Three component ketocoumarin, amine, maleimide photoinitiator II

Three component photoinitiator systems containing N-substituted maleimide/ketocoumarin/tertiary amine have been used for the visible light photopolymerization of acrylate and thiol-ene monomers. Thin-film calorimetry studies were conducted. The polymerization exotherms of these systems with the blue (470 nm) and cyan (505 nm) LED light sources show that the multicomponent initiator package is an effective system for visible light polymerization of acrylate and thiol-ene monomers. Exotherms of a visible light initiator combination of camphorquinone/amine were recorded for comparison purposes.     

Poly(urethaneimides) (PUIs) containing tertiary amine groups as precursors for original PUI cationomers

This paper details the synthesis and characterisation of poly(urethaneimides) (PUIs) containing tertiary amine groups and obtained from a polytetramethylene oxide diol (PTMO1000), N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA), 4,4′-methylene-bis-phenylisocyanate (MDI) and 4,4′-hexafluoroisopropylidene-bis-phthalic anhydride (6FDA). The polymers PTMO1000 (1 − x equiv.) + MDEA (x equiv.)/MDI (2 equiv.)/6FDA (1 equiv.) were obtained in high yields (>90%) through original synthesis, involving the reaction of macrodiisocyanates with an aromatic dianhydride in two steps only. A wide range of complementary techniques including two-dimensional NMR showed that the new method enabled a very good control of the polymer structure. In particular, the tertiary amine content of the PUI copolymers was easily varied over the whole composition range (x: 0 → 1), with interesting prospects for the design of a wide range of ion-containing poly(urethaneimides) by quaternising the tertiary amine groups. The PUI properties (e.g. solubility, viscosity, film-forming ability, etc.) clearly depended upon their tertiary amine content. Up to a tertiary amine content of x = 0.7 equiv., the very good film-forming character of the PUIs enabled to cast strong films suitable for permeability investigations.     

Preparation, characterization and enzyme inhibition of methylmethacrylate copolymer nanoparticles with different hydrophilic polymeric chains

Methylmethacrylate copolymer nanoparticles with different hydrophilic chains were prepared by the free radical polymerization of methylmethacrylate with N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm), N-methacrylic acid (MAA), N-trimethylaminoethylmethacrylate chloride (TMAEMC) or N-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate hydrochloride (DMAEMC). These particles were characterized by particle size and zeta potential. The polymerization conditions were shown to influence the particle size and surface charge. Particle sizes of MMA-NIPAAm nanoparticles after 3 h of reaction reached constant level at 180 nm. An increasing amount of total monomer (0.5-5%) would result in the nanoparticles of particle size of 115-204 nm for 30% NIPAAm of the total monomer. In the same range of 5-40% NIPAAm of the total monomer, the particle size decreased from 280 to 170 nm. The concentration of the initiator APS up to a concentration of 0.2% for MMA-TMAEMC and 0.1% for MMA-NIPAAm showed no effect on the particle size of the final nanoparticle suspensions, while higher concentration would lead to aggregation in the polymerization process. MMA-NIPAAm nanoparticles were pH-dependent in zeta potential at pH 1-12 values reducing from 12.2 mV to −16.8 mV, respectively. Nanoparticles were incubated with pepsin and trypsin at 37 °C for 20 min and their enzyme inhibition was determined. The activity of pepsin decreased to 27% in the presence of MMA-NIPAAm nanoparticles, and MMA-MAA nanoparticles reduced the activity of trypsin to 39%, respectively.     

Spiroborate catalyzed reductions with N,N-diethylaniline borane

Reduction of esters, amides, and ketones by N,N-diethylaniline borane is accelerated by catalysts derived from spiroborate complexes. Esters are reduced at ambient temperature in less than 4 h with this amine borane and 5 mol % spiroborate 6. Functional group selectivity shows ketone and tertiary amide reduction is faster than ester or nitrile reduction.     

Studies on the atom transfer radical polymerization of a maleimide AB* monomer and modification of the halogen end groups

The atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of an AB* monomer, N-(4-α-bromobutyryloxy phenyl)maleimide (BBPMI), was conducted using the complex of CuBr/2,2′-bipyridine as catalyst. The study of kinetics of polymerization and the growth behavior of macromolecules show that the polymerization proceeds rapidly in first 1 h and then slows down. The decrease in the rate of polymerization is ascribed to the poor reactivity of maleimide radicals from A* to initiate the polymerization of maleimide double bonds. The molecular weight of the resulting polymer also increases with the dosage of catalyst. The coincidence of molecular weight determined by hydrogen proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H NMR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) proves that the resulting polymer is of linear structure, which is further verified by ¹³C NMR measurement and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the hydrolysate of the resulting polymer. The stabilization modification of the halogen end groups of the resulting polymer by free-radical chain transfer reaction was attempted under ATRP condition. Isopropyl benzene was employed as the chain transfer agent. Indeed, the modified polymer with carbon-bromine bonds conversion of 40.7% shows enhanced thermal stability. The initial weight loss temperature has been increased from 193 to 243 °C. On the other hand, the atom transfer radical copolymerization of BBPMI with styrene resulted in the formation of hyperbranched polymer.     

Enantio- and diastereoselective construction of vicinal quaternary and tertiary carbon centers by catalytic Michael reaction of α-substituted β-keto esters to cyclic enones

A catalytic enantio- and diastereoselective Michael reaction was achieved to construct vicinal quaternary and tertiary carbon centers in one step. Using 5 mol % of La(O-i-Pr)₃ and 10 mol % of a new N-linked-BINOL type ligand, the reaction of α-substituted β-keto esters to cyclic enones provided the corresponding Michael adducts in up to quantitative yield with a diastereomeric ratio up to 86/14 and enantiomeric excess up to 86% for the major isomer. An alternative catalyst preparation method using La(OTf)₃ instead of La(O-i-Pr)₃ was also examined.     

Cross coupling of 3-bromopyridine and sulfonamides (RNHSO2R·R = H, Me, alkyl; R = alkyl and aryl) catalyzed by CuI/1,3-di(pyridin-2-yl)propane-1,3-dione

N-(3-Pyridinyl)-substituted secondary and tertiary sulfonamides have been synthesized in good to excellent yields by the reaction of 3-bromopyridine with primary and secondary alkyl and aryl sulfonamides (MeSO₂NH₂, MeSO₂NHMe, TolSO₂NH₂, TolSO₂NHMe, 1,3-propanesultam, and 1,4-butanesultam), catalyzed by CuI (20 mol %) and 1,3-di(pyridin-2-yl)propane-1,3-dione (20 mol %) with K₂CO₃ (200 mol %) in DMF (0.17 M for ArBr) at 110-120 °C over 36-40 h. 2-Bromopyridine, 4-bromopyridine, and a wide variety of substituted phenyl bromides can also be successfully coupled with sulfonamides under these reaction conditions.     

Peroxide-initiated grafting of maleimides onto hydrocarbon substrates

The grafting of N-phenethyl-maleimide (1) onto squalane and eicosane was investigated. As reference substances for spectroscopical investigations homopolymer, N-phenethyl-succinimide (2), t-butyl-(4) and cyclohexyl-N-phenethyl-succinimide (6) were synthesized. The grafting reactions were carried out at 150 °C in 1,2-dichlorobenzene with Luperox 130 as initiator (molar ratio hydrocarbon substrate:1:initiator = 10:1:0.2). Two fractions of graft products were isolated and analysed by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, FTIR and UV spectroscopy, SEC and MALDI-TOF MS to determine the average number of grafted residues per substrate molecule and to elucidate the structure of the grafts and the grafting sites. Overall grafting yields were found to be >90%. Only a small percentage of the total amount of substrate was grafted (2-3%). First fraction of both oligomers (approx. 25 wt%) showed to be a mixture of homopolymers (average degree of polymerization 6) and graft products (approx. 1:3), the latter containing mainly long-chain grafts with an average chain length of 7. The major fraction of graft products contained predominantly single units. As an average number of units per substrate molecule very similar results were obtained for eicosane and squalane (n = ∼ 3). In the case of squalane single units were found to be linked mainly to tertiary carbon atoms, long chain grafts mainly to secondary C-atoms. Apart from the homopolymers resulting from radical transfer, homopolymers terminated with methyl groups resulting from secondary radicals formed by the decomposition of Luperox were also observed. Homopolymers as well as graft products were found to contain small amounts of maleimide groups. The results suggest that as in the mechanism proposed for maleic anhydride, both inter- and intramolecular hydrogen abstraction occurs as part of the chain process. Termination proceeds mainly by hydrogen transfer and also by disproportionation, to a lesser extent. The formation of long chain grafts on tertiary carbons seems to be sterically hindered.     

Homo and block copolymers of tert-butyl methacrylate by atom transfer radical polymerization

Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of tert-butyl methacrylate (tBMA) was investigated using cuprous bromide with different ligands, solvents, deactivators, etc. The polymerization in bulk and diphenyl ether solvent system performed using Cu(I)Br complexed with N, N, N′, N″, N″-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) catalyst in conjunction with 2-bromopropionitrile as an initiator at room temperature showed a curvature in the first-order kinetic plot. The controlled polymerization in methanol solution resulted in slower rate of polymerization and lower molecular weights. Well-defined diblock copolymers of PSt-b-PtBMA synthesized by polystyrene bromo macroinitiator (PSt-Br) with Cu(I)Cl/PMDETA catalyst system yielded predetermined molecular weights and lower polydispersities. Otherwise, the Cu(I)Br/PMDETA catalytic system showed an inefficient polymerization of tert-butyl methacrylate with lower molecular weights and higher polydispersities. Subsequent hydrolysis of the homopolymer refluxed in dioxane with addition of HCl afforded well-defined poly(methacrylic acid).     

Synthesis and reactivity of a fluorinated N-alkylmaleimide towards free-radical grafting and polymerization reactions

A new fluorinated N-alkylmaleimide, N-(2-pentadecafluoro-n-octanoyloxy)-ethyl)maleimide (FOMI), was synthesized from perfluorooctyl carboxylic acid (FOCA) by reaction of the furan adduct of maleic anhydride (MAH) with ethanolamine and esterification of the resulting alcohol-imide. The reactivity of FOMI in free-radical reactions such as copolymerization with butyl vinyl ether (BVE) and grafting onto olefin copolymers (OCP) was investigated. Copolymerization with 2/1 molar excess BVE yields a copolymer with 63 mol% FOMI in moderate conversion, indicating that homopropagation of the maleimide prevails over comonomer alternation. The thermal stability of FOMI is quite poor, with onset of the pyrolytic loss of the N-perfluoroalkylcarboxyethyl moiety just above 100 °C, similarly to that of FOCA. This restricts the possibilities for direct melt functionalization of OCP with FOMI. To bypass this limitation three distinct approaches were preliminarly investigated. These were respectively based on either direct grafting of FOMI at low temperature, or reaction of a MAH-grafted polyolefin with a low molecular weight amine or amino-terminated oligomer bearing the perfluoroheptyl group. A functionalization degree FD=2% was achieved by solution grafting of a linear very low density polyethylene (VLDPE) with FOMI and Perkadox 16 as the free-radical initiator. The relatively high grafting efficiency was attributed to the growth of some oligomeric FOMI grafts onto the OCP. The alternative routes of post-modification of VLDPE-g-MAH by imidization with an amidoamine obtained by amidation of FOCA with a diamine or an amino-terminated FOMI/BVE oligomer, respectively, were also preliminarly investigated.     

Radical polymerization behavior of 3-(N-2-methacryloyloxyethyl-N,N-dimethyl)ammonatopropanesulfonate in water

The homogeneous polymerization of 3-(N-2-methacryloyloxyethyl-N,N-dimethyl)ammonatopropanesulfonate (MDAPS) with potassium peroxydisulfate (KPS) was kinetically in situ investigated in water by means of FT-near IR spectroscopy. The overall activation energy of the polymerization was calculated to be 16.0 kcal/mol. The initial polymerization rate (R_p) at 40 °C was expressed by R_p=k[KPS]^0.65[MDAPS]^1.0. The presence of alkaline metal salts was observed to accelerate the polymerization. The order of acceleration at 40 °C was CsCl > KCl > NaCl > LiCl when the chloride salts were used. NaCl showed higher acceleration effect than NaF. NaBr and NaI exhibited retardation and inhibition effect, respectively, because of reduction of KPS and its primary radical with bromide and iodide ions. The polymerization of MDAPS with KPS in water in the presence of NaCl at 2.0 mol/l gave R_p=k[KPS]^0.70[MDAPS]^1.4 at 40 °C. The overall activation energy of the polymerization in the presence of NaCl was estimated to be 11.6 kcal/mol being considerably lower value compared with that in its absence. The syndiotacticity of poly(MDAPS) tended to increase with rising temperature and decrease in the presence of NaCl.     

Monodisperse and isolated microspheres of poly(N-methylaniline) prepared by dispersion polymerization

Monodisperse and isolated microspheres of poly(N-methylaniline) were successfully prepared through chemical polymerization of N-methylaniline by in adipic acid containing poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP). Mean diameters of the microspheres with smooth surfaces changed from 320 to 100 nm by increasing the reaction temperature from 25 to 75 °C. The concentration of PVP did not affect much the size of microspheres, but the increased PVP concentration led to longer induction times for the onset of dispersion polymerization.     

Itaconic anhydride based amphiphilic copolymers: Synthesis, characterization and stabilization of carboxyl functionalized, PEGylated nanoparticles

N-Vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (NVP) and itaconic anhydride (IA) copolymers were synthesized via radical polymerization. The synthesized copolymers were grafted with MPEG chains of different average molecular weights (350, 550, 750 Da). The grafted copolymers were used as surfactants in the synthesis of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanoparticles in water by solvent evaporation technique. In order to further test the synthesized surfactants, the miniemulsion polymerization of vinyl acetate was performed. Two methods of obtaining miniemulsion were implied: a sonicator and a static mixer. The synthesized surfactants performed well in both type of experiments while in the case of static mixer nanoparticles with a lower polydispersity were obtained. Droplets with a mean diameter of 160 nm were obtained when using the sonicator while in the case of static mixer the mean diameter was 280 nm.     

On the dehydrogenation of N,N′-substituted p-phenylenediamine antioxidants. I. N-Phenyl-N′-isopropyl-p-phenylenediamine (IPPD)

Using B3LYP/6-31G^∗ treatment, the optimal geometries, electronic structures and IR spectra of N-phenyl-N′-isopropyl-p-phenylenediamine antioxidant (IPPD) and its doubly dehydrogenated oxidation products have been obtained. Experimental IR spectra of IPPD sample heated in air at 140 °C correspond to the doubly dehydrogenated IPPD structure with the Phenyl-NC double bond and not to its N,N′-dehydrogenated quinonediimine-type counterpart as supposed in the literature. This finding supports the idea of preferential dehydrogenation at N-bonded tertiary carbon atom in comparison with the amine nitrogen bonded to two phenyl rings.     

Novel photoluminescent hemi-disclike liquid crystalline Zn(II) complexes of [N2O2] donor 4-alkoxy substituted salicyldimine Schiff base with aromatic spacer

A series of novel hemi-disclike four coordinated distorted square planar Zn(II) Schiff base complexes containing 4-substituted alkoxy chains on the side aromatic ring [Zn (4−C_nH_2n+1O)₂ salophen], n = 14, 16, 18 and salophen = N,N′-4-methyl phenylene bis (salicylideneiminato), have been prepared and their mesogenic, photophysical properties were investigated. The phase behavior of these compounds were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, polarized optical microscopy and variable temperature PXRD study. The ligands are non-mesogenic but the complexes exhibited an unprecedented 2D-hexagonal columnar mesophase (Col_h) in the temperature 175–185 °C range. In the mesophase (Col_h), the molecules self assemble in a columnar stack in antiparallel fashion. All λ_max of the UV–Vis absorption and photoluminescence band occurred at ca. 291–425 and 504–524 nm, respectively. The ligands are non-emissive, but on coordination with Zn(II), the complexes show intense green emission at room temperature in dichloromethane solution (∼505 nm, Φ = 20%) as well as in solid (∼522 nm, Φ = 9%) at 360 nm excitation. The DFT calculations were performed using Dmol3 program at BLYP/DNP level to obtain the stable electronic structure of the complex. A small LUMO-HOMO band gap (∼2.1 eV), presumably suggests a rather strong electronic correlation among the molecules along the column.     

Synthesis of short and long-wavelength functionalised probes: amino acids' labelling and photophysical studies

Fluorescent labelling of α-amino acids at their N or C terminals in the main and lateral chains at short and long wavelengths was carried out in different ways. The N-[3-(naphthalen-1-ylamino)propanoyl]amino acid methyl esters synthesised showed strong fluorescence in the visible region (∼415 nm) of the electromagnetic spectrum. Condensation of these compounds with 5-diethylamino-2-nitrosophenol or 5-ethylamino-4-methyl-2-nitrosophenol produced the benzo[a]phenoxazine derivatives, with maximum emission wavelengths shifted to values higher than 644 nm. The synthesis of novel functionalised 5,9-diaminobenzo[a]phenoxazinium salts, by reaction of 5-ethylamino-4-methyl-2-nitrosophenol and N-substituted 1-naphthylamine and their use in the covalent labelling of the N or C terminals of valine, produced derivatives with long-wavelength emissions (644-653 nm). Photophysical studies using the synthesised compounds both in different solvents and in controlled pH were undertaken. Preliminary evaluation of photostability of the cationic polycyclic heterocycles in ethanol and water at physiological pH was also performed.     

Sulfonated polyaniline network grafted multi-wall carbon nanotubes for enzyme immobilization, direct electrochemistry and biosensing of glucose

A new nanomaterial was prepared by grafting a layer of sulfonated polyaniline network (SPAN-NW) on to the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) and effectively utilized for immobilization of an enzyme and for the fabrication of a biosensor. SPAN-NW was formed on the surface of MWNT by polymerizing a mixture of diphenyl amine 4-sulfonic acid (DPASA), 4-vinyl aniline (VA) and 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid (APASA) in the presence of amine functionalized MWNT (MWNT-NH₂). The MWNT-g-SPAN-NW was immobilized with glucose oxidase (GOx) to fabricate the SPAN-NW/GOx biosensor. MWNT-g-SPAN-NW/GOx electrode showed direct electron transfer (DET) for GOx with a fast heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (k_s) of 4.11 s^− 1. The amperometric current response of MWNT-g-SPAN-NW/GOx biosensor shows linearity up to 9 mM of glucose, with a correlation coefficient of 0.99 and a detection limit of 0.11 μM (S/N = 3). At a low applied potential of − 0.1 V, MWNT-g-SPAN-NW/GOx electrode possesses high sensitivity (4.34 μA mM^− 1) and reproducibility towards glucose.     

Stereoelective radical copolymerization of (RS)-α-methylbenzyl vinyl ether with (S)-(-)- or (R)-(+)-N-(α-methylbenzyl)maleimide

Racemic α-methylbenzyl vinyl ether was copolymerized with optically active (S)-(-)- or (R)-(+)-N-(α-methylbenzyl)maleimide using 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile in order to examine the possibility of stereoelective radical polymerization of vinyl-type racemic monomers. The resulting copolymers were found to have almost alternating sequences of the two kinds of monomeric units. The non-polymerized α-methylbenzyl vinyl ether, recovered from the copolymerization system, showed an optical activity of opposite sign to the optically active comonomer used, indicating clearly that the co-polymerization process is stereoelective. It was confirmed that α-methylbenzyl vinyl ether preferentially incorporated in the copolymer has the same absolute configuration as the optically active N-substituted maleimide.     

Development of a new fluorescent probe for transition metal cations based upon fluorescence resonance energy transfer

A novel fluorescent probe for metal cations, which has a large Stokes shift, was synthesized from the reaction of N-(3-carboxy-2-naphthyl)-ethylenediamine-N,N′,N′-triacetic acid (CNEDTA) with 4-(N,N-dimethylaminosulfonyl)-7-(2-aminoethylamino)-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (DBD-ED). The large Stokes shift is due to the FRET phenomenon between a donor (CNEDTA) and an acceptor (DBD-ED) fluorophore. When the fluorescent probe, DBD-ED-CNEDTA, was excited at 240, 340 and 440 nm, an emission maximum was observed only at 560 nm. However, the fluorescence (FL) at 480 nm, based upon the CNEDTA moiety, was not detected with excitation at 340 nm. The FL intensity of DBD-ED-CNEDTA was dependent upon the acidity of the medium and highest at pH 4.1. DBD-ED-CNEDTA reacted with metal cations, i.e., Zn, Cd, Al, Y, and La, in aqueous medium to form chelates. The spectral change of FL excitation and emission was small before and after the addition of the metal ions. However, the FL intensity was dependent upon the concentrations of the metal ions. In the case of Zn²⁺, the molar ratio bound with DBD-ED-CNEDTA was calculated as 1:1. The FL intensities after chelate formation of Zn/DBD-ED-CNEDTA (1:1) were enhanced by 3.8-fold (excitation at 340 nm, emission at 560 nm), 4.2-fold (excitation at 440 nm, emission at 560 nm), and 5.9-fold (excitation at 240 nm, emission at 560 nm), respectively. The FL probe was applied to the determination of Zn in a food supplement.     

Spectroscopic and structural characterization of Na2[(VO)2(ttha)]·8H2O (ttha = triethylenetetraamine-N,N,N′,N″,N′″,N′″-hexaacetate): Interpreting the results with density functional theory

Na₂[(V^IVO)₂(ttha)]·8 H₂O (ttha = triethylenetetraamine–N,N,N′,N″,N′″,N′″–hexaacetate ion), prepared by treating [VO(H₂O)₅][(VO)₂(ttha)]·4 H₂O with Na₆(ttha), has been characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, electron spin resonance spectroscopy, and modeled by density functional theory (DFT). The X-ray structure revealed a distorted octahedral geometry around each vanadium center. The electronic absorption spectrum of [(VO)₂(ttha)]²⁻ (aq) features absorptions at ca. 200 nm (ε > 13900 L mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹), 255 nm (ε = 3480 L mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹), 586 nm (ε = 33 L mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹), and 770 nm (ε = 38 L mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹). The time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculated electronic absorption spectrum was remarkably similar to the actual spectrum, and TDDFT predicts absorption peaks at 297, 330, 458, 656, and 798 nm. TDDFT assigned the peak at 798 nm to be the α spin HOMO → LUMO transition. Hence, the peak at 770 nm in the actual spectrum is most likely the α spin HOMO → LUMO transition. Moreover, the TDDFT calculations revealed that the α spin HOMO and LUMO are partly comprised of d orbitals on both vanadium centers, and the first derivative electron spin resonance spectrum also suggests that the two unpaired electrons in [(VO)₂(ttha)]²⁻ are localized near the vanadium centers.