Comb copolymers of polystyrene-poly(tert-butyl (meth)acrylate) prepared by combination of nitroxide mediated polymerization and photoinduced iniferter technique

Comb copolymers consisting of polystyrene backbone and poly(tert-butyl (meth)acrylate) side chains were synthesized by combination of nitroxide (TEMPO)-mediated polymerization (NMP) and photoinduced grafting from macro-iniferters. First, poly(chloromethylstyrene), PCMS, with the degree of polymerization and two random poly(styrene-co-chloromethylstyrene) copolymers, P(S-co-CMS), with similar but different content (8 and 14 mol%) of CMS units, were synthesized by NMP. In the second step the CMS units both in the homopolymer and the copolymers were converted to N,N-diethyldithiocarbamyl groups (DC) yielding photosensitive multifunctional macro-iniferters. Finally, tert-butyl methacrylate tBuMA was grafted from the synthesized polymer backbones by iniferter technique under UV-irradiation yielding copolymers polystyrene-graft-poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) PS-g-P(tBuMA). Grafting initiated by the macro-iniferters containing ∼6-11 DC initiating sites per macromolecule proceeded by pseudo-living polymerization mechanism, i.e., the number-average molecular weight increased with conversion and the SEC traces were unimodal. In contrast, photo-polymerization initiated by highly functionalized polystyrene backbone was poorly controlled. Hydrolysis of loosely grafted copolymers PS-g-P(tBuMA) afforded amphiphilic copolymers polystyrene-graft-poly(methacrylic acid). Molecular parameters of the synthesized graft copolymers in dilute THF solutions were determined by scattering (DLS, SLS, SAXS) and viscometric measurements.     

A novel inorganic-organic compound: Synthesis and structural characterization of tin(II) phenylbis(phosphonate), Sn2(PO3C6H4PO3)

A novel tin(II) phenylbis(phosphonate) compound has been synthesized hydrothermally and its structure has been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The structure is monoclinic, space group P2₁/c (no. 14), a=4.8094(4), b=16.2871(13), ; β=106.292(6)°, , Z=2. The three-dimensional structure consists of 3-coordinated tin and 4-coordinated phosphorus double layers separated (pillared) by phenyl rings. These phenyl rings are placed 4.8 Å apart along the a-axis in the structure resulting in lower surface area (∼14 m²/g). The porosity has been increased by replacing phenyl groups by methyl groups (∼31 m²/g).     

Crystal structure and phase transformations of calcium yttrium orthophosphate, Ca3Y(PO4)3

Crystal structure and phase transformations of calcium yttrium orthophosphate Ca₃Y(PO₄)₃ were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction, selected-area electron diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and optical microscopy. The high-temperature phase is isostructural with eulytite, cubic (space group ) with a=0.983320(5) nm, V=0.950790(8) nm³, Z=4 and D_x=3.45 Mg m⁻³. The crystal structure was refined with a split-atom model, in which the oxygen atoms are distributed over two partially occupied sites. Below the stable temperature range of eulytite, the crystal underwent a martensitic transformation, which is accompanied by the formation of platelike surface reliefs. The inverted crystal is triclinic (space group P1) with a=1.5726(1) nm, b=0.84267(9) nm, c=0.81244(8) nm, α=109.739(4)°, β=90.119(5)°, γ=89.908(7)°, V=1.0134(1) nm³, Z=4 and D_x=3.24 Mg m⁻³. The crystal grains were composed of pseudo-merohedral twins. The adjacent twin domains were related by the pseudo-symmetry mirror planes parallel to with the composition surface . When the eulytite was cooled relatively slowly from the stable temperature range, the decomposition reaction of Ca₃Y(PO₄)₃→β-Ca₃(PO₄)₂+YPO₄ occurred.     

“Unusual” phase transitions in CeAlO3

High-resolution time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction was carried out to investigate the crystal structures of CeAlO₃ over a wide temperature range between 4.2 and 1423 K. Confirming the recent result of X-ray powder diffraction, the room temperature structure is tetragonal with the space group I4/mcm (tilt system (a⁰a⁰c⁻)). The tetragonal structure persists down to 4.2 K. However, above room temperature CeAlO₃ undergoes three phase transitions: first to the orthorhombic Imma structure (tilt system (a⁰b⁻b⁻)) at, e.g., 373 K, then to the rhombohedral structure (tilt system (a⁻a⁻a⁻)) at, e.g., 473 K, and finally, to the primitive cubic structure which exists above 1373 K. The sequence of phases, , which occurs in CeAlO₃ is a rare one in oxide perovskites.     

Crystal structure, electronic structure and physical properties of the new low-valent thallium silicon telluride Tl6Si2Te6 in comparison to Tl6Ge2Te6

The title compounds were prepared from the elements in the stoichiometric ratio at 800 °C under exclusion of air. Tl₆Si₂Te₆ crystallizes in the space group P1¯, isostructural with Tl₆Ge₂Te₆, with , , , α=89.158(2)°, β=96.544(2)°, γ=100.685(2)°, (Z=2). Its structure is composed of dimeric [Si₂Te₆]⁶⁻ units with a Si-Si single bond, while the Tl atoms are irregularly coordinated by five to six Te atoms. Numerous weakly bonding Tl-Tl contacts exist. Both title compounds are black semiconductors with small band gaps, calculated to be 0.9 eV for Tl₆Si₂Te₆ and 0.5 eV for Tl₆Ge₂Te₆. The Seebeck coefficients are +65 μV K⁻¹ in case of Tl₆Si₂Te₆ and +150 μV K⁻¹ in case of Tl₆Ge₂Te₆ at 300 K, and the electrical conductivities are 5.5 and 3 Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹, respectively.     

Crystal growth, characterization and physical properties of PrNiSb3, NdNiSb3 and SmNiSb3

The crystal structures of three new intermetallic ternary compounds in the LnNiSb₃ (Ln=Pr, Nd and Sm) family have been characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. PrNiSb₃, NdNiSb₃ and SmNiSb₃ all crystallize in an orthorhombic space group, Pbcm (No. 57), Z=12, with , , , and ; , , , and ; and , , , and , for Ln=Pr, Nd and Sm, respectively. These compounds consist of rare-earth atoms located above and below layers of nearly square, buckled Sb nets, along with layers of highly distorted edge- and face-sharing NiSb₆ octahedra. Resistivity data indicate metallic behavior for all three compounds. Magnetization measurements show antiferromagnetic behavior with (PrNiSb₃), 4.6 K (NdNiSb₃), and 2.9 K (SmNiSb₃). Effective moments of 3.62 μ_B, 3.90 μ_B and 0.80 μ_B are found for PrNiSb₃, NdNiSb₃ and SmNiSb₃, respectively, and are consistent with Pr³⁺ (f ²), Nd³⁺ (f ³), and Sm³⁺ (f ⁴).     

Crystal chemistry and ion-exchange properties of the layered uranyl iodate K[UO2(IO3)3]

Single crystals of the potassium uranyl iodate, K[UO₂(IO₃)₃] (1), have been grown under mild hydrothermal conditions. The structure of 1 contains two-dimensional sheets extending in the [ab] plane that consist of approximately linear UO₂²⁺ cations bound by iodate anions to yield UO₇ pentagonal bipyramids. There are three crystallographically unique iodate anions, two of which bridge between uranyl cations to create sheets, and one that is monodentate and protrudes in between the layers in cavities. K⁺ cations form long ionic contacts with oxygen atoms from the layers forming an eight-coordinate distorted dodecahedral geometry. These cations join the sheets together. Ion-exchange reactions have been carried out that indicate the selective uptake of Cs⁺ over Na⁺ or K⁺ by 1. Crystallographic data (193 K, MoKα, ): 1, orthorhombic, Pbca, a=11.495(1) Å, b=7.2293(7) Å, c=25.394(2) Å, Z=8, R(F)=1.95% for 146 parameters with 2619 reflections with I>2σ(I).     

Structural and conductivity studies of CsKSO4Te(OH)6 and Rb1.25K0.75SO4Te(OH)6 materials

The crystal structures of the title compounds were solved using the single-crystal X-ray diffraction technique. At room temperature CsKSO₄Te(OH)₆ was found to crystallize in the monoclinic system with Pn space group and lattice parameters: ; ; ; β=106.53(2)°; ; Z=4 and . The structural refinement has led to a reliability factor of R₁=0.0284 (wR₂=0.064) for 7577 independent reflections. Rb_1.25K_0.75SO₄Te(OH)₆ material possesses a monoclinic structure with space group P2₁/a and cell parameters: ; ; ; β=106.860(10)°; ; Z=4 and . The residuals are R₁=0.0297 and wR₂=0.0776 for 3336 independent reflections. The main interest of these structures is the presence of two different and independent anionic groups (TeO₆⁶⁻ and SO₄²⁻) in the same crystal.Complex impedance measurements (Z^*=Z^′—iZ^″) have been undertaken in the frequency and temperature ranges 20-10⁶ Hz and 400-600 K, respectively. The dielectric relaxation is studied in the complex modulus formalism M^*.     

Growth of high quality and large-sized Rb0.3MoO3 single crystals by molten salt electrolysis method

High quality and large-sized Rb_0.3MoO₃ single crystals were synthesized by molten salt electrolysis method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and rocking curves, as well as the white beam Laue diffraction of X-ray images show the crystals grown by this method have high quality. The lattice constants evaluated from XRD patterns are a₀=1.87 nm, b₀=0.75 nm, c₀=1.00 nm, β=118.83^°. The in situ selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns along the , and zone axes at room temperature indicate that the Rb_0.3MoO₃ crystal possess perfect C-centered symmetry. Temperature dependence of the resistivity shows this compound undergoes a metal to semiconductor transition at 183 K.     

The disordered structures and low temperature dielectric relaxation properties of two misplaced-displacive cubic pyrochlores found in the Bi2O3-MO-Nb2O5 (M=Mg, Ni) systems

The disordered structures and low temperature dielectric relaxation properties of Bi_1.667Mg_0.70Nb_1.52O₇ (BMN) and Bi_1.67Ni_0.75Nb_1.50O₇ (BNN) misplaced-displacive cubic pyrochlores found in the Bi₂O₃-M^IIO-Nb₂O₅ (M=Mg, Ni) systems are reported. As for other recently reported Bi-pyrochlores, the metal ion vacancies are found to be confined to the pyrochlore A site. The B₂O₆ octahedral sub-structure is found to be fully occupied and well-ordered. Considerable displacive disorder, however, is found associated with the O′A₂ tetrahedral sub-structure in both cases. The A-site ions were displaced from Wyckoff position 16d (, , ) to 96 h (, , ) while the O′ oxygen was shifted from position 8b (, , ) to Wyckoff position 32e (, , ). The refined displacement magnitudes off the 16d and 8b sites for the A and O′ sites were 0.408 Å/0.423 Å and 0.350 Å/0.369 Å for BMN/BNN, respectively.     

A one-dimensional zirconium hydroxyfluoride, [Zr(OH)2F3][enH]

The first example of a unidimensional zirconium hydroxide fluoride was synthesized under mild solvothermal treatment and characterized by X-ray diffraction and thermal techniques. Monoprotonated ethylenediamine cations reside between the anionic chains. Crystal data for this material are as follows: [C₂N₂H₉][Zr(OH)₂F₃], M=243.35, orthorhombic, space group Pca2₁, a=6.8016(13), b=6.1393(12), , , , Z=4, , μ(Mo-Kα)=1.777 mm⁻¹, . The material transforms to an unknown layered material at ∼175 °C, a common occurrence for 1D structures where the chains are arranged in hydrogen-bonded layers and separated by interlayer organoammoniums. Collapse to the known condensed mineral phase Zr(FO)_2.7 occurs at ca. 275 °C before finally transforming to the baddeleyite form of ZrO₂ at ca. 460 °C.     

Atom transfer radical polymerization of (meth)acrylates and their novel block copolymers with vinyl acetate

Homopolymerization of methyl acrylate (MA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) were carried out at 90 °C using methyl-2-bromopropionate (MBP) as initiator, copper halide (CuX, X=Cl, Br) as catalyst, 2,2^′-bipyridine (bpy) or N,N,N^′,N^′,N^″-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) as ligand in 1-butanol (less polar and containing OH) and acetonitrile (more polar) solvents. It was found that with CuCl/bpy catalyst ATRP of MA and MMA in 1-butanol proceeded faster than that in acetonitrile. The rate of ATRP of MA and MMA in acetonitrile and 1-butanol was comparable when CuCl/PMDETA used as catalyst system. The number-average molecular weights increased with conversion and polydispersities were low . The ATRP of MA and MMA with vinyl acetate telomer having trichloromethyl end group (PVAc-CCl₃) were also used to synthesize new block copolymers. The structures and molecular weight of synthesized PVAc-b-PMA and PVAc-b-PMMA were characterized by ¹H NMR, FTIR spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and shown that the block copolymers were novel.     

Synthesis of block copolymers based on poly(2,3-epithiopropylmethacrylate) via RAFT polymerization and preliminary investigations on thin film formation

New block copolymers with narrow molecular weight distribution based on (2,3-epithiopropylmethacrylate) (ETMA), methylmethacrylate (MMA) and n-butylmethacrylate (nBMA) have been successfully synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerization. First, RAFT homopolymerization of ETMA and MMA was carried out using 2-(2-cyanopropyl) dithiobenzoate (CPDB) as the chain transfer agent (CTA) and 2,2-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as the initiator. PETMA-b-P(nBMA) copolymers were synthesized using PETMA homopolymers as the macro-chain transfer agent (MCTA), while PMMA-b-PETMA diblock copolymers were synthesized using PMMA as the MCTA. The evolution of the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution of the homo- and co-polymers were compatible with the RAFT polymerization features. Thin films from the block copolymers were prepared by spin coating a 1 wt% polymer solution from toluene, chloroform or THF. After the preparation, the films were annealed under 80% vapor pressure of chloroform for 1, 2 and 4 h and investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The most interesting results were found in the films prepared using PETMA-b-P(nBMA) copolymers (). The observed images suggested the formation of hybrid lamellar structures, ascribed to the combination of its higher molecular weight and solvents viscosity.     

Single crystal structure and Raman spectrum of Ba3Na2(CN2)4

The synthesis, single crystal structure determination, and Raman spectrum are reported for colorless transparent tribarium disodium tetracyanamide, Ba₃Na₂(CN₂)₄. The title compound crystallizes in the space group C_2h⁵-P2₁/c (#14, , , , β=110.454(4)°, , Z=4, R/wR=0.0266/0.0543). Each sodium atom is surrounded by six nitrogen atoms in octahedral geometry. Sodium centered nitrogen octahedra are linked through face-sharing along the [100] direction to form one-dimensional (1D) chains. These chains are connected to each other through the carbon atoms of cyanamide and make a three-dimensional (3D) network with 1D channels along the [100] direction. Barium atoms and additional cyanamide anions reside in the channels. Each barium atom is irregularly coordinated with nitrogen and carbon from the cyanamide anions. The Raman spectrum shows symmetric vibrations of [NCN]²⁻ corresponding to ν_sym (1241.5 cm⁻¹) and 2δ (1356.4 cm⁻¹).     

PbI4Cu2(PPh3)4: A heterometallic iodide with unusual cis-divacant octahedral coordination sphere for lead: Synthesis, structure, red-infrared fluorescence and theoretical studies

A new heterometallic iodide, PbI₄Cu₂(PPh₃)₄, was synthesized by reactions of PbI₂, CuI and triphenylphosphine (PPh₃) in DMF solution. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses show that Pb(II) center adopts an unusual cis-divacant octahedral geometry. Crystal data: triclinic, space group , , , , α=106.623(4)°, β=103.478(6)°, γ=93.574(5)°, and Z=2. Density function theory (DFT) calculations and fragment orbital interaction analyses reveal the presence of a three-center four-electron (3c-4e) hypervalent bonding about lead; and the formation of the unusual cis-divacant [PbI₄]²⁻ octahedron is energetically favorable. The title yellow compound has an optical bandgap of 2.69 eV and shows remarkable red-infrared fluorescence emission at 732 nm with lifetime of 24 μs which is assigned as an iodine 5p-lead 6s to PPh₃-lead 6p charge transfer (XM-LM-CT).     

Enthalpies of solution of 1,1,3,3-tetramethylurea in normal and branched alkanols (C2-C4) at 298.15 K

The enthalpies of solution were determined for 1,1,3,3-tetramethylurea in ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, and t-butanol (2-methyl-2-propanol). Measurements were made at 298.15 K and molalities m ≅ (0.007 to 0.036) mol · kg⁻¹ with a precise isoperibol ampoule-type calorimeter. Standard enthalpies of solution and transfer from one alkanol to the other (including methanol) were calculated. The obvious relationship between the enthalpic and volumetric effects of solution of tetramethylurea in the n-alkanols (C₁-C₄) was discovered. The enthalpic effects of transfer caused by branching of the alkanol molecules, 1-propanol → 2-propanol, and 1-butanol → t-butanol, are opposite in sign and dominated by the configurational changes in the solvation environment of tetramethylurea.     

Synthesis, crystal structure, spectrum properties, and electronic structure of a novel non-centrosymmetric borate, BiCd3(AlO)3(BO3)4

A novel non-centrosymmetric borate, BiCd₃(AlO)₃(BO₃)₄, has been prepared by solid state reaction methods below 750 °C. Single-crystal XRD analysis showed that it crystallizes in the hexagonal group P6₃ with a=10.3919(15) Å, c=5.7215(11) Å, Z=2. In its structure, AlO₆ octahedra share edges to form 1D chains that are bridged by BO₃ groups through sharing O atoms to form the 3D framework. The 3D framework affords two kinds of channels that are occupied by Bi³⁺/Cd²⁺ atoms only or by Bi³⁺/Cd²⁺ atoms together with BO₃ groups. The IR spectrum further confirmed the presence of BO₃ groups. Second-harmonic-generation measurements displayed a response of about 0.5×KDP (KH₂PO₄). UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrum showed a band gap of about 3.19 eV. Solid-state fluorescence spectrum exhibited the maximum emission peak at around 390.6 nm. Band structure calculations indicated that it is an indirect semiconductor.