Long-range structural order, moiré patterns, and iridescence in latex-stabilized foams

We describe the facile production of highly stable foams stabilized solely by micrometer-sized, sterically stabilized polystyrene (PS) latex particles. Such foams can survive for more than one year in the wet state and remain intact after drying. In contrast, foams stabilized with either sodium dodecyl sulfate or poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) were destroyed after removal of the aqueous phase. Scanning electron microscopy studies reveal hexagonally close-packed arrays of PS particles within the dried foam, which suggests high colloid stability for the PS particles prior to their adsorption at the air-water interface. Localized moiré patterns are observed by optical microscopy due to the formation of well-defined latex bilayers with exquisite long-range order. Moreover, the dried foams are highly iridescent in bright transmitted light, which may offer potential applications in security inks and coatings.     

The metal influence on the structural chemistry of alkynes: synthetic,spectroscopic and structural studies on magnesium acetylides†

A family of magnesium acetylides was prepared by treating Bu₂Mg with two equivalents of various alkyne ligands in the presence of different donors. The resulting complexes were examined for the influence of ligand and donors on the spectroscopic and structural properties of the target compounds. The magnesium complexes are compared to the heavier alkaline earth metal analogs.     

Synthesis,structural chemistry and antimicrobial activity of −(−) borneol derivative

Borneol is a monoterpene that is a part of traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine. (−) borneol reacted with methanesulfonyl chloride in THF/pyridine to afford the new 1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-yl methane sulfonate derivative in excellent yield. The product is characterized by H1NMR, C¹³NMR, mass spectroscopy as well as elemental analysis and its structure was identified by X-ray single crystal diffraction. The packing of 1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-yl methanesulfonate exhibits the non-classical C-H···O hydrogen bonding in C(4) and R² ₂(8) chain and ring motifs as structural determinants. This was also confirmed by the analysis of Hirshfeld surfaces. The 1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-yl methane sulfonate antimicrobial activity was tested and compared with its parent (−) borneol against three different pathogens. Particularly, 1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-yl methane sulfonate showed high sensitivity, compared to Chloramphenicol reference material, against Escherichia coli.      

Novel thermoresponsive block copolymers having different architectures—structural,rheological, thermal,and dielectric investigations

Thermoresponsive block copolymers comprising long, hydrophilic, nonionic poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate) (PMDEGA) blocks and short hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) blocks are investigated in aqueous solution. Various architectures, namely diblock, triblock, and starblock copolymers are studied as well as a PMDEGA homopolymer as reference, over a wide concentration range. For specific characterization methods, polymers were labeled, either by partial deuteration (for neutron scattering studies) or by fluorophores. Using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, critical micellization concentrations are identified and the hydrodynamic radii of the micelles, r _h ^mic , are determined. Using dynamic light scattering, the behavior of r _h ^mic in dependence on temperature and the cloud points are measured. Small-angle neutron scattering enabled the detailed structural investigation of the micelles and their aggregates below and above the cloud point. Viscosity measurements are carried out to determine the activation energies in dependence on the molecular architecture. Differential scanning calorimetry at high polymer concentration reveals the glass transition of the polymers, the fraction of uncrystallized water and effects of the phase transition at the cloud point. Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy shows that the polarization changes reversibly at the cloud point, which reflects the formation of large aggregates upon heating through the cloud point and their redissolution upon cooling.     

Synthetic, structural, and biosynthetic studies of an unusual phospho-glycopeptide derived from α-dystroglycan

Aberrant glycosylation of α-dystroglycan (α-DG) results in loss of interactions with the extracellular matrix and is central to the pathogenesis of several disorders. To examine protein glycosylation of α-DG, a facile synthetic approach has been developed for the preparation of unusual phosphorylated O-mannosyl glycopeptides derived from α-DG by a strategy in which properly protected phospho-mannosides are coupled with a Fmoc protected threonine derivative, followed by the use of the resulting derivatives in automated solid-phase glycopeptide synthesis using hyper-acid-sensitive Sieber amide resin. Synthetic efforts also provided a reduced phospho-trisaccharide, and the NMR data of this derivative confirmed the proper structural assignment of the unusual phospho-glycan structure. The glycopeptides made it possible to explore factors that regulate the elaboration of critical glycans. It was established that a glycopeptide having a 6-phospho-O-mannosyl residue is not an acceptor for action by the enzyme POMGnT1, which attaches β(1,2)-GlcNAc to O-mannosyl moietes, whereas the unphosphorylated derivate was readily extended by the enzyme. This finding implies a specific sequence of events in determining the structural fate of the O-glycan. It has also been found that the activity of POMGnT1 is dependent on the location of the acceptor site in the context of the underlying polypeptide/glycopeptide sequence. Conformational analysis by NMR has shown that the O-mannosyl modification does not exert major conformational effect on the peptide backbone. It is, however, proposed that these residues, introduced at the early stages of glycoprotein glycosylation, have an ability to regulate the loci of subsequent O-GalNAc additions, which do exert conformational effects. The studies show that through access to discrete glycopeptide structures, it is possible to reveal complex regulation of O-glycan processing on α-DG that has significant implications both for its normal post-translational maturation, and the mechanisms of the pathologies associated with hypoglycosylated α-DG.     

Do theories of the glass transition, in which the structural relaxation time does not define the dispersion of the structural relaxation, need revision?

Upon decreasing temperature or increasing pressure, a noncrystallizing liquid will vitrify; that is, the structural relaxation time, taualpha, becomes so long that the system cannot attain an equilibrium configuration in the available time. Theories, including the well-known free volume and configurational entropy models, explain the glass transition by invoking a single quantity that governs the structural relaxation time. The dispersion of the structural relaxation (i.e., the structural relaxation function) is either not addressed or is derived as a parallel consequence (or afterthought) and thus is independent of taualpha. In these models the time dependence of the relaxation bears no fundamental relationship to the value of taualpha or other dynamic properties. Such approaches appear to be incompatible with a general experimental fact recently discovered in glass-formers: for a given material at a fixed value of taualpha, the dispersion is constant, independent of thermodynamic conditions (T and P); that is, the shape of the alpha-relaxation function depends only on the relaxation time. If derived independently of taualpha, it is an unlikely result that the dispersion of the structural relaxation would be uniquely defined by taualpha.     

Nano-titanium oxide doped with gold,silver, and palladium — synthesis and structural characterization

Nano-titania doped with noble metals (Au/TiO₂, Ag/TiO₂, Pd/TiO₂) has been synthesized by mild hydrolysis of the mixture of metal salts or complexes and titanium isopropoxide ((iPr-O)₄Ti). After thermal decomposition of the obtained precursors, nanomaterials were formed. Morphological characterization of the nanomaterials was provided by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and stereological analysis, determining the BET specific surface area, and BJH nanoporosity (pore volume, pore size). It has been found that the structure of nanomaterials (size of nanoparticles and agglomerates) depended strongly on the method of the (iPr-O)₄Ti hydrolysis. A minor dependence on the kind of solvents and precursors of noble metals was observed. The presence of doping metal nanoparticles was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Nanomaterial phases were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD). According to the XRD patterns, Ag/TiO₂ and Pd/TiO₂ products with doping metals in their oxidized form contain Ag-Ti and Pd-Ti phases. Peaks of the metal oxides Ag₂O and PdO are absent in the XRD patterns. The average size of TiO₂ nanoparticles is situated in the region of 20–60 nm, whereas metals are present as about 10–15 nm sized particles and fine nanoparticles.     

Protein–polysaccharide interactions: phase-ordering kinetics,thermodynamic and structural aspects

If the most important parameters affecting protein–polysaccharide interactions are now well documented, recent advances concern the structure-building kinetics, thermodynamics and structure of mixtures. As far as complex coacervation is concerned, experimental tools such as light scattering techniques, confocal and electron microscopy and high-sensitivity or isothermal titration calorimetry have brought insights on the molecular structure of the systems and gave access to thermodynamic parameters. These experimental data, combined with intensive numerical simulations on polyelectrolyte systems, are used to build up various models of protein–polysaccharide interaction taking into account both intrinsic and extrinsic parameters. In the case of thermodynamic incompatibility, probing interfaces of phase-separated systems is bringing some insights on the spatial and temporal behavior of such systems. The recent use of w/w emulsion like approach successfully allowed better control of the morphology of segregative phase-separated systems.     

The α, α-Difluoro reformatsky reagent: Pregeneration and structural determination

The reaction of zinc amalgam with ethyl bromodifluoroacetate in triglyme provides a useful route to a stable α, α-difluoro zinc reagent. ¹⁹F NMR and ¹³C NMR data for this species support the structural assignment of this organometallic derivative as a carbon-metallated compound.     

Glass transition, fragility, and structural features of amorphous nickel–tellurate–vanadate samples

The experimental FTIR spectra and DSC curves of the ternary 40TeO₂–(60?x)V₂O₅–xNiO glasses with 0 ≤ x ≤ 30 (in mol%) have been investigated. The glass transition properties that have been measured and reported in this paper, include the glass transition temperature (T _g), glass transition width (ΔT _g), heat capacity change at glass transition (ΔC _P) and Fragility (F). Thermal stability, fragility, and glass-forming tendency of these glasses have been estimated. Also, Poisson’s ratio (μ) and IR spectra of the presented systems have been investigated, to determine relationship between chemical composition and the thermal stability or to interpret the structure of glass. In addition, Makishima and Makenzie’s theory was applied for determination of Young’s modulus, bulk modulus, and shear modulus, indicating a strong relation between elastic properties and structure of glass. In general, results of this work show that glasses with x = 0 and 30 have the highest shear and young’s modulus which make them as suitable candidate for the manufacture of strong glass fibers in technological applications; but it should be mentioned that glass with x = 30 has higher handling temperature and super resistance against thermal shock.     

Lipase mediated separation of triterpene structural isomers, α- and β-amyrin

Pentacyclic triterpenoids α- and β-amyrin possess a wide range of biological and pharmacological activities. High structural similarity between these two structural isomers makes their chromatographic separation an ineffective and tedious choice. In this study, Candida rugosa lipase catalyzed separation protocol for the isolation of individual isomers has been developed. In the presence of vinyl acetate as the acyl donor, Candida rugosa lipase carried out acetylation of β-amyrin more efficiently as compared to α-amyrin leading to a kinetic separation. The conditions of transesterification reaction were optimized systematically, which was utilized to separate α- and β-amyrin from a mixture obtained from the latex of Plumeria obtusa.     

Periodic DFT study of structural,electronic, absorption,and thermodynamic properties of crystalline α-RDX under hydrostatic compression

Periodic density functional theory calculations have been performed to study the structural, electronic, absorption, and thermodynamic properties of crystalline α-RDX under hydrostatic compression of 0–50 GPa. As the pressure increases, its lattice parameters, bond lengths, bonds angels, torsion angles, cell volumes, and band structure crystal change regularly except at the pressure of 13 GPa, where a structural transformation occurs. The remarkable changes in the bond lengths and bond angles indicate that there are several possible initiation decomposition mechanisms of RDX under compression. An analysis of density of states shows that the interactions between electrons, especially for the valence electrons, are strengthened under the influence of pressure. The absorption spectra show that the structural transformation makes the absorption coefficient of C–H stretching increase significantly. An analysis of thermodynamic properties indicates that the structural transformation is endothermic and not spontaneous at room temperature. The increasing temperature is not favorable for the structural transformation.     

Group 14 structural variations: perhalo derivatives of the “dimetallenes”: dicarbenes, disilenes, digermenes, distannenes, and diplumbenes

Trends in the structural variations of all perhalo derivatives of dicarbenes and their Group 14 analogues have been studied. This included all M₂X₄ molecules, where M = C, Si, Ge, Sn, or Pb, and X = F, Cl, Br, or I. Mapping the potential energy surface of all molecules has uncovered several isomers. The stability of these isomers depends on both the Group 14 atoms and the halogen ligands. Several isomers were found stable; the ones that are global minima include (with their symmetries and an example in parenthesis): the typical ethene structure X₂M=MX₂ (D _2h, F₂C=CF₂), an X₃M–MX structure (C _S, F₃Si–SiF, a trifluorosilyl–silylene), another X₃M–MX structure (C ₁, Cl₃Si–SiCl), one more X₃M–MX structure with a single halogen bridge (C ₁, I₂Si–μI–SiI), a trans double halogen bridged structure (D _2h, FSn–μF₂–SnF), and another trans double-bridged structure with puckered ring (C _S, IPb–μI₂–PbI). Some of the other structures that are stable but are not the global minima include: a trans-bent structure X₂M–MX₂ (C _2h, all X₂Si–SiX₂), cis double-bridged structure (C _2v with planar ring, FPb–μF₂–PbF, or with puckered ring, C _2v, IGe–μI₂–GeI), and even a square bipyramidal structure (D _4h, Sn–μF₄–Sn). The energy differences between some of the structures are small and the application of another computational method and using a different basis set might alter their relative stabilities. Reasons for the difference in the stabilities of isomers have been discussed.     

Interaction of ferrocenoyl-dipeptides with 3-aminopyrazole derivatives: beta-sheet models? A synthetic, spectroscopic, structural, and electrochemical study

The use of 3-aminopyrazole derivatives as beta-sheet templates is investigated using a series of ferrocenoyl (Fc)-dipeptides (Fc-Gly(2)-OEt, Fc-Ala(2)-OBzl, Fc-Leu-Phe-OMe, Fc-Val-Phe-OMe, Fc-Phe(2)-OMe, Fc-Leu(2)-OMe, Fc-Val(2)-OMe). The synthesis and full characterization are reported. The solid-state structures of Fc-Gly(2)-OMe and Fc-Leu-Phe-OMe show extensive hydrogen bonding of the podand peptide substituents, resulting in the formation of supramolecular Fc-dipeptide assemblies. For Fc-Gly(2)-OMe, this can be described as a parallel beta-sheet, whereas intermolecular interactions in Fc-Leu-Phe-OMe result in the formation of supramolecular helical structures. The saturation titrations of Fc-dipeptides with 3-amino-5-methylpyrazole (3-AMP) and 3-trifluoroacetylamido-5-methylpyrazole (3-TFAc-AMP) show a 1:1 interaction of the Fc-peptide with the aminopyrazole derivatives. IR measurements in solution confirm binding to the top face of the Fc-dipeptide and the involvement of the Fc-C=O and the ester C=O groups in establishing H-bonding interactions with the 3-TFAc-AMP. However, binding constants in chloroform are low and range from 8 to 27 M(-1), which correspond to binding energies of 5-7 kJ mol(-1). In higher polarity solvents, such as acetonitrile or acetone, the binding constants are below 5 M(-1), emphasizing the limited utility of 3-AMP derivatives as beta-sheet templates. Electrochemical measurements confirm the weak interactions between the various Fc-dipeptides and 3-TFAc-AMP. Typical shifts in the redox potential of the Fc moiety are in the range 0-20 mV. Attempts to modify 3-AMP at the 3-position by carbodiimide coupling with amino acid derivatives and, thus, enhance the binding to the Fc-peptides resulted in 2-amino acid substituted 3-AMP derivatives. Substitution at the 2-position blocks the binding site, and no interactions with Fc-dipeptides are observed.     

Synthesis and structural study of α-amino- and α,ω-diamino oligoamides-11

α-Amino (MAO) and α,ω-diamino (DAO) oligoamides were prepared using dodecylamine or 1,6 diaminohexane as a chain limitator. These were characterized by GPC, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR; molecular models: N-dodecyldodecanamide and 1,6 bis dodecylaminohexane; trifluoroacetylation was used to dissolve the oligoamides. DAO prepared in the melt contains two types of chains, depending on the position of the limitator. When oligomers were prepared in solution using the Yamazaki method, the presence of residual phosphorus derivatives in the oligoamides could not be avoided.     

Synthesis,spectroscopic, and structural characterization of two malate zinc coordination polymers with imidazole or 2,2′-bipyridine

Zinc(II) coordination polymers, [Zn(Hmal)(im)(H₂O)] _n · 2nH₂O (1) and [Zn(Hmal)(bpy)] _n · 3nH₂O (2) (H₃mal = malic acid, im = imidazole, bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine), were synthesized from aqueous solution and characterized by elemental analyses, infrared and fluorescence spectra, thermogravimetric analyses, and single-crystal X-ray structural analyses. In 1, zinc is coordinated by imidazole, water, and tridentate malate in octahedral geometry. The β-carboxy group of malate further bridges with the other zinc forming 1-D polymeric chains. A pair of 1-D chains self-assemble to generate a double chain by strong hydrogen bonds between imidazole and malate. Furthermore, neighboring pairs of double chains are extended to form the final 3-D framework through intermolecular hydrogen bonds. In 2, the malates link Zn in a bidentate–monodentate fashion to form spiral-shaped chains that extend into a 3-D supramolecular structure by π–π stacking interactions and intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Complex 1 exhibits strong fluorescence at room temperature.     

A three-dimensional Ag coordination polymer constructed via η Ag-C bonds: Thermal, fluorescence, structural and solution studies

A 3D polymer built with the assistance of η² Ag-C bonds, [Ag₂(μ₈-SB)] (1) [H₂SB = 4-[(4-hydroxyphenyl)sulfonyl]-1-benzenol], has been synthesized and characterized and its structure was determined by X-ray crystallography. In addition to the coordination to the O atoms of SB²⁻ the Ag atoms also form strong η² Ag-C bonds, resulting in the formation of an AgO₂C₂ environment. The thermal stabilities of 1 and of its thallium(I) analogue, [Tl₄(μ₈-SB)₂] (2), were studied by thermal gravimetric (TG) and differential thermal analyses (DTA). The ligand and compounds 1-2 are luminescent in the solution state, with emission maxima at 380, 353 and 468 nm, respectively. The results of studies of the stoichiometry and formation of complexes of 1 and 2 in acetonitrile and DMF solutions were found to be in support of their solid state stoichiometry.     

Inclusion complexes of α-cyclodextrins with poly(d,l-lactic acid): structural,characterization, and glass transition dynamics

Poly (d,l-lactic acid) (PDLLA) was combined with α-CD to form inclusion complexes (ICs) with distinct PDLLA fractions. The structural changes resulting from this coalescence process were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The presence of both components in the ICs was confirmed by FTIR. The encapsulated PDLLA fraction was quantified by ¹H NMR. XRD data evidenced that it was possible to transform the amorphous PDLLA into a well-organized channel-type crystalline structure. DSC showed that the glass transition temperature of the PDLLA fraction in the ICs was higher than in the pure polymer, indicating that the ultra-confinement effect imposed by the ICs organization clearly limits PDLLA molecular dynamics. The confinement effect on the glass transition dynamics was investigated by unconventional dynamic mechanical analysis experiments, which confirmed that ICs segmental mobility is highly restricted when compared with the one of pure PDLLA. Bulk PDLLA presents a typical VFTH behavior while the ICs dynamics shows an Arrhenius trend.