Properties of polystyrene-poly(methylmethacrylate) random and diblock copolymers in dilute and semidilute solutions

Solution properties for random and diblock copolymers of polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) have been measured by dynamic and total intensity light scattering in solvents of differing quality. The results are compared with the corresponding properties for PS and PMMA homopolymers of similar molecular weight, in order to determine if interactions between unlike monomers are significant. The hydrodynamic radius (R_h) and diffusion second virial coefficient (k_d) for the random copolymer are found to be larger than the corresponding values for the homopolymers in a solvent which is near-theta for the two homopolymers, whereas no such effect is observed for the block copolymer. This suggests that most intrachain interactions occur a relatively short distance along the chain backbone. In a mutual good solvent R_h and k_d of the random copolymer are comparable to the average of the values for the homopolymers, indicating that in a good solvent monomer/solvent interactions dominate over monomer/monomer interactions. For an isolated diblock copolymer in a mutual good solvent, there is no evidence that interactions between unlike monomers lead to additional expansion of the entire molecule, as measured by R_h, nor expansion of the individual blocks as probed by light scattering with one block optically masked. However, at low but finite concentration there is evidence (the coefficients of the binary interaction terms in the viscosity and the mutual diffusion coefficient, and the second and third virial coefficients) that a weak ordering effect may exist in block copolymer solutions, far from the conditions where microphase separation occurs. Finally, measurements of ternary polymer-polymer-solvent solutions show no dependence on monomer composition or monomer distribution for the tracer diffusion of probe PS-PMMA copolymers in a PMMA/toluene matrix. This indicate that the frictional interaction is largely unaffected by interactions between unlike monomers. However, there is evidence that the thermodynamic interaction is more unfavorable between a random copolymer and the homopolymer matrix than between a diblock and the matrix. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Coupled lubrication and Stokes flow finite elements

A method is developed for performing a local reduction of the governing physics for fluid problems with domains that contain a combination of narrow and non‐narrow regions, and the computational accuracy and performance of the method are measured. In the narrow regions of the domain, where the fluid is assumed to have no inertia and the domain height and curvature are assumed small, lubrication, or Reynolds, theory is used locally to reduce the two‐dimensional Navier–Stokes equations to the one‐dimensional Reynolds equation while retaining a high degree of accuracy in the overall solution. The Reynolds equation is coupled to the governing momentum and mass equations of the non‐narrow region with boundary conditions on the mass and momentum flux. The localized reduction technique, termed ‘stitching,’ is demonstrated on Stokes flow for various geometries of the hydrodynamic journal bearing—a non‐trivial test problem for which a known analytical solution is available. The computational advantage of the coupled Stokes–Reynolds method is illustrated on an industrially applicable fully‐flooded deformable‐roll coating example. The examples in this paper are limited to two‐dimensional Stokes flow, but extension to three‐dimensional and Navier–Stokes flow is possible. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Orientation and relaxation of polymer–clay solutions studied by rheology and small-angle neutron scattering

The influence of shear on viscoelastic solutions of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and clay [montmorillonite, i.e., Cloisite NA+ (CNA)] was investigated with rheology and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). The steady-state viscosity and SANS were used to measure the shear-induced orientation and relaxation of the polymer and clay platelets. Anisotropic scattering patterns developed at much lower shear rates than in pure clay solutions. The scattering anisotropy saturated at low shear rates, and the CNA clay platelets aligned with the flow, with the surface normal parallel to the gradient direction. The cessation of shear led to partial and slow randomization of the CNA platelets, whereas extremely fast relaxation was observed for laponite (LRD) platelets. These PEO–CNA networklike solutions were compared with previously reported PEO–LRD networks, and the differences and similarities, with respect to the shear orientation, relaxation, and polymer–clay interactions, were examined. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 3102–3112, 2004     

Orientational ordering of liquid crystals containing a difluoro-substituted phenyl ring

The orientational ordering of several liquid crystals containing a difluorosubstituted phenyl ring has been studied through the use of C-13 NMR. The fluorinated phenyl ring of these liquid crystals have C_s symmetry, so three order parameters are required to completely describe the ordering of this ring. All three of these order parameters have been calculated from carbon-fluorine dipolar coupling constants obtained from the carbon-fluorine splittings in the C-13 NMR spectra. Because of the complexity of the fluorine-coupled spectra, variable angle spinning (VAS) was used to resolve the carbon-fluorine splittings. In order to study the orientational ordering over wide ranges of temperature, we have developed an empirical correlation between the order parameter and the value of a carbon-fluorine dipolar coupling constant. This enabled us to study the change in the order parameter with temperature. The results of applying this method to several structurally similar liquid crystals containing the same type of difluorinated phenyl ring are presented. A comparison is made to a similar mono-fluorinated liquid crystal.     

Mechanical endurance of polymer electrolyte membrane and PEM fuel cell durability

The life of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) is currently limited by the mechanical endurance of polymer electrolyte membranes and membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). In this paper, the authors report recent experimental and modeling work toward understanding the mechanisms of delayed mechanical failures of polymer electrolyte membranes and MEAs under relevant PEMFC operating conditions. Mechanical breach of membranes/MEAs in the form of pinholes and tears has been frequently observed after long‐term or accelerated testing of PEMFC cells/stacks. Catastrophic failure of cell/stack due to rapid gas crossover shortly follows the mechanical breach. Ex situ mechanical characterizations were performed on MEAs after being subjected to the accelerated chemical aging and relative humidity (RH) cycling tests. The results showed significant reduction of MEA ductility manifested as drastically reduced strain‐to‐failure of the chemically aged and RH‐cycled MEAs. Postmortem analysis revealed the formation and growth of mechanical defects such as cracks and crazing in the membranes and MEAs. A finite element model was used to estimate stress/strain states of an edge‐constrained MEA under rapid RH variations. Damage metrics for accelerated testing and life prediction of PEMFCs are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2346–2357, 2006     

Iron(III) p-toluenesulfonate catalyzed synthesis of homoallyl ethers from acetals and aldehydes

Iron(III) p-toluenesulfonate, Fe(OTs)₃·6H₂O, is an inexpensive, versatile and commercially available catalyst for the allylation of acetals using allyltrimethylsilane to yield homoallyl ethers in moderate to good yields. The one-pot conversion of aldehydes to homoallyl ethers using alkoxysilanes has also been accomplished using Fe(OTs)₃·6H₂O as a catalyst. The use of mild reaction conditions and a relatively non-corrosive catalyst make this method an attractive option for the synthesis of a range of homoallyl ethers.     

Reaction-based machine learning representations for predicting the enantioselectivity of organocatalysts

Hundreds of catalytic methods are developed each year to meet the demand for high-purity chiral compounds. The computational design of enantioselective organocatalysts remains a significant challenge, as catalysts are typically discovered through experimental screening. Recent advances in combining quantum chemical computations and machine learning (ML) hold great potential to propel the next leap forward in asymmetric catalysis. Within the context of quantum chemical machine learning (QML, or atomistic ML), the ML representations used to encode the three-dimensional structure of molecules and evaluate their similarity cannot easily capture the subtle energy differences that govern enantioselectivity. Here, we present a general strategy for improving molecular representations within an atomistic machine learning model to predict the DFT-computed enantiomeric excess of asymmetric propargylation organocatalysts solely from the structure of catalytic cycle intermediates. Mean absolute errors as low as 0.25 kcal mol⁻¹ were achieved in predictions of the activation energy with respect to DFT computations. By virtue of its design, this strategy is generalisable to other ML models, to experimental data and to any catalytic asymmetric reaction, enabling the rapid screening of structurally diverse organocatalysts from available structural information.

A machine learning model for enantioselectivity prediction using reaction-based molecular representations.     

An investigation of mononuclear and binuclear palladium(II) complexes of egta (egta = glycine,N,N′-(1,2-ethanediylbis(oxy-2,1-ethanediyl)bis[N-carboxymethyl]) by 1H-, 13C- and 15N-n.m.r. methods

1:1 and 2:1 palladium(II) complexes of egta^4– (egta^4– = glycine, N,N-(1,2-ethanediylbis)(oxy-2,1-ethanediyl)bis[N-carboxymethyl]) were prepared by 1:1 and 2:1 addition of K₂PdCl₄ to K₄egta, and examined by ¹H-, ¹³C- and ¹⁵N-n.m.r. methods. The 1:1 complex, [Pd(egta)]^2– in solution, utilizes a square-planar coordination comprised of two nitrogen and two glycinato carboxylate donors of egta^4–, leaving two glycinato carboxylates pendant. The complex has a cis-(R,S) stereochemistry which places both pendant carboxylates below the PdN₂O₂ square plane and the tether backbone of egta^4– in the up, up sense above the same plane. The cis-(R,S) assignment was assisted by computer simulations of the ¹³C-n.m.r. spectrum for four possible isomers. Only cis-(R,S) and trans-(R,R) calculated ¹³C-spectra were compatible with the observed ¹³C-n.m.r. pattern. The HH NOESY spectrum of [Pd(egta)]^2– detects long range coupling of the backbone –OCH₂CH₂O– linkage with both coordinated and pendant glycinato CH₂ moieties. The cis-(R,S) isomer's tortional movements allow such contacts whereas a trans-(R,R) isomer does not. The 2:1 complex, [Pd₂(egta)(H₂O)₂] in solution has an extended-chain structure with each palladium(II) center coordinated in the mer-iminodiacetate-like coordination with two bound glycinato-functionalities.     

A simple and versatile method for the synthesis of acetals from aldehydes and ketones using bismuth triflate

Acetals are obtained in good yields by treatment of aldehydes and ketones with trialkyl orthoformate and the corresponding alcohol in the presence of 0.1 mol % Bi(OTf)3.4H2O. A simple procedure for the formation of acetals of diaryl ketones has also been developed. The conversion of carbonyl compounds to the corresponding 1,3-dioxolane using ethylene glycol is also catalyzed by Bi(OTf)3.4H2O (1 mol %). Two methods, both of which avoid the use of benzene, have been developed.     

Substituted pyridines

5-Methyl-4-phenyl-2-styryipyridine has been oxidized to 5-methyl-4-phenylpyridinie-2-carboxylic acid. The decarboxylation of this acid has given 3-methyl-4-phenylpyrldine. To prove the structure of -(5-methyl-4-phenyl-2-pyridyl)acetophenone, it has been converted into 2, 5-dimethyl-4-phenylpyridine. The reaction of benzyl chloride with the lithium derivative of 2, 5-dimethyl-4-phenylpyridine has been studied. 3,7-Dimethyl-2-azafluorene has been obtained from 2,5-dimethyl-4-p-tolylpyridine.