p‐Nitro­phenyl isocyanide

Achiral p‐nitro­phenyl isocyanide, C₇H₄N₂O₂, crystallizes in the orthorhombic chiral space group P2₁2₁2₁. Attractive intermolecular interactions between the nitro O atoms and both aromatic H and nitro N atoms of neighbouring mol­ecules are observed. The O⋯N interaction is surprisingly strong [N⋯O = 2.869 (2) Å] compared with other aromatic nitro compounds.     

Potassium p‐nitro­phenyl sulfate

The crystal structure of the title compound, K⁺·C₆H₄NO₆S⁻, is built up from p‐nitro­phenyl sulfate anions and potassium cations. Adjacent anions form dimers, which are linked together in a three‐dimensional network via short C—H⋯O contacts. The coordination sphere of the K⁺ ions may be described as a distorted square antiprism. The crystal structure is further stabilized by π–π stacking interactions between the aryl rings.     

Fluorescence study on a liquid‐crystalline polyester containing naphthoate mesogen units

Using fluorescence spectroscopy, we investigated intermolecular interaction between mesogenic units in a thermotropic main‐chain LC polyester, P(HBA73/HNA27), containing oxybenzoate (HBA) and oxynaphthoate (HNA) mesogenic units. It is known that P(HBA73/HNA27), which has a high molecular weight, shows second harmonic generation (SHG) activity. P(HBA73/HNA27) showed fluorescence at 410 nm and 430 nm, originating from two kinds of intermolecular interaction. Fluorescence with a peak at 410 nm comes from the ground‐state complex between partially overlapping naphthoate units or between naphthoate and oxybenzoate units whose interaction is weak. Fluorescence at 430 nm comes from the ground‐state complex between fully overlapping naphthoate units whose interaction is strong. The relative fluorescence intensity for 430 nm compared to 410 nm increases with increases in inherent viscosity, η_inh, of P(HBA73/HNA27), the composition ratio of HNA/HBA, and temperature. The fluorescence intensity ratio, I₄₃₀/I₄₁₀, of P(HBA73/HNA27) shows the same inherent‐viscosity dependence with its sudden increase at η_inh = 1.4 ∽ 2.2 dL/g as its SHG activity does, supporting the polar structure and uniformity of LC orientation of the present LC polyester. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 2922–2928, 2000     

p‐Decyl­phenyl isocyanide and p‐decyl­benzo­nitrile: isomorphous iso­nitrile/nitrile isomers

p‐Decyl­phenyl isocyanide, p‐C₁₀H₂₁–C₆H₄–NC or C₁₇H₂₅N, and p‐decyl­benzo­nitrile, p‐C₁₀H₂₁–C₆H₄–CN or C₁₇H₂₅N, are isomorphous. The mol­ecules lie in mirror planes, with the C₆ rings perpendicular to the mirror. The packing of both mol­ecules includes an aliphatic region, with close to ideal packing of the C₁₀H₂₁ chains, and an aromatic region, with phenyl ring–CN interactions. In addition, the CN ends of the mol­ecules are also involved in a CN⋯NC dipolar interaction.     

Photocurable and thermally stable polymers based on 1,4‐pentadien‐3‐one‐1‐p‐hydroxyphenyl‐5‐p‐phenyl methacrylate: Copolymerization with ethyl acrylate

1,4‐Pentadien‐3‐one‐1,5‐bis(p‐hydroxyphenyl) (PBHP) was prepared by reacting p‐hydroxybenzaldehyde and acetone in the presence of an acid catalyst. 1,4‐Pentadiene‐3‐one‐1‐p‐hydroxyphenyl‐5‐p‐phenyl methacrylate (PHPPMA) monomer was prepared by reacting PBHP dissolved in ethyl methyl ketone (EMK) with methacryloyl chloride in the presence of triethylamine. A free‐radical solution polymerization technique was used for synthesizing homo‐ and copolymers of different feed compositions of PHPPMA and ethyl acrylate (EA) in EMK as a solvent with benzoyl peroxide as a free‐radical initiator at 70 ± 1 °C. All the polymers were characterized with IR and ¹H NMR techniques. The compositions of the copolymers were determined with the ¹H NMR technique. The copolymer reactivity ratios were evolved with Kelen–Tudos (EA = 1.25 and PHPPMA = 0.09) and extended Kelen–Tudos (EA = 1.30 and PHPPMA = 0.09) methods. Q (0.48) and e (1.68) values for the new monomer (PHPPMA) were calculated with the Alfrey–Price method. UV absorption spectra for poly(PHPPMA) showed two absorption bands at 302 and 315 nm. The photocrosslinking properties of the polymer samples were examined with the solvent method. Thermal analyses of the polymers were performed with the thermogravimetric‐differential thermogravimetric technique. First, the decomposition temperatures started for poly(PHPPMA), copoly(EA‐PHPPMA) (62:38), and copoly(EA‐PHPPMA) (41:59) were at 350, 410, and 417 °C, respectively. A gel permeation chromatographic method was used for determining the polymer molecular weights (weight‐average molecular weight: 2.67 × 10⁴ and number‐average molecular weight: 1.41 × 10⁴) and polydispersity index (1.89). The solubility of the monomer and the copolymers occurred at 30 °C with solvents having different polarities. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1632–1640, 2003     

A ter­phenyl halide series: 2,6‐Trip2­H3C6X (Trip = 2,4,6‐triiso­propyl­phenyl; X = Cl,Br, I)

The sterically encumbered ter­phenyl halides 2′‐chloro‐2,2′′,4,4′′,6,6′′‐hexaisopropyl‐1,1′:3′,1′′‐terphenyl, C₃₆H₄₉Cl, (I), 2′‐bromo‐2,2′′,4,4′′,6,6′′‐hexaisopropyl‐1,1′:3′,1′′‐terphenyl, C₃₆H₄₉Br, (II), and 2′‐iodo‐2,2′′,4,4′′,6,6′′‐hexaisopropyl‐1,1′:3′,1′′‐terphenyl, C₃₆H₄₉I, (III), crystallize in space group Pnma. They are isomorphous and isostructural with a plane of symmetry through the centre of the mol­ecule. The C–halide bond distances are 1.745 (3), 1.910 (4) and 2.102 (6) Å for (I)–(III), respectively.     

Ferroelectric switching in a novel bent-shaped mesogen having two non-mesogenic units linked by an alkylene spacer

We report the synthesis, X-ray diffraction results and electro-optical switching measurements for a bent-shaped mesogen having two non-mesogenic units linked by an alkylene spacer. The novelty of the molecular structure lies in the carbonyl group of the ester linkage being directly attached to the spacer unit, unlike for banana-shaped molecules reported so far, in which it is one oxygen atom away from the spacer or the central aromatic unit. The compound shows two mesophases: the high temperature mesophase is a tilted smectic phase showing ferroelectric switching characteristics; the low temperature phase is more highly ordered with textural features similar to that of the B₃ banana phase.     

Ferroelectric switching in a novel bent-shaped mesogen having two non-mesogenic units linked by an alkylene spacer

We report the synthesis, X-ray diffraction results and electro-optical switching measurements for a bent-shaped mesogen having two non-mesogenic units linked by an alkylene spacer. The novelty of the molecular structure lies in the carbonyl group of the ester linkage being directly attached to the spacer unit, unlike for banana-shaped molecules reported so far, in which it is one oxygen atom away from the spacer or the central aromatic unit. The compound shows two mesophases: the high temperature mesophase is a tilted smectic phase showing ferroelectric switching characteristics; the low temperature phase is more highly ordered with textural features similar to that of the B₃ banana phase.     

p‐Chloro‐, p‐bromo‐ and two polymorphs of p‐iodo­aceto­phenone

The title p‐haloaceto­phenones, C₈H₇XO (X = Cl, Br and I), have different packing modes. The chloro compound contains H⋯O and H⋯Cl contacts, but no Cl⋯O contacts. The bromo compound and one polymorph (A) of the iodo compound are isomorphous, with significant X⋯O contacts [Br⋯O = 3.320 (4) Å and I⋯O = 3.374 (5) Å]. In the other polymorph (B) of the iodo compound, the I⋯O distance is 3.082 (4) Å. Both polymorphs contain C—H⋯π contacts; these contacts are shorter in A than in B.     

o‐Carborane‐based Biphenyl and p‐Terphenyl Derivatives

The synthesis and properties of biphenyl‐ and p‐terphenyl‐fused o‐carboranes are described. Aryl rings in the biphenyl and p‐terphenyl skeletons are highly coplanar because of the presence of the o‐carborane unit. o‐Carborane exhibits an electron‐withdrawing character via the inductive effect, resulting in a decrease in both the HOMO and LUMO levels of oligophenyls without causing electronic perturbation.     

4‐Methyl‐N‐[2‐(p‐tolylsulfanyl)phenyl]benzene­sulfonamide

The title compound, C₂₀H₁₉NO₂S₂, is formed by a palladium–copper‐catalyzed reaction between 4‐methyl‐N‐[2‐(prop‐2‐ynyl­sul­fanyl)­phenyl]­benzene­sul­fon­amide and p‐iodo­toluene. The mol­ecules contain three essentially planar parts, namely an amino­thio­phenol moiety (A), a toluene­sulfone moiety excluding the oxo ligands (B) and a tolyl group (C), approximately orthogonal to each other; the dihedral angles A/B, A/C and B/C are 111.6 (1), 89.3 (1) and 101.4 (1)°, respectively. Intermolecular N—H?O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into infinite one‐dimensional chains.     

Side‐chain liquid‐crystalline polymers based on flexible rod‐like mesogen directly attached to backbone

In this article, we report the synthesis and characterization of a new end‐on side‐chain liquid crystalline polymer (SCLCP), poly[4‐(4′‐alkoxyphenyloxymethylene)styrene] [denoted as Poly(n‐POMS), where n is the carbon number of the alkyl tail, n = 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16], with the flexible rod‐like mesogenic side‐chain directly attached to the polymer backbone without flexible spacer. The polymer was obtained by using free radical polymerization. The chemical structures of Poly(n‐POMS) and the corresponding monomer were characterized using various techniques with satisfactory analysis data. A combination analysis of differential scanning calorimetry, polarized light microscopy, small angle X‐ray scattering, and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction has been conducted to investigate the phase behavior of Poly(n‐POMS). Poly(2‐POMS), Poly(4‐POMS), and Poly(6‐POMS) are amorphous. Poly(8‐POMS) develops partially into the liquid crystal phase, and Poly(12‐POMS) and Poly(16‐POMS) self‐assembly into the smectic A (SmA) phase. Upon increasing temperature, the phase transition of Poly(16‐POMS) follows the sequence of SmA1 ? SmA2 ? isotropic (I), which may be attributed to the conformation isomerization of the flexible rod‐like mesogens. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

A p‐Quinodimethane‐Bridged Porphyrin Dimer

A p‐quinodimethane (p‐QDM)‐bridged porphyrin dimer 1 has been prepared for the first time. An unexpected Michael addition reaction took place when we attempted to synthesize compound 1 by reaction of the cross‐conjugated keto‐linked porphyrin dimers 8 a and 8 b with alkynyl/aryl Grignard reagents. Alternatively, compound 1 could be successfully prepared by intramolecular Friedel–Crafts alkylation of the diol‐linked porphyrin dimer 14 with concomitant oxidation in air. Compound 1 shows intense one‐photon absorption (OPA, λ_max=955 nm, ε=45400 M ^?1 cm^?1) and a large two‐photon absorption (TPA) cross‐section (σ⁽²⁾_max=2080 GM at 1800 nm) in the near‐infrared (NIR) region due to its extended π‐conjugation and quinoidal character. It also exhibits a short singlet excited‐state lifetime of 25 ps. The cyclic voltammogram of 1 displays multiple redox waves with a small electrochemical energy gap of 0.86 eV. The ground‐state geometry, electronic structure, and optical properties of 1 have been further studied by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and compared with those of the keto‐linked dimer 8 b . This research has revealed that incorporation of a p‐QDM unit into the porphyrin framework had a significant impact on its optical and electronic properties, leading to a novel NIR OPA and TPA chromophore.     

A ferrocene‐containing porous organic polymer linked by tetrahedral silicon‐centered units for gas sorption

A novel ferrocene‐containing porous organic polymer (FPOP) has been prepared by Sonogashira‐Hagihara coupling reaction of 1,1′‐dibromoferrocene and tetrakis(4‐ethynylphenyl)silane. Compared with other polymers, the resulting polymer possesses excellent thermal stability with the decomposition temperature of 415°C and high porosity with Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area of 542 m² g^?1 as measured by nitrogen adsorption‐desoprtion isotherm at 77 K. For applications, it shows moderate carbon dioxide uptakes of up to 1.42 mmol g^?1 (6.26 wt%) at 273 K/1.0 bar and 0.82 mmol g^?1 (3.62 wt%) at 298 K/1.0 bar, and hydrogen capacity of up to 0.45 mmol g^?1 (0.91 wt%) at 77 K/1.0 bar, indicating that FPOP might be utilized as a promising candidate for storing carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Although FPOP possesses lower porosity than many porous polymers, the gas capacities are higher or comparable to them, thereby revealing that the incorporation of ferrocene units into the network is an effective strategy to enhance the affinity between the framework and gas.     

Theoretical studies on triaryamine‐based p‐type D‐D‐π‐A sensitizer

Development of triaryamine‐based nonmetallic dye sensitizers is a hot topic in the solar cell research. A series of triaryamine‐based dyes WS1 – WS7 were designed with W1 as the prototype. Density functional theory (DFT) and time‐dependent‐DFT calculations were used to investigate the effects of the attached donor D on the absorption spectra and electronic properties of the dyes. The light‐harvesting efficiency (LHE), hole injection force (ΔG_inj), dye regeneration force (ΔG_reg), and charge recombination force (ΔG_CR) for all the dyes were predicted. The insertion of D not only results in a red shift in the absorption spectra for all dyes but also achieves a broader absorption for visible light. Compared with that of the prototype, the absorption peak of the dye WS7 has a red shift of 95 nm and an oscillator strength increase of 29%. The absorption peak of WS7 is wider and stronger, and the absorption range extends to 900 nm. The LHE and ΔG_reg values of WS7 are 0.991 and ?1.49 eV, respectively. On overall evaluation, WS7 is a promising candidate of a p‐type dye sensitizer with good light absorption and dye regeneration efficiency.     

Synthesis and characterization of polyurethane–urea nanoparticles containing methylenedi‐p‐phenyl diisocyanate and isophorone diisocyanate

Water‐based polyurethane–urea (WPUU) nanoparticles containing 4,4′‐methylenedi‐p‐phenyl diisocyanate (MDI) and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) were synthesized by a stepwise prepolymer mixing process, that is, the consecutive formation of hydroxyl‐terminated and isocyanate‐terminated polyurethane prepolymers. The reaction behavior, chemical structure, and consequent morphology of the polyurethane prepolymers and WPUU were investigated with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), gel permeation chromatography, and NMR techniques with MDI concentrations ranging from 0 (pure IPDI) to 50% with respect to the total moles of isocyanate. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry patterns showed that the crystallinity of WPUU, which mostly originated from crystallizable poly(tetramethylene adipate) polyol, was significantly affected by the MDI content. Both the crystallinity and melting temperature of WPUU decreased as the MDI content increased. Deconvoluted relative peak areas of the carbonyl region in the FTIR spectrum revealed that the effect of hydrogen bonding among the hard segments became favorable as the MDI content increased, whereas the hydrogen bonding of the soft segments significantly decreased. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4353–4369, 2004     

Thermal dimerization kinetics of 3‐(p‐bromo‐phenyl)‐pyridazinium benzoyl methylid in solutions

3‐(p‐Bromo‐phenyl)‐pyridazinium‐benzoyl methylid (BPPBM) participates in solution at 3 + 3 dipolar thermal dimerization that can be spectrally monitored by the extinction in its visible intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) band. The attenuation of ICT band intensity shows the decrease of the BPPBM concentration with the increasing of dimer concentration. The complex kinetics of light‐assisted dimerization process was studied taking into account that the thermodynamic equilibrium is reached after more than 24 h. On the basis of general order of reaction theory, we found that the dimerization reaction must be described as a multistep mechanism. The rate constants of the dimerization reactions in ethanol (k = 0.00897 s^?1) and benzene (k = 0.00774 s^?1) solutions were correlated with the BPPBM and dimer structural features established by using the HyperChem 5.02 simulation program package. A kinetic mechanism of 3 + 3 dipolar thermal dimerization for the studied ylid is proposed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 40: 230–239, 2008     

Synthesis of comb‐like polystyrene with poly(N‐phenyl maleimide‐alt‐p‐chloromethyl styrene) as macroinitiator

The copolymerization of N‐phenyl maleimide and p‐chloromethyl styrene via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) process with AIBN as initiator and 2‐(ethoxycarbonyl)prop‐2‐yl dithiobenzoate as RAFT agent produced copolymers with alternating structure, controlled molecular weights, and narrow molecular weight distributions. Using poly(N‐phenyl maleimide‐alt‐p‐chloromethyl styrene) as the macroinitiator for atom transfer radical polymerization of styrene in the presence of CuCl/2,2′‐bipyridine, well‐defined comb‐like polymers with one graft chain for every two monomer units of backbone polymer were obtained. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2069–2075, 2006     

Novel double hydrophilic block copolymers based on poly(p‐hydroxystyrene) derivatives and poly(ethylene oxide)

The synthesis of three series of double hydrophilic block copolymers (DHBCs), consisting of poly(ethylene oxide) as the neutral water soluble block and a second polyelectrolyte block of variable chemistry, is described. The synthetic scheme involves the anionic polymerization of poly(p‐tert‐butoxystyrene‐b‐ethylene oxide) (PtBOS‐PEO) amphiphilic block copolymer precursors followed by the acidic hydrolysis of the hydrophobic poly(p‐tert‐butoxystyrene) (PtBOS) block to an annealed anionic polyelectrolyte poly(p‐hydroxystyrene) (PHOS) block. The PHOS block was subsequently transformed into a high charge density annealed cationic polyelectrolyte namely poly[3,5‐bis(dimethylaminomethylene) hydroxystyrene] (NPHOS), via aminomethylation. Finally, the NPHOS block was transformed into a quenched polyelectrolyte, namely quaternized poly[3,5‐bis(dimethylaminomethylene) hydroxystyrene] (QNPHOS) block by reaction with CH₃I. The solution properties of the different series of the above block polyelectrolyte copolymers have been investigated using static, dynamic and electrophoretic light scattering, turbidimetry, and fluorescence spectroscopy. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 5790–5799, 2007     

Novel ortho‐linked fluorinated poly(ether‐imide)s based on 2,2′‐substituted 1,1′‐binaphthyl units

In this research, a new fluorinated diamine based on 2,2′‐substituted 1,1′‐binaphthyl units, 2,2′‐bis(2‐amino‐4‐trifluoromethylphenoxy)‐1,1′‐binaphthyl (AFPBN) was synthesized and then used to prepare the corresponding ortho‐linked poly(ether‐imide)s via chemical polyimidization with several aromatic carboxylic dianhydrides. The resulting poly(ether‐imide)s were fully characterized by FT‐IR, NMR, viscosity measurements, gel‐permeation chromatography, UV–vis, X‐ray diffraction, organo‐solubility, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry. Probing optical behavior of the colorless films prepared from these poly(ether‐imide)s demonstrated that they possess a high degree of optical transparency, and UV–visible absorption cut‐off wavelength values were found to be in the range of 404–471 nm. The resulting polymers exhibited excellent organo‐solubility in polar solvents such as dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, pyridine, and even tetrahydrofuran. To investigate the heat stability of the samples, their thermograms obtained from TGA were plotted, and for example, it is found that the 10% weight loss temperature of representative polymer AFPBN/3,3′,4,4′‐benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride occurred at 532°C in nitrogen. These poly(ether‐imide)s had glass‐transition temperatures (T_g's) up to 280°C. Two previously prepared analogues of AFPBN, i.e. nonfluorinated diamine DAM1 and para‐linked fluorinated diamine DAM2 used to prepare the corresponding poly(ether‐imide)s, were also considered to compare the results obtained. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.