Influence of aliphatic amide terminals on the thermoresponsive properties of hyperbranched polyethylenimines

Acetamide(C2), propionamide(C3), butyramide(C4), isobutyramide(i-C4), isovaleramide(i-C5) and trimethylacetamide(t-C5) groups each were introduced to the terminals of hyperbranched polyethylenimine(HPEI) through the amidation reaction between HPEI and the corresponding anhydride. Moreover, HPEIs terminated with two kinds of amides were also prepared. The first amide was fixed to be i-C4 with 52% degree of amidation(DA), and the second amide varied from C2, C3, C4, i-C5 to t-C5. All the polymers were characterized by 1H-NMR. Turbidimetry measurements were performed for these polymers in water at different temperatures. With respect to the polymers bearing only one kind of amide group, except C2, all the other amide groups could render thermoresponsive properties to HPEI. The specific ordering of these amide groups to reduce the cloud point temperature(Tcp) was as follows: i-C5 t-C5 C4 i-C4 C3. Moreover, the more branched i-C4 and t-C5 were better groups than their less branched isomers C4 and i-C5 in the Tcp range of 12-51 °C to render the sharper phase transition to the thermoresponsive polymers. As for the polymers bearing two kinds of amide groups, the further introduction of C2, C3, C4, i-C5 or t-C5 could effectively endow HPEI bearing 52% of i-C4 with thermoresponsive properties. The specific ordering of these second amide groups to reduce the Tcp was as follows: i-C5 C4 i-C4 C3 C2. C4, i-C5 and t-C5 were all effective second amide groups to prepare the thermoresponsive polymers with sharper phase transition.     

Recent developments in two-dimensional (2D) correlation spectroscopy

Recent noteworthy developments in the field of two-dimensional(2D) correlation spectroscopy are reviewed.2D correlation spectroscopy has become a very popular tool due to its versatility and relative ease of use.The technique utilizes a spectroscopic or other analytical probe from a number of selections for a broad range of sample systems by employing different types of external perturbations to induce systematic variations in intensities of spectra.Such spectral intensity variations are then converted into2 D spectra by a form of correlation analysis for subsequent interpretation.Many different types of 2D correlation approaches have been proposed.In particular,2D hetero-correlation and multiple perturbation correlation analyses,including orthogonal sample design scheme,are discussed in this review.Additional references to other important developments in the field of 2D correlation spectroscopy,such as projection correlation and codistribution analysis,were also provided.     

Application of two-dimensional near-infrared correlation spectroscopy to protein research

The purpose of the present paper is to demonstrate the potential of generalized two-dimensional (2D) near-infrared (NIR) correlation spectroscopy in studies of hydration and structure of proteins. We describe here two examples. The first example is concerned with heat denaturation process of ovalbumin in aqueous solutions and the second one deals with isomerizations with varying pH of serum albumin. New insight has been obtained into the hydration and unfolding process of secondary structures of ovalbumin and serum albumin by studying temperature- or pH-dependent correlation patterns in 2D synchronous and asynchronous spectra. Generalized 2D NIR correlation spectroscopy emphasizes spectral features not readily observable in conventional one-dimensional spectra, enabling to extract subtle but valuable structural changes concerning with the protein denaturation.     

Preparation and characterization of thermoresponsive hyperbranched polyethylenimine with plenty of reactive primary amine groups

Certain amount of primary amine （NH2） groups of hyperbranched polyethylenimine （HPEI） was first protected by Boc groups. Subsequently, the residual reactive amine groups were reacted with isobutyric anhydride to introduce isobutyramide （IBAm） groups to HPEI. Finally, Boc groups were deprotected to result in HPEI-IBAm-NH2 with 18% of primary amine terminals on the periphery and 80% of IBAm terminal groups （abbreviated as HPEI-IBAm0.80-NH2）. 1H-NMR characterization proved the successful preparation of the product in each step. Compared with its spatial isomer HPEI- IBAm0.8o without primary amine groups, IH-NMR spectra verified that more IBAm groups were located in the interior of HPEI-IBAm0.80-NH2. The further modification of HPEI-IBAmo.so-NH2 and HPEI-IBAmo.8o with p-nitrobenzaldehyde demonstrated that HPEI-IBAm0.so-NH2 was more reactive than HPEI-IBAm0.80 due to its possession of primary amines. Turbidimetry measurements showed that HPEI-IBAm0.80-NH2 was thermoresponsive in water. In the pH range of 9.5-10 its cloud point temperature （Top） was constant, and it increased obviously upon decreasing the pH below 9.5. The thermoresponsive HPEI-IBAmo.8 exhibited the similar trend, but the pH threshold to achieve the constant Top was around 8.5. Moreover, HPEI-IBAm0.8-NH2 showed higher Top and broader phase transition than HPEI-IBAm0.8. The mechanism leading to the different thermoresponsive properties between HPEI-IBAm0.8-NH2 and its spatial isomer HPEI-IBAm0.8 was discussed.     

Mechanism in Brill transition of polyamide 66 studied by two-dimensional correlation infrared spectroscopy

The Brill transition of polyamide 66 was investigated by temperature-dependent infrared spectroscopy combined with moving-window two-dimensional (MW2D) correlation spectroscopy. The temperature range of the Brill transition determined by MW2D correlation spectroscopy was 90–170 °C. We employed generalized 2D correlation spectroscopy to study the sequential order of polyamide 66 chains with linear increment of temperature. The movement of the methylene segments near to NH is earlier than those on the CO sides. At the same time, the methylene which is close to NH varies before the inner methylene. Three kinds of NH groups in polyamide 66 were found. The sequential order of their motions is as follows. The free hydrogen-bonded NH groups change first, and then the disordered hydrogen-bonded NH groups. Finally, the ordered hydrogen-bonded NH groups start to change. We also found that the changes of the ordered hydrogen-bonded NH groups follow with the methylene groups.     

Online tracking of the thermal reduction of graphene oxide by two-dimensional correlation infrared spectroscopy

Thermal reduction of graphene oxide (GO) via rapid heating is an environment-friendly and cost-effective method. However, the detailed reduction mechanism remains unclear because of lack of methods for online monitoring of GO thermal reduction. In this study, the thermal reduction of GO (from 20 °C up to 400 °C in argon atmosphere) was successfully monitored online and investigated through temperature-dependent FTIR spectroscopy combined with scaling-MW2D FTIR spectroscopy and generalized 2D correlation analyses. Raman spectroscopy, XPS, and XRD studies were also conducted to characterize the structural changes before and after reduction. SEM and AFM analyses were performed to directly observe the formation of defects in GO after thermal reduction. According to scaling-MW2D results, the thermal reduction of GO was divided into two processes, namely, 35 °C–182 °C (process I) and 182 °C–385 °C (process II). Process I rapidly eliminates oxygen functional groups, and process II gradual removes them. The 2D correlation analysis for each process indicated the sequential order of movements of the oxygen-containing functional groups during thermal reduction. Process I comprised six steps, and process II contained four sequential steps. This work elucidated the complex deoxygenation steps and the mechanism of GO thermal reduction.     

Structure and two-dimensional correlation infrared spectroscopy study of two isomeric forms of the octamolybdate cluster

Two isomeric forms of the octamolybdate cluster, (NH₄)₂(Hbpy)₂[Mo₈O₂₆](bpy)₃1 (bpy=bipydine), and [Cu₂(imi)₄]₂[Mo₈O₂₆] 2 (imi=imidazole), were synthesized by hydrothermal method and characterized by X-ray single analysis, one-dimensional (1D) infrared spectroscopy and two-dimensional (2D) correlation infrared spectroscopy under thermal perturbation. In compound 1, the [Mo₈O₂₆] units are β-structure, and octamolybdate anion is ζ-structure in compound 2. The 2D IR correlation spectroscopy study indicates that the intensity changes of MoO band are more sensitive to the temperature variation than that of the Mo-O bond. The μ-Mo-O bond and framework vibrations in compound 1 are more sensitive to the temperature variation than that for compound 2. As the vibrations of μ-Mo-O bond accompanied by the transfer of an oxygen atom, the catalysis ability of compound 1 may be higher than that of compound 2.     

A thermal oxidative degradation study of triallyl isocyanurate crosslinking moiety in fluorinated rubber by two-dimensional infrared correlation spectroscopy

Thermal degradation of crosslinking moiety in fluorinated rubbers was studied with a new method using spatial-dependent infrared (IR) microscopy and two-dimensional (2D) IR correlation spectroscopy. Upon heating the fluorinated rubber, initially the amount of crosslinker decreased followed by generating another chemical species with carbonyl substituent with IR absorption at around 1730 cm^–1, implying generation of carboxylic acids forming intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Furthermore, projection 2D IR correlation analysis revealed that another chemical species with IR absorption at around 1755 cm^–1 generates, indicating that further degradation progresses upon heating and intermolecular hydrogen bonding were broken. As a result, the multi-step degradation process of the crosslinker in the fluorinated rubber could be detected by combination of spatial-dependent IR microscopy and projection 2D IR correlation spectroscopy.     

Detection of structurally similar adulterants in botanical dietary supplements by thin-layer chromatography and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy combined with two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy

Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) coupled with surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been widely used for the study of various complex systems, especially for the detection of adulterants in botanical dietary supplements (BDS). However, this method is not sufficient to distinguish structurally similar adulterants in BDS since the analogs have highly similar chromatographic and/or spectroscopic behaviors. Taking into account the fact that higher cost and more time will be required for comprehensive chromatographic separation, more efforts with respect to spectroscopy are now focused on analyzing the overlapped SERS peaks. In this paper, the combination of a TLC–SERS method with two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2DCOS), with duration of exposure to laser as the perturbation, is applied to solve this problem.     

Study of the hydrogen bonding of 1,4-bis[(3,4,5-trihexyloxyphenyl)hydrazide]phenylene in crystalline and liquid crystalline phases using infrared,Raman, and two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy

The vibrational bands of a dihydrazide derivative, 1,4-bis[(3,4,5-trihexyloxyphenyl)hydrazide]phenylene (TC6), observed in the Raman and infrared spectra were assigned. The intermolecular hydrogen bonding vibrational bands due to CO and NH groups in the low-frequency Raman spectra were observed at 111 and 94 cm⁻¹ in the crystalline and liquid crystalline (LC) phases, respectively. The sequential order of changes in the hydrogen bonding and alkyl chains was opposite in the crystalline and LC phases. The modifications in the hydrogen bonding occurred prior to conformational changes in the hydrocarbon chains in the crystalline phase; however, a reverse trend was observed in the LC phase. Simultaneously, the two-dimensional (2D) IR and Raman correlation spectroscopic analysis showed that the amide I band of TC6 in the LC phase comprised at least five distinct bands. In addition, the hetero 2D correlation between the NH and CO groups confirmed that no free NH and CO groups existed in the LC phase.     

Raman imaging analysis of pharmaceutical tablets by two-dimensional (2D) correlation spectroscopy

Chemical properties of active substances and insoluble excipient within tablets such as crystalline structures can be seen as an important index for solubility of ingredients. Spectroscopic imaging can potentially be a solid solution to understanding mechanisms at the molecular level and it may bring useful insight in terms of process analytical technique. In the present study, generalized two-dimensional (2D) correlation spectroscopy is utilized for the Raman image analysis of pharmaceutical tablets to reveal molecular interactions between chemical components. By using a spatial distance as a perturbation variable in 2D correlation scheme, synchronous and asynchronous correlation analysis becomes possible. Two kinds of pharmaceutical tablets, pentoxifylline (PTX) as an active substance and palmitic acid (PA) as an insoluble excipient, are prepared with different grinding times, 0.5 and 45 min. The 2D correlation analysis of Raman images of the tablets clearly reveals both physical and chemical effects of grinding process on the properties of the tablets. Asynchronous correlations indicate that a specific molecular structural change of PTX related to the crystallinity is induced by the grinding process. Namely, the crystallinity of PTX based on CH₂ structure is a key factor to control the solubility of the tablets. Some properties of pharmaceutical tablets, i.e. solubility or distribution of components in turn may become possible by the simple grinding process. Detailed analysis of Raman images becomes possible by the 2D correlation spectroscopy.     

Annealing behavior of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene investigated by confocal micro-Raman spectroscopy combined with two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy

Annealing was performed for ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), including an isothermal process at 110.0°C and cooling process from 110.0 to 30.0°C. The processes were in situ investigated by confocal micro-Raman spectroscopy combined with two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy. Two phase transitions were directly observed in the annealing processes, i.e., from the amorphous phase to the intermediate phase and from the intermediate phase to the crystalline phase. The phase transitions derive from molecular chain segments sliding between different phases of UHMWPE and occur in different orders during the isothermal and cooling processes.     

Two-dimensional correlation infrared spectroscopy studies on the thermal-induced mesophase of 4-nitrobenzohydrazide derivative

Two-dimensional (2D) correlation infrared (IR) spectroscopy has been applied to explore the effect of hydrogen bondings (HBs) on the structure of mesophase in the dissymmetrical 4-nitrobenzohydrazide derivative, N-(4-cetyloxybenzoyl)-N′-(4′-nitrobenzoyl) hydrazine (C16-NO₂). The strength and species of HBs as well as the heat-induced structural variations in mesophase have been investigated. It has been found from 2D correlation IR spectroscopy that the sequential order of changes in the different functionalities in the course of liquid crystalline formation is that, firstly, the alkyl chain changes from the significant population of the trans conformation to the significant population of gauche conformation; then, the intermolecular HB between CO and NH groups is weakened, some even being broken, and consequently, the intermolecular distance is enlarged; finally, the skeleton of phenyl ring has enough space to change their conformation to weaken the π–π stacking interaction. In addition, besides a few free and some medium bonded NH and CO groups, strongly bonded NH and CO groups still predominantly exist in the mesophase.     

Rheo-optical near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy study of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) in conjunction with projection two-dimensional (2D) correlation analysis

A rheo-optical characterization technique based on near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is developed specifically to probe the submolecular-level deformation caused during a mechanical test. An illustrative example of the mechanical deformation of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is provided to show how it can be utilized. A set of NIR spectra of the polymer sample were collected by using an acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) NIR spectrometer coupled with a tensile testing machine as an excitation device. While the substantial level of variation of spectral intensity was readily captured during the mechanical deformation of the LDPE, main feature of the NIR spectra was overwhelmed by the contribution from the baseline change. Projection 2D correlation analysis was then applied to selectively extract the signal contribution from the baseline fluctuation. The 2D correlation spectra revealed the predominant extension of amorphous tie chains followed by the rotation of crystalline lamellae, which induce elastic and plastic deformation of the LDPE, respectively.     

An insight into the sequential order in 2D correlation spectroscopy using polymer transitions: Boltzmann Sigmoid,Gaussian Cumulative,Lorentz Cumulative,and Asymmetric Sigmoid. Findings in experiments and simulations

In this paper, we found the curves of infrared spectral intensity at specific wavenumbers of several polymer transitions can be accurately fitted by one of Boltzmann Sigmoid, Gaussian Cumulative, Lorentz Cumulative, or Asymmetric Sigmoid functions. These transitions include the melting of iPP, the Brill transition of PA66, the epoxy curing, the oxidation of SBS, and the melting of HDPE. These functions were obviously different from other important functions, which were earlier introduced into generalized 2D correlation spectroscopy, such as sinusoidal, exponential, and Lorentzian. The properties of the Boltzmann Sigmoid, Gaussian Cumulative, Lorentz Cumulative functions were studied using the simulated infrared spectra. The sequential order is only controlled by the parameter reflecting the center point location, while other parameter values have no relationship. The influences of the parameters in Asymmetric Sigmoid on the sequential order were also studied using the simulated IR spectra. Within the transition range, it was found the values of several waveform parameters co-determine the sequential order. We concluded that the MW2D or PCMW2D method should first be employed to determine a rational transition range before using 2D correlation infrared spectroscopy to study the mechanism of the polymer transitions. The clear physical meaning of the sequential order is the “earlier” or “later” of the transition points. As long as the experimental range (external perturbation) is wide enough and the data precision is good, the sequential order is absolutely reliable within the transition range. The results discussed throughout this paper have proven that the sequential order rules are absolutely correct. The content of the present study will solve the controversy on the sequential order rules to a large extent.     

Determination of relative rate of spectral events by novel modification of two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy

Sign of two-dimensional (2D) correlation peaks provides information on sequence of spectral events. This information is related to molecular mechanism of changes in a given system. Recently, few papers addressing the problems with interpretation of the sign of 2D correlation peaks have been published. To overcome these problems, a modification of the generalized 2D correlation method has been proposed. This method compares variations in the dynamic spectrum with a linear change at a reference point. The rates of spectral responses at individual wavenumbers are proportional to magnitudes of the peaks in the slice of asynchronous spectrum at the reference point. This way, analysis of complex 2D contour plots is replaced by a simple examination of one-dimensional (1D) slice spectrum. In spite of reduced ability of the resolution enhancement, in special cases the proposed method provides information not accessible from the classical 2D correlation analysis. At first, the principles of this method are shown with the synthetic data. Next, the influence of spectral separation, band width and position changes on the slice spectrum is evaluated. Finally, the proposed approach is applied to the experimental spectra of two hydrogen-bonded systems.     

Two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy and multivariate curve resolution for the study of lipid oxidation in edible oils monitored by FTIR and FT-Raman spectroscopy

Accelerate oxidative degradation of six vegetable oils was monitored using FTIR and FT-Raman spectroscopy. Two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy and multivariate curve resolution alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) were applied to the analysis of the data. The use of hetero-spectral two-dimensional correlation of FTIR and FT-Raman data allowed the use of well established band assignments to interpret less clearly assigned spectral features. With a moving window approach it was possible to obtain simplified two-dimensional correlation maps and to detect compounds evolving with different kinetic. Simultaneous analysis of the oxidation experiments of the six different oils monitored by both spectroscopic techniques was performed using MCR-ALS. Although a complete resolution of the data was not possible, the spectral changes occurring during the oxidative degradation of the oils were described with a five-component model. The two fundamentally different chemometric approaches lead to coincident results.     

Recent insights into the robustness of two-dimensional black phosphorous in optoelectronic applications

Since the two-dimensional (2D) black phosphorus (BP) was successfully rediscovered in 2014, has garnered considerable attention due to its superior properties, including thickness-dependent direct bandgap, prominent carrier mobility, wide absorption and response spectral band and in-plane anisotropic etc., also has been applied in diverse fields. It has become a worldwide hot topic. However, the environmental instability has severely hindered its further development in both academic and industry application. Tremendous theoretical and experimental investigations are carried out to get a insight of the degradation mechanism and promote the environmental stability of BP. Motivated by this, this article, focus on the recent development of stabilized 2D BP nanoflakes, will present the basic exploration, mechanism, efforts, and application of functionalized BP. The challenges encountered and further developments are summarized at the end.     

Electrochemical behaviour of conducting polymers obtained into clay-catalyst layers. An in situ Raman spectroscopy study

In this paper we present the study of the electrochemical properties of the following conducting polymers: poly(o-anisidine), polyaniline and copolymers of aniline and o-anisidine obtained by a new synthetic method. The polymers are synthesized in free-of-acid conditions, using an activated montmorillonitic clay catalyst, known as Maghnite-H⁺ (Mag-H) as proton source. The electrochemical behaviour of poly(o-anisidine) created using Mag-H (PoANI-MagH) and their copolymers with aniline is quite different of those polymers created in HCl solution. In situ Raman data suggest that the structure of PoANI-MagH is a mixture of conducting (polyaniline-type) and redox (phenoxazine or phenazine-type) segments.