(tBuCO2)16]: prediction of inclusion capabilities by using an electrostatic potential distribution determined by modeling synchrotron X-ray structure factors at 16 K

The structure and detailed electron density distribution (EDD) of the large octanuclear chromium-wheel host complex [Cr8F8(tBuCO2)16] (1) has been determined from synchrotron X-ray structure factors collected at 16(5) K. The complex has a central cavity with a minimum entry distance between carbon atoms of the pivalate methyl groups (pivalic acid = tBuCO2H) of 4.027(4) A on one side of the molecule and 7.273(4) A on the other. The screened side of the molecule can be "opened" by rotation of methyl groups to create a strained host structure, which is compensated for by improved host-guest and host-solvent interaction. The EDD of the 272-atom complex (1144 e-) was determined by multipole modeling based on the experimental structure factors. 3d orbital populations on the Cr atoms and topological analysis of the EDD show that the covalent part of the metal-ligand interactions consists mainly of sigma donation from the ligands, but that overall the interactions are predominantly electrostatic. The electrostatic potential (EP) has been calculated from the experimental EDD. Knowledge of the geometry of the naked complex 1 as well as the EP in the central cavity of this molecule allows us to deduce which characteristic properties guest molecules must have to be accepted into the void. To probe these predictions, a series of complexes of 1 with different guest inclusions were synthesized (2 = 1 + N,N'-dimethylformamide (DMF), 3 = 1 + N,N'-dimethylacetamide (DMA), 4 = 1 + DMA + DMF, 5 = 1 + 2CH3CN), and their structures were examined by using X-ray diffraction data measured at 120(1) K. Results of these studies indicate that in the crystalline state, the optimal guest molecule should be linear and possess a permanent dipole. Attempts to crystallize the host complex with cations incorporated into the cavity were fruitless, although electrospray ionization mass spectrometry showed that a [1 + potassium]+ entity pre-exists in solution and can be transferred intact into the gas phase.