Multilayer Assemblies Consisting of Tri‐Vanadium‐Substituted Heteropolyanions and Its Electrocatalytic Properties

We describe the controlled fabrication of ultrathin multilayer films consisting of tri‐vanadium‐ substituted heteropolytungstate anions (denoted as P₂W₁₅V₃) and a cationic polymer of quaternized poly (4‐vinylpyridine) partially complexed with osmium bis(2,2′‐bipyridine) (denoted as QPVP‐Os) on the 4‐aminobenzoic acid (4‐ABA) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface based on layer‐by‐layer assembly. Cyclic voltammetry and UV‐vis absorption spectrometry have been used to easily monitor the thickness and uniformity of thus‐formed multilayer films. The V‐centered redox reaction of P₂W₁₅V₃ in the multilayer films can effectively catalyze the reduction of BrO and NO . The resulting P₂W₁₅V₃/QPVP‐Os multilayer film modified electrode behaves as a much promising electrochemical sensor because of the low overpotential for the catalytic reduction of BrO and NO , and the catalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid.     

Film Growth and Surface Roughness with Effective Fluctuating Covalent Bonds in Evaporating Aqueous Solution of Reactive Hydrophobic and Polar Groups: A Computer Simulation Model

Summary: A computer simulation model is proposed to study film growth and surface roughness in aqueous (A) solution of hydrophobic (H) and hydrophilic (P) groups on a simple three dimensional lattice of size with an adsorbing substrate. Each group is represented by a particle with appropriate characteristics occupying a unit cube (i.e., eight sites). The Metropolis algorithm is used to move each particle stochastically. The aqueous constituents are allowed to evaporate while the concentration of H and P is constant. Reactions proceed from the substrate and bonded particles can hop within a fluctuating bond length. The film thickness ( ) and its interface width ( ) are examined for hardcore and interacting particles for a range of temperature ( ). Simulation data show a rapid increase in and followed by its non‐monotonic growth and decay before reaching steady‐state and near equilibrium ( ) in asymptotic time step limit. The growth can be described by power laws, e.g., with a typical value of in initial time regime followed by at . For hardcore system, the equilibrium film thickness ( ) and surface roughness ( ) seem to scale linearly with the temperature, i.e., at low and at higher . For interacting functional groups in contrast, the long time (unsaturated) film thickness and surface roughness, and decay rapidly followed by a slow increase on raising the temperature.

Growth of the average film thickness at a temperature .     

One‐Step Pyrolysis Preparation of 1.1.1 Oriented Gold Nanoplatelets Supported on Graphene and Six Orders of Magnitude Enhancement of the Resulting Catalytic Activity

Pyrolysis of chitosan films containing Au³⁺ renders 1.1.1 oriented Au nanoplatelets (20 nm lateral size, 3–4 nm height) on a few layers of N‐doped graphene ( /fl‐G), while the lateral sides were 0.0.1 oriented. Comparison of the catalytic activity of /fl‐G films with powders of unoriented Au NPs supported on graphene showed that /fl‐G films exhibit six orders of magnitude enhancement for three gold‐catalyzed reactions, namely, Ullmann‐like homocoupling, C? N cross coupling, and the oxidative coupling of benzene to benzoic acid. This enhancement is the result of the defined morphology, facet orientation of Au nanocrystals, and strong gold‐graphene interaction.     

Effect of Molecular Weight on Photoinduced Birefringence in a Chiral Liquid Crystalline Azodye Polymer

Summary: The evolution of the photoinduced birefringence in thin films of narrow polymer fractions is studied and compared with the behavior of the non‐fractionated polymer. The Δn_ind value decreases by increasing the degree of polymerization ( ) within the oligomeric range but becomes independent of molecular weight starting from a of ≈70. Thermal pretreatment of the films results in higher photoinduced birefringence. The films show good stability of the photorecording.

Birefringence induced after 10 min, Δn_ind(600) and its growth rate at the same moment versus molecular weight.     

Combining Modular Ligation and Supramolecular Self‐Assembly for the Construction of Star‐Shaped Macromolecules

A well‐defined random copolymer of styrene (S) and chloromethylstyrene (CMS) featuring lateral chlorine moieties with an alkyne terminal group is prepared (P(S‐co‐CMS), = 5500 Da, PDI = 1.13). The chloromethyl groups are converted into Hamilton wedge (HW) entities (P(S‐co‐HWS), = 6200 Da, PDI = 1.13). The P(S‐co‐HWS) polymer is subsequently ligated with tetrakis(4‐azidophenyl)methane to give HW‐functional star‐shaped macromolecules (P(S‐co‐HWS))₄, = 25 100 Da, PDI = 1.08). Supramolecular star‐shaped copolymers are then prepared via self‐assembly between the HW‐functionalized four‐arm star‐shaped macromolecules ( P(S‐co‐HW )) ₄ and cyanuric acid (CA) end‐functionalized PS (PS–CA, = 3700 Da, PDI = 1.04), CA end‐functionalized poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA–CA, = 8500 Da, PDI = 1.13) and CA end‐functionalized polyethylene glycol (PEG–CA, = 1700 Da, PDI = 1.05). The self‐assembly is monitored by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and light scattering analyses.     

Study on the Indirect Electrochemical Detection of Ammonium Ion with In Situ Electrogenerated Hypobromous Acid

The electrochemical oxidation of bromide in the presence of ammonium ion (NH ) was studied by cyclic voltammetry and UV‐vis spectroscopy. The experimental results suggested that the anodically generated bromine (Br₂) would be hydrolyzed to hypobromous acid (HBrO) at the pH range of 5–7 and was further disproportionate to hypobromite anion (BrO^?) when pH was larger than 7. Both HBrO and BrO^? were confirmed to be participated in the following homogeneous chemical reaction with the coexisted ammonium ion. However, HBrO is electroactive whereas BrO^‐ is electroinactive at carbon electrode. Based upon the reaction of HBrO with NH , an indirect electrochemical method was proposed for determination of NH with dual‐electrode configuration in phosphate buffer solution (pH 7), where HBrO was produced at a generator electrode and the excess HBrO was subsequently detected at a collector electrode after a reaction with NH in a batch solution or in a micro flow injection analytical (micro‐FIA) system by using an interdigitated array (IDA) Pt microelectrode and a carbon film ring‐disk electrode (CFRDE), respectively. The decreasing of reduction current at the collector electrode was proportional to the concentration NH in both systems, with the detection limit below 3.0 μM. This approach shows the advantage of highly selectivity even in presence of a large amount of coexisted cations, and was successfully applied for the determination of NH in environmental water samples.     

Ab initio molecular orbital study on the structures and energetics of CH3OH\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$_{2}^{+}$\end{document}(H2O)n and CH3SH\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$_{2}^{+}$\end{document}(H2O)n in the gas phase

The purpose of this study was to calculate the structures and energetics of CH₃OH$_{2}^{+}$(H₂O)_n and CH₃SH$_{2}^{+}$(H₂O)_n in the gas phase: we asked how the CH₃OH$_{2}^{+}$ and CH₃SH$_{2}^{+}$ moieties of CH₃OH$_{2}^{+}$(H₂O)_n and CH₃SH$_{2}^{+}$(H₂O)_n change with an increase in n and how can we reproduce the experimental values ΔH°_n−1,n. For this purpose, we carried out full geometry optimizations with MP2/6‐31+G(d,p) for CH₃OH$_{2}^{+}$(H₂O)_n (n=0,1,2,3,4,5) and CH₃SH$_{2}^{+}$(H₂O)_n (n=0,1,2,3,4). We also performed a vibrational analysis for all clusters in the optimized structures to confirm that all vibrational frequencies are real. All of the vibrational frequencies of these clusters are real, and they correspond to equilibrium structures. For CH₃OH$_{2}^{+}$(H₂O)_n, when n increases, (1) the C O bond length decreases, (2) the C H bond lengths do not change, (3) the O H bond lengths increase, (4) the OCH bond angles increase, (5) the COH bond angles decrease, (6) the charge on CH₃ becomes less positive, and (7) these predicted values, except for the O H bond lengths of CH₃OH$_{2}^{+}$(H₂O)_n, approach the corresponding values in CH₃OH. The C O bond length in CH₃OH$_{2}^{+}$(H₂O)₅ is shorter than that in CH₃OH$_{2}^{+}$ in the gas phase by 0.061 Å at the MP2/6‐31+G(d,p) level. Except for the S H bond lengths in CH₃SH$_{2}^{+}$(H₂O)_n, however, the structure of the CH₃SH$_{2}^{+}$ moiety does not change with an increase in n. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 22: 125–131, 2001     

Lewis acid‐base properties of cellulose acetate butyrate by inverse gas chromatography

The dispersive component of the surface‐free energy, , of cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) has been determined using the net retention volume, V_N, of n‐alkanes (C₅? C₈) probes in the temperature range 323.15–393.15 K. The values decrease nonlinearly with increase in temperature, and the temperature coefficients of are ? 0.32 (mJ/m²K) and ? 0.10 (mJ/m²K) in the range 323.15–353.15 K and 353.15–393.15 K, respectively. This variation in has been attributed to the structural changes that take place on the surface of CAB at ～353.15 K. The specific components of the enthalpy of adsorption, , and entropy of adsorption, , calculated using V_N of polar solutes are negative. The values are used to evaluate Lewis acidity constant, K_a, and Lewis basicity constant, K_b, for the CAB surface. The K_a and K_b values are found to be 0.126 and 1.109, respectively, which suggest that the surface is predominantly basic. The K_a and K_b results indicate for the necessary surface modifications of CAB which act as biodegradable adsorbent material. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cationic Graft Copolymers as Carriers for Delivery of Antisense‐Oligonucleotides

Self‐assembling systems based on ionic complexes of DNA fragments (36 base pairs), bcl‐2 antisense oligonucleotides (octadecamer), oligophosphates (25 phosphate groups) or acrylic oligomers (18 groups of phosphonic acid) with poly(L ‐lysine) (PLL) ( = 130 000 and 88 000) grafted with short poly[N‐(2‐hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide] (PHPMA) chains ( = 4 300 or 8 600) were studied by static and dynamic light scattering methods as systems suitable for gene therapy applications. The graft copolymers (GPLLs) with shorter PHPMA grafts ( = 4 300) provide polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) with smaller and R_H than the corresponding GPLLs with longer grafts ( = 8 600) and the same content of PLL. The lowest aggregation number of 2 was observed for PECs prepared from the GPLL with short grafts and 40 wt.‐% of PLL. The complexes of oligonucleotides and DNA fragments with GPLLs showed quite similar behavior to that with oligophosphates and acrylic oligomer. The complexes prepared from GPLLs containing 40 wt.‐% of PLL and at excess of oligophosphate were stable for at least 48 h under physiological conditions (0.15 M NaCl) and in bovine serum albumin solutions (1 mg · mL^?1). Additionally, polyanion exchange reactions of the PECs in contact with poly(styrenesulfonate) and DNA were studied in 0.15 M NaCl solutions. The oligophosphates in complexes were at least partially substituted with high‐molecular‐weight polyanions. The structure of the initial PECs dominated the PEC structure after the exchange reaction.

The dependence of the molecular weight (a) and the hydrodynamic radius R_H (b) of complexes of the oligophosphate (OPP) and four graft copolymers (GPLLi, i = 0–3) on the mixing ratio X.     

Theoretical study of synthetic reaction of tetrazole and tetrazolate anion

Tetrazole (H₂CN₄) and tetrazolate anion (HCN$_{4}^{-}$) are high‐energy compounds with a five‐membered ring‐type structures, which can be easily synthesized by HCN and HN₃ and by HCN and N$_{3}^{-}$, respectively, in an irreversible reaction. The ab initio methods including MP2/6‐31G**, B3LYP/6‐31G**, B3LYP/6‐311+G(2d,p), and CBS/QB3 from Gaussian 98 program are employed to study the thermochemistry and reaction mechanism. The transition states of both HCN + HN₃ → H₂CN₄ and HCN + N$_{3}^{-}$ → HCN$_{4}^{-}$ reaction are investigated, and it is found that the latter reaction is more favored than the former one in view of the chemical kinetics and thermodynamics, thus indicating that tetrazole (H₂CN₄) and tetrazolate anion (HCN$_{4}^{-}$) are formed more easily in an alkali environment than in other systems. Pentazole (HN₅) is an unknown high‐energy compound and has not yet been synthesized. For comparison, HN₅ and N$_{5}^{-}$, both which have similar type of synthetic reactions to the above‐mentioned reactions, are studied. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 80: 27–37, 2000     

Direct and Reverse Limiting Series of Transition Metal Phosphides with Ordered Defects and Metal/Non Metal Ratio Close to 2

Two new limiting series of ternary compounds with ordered defects have been evidenced, which crystallize with hexagonal symmetry, space group P6m2. The first one (direct series) shows one metal vacancy and corresponds to the chemical formula □R T X . The compounds α‐UCr₆P₄ (n = 0) and Zr₄Co₁₃Si₉ (n = 1) are the first members of the series. X‐ray single crystal determination and/or electron microprobe analysis confirm the ternary phosphides Ce₉Ni₂₅P₁₃ and Ce₁₆Ni₃₆P₂₂ to be the following members. The second family (reverse series) with chemical formula R□ T X comprises the ternaries α‐UCr₆P₄ (in fact member n = 0 in both series) and UMo₁₃P₉ (n = 1), the structure of which has been determined on a single crystal. The limiting structures to which the two series converge have been found to be YbPtP (direct) and WC (reverse). The structural relationships between the direct and reverse series have been discussed in terms of metal vacancies and coordination polyhedra. Moreover, a general crystal chemical rule has been established that permits prediction of the different members for the two series and their structural definition in terms of lattice parameters, atomic coordinates and theoretical X‐ray diffraction patterns. Finally, this rule permits to give for each member the number of metal vacancies as well as the distribution of the metalloid polyhedra occupied by the metal atoms (trigonal prisms, pyramids, tetrahedra, triangles).     

Electrochemical Preparation of Poly(acriflavine) Film‐Modified Electrode and Its Electrolcatalytic Properties Towards NADH,Nitrite and Sulfur Oxoanions

Electrochemical polymerization of acriflavine (AF) was carried out onto glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) from the aqueous buffer solution containing 1.5×10^?3 M AF monomer (pH 3.5) which produced a thin electrochemically active film. This is noted as poly(AF) film modified electrodes (PAF/GCE). This modified electrode was shown a stable reversible redox couple centered at +0.22 V in pH 3.5 buffer solutions. PAF/GCE was found to be more stable in acidic solutions and its formal potential was found to be pH dependent with a slope close to ?60 mV/pH. The electrochemical deposition kinetics of poly(AF) onto gold coated quartz crystal was studied by using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) combined with cyclic voltammetry (CV). PAF/GCE was found be good mediator for electrochemical oxidation of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) in pH 5 buffer solutions. The electrocatalytic oxidation of SO and electrocatalytic reduction of NO , SO and S₂O were carried out at PAF/GCE electrode in acidic aqueous solutions. The electrocatalytic oxidation of NADH was also investigated by using amperometric method.     

Cluster ions in the secondary ion mass spectrometry of choline and acetylcholine halides

Liquid secondary ion mass spectra of choline and acetylcholine halides exhibit several series of cluster ions whose origins were investigated using B/E and B²/E linked-scan techniques. In the case of choline halides three series of cluster ions were identified as (Me₃$ \mathop {\rm N}\limits^ + $CH₂CH₂OH + nM), (Me₃$ \mathop {\rm N}\limits^ + $CH₂CH₂OMe + nM) and (Me₃N$ \mathop {\rm N}\limits^ + $CH₂CH₂OH · Me₃$ \mathop {\rm N}\limits^ + $CH₂CH₂O^? + nM), while (CH₃COOCH₂CH₂$ \mathop {\rm N}\limits^ + $Me₃ + nM), (Me₃$ \mathop {\rm N}\limits^ + $CH₂CH₂OH + nM) and (CH₂ = CH$ \mathop {\rm N}\limits^ + $Me₃ + nM) were observed in the spectra of acetylcholine halides. For these cluster ions, bimolecular reactions induced on ion bombardment under secondary ion mass spectrometric conditions are discussed.     

The first normal stress difference and viscosity in shear of liquid crystalline solutions of hydroxypropylcellulose: new experimental data and theory

The constitutive equations for liquid crystalline polymers recently proposed by one of us [1] are applied here to interpret the behaviour of the shear viscosity η and the first normal stress difference N₁() measured for liquid crystalline (LC) solutions of hydroxypropylcellulose in acetic acid. N₁( ) is observed to change from positive to negative and again to positive, as the shear rate increases, at lower concentrations, in the LC phase. The -values at which N₁ changes sign depend on the molecular mass (degree of polymerization) and on the concentration. η shows a small Newtonian plateau at low shear rates and a strong shear-thinning at higher values of . The rate of decrease of η in this region shows an “hesitation” similar to one previously observed in LC solutions of poly-γ-benzyl-L-glutamate PBLG. All these observations can be rationalized within the frame-work of Martins' theory. The expressions for N₁() and η derived from this theory fit very well (quantitatively) to the experimental data and some fundamental viscoelastic parameters of the system under study are thereby obtained for the first time.     

Direct Cyclodextrin‐Mediated Ring Opening Polymerization of ϵ‐Caprolactone in the Presence of Yttrium Trisphenolate Catalyst

Unmodified β‐cyclodextrin has been directly used to initiate ring‐opening polymerization of ϵ‐caprolactone in the presence of yttrium trisphenolate. Well‐defined cyclodextrin (CD)‐centered star‐shaped poly(ϵ‐caprolactone)s have been successfully synthesized containing definite average numbers of arms (N_arm = 4–6) and narrow polydispersity indexes (below 1.10). The number‐average molecular weight ( ) and average molecular weight per arm ( ) are controlled by the feeding molar ratio of monomer to initiator. The prepared star‐PCL with of 2.7 × 10³ is in fully amorphous and that with of 13.3 × 10³ is crystallized. In addition, the obtained poly(e‐caprolactone) (PCL) stars with various molecular weights have different solubilities in methanol and tetrahydrofuran, which can be applied for further modifications.     

The radical anion of 1,2:9,10-dibenzo[2.2]paracyclophane.. An ESR,ENDOR, and TRIPLE resonance study

The radical anion of 1,2:9,10-dibenzo[2.2]paracyclophane ( 3 ) has been studied by ESR, ENDOR, and TRIPLE resonance spectroscopy under a variety of experimental conditions. The coupling constants of the eight protons in the deck-benzene rings, and of the four inner and four outer protons in the side-benzene rings are 0.234, 0.123, and 0.036 mT, respectively (solvent: 1,2-dimethoxyethane; counterion: K⁺). All three values have the same sign which is predicted to be negative. Comparison of the largest coupling constant (0.234 mT) with the corresponding value (0.297 mT) for the radical anion of the parent [2.2]paracyclophane ( 1 ) points to similar nodal properties of the singly occupied orbitals in and . Notwithstanding this similarity, seems to associate less readily than with alkali metal counterions, since tight ion pairs of with K⁺ are formed only in solvents of low solvating power. Effects of conformational changes on the ESR spectra, such as those previously observed for the radical anion of [2.2]paracyclophane-1,9-diene ( 2 ), are not apparent for in the temperature range of investigation. Hyperfine data are also reported for the radical anion of a derivative 4 which has a CH₃ substituent in one of the side-benzene rings of 3 .     

Towards Clathrates: Frozen States of Hydration of tert‐Butylamine

The dilution of tert‐butylamine (tBA) with water and subsequent cooling leads to a large series of different crystalline hydrates by an in situ IR laser melting‐zone procedure. The crystal structures were determined for tBA?n H₂O, with n=0, , 1, 7 , 7 , 9 , 11, and 17. For the two lower hydrates (n= , 1), one‐ and two‐dimensional hydrogen‐bonded networks are formed, respectively. The higher hydrates (n>1) exhibit a clathrate‐like three‐dimensional water framework with the tBA molecules as part of, or sitting inside, the cages. In all cases, tBA is hydrogen‐bonded to the H₂O framework. In the intermediate range (1相似文献   

Electrochemical Characterization of Screen‐Printed Carbon Electrodes by Modification with Chitosan Oligomers

The kinetics on the current amplification of the disposable screen‐printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) by modification with chitosan oligomers (COs), coupled with the Fe(CN) redox system, were characterized with the variation of electron‐transfer rate constant (k°) and the electroactive area (A_ea) at electrode surface. The nonlinear response characteristics of peak currents with increase in Fe(CN) bulk concentrations complicated the estimation of A_ea in cyclic voltammetric analysis. Upon the modification with COs, the rate constant of SPCEs was not much influenced and the current amplification was characterized with the increase of a better estimated A_ea, obtained from electrochemical impedance measurements and verified with the reciprocal of electron‐transfer resistances linearly proportional to the Fe(CN) bulk concentrations. It is hereby provided for an evaluation of the carbon based electrodes with modification.     

Incorporating glycidyl methacrylate into block copolymers using poly(methacrylate‐ran‐styrene) macroinitiators synthesized by nitroxide‐mediated polymerization

Methyl methacrylate/styrene (MMA/S), ethyl methacrylate/styrene (EMA/S) and butyl methacrylate/styrene (BMA/S) feeds (>90 mol % methacrylate) were copolymerized in 50 wt % p‐xylene at 90 °C with 10 mol % of additional SG1‐free nitroxide mediator relative to unimolecular initiator (BlocBuilder^®) to yield methacrylate rich copolymers with polydispersities _w/ _n = 1.23–1.46. k_pK values (k_p = propagation rate constant, K = equilibrium constant) for MMA/S copolymerizations were comparable with previous literature, whereas EMA/S and BMA/S copolymerizations were characterized by slightly higher k_pK's. Chain extensions with styrene at 110 °C initiated by the methacrylate‐rich macroinitiators (number average molecular weight _n = 12.9–33.5 kg mol^?1) resulted in slightly broader molecular weight distributions with _w/ _n = 1.24–1.86 and were often bimodal. Chain extensions with glycidyl methacrylate/styrene/methacrylate (GMA/S/XMA where XMA = MMA, EMA or BMA) mixtures at 90 °C using the same macroinitiators resulted frequently in bimodal molecular weight distributions with many inactive macroinitiators and higher _w/ _n = 2.01–2.48. P(XMA/S) macroinitiators ( _n = 4.9–8.9 kg mol^?1), polymerized to low conversion and purified to remove “dead” chains, initiated chain extensions with GMA/MMA/S and GMA/EMA/S giving products with _w/ _n ～ 1.5 and much fewer unreacted macroinitiators (<5%), whereas the GMA/BMA/S chain extension was characterized by slightly more unreacted macroinitiators (～20%). © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 2574–2588, 2009     

Palladium(II) and platinum(II) complexes of (1R,2R)‐(−)‐1,2‐diaminocyclohexane (DACH) with various carboxylato ligands and their cytotoxicity evaluation

Several palladium(II) and platinum(II) complexes analogous to oxaliplatin, bearing the enantiomerically pure (1R,2R)‐(?)‐1,2‐diaminocyclohexane (DACH) ligand, of the general formula {MX₂[(1R,2R)‐DACH]}, where M = Pd or Pt, X (COO)₂, CH₂(COO)₂, , , {1,1′‐C₅H₈(CH₂COO)₂}, [1,1′‐C₆H₁₀(CH₂COO)₂], [1,1′‐(COO)₂ferrocene], , , , MeCOO and Me₃CCOO, were synthesized. All the complexes prepared were characterized physicochemically and spectroscopically. Some selected complexes were screened in vitro against several tumor cell lines and the results were compared with reference standard drug, oxaliplatin. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.