Molecular selectivity and immiscibility during the crystallization of mixtures of a set of homologous self-assembling molecules

Utilizing self-assembly to create supramolecular structures is an active area at this time. Hybrid materials created by blending or doping, e.g., organic/inorganic or donor/acceptor complexes are of great interest in the design of novel materials systems. The effect of mixing of any two self-assembling molecules to modify the properties and to understand if the process of blending changes the nature of the self-assembly would be of interest. We discuss here the effect of blending of two (hydrogen bond mediated) self-assembling homologous molecules on the structure and morphology. Materials that are candidate vehicles for phase-change inkjet technology, biscarbamates with alkyl side chains, are chosen for this study. Thermal analysis and IR spectra indicate that, when two biscarbamates differing only in the length of the alkyl chain are blended, the two components are immiscible, although they are chemically similar. There is no intercalation of the alkyl chains and cocrystallization. They are thus an example of a self-sorting system. The extent of hydrogen bonding and the packing of the alkyl chains are not affected. However, each serve as a nucleating agent and reduce the size of the spherulites and crystallinity. The spherulitic growth rate decreases upon blending. Partial melting experiments show that the spherulites of each component do not form independently, but are intermixed, implying that one acts as the nucleating sites for the other. Thus, although these are self-sorting, the components in the mixture affect the morphology of each other upon crystallization. The behavior of this small molecule mixture is compared with those of hydrogen-bonded polymer blends. Studies of this nature on blends of self-assembling molecules are expected to be important in materials design for optimizing properties.     

Domains of colloidal size, mediated by self-assembly of small molecules in a polymer matrix: a three-level hierarchy of assembly

Studies on self-assembly of molecules, mediated by, e.g., hydrogen bonding interactions, are a major theme currently. The consequence of such self-assembly of hydrogen-bonding molecules, when dispersed in a polymer matrix, has not been studied so far. We describe such a polymer dispersed self-assembling small molecule system, in which a homologous series of small molecules, with a hydrogen-bonding moiety and alkyl side chains, is dispersed in polycarbonate. These are not liquid crystalline. The self-assembling molecules form colloidal size domains in the polymer, and this involves a hierarchy of three levels of assembly. The molecules self-assemble into small crystallites, which then organize into spherulitic structures. These spherulites then aggregate to form large, uniform near-spherical domains. The size and uniformity of the domains depend on the length of the alkyl side chain. The domain formation is reversible; that is, these domains can be melted and reformed.     

烷基化程度对N-十八烷基化聚乙烯亚胺梳状高分子结构的影响

利用烷基化方法制备了烷基化取代程度(DS)介于47%～17.6%的N-十八烷基聚乙烯亚胺(PEI18C)梳状高分子.通过红外光谱、差示扫描量热法(DSC)、X-射线衍射和热失重分析等方法研究了PEI18C梳状高分子的结构、结晶行为和热稳定性,探讨了侧链烷基DS对C18侧链结晶及临界结晶行为的影响.结果发现,随DS的降低,PEI18C梳状高分子的结晶度由54.0%降至20.3%,可结晶碳原子数目由11.4个降到4.3个.受限于PEI骨架上C18烷基侧链的堆积排列模式并没有发生根本变化,仍以六方晶胞的形式进行排列.结果表明,侧链烷基DS或沿主链的侧链烷基分布密度对梳状高分子的结晶行为和临界结晶能力有明显的影响.从侧链结晶的角度,分析了侧链烷基取代度对梳状高分子结晶及热稳定性的影响.     

Synthesis of thermoplastic curdlan alkyl carbamates having hydrogen bonding ability

Rigid and little moldable curdlan, a linear β-1,3-glucan having intra- and interchain hydrogen bonds, was reacted with several alkyl isocyanates, which gave thermoplastic curdlan alkyl carbamates (CrdC) with degree of substitution about 2. The alkyl carbamation at hydroxy groups in the glucan skeleton effectively broke the interchain hydrogen bonds of curdlan and increased flexibility of CrdC, while the newly formed carbamate moieties could moderately keep the hydrogen bonding ability in CrdC. Elongating the alkyl groups in the carbamate side chains increased solubility in organic solvents and thermoplasticity of CrdC, which enabled to make homogeneous and free-standing films by both methods of solution-casting and hot-pressing.     

Low molecular weight organogels based on long-chain carbamates

Thermoreversible organogels were prepared from carbamates with alkyl side chains of different lengths. Gelation was possible only up to an alkyl side chain length of 12 carbons, beyond which crystallization occurs, due to the dominant van der Waals interaction between the alkyl chains. This is in contrast to other alkane-based organogels, in which gelating efficiency increased with the length of the alkane chain (see Abdallah, D. J.; Weiss, R. G. Adv. Mater. 2000, 12, 1237). The critical concentration for gelation decreases drastically with an increase in the side chain length. Xerogels of these show birefringent fibers with uniform cross section and unlimited growth in one direction. The extent of this unlimited growth is affected by the length of the alkyl side chain in the carbamate, which finally ceases the gel formation ability of the carbamate. Cryogenic scanning electron microscopy images of the gels are similar to those of xerogels. From X-ray diffraction of the fibers, we propose that the growth direction is along the plane of hydrogen bonds between the carbamate molecules. The thickness of the fibers depends on the length of the alkyl side chain. Morphological differences are seen between gels prepared by slow cooling and quenching of the solution. Thus, the morphology of the fibrous xerogels of the carbamates can be tailored for specific applications, by the choice of the alkyl side chain length and the rate of cooling the solution.     

Langmuir monolayers of the long-chain alkyl derivatives of a nucleoside analogue and the formation of self-assembled nanoparticles

The long-chain alkyl derivatives of a nucleoside analogue-acyclovir were prepared in the paper. One is stearyl-glycero-succinyl-acyclovir (SGSA) with a single 18-carbon length (C18) alkyl chain. Another is dioctadecyl-aspartate-succinyl-acyclovir (DASA) with double C18 alkyl chains. They were prepared by the esterification of succinyl-acyclovir with the lipids, and sodium salts of them were also prepared. Guanine moieties and alkyl moieties bring the derivatives intermolecular hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interaction in water separately. The forces are influenced by the number of alkyl chains and the charged state, and determine the solubility and the self-assembly behavior of the derivatives. The double alkyl-chain derivatives (DASA and DASA-Na) formed rigid Langmuir monolayers on air/water surface, while the single alkyl chain derivatives (SGSA and SGSA-Na) did not. However, cholesterol (Chol) could assist SGSA to form rigid monolayers through inserting into the alkyl chains of SGSA to mimic the second alkyl chain. SGSA self-aggregates in water were prepared by the injection method with tetrahydrofuran as solvent. Cuboid-like shape and nanoscale size demonstrated that SGSA self-aggregates were self-assembled nanoparticles. Shape, particle size, zeta potential and phase transition of the nanoparticles were characterized. And they showed an average size of 83.2 nm, a negative surface charge of -31.3-mV zeta potential and a gel-liquid crystalline phase transition of 50.38 degrees C. The formation mechanism of self-assembled nanoparticles was analyzed. Hydrophobic interaction of alkyl chains improves SGSA molecules to form bilayers, and then cuboid-like nanoparticles were obtained by layer-by-layer aggregation based on inter-bilayers hydrogen bonding. However, the charged guanine moieties make SGSA-Na lose the function of hydrogen bonding so that SGSA-Na only forms vesicles in water based on hydrophobic interaction. Strong hydrophobicity and wide-open rigid double alkyl chains of DASA and DASA-Na restrict self-assembly in water media, and no homogeneous suspensions were obtained. Therefore, the molecular self-assembly behavior of the long-chain alkyl derivatives of nucleoside analogues on water surface or in water media is determined by the number of alkyl chains and the charged state.     

Revisiting the crystallization of poly(2‐alkyl‐2‐oxazoline)s

Poly(2‐alkyl‐2‐oxazoline)s (PAOx) exhibit different crystallization behavior depending on the length of the alkyl side chain. PAOx having methyl, ethyl, or propyl side chains do not show any bulk crystallization. Crystallization in the heating cycle, that is, cold crystallization, is observed for PAOx with butyl and pentyl side chains. For PAOx with longer alkyl side chains crystallization occurs in the cooling cycle. The different crystallization behavior is attributed to the different polymer chain mobility in line with the glass transition temperature (T_g) dependency on alkyl side chain length. The decrease in chain mobility with decreasing alkyl side chain length hinders the relaxation of the polymer backbone to the thermodynamic equilibrium crystalline structure. Double melting behavior is observed for PButOx and PiPropOx which is explained by the melt‐recrystallization mechanism. Isothermal crystallization experiments of PButOx between 60 and 90 °C and PiPropOx between 90 and 150 °C show that PAOx can crystallize in bulk when enough time is given. The decrease of T_g and the corresponding increase in chain mobility at T > T_g with increasing alkyl side chain length can be attributed to an increasing distance between the polymer backbones and thus decreasing average strength of amide dipole interactions. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 721–729     

N-乙基壳聚糖的针状结晶

在N 乙基壳聚糖的甲酸溶液浇铸膜中观察到高分子少有的针状晶体 .从球晶经后结晶得到的针状晶体为长条矩形 ,典型尺寸为～ 5 0 μm× 2～ 5 μm× 1～ 2 μm ,高分子链平行于晶体长轴 .针状晶体首先出现在球晶的核心处 ,继而出现在球晶微纤每个树枝状分叉处 ,最后才遍布球晶各处 .针状晶体可以看成是高分子伸直链结晶的一种 .浇铸膜吸潮实际上形成了超浓溶液 (浓度 >80wt% ) ,从而分子链可以运动而后结晶成针状晶体     

Hydrogen bonding versus van der Waals interactions: competitive influence of noncovalent interactions on 2D self-assembly at the liquid-solid interface

The structures of the self-assembled monolayers of various 4-alkoxybenzoic acids physisorbed at the liquid-solid interface were established by employing scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). This study has been essentially undertaken to explore the competitive influence of van der Waals and hydrogen-bonding interactions on the process of two-dimensional self-assembly. These acid derivatives form hydrogen-bonded dimers as expected; however, the dimers organise themselves in the form of relatively complex lamellae. The characteristic feature of these lamellae is the presence of regular discommensurations or kinks along the lamella propagation direction. The formation of kinked lamellae is discussed in light of the registry mechanism of the alkyl chains with the underlying graphite substrate. The location of the kinks along a lamella depends on the number (odd or even) of carbon atoms in the alkyl chain. This result indicates that concerted van der Waals interactions of the alkyl chain units introduce the odd/even chain-length effect on the surface-assembled supramolecular patterns. The odd/even effects are retained even upon complexation with a hydrogen-bond acceptor. However, as the solvent is changed from 1-phenyloctane to 1-octanoic acid, the kinked lamellae as well as the odd/even effects disappear. This solvent-induced convergence of supramolecular patterns is attained by means of co-crystallisation of octanoic acid molecules in the 2D crystal lattice, which is evident from high-resolution STM images. The solvent co-adsorption phenomenon is discussed in terms of competing van der Waals and hydrogen-bonding interactions.     

石油胶质结构性质的量子化学研究

采用量子化学AM1方法对石油胶质进行了优化计算，得到石油胶质单层结构SG、双层结构DG和三层结构TG的优化构型和分子间作用能。结果表明，石油胶质的稠环芳烃和脂环部分大体为平面结构，支链部分也伸展在平面上。分子中稠环、脂环和侧链中的C—C键长均分别比单独苯环、脂肪环和烷烃的C—C键短。侧链中的C—C键比芳环和脂环的C—C键弱，在催化剂的作用下将优先裂解。重叠形成DG和TG后，键长、键角和电荷略有变化。胶质分子的极性基团间存在氢键作用，DG和TG分子间的作用能分别为－22.8416kJ/mol和－43.8455kJ/mol。双层胶质DG和三层胶质TG结构的体积较大，难以扩散到分子筛催化剂的孔道内。     

Microporous organic materials from hydrophobic dipeptides

In the last few years dipeptides with two hydrophobic residues (hydrophobic dipeptides) have emerged as an unexpected source of stable microporous organic materials. Supramolecular self-assembly of the rather small building blocks is dictated by stringent demands on the hydrogen-bond formation by the peptide main chains and the aggregation of hydrophobic entities in the side chains. A systematic survey of structures derived from single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies has revealed the existence of two large classes of structures, differing in the dimensionality of the hydrogen-bonding patterns in the crystals and the nature of the channels. The present review summarizes the structural properties of the microporous dipeptides and discusses their potential applications.     

Trifluoroacetic acid-promoted synthesis of 3-hydroxy, 3-amino and spirooxindoles from α-keto-N-anilides

Ketoanilides containing alkyl side chains were readily cyclized to 3-hydroxy-2-oxindoles or spirooxindoles by a single or double intramolecular Friedel-Crafts reaction in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) at room temperature or at 45 °C. α-Iminocarboxamides, generated in situ from ketoamides, cyclized similarly to 3-aminooxindoles under identical conditions.     

Nonisothermal crystallization behavior, and morphology of poly(trimethylene terephthalate)/polyethylene glycol copolymers

Poly(trimethylene terephthalate)/polyethylene glycol (PTT/PEG) copolymers, with PEG content ranging from 27.2 to 47.4 wt%, were synthesized by melt copolycondensation. Wide-Angle X-ray diffractometer revealed that all copolymers had the same crystal structure of homo-PTT at room temperature. All copolymers could form ring-banded spherulites, and band spacing increased with increasing PEG content at a given crystallization temperature. Nonisothermal crystallization morphology of copolymers was greatly influenced by cooling rate. When the cooling rate was 2.5 °C/min or lower, banded patterns were absent, whereas when the cooling rate was 20 °C/min or higher, a novel crystal morphology composed of non-banded spherulites (central part) and ring-banded spherulites with decreasing band spacing along the radial growth direction was observed. Moreover, the size of the non-banded spherulitic part decreased with increasing cooling rate. Finally, the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of copolymers were analyzed and only the Mo method was satisfactory to accurately describe this system.     

Crystallization of carboxylic acid salts in poly(ethylene oxide) oligomers at higher temperatures

Many alkali metal carboxylates when dissolved in poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) oligomers, are phaseseparated by heating. These were revealed to be the crystals of the initially dissolved corresponding salts from the X-ray diffraction patterns. Some acetate salts achieve the lower limit of the lattice energy for phase separation of ordinary inorganic salts by heating in PEO oligomers. These carboxylate salts were therefore expected to show crystallization behavior in PEO oligomers by heating. The effects of cation size, alkyl chain length and molecular weight of PEO on the solubility are summarized. Negative temperature dependence of solubility of these acetate salts is seen in the PEO oligomers only when the salts have long alkyl chains. The salts containing larger cations needed a longer chain length of PEOs for crystallization by heating. These salts with longer alkyl chains showed positive temperautred dependence in lower molecular weight polyethers, but negative temperature dependence in solubility in PEO with molecular weights higher than 400. In PEO₄₀₀, all the carboxylates with longer alkyl chains were phase separated by heating.     

聚全氟乙丙烯的分子聚集态结构及其对开裂性能的影响

本体结晶的全氟乙丙烯(FEP) 共聚物一般具有球晶形态结构。球晶的发展与完整程度决定于共聚物的分子结构与结晶条件,所研究的球晶尺寸在几微米至一百多微米之间。界面间的联接分子数,在试样的分子量增大和结晶温度降低时增加。它显著地影响其开裂性能。材料中联接链越多,其使用性能越好。FEP在接近其熔点温度退火,能够改善在200℃的使用性能。     

Intramolecular hydrogen bonding and its influence on conformation. Circular dichroism of chiral bilirubin analogs

Enantiopure synthetic bilirubin analogs with variously modified (e.g. alkyl for natural propionic acid or ester) C(8) and C(12) side chains and with but a single chiral center in either or both, exhibited exciton coupled circular dichroism (CD) spectra. The CD intensity is greater when the stereogenic center is in a propionic acid side chain than in an alkyl side chain.     

利用光学显微镜研究溶剂诱导的梯形苯基聚倍半硅氧烷结晶

通过溶剂诱导结晶的方法研究了梯形苯基聚倍半硅氧烷(PPSQ)的球晶结构. 采用光学显微镜研究了溶液的浓度、溶剂的挥发时间以及温度等影响因素对梯形苯基聚倍半硅氧烷的球晶结构形貌的影响. 实验结果表明:稀释溶液浓度与提高结晶温度在改变球晶的形态方面具有相同的效果. 球晶的尺寸会随着溶液浓度的降低或者结晶温度的升高而增加. 这都归因于梯形苯基聚倍半硅氧烷在二甲苯中的溶解度的增加. 在不改变其它结晶条件的情况下,延长溶剂的挥发时间也会形成更大的球晶. 当在光学显微镜下旋转样品时球晶的结构不会发生改变,这表明球晶具有均一的晶体学取向结构. 负性球晶的特征也表明梯形苯基聚倍半硅氧烷的分子链是沿着球晶的切线方向排列. 考虑到梯形苯基聚倍半硅氧烷具有刚性的分子链,还提出了梯形苯基聚倍半硅氧烷可能的球晶结构模型.     

The reaction of diphenyl carbonate with amines and its application to polymer synthesis

Selective formation of biscarbamates from diphenyl carbonate (DPC) and diamines and the preparation of polyurethanes from the carbamates and diols under mild conditions were studied. The reaction of DPC and diamines was significantly affected by catalysts, biscarbamates being exclusively prepared in high yields in the presence of 2-hydroxypyridine. The polycondensation reaction of the biscarbamates with diols was facilitated by catalysts such as metal salts; among the catalysts examined magnesium chloride in pyridine gave the best results. Metal chlorides in pyridine also promoted the reaction of DPC with aromatic amines to give the corresponding ureas, and the direct synthesis of polyureas was achieved by the polycondensation of DPC with diamines in the presence of the chloride.     

Conformational pseudopolymorphism and orientational disorder in two-dimensional alkyl carbamate crystals

The structures of self-assembled physisorbed monolayers of alkyl carbamates were examined with atomic detail by scanning tunneling microscopy at the liquid-solid interface. Through systematic variation of molecular structure, the factors determining the two-dimensional crystal packing and dynamics of alkyl carbamate monolayers were isolated. Two different conformational pseudopolymorphs on the surface were observed and their order of stability was varied by changing the length of the alkyl groups. The relative size of the two alkyl groups in a molecule affected the frequency of orientational flipping within a column, which in turn, exerts an influence on the relative orientation of the two-dimensional crystalline domains. These phenomena were explained on the basis of the preferred hydrogen-bonding geometry of the carbamate functional group and the different degree of van der Waals interaction for each form.     

Side-chain tunability of furan-containing low-band-gap polymers provides control of structural order in efficient solar cells

The solution-processability of conjugated polymers in organic solvents has classically been achieved by modulating the size and branching of alkyl substituents appended to the backbone. However, these substituents impact structural order and charge transport properties in thin-film devices. As a result, a trade-off must be found between material solubility and insulating alkyl content. It was recently shown that the substitution of furan for thiophene in the backbone of the polymer PDPP2FT significantly improves polymer solubility, allowing for the use of shorter branched side chains while maintaining high device efficiency. In this report, we use PDPP2FT to demonstrate that linear alkyl side chains can be used to promote thin-film nanostructural order. In particular, linear side chains are shown to shorten π-π stacking distances between backbones and increase the correlation lengths of both π-π stacking and lamellar spacing, leading to a substantial increase in the efficiency of bulk heterojunction solar cells.