Synthesis of new spirobenzopyrans with two long-chain substituents

Two new photochromic compounds each containing two substituents with long alkyl chains in different parts of a molecule were synthesized by a sequence of direct reduction, acylation, and nitration reactions of substituted spirobenzopyrans. The structures of the compounds synthesized were determined using the ¹H NMR spectra. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 2530–2533, November, 2005.     

Synthesis of isomeric pyrazoles by reaction of propargyl acetate with alkyl diazoacetates

A mixture of 3(5)-carbalkoxy-5(3)-acetoxy- and 3(5)carbalkoxy-4-acetoxymethylpyrazoles was obtained by reaction of propargyl acetate with alkyl diazoacetates.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 9, pp. 1243–1246, September, 1976.     

Synthesis and investigation of polybenzimidazoles containing alkyl substituents in aromatic nuclei

Polybenzimidazoles have been synthesized from 3,3′-diamino-5,5′-dimethylbenzidine, 3,3′,4,4′-tetraamino-5,5′-dimethyldiphenylmethane, bis(3-amino-4-methylamino)phenylmethane, bis(3-amino-4-methylamino-5-methyl)phenylmethane, and diphenyl esters of adipic, sebacic, isophthalic, and terephthalic acids and 4,4′-dicarboxydiphenyl oxide by solid-phase polyheterocyclization. Properties of the polybenzimidazoles have been studied. The polymers have high thermal stability. They are soluble in a number of organic solvents and give strong, elastic films. Solubility and thermal stability of polybenzimidazoles is determined by the methyl group position in the polymeric chain. The influence of other alkyl substituents on properties of polybenzimidazoles have been investigated. The polymer structure has been studied by infrared and PMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis.     

Synthesis of pyrazoles and condensed pyrazoles

This review introduces the synthesis of various pyrazoles reported by us and some other research groups during 1989–1998. Some of papers in this review deal with the development of potent pyrazoles or with the synthesis of potential pyrazoles aiming at agrochemicals and/or drugs.     

Synthesis of pyrazoles

This review summarizes the synthesis of various pyrazoles reported by us and some other research groups in 1981–1989.     

Exceptionally long-range self-assembly of hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene with dove-tailed alkyl substituents

The substitution of a hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene by bulky, space-demanding, 2-decyltetradecyl side chains proved to be an effective procedure to influence the thermal and self-aggregation behavior. The extremely large steric requirement of the introduced side chains modulated the aggregation and resulted in a dramatic lowering of the isotropization temperature and a higher solubility. As an additional consequence of the exceptional, long-range self-aggregation of the discotic molecule, spherulite formation was observed during crystallization by polarized light microscopy. Macroscopic self-assembly was induced by zone crystallization of the material, leading to aligned columnar superstructures as revealed by 2D-WAXS experiments. These extraordinary properties have not yet been reported for a discotic columnar material, making this compound very promising for application in electronic devices.     

The self-ordering properties of novel phthalocyanines with out-of-plane alkyl substituents

Two novel homologous series of phthalocyanines were prepared from 2,2-dialkylindane and 2,2-dialkyl-1,3-benzodioxole precursors. It was anticipated that attaching alkyl chains to five-membered rings, fused to the peripheral sites of the phthalocyanine ring, would result in the adoption of an out-of-plane configuration and thereby discourage cofacial aggregation, to provide an analogy with picket-fence porphyrins. This strategy proved partially successful. Some members of the series of phthalocyanines derived from 2,2-dialkyl-1,3-benzodioxoles, in which the alkyl chains are linked to the phthalocyanine via a cyclic ketal, form spin-coated thin films in which the phthalocyanine cores are perfectly isolated. This behaviour is associated with the formation of a disordered crystal that appears as a mesophase in the thermal profile of these materials. However, the phthalocyanines derived from 2,2-dialkylindanes display a columnar mesophase over a wide temperature range, with some liquid crystalline derivatives at ambient temperature. A single-crystal X-ray diffraction structure of the octahexyl derivative of this series shows how the columnar assembly accommodates the out-of-plane alkyl chains by tilting the macrocyclic plane of the phthalocyanine components with respect to the axis of the column. This study helps to emphasise the importance of both the steric and electronic effects of substituents on the packing behaviour of phthalocyanines in the condensed phase, and especially the role of electron-donating oxygen atoms directly attached to the ring.     

Fluorescence of saturated hydrocarbons. II. The effect of alkyl substituents

Fluorescence spectra and quantum yields have been determined for a variety of normal and cyclic alkanes and for some of their alkyl derivatives. In the case of normal alkanes, the quantum yield increases almost linearly with number of carbon atoms from pentane to heptadecane, whereas the emission spectrum remains unchanged. The addition ofa methyl group strongly reduces the quantum yield and shifts the spectrum to the red. For cycloalkanes, a relatively intense emission is observed only for cyclohexane and its alkyl derivatives, whereas cyclopentane, cycloeptane, cyclooctane, and cyclodecane exhibit no fluorescence.     

Synthesis of tetra-substituted pyrazoles

A set of highly substituted pyrazoles bearing different functional groups on the pyrazole core was developed. Employing a suitable protecting group strategy we could regioselectively introduce various substituents in position 1, 3 and 4 of the pyrazole. This enabled the synthesis of various derivatives of a pyrazole–biscarboxamide with insecticidal activity. During the optimization process we focused on the precise exchange of carboxamide as well as other functional groups based on the concept of bioisosterism.     

Novel radical compounds bearing mesogenic cores with long alkyl substituents

Series of aminoxyl radicals (TEMPO or nitronyl nitroxide radicals) bearing phenyl benzoate, troponoid, or biphenylcarbonitrile as mesogenic cores with long alkyl substituents were prepared. Although most aminoxyl radicals showed only weak antiferromagnetic interactions due probably to the remote spin centers as clarified by the X-ray analysis of 4a and no appreciable mesogenic phase was observed in each compound, an unusual magnetic transition from an original Curie-Weiss phase to another magnetic phase well-expressed by a singlet-triplet (ST) model was disclosed through the thermal transition in the 4'-undecyloxy-4-biphenylcarbonitrile derivative with oxocarbonyl-TEMPO 12b.     

Reactions with 5-aminopyrazoles. I. Synthesis of halogen-containing fused pyrazoles

5-Amino-3-phenylpyrazole (I) and 5-amino-4-bromo-3-phenylpyrazole (II) reacted with ethyl acetoacetate and acetylacetone to give various pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines IV-VI and with benzoins to give different fused pyrazoles, namely, imidazo[1,2-b]pyrazoles IX, pyrrolo[2,3-c]pyrazoles X and pyrazolo[4,3-b][1,4]oxazines XII. Diazotized II was coupled with active methylene-containing nitriles to afford pyrazolo[5,1-c]-as-triazines XIV.     

Preparation and investigation of solutions of chitosan derivatives with long-chain hydrophilic substituents

The preparation of aqueous solutions of chitosan oligo(ethylene oxide) sulfonate and special features of their viscosity and foam-stabilizing properties are described. It is shown that the complete dissolution of the chitosan derivative takes place at a degree of substitution of at least 0.75. An increase in the degree of substitution to 1 leads to a decrease in the viscosity of solutions; however, the viscosity of solutions of chitosan oligo(ethylene oxide) sulfonate in all cases greatly exceeds that of solutions of chitosan acetate of the same concentration. Unlike chitosan acetate solutions, the solutions of chitosan oligo(ethylene oxide) sulfonate have a higher stability and more pronounced foam-stabilizing properties.     

Synthesis of polyanilines with polyaromatic substituents

Polyanilines containing diphenyl, terphenyl, anthracene, carbazole, and 4-n-hexylbenzene have been prepared through the interaction of polyanilines in the form of the emeraldine base with corresponding sodium salts of aromatic derivatives of vinyl ketones. The polymers have been characterized by thermogravimetry, IR spectroscopy, and ¹H NMR measurements. The emission characteristics of the polymers in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone solution have been studied.     

Electron donor and acceptor properties of alkyl substituents

The polar effects of alkyl substituents in electrophilic and nucleophilic chemical and electronic transitions is discussed. The question of the importance of hyperconjugation in the electron donor properties of alkyl substituents is raised. In view of the cogent arguments of Dewar, it is doubtful whether quantum mechanical calculations embodying hyperconjugation constitute proof of this effect. That the art of quantum mechanics may not yet be sufficiently developed to be used as proof for or against secondary resonance effects also is evidenced by the calculations of Simpson, who found that an internal dispersion force model (in which conjugation was neglected) reproduced the properties of butadiene just as satisfactorily as the models embodying conjugation. The experimental facts do not unequivocally support the hyperconjugation hypothesis and indeed are, at least in part, contradictory to it. In particular, the demonstration that the Baker-Nathan Effect² may be due to the influence of alkyl substituents on the differential solvation of ground and transition states casts doubt on the interpretation that this experimental effect is due to a dominant role of C-H hyperconjugation.

In nucleophilic chemical reactions, rate or equilibrium constants for para (or meta) alkyl derivatives are somewhat smaller than those of the corresponding hydrogen compounds. A number of authors have interpreted this in terms of a permanent electron donor role of alkyl substituents (e.g. by hyperconjugation) relative to the hydrogen substituent. However, this static viewpoint of substituent effects fails to account for the finding that p-alkyl substituents function as apparent electron acceptors (relative to the p-hydrogen substituent) in appreciably lowering the energy of the nucleophilic principal electronic transition of phenol, anisole, aniline and N,N-dimethylaniline. These results are qualitatively rationalized in terms of ‘substituent-polarizability” and electronegativity.

The p-neopentyl substituent lowers the energy of both electrophilic and nucleophilic electronic transitions to an appreciably greater extent than either the p-methyl or p-t-butyl substituent. This extra stabilizing effect of the neopentyl substituent on both electron deficient and electron rich centers may be due to an internal dispersion force interaction, since the geometry of the neopentyl compounds is particularly favorable for such an interaction.     

Synthesis of cationic ether lipids of alkyl type with short-chain substituents at the 2-position of the glycerol backbone

A series of cationic ether lipids with short-chain substituents at the 2-position and various cationic groups attached directly or through a spacer group to the glycerol backbone was synthesized.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 1826–1830, October, 1994.This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Project No. 94-03-08-166).     

Influence of alkyl substituents on the solution- and surface-organization of hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronenes

Three hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronenes (HBCs) with branched, bulky alkyl substituents of different lengths in the periphery of the aromatic core have been synthesized to tune the self-association properties in solution. 1H NMR and photophysical measurements were used to probe the solution organization in comparison to the known hexa-dodecyl-substituted HBC in different solvent systems. Thermodynamic parameters for the self-association in solution, obtained by curve fitting of the concentration- and temperature-dependent NMR data using van't Hoff analysis, indicated that the self-association is an enthalpically driven process that is entropically disfavored. Photoluminescence and NMR results were both employed to determine the critical concentration where no self-association for different compounds occurred. The interactions between the molecules could be controlled by varying the nonsolvent content in the solvent mixtures, supporting the model of solvophobic effects. The spatial demand of the solubilizing side chains modulated the self-association in solution. This behavior was translated into the solution casting process, where the kinetic in addition to the thermodynamic parameters played an essential role for structure formation. The study illuminates the relationship between the solution association of HBCs and the morphology, when processed on a surface. These results are essential for the application of these materials in devices.