Improvement of the Thermal Stability of TEMPO‐Oxidized Cellulose Nanofibrils by Heat‐Induced Conversion of Ionic Bonds to Amide Bonds

Improving thermal stability of TEMPO‐oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (TOCNs) is a major challenge for the development and preparation of new nanocomposites. However, thermal degradation of TOCNs occurs at 220 °C. The present study reports a simple way to improve thermal stability of TOCNs by the heat‐induced conversion of ionic bonds to amide bonds. Coupling amine‐terminated polyethylene glycol to the TOCNs is performed through ionic bond formation. Films are produced from the dispersions by the casting method. Infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis confirm conversion of ionic bonds to amide bonds for the modified TOCN samples after heating. As a result, improvement of TOCNs' thermal stability by up to 90 °C is successfully achieved.

     

Thermal,mechanical and morphological analysis of poly(ε‐caprolactone), cellulose acetate and their blends

Poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL), cellulose acetate (CA) and their blends were characterized by their tensile strength, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and optical microscopy (OM). The compatibility of the blends was investigated and the OM results showed that CA tended to disperse as discrete particles in PCL. Thermal analysis showed the characteristic melting temperature peaks for PCL and CA in all blends, indicating that the compounds were immiscible. The addition of CA to PCL increased slightly the crystallinity of PCL, decreased the elongation at yield and the tensile strength up to 40/60 PCL/CA (w/w), which suggested incompatibility between the polymers. Together, these results indicate the absence of a strong chemical interaction between the two polymers. In agreement with this, the addition of CA to blends with PCL increased Young's modulus. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Alkyne‐Mediated Approach to the Synthesis of (4R,5R)‐5‐Hydroxy‐4‐decanolide and (−)‐Muricatacin

The asymmetric synthesis of two naturally occurring 5‐hydroxy‐γ‐butyrolactones, (4R,5R)‐5‐hydroxy‐4‐decanolide ( 1a ) and (?)‐muricatacin ( 2 ), is described using a general alkyne‐mediated strategy. The key steps involved are Sonogashira coupling for the desired carbon‐chain extension followed by Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation to construct the hydroxy‐lactone framework.     

Photoinduced hydrogen abstraction‐coupling reaction mechanism of Δ5‐steroids with substituted 1, 4‐benzoquinones via electron transfer pathways

The photochemical reaction between three A⁵‐steroids (1–3) and a series of substituted 1,4‐benzoquinones and their mechanistic study were reported. The reaction in nitrogen atmosphere led to the formation of three products including the steroid‐quinone coupling compound (A), 7‐hydroxy derivatives of Δ⁵‐steroids (B) and substituted 1, 4‐hydroquinone (C). Both chemical and spectrometric evidences such as UV‐Visible spectra, ESR, chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (CIDNP) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) verified that the title reaction underwent a predominant photoinduced electron transfer pathway via the triplet quinone.     

Role of polyethylene‐graft‐glycidyl methacrylate compatibilizer on the biodegradation of poly(ε‐caprolactone)/cellulose acetate blends

Biodegradable polymers provide an attractive solution to reduce environmental pollution caused by the accumulation of plastic waste in landfills. In this study, the effect of polyethylene‐graft‐glycidyl methacrylate (PE‐g‐GMA) on the biodegradation of blends of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) and cellulose acetate (CA) (80/20, 60/40, 40/60, and 20/80 PCL/CA, w/w) was assessed by mass retention, tensile strength, and morphological properties. The principal fungal strains present in the soil after biodegradation were also identified. PCL and the blends containing 60% and 80% PCL showed greater mass loss and superficial change in simulated soil. PE‐g‐GMA increased the tensile strength retention during 3 months of aging in simulated soil. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that pure PCL was more porous, which enhanced the hydrolysis and biodegradation of PCL. PE‐g‐GMA decreased the mass loss of the polymers, possibly by enhancing the interaction between PCL and CA, with the formation of hydrogen bonds between the carbonyl groups of PCL and the hydroxyl groups of CA. This effect was marked in blends with >40% PCL. Microbiological analysis revealed the presence of several species of fungi in the soil. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of novel hyperbranched poly(ester‐amide)s based on neutral α‐amino acids via “AD + CBB′” couple‐monomer approach

A series of novel hyperbranched poly(ester‐amide)s (HBPEAs) based on neutral α‐amino acids have been synthesized via the “AD + CBB′” couple‐monomer approach. The ABB′ intermediates were stoichiometrically formed through thio‐Michael addition reaction because of reactivity differences between functional groups. Without any purification, in situ self‐polycondensations of the intermediates at elevated temperature in the presence of a catalyst afforded HBPEAs with multihydroxyl end groups. The degrees of branching (DBs) of the HBPEAs were estimated to be 0.40–0.58 and 0.24–0.54 by quantitative ¹³C NMR with two different calculation methods, respectively, depending on polymerization conditions and structure of monomers. The influences of catalyst, temperature, and intermediate structure on the polymerization process and molecular weights as well as properties of the resultant polymers were investigated. FTIR, NMR, and DEPT‐135 NMR analyses revealed the branched structure of the resultant polymers. The HBPEAs possess moderately high molecular weights with broad distributions, glass transition temperatures in the range of ?25.5 to 36.5 °C, and decomposition temperatures at 10% weight loss under nitrogen and air in the regions of 243.4–289.1 °C and 231.4–265.6 °C, respectively. Among them, those derived from D ,L ‐phenylalanine display the lowest degree of branching, whereas the highest glass transition temperature and the best thermal stability. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Transformation of 5‐Hydroxy‐ to (5‐Chloropentanoyl)amino Derivatives under ‘Direct Amide Cyclization’ Conditions

The application of the ‘direct amide cyclization’ conditions to the linear δ‐hydroxy diamide 11 is described (Scheme 3). Instead of the cyclization to the expected nine‐membered cyclodepsipeptide, only the chloro acid 12 was obtained. Its formation could be explained by consecutive formation of the 1,3‐oxazol‐5(4H)‐one 16 and the six‐membered imino lactone 17 as intermediates (Scheme 4). The spontaneous isomerization of the latter gave 12 in a good yield.     

Facile synthesis of polyester dendrimer via combining thio‐bromo “Click” chemistry and ATNRC

This article reports on developing an efficient synthesis approach to aliphatic polyester dendrimer, poly(thioglycerol‐2‐propionate) (PTP), by combination of thio‐bromo “Click” chemistry with atom transfer nitroxide radical coupling (ATNRC). Through the one‐pot two‐step method, linear polystyrene with hydroxyl end groups (l‐PS‐2OH) was obtained by first atom transfer radical polymerization of styrene and following termination using 4‐(2,3‐dihydroxypropoxy)‐TEMPO (DHP‐TEMPO) to capture the PS macroradicals via ATNRC method. Using l‐PS‐2OH as support, the dendritic repeating units divergently were grown from the hydroxyl end groups via esterification and thio‐bromo “Click” reaction two‐step process. In every generation, the resulting intermediates l‐PS‐d‐PTP (G1‐G4) can be easily isolated from the excessive unreacted monomers by simple precipitation in ethanol without help of time, labor and solvent consuming column chromatographic purification. At last, cleavage of the alkoxyamine group between the PS support and dendrimer at elevated temperature (125 °C) provided the targeted polyester dendrimer PTP up to the fourth generation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 1762–1768     

Supramolecular architectures in two 1:1 cocrystals of 5‐fluorouracil with 5‐bromothiophene‐2‐carboxylic acid and thiophene‐2‐carboxylic acid

In solid‐state engineering, cocrystallization is a strategy actively pursued for pharmaceuticals. Two 1:1 cocrystals of 5‐fluorouracil (5FU; systematic name: 5‐fluoro‐1,3‐dihydropyrimidine‐2,4‐dione), namely 5‐fluorouracil–5‐bromothiophene‐2‐carboxylic acid (1/1), C₅H₃BrO₂S·C₄H₃FN₂O₂, (I), and 5‐fluorouracil–thiophene‐2‐carboxylic acid (1/1), C₄H₃FN₂O₂·C₅H₄O₂S, (II), have been synthesized and characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction studies. In both cocrystals, carboxylic acid molecules are linked through an acid–acid R ₂²(8) homosynthon (O—H…O) to form a carboxylic acid dimer and 5FU molecules are connected through two types of base pairs [homosynthon, R ₂²(8) motif] via a pair of N—H…O hydrogen bonds. The crystal structures are further stabilized by C—H…O interactions in (II) and C—Br…O interactions in (I). In both crystal structures, π–π stacking and C—F…π interactions are also observed.     

Biodegradable brushlike graft polymers. I. Polymerization of ϵ‐caprolactone onto water‐soluble hydroxypropyl cellulose as the backbone by the protection of the trimethylsilyl group

After the protection of partial hydroxyl groups with trimethylsilyl (TMS) groups, hydroxypropyl cellulose becomes soluble in organic solvents, and the number of hydroxyl groups as initiating groups can be controlled. As a result, a new brushlike graft poly(?‐caprolactone) can be prepared with hydroxypropyl cellulose as the backbone polymer by homogeneous ring‐opening graft polymerization and deprotection. The protection and deprotection of the TMS group during the entire procedure were carefully monitored with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and NMR, and the final graft copolymers were characterized with FTIR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, gel permeation chromatography, and differential scanning calorimetry. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 273–280, 2003     

Copper(0)‐catalyzed one‐pot synthesis of ABC triblock copolymers via the combination of single electron transfer nitroxide radical coupling reaction and “click” chemistry

The synthesis of ABC triblock copolymers were accomplished by Cu(0)‐catalyzed one‐pot strategy combining single electron transfer‐nitroxide radical coupling (SET‐NRC) reaction with “click” chemistry. First, the precursors α,ω‐heterofunctionalized poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) with a 2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidine‐1‐oxyl (TEMPO) group and an alkyne group, polystyrene (PS), and poly(tert‐butyl acrylate) (PtBA) with bromine or azide end group were designed and synthesized, respectively. Then, the one‐pot coupling reactions between these precursors were carried out in the system of Cu(0)/Me₆TREN: The SET‐NRC reaction between bromine group and nitroxide radical group, subsequently click coupling between azide and alkyne group. It was noticeable that Cu(I) generated from Cu(0) by SET mechanism was utilized to catalyze click chemistry. To estimate the effect of Cu(0) on the one‐pot reaction, a comparative analysis was performed in presence of different Cu(0) species. The result showed that Cu(0) with more active surface area could accelerate the one‐pot reaction significantly. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Macrocyclization of polymers via ring‐closing metathesis and azide/alkyne‐“click”‐reactions: An approach to cyclic polyisobutylenes

The end‐to‐end cyclization of telechelic polyisobutylenes (PIB's) toward cyclic polyisobutylenes is reported, using either ring‐closing metathesis (RCM) or the azide/alkyne‐“click”‐reaction. The first approach uses bisallyl‐telchelic PIB's (M_n = 1650, 3680, 9770 g mol^?1) and Grubbs 1st‐, 2nd‐, and 3rd‐generation catalyst leading to cyclic PIB's in 60–80% yield, with narrow polydispersities (M_w/M_n = 1.25). Azide/alkyne‐“click”‐reactions of bisalkyne‐telechelic PIB's (M_n = 3840 and 9820 g mol^?1) with excess of 1,11‐diazido‐undecane leads to the formation of mixtures of linear/cyclic PIB's under formation of oligomeric cycles. Subsequent reaction of the residual azide‐moieties in the linear PIB's with excess of alkyne‐telechelic PEO enables the chromatographic removal of the resulting linear PEO‐PIB‐block copolymers by column chromatography. Thus pure cyclic PIB's can be obtained using this double‐“click”‐method, devoid of linear contaminants. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 671–680, 2010     

Synthesis of tadpole polymers via triple click reactions: Copper‐catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition,diels–alder,and nitroxide radical coupling reactions

We designed a trifunctional initiator ( 3 ) containing anthracene, bromide, and OH functionalities and subsequently used as an initiator in atom transfer radical Polymerization (ATRP) of styrene to yield linear polystyrene (PS) with α‐anthracene, OH, and ω‐bromide terminal groups, of which bromide is later transformed into azide to result in the linear anthracene‐, OH‐, and azide‐terminated PS (l‐α‐anthracene‐OH‐ω‐azide‐PS). The copper‐catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition reaction between l‐α‐anthracene‐OH‐ω‐azide‐PS and α‐furan‐protected‐maleimide‐ω‐alkyne linkage, 4 afforded the linear anthracene‐, OH‐, and maleimide‐terminated PS. The cyclization via intramolecular Diels–Alder click reaction of this linear PS and the subsequent conversion of the hydroxyl into bromide resulted in the cyclic PS with one bromide located on the ring, (c‐PS)‐Br. Finally, the c‐PS‐Br was clicked with either well‐defined tetramethylpiperidine‐1‐oxyl‐terminated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) or poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) yielding the tadpole polymer, (c‐PS)‐b‐PEG or (c‐PS)‐b‐PCL. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Linear tetrablock quaterpolymers via triple click reactions,azide‐alkyne,diels–alder,and nitroxide radical coupling in a one‐pot fashion

Azide‐alkyne and Diels–Alder click reactions together with a click‐like nitroxide radical coupling reaction were used in a one‐pot fashion to generate tetrablock quaterpolymer. The various living polymerization generated linear polymers with orthogonal end‐functionalities, maleimide‐terminated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG‐MI), anthracene‐ and azide‐terminated polystyrene, alkyne‐ and bromide‐terminated poly(tert‐butyl acrylate) or alkyne‐poly(n‐butyl acrylate), and tetramethylpiperidine‐1‐oxyl (TEMPO)‐terminated poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL‐TEMPO) were clicked together in a one‐pot fashion to generate PEG‐b‐PS‐b‐PtBA‐b‐PCL or PEG‐b‐PS‐b‐PnBA‐b‐PCL quaterpolymer using Cu(0), CuBr, and N,N,N′,N″,N″‐pentamethyldiethylenetriamine as catalyst in dimethyl formamide at 80 °C for 36 h. Linear precursors and target quaterpolymers were analyzed via ¹H NMR and gel permeation chromatography. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

The competition of Y⋯o and X⋯n halogen bonds to enhance the group V σ‐hole interaction in the NCY⋯oPH3⋯NCX and OPH3⋯NCX⋯NCY (X,YF,Cl, and Br) complexes

The positive electrostatic potentials (ESP) outside the σ‐hole along the extension of O? P bond in O?PH₃ and the negative ESP outside the nitrogen atom along the extension of the C? N bond in NCX could form the Group V σ‐hole interaction O?PH₃?NCX. In this work, the complexes NCY?O?PH₃?NCX and O?PH₃?NCX?NCY (X, Y?F, Cl, Br) were designed to investigate the enhancing effects of Y?O and X?N halogen bonds on the P?N Group V σ‐hole interaction. With the addition of Y?O halogen bond, the V _{S, max} values outside the σ‐hole region of O?PH₃ becomes increasingly positive resulting in a stronger and more polarizable P?N interaction. With the addition of X?N halogen bond, the V _{S, min} values outside the nitrogen atom of NCX becomes increasingly negative, also resulting in a stronger and more polarizable P?N interaction. The Y?O halogen bonds affect the σ‐hole region (decreased density region) outside the phosphorus atom more than the P?N internuclear region (increased density region outside the nitrogen atom), while it is contrary for the X?N halogen bonds. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Nucleosides and Oligonucleotides with Diynyl Side Chains: Base Pairing and Functionalization of 2′‐Deoxyuridine Derivatives by the Copper(I)‐Catalyzed Alkyne?Azide ‘Click’ Cycloaddition

Oligonucleotides containing the 5‐substituted 2′‐deoxyuridines 1b or 1d bearing side chains with terminal C?C bonds are described, and their duplex stability is compared with oligonucleotides containing the 5‐alkynyl compounds 1a or 1c with only one nonterminal C?C bond in the side chain. For this, 5‐iodo‐2′‐deoxyuridine ( 3 ) and diynes or alkynes were employed as starting materials in the Sonogashira cross‐coupling reaction (Scheme 1). Phosphoramidites 2b – d were prepared (Scheme 3) and used as building blocks in solid‐phase synthesis. T_m Measurements demonstrated that DNA duplexes containing the octa‐1,7‐diynyl side chain or a diprop‐2‐ynyl ether residue, i.e., containing 1b or 1d , are more stable than those containing only one triple bond, i.e., 1a or 1c (Table 3). The diyne‐modified nucleosides were employed in further functionalization reactions by using the protocol of the Cu^I‐catalyzed Huisgen–Meldal–Sharpless [2+3] cycloaddition (‘click chemistry’) (Scheme 2). An aliphatic azide, i. e., 3′‐azido‐3′‐deoxythymidine (AZT; 4 ), as well as the aromatic azido compound 5 were linked to the terminal alkyne group resulting in 1H‐1,2,3‐triazole‐modified derivatives 6 and 7 , respectively (Scheme 2), of which 6 forms a stable duplex DNA (Table 3). The Husigen–Meldal–Sharpless cycloaddition was also performed with oligonucleotides (Schemes 4 and 5).     

Diels‐alder click reaction for the preparation of polycarbonate block copolymers

The Diels‐Alder reaction as a click reaction strategy is applied to the preparation of well‐defined polycarbonate (PC)‐block copolymers. A well‐defined α‐anthracene‐terminated polycarbonate (PC‐anthracene) is prepared using 9‐anthracene methanol as an initiator in the ring opening polymerization of benzyl 5‐methyl‐2‐oxo‐1,3‐dioxane‐5‐carboxylate in CH₂Cl₂ at room temperature for 5 h. Next, a well‐defined α‐furan protected maleimide‐terminated‐poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG₁₁‐MI or PEG₃₇‐MI), ‐poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA₂₆‐MI), and ‐poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL₂₇‐MI) were clicked with the PC‐anthracene at reflux temperature of toluene to yield their corresponding PC‐based block copolymers (PC‐b‐PEG, PC‐b‐PMMA, and PC‐b‐PCL). The homopolymer precursors and their block copolymers were characterized by using the GPC, NMR and UV analysis. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Effects of Br connected groups on atom transfer nitroxide radical coupling reaction and its application in the synthesis of comb‐like block copolymers

The effects of Br connected groups on atom transfer nitroxide radical coupling (ATNRC) reaction were investigated. Two precursors methoxyl poly(ethylene oxide)‐b‐poly(ethylene oxide‐co‐2‐bromoiso butyryloxy glycidyl ether) (mPEO‐b‐Poly(EO‐co‐BiBGE)) and methoxyl poly(ethylene oxide)‐b‐poly(2‐bromoiso butyryloxy glycidyl ether) (mPEO‐b‐Poly(BiBGE)) with different ? C(CH₃)₂Br density were designed and synthesized firstly, and then ATNRC reaction were completed between these precursors and 2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidinyl‐1‐oxy poly(ε‐caprolactone) (TEMPO‐PCL) in the presence or absence of St monomers, respectively. The results showed that the structure of Br connected groups showed an important effect on ATNRC reaction, and the ATNRC reaction with high efficiency could be realized by transforming the higher active Br connected groups into the lower one by the addition of small amount of St monomers. The final comb‐like block copolymers mPEO‐b‐[Poly(EO‐co‐Gly)‐g‐(St_1.8‐b‐PCL)] and mPEO‐b‐[Poly(Gly)‐g‐(St_2.4‐b‐PCL)] with high coupling efficiency were obtained by this strategy. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 1633–1640, 2010