MORPHOLOGICAL OBSERVATION OF SINGLE-CHAIN POLY (METHYL METHACRYLATE) PARTICLES*

Tapping mode atomic force microscope has been applied to observe single-chain PMMAparticles which were stored for six months at room temperature after sprayed from verydilute solutions in good solvents, good/poor mixed solvents, and a theta solvent. Monodis-perse PMMA standards of molecular weights ranging from 7.90×10~4 to 1.3×10~6 wereused to investigate the effect of molecular weight oh the size of the single-chain PMMAparticles. These single-chain particles showed close to spherical shapes. The morphologyof single-chain PMMA particles of a given molecular weight was found to be identical inspite of different solvents used for solution spraying. Molecular weigh dependence of theparticle dimension was also found. The diameters of single-chain PMMA particles aftercorrection of tlp-geometry effect were compared to the values estimated from molecularweight and density.     

Synthesis and structural characterization of new oxorhenium and oxotechnetium complexes with XN2S-tetradentate semi-rigid ligands (X = O, S, N)

Twelve novel oxo-technetium and oxo-rhenium complexes based on N2S2-, N2SO- or N3S-tetradentate semi-rigid ligands have been synthesised and studied herein. By reacting the ligands with a slight excess of suitable [MO]3+ precursor (ReOCl3(PPh3)2 or [NBu4][99gTcOCl4]), the monoanionic complexes of general formula [MO(Ph-XN2S)]- could be easily produced in high yield. The complexes have been characterized by means of IR, electrospray mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, NMR and conductimetry. The crystal structures of [PPh4][ReO(Ph-ON2S)] 1b and [NBu4][99gTcO(Ph-ON2S)] 1c have been established. The [MO]3+ moiety was coordinated via the two deprotonated amide nitrogens, the oxygen and the terminal sulfur atoms in 1b and 1c. In both compounds, the ON2S coordination set is in the equatorial plane, and the complexes adopted a distorted square-pyramidal geometry with an axial oxo-group. The chemical and structural identity of the different prototypic complexes (rhenium, 99gTc complexes and their corresponding 99mTc radiocomplexes) have been also established by a comparative HPLC study.     

Oxorhenium phosphinophenolato complexes with model peptide fragments: synthesis, characterization, and stability considerations

The synthesis and characterization of a series of mixed-ligand oxorhenium(V) complexes containing the o-diphenylphosphinophenolato ligand (HL) and model peptide fragments acting as the tridentate coligand are reported. Thus, by reacting equimolar amounts of tiopronin, Gly-Gly, Gly-L-Phe, or glutathione (GSH) peptides on the [(n-C4H9)4N][ReOCl3(L)] precursor in refluxing MeCN/MeOH or aqueous MeCN/MeOH mixtures, the following complexes were obtained: ReO([SC(CH3)CONCH2COO][L])[(n-C4H9)4N], 1, ReO([H2NCH2CONCH2COO][L]), 2, ReO)[H2NCH2CONCH(CH2C6H5)COO][L]), 3, and ReO([SCH2CH(NHCOCH2CH2CHNH2COOH)CONCH2COO][L])Na, 4. The compounds are closed-shell 18-electron oxorhenium species adopting a distorted octahedral geometry, as demonstrated by classical spectroscopical methods including multinuclear NMR. X-ray diffraction analyses for 1 and 2 are also reported. By comparative stability studies of complexes 1-3 against excess GSH it was shown that complex 3 containing the bulky C6H5CH2 substituent adjacent to the coordinated carboxylate group of Phe is the most stable complex.     

Preliminary communication:Novel method for uniform orientation of liquid crystal molecules by a polyimide surface exposed to a water flow

A novel technique for surface-induced orientation of liquid crystal (LC) molecules is proposed, using a polyimide surface exposed to a unidirectional water flow. The LC molecules director was unidirectionally oriented along the water flow direction on the polyimide surface. The orientational state of the LC director was strongly dependent upon whether the water flow exposure was carried out before or after thermal curing for imidization, and also upon the temperature of water flow.     

Temperature dependent light transmission-light scattering switching of (homeotropic liquid crystalline polymer network/liquid crystals/chiral dopant) composite film

A (photo-polymerizable liquid crystal (LC) monomer/LCs/chiral dopant/photoinitiator) mixture with a smectic A (SmA)-chiral nematic (N*) phase transition was sandwiched between two ITO glass substrates which were not subjected to any surface orientation treatment. When an electric field-induced homeotropically oriented SmA phase of the mixture was irradiated with UV light, an oriented liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) network was formed upon photo-polymerization of the LC monomer. Then, a (homeotropically oriented LCP network/LCs/chiral dopant) composite with a SmA-N* phase transition was prepared. A focal-conic texture appeared in the heat-induced N* phase of the composite upon heating from the transparent state of the homeotropically oriented SmA phase; the focal-conic texture exhibited strong light scattering. Upon cooling the composite to the SmA phase, this phase was again homeotropically oriented due to the strong intermolecular interaction between the LC molecules and the homeotropically oriented LCP network. Thus, the transparent state of the SmA phase and the light scattering state of the N* phase occurred reversibly upon cooling and heating, accompanied by the thermal SmA-N* phase transition.     

Aggregation states and surface wettability in films of poly(styrene-block-2-perfluorooctyl ethyl acrylate) diblock copolymers synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization

Well-defined poly(styrene-block-2-perfluorooctyl ethyl acrylate) [P(St-b-PFA)] copolymers with various chemical compositions were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization. Films of P(St-b-PFA) were structurally characterized, from bulk to surface, on the basis of transmittance electron microscopic observation and small-angle X-ray scattering, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic, and contact angle measurements. For a comparison, poly(styrene-random-2-perfluorooctyl ethyl acrylate) [P(St-ran-PFA)] copolymers were also synthesized by conventional free radical polymerization. While P(St-b-PFA) with the 2-perfluorooctyl ethyl acrylate (PFA) content higher than 18.7 mol % formed a typical phase-separated cylinder structure, P(St-b-PFA) with a lower PFA content and P(St-ran-PFA) were in a miscible state. Since the perfluoroalkyl groups possess extremely low surface energy, they were preferentially segregated at the film surface, resulting in the formation of the PFA surface layer. This was the case for all P(St-b-PFA) films examined, although the aggregation state at the surface was strongly dependent on the PFA content. In the case of the P(St-b-PFA) with the PFA content higher than 18.7 mol %, both advancing and receding contact angles for water were 120 degrees and even larger with almost no hysteresis. In addition, extremely excellent oil-repellent surface properties such as advancing and receding contact angles for dodecane of 76 degrees and 75 degrees were also observed. However, these intriguing liquid-repellent properties were not observed for the films of miscible P(St-b-PFA) and P(St-ran-PFA). Therefore, it can be concluded that the internal structure beneath the surface as well as the surface itself should be deeply considered to design excellent and stable liquid-repellent materials.     

A new family of heavy transition metal coordination compounds and its application,I. Design,synthesis and characterization of volatile organohafnium precursors

The first three representatives of a new family of volatile organohafnium compounds suitable as metallo-organic chemical vapour deposition precursors were synthesized. A combination of cyclopentadienyl and alkoxo-ligands with a bicyclo[2.2.1]heptanc framework was used. Volatility at relatively low temperatures for hafnium compounds was found and the precursors were characterized by elemental analysis and spectroscopic methods (IR, ¹H and ¹³C NMR, mass spectrometry and mass-analysed ion kinetic energy spectroscopy). The outlook for use in hafnium functional materials synthesis was derived from the fragmentation data.     

Polydentate phosphinoamine ligands: a class of efficient chelating agents for the stabilization of various technetium(V) and rhenium(V) cores

Transition Metal Chemistry -     

New approach to the chemistry of technetium(V) and rhenium(V) phenylimido complexes: novel [M(NPh)PNP]3+ metal fragments (M = Tc, Re; PNP = aminodiphosphine) suitable for the synthesis of stable mixed-ligand compounds

Ligand-exchange reactions of the aminodiphosphine ligand bis[(2-diphenylphosphino)ethyl]amine hydrochloride (PNHP x HCl) with labile M(NPh)Cl3(PPh3)2 precursors (M = Re, Tc) in the presence of triethylamine yield monocationic phenylimido mer,cis-[M(NPh)Cl2(PNHP)]Cl (M = Re, 1; Tc, 2) intermediate complexes. X-ray analyses show that in both compounds the aminodiphosphine acts as a tridentate ligand dictating a mer,cis arrangement. Two chloride ligands, respectively in an equatorial and in the axial position trans to the linear M-NPh moiety, fill the remaining positions in a distorted-octahedral geometry. The chloride trans to the metal-imido core is labile, and is replaced by an alcoholate group, without affecting the original geometry, as established in mer,cis-[Re(NPh)(OEt)Cl(PNHP)]Cl 4. Otherwise, ligand-exchange reactions involving the aminodiphosphine bis[(2-diphenylphosphino)ethyl]methylamine (PNMeP), in which the central secondary amine has been replaced by a tertiary amine function, or its hydrochloride salt (PNMeP x HCl) give rise to three different species, depending on the experimental conditions: fac,cis-[Re(NPh)Cl2(PNMeP)]Cl 3a, cis,fac-Re(NPh)Cl3(PNMeP) x HCl 3b, and mer,trans-[Re(NPh)Cl2(PNMeP)]Cl 3c, which are characterized in solution by multinuclear NMR studies. The monodentate groups incorporated in these intermediate compounds, either halides and/or ethoxide, undergo substitution reactions with bidentate donor ligands such as catechol, ethylene glycol, and 1,2-aminophenol to afford stable mixed ligand complexes of the type [M(NPh)(O,O-cat)(PNP)]Cl [PNP = PNHP M = Re 5, Tc 6; PNP = PNMeP M = Re 7], [Re(NPh)(O,O-gly)(PNP)]Cl [PNP = PNHP 8, PNMeP 9] and [Re(NPh)(O,N-ap)(PNMeP)]Cl 10. X-ray diffraction analyses of the representative compounds 5 and 8 reveal that the aminodiphosphine switches from the meridional to the facial coordination mode placing the heteroatom of the diphosphine trans to the phenylimido unit and the bidentate ligand in the equatorial plane. Solution-state NMR studies suggest an analogous geometry for 6, 7, 9, and 10. Comparison with similar mixed ligand complexes including the terminal nitrido group is discussed.