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.     

H2O2-Promoted Size Growth of Sulfated TiO2 Nanocrystals

Anatase nanoparticles modified by sulfate groups were synthesized using hydrothermal method. The particles were controlled to large sizes by simply adjusting the amount of H2O2, in which HOO^- ions replaced the surface sulfate groups and reduced the steric effect to promote the grain growth. The size-induced microstructural changes of the as-prepared nanoparticles were characterized using powder XRD, FT-IR, TG. and UV-vis analyses. The sulfate groups existed on anatase surface in unidentate and bidentate coordination forms. With the particle size reduction, bandgap energies of the as-prepared anatase nanoparticles decreased, and the desorption temperature of sulfate groups shifted towards lower temperatures.     

Construction of interesting organic supramolecular structures with synthons cooperation in the cocrystals of 1H-benzotriazole and hydroxybenzoic acids

Multifunctional molecules are capable of assembling via different supramolecular synthons,or hydrogen bond motifs,between the same or different functional groups,leading to the possibility of cocrystal.Utilization of the interplay of dimensionality(1-D,2-D and 3-D),orientation of functional groups of the building blocks,influence of rigid/flexible linking groups,and weak interactions provides an interesting route for the creation of novel supramolecular architectures in the crystal lattice.N-unsubstituted 1H-benzotriazole and carboxylic acid,being self-complementary molecules,offer a broad scope of study of binary compounds based on the complementary combination of H-bonding/donating sites.We report here the construction of three extended molecular networks in cocrystals of the carboxylic acid group of the acid and the 1H-benzotriazole triazole moiety.We have been able to identify four major supramolecualr synthons that would be helpful in the prediction of structural motifs for these kinds of studies.Interestingly,these heterosynthons are strikingly similar,to those of the homosynthons of the individual functional groups.The nature of the aza groups helps to enhance the overall volume of the crystal lattice thus leading to the formation of various supramolecular assemblies.Thermal stability of these compounds has been investigated by thermogravimetric analysis(TGA) of mass loss.     

Purified oxygenand nitrogen-modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes as metal-free catalysts for selective olefin hydrogenation

Oxygen-and nitrogen-functionalized carbon nanotubes (OCNTs and NCNTs) were applied as metal-free catalysts in selective olefin hydrogenation. A series of NCNTs was synthesized by NH3 post-treatment of OCNTs. Temperature-programmed desorption, N2 physisorption, Raman spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were employed to characterize the surface properties of OCNTs and NCNTs, aiming at a detailed analysis of the type and amount of oxygenand nitrogen-containing groups as well as surface defects. The gas-phase treatments applied for oxygen and nitrogen functionalization at elevated temperatures up to 600 C led to the increase of surface defects, but did not cause structural damages in the bulk. NCNTs showed a clearly higher activity than the pristine CNTs and OCNTs in the hydrogenation of 1,5-cyclooctadiene, and also the selectivity to cyclooctene was higher. The favorable catalytic properties are ascribed to the nitrogen-containing surface functional groups as well as surface defects related to nitrogen species. In contrast, oxygen-containing surface groups and the surface defects caused by oxygen species did not show clear contribution to the hydrogenation catalysis.     

One Pot Reduction of Imines Generated in-situ from Aldehydes and Amines by the NaBH4-InCl3 System

A combination of sodium borohydride and a catalytic amount of indium（Ⅲ） chloride in acetonitrile reduces imines formed in-situ from aldehydes and amines to the corresponding functionalised secondary and tertiary amines in moderate to good yields. Noteworthy is that highly chemoselective reactions were achieved in the presence of other functional groups such as halogens, carbon-carbon double bonds and hydroxyl groups.     

Bonding of Hydroxyl and Epoxy Groups on Graphene： Insights from Density Functional Calculations

Density functional theory and GGA-PW91 exchange correlation function were performed to simulate the bonding behavior of hydroxyl and epoxy groups on the graphene surface. We compared the different binding energies for two epoxy groups, as well as one hydroxyl group and one epoxy group on all possible positions within a 6-fold ring, respectively. The calculated results suggest that two oxygen-containing groups always tend to bind with the neighboring carbon atoms at the opposite sides. Moreover, two hydroxyl groups on the meta position are unstable, and one of the hydroxyl groups easily migrates to the para position. In contrast to the disperse arrangement, the aggregation of multiply hydroxyl groups largely enhances the binding energy of every hydroxyl group. It is worth noting that the binding sites and hydrogen bonds play an important role in stability. Our work further points out the number of oxygen-containing groups and the location of oxide region largely influence the electronic properties of graphene oxide.     

The Effect of Gelatin on the Preparation of Silica Coated Iron Particles

A method is described for coating fine iron particles(～1μm) with a uniform silica layer,produced by the hydrolysis of tetraethyl orthosilicate.The presence of a small amount of gelatin on the surface of the iron particles facilitates this process.The X-ray photoelectron measurements indicated that the gelatin interacted with the surface of the iron particles by means of both nitrogen(in -NH2 groups) and oxygen(in -COOH groups) and then bound to the silica.The silica coating increases the resistance of the iron particles to oxidation on heating in air,which makes the temperature at which an observable oxidization occurs from 330 ℃ to 400 ℃ raised.     

Synthesis of Novel Glycidol Copolymers with Pendant Alkene and Hydroxyl Groups

A series of linear poly glycidol copolymers, tethering with both alkene and hydroxyl groups, were prepared by a combination of anionic ring-opening polymerization （ROP） using specific reactions of ethoxy ethyl glycidyl ether （EEGE） and allyl glycidyl ether （AGE） firstly, and subsequently removal of the protection group of glycidol in EEGE to achieve the linear copolymer pendant with both hydroxyl groups and double bonds. The EEGE/AGE monomer reactivity ratio is measured to be 3.30/1.13. The chemical compositions of the as-synthesized polymers were characterized by tH NMR and GPC, and the glass transition temperatures （Tg） of as-synthesized polymers were determined by DSC. The final copolymers have abundant double bonds and hydroxyl as side groups. Furthermore, the ratio of the double bonds to hydroxyl groups can be controlled by the ratio of the starting materials in a wide range.     

Transition Metal Catalyzed Enantioselective Borylative Cyclization Reactions

Due to the significance of corresponding products,enantioselective borylative cyclization reactions have been studied intensively in recent years.Many groups have developed efficient methods to transform unsaturated system into asymmetric cyclic organoboron compounds with the ring-size range from three-membered to six-membered in general.Notably,in some cases,fused rings which contain more than two contiguous chiral centers could be obtained by this kind of strategies.This review summarized and reviewed the recent advances in this field and classified these work according to the species of metal catalysts.     

Transformation of Oximes and Alcohols to Carbonyl Compounds Using Amberlite IRA-400 Supported Chromic Acid in the Presence of Zirconium Tetrachloride

A wide variety of oximes and alcohols were efficiently converted to their corresponding aldehydes and ketones in good to excellent yields using amberlite IRA-400 supported chromic acid in the presence of zirconium tetrachloride in refluxing acetonitrile-H2O. Selective oxidation of oximes and alcohols in the presence of other functional groups such as acetal, hydrazone, aldehyde, ether and alkene can be considered as a noteworthy advantage of this method. A wide variety of oximes and alcohols were efficiently converted to their corresponding aldehydes and ketones in good to excellent yields using amberlite IRA-400 supported chromic acid in the presence of zirconium tetrachloride in refluxing acetonitrile-H2O. Selective oxidation of oximes and alcohols in the presence of other functional groups such as acetal, hydrazone, aldehyde, ether and alkene can be considered as a noteworthy advantage of this method.     

Syntheses of functional condensation polymer. I. Polyesters having pendant functional groups such as hydroxyl,formyl, aldoxime,aminomethyl and hydroxymethyl

Unsaturated polyesters having pendant functional groups such as hydroxyl, formyl, aldoxime, aminomethyl and hydroxymethyl, have been prepared and characterized, and some of their properties were investigated. Reaction conditions for the epoxidation of unsaturated polyesters and hydrolysis of the epoxy groups in the polyesters were established to control the amount of pendant diol groups. It was possible to incorporate up to 90 mole-% of formyl side groups into the unsaturated polyester by the hydroformylation with the rhodium catalyst. In addition, the formyl side groups of the modified polyester were converted into hydroxymethyl or aldoxime groups and were then converted to amino groups. The melting points of the modified polyesters decreased with increasing the pendant group content of the polyesters, as expected. Aliphatic polyesters having pendant hydroxyl or amino groups had a high affinity for moisture, which might be ascribed to the participation of the hydrophilic pendant groups in the modified polyesters.     

Crosslinking of oligomers bearing carbamoyloxyimino groups with their photochemical and thermal reactions

Carbamoyloxyimino (COI) groups are precursors of photochemically base‐generating groups as well as those of thermally isocyanate‐generating groups. In this study, photochemical and thermal reactions of COI groups in oligomers were investigated by spectral analyses and solubility changes. Oligomers bearing three types of COI groups were prepared. COI groups in all oligomer films were photolyzed on irradiation with 254 nm of light and were deblocked to form isocyanato groups on heating. From the IR spectral analyses, the formation of urea linkage was confirmed by the decrease in isocyanato groups and peak generation because of urea groups on postexposure bake (PEB) treatment. For all oligomer films, PEB was effective for the enhancement of insolubilization of the films in tetrahydrofuran. Heating followed by irradiation was also effective for the insolubilization. These results indicated that photochemical and thermal treatments of COI groups afforded highly sensitive crosslinking systems because of photochemically generated basic groups and thermally generated isocyanato groups. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 2612–2620, 2004     

Positive photosensitive polyimides with cyclobutane structure

A new family of positive photosensitive polyimide (PPI) systems composed of solvent soluble polyimides (Pls) with cyclobutane (CBDA) structures and diazonaphthoquinone compounds (DNQ) has been prepared. Heat and catalytic imidizations were carried out to obtain CBDA Pls; the former was better than the latter in controlling the molecular weight of the Pl. The ? OH groups in the Pls were easily acetylated during catalytic imidization, so ? COOH groups were selected as weak acidic groups in the Pls. The ? COOH groups were also effective in giving the Pls an alkaline solubility. Therefore, Pls having ? COOH groups were superior to those having ? OH groups for PPI systems. The photosensitive properties of various PPl systems containing ? COOH were found to vary with the fraction of ? COOH groups in the Pls, the content of DNQ in the systems, and the molecular weight of the Pls.     

聚氨酯/环氧树脂互穿网络硬质泡沫塑料反应过程和微观结构

聚氨酯／环氧树脂互穿网络(PU／EPIPN)硬泡中异氰酸根的消耗速度较纯PU硬泡高，是由于环氧树脂的固化荆同时也是异氰酸根反应的催化荆。而PU／EP IPN硬泡中环氧基的反应速度和反应程度均较纯EP网络低，归因于互穿网络对基团扩散的阻碍。在互穿网络硬泡形成过程中，存在环氧开环中所新产生的羟基与异氰酸根的反应、大分子多元醇中羟基与环氧基的反应以及异氰酸根与环氧基形成嗯唑烷酮的反应三种形成网络间的化学键的途径。同时由于PU／EPIPN硬泡高度的交联，使得IPN硬泡中两个网络具有良好的相容性。动态力学性能表明所有IPN样品都只有一个玻璃化温度。透射电镜表明IPN样品无明显的相界面。     

纯水中氧化石墨烯的超声裁剪及机理研究

采用超声在纯水中对氧化石墨烯(GO)进行裁剪, 研究了超声时间对GO片层尺寸、 官能团种类和含量的影响, 探讨了超声裁剪GO的机理. 用原子力显微镜(AFM)和透射电子显微镜(TEM)对产物进行观测, 结果表明, 随着超声时间延长, GO片层平均直径从2000 nm减小至200 nm. 红外光谱(FTIR)、 X射线光电子能谱(XPS)及热分析结果表明, 随着超声时间延长, GO的含氧官能团种类没有变化, 但是GO含氧官能团总量逐渐升高, 其中环氧基团含量逐渐下降, 羧酸基团含量变化不大, 酮基基团含量先下降后升高, 羟基基团含量先升高后下降, 醚氧基团含量逐渐升高. 基于上述结果, 提出了超声裁剪GO的机理: 超声空化现象形成的剪切力使GO的碳碳键、 环氧、 酮基基团断裂, GO片层尺寸变小; 在超声诱导下水分子形成的羟基自由基和氢自由基与片层上断裂形成的碳自由基结合生成羟基或醚氧基团, 未发生水解的碳自由基形成新的碳碳键, 长时间的超声作用还会使羟基基团发生断裂并转化成酮基基团. 利用超声在纯水中裁剪GO的条件温和, 不使用其它化学试剂, 可以有效控制GO片层尺寸, 是一种具有应用前景的二维材料裁剪技术.     

Contribution of charged groups to the enthalpic stabilization of the folded states of globular proteins

In this paper we use the results from all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of proteins and peptides to assess the individual contribution of charged atomic groups to the enthalpic stability of the native state of globular proteins and investigate how the distribution of charged atomic groups in terms of solvent accessibility relates to protein enthalpic stability. The contributions of charged groups is calculated using a comparison of nonbonded interaction energy terms from equilibrium simulations of charged amino acid dipeptides in water (the "unfolded state") and charged amino acids in globular proteins (the "folded state"). Contrary to expectation, the analysis shows that many buried, charged atomic groups contribute favorably to protein enthalpic stability. The strongest enthalpic contributions favoring the folded state come from the carboxylate (COO(-)) groups of either Glu or Asp. The contributions from Arg guanidinium groups are generally somewhat stabilizing, while N(+)(3) groups from Lys contribute little toward stabilizing the folded state. The average enthalpic gain due to the transfer of a methyl group in an apolar amino acid from solution to the protein interior is described for comparison. Notably, charged groups that are less exposed to solvent contribute more favorably to protein native-state enthalpic stability than charged groups that are solvent exposed. While solvent reorganization/release has favorable contributions to folding for all charged atomic groups, the variation in folded state stability among proteins comes mainly from the change in the nonbonded interaction energy of charged groups between the unfolded and folded states. A key outcome is that the calculated enthalpic stabilization is found to be inversely proportional to the excess charge density on the surface, in support of an hypothesis proposed previously.     

Protecting groups in carbohydrate chemistry: influence on stereoselectivity of glycosylations

Saccharides are polyhydroxy compounds, and their synthesis requires complex protecting group manipulations. Protecting groups are usually used to temporarily mask a functional group which may interfere with a certain reaction, but protecting groups in carbohydrate chemistry do more than protecting groups usually do. Particularly, protecting groups can participate in reactions directly or indirectly, thus affecting the stereochemical outcomes, which is important for synthesis of oligosaccharides. Herein we present an overview of recent advances in protecting groups influencing stereoselectivity in glycosylation reactions, including participating protecting groups, and conformation-constraining protecting groups in general.     

Symmetry groups for unit cells in solids

Two types of symmetry groups are commonly used in chemistry. Point groups are used for molecules, whereas, for solids, the 230 space groups are used. Neither of these types of symmetry groups are suitable for representing unit cells in solids, the symmetry of which is intermediate between that of point groups and space groups. To represent the symmetry of unit cells in an infinite lattice, a third type of symmetry group must be used. An algorithmic method of generating these symmetry groups is described. It can be demonstrated that these groups are valid by use of conventional symmetry group theory. This technique has been applied to the two-dimensional graphite lattice. Because the new method generates symmetry tables using only the topology of the system, the symmetry properties of graphs can also readily be derived. Last, the relationship between these groups and the other two types of groups is identified. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 19: 168–180, 1998     

Functionalizations of [6]- and [7]helicenes at their most sterically hindered positions

Although the reactions of enol ethers of aryl methyl ketones with benzoquinone make it easy to prepare nonracemic helicenes that are substituted by hydroxyl groups at their 1,omega-positions, the hydroxyl groups fail to facilitate the introduction of electrophiles ortho to them. However, ethers of [6]- and [7]helicenols prepared in this way, seemingly because of the activation by the alkoxyl groups at the 6-positions, combine with electrophilic reagents to introduce bromines and acyl groups exactly into these positions. Moreover, these bromine and acyl groups can be transformed into other functional groups (including phosphine oxides and acetylenes), the ether functions adjacent to these functional groups can then be removed, and the phenols can be oxidized to quinone-acetals. An alternative way to introduce functional groups next to the phenols is to rearrange their phosphate esters. Two reactions that differentiate the ends of the helicenes are also described.     

Protecting and Leaving Functions of Trimethylsilyl Groups in Trimethylsilylated Silicates for the Synthesis of Alkoxysiloxane Oligomers

The concept of protecting groups and leaving groups in organic synthesis was applied to the synthesis of siloxane‐based molecules. Alkoxy‐functionalized siloxane oligomers composed of SiO₄, RSiO₃, or R₂SiO₂ units were chosen as targets (R: functional groups, such as Me and Ph). Herein we describe a novel synthesis of alkoxysiloxane oligomers based on the substitution reaction of trimethylsilyl (TMS) groups with alkoxysilyl groups. Oligosiloxanes possessing TMS groups were reacted with alkoxychlorosilane in the presence of BiCl₃ as a catalyst. TMS groups were substituted with alkoxysilyl groups, leading to the synthesis of alkoxysiloxane oligomers. Siloxane oligomers composed of RSiO₃ and R₂SiO₂ units were synthesized more efficiently than those composed of SiO₄ units, suggesting that the steric hindrance around the TMS groups of the oligosiloxanes makes a difference in the degree of substitution. This reaction uses TMS groups as both protecting and leaving groups for SiOH/SiO⁻ groups.