Trimeric and tetrameric liquid crystalline thiadiazole derivatives

Abstract

Novel liquid crystalline 2-phenyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole based oligomers with three and four rigid aromatic units linked by a flexible central unit have been investigated by polarizing microscopy. The synthesis of these compounds and the influence of structural variations on the mesomorphic properties are described. The combination of suitable mesogenic moieties with appropriate central units leads to oligomers which exhibit S_c phases.     

Two-dimensional lattice oligomers of diboraspiropentadiene: a quantum chemical study

According to B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) density functional calculations, the most energetically favorable method of assembling diboraspiropentadiene molecules into dimers, trimers, tetramers, and higher two-dimensional (2D) oligomers is to join the diboraspiropentadiene units with the formation of C-B bonds and the diboraspiropentadiene units trans-arranged relative to these bonds. Using this procedure, stable 2D lattice structures comprising 4, 7, 9, 16, or 25 monomer units were constructed in such a manner that each unit retains a nonclassical planar configuration of four bonds formed by the central carbon atom. Enlargement of the planar oligomers results in narrowing of the HOMO-LUMO gap and a considerable increase in the dipole moment. High negative NICS values suggest that the three-membered rings retain their aromaticity, whereas the ten-membered rings formed involving different monomer units in constructing oligomeric structures are strongly antiaromatic.     

Liquid crystalline cyclic oligosiloxanes with polar end groups

The series of cyclic oligosiloxanes having different attached mesogenic rigid cores and the polar end groups have been reported. The novel oligomers exhibit smectic A and E phases. The effects of the various central linking units and end terminal groups on mesomorphic properties are discussed. Mesophases were characterised by differential scanning calorimetry, polarizing optical microscope and X-ray diffraction.     

Macrospirocyclic oligomers based on carbazole and fluorene

Monodisperse macrospirocyclic oligomers were prepared using self-condensation of the Friedel-Crafts reaction. Through the C-9s of the central fluorene units of four surrounding oligofluorenes, four carbazole units are connected in a series to form a macrocyclic core. These rodlike oligofluorenes form a rigid three-dimensional structure, affording the resulting macrocyclics a high steric hindrance for close interchain packing.     

BN-Embedded Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Oligomers: Synthesis,Aromaticity, and Reactivity

BN-embedded oligomers with different pairs of BN units were synthesized by electrophilic borylation. Up to four pairs of BN units were incorporated in the large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Their geometric, photophysical, electrochemical, and Lewis acidic properties were investigated by X-ray crystallography, optical spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. The B−N bonds show delocalized double-bond characteristics and the conjugation can be extended through the trans-orientated aromatic azaborine units. Calculations reveal the relatively lower aromaticity for the inner azaborine rings in the BN-embedded PAH oligomers. The frontier orbitals of the longer oligomers are delocalized over the inner aromatic rings. Consequently, the inner moieties of the BN-embedded PAH oligomers are more active than the outer parts. This is confirmed by a simple oxidation reaction, which has significant effects on the aromaticity and the intramolecular charge-transfer interactions.     

BN‐Embedded Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Oligomers: Synthesis,Aromaticity, and Reactivity

BN‐embedded oligomers with different pairs of BN units were synthesized by electrophilic borylation. Up to four pairs of BN units were incorporated in the large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Their geometric, photophysical, electrochemical, and Lewis acidic properties were investigated by X‐ray crystallography, optical spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. The B?N bonds show delocalized double‐bond characteristics and the conjugation can be extended through the trans‐orientated aromatic azaborine units. Calculations reveal the relatively lower aromaticity for the inner azaborine rings in the BN‐embedded PAH oligomers. The frontier orbitals of the longer oligomers are delocalized over the inner aromatic rings. Consequently, the inner moieties of the BN‐embedded PAH oligomers are more active than the outer parts. This is confirmed by a simple oxidation reaction, which has significant effects on the aromaticity and the intramolecular charge‐transfer interactions.     

Retention mechanism, isocratic and gradient-elution separation and characterization of (co)polymers in normal-phase and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

Synthetic (co)polymers or (co)oligomers with two (or more) repeating groups show not only molar mass distribution, but also composition and sequence distribution of the individual repeat units. To characterize such two- (or more-) dimensional distribution, liquid chromatography under "critical conditions" has been suggested, where the separation according to one type of repeating units is suppressed by balancing the adsorption and the size-exclusion effects. In present work it is shown that by combination of adequately selected separation conditions in normal-phase and in reversed-phase systems, the two-dimensional distribution mode can be adjusted to result in the separation following the distribution of any of the two repeat units in ethylene oxide-propylene oxide block (co)oligomers. Based on the retention mechanism suggested, prediction and optimization of the conditions for isocratic and gradient-elution separations of (co)oligomers is possible. HPLC-MS with atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization is a valuable tool for unambiguous identification of the individual (co)oligomers and their tracking in course of method development. Gradient elution can be used for the separation and characterization of block (co)oligomers of ethylene oxide (EO) and propylene oxide (PO) according to the number of the units in one block, while the separation according to the distribution of the units in the other block is suppressed. The effects of the arrangement of the individual EO and PO blocks in the block (co)oligomers (the sequence distribution) affects significantly the retention behavior and the selection of the optimum separation conditions.     

Polarons, bipolarons, and side-by-side polarons in reduction of oligofluorenes

The nature of charge carriers in conjugated polymers was elucidated through optical spectroscopy following single- and multielectron reduction of 2,7-(9,9-dihexylfluorene) oligomers, F(n), n = 1-10, yielding spectra with the two bands typical of polarons upon single reduction. For short oligomers addition of a second electron gave a single band demonstrating the classic polaron-bipolaron transition. However, for long oligomers double reductions yielded spectra with two bands, better described as two polarons, possibly residing side-by-side in the F(n) chains. The singly reduced anions do not appear to delocalize over the entire length of the longer conjugated systems; instead they are polarons occupying approximately four fluorene repeat units. The polarons of F(3) and F(4) display sharp absorption bands, but for longer oligomers the bands broaden, possibly due to fluctuations of the lengths of these unconfined polarons. DFT calculations with long-range-corrected functionals were fully consistent with the experiments describing polarons in anions, bipolarons in dianions of short oligomers, and side-by-side polarons in dianions of long oligomers, while results from standard functionals were not compatible with the experimental results. The computations found F(10)(2-), for example, to be an open-shell singlet ( ≈ 1), with electrons in two side-by-side orbitals, while dianions of shorter oligomers experienced a gradual transition to bipolarons with states of intermediate character at intermediate lengths. The energies and extinction coefficients of each anionic species were measured by ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared absorption spectroscopy with chemical reduction and pulse radiolysis. Reduction potentials determined from equilibria mirrored oxidation potentials reported by Chi and Wegner. Anions of oligomers four or more units in length contained vestigial neutral (VN) absorption bands that arise from neutral parts of the chain. Energies of the VN bands correspond to those of oligomers shorter by four units.     

Lifetime determination of fluorescence and phosphorescence of a series of oligofluorenes

The photoluminescence (PL) properties of oligofluorenes with 2-ethylhexyl group in 9, 9' position in solution and as thin films were investigated by time-resolved techniques at both room temperature and 77 K. The fluorescence lifetimes of the oligomers decrease with chain length. The lifetimes tau follow the relation tau=386+808(1/n) (ps) where n is the number of fluorene units in the oligomer. Concentration and laser excitation energy dependences of PL spectra of the oligofluorenes are also given. Phosphorescence was observed for oligofluorenes in the frozen matrix of MTHF at 77 K. The lifetime of phosphorescence increases with increasing molecular length. Similar emission bands were observed for oligofluorenes with a central ketogroup. A lifetime analysis clearly reveals that the "green emission" of the oligomers free of ketogroups results from a phosphorescence with lifetime tau of 3 ms while the green emission from the keto-oligomer is a fluorescence from a charge transfer pi-pi* level of tau=8 ns.     

Sequence-controlled oligomers fold into nanosolenoids and impart unusual optical properties

Controlled syntheses give unique block oligomers with alternating flexible ethylene glycol and rigid perylenetetracarboxylic diimide (PDI) units. The number of rigid units vary from n=1 to 10. PDI units were stitched together by using efficient phosphoramidite chemistry. The resulting oligomers undergo folding in most solvents, including chloroform. In their ground state, these folded oligomers were characterized by using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR‐MS), NMR spectroscopy, and electronic absorption spectroscopy. FTICR‐MS revealed the exact masses of these sequence‐controlled oligomers, which confirmed the chemical composition and validated the synthetic strategy. The NMR neighboring ring‐current effect (NRE) indicates the formation of cofacial π stacks; the stacked aromatic rings have nearly coaxial alignment akin to a nanosoleniod. Nanosolenoidal shielding in π stacks causes all aromatic protons to shift upfield, whereas NOE in a cyclic hetero‐chromophoric dimer supports a rotated, cofacial π‐stacking orientation separated by about 3.5 Å. Electron–phonon coupling is much stronger than excitonic coupling in these self‐folded PDI oligomers; thus, Franck–Condon factors dictate the observed spectral features in visible spectra. The absorbance spectrum exhibits weak hypochromism due to π stacking with increasing stacking units n. Finally, ab initio calculations support the experimental observations, indicating 3.5 Å cofacial spacing in which one molecule is rotated 30° from the eclipsed orientation and higher oligomers can adopt, without a compensating energy penalty, either the right/left‐handed helices or the 1,3‐eclipsed structures. Both theory and experiments validate the nano‐π‐solenoids and their novel photophysical properties.     

Direct mass spectrometry of polymers. XIII.. Thermal fragmentation processes in copoly-α-amino acids

The thermal fragmentation processes in L-Proline—Sarcosine and in L-Proline—L-Alanine copolymers have been investigated by direct pyrolysis—mass spectrometry. The mass spectral data show that proline—sarcosine copolymers decompose in three steps, yielding cyclic oligomers. The first step is characterized by the presence of the Sar—Sar, Sar—Pro, and Pro—Pro cyclic dimers. In the second step the formation of several series of cyclic oligomers up to nonamers—decamers can be observed, while the third step of thermal decomposition process leads to the almost exclusive formation of Pro—Pro cyclic dimer. The proline—alanine copolymers, instead, show a single-step thermal degradation process leading to the formation both of cyclic oligomers and compounds with olefin and nitrile end-groups. Our results show that the thermal decompostion of alanine units is affected by the neighboring units along the polymer chain. Sarcosine units act as thermally labile probes, causing the selective thermal cleavage of the Pro—Sar copolymer.     

Synthesis, self-assembly, and photophysical properties of cationic oligo(p-phenyleneethynylene)s

Three series of cationic oligo p-phenyleneethynylenes (OPEs) have been synthesized to study their structure-property relationships and gain insights into the transition from molecular to macromolecular properties. The absorbance maxima and molar extinction coefficients in all three sets increase with increasing number of repeat units; however, the increase in λ(max) between the oligomers having 2 and 3 repeat units is very small, and the oligomer having 3 repeat units shows virtually the same spectra as a p-phenyleneethynylene polymer having 49 repeat units. A computational study of the oligomers using density functional theory calculations indicates that while the simplest oligomers (OPE-1) are fully conjugated, the larger oligomers are nonplanar and the limiting "segment chromophore" may be confined to a near-planar segment extending over three or four phenyl rings. Several of the OPEs self-assemble on anionic "scaffolds", with pronounced changes in absorption and fluorescence. Both experimental and computational results suggest that the planarization of discrete conjugated segments along the phenylene-ethynylene backbone is predominantly responsible for the photophysical characteristics of the assemblies formed from the larger oligomers. The striking differences in fluorescence between methanol and water are attributed to reversible nucleophilic attack of structured interfacial water on the excited singlet state.     

m-Phenylene ethynylene sequences joined by imine linkages: dynamic covalent oligomers

Imine metathesis between m-phenylene ethynylene oligomers of various lengths was performed in acetonitrile, a solvent in which oligomers containing eight or more repeat units adopt a compact helical conformation. The equilibrium constants and corresponding free energy change for the imine metathesis reactions were estimated. The results showed that the magnitude of equilibrium shifting measured by the free energy change for the formation of imine-containing oligomers increases linearly below a critical product chain length and grows asymptotically above it. The linear region is ascribed to the constant increase in contact area between monomer units of adjacent helical turns as the product chain grows to the 12-mer. Once the ligation product is 12 units in length, full contact is made between adjacent helical turns. On the other hand, for imine metathesis between oligomers leading to products having more than 12 units, the driving force is the difference between the folding energy of products and that of reactants. The additional stabilizing energy is roughly constant, regardless of the chain length, since the contact area between adjacent helical turns is unchanged. Consistent with the notion that the imine bond only minimally destabilizes the helical conformation, the position of the imine bond in the ligation product has been observed to have no significant effect on the folding stability. The magnitudes of equilibrium shifting are similar for ligation products of the same length but having the imine at various positions along the sequence. This suggests that the imine bond is compatible with the m-phenylene ethynylene backbone, regardless of the position in the sequence. Imine metathesis of m-phenylene ethynylene oligomers could allow a quick access to an unbiased, dynamic library of oligomer sequences joined by imine linkages.     

Oligothiophene catenanes and knots. Part II. Mono and dications. A theoretical study

Mono- and dications of catenanes and knots containing 16, 22, and 28 thiophene units have been studied at the BHandHLYP/3-21G* level of theory. The polaron localization and relaxation energies of monoionized molecules increase with dihedral angle between thiophene fragments, being higher for catenanes and knots compared to linear oligomers. Monoionization of catenanes results in the polaron localization at one macrocycle leaving another one intact. In all diionized oligomers, polaron pairs were found to be more stable than corresponding bipolarons. The energy difference between bipolaron and polaron pairs increases with the number of repeating units in oligomers for all studied molecular architectures. Singlet polaron pairs are more stable than triplet ones. The energy difference between triplet and singlet states does not exceed 7-8 kcal/mol and decreases with the number of thiophene units in oligomers. Two different singlet minima were found for diionized catenanes. In the first one (the most stable), each macrocycle loses one electron, and in the other one, the polaron pairs are located at one macrocycle, leaving another intact. The energy difference between two minima decreases with the number of repeating units in catenanes.     

Complete ozonolysis of alkyl substituted ethenes at -60 degrees C: distributions of ozonide and oligomeric products

The distribution of ozonide and oligomeric structures formed on complete ozonolysis of alkenes in a non-participating solvent at -60 degrees C is governed by the alkyl substitution around the carbon-carbon double bond. The ozonolysis of a 1,1-alkyl substituted ethene generally favours the formation of an ozonide (a 1,2,4-trioxolane). Whereas the ozonolysis of a 1,1,2-alkyl substituted ethene also produces ozonide, a considerable amount of the ozonised products are oligomeric in nature. For example, the ozonolysis of 3-methylpent-2-ene in solution to high conversion in pentane yields oligomers with structural units derived from the fragmentation products of the primary ozonide (a 1,2,3-trioxolane) which are namely butanone carbonyl oxide and acetaldehyde; these can be characterised by electrospray ionisation mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS) under soft ionisation conditions. The predominant oligomers formed are rich in carbonyl oxide units (80 + mol%) and are cyclic in nature. A small proportion of the oligomers formed are open chain compounds with end groups that suggest that chain termination is brought about either by water or by hydrogen peroxide. Residual water in the solvent will react with the carbonyl oxides to produce 2-methoxybut-2-yl hydroperoxide, which we propose readily decomposes generating hydrogen peroxide. A significant yield of oligomers also is obtained from the ozonolysis of a 1,2-alkyl substituted ethene. The ozonolysis of trans-hex-2-ene in pentane yields oligomers containing up to four structural units and are predicted to be mainly cyclic.     

Synthesis and properties of a series of well-defined and polydisperse benzo[1,2-b:4,3-b']dithiophene oligomers

Monodisperse and polydisperse oligomers of benzo[1,2-b:4,3-b']dithiophene (BDT) (1-14), including three types of oligomers with different spacers combining BDT units (direct linkage, vinylene spacers, and ethynylene spacers), were synthesized, and their thermal, optical, and electrochemical properties were investigated. The oligomers were synthesized using Suzuki, Stille, Wittig, and Sonogashira coupling reactions. All of the monodisperse oligomers showed high melting points and 5% weight loss temperatures (T(d) > 400 degrees C). The fluorescence maxima of all oligomers were red-shifted, and the emission colors varied from blue to yellow as the chain lengths-and thus the conjugation lengths-increased. The vinylene-bridged oligomers emitted at longer wavelengths than the direct-linked and ethynylene-bridged oligomers. UV-vis absorption spectra in toluene solution indicated an effective conjugation length of about six BDT units for polydisperse oligomer 5. Cyclic voltammetry measurement indicated that tetramer 3 had high electrochemical stability. Although tetramer 3 and vinylene-bridged tetramer 8 exhibited reversible oxidation waves, ethynylene-bridged tetramer 13 showed an irreversible oxidation process. Each type of monodisperse oligomer exhibited higher HOMO levels with increasing chain length.     

Rheological properties of polycomplex gels of carboxymethyl cellulose with urea-formaldehyde oligomers

Structural and rheological properties of polycomplex gels of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (Na-CMC) with urea-formaldehyde oligomers were studied at various component ratios at 298–343 K. The polycomplexes were examined by IR spectroscopy. Mechanical characteristics of solutions of Na-CMC and its complexes with urea-formaldehyde oligomers and the size of structural units of these solutions were determined.     

Structure-property correlation of light-emitting polymers containing alternating phenylene and thienylene/bithienylene repeating units

A number of series of fluorescent and conducting polymers containing alternating 3-functionalized thienylene/ bithienylene and phenylene/ pyridyl/ biphenylene units were synthesized from a number of central symmetric high oligomers and characterized using UV-Vis, photoluminescence, conductivity measurement, thermal analysis, electrochemistry, XRD and XPS. Structural variation of the polymers was realized by both side chain and polymer backbone modifications. Close structure-property correlation of the polymers was observed. This paper mainly reports the results of two families of them, those substituted by alkyl pendant chains and electro-withdrawing and donating groups.     

Banana-shaped side chain liquid crystalline siloxanes

Eight banana-shaped side chain liquid crystalline oligomers and polymers have been synthesized by hydrosilylation of vinyl-terminated bent-core mesogens with trimethylsilyl-terminated siloxanes. The synthesized oligomers and polymers, and their olefinic precursors, were investigated by polarizing optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), electro-optical experiments and Maldi-Tof. The short-tailed olefins form a Col_r mesophase, whereas those with longer chains exhibit the SmCP_A mesophase. All the oligomers and polymers studied show liquid crystalline properties and do not crystallize upon cooling. Most oligomers with around four repeating siloxane units, show a lamellar (layer) structure and antiferroelectric switching properties, the SmCP_A phase. XRD shows that the layer spacings are hardly influenced by the length of the terminal tails. The oligomer prepared from the smallest olefinic precursor, having the shortest alkyl tail, shows an XRD pattern reminiscent of a columnar phase, although POM displays domains of opposite chirality, and no switching behaviour could be detected. The polymers with around 35 repeating siloxane units are liquid crystalline, but due to their high viscosity a thorough characterization of the liquid crystalline phases was impossible.     

Oligothienylenevinylenes incorporating 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) units

A new series of π-conjugated oligomers based on various combinations of thiophene and EDOT units and double bonds has been synthesized by Wittig-Horner reactions from phosphonate anions carrying EDOT or bis-EDOT units. Optical and electrochemical results evidence the crucial role of the EDOT moiety for modulating the electronic properties of the oligomers. The insertion of bis-EDOT unit in the middle of the molecule leads to a self-rigidification of the conjugated system due to non covalent S?O intramolecular interactions. The strong electron donor effect of the EDOT units explains the determining role of the relative position of the EDOT units on the localization and stabilization of the positive charges in the radical cation or dication states.