Nonsteady-state kinetics for anionic polymerization of polar monomer initiated instantaneously by electron transfer

With the help of the nonsteady-state method, the kinetic differential equations for the anionic polymerization of polar monomer initiated instantaneously by electron transfer with monomer termination are treated rigorously. The expressions for the molecular weight distribution, the number-average and weight-average degrees of polymerization, and the functionality distribution are derived in closed form. A theoretical means is established by which all the molecular parameters of the polymer can be calculated from polymerization conditions, such as the reaction constants, the concentrations of initiator and monomer, and the monomer conversion.     

Study of the dissociation of a charge-reduced phosphopeptide formed by electron transfer from an alkali metal target

Doubly protonated phosphopeptide (YGGMHRQET(p)VDC) ions obtained by electrospray ionization were collided with Xe and Cs targets to give singly and doubly charged positive ions via collision-induced dissociation (CID). The resulting ions were analyzed and detected by using an electrostatic analyzer (ESA). Whereas doubly charged fragment ions resulting from collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) were dominant in the CID spectrum with the Xe target, singly charged fragment ions resulting from electron transfer dissociation (ETD) were dominant in the CID spectrum with the Cs target. The most intense peak resulting from ETD was estimated to be associated with the charge-reduced ion with H2 lost from the precursor. Five c-type fragment ions with amino acid residues detached consecutively from the C-terminal were clearly observed without a loss of the phosphate group. These ions must be formed by N--Calpha bond cleavage, in a manner similar to the cases of electron capture dissociation (ECD) and ETD from negative ions. Although the accuracy in m/z of the CID spectra was about +/-1 Th because of the mass analysis using the ESA, it is supposed from the m/z values of the c-type ions that these ions were accompanied by the loss of a hydrogen atom. Four z-type (or y--NH3, or y--H2O) ions analogously detached consecutively from the N-terminal were also observed. The fragmentation processes took place within the time scale of 4.5 micros in the high-energy collision. The present results demonstrated that high-energy ETD with the alkali metal target allowed determination of the position of phosphorylation and the amino acid sequence of post-translational peptides.     

Photodesulfonylation of indoles initiated by electron transfer from triethylamine

N-Sulfonyl indoles can be easily deprotected by a photoinduced electron transfer reaction with triethylamine. By using an equivalent amount of n-Bu₃SnH in the photolysis medium, it is possible to suppress the competitive photo-Fries like rearrangement by scavenging the phenylsulfonyl radical.     

Substituent effect in anionic polymerization of β-lactones initiated by alkali metal alkoxides

The influence of methyl substituent on the mechanism of the ring-opening polymerization of β-lactones initiated by alkali metal alkoxides is discussed. Attention has been paid to the effect of the substituent position in the monomer molecule on the ring-opening mechanism, the 3,3-dimethyl-2-oxetanone (pivalolactone), 4-methyl-2-oxetanone (β-butyrolactone) and 2-oxetanone (β-propiolactone) being chosen as model monomers. Moreover, it was found unexpectedly that in the case of pivalolactone polymerization, besides open-chain polymers, cyclic oligomers are produced.     

Anionic polymerization and oligomerization of 4-vinyl pyridine by alkali metal methoxides

The anionic polymerization and oligomerization of 4-vinyl pyridine by methanolic alkali metal methoxides in DMSO was studied. The molecular weights increased with increasing monomer concentration and decreased with increasing methanol concentration. This fact was utilized in the preparation of oligomers. Evidence is given that initiation is an acid-base reaction. Methanol leads not only to transfer but participates in solvation of the methoxide and growing carbanions affecting the rate of reaction. The rate of reaction decreases with increasing methanol concentration.     

Host-guest hydrogen atom transfer induced by electron capture

1,n-Alkanediammonium cations in noncovalent complexes with two dibenzo-18-crown-6-ether (DBCE) ligands undergo an unusual intramolecular tandem hydrogen atom and proton transfer to the crown ether ligand upon charge reduction by electron capture. Deuterium labeling established that both migrating hydrogens originated from the ammonium groups. The double hydrogen transfer was found to depend on the length of the alkane chain connecting the ammonium groups. Ab initio calculations provided structures for select alkanediammonium·dibenzo-18-crown-6-ether complexes and dissociation products. This first observation of an intra-complex hydrogen transfer is explained by the unusual electronic properties of the complexes and the substantial hydrogen atom affinity of the aromatic rings in the crown ligand.     

Pseudopotential investigation of some alkali metal molecules

The effect of electron correlation on the results of pseudopotential calculations was examined using a simple analytical semiempirical pseudopotential and a correlated floating-type one-center wave function. Investigations were performed for the XH alkali metal hydride molecules (X ? Na, K, Rb, Cs). The inclusion of the electron correlation in the ground state proved important for the calculation of the dissociation and ionization energies, but it is less significant for the determination of the equilibrium nuclear distances. The ground state potential energy curves are also determined.     

Linear and cyclic tetrathiafulvalene-naphthalenediimide donor-acceptor molecules: metal ions-promoted electron transfer

Three linear and one cyclic tetrathiafulvalene-1,4,5,8-naphthalenediimide (TTF-NDI) compounds 1, 2, 3, and 4 were synthesized and studied in the presence of metal ions. Both absorption and electron spin resonance spectroscopic studies clearly indicate that electron transfer occurs from TTF to the NDI unit in the presence of metal ions (Pb(2+) and Sc(3+)) for linear compounds 1 and 2. The mechanism based on the metal ion coordination is proposed for the electron transfer within 1 and 2 after the addition of metal ions. Compound 3 exhibits intramolecular charge-transfer absorption because of the cyclophane framework. Interestingly, intramolecular electron transfer also takes place for 3 after the addition of either Sc(3+) or Pb(2+).     

Grafting acrylic polymers from flat nickel and copper surfaces by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization

Acrylic polymers, including poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate), poly( N,N'-dimethyaminoethyl methacrylate), and poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) were grafted from flat nickel and copper surfaces through surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). For the nickel system, there was a linear relationship between polymer layer thickness and monomer conversion or molecular weight of "free" polymers. The thickness of the polymer brush films was greater than 80 nm after 6 h of reaction time. The grafting density was estimated to be 0.40 chains/nm2. The "living" chain ends of grafted polymers were still active and initiated the growth of a second block of polymer. Block copolymer brushes with different block sequences were successfully prepared. The experimental surface chemical compositions as measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy agreed very well with their theoretical values. Water contact angle measurements further confirmed the successful grafting of polymers from nickel and copper surfaces. The surface morphologies of all samples were studied by atomic force microscopy. This study provided a novel approach to prepare stable functional polymer coatings on reactive metal surfaces.     

Structural changes of polyacids initiated by their neutralization with various alkali metal hydroxides. Diffusion studies in poly(acrylic acid)s

The changes in the three-dimensional structure of the poly(acrylic acid), PAA, induced by incorporation of various alkali-metal counterions have been evaluated by studying diffusion of an uncharged probe (1,1'-ferrocenedimethanol) in the polymeric media. The studies are supported by the measurements of conductivity and viscosity of the polymeric media. Solutions of linear PAA of four different sizes (molecular weights: 450,000, 750,000, 1,250,000, 4,000,000) were neutralized with hydroxides of alkali metals of group 1 of the periodic table (Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs) to the desired neutralization degree. The transport properties of the obtained polyacrylates were monitored by measuring the changes in the probe diffusion coefficient during the titration of the polyacids. The probe diffusivity was determined from the steady-state current of the probe voltammetric oxidation at disk microelectrodes. Diffusivity of the probe increases with the increase in the degree of neutralization and with the increase in viscosity. It reaches the maximum value at about 60-80% of the polyacid neutralization. The way the probe diffusion coefficients change is similar in all polyacid solutions and gels. The increase in the size of a metal cation causes, in general, an enhancement in the transport of probe molecules. The biggest differences in the probe diffusivities are between lithium and cesium polyacrylates. The differences between the results obtained for cesium and rubidium are not statistically significant due to lack of good precision of the voltammetric measurements. The measurements of the electric conductivity of polyacrylates and the theoretical predictions supplemented the picture of electrostatic interactions between the polyanionic chains and the metal cations of increasing size. In all instances of the PAAs, the viscosity of the solutions rapidly increases in the 0-60% range of neutralization and then becomes constant in the 60-100% region. With the exception of the shortest chain polyacid, the formation of a rigid medium (gel) has been observed in the experiments with all cations. After the end point of the titration was passed, a sudden drop in the viscosity and the disappearance of the gelatinous structure were seen. The largest value of viscosity has been recorded for the longest chain polyacid. The change in the cation of the strong base used did not affect the viscosity of the polymeric system.     

Reductive carboxylation of aromatic esters by electron transfer from magnesium metal

Magnesium-promoted reductive carboxylation of ethyl benzoate in the presence of chlorotrimethylsilane in N,N-dimethylformamide brought about a new carbon-carbon bond formation between the carbonyl carbon atom and carbon dioxide to give the corresponding benzoylformic acid in good yield. It is noteworthy that only ethyl benzoates with substituents at the meta-position were converted into benzoylformic acid derivatives. Moreover, no mandelic acid was detected even under the reductive conditions. This result indicates that benzoylformic acid was obtained after hydrolysis of a carboxylated intermediate, which would be alive as a stabilized structure in the reaction media.     

Kinetics of surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization

Although atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is often a controlled/living process, the growth rate of polymer films during surface‐initiated ATRP frequently decreases with time. This article investigates the mechanism behind the termination of film growth. Studies of methyl methacrylate and methyl acrylate polymerization with a Cu/tris[2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl]amine catalyst system show a constant but slow growth rate at low catalyst concentrations and rapid growth followed by early termination at higher catalyst concentrations. For a given polymerization time, there is, therefore, an optimum intermediate catalyst concentration for achieving maximum film thickness. Simulations of polymerization that consider activation, deactivation, and termination show trends similar to those of the experimental data, and the addition of Cu(II) to polymerization solutions results in a more constant rate of film growth by decreasing the concentration of radicals on the surface. Taken together, these studies suggest that at high concentrations of radicals, termination of polymerization by radical recombination limits film growth. Interestingly, stirring of polymerization solutions decreases film thickness in some cases, presumably because chain motion facilitates radical recombination. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 386–394, 2003     

Direct and mediated electron transfer catalyzed by anionic tobacco peroxidase

The properties of anionic tobacco peroxidase (TOP) adsorbed on graphite electrode have been studied in direct and mediated electron transfer in a wall-jet flow injection system. The percentage of tobacco peroxidase molecules active in directelectron transfer is about 83%, which is higher than that for horeradish peroxidase (40–50%). This observation is explained in terms of the lower degree of glycosylation of TOP compared with horseradish peroxidase and, therefore, a reduced in terference from the oligosaccharide chains with direct electron transfer. Calcium ions cause an 11% drop in the reaction rate constant toward hydrogen peroxide. The detection limit of calcium chloride has been estimated as 5 m M. The results obtained by means of bioeletrochemistry, stopped-flow kinetics, and structural modeling provide evidence for the interaction between calcium cations and negatively charged residues at the distal domain (Glu-141, heme propionates, Asp-79, Asp-80) blocking the activesite. The observation that both soluble and immobilized enzyme under go conformational changes resulting in the blockade of the active site indicates that the immobilized enzyme preserves conformational flexibility. An even stronger suppressing effect of calcium ions on the rate constant for mediated electron transfer was observed. In the case of direct electron transfer, this couldmean that there is nodirect contact between the electrode and the active site of TOP. The electrons are shuttled from the active site to the surface of the electrode through electron transfer pathways in the protein globule that are sensitive to protein conformational changes.     

Direct observation of an intermediate state for a surface photochemical reaction initiated by hot electron transfer

The photoinduced charge transfer that had been suggested to result in the dissociation of phenol on Ag(111) was investigated by two-photon photoemission spectroscopy. An unoccupied intermediate state was positively identified, which was found to be located 3.22 eV above the Fermi level. From the photoelectron energy dispersion, the effective mass of the intermediate state was determined to be (15 +/- 10)m(e) for a 1 ML coverage of phenol. This implies that the excited electron is localized mainly on the adsorbed phenol, forming a molecular resonance state. Polarization dependence of the photoelectron intensity suggested that the initial photoexcitation of the substrate produces hot electrons that scatter into the molecular resonance state, leading ultimately to the dissociation of the adsorbate. These results are the first two-photon photoemission study to characterize the transient anionic state involved in photodissociation of a molecule adsorbed on a metal surface.     

Intermolecular and intramolecular electron transfer from eosin ester to viologen

The covalently -(CH2)10- linked eosin-butylviologen compound has been synthesized. The photoinduced electron transfer of eosin ester and butylviologen as well as the influence of addition of cyclodextrin or amylose into the solution of linked compound on the system have been studied by the absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra and fluorescence lifetime. The results indicated that the intramolecular electron transfer is much more efficient than the intermolecular one. Due to the formation of inclusion complex, the process of intramolecular electron transfer was changed after adding cydodextrin or amylose.     

Small gold clusters catalyzing oxidant-free dehydrogenation of glycerol initiated by methene hydrogen atom transfer

We report a finding of feasible oxidant-free dehydrogenation of glycerol over small Au clusters, with a low-energy barrier of transition state initiated by hydrogen atom transfer from methene, which differs from the general reaction mechanism based on hydroxyl.