Synthesis and properties of new Si?H-containing polymers

Poly[(methylsilylene)ethynylene] ( 1 ) and poly[2,5-thiophenediyl(methylsilylene)] ( 2 ) are prepared in good yields. Thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry indicate the Si H group to increase the pyrolysis residue yields. Gelation was achieved from polymer 1 to get improved preceramic materials. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. A Polym. Chem. 36: 2275–2282, 1998     

Julia–Kocienski approach to trifluoromethyl-substituted alkenes

A Julia–Kocienski approach to trifluoromethyl-substituted alkenes was evaluated in the reactions of 1,3-benzothiazol-2-yl, 1-phenyl-1H-tetrazol-5-yl, and 1-tbutyl-1H-tetrazol-5-yl 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl sulfones with aldehydes. Among the various conditions tested, the best yields were obtained with 1-phenyl-1H-tetrazol-5-yl 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl sulfone, in CsF-mediated, room temperature olefinations in DMSO. Aromatic aldehydes gave (trifluoromethyl)vinyl derivatives in 23–86% yields, with generally moderate stereoselectivity. Straightforward synthesis of the Julia–Kocienski reagent, and conversion to trifluoromethyl-substituted alkenes under mild reaction conditions, are the advantages of this approach.     

Ionic Liquid–Promoted Phospha-Michael Reaction: Convenient Access to β-Nitrophosphonates

A convenient and mild procedure is developed for β-nitrophosphonates via phospha-Michael addition of phosphites to nitrostyrene at room temperature in the presence of 1,8-diazabicyclo-[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU)–based ionic liquid [DBUH][OAc]. The operational simplicity, convenient workup, and reusability of the ionic liquid make this method attractive.     

A cascade radical-mediated macrocyclisation–transannulation approach to oestrogen steroids

A new approach to ring A aromatic steroids, based on cascade 13-endo-trig/dig macrocyclisations followed by sequential 5-exo-trig and 6-exo-trig transannulations, exemplified in the syntheses of the cis,anti,trans tetracycle 9 and the trans,syn tetracycle 13 from the ortho-substituted aryl polyen(yne) precursors, 8 and 12 respectively, is described.     

A chemoselective Reformatsky–Negishi approach to α-haloaryl esters

A practical synthesis of α-haloaryl esters has been achieved via a chemoselective Negishi coupling of poly-halogenated aromatics and Reformatsky reagents in the presence of catalytic Pd(dba)₂ and Xantphos. This chemistry tolerates a variety of aryl halides and was successfully applied to the synthesis of Ibuprofen. The α-haloaryl ester products, exemplified by ethyl 2-(4-bromo-2-chlorophenyl)acetate (3a), can be further functionalized via palladium or copper catalysis to afford an array of α-aryl esters.     

A modified variation–perturbation approach to zero-point vibrational motion

We present a detailed investigation of the perturbation approach for calculating zero-point vibrational contributions to molecular properties. It is demonstrated that if the sum of the potential energy and the zero-point vibrational energy is regarded as an effective potential energy, the leading contribution to the first-order wave function vanishes in the perturbation approach. Two different perturbation approaches have been investigated numerically by calculations of some magnetic properties for a few diatomic molecules and the results obtained have been compared to the exact numerical results. It is shown that only a few terms need to be included in a perturbation expansion to obtain an accuracy in the calculated rovibrational contribution better than the quality normally obtained for the potential and property surfaces in electronic structure calculations. Received: 16 April 1999 / Accepted: 1 July 1999 / Published online: 4 October 1999     

New approach to unravel the structure–property relationship of methylcellulose

In the present paper we suggest a new concept to overcome some of the so far unsolved problems of the structure–property relationship of methylcellulose, the most important nonionic cellulose ether industrially produced in large scale. Not only from the viewpoint of scientific understanding, but also from that of the peculiar and application-determining behavior, the aggregation in aqueous solution and phase separation on heating are the most important questions. As a part of the concept, we had prepared amphiphilic block co-oligomers of tri-O-methylated and unmodified cello-oligosaccharides as structural models of typical sequences in methylcellulose chains. Now static and dynamic light scattering measurements and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were carried out using solutions of the oligomers in water. Ellipsoidal particles with dimensions of about 50 nm for the semi-major axis and of circa 25 nm for the semi-minor one could be detected. These findings agree with the radii of gyration and the hydrodynamic radii, determined by static and dynamic light scattering. The data preliminary obtained demonstrate the strong aggregation tendency of block-like methylated cello-oligosaccharides.     

An asymmetric approach to coumarin anticoagulants via hetero-Diels–Alder cycloaddition

We have developed a general, two-step protocol for the synthesis of chiral non-racemic coumarin anticoagulants (e.g. warfarin, coumachlor and acenocoumarol). This approach features a one-pot three-component tandem Knoevenagel–hetero-Diels–Alder reaction between in situ generated 3-arylidene-2,4-chromanediones and iso-propenyl ether derived from (−)-menthol.     

Thermally stable recyclable naphthalenediimide–siloxane polymers

We report here the synthesis and study of naphthalenediimide–siloxane polymers with high thermal stability. Two of the five polymers investigated could be developed into recyclable materials. We use solid-state ²⁹Si NMR to evaluate the degree of cross-linking and polymerisation in our materials.     

Nickel Boride–Mediated Cleavage of 1,3-Dithiolanes: A Convenient Approach to Reductive Desulfurization

1,3-Dithiolanes are rapidly cleaved by nickel boride, generating corresponding hydrocarbons in excellent yields. The hydrogenolysis is rapid at room temperature and does not require protection from the atmosphere. Mild reaction conditions, simple workup, and good yields of pure products are some of the major advantages of the procedure.     

An integrated approach to improve the performance of lean–electrolyte lithium–sulfur batteries

While the sulfur conversion reaction kinetics in Li–S batteries is nowadays improved by the use of appropriate electrocatalysts,it remains a challenge for the batteries to perform well under the lean electrolyte condition where polysulfide shuttle,electrode passivation and the loss of electrolyte due to side reactions,are aggravated.These challenges are addressed in this study by the tandem use of a polysulfide conversion catalyst and a redox–targeting mediator in a gel sulfur cathode.Specifical...     

Synthetic approach to seco-tetracenomycin natural products saccharothrixone A–C

Design and development of first synthetic approach to the functionalized tetracyclic framework of structurally novel seco-tetracenomycin natural products saccharothrixones A–C has been reported. A thermal dehydro Diels-Alder reaction of an arenyne-alkyne unit has been utilized as the key synthetic step. This strategy has been extended for the generation of a small library of diversely functionalized tetracyclic systems of seco-tetracenomycins. An approach for the synthesis of poly-hydroxyl tetracyclic system has also been described. This report represents the first synthetic approach to the tetracenomycin natural products saccharothrixones A–C.     

An approach to calculate solid–liquid phase equilibrium for binary mixtures

An approach is presented to calculate solid–liquid phase equilibrium for binary mixtures, using expressions for the temperature as a function of the molar fraction. For Margules model the expression gives explicitly the temperature, while for other liquid phase activity models an iterative procedure is required to calculate the temperature. The method is very easy to apply and it can be used for mixtures that have peritectic and eutectic points, or just a eutectic point. The approach was applied to five case studies with binary mixtures of fatty acids and triglycerides. The results were in good agreement with experimental data.     

Chiron approach to (−)-deoxocuscohygrine

A facile chiron approach to C₂-symmetrical (?)-deoxocuscohygrine is described by using cross metathesis as the key step.     

Highly accurate and simple analytical approach to nonlinear Poisson–Boltzmann equation

A novel method is suggested to analytically solve a nonlinear Poisson–Boltzmann (NLPB) equation. The method consists chiefly of reducing the NLPB equation to linear PB equation in several segments by approximating a free term of the NLPB equation by piecewise linear functions, and then, solving analytically the linear PB equation in each segment. Superiority of the method is illustrated by applying the method to solve the NLPB equation describing a colloid sphere immersed in an arbitrary valence and mixed electrolyte solution; extensive test indicates that the resulting analytical expressions for both the electrical potential distribution Ψ (r) and surface charge density/surface potential relationship (σ/Ψ ₀) are characterized with two properties that mathematical structures are much simpler than those previously reported and application scope can be arbitrarily wide by adjusting the linear interpolation range. Finally, it is noted that the method is “universal” in that its applications are not limited to the NLPB equation.     

A facile approach toward multicolor polymers：Supramolecular self-assembly via host-guest interaction

A one-step and facile strategy toward the construction of multicolor polymers via supramolecular selfassembly was proposed.Multicolor polymers were simply prepared by the self-assembly of adamantane-labeled fluorescein,adamantane-labeled rhodamine B and β-cyclodextrin polymers via host-guest interaction between β-cyclodextrin and adamantane.Multicolor polymers showed several interesting properties：multiple emission signatures by a single wavelength excitation,easy tunability,intense fluorescence,high photostablility.In addition,the self-assembly approach implied a facile and flexible strategy for constructing functionalized materials,such as multicolor materials for biological labeling and imaging,and sensing materials for the detection of physiological parameters.     

Combinatorial–computational–chemoinformatics (C3) approach to finding and analyzing low-energy tautomers

Finding the most stable tautomer or a set of low-energy tautomers of molecules is critical in many aspects of molecular modelling or virtual screening experiments. Enumeration of low-energy tautomers of neutral molecules in the gas-phase or typical solvents can be performed by applying available organic chemistry knowledge. This kind of enumeration is implemented in a number of software packages and it is relatively reliable. However, in esoteric cases such as charged molecules in uncommon, non-aqueous solvents there is simply not enough available knowledge to make reliable predictions of low energy tautomers. Over the last few years we have been developing an approach to address the latter problem and we successfully applied it to discover the most stable anionic tautomers of nucleic acid bases that might be involved in the process of DNA damage by low-energy electrons and in charge transfer through DNA. The approach involves three steps: (1) combinatorial generation of a library of tautomers, (2) energy-based screening of the library using electronic structure methods, and (3) analysis of the information generated in step (2). In steps 1–3 we employ combinatorial, computational and chemoinformatics techniques, respectively. Therefore, this hybrid approach is named “Combinatorial*Computational*Chemoinformatics”, or just abbreviated as C³ (or C-cube) approach. This article summarizes our developments and most interesting methodological aspects of the C³ approach. It can serve as an example how to identify the most stable tautomers of molecular systems for which common chemical knowledge had not been sufficient to make definite predictions.     

A variational approach to the Dirichlet–Gabor wavelet‐distributed approximating functional

We show that the Dirichlet–Gabor waveletdistributed approximating functional (DAF) can be derived from the same variational principle used to obtain noninterpolating waveletDAFs (such as the Hermite DAF). This variational approach for such interpolating DAFs complements the original viewpoint that they are generated by regularizing interpolating shells or through twoparameter Dirac delta sequences.