Synthesis of Oxidized Nitro-Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

A series of phenolic and cis-dihydrodiol derivatives of 6-nitrobenzo[a] pyrene and 7-nitrobenz[a]anthracene were synthesized. The common structural feature of these compounds is that their nitro groups are perpendicular or near perpendicular to the aromatic moieties. From the synthesis of these compounds, it was found that an acetoxy group does not affect the regioselectivity of electrophilic nitration to a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and that a nitro substituent can substantially reduce the concerted electrophilic 1,2-addition of osmium tetroxide to the most olefinic aromatic double bond of a PAH.     

Phosphorescence polarisation of aromatic compounds oriented in stretched polyethylene films

Phosphorescence polarisation measurements are reported for a number of planar aromatic compounds in stretched polyethylene. The phosphorescence is to about 80% polarised perpendicular to the molecular plane. In the in-plane intensity second order Herzberg-Teller coupling terms may be at least competitive with three-center ππ spin-orbit integrals, in agreement with suggestions of Friedrich, Metz and Dörr.     

Alignment of lamellar diblock copolymer phases under shear: insight from dissipative particle dynamics simulations

Sheared self-assembled lamellar phases formed by symmetrical diblock copolymers are investigated through dissipative particle dynamics simulations. Our intent is to provide insight into the experimental observations that the lamellar phases adopt parallel alignment at low shear rates and perpendicular alignment at high shear rates and that it is possible to use shear to induce a transition from the parallel to perpendicular alignment. Simulations are initiated either from lamellar structures prepared under zero shear where lamellae are aligned into parallel, perpendicular, or transverse orientations with respect to the shear direction or from a disordered melt obtained by energy minimization of a random structure. We first consider the relative stability of the parallel and perpendicular phases by applying shear to lamellar structures initially aligned parallel and perpendicular to the shear direction, respectively. The perpendicular lamellar phase persists for all shear rates investigated, whereas the parallel lamellar phase is only stable at low shear rates, and it becomes unstable at high shear rates. At the high shear rates, the parallel lamellar phase first transforms into an unstable diagonal lamellar phase; and upon further increase of the shear rate, the parallel lamellar phase reorients into a perpendicular alignment. We further determine the preferential alignment of the lamellar phases at low shear rate by performing the simulations starting from either the initial transverse lamellar structure or the disordered melt. Since the low shear-rate simulations are plagued by the unstable diagonal lamellar phases, we vary the system size to achieve the natural spacing of the lamellae in the simulation box. In such cases, the unstable diagonal lamellar phases disappear and lamellar phases adopt the preferential alignment, either parallel or perpendicular. In agreement with the experimental observations, the simulations show that the lamellar phase preferentially adopts the parallel orientation at low shear rates and the perpendicular orientation at high shear rates. The simulations further reveal that the perpendicular lamellar phase has lower internal energy than the parallel lamellar phase, whereas the entropy production of the perpendicular lamellar phase is higher with respect to the parallel lamellar phase. Values of the internal energy and entropy production for the unstable diagonal lamellar phases lie between the corresponding values for the parallel and perpendicular lamellar phases. These simulation results suggest that the relative stability of the parallel and perpendicular lamellar phases at low shear rates is a result of the interplay between competing driving forces in the system: (a) the system's drive to adopt a structure with the lowest internal energy and (b) the system's drive to stay in a stationary nonequilibrium state with the lowest entropy production.     

Field-force alignment of disc-type pi systems.

The ability of electric fields to align nonpolar semiconducting molecules was demonstrated using hexa(para-n-dodecylphenyl)hexabenzocoronene (HBC-PhC12) as a model compound. A solution of HBC-PhC12 was applied to a glass surface by drop-casting and the molecules were oriented into highly ordered structures by an electric field during solvent evaporation. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed a long-range alignment where the disclike molecules were organized in columns perpendicular to the direction of the imposed electric field. The high anisotropy of the uniaxially aligned films was characterized by cross-polarized light microscopy. The birefringence of the HBC-PhC12 films was related to the presence of extended domains of unidirectionally aligned columns in which the aromatic cores of the HBC-PhC12 molecules were perpendicular to the columnar axis. The packing and the arrangement of the molecules in the field-force ordered films were proven by electron diffraction and X-ray analyses.     

Nucleus-independent chemical shift (NICS) profiles in a series of monocyclic planar inorganic compounds

A series of monocyclic planar inorganic compounds have been optimized at the B3LYP/6-311+G^∗ level. GIAO-B3LYP nucleus-independent chemical shifts (NICS) profiles calculated in the perpendicular direction of each ring show that the series of analyzed compounds can be classified in three groups according to their aromatic, non-aromatic or antiaromatic character. Our results suggest exercising caution in the use of single-point NICS calculations as a quantitative measure of aromaticity for these species.     

聚劳酯液晶硬核的构象与键级的理论研究

液晶已有一百年的历史了。液晶化学,液晶物理,液晶材料方面的科学都有了相当丰富的积累与长足的发展。十三年前Chandrase khar发现了碟形液晶,它具有特征的二维有序的柱状液晶相。从学术上讲,该发现对液晶科学的一些概念有一定的冲击,传统的有关液晶的分类(向列型、胆甾型、近晶型)正在被更加合理的从液晶分子聚集结构的几何特性而进行的分类(向列相、层状相、柱状相)所取代。这些进展鞭策着人们去追本求     

聚劳酯液晶硬核的构象与键级的理论研究

PCILO conformational calculations have been carried out on several model compounds of mesogenic cores of liquid crystalline aromatic polyesters,-CO-O--O-CO-,-CO -O-CO-O- and -O-CO-CO-O-.The calculated structures can be compared to the X-ray crystallographic data. In addition, bond orders of the model compounds were also obtained by using CNDO. It has been found that the three phenylene rings statistically take orientations perpendicular to each other, and that when the carbonyl group turns into plane of the phenylene ring which is not the immediate neighbor but the one through the ether-oxygen,the best conjugation reached is not accompanied by the lowest conformational ener-gy.     

Alignment mechanism of a nematic liquid crystal on a pre-rubbed polyimide film with laser-induced periodic surface structure

A periodic surface structure was prepared on a pre-rubbed polyimide (PI) film surface with a pulsed UV laser polarized perpendicular to the rubbing direction. The experimental results demonstrate that the rubbing-induced molecular anisotropic orientation was relaxed by the pulsed laser irradiation, and the laser induced molecular orientation was perpendicular to the line of the laser-induced periodic structure. The dichroism of the anisotropy of molecular orientation increased with the increase of laser energy. Since the direction of the laser-induced molecular anisotropy was perpendicular to the surface groove direction of the pre-rubbed PI surface, the effects of surface microgroove and anisotropic molecular orientation of the PI chain on liquid crystal (LC) alignment can be distinguished from each other. LC alignment was investigated by evaluating the anchoring energy of the PI surface, which was calculated according to Berreman's theory using the twist angle of the LC in the cells. The experimental results demonstrate that the exact alignment direction of the LC molecules is determined by the relative strength of both factors.     

Impact of the Chirality and Curvature of Carbon Nanostructures on Their Interaction with Aromatics and Amino Acids

Understanding noncovalent interactions on the surfaces of carbon nanostructures (CNSs) is of fundamental importance and also has implications in nano‐ and biotechnology. The interactions of aromatic compounds such as benzene, naphthalene, and aromatic amino acids with CNSs of varying diameter, chirality, and curvature were systematically explored by using density functional theory. Planar graphene exhibits stronger binding affinity than curved carbon nanotubes (CNTs), whereas zigzag CNTs appear to show stronger binding affinity than armchair CNTs. For hydrocarbons, there exist two competing modes, namely, π–π stacking interactions and CH ??? π interactions, which bring the aromatic motifs into parallel and perpendicular dispositions with respect to the CNSs, respectively. Our results reveal that π–π stacking interactions override CH ??? π interactions in such cases. However, in the case of aromatic amino acids, π–π interactions can exist simultaneously along with a range of other interactions, including CH ??? π. The polarizability and HOMO energy of the CNSs were found to be the key factors that determine the binding energies. The HOMO–LUMO energy gaps of the CNSs were found to be undisturbed by the noncovalent functionalization of the aromatic molecules.     

Alignment mechanism of a nematic liquid crystal on a pre-rubbed polyimide film with laser-induced periodic surface structure

A periodic surface structure was prepared on a pre-rubbed polyimide (PI) film surface with a pulsed UV laser polarized perpendicular to the rubbing direction. The experimental results demonstrate that the rubbing-induced molecular anisotropic orientation was relaxed by the pulsed laser irradiation, and the laser induced molecular orientation was perpendicular to the line of the laser-induced periodic structure. The dichroism of the anisotropy of molecular orientation increased with the increase of laser energy. Since the direction of the laser-induced molecular anisotropy was perpendicular to the surface groove direction of the pre-rubbed PI surface, the effects of surface microgroove and anisotropic molecular orientation of the PI chain on liquid crystal (LC) alignment can be distinguished from each other. LC alignment was investigated by evaluating the anchoring energy of the PI surface, which was calculated according to Berreman's theory using the twist angle of the LC in the cells. The experimental results demonstrate that the exact alignment direction of the LC molecules is determined by the relative strength of both factors.     

3D-QSAR and molecular mechanics study for the differences in the azole activity against yeastlike and filamentous fungi and their relation to P450DM inhibition. 1. 3-substituted-4(3H)-quinazolinones

A combination between 3D-QSAR and molecular mechanics (MM)-docking study was used as a tool to detail and model the mechanism of action of 46 antifungal azoles. Two methods of alignment of the ligands were performed: (i) alignment of the main skeleton without substituents and (ii) alignment of a defined substructure. The best model is characterized by q(2) with the values of 0.70 for yeastlike (yeast), 0.66 for filamentous fungi, and 0.70 for the selectivity against filamentous fungi. 3D-QSAR regression maps derived from six models were used to identify the regions responsible for the differences in the compounds activity against yeast and filamentous fungi. The binding energy of the important substructures (Local Binding Energy-LBE) and its standard deviation were calculated in order to demonstrate quantitatively the contribution of substituents reflecting the diversity of the antifungal activity. The comparisons of these results with the same regions of the contour maps indicated a good correspondence between the 3D-QSAR and MM (LBE) approaches allowing association between the maps and the participating residues in the active sites of P450DM of C. albicans and A. fumigatus. The pi-pi interactions of two or more aromatic groups of the ligands with Phe228 and Tyr132 prove to be most important for the differences in activity against C. albicans. In A. fumigatus there was a better occupation of the inner central I-spiral in the areas around the heme. For the activity against A. fumigatus the pi-pi interactions of aromatic groups of the compounds with Phe509, Phe228, and Tyr132 are significant for the activity.     

Relationship between mechanochromic behavior and crystal structures in donor-π-acceptor compounds consisted of aromatic rings with ester moiety as an acceptor

We investigated the mechanochromic behavior of donor-π-acceptor compounds which consisted of diphenylaminophenylacetylene as a donor-π moiety and (hetero)aromatic ring bearing ester as an acceptor. The compounds with dicyanobenzoic ester gave the bathochromic shift by grinding, whereas the compounds consisted of the ester with benzene, imidazole, and thiazole rings showed the hypsochromic shift. From single-crystal X-ray analysis, we revealed that the compound with bathochromic shift gave the herringbone alignment with H-aggregate-like π-stacking in the crystal structure. On the contrary, the compounds with hypsochromic shift showed the structure with the alignment of long axis of the molecule in crystal structure.     

Electric field versus surface alignment in confined films of a diblock copolymer melt

The dynamics of alignment of microstructure in confined films of diblock copolymer melts in the presence of an external electric field was studied numerically. We consider in detail a symmetric diblock copolymer melt, exhibiting a lamellar morphology. The method used is a dynamic mean-field density functional method, derived from the generalized time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory. The time evolution of concentration variables and therefore the alignment kinetics of the morphologies are described by a set of stochastic equations of a diffusion form with Gaussian noise. We investigated the effect of an electric field on block copolymers under the assumption that the long-range dipolar interaction induced by the fluctuations of composition pattern is a dominant mechanism of electric-field-induced domain alignment. The interactions with bounding electrode surfaces were taken into account as short-range interactions resulting in an additional term in the free energy of the sample. This term contributes only in the vicinity of the surfaces. The surfaces and the electric field compete with each other and align the microstructure in perpendicular directions. Depending on the ratio between electric field and interfacial interactions, parallel or perpendicular lamellar orientations were observed. The time scale of the electric-field-induced alignment is much larger than the time scale of the surface-induced alignment and microphase separation.     

Automation of the optical alignment of a diode-laser spectrometer by means of simplex optimization

Optimization of the optical alignment of a tunable diode-laser spectrometer can be automated by using a commercially available Simplex optimization program. This alignment is achieved by displacing a collimation lens placed in front of the laser in three mutually perpendicular directions by motorized positioning equipment. The detector signal, after lock-in amplification, is taken as the optimization criterion. Best parameter settings of the program are discussed on the basis of experimental results. It is demonstrated that the program gives very reliable results in terms of reproducibility of the optimal alignment.     

Theoretical study of building blocks for molecular switches based on electrically induced conformational changes

We present an investigation of building blocks for molecular torsional switches made up of two distinct aromatic moieties, possibly bonded through one or more acetynil groups. The mechanism of operation is based on the action of a static electric field perpendicular to the ring–ring bond, which can modulate the torsional angle and, as a consequence, the inter-ring conjugation. The action of the perpendicular electric field on the dihedral angle is shown to increase, as a result of the inclusion of suitable substituents on the aromatic rings. By computing the response of the electron density of a molecule, with an excess electron, to a longitudinal electric field, we show that the intramolecular electron transfer is sensitive to the torsional angle. This feature can be conveniently rationalized in terms of a potential barrier which is created along the molecule as the dihedral angle varies from the co-planar to the perpendicular position.     

Alignment of guest-host liquid crystals with polarized laser light

Surface-mediated alignment of nematic liquid crystals with polarized laser light was reported recently [1]. In this communication we describe the alignment of a guest-host liquid crystal medium with polarized laser light. Liquid crystals in the illuminated region orient perpendicular to the direction of the laser polarization and remain aligned in the absence of laser radiation. The liquid crystals can be reoriented again by subsequent illumination. The kinetic feature of this surface-mediated liquid crystal orientation is characterized by the presence of coexisting liquid crystal regions of directors pointing away from the initial alignment.     

(E)‐4‐(4‐Bromo­phenyl­diazen­yl)‐2,6‐dimethyl­phenyl acrylate and (E)‐2,6‐dimethyl‐4‐(4‐methyl­phenyl­diazen­yl)­phenyl acrylate

The crystal structures of the title compounds, C₁₇H₁₅BrN₂O₂, (I), and C₁₈H₁₈N₂O₂, (II), determined at room temperature, have a trans configuration with respect to the diazene linkage, as found for other azo (diazene) derivatives. The aromatic mean planes are nearly coplanar, with a dihedral angle between these planes of 8.31 (2)° for (I) and 3.74 (2)° for (II). In both complexes, the mean plane of the ester group is nearly perpendicular to the aromatic ring planes. In both compounds, the crystal packing involves only π–π and π–ring inter­actions, which combine to stabilize the extended structure.     

Monte Carlo simulations of liquid crystals between microstructured substrates

The structure of a model liquid crystalline fluid confined between two microstructured substrates is studied through Monte Carlo simulations. A simple model for a structured substrate, similar in spirit to those used for rough walls of walls with grafted polymers, is introduced. It is found that varying the structure of the substrate, a transition in the alignment of the confined fluid, from parallel to perpendicular, is induced. For particular substrate structures, it is possible to induce tilted alignment in the confined fluid, the tilt angle being temperature dependent.     

Simultaneous Alignment and Micropatterning of Organic Crystallites under a Modulated Magnetic Field

In a previous paper, we reported the micropatterning of magnetically isotropic particles using a microscopically modulated magnetic field. In this paper, we report that the alignment occurs simultaneously if the particles have magnetic anisotropy. An oil-in-water emulsion of p-terphenyl or anthracene was subjected to the modulated magnetic field and allowed to evaporate the solvent to obtain a line pattern consisting of the crystallites with alignment. The patterned samples exhibited an emission strongly polarized in the direction of the applied magnetic field that is perpendicular to the patterning lines.     

Control of particle alignment in water by an alternating electric field

We attempted to align a large number of silica particles dispersed in aqueous solution by controlling the alternating electric field between the two electrodes (400 microm apart). Relatively large particles (9.9 microm) were found to align forming strings in the direction parallel to the electric field while relatively small particles (2.0 and 4.9 microm) were observed to align making stripes in the direction perpendicular to the field. The number of stripes formed by particles between the electrodes increased with increasing frequency of the alternating field. This peculiar perpendicular particle alignment appeared when the contribution to particle alignment of electroosmotic flow exceeded that of dielectric polarization and the osmotic flow was found to be stronger around the particles than in the vicinity of the electrode surface.