Influence of the length of side substituents on optical and electro-optical properties of polydialkoxyphosphazenes

The electro-optical and dynamo-optical properties of dilute solutions of polydialkoxyphosphazenes with different lengths of side substituents are studied. Sign inversion of the specific Kerr constant and of the reduced flow birefringence for the number of carbon atoms in side aliphatic chains, m, varying from 3 to 7 is ascertained. The anisotropy of optical polarizability of a monomer unit changes in the studied series of polydialkoxyphosphazenes. It attains the minimum values and changes its sign from positive to negative at m = 5?C6. The resulting data provide an explanation for the mesomorphism of these polydialkoxyphosphazenes, which is connected with the possibility of alternative orientation of monomer units.     

Conformational and optical properties of macromolecules of some aliphatic-substituted cellulose esters

Synthesized cellulose pelargonates, tridecanoates, valerates, and acetovalerates of various molecular weights are studied in chloroform, dioxane, and tetrachloroethane solutions by the methods of isothermal translational diffusion, sedimentation velocity method, flow birefringence (dynamooptical Maxwell effect), viscometry, and equilibrium electric birefringence (Kerr effect). The equilibrium polymer rigidities are determined and the role of the solvent and temperature in the formation of the conformational characteristics of the macromolecules under study is analyzed. The values of the intrinsic optical anisotropy of the monomeric units of the studied cellulose esters are experimentally determined. The contribution of the side chains to the optical anisotropy of the macromolecules of cellulose esters with aliphatic substituents is analyzed. The results obtained in this study are compared with the data on the cellulose esters with the aliphatic side substituents studied earlier. For the studied samples, the values of the longitudinal components of the monomeric unit dipoles in a nonpolar solvent are estimated.     

Optical, dynamic, and electro-optical properties of poly(N-acryloyl-11-aminoundecanoic acid) in solutions

The optical, electro-optical, and dynamic characteristics of poly(N-acryloyl-11-aminoundecanoic acid) in organic solvents and of the sodium salt of its monomer in water were studied via the methods of flow birefringence, equilibrium and nonequilibrium electric birefringence, and dynamic light scattering. It is shown that, in aqueous solutions, the monomer forms coarse particles of both symmetric and asymmetric shapes. The linear dimensions of these particles are estimated from the data of translational and rotational diffusion. Polymer macromolecules in organic solvents feature negative anisotropy of optical polarizability. Contributions of optical microform and macroform effects to the observed flow birefringence are analyzed in detail. The intrinsic optical anisotropy of the monomer unit of the polymer, which correlates well with the corresponding values for comb-shaped polymers of a similar structure, is estimated. It is shown that polymer molecules lack marked intrinsic permanent macromolecular dipoles and that electric birefringence in their solutions is associated with macroscopic induced dipole moments that appear during orientation of the dipole moments of polar groups in side chains of the polymer under application of an electric field.     

The equilibrium and kinetic rigidity of additive poly(trimethylsilyltricyclononenes) with one and two Si(CH<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>3</Subscript> groups in monomer unit

The homologous series of additive poly[3-(trimethylsilyl)tricyclononene-7] with two heminal substituents Si(CH₃)₃ in the side cycle of the monomer unit is studied for the first time via the methods of viscometry and static and dynamic light scattering in the range of molecular masses of (29–770) × 10³. The scaling ratios for the intrinsic viscosity and the coefficient of translational diffusion of macromolecules in toluene at 298 K are obtained, and the equilibrium rigidity of the polymer chain is determined. The hydrodynamic and conformation properties of the polymer are compared to an analog with only one Si(CH₃)₃ substituent in the monomer unit. It is found that the introduction of the second side substituent in the heminal position increases the equilibrium rigidity of the additive poly[3-(trimethylsilyl)tricyclononene-7] by 1.4 times and has a far stronger effect on the kinetic rigidity of the polymer. With the use of the ¹Н NMR relaxation method, it is shown that the mobility of side groups of the polymer with two substituents decreases significantly and the correlation times of hydrogen atoms of Si(CH₃)₃ groups exceed some 20 times the corresponding values for the analog with one Si(CH₃)₃ group in the monomer unit cycle.     

Study of the molecular configuration and the dipole moment in fluorinated liquid crystals

We have investigated the relationship between the molecular configuration and dipole moment of some fluorinated liquid crystals (LCs). The geometries of the molecules were preliminarily optimized at empirical AM1 and then were further optimized at B3LYP/6‐31G(d) level. The dipole moment has been calculated. It is strongly influenced by the position and number of fluorine substituents in the benzene ring of the molecule. The polarizability, mean polarizabilities, and anisotropic polarizability of the phenylbicyclohexane (PBC) fluorine substituents are also given and discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005     

An electrooptical method for studying the mean length of stereoblocks in poly(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propynes) and poly(1-trimethylgermyl-1-propynes)

It was shown that equilibrium electrooptical properties (the Kerr effect) in solutions of disubstituted polyacetylenes poly(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne) and poly(1-trimethylgermyl-1-propyne) are related to the dipole structure of these polymers that is associated with the partial spiralization of their chains. A method of estimating the length of monomer unit sequences occurring in the same spatial configuration (stereoblocks) was developed. This method is based on the experimental measurement of the specific Kerr constant of disubstituted polyacetylenes. The sizes of stereoblocks in polymer chains that were synthesized with the use of various catalysts and that differ in the mean ratio of trans: cis C=C bonds, as estimated by the electrooptical method, were compared with the X-ray diffraction data on the same film polymers. There was good agreement between the results obtained by both methods.     

Substituents Effect on the Optical Properties of Benzonitrile and Oligobenzonitriles

During the past decades, the organic systems with good electronic and optical property,such as oligomer and polymers, have been attracted much attention because of theiroptical nonlinearity, fast response, relatively low cost, ease of fabrication and integrationinto devices. Generally to say, the common oligomers or polymers that we usually studyare all of carbon-carbon or heteroaromatic conjugated system. In previous work, thesynthesis of new linear -(C=N).- conjugated systems, polynitriles h…     

Intermolecular polarizability dynamics of aqueous formamide liquid mixtures studied by molecular dynamics simulations

A molecular dynamics simulation study is presented for the relaxation of the polarizability anisotropy in liquid mixtures of formamide and water, using a dipolar induction scheme that involves the intrinsic polarizability and first hyperpolarizability tensors of the molecules, and the dipole-quadrupole polarizability of water species. The long time diffusive decay of the collective polarizability anisotropy correlations exhibits a substantial slowing down as the formamide mole fraction increases in the mixture. The diffusive times for the polarizability relaxation obtained from the authors' simulations are in good agreement with optical Kerr effect experimental data, and they are found to correlate nearly linearly with the estimated mean lifetimes of the hydrogen bonds within the mixture, suggesting that the relaxation of the hydrogen bond network is responsible to some extent for the collective relaxation of the polarizability anisotropy of the mixture. The short time behavior of the polarizability anisotropy relaxation was investigated by computing the nuclear response function, R(t), which is very rapidly dominated by the formamide contribution as it is added to water, due to the much larger polarizability anisotropy of formamide molecules compared to that of water. Several contributions to the Raman spectrum were also analyzed as a function of composition, and the dynamical origin of the different bands was determined.     

PREPARATION AND SURFACE PROPERTIES OF ACRYLIC COPOLYMERS CONTAINING FLUORINATED MONOMERS

A series of copolymers comprising butylmethacrylate, styrene, butylacrylate, hydroxypropyl acrylate and perfluoroalkyl methacrylate were synthesized by the free radical polymerization using BPO as an initiator. The surface property of the copolymer films was subsequently characterized. The contact angle measurements and energy dispersive analysis of X-ray （EDAX） show that the length and content of perfluoroalkyl side chains in the copolymers are crucial for the preparation of the film with low surface energy. At a given content of fluorinated monomers in the copolymers, the longer the perfluoroalkyl side chain, the larger the water contact angle of the copolymer films will be. On the other hand, the higher the content of fluorinated monomers, the lower the surface energy is. The water contact angle increases with the increase of the fluorinated monomer content and reaches a plateau at 3 wt% of fluorinated monomer content.     

Dynamic Kerr effect responses in the terahertz range

Dynamic Kerr effect measurements provide a simple realization of a nonlinear experiment. We propose a field-off experiment where an electric field of one or several sinusoidal cycles with frequency omega is applied to a sample in thermal equilibrium. Afterwards, the evolution of the polarizability is measured. If such an experiment is performed in the terahertz range it might provide valuable information about the low-frequency dynamics in disordered systems. We treat these dynamics in terms of a Brownian oscillator model and calculate the Kerr effect response. It is shown that frequency-selective behavior can be expected. In the interesting case of underdamped vibrational motion we find that the frequency dependence of the phonon damping can be determined from the experiment. Also the behavior of overdamped relaxational modes is discussed. For typical glassy materials we estimate the magnitude of all relevant quantities, which we believe will be helpful in experimental realizations.     

Structural features of disubstituted polyacetylenes with bulky substituents at double bonds

The structural features of polyacetylenes carrying two substituents at double bonds with the general formula [-C(CH₃)=CR-] _n , where R = Si(CH₃)₃, -Ge(CH₃)₃, or CH(CH₃)₂, are studied. It is shown that the experimental IR and Raman spectra of the polymers and the theoretically calculated vibrational spectra for the model polymers consisting of three units coincide well with experimental data. All bands in the IR spectra are interpreted. The potential curves of internal rotation are calculated and constructed; high values of rotation barriers indicate a high rigidity of chains for all polymers of interest. The orthogonal arrangement of neighboring monomer units and, as a result, the absence of electron-density conjugation over the polymer chain are revealed. Charges on atoms and electron density on bonds of the monomer unit obtained from theoretical calculations indicate the presence of strong polarization of all bonds, including the -C=C- bond. This effect causes a shift in the frequencies of stretching vibrations due to double bonds in the IR spectra of polyacetylenes with Si- and Ge-containing side substituents toward the longwave region. For polyacetylene with hydrocarbon side substituents -CH(CH₃)₂, such polarization is absent.     

Tuning peptoid secondary structure with pentafluoroaromatic functionality: a new design paradigm for the construction of discretely folded peptoid structures

Peptoids, or oligomers of N-substituted glycine, are an important class of non-native polymers whose close structural similarity to natural alpha-peptides and ease of synthesis offer significant advantages for the study of biomolecular interactions and the development of biomimetics. Peptoids that are N-substituted with alpha-chiral aromatic side chains have been shown to adopt either helical or "threaded loop" conformations, depending upon solvent and oligomer length. Elucidation of the factors that impact peptoid conformation is essential for the development of general rules for the design of peptoids with discrete and novel structures. Here, we report the first study of the effects of pentafluoroaromatic functionality on the conformational profiles of peptoids. This work was enabled by the synthesis of a new, alpha-chiral amine building block, (S)-1-(pentafluorophenyl)ethylamine (S-2), which was found to be highly compatible with peptoid synthesis (delivering (S)-N-(1-(pentafluorophenyl)ethyl)glycine oligomers). The incorporation of this fluorinated monomer unit allowed us to probe both the potential for pi-stacking interactions along the faces of peptoid helices and the role of side chain electrostatics in peptoid folding. A series of homo- and heteropeptoids derived from S-2 and non-fluorinated, alpha-chiral aromatic amide side chains were synthesized and characterized by circular dichroism (CD) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Enhancement of pi-stacking by quadrupolar interactions did not appear to play a significant role in stabilizing the conformations of heteropeptoids with alternating fluorinated and non-fluorinated side chains. However, incorporation of (S)-N-(1-(pentafluorophenyl)ethyl)glycine monomers enforced helicity in peptoids that typically exhibit threaded loop conformations. Moreover, we found that the incorporation of a single (S)-N-(1-(pentafluorophenyl)ethyl)glycine monomer could be used to selectively promote looped or helical structure in this important peptoid class by tuning the electronics of nearby heteroatoms. The strategic installation of this monomer unit represents a new approach for the manipulation of canonical peptoid structure and the construction of novel peptoid architectures.     

Brillouin scattering and optical Kerr effect study of dimethacrylates: temperature effects

In this paper we report a temperature study of Brillouin scattering and optical Kerr effect in the ethane-1,2-diol dimethacrylate, pentane-1,5-diol dimethacrylate and hexane-1,6-diol dimethacrylate belonging to the series of dimethacrylate homologues. Using these methods we have studied the temperature behaviour of the hypersonic velocity, adiabatic compressibility and optical Kerr constant in the temperature range from 283 to 323 K.

The obtained results are compared to those obtained earlier from Brillouin scattering and optical Kerr effect experiments for butane-1,4-diol dimethacrylate and 2,2′-thiodiethyl dimethacrylate (a sulfur-containing monomer). The results are also discussed in terms of changes in the intermolecular interactions and arrangement in the liquid compounds under study.     

Manifestation of side-chain interactions in solution properties of “loose” PI-graft-PMMA molecular brushes

The molecular properties of polymer brushes composed of polyimide with polymerization degree 50 and loosely grafted poly(methyl methacrylate) chains of variable length (PI-graft-PMMA) were studied by viscometry, dynamic light scattering, and equilibrium electro-optical Kerr effect methods in a diluted solution. It was established that the intrinsic viscosity and hydrodynamic dimension of PI-graft-PMMA copolymers increase when the electro-optical Kerr constant decreases with the elongation of PMMA side chains in the range of 40–110 monomer units. The observed difference in the solution properties of the copolymers was explained by their side-chain interactions in spite of a large distance between the neighboring grafting points typical of “loose brushes.” A strong effect of the chain rigidity and dipole structure on solution properties of the studied samples was demonstrated. The Kuhn segment lengths for PI-graft-PMMA copolymers were estimated to vary in the range 3.8–12.1?nm.     

Effect of fluorinated groups on photooxidative stability of polymeric protectives applied on marble

Some new protective copolymers and a commercial one have been tested on Candoglia marble, a very low porosity stone. Two of the polymers contained a partially fluorinated methacrylic monomer, 2,2,2 trifluoro ethyl methacrylate (TFEMA), in combination with either an acrylic, methyl acrylate (MA) or a vinyl ether, n-butyl vinyl ether (n-BVE) unit. Two copolymers, ethyl methacrylate/n-butyl vinyl ether and ethyl methacrylate (EMA)/methyl acrylate (Paraloid B72), were non-fluorinated and similar in compositions and molar ratio. The aim of the work is to test the copolymers and compare the performances of fluorinated new polymers with the non fluorinated one and with the largely used commercial product. The results obtained demonstrate that the introduction, even in limited amounts, of fluorine atoms in the side ester groups of methacrylic type polymers really improves their protective effect and the durability of the stone treatments. The best results were obtained with the copolymer TFEM/MA which is the fluorinated homologous of Paraloid B72.     

Chalice-Type Tridentate Silicon Lewis Acids of C3 Symmetry in a Single Step Starting from Hexadehydrotribenzo[12]annulene

Tridentate Lewis acids with aligned functions were synthesized based on the rigid framework hexadehydrotribenzo[12]annulene. The backbone and its fluorinated analogue were synthesised in one-pot syntheses, with alkyne deprotection and Sonogashira cross coupling reaction being carried out in one step. Hydrosilylation of the annulene with chlorohydrosilanes proceeded highly selectively and afforded rigid poly-Lewis acids with three SiCl₃ or SiCl₂Me substituents perfectly oriented to one side of the molecule in a single step. The progress of hydrosilylation was investigated by time-correlated NMR spectroscopic studies. The crystal structures show that the framework is symmetrically functionalised and the silyl substituents are aligned in one direction. To increase the acidity of the Lewis acids the chlorosilyl substituents were fluorinated with SbF₃. Further investigation of hydrometallation reactions (M=B, Al, Ga, Sn) did not lead to corresponding structures.     

Synthesis and characterization of a new benzobisoxazole/thiophene derivative polymer and the effect of the substituent on the push/pull properties

Conducting polymer synthesis of a new benzobisoxazole/thiophene derivative is reported. The conjugated co-polymer presents the lowest bandgap (1.78 eV) reported for a neutral benzobisoxazole/thiophene polymer. Electrochemical polymerization is carried out by cyclic voltammetry, and the new conducting polymer is characterized by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results indicate that the coupling of the monomer unit occurs at the 2,2′ positions of the thiophene ring. Theoretical studies in derivatives of this family of compounds are conducted to validate the effect on the bandgap modulation due to the change in the substituent on the phenyl moiety of the monomer. The comparison between experimental and theoretical properties shows the substituents impact on the optical properties of the system, and its viability to be used in sensors.     

Maxwell and Kerr effects in solutions of linear dendritic macromolecules

The linear dendritic polymers of the first and second generations have been investigated by the methods of flow birefringence and equilibrium and nonequilibrium electric birefringence. The side dendrons are attached to the polymer backbone through benzamide groups and contain long terminal hexyloxycarbonyl fragments. Optical, dynamic, dipolar, and conformational characteristics of the macromolecules in question have been analyzed in detail. It has been found that the macromolecules of dendritic polymers with dendrons based on L-aspartic acid possess permanent dipole moments and reorient in external electric and hydrodynamic fields according to the large-scale rotation mechanism. The introduction of rigid benzamide fragments substantially increases the equilibrium rigidity, optical anisotropy, and dipole moment of monomer units of dendritic macromolecules. The role of macro-and microform effects in the formation of optical features of the molecules under study is considered in detail.     

Mechanisms of molecular polarization of bithiophenesilane dendrimers in solutions

A number of consecutive generations of bithiophenesilane dendrimers and their precursors are studied by the methods of the equilibrium electro-optical Kerr effect, dielectric polarization, and absorption spectroscopy in dilute toluene solutions. It is shown that the molecules of hybrid dendrimers containing bithiophene fragments covalently linked via silicon atoms are not kinetically rigid and feature the small-scale mechanism of interaction with external electric fields. A tris(bithiophene)methylsilane fragment is found to be the subunit responsible for the electro-optical and optical spectral properties of the above hybrid dendrimers. It is revealed that the polarization of bithiophensilane dendrimers predominantly shows the deformation pattern.     

Synthesis and mesomorphic properties of fluoro-containing azobenzene liquid crystals

Four series of azobenzene liquid crystal compounds containing a fluorinated tolan unit have been synthesized. The mesomorphic behaviours of these compounds were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and optical polarizing microscopy. The compounds of these series exhibit a nematic, a smectic C or a smectic B phase. This investigation revealed that the alkoxy chain at the side of the azobenzene moiety plays a more important role in the formation of smectic phases than the one at the side of the tolan moiety.