The catassembled generation of naphthalene diimide coordination networks with lone pair-π interactions

Catassembly is a new concept in molecular assembly that is analogous to catalysis in chemical synthesis. However, for most molecular-assembled processes, the catassembler contributions are rather inconspicuous due to the low activation barriers. As a result, few systems dealing with the catassembly are available until now. In this paper, we report that naphthalene diimide coordination networks are formed under the catassembly of lone-pair-bearing catassemblers(e.g., N,N-dimethylacetamide, N-methylpyrrolidin-2-one). During such molecular assembly, a stable transition state between the electron-deficient naphthalene diimide tectons and catassemblers via the less common lone pair-π interactions was observed, which is supposed to play the key role in the enhancement of coordination abilities of organic tectons and thus formation of the final coordination networks.     

Bridged aromatic alkenes for the study of carbocation-π interaction

Toward the goal of gaining further insight into carbocation-π interactions, bridged-ring aromatic alkene model systems are being investigated in which one isomer will permit π complexation of an intramolecular tertiary carbocation with a benzene ring, but the other isomer will not. The syntheses of three sets of such isomers, having, respectively, benzobicyclo[3.2.1]octene, benzobicyclo[2.2.1]heptene, and benzobicyclo[4.2.1]nonene structures, are described.     

Structural variability of Ag(I) metal–organic networks: C–H⋯π and metal⋯π interactions

The synthesis and X-ray structural characterization of two silver(I) coordination polymers, [Ag₂(bpp)₂(Phdac)]·5H₂O (1) and [Ag₂(bpp)(HSSal)] (2), are reported, where bpp = 4,4′-trimethylene dipyridine, H₂Phdac = 1,4-phenylenediacetic acid, and H₃SSal = 5-sulfosalicylic acid. X-ray crystallography reveals that the structures are stabilized through hydrogen bonding interactions. The C–H?π and metal?π interactions of aromatic molecules play a crucial role in building a layered framework. Intricate combinations of the weak non-covalent interactions have been analyzed to explore cooperativity and competitiveness in the solid-state structures.     

Empirical formulation and parameterization of cation-π interactions for protein modeling

Cation-π interaction is comparable and as important as other main molecular interaction types, such as hydrogen bond, electrostatic interaction, van der Waals interaction, and hydrophobic interaction. Cation-π interactions frequently occur in protein structures, because six (Phe, Tyr, Trp, Arg, Lys, and His) of 20 natural amino acids and all metallic cations could be involved in cation-π interaction. Cation-π interactions arise from complex physicochemical nature and possess unique interaction behaviors, which cannot be modeled and evaluated by existing empirical equations and force field parameters that are widely used in the molecular dynamics. In this study, the authors present an empirical approach for cation-π interaction energy calculations in protein interactions. The accurate cation-π interaction energies of aromatic amino acids (Phe, Tyr, and Try) with protonated amino acids (Arg and Lys) and metallic cations (Li(+), Na(+), K(+), and Ca(2+)) are calculated using B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) method as the benchmark for the empirical formulization and parameterization. Then, the empirical equations are built and the parameters are optimized based on the benchmark calculations. The cation-π interactions are distance and orientation dependent. Correspondingly, the empirical equations of cation-π interactions are functions of two variables, the distance r and the orientation angle θ. Two types of empirical equations of cation-π interactions are proposed. One is a modified distance and orientation dependent Lennard-Jones equation. The second is a polynomial function of two variables r and θ. The amino acid-based empirical equations and parameters provide simple and useful tools for evaluations of cation-π interaction energies in protein interactions.     

Insights for diastereoselective synthesis of cyclic α-sulfinyl and sulfanyl oximes

The comparison in several reaction conditions for synthesis of nonracemic α-methylsulfinylation of 3,4-dihydronaphthalen-1(2H)-one was achieved. The sulfanylation reactions of 3,4-dihydronaphthalen-1(2H)-one-O-methyloxime and 2-(methylsulfinyl)-3,4-dihydronaphthalen-1(2H)-one-O-methyloxime by homogenous reaction medium are reported. The products were obtained in good yields and de. The yields, diastereoselectivity and theoretical calculations to all obtained compounds to support the experimental data are compared and discussed.     

Dual super-electrophilic and Diels–Alder reactivity of neutral 10π heteroaromatic substrates

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Theory and application of cyclic voltammetry for measurement of fast electrode kinetics at microdisk electrode

An analytical expression describing voltammetric behaviors responses at microdisk electrode for various diffusion conditions and degrees of reversibility is reported in this paper. Results of theoretical calculation made it possible to use cyclic voltammetry to evaluate heterogeneous rate constants under intermediate diffusion conditions. At relatively low scan rate, the distortion of current-voltage can be reduced due to small iR drops and charging current. The effects of transfer coefficient, a, kinetic parameter, (=k0r/4D), and switching potential, s, on potential peak separation are discussed in detail. The relationship obtained in this paper between potential peak separation and \ is in good agreement with that in Ref. 14, whose authors have got their results by using digital simulation technique. After the experiment of Fe(CN)64- oxidation, k0 and a were obtained by the theory of this paper. The result agrees with that in Ref. 19.     

The preparation of samples for α-counting by the direct evaporation of organic solutions

A method is described for the preparation of thin deposits of α-emitting elements by evaporation of solutions in organic solvents. By heating the periphery of the tray, a suitable temperature gradient is maintained across the tray, giving smooth evaporation of the solvent to leave a deposit which is suitable for α-counting. It has been shown that on a semi-routine basis, the method is rapid and gives good precision.     

Ion interaction approach for volumetric calculations for solutions of single electrolytes at 25°C

The ion interaction approach of Pitzer permits the prediction of thermodynamic characteristics of multiple-electrolyte solutions if the ion interaction parameters (Pitzer parameters) for each type of single-electrolyte solutions are known. The purpose of the present paper is to suggest the best sets of volumetric Pitzer parameters, , _MX ^(0)V , _MX ^(1)V , _MX ^(2)V andC _MX ^V , at 25°C for salts formed from Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Cl^–, Br^–, HCO ₃ ^– , CO ₃ ^2– and SO ₄ ^2– ions. Using essentially all published relevant experimental data, a database for the mass densities and apparent molar volumes at 25°C vs. the solute concentration has been created for each single-electrolyte solution type. Unreliable data were discarded by an appropriate statistical test. The remaining data, covering solute concentrations from infinite dilution to saturation, were used to compute the unrestricted and restricted sets of volumetric Pitzer parameters by least squares. Taking the differences between the calculated and experimental densities and apparent molar volumes as the criterion of quality, the best set of volumetric Pitzer parameters was selected for each type of electrolyte and was used to calculate the mass densities, at 25°C, of some multiple-electrolyte solutions resembling Dead Sea waters.     

Carbon materials as electrodes for electrosorption of NaCl in aqueous solutions

Different porous carbons (MWCNT, a carbon aerogel, an activated carbon cloth and a chemically activated carbon) were evaluated as electrode material for the electrosorption of NaCl. The results obtained from the chronoamperometric experiments were correlated to the surface area and the size of the pores present in each carbon. These results indicate that all the surfaces are equivalent for the electrosorption process, demonstrating that both, mesopores and micropores, are equally effective. Nevertheless, the kinetics of the process is influenced by the pore size distribution of the carbon, although it is rather fast for all the carbons studied. The chemically activated carbon seems to be the most suitable carbon material for electrosorption of NaCl due to the combination of a high surface area and an appropriate pore size distribution.     

Nano-wire networks of sulfur–polypyrrole composite cathode materials for rechargeable lithium batteries

Polypyrrole (PPy) nanowire was synthesized through a surfactant mediated approach. The sulfur–polypyrrole (S–PPy) composite materials were prepared by heating the mixture of element sulfur and polypyrrole nanowire. The materials were characterized by FTIR, SEM. PPy with special morphology serves as conductive additive, distribution agent and absorbing agents, which effectively enhanced the electrochemical performance of sulfur. The initial discharge capacity of the active materials was 1222 mA h g⁻¹ the remaining capacity is 570 mA h g⁻¹ after 20th cycles.     

Raman spectrometry and neural networks for the classification of wood types—1

In this work the coupling of near infrared (NIR) Fourier-transform (FT) Raman spectroscopy and neural computing for spectral feature extraction and classification of woods is reported. A NIR FT-Raman spectrometer operating at 1064 nm was used for all measurements; particular attention was paid to the effects of sample fluorescence and heating. It was demonstrated that fluorescence rejection is accomplished only for the lighter colored woods and that fluorescence was found to be severe for 10 of the 71 woods studied in this work even using excitation at 1064 nm. It was further found that hardwoods were no more or less susceptible to sample heating than softwoods. Feed-forward neural networks were used to extract the principal features of wood spectra at resolutions of 4, 8 and 16 cm⁻¹ and to classify spectra as either temperate hardwoods or temperate softwoods. Neural networks were constructed using zero and two processing elements in the hidden layer. It was shown that neural networks with two hidden processing elements perform near optimally, since each hidden layer processing element may function as either a hardwood or softwood feature detector. This work represents the first time that FT-Raman spectroscopy and neural network technology have been coupled for spectral feature extraction and classification.     

First kinetic evidence for the CH/π and π/π solute-solvent interaction of C60 in the Diels-Alder reaction with cyclohexadiene

The first CH/π solute-solvent interaction of C(60) was evidenced by the kinetic solvent effects in the Diels-Alder reaction with 1,3-cyclohexadiene based on the evaluation of linear free energy relationship of log k(2) with empirical solvent polarity and basicity parameters, E(T)(30) and D(π), respectively.     

Spiro indane-based phosphine–oxazoline ligands for palladium-catalyzed asymmetric arylation of cyclic N-sulfonyl imines

Palladium complexes of indane-based phosphine–oxazoline ligands with a spirocarbon stereogenic center were examined for asymmetric addition of arylboronic acids to cyclic N-sulfonyl imines. Excellent reaction activities (up to 99% yield) and enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) were obtained with a broad scope of substrate.

     

Pentafluoroperbenzoic acid as the efficient reagent for Baeyer–Villiger oxidation of cyclic ketones

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A thorough experimental study of CH/π interactions in water: quantitative structure–stability relationships for carbohydrate/aromatic complexes

CH/π interactions play a key role in a large variety of molecular recognition processes of biological relevance. However, their origins and structural determinants in water remain poorly understood. In order to improve our comprehension of these important interaction modes, we have performed a quantitative experimental analysis of a large data set comprising 117 chemically diverse carbohydrate/aromatic stacking complexes, prepared through a dynamic combinatorial approach recently developed by our group. The obtained free energies provide a detailed picture of the structure–stability relationships that govern the association process, opening the door to the rational design of improved carbohydrate-based ligands or carbohydrate receptors. Moreover, this experimental data set, supported by quantum mechanical calculations, has contributed to the understanding of the main driving forces that promote complex formation, underlining the key role played by coulombic and solvophobic forces on the stabilization of these complexes. This represents the most quantitative and extensive experimental study reported so far for CH/π complexes in water.     

Controlled self-assembly of alkylated-π compounds for soft materials — Towards optical and optoelectronic applications

Organic and polymeric molecules based on π-conjugated units represent an important class of components for optical and optoelectronic functionalized soft materials. Inspired by the innovative molecular design made by synthetic chemists, new functions and applications of π-conjugated molecules are continuously emerging. However, a challenge that remains is to soften these molecules. Alkylation is a commonly employed synthetic strategy to achieve functionalization in order to improve processability, i.e., solubility in volatile solvents, for better utilization in the rapidly-developing field of organic electronics. In addition it is recognized as a powerful strategy to tune the interaction among the π-conjugated moieties. In a different interpretation of alkylation, alkylated-π compounds can be viewed as a class of hydrophobic amphiphiles, since the rigid π-conjugated moiety and flexible alkyl chains are intrinsically immiscible. Recent studies have shown that such compounds can form a variety of self-organized solid and thermotropic liquid crystalline structures as well as nonassembled liquid forms depending upon the position, number and kinds of attached alkyl chains. Here, we present a brief overview of recent developments of alkylated-π chemistry, with an emphasis on the relationships between molecular design, self-assembly behavior and applications in optical and optoelectronic devices. We hope this review can serve as a guide and reference for people working in different research areas, including self-assembly and colloid sciences, synthetic and materials chemistry was well as organic electronics.     

Neural networks for prediction of ultrafiltration transmembrane pressure – application to drinking water production

Modelling of ultrafiltration plants for drinking water production appears as a necessary step before plants control and supervisory. It first requires a better knowledge about membrane fouling by natural waters. The phenomena involved are very complex, because of the nature of the fluid concerned: water. Thus up to now phenomenological model cannot be applied for resource waters. Because of their properties, new modelling tools called neural networks seem to be a promising way to model complex phenomena and therefore to be applied to water treatment. In the present study a neural network is used to model the time evolution of transmembrane pressures for ultrafiltration membranes applied to drinking water production. Different network structures and architectures have been elaborated and evaluated with the aim of computing the pressure at the end of a filtration cycle and after the next backwash. For some of these networks a very good accuracy is obtained for both pressures predictions. The inlets are permeate flow rate, turbidity during the cycle and pressure measurements at the cycle start and at the end of the previous cycle. These networks are able to model the effect of both reversible and irreversible fouling on pressures even if no inlet parameter concerning organic matters is considered.     

Multiple solutions of coupled-cluster doubles equations for the Pariser–Parr–Pople model of benzene

To gain some insight into the structure and physical significance of the multiple solutions to the coupled-cluster doubles (CCD) equations corresponding to the Pariser–Parr–Pople model of cyclic polyenes, complete solutions to the CCD equations for the ¹A _1g ^- states of benzene are obtained by means of the homotopy method. By varying the value of the resonance integral ß from –5.0 to –0.5 eV, we cover the so-called weakly, moderately, and strongly correlated regimes of the model. For each value of ß, 230 CCD solutions are obtained. It turned out, however, that only for a few solutions a correspondence with some physical states can be established. It has also been demonstrated that, unlike for the standard methods of solving CCD equations, some of the multiple solutions to the CCD equations can be attained by means of the iterative process based on Pulay's direct inversion in the iterative subspace approach.