Ultrasonic spectroscopic evaluation of the ring‐opening metathesis polymerization of dicyclopentadiene

An in situ ultrasonic spectroscopy technique was used to study the ring‐opening metathesis polymerization of dicyclopentadiene catalyzed by bis(tricyclohexylphosphine)benzylidene ruthenium dichloride. A reaction cell employing a flexible poly(ethylene terephthalate) window for pulse echo ultrasonic spectroscopy was used to monitor the polymerization. The changes in the density, wave speed, acoustic modulus, and attenuation were all simultaneously monitored. In comparison with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy data, the changes in the density, velocity, and modulus only accurately measured the rate constant for the metathesis of the cyclopentyl unsaturation. The ultrasonic values were within 6% of the values determined by FTIR. The activation energy for metathesis of the cyclopentyl unsaturation was 84 kJ mol^?1, following first‐order kinetics. Rate constants for the polymerization of the norbornyl unsaturation could not be determined by ultrasound. The gel point, vitrification, and qualitative information about the reaction rate could be determined from the change in the attenuation. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 1323–1333, 2003     

Synthesis,dynamic light scattering,and luminescence properties of copolymers containing iridium(III) bisterpyridine in the side chain

Supramolecular block‐random copolymers containing [Ir(terpy)₂]³⁺ in the side chain were synthesized via postfunctionalization of a P(S‐b‐AC_terpy) block copolymer. Absorbance and emission spectra compared to a model compound show that the polymer backbone has a minor effect on the polymer absorbance but produces a larger shift for the phosphorescence signals to higher wavelength. Dynamic light scattering of the metal complex containing copolymer studied in various solvents showed monomodal aggregation with decreasing aggregate size as the solvent dielectric constant increased. The copolymer precursor P(S‐b‐AC_terpy) shows multimodal aggregation in different solvents with the major population consisting of single chains. This difference in behavior between the two polymers is attributed to the electrolytic nature of the complex and the amphiphilicity induced by the charged metal complex. Supramolecular copolymers like these will continue to have interesting self‐organizational properties and may find applications in multicomponent systems for photoinduced charge separation processes. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 1109–1121, 2007     

Can Indirect Causation be Real?

Causal realists maintain that the causal relation consists in “something more” than its relata. Specifying this relation in nonreductive terms is however notoriously difficult. Michael Tooley has advanced a plausible account avoiding some of the relation’s most obvious difficulties, particularly where these concern the notion of a cross-temporal “connection.” His account distinguishes discrete from nondiscrete causation, where the latter is suitable to the continuity of cross-temporal causation. I argue, however, that such accounts face conceptual difficulties dating from Zeno’s time. A Bergsonian resolution of these difficulties appears to entail that, for the causal realist, there can be no indirect causal relations of the sort envisioned by Tooley. A consequence of this discussion is that the causal realist must conceive all causal relations as ultimately direct.     

INCENTIVE COMPATIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS

This paper addresses the problem of designing environmental regulations when firms possess better information about the cost of pollution abatement than regulators. In the regulatory equilibrium derived in the paper, firms are induced to reveal the information they have concerning abatement costs through the judicious use of abatement standard-subsidy combinations. Offering firms a menu of regulatory contracts, each one specifying a required level of pollution abatement as well as a lump sum subsidy to be paid by the regulatory agency to the firm, is shown to be superior to optimal uniform standard-subsidy schemes. By appealing to the revelation principle and employing a second policy instrument (subsidies), albeit a costly one, in conjunction with an abatement standard, the incentive compatible approach to environmental regulation presented in the paper minimizes the economic inefficiency customarily attributable to a lack of initial information regarding pollution abatement costs.     

On the topology of black holes

We establish from local hypotheses some results concerning the final state topology of black holes. We show that the surface of a black hole must have 2-sphere topology and that the topology of space in its vicinity is simple.Dedicated to Ted FrankelThis work has been partially supported by NSF grants DMS-8802877 and DMS-9006678     

Lewis base activation of lewis acids. Addition of silyl ketene acetals to aldehydes

The weak Lewis acid silicon tetrachloride can be activated by catalytic amounts of the chiral bisphosphoramide (R,R)-3 to form a highly reactive, chiral trichlorosilyl cation which is an extremely effective promoter of aldol addition reactions between aldehydes and silyl ketene acetals. The tert-butyldimethylsilyl ketene acetal of methyl acetate adds nearly instantaneously to aromatic and olefinic aldehydes as well as aliphatic aldehydes (albeit more slowly) with excellent enantioselectivity. The homologous tert-butyldimethylsilyl ketene acetal of tert-butyl propanoate adds with nearly exclusive anti diastereoselectivity to a similar range of aldehydes also with excellent enantioselectivity. The origin of the slower reaction rate with aliphatic aldehydes is revealed to be the formation of chlorosilyl ether adducts.     

The use of polarized light scattering for the study of the dynamics of the spinodal decomposition

Due to the fact that in a system undergoing spinodal decomposition the long wavelength fluctuations are enhanced, we expect that multiple events can be observed when the passage of light through the sample is measured. We study here the intensity of double scattering for both polarized and depolarized measurements, as a function of time and angle of detection. The time dependence is nonexponential and the dependence on the scattering wave vector is less pronounced than in the case of single scattering. For systems with spherical molecules it is possible to separate double and single scattering contributions if both polarized and depolarized measurements are made. This increases the amount and quality of information about the dynamics of the spinodal decomposition that can be obtained from light scattering experiments.     

Synthesis of (±)-aporphine utilizing Pictet-Spengler and intramolecular phenol ortho-arylation reactions

A synthesis of the alkaloid (±)-aporphine is reported. The initial key step of the synthesis involves a Pictet-Spengler cyclization of N-tosyl tyramine with 2-bromophenylacetaldehyde in trifluoroacetic acid. This step was followed by the second strategic transformation a palladium-mediated intramolecular phenol ortho-arylation reaction utilizing tricyclohexylphosphine as co-catalysts in the presence of cesium carbonate. Finally, de-oxygenation of the phenol, removal of the tosyl group and methylation gave the desired alkaloid.     

Synthesis and structure of pyrazolo[5,1-a]isoindol-8-ones from Aromatic Ortho Diesters

The title compounds 2 , have now been shown to arise in certain cases from condensation of aromatic ortho-diesters with ketone, where formerly only indeno[1,2-c]pyrazol-4(1H)-ones 3 have been reported from such reaction. Heretofore 2 was obtained in a less direct fashion from phthalaldehydic acid esters. When hetero-aromatic diesters were employed, new heterocyclic ring systems as represented by 2a,b ,c were prepared for the first time. Structures of 2 have been verified from detailed ¹H and ¹³C nmr studies, while representative intermediates 4–9 in the condensation of diesters to 2 have been isolated and identified.