Apparent Specific Volume Measurements of Poly(ethylene oxide), Poly(butylene oxide), Poly(propylene oxide), and Octadecyl Chains in the Micellar State as a Function of Temperature

Apparent specific densities of aqueous solutions of the diblock copolymers C18(EO)100, C18(EO)20, and (EO)92(BO)18 and the triblock copolymers (EO)25(PO)40(EO)25 and (EO)21(PO)47(EO)21 in the micellar state have been measured over a temperature range from 10 to 90 degrees C at concentrations between 1% and 5%, using an oscillating tube densitometer. From these measurements, apparent specific volumes of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), poly(propylene oxide) (PPO), poly(butylene oxide) (PBO), and octadecane in the micellar state have been determined. The composition of the block copolymers was checked by NMR spectroscopy. Results were compared with published data for the polymers and bulk values for octadecane, respectively. The apparent specific density of PEO chains in the dissolved state was also measured for PEG4600 solutions at different concentrations and compared with results in the micellar state. The results presented in the paper are crucial in connection with analysis and modeling of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data from polymer and block copolymer micellar systems. PEO and PPO have a relatively low apparent partial specific volume in water at low temperatures. It is associated with water molecules making strong hydrogen bonds with the oxygen atoms on the polymer backbone. These water molecules gradually become disordered when the temperature is increased and the polymer apparent specific volume increases. For PBO in the micellar cores of PBO-PEO block copolymer micelles and in PNiPAM microgels, pronounced temperature dependence with the same origin is also found. The application of the derived results for the apparent specific volume of PEO for deriving contrast factors is demonstrated and the results are used in the analysis of SAXS data for semidilute solutions of PEG4600 in a broad temperature range.     

Dications of fluorenylidenes. The relationship between redox potentials and antiaromaticity for meta- and para-substituted diphenylmethylidenefluorenes

[reaction: see text] Electrochemical oxidation of meta-substituted diphenylmethylidenefluorenes (3a-g) results in the formation of fluorenylidene dications that are shown to be antiaromatic through calculation of the nucleus independent chemical shift (NICS) for the 5- and 6-membered rings of the fluorenyl system. There is a strong linear correlation between the redox potential for the dication and both the calculated NICS and sigma(m). Redox potentials for formation of dications of analogously substituted tetraphenylethylenes shows that, with the exception of the p-methyl derivative, the redox potentials for these dications are less positive than for formation of the dications of 3a-g and for dications of p-substituted diphenylmethylidenefluorenes, 2a-g. The greater instability of dications of 2a-g and 3a-g compared to the reference system implies their antiaromaticity, which is supported by the positive NICS values. The redox potentials for formation of the dications of meta-substituted diphenylmethylidenes (3a-g) are more positive than for the formation of dications of para-substituted diphenylmethylidenes (2a-g), indicating their greater thermodynamic instability. The NICS values for dications of 3a-g are more antiaromatic than for dications of 2a-g, which is consistent with their greater instability of the dications of 3a-g. Although the substituted diphenylmethyl systems are not able to interact with the fluorenyl system through resonance because of their geometry, they are able to moderate the antiaromaticity of the fluorenyl cationic system. Two models have been suggested for this interaction, sigma to p donation and the ability of the charge on the substituted ring system to affect delocalization. Examination of bond lengths shows very limited variation, which argues against sigma to p donation in these systems. A strong correlation between NICS and sigma constants suggests that factors that affect the magnitude of the charge on the benzylic (alpha) carbon of the diphenylmethyl cation affect the antiaromaticity of the fluorenyl cation. Calculated atomic charges on carbons 1-8 and 10-13 show an increase in positive charge, and therefore greater delocalization of charge in the fluorenyl system, with increasing electronegativity of the substituent. The change in the amount of positive charge correlated strongly with NICS, supporting the model in which the amount of delocalization of charge is related to the antiaromaticity of the species. Thus, both aromatic and antiaromatic species are characterized by extensive delocalization of electron density.     

Janus-type isopropyl groups revealed by 1H-NMR spectra of alkylpyridines with lanthanide shift reagents (LSR)

Two Isomeric pyridines were designed and prepared : 2-isopropyl-4,5,6-trimethyl-(3) and 2-isopropyl-3,4,6-trimethyl-pyridine (7); the latter, with a buttressed isopropyl, leads to much lower induced shifts by Eu(dpm)₃ and Pr(dpm)₃ than the former, owing to the conformation in which the Janus-type iPr group how to the LSR a t-butyl-like face.     

Applications of the MBPT in the localized representation

Diagrammatic formulation of the MBPT is applied when the occupied and the virtual canonical orbitals are separately localized by unitary transformations. In this localized representation, due to the off-diagonal Fock matrix elements, the perturbation operator contains extra terms generating the so-called localization corrections. These corrections enter the perturbation energy in third and higher orders. Their magnitude depends on the type of localization, but they represent only a small fraction of the canonical corrections. The calculation of the localization corrections, however, does not need a significant amount of extra computer time. It is shown that by introducing an “order of neighborhood” local and nonlocal effects of the electron correlation can be separated and the contribution of the nonlocal effects can be neglected to a good approximation. Ab initio calculations have been carried out for the normal saturated hydrocarbons: C_2n+1H_4n+4 and for the all-trans conjugated polyenes C_2n+2H_2n+4. As to the ratio of the local and nonlocal corrections, it is shown that there is only a quantitative difference for these two kinds of systems (strongly or weakly localizable). Neglecting nonlocal effects, considerable amount of computer time can be saved.     

Vertical proton affinities of CH2O and CH2OH+ in their ground singlet,excited triplet and ionized doublet states

Vertical proton affinities were calculated with closed and open shell direct SCF-MO methods for the ground, excited triplet and ionized doublet states of CH₂O and CH₂OH⁺.The computed gas phase basicity of CH₂O follows the order: CH₂O(¹ A ₁) > CH₂O*(³ A ₁ or ³ A ₂) > CH₂O⁺(² B ₂ or ² B ₁).     

First carbamates conversion to amides by simple alkyl group transfer from trialkylalanes

[reaction: see text] N-Monosubstituted carbamates are cleanly converted to amides under treatment with trialkylaluminum. This reaction involves an aluminum-assisted internal delivery of alkyl groups. It can be applied to new and mild protecting group strategies for alcohols.     

Convergence of the Finite Difference Scheme for a Fast Diffusion Equation in Porous Media

We are concerned with an implicit scheme for the finite difference solution to a nonlinear parabolic equation with a multivalued coefficient that describes the fast diffusion in a porous medium. The boundary conditions contain the multivalued function as well. We prove the stability and the convergence of the scheme, emphasizing the precise nature of convergence in this specific case, and compute the error level of the approximating solution. The method is aimed to simplify the numerical computations for the solutions to equations of this type, without performing an approximation of the multivalued function. The theory is illustrated by numerical results.     

Mimicking the cell membrane with block copolymer membranes

Cell membranes are essential barriers in Nature. To understand their properties and functions and to develop desirable applications, a simple and elegant approach is to study membranes that mimic the cell membrane. Lipid bilayers represent simple models that are physiologically representative when in the form of mixtures of various lipids, but they are not adequately stable even when covered with amphipathic proteins or when combined with polymers, thus preventing technological applications. This makes necessary the design of completely synthetic membranes. In this respect, amphiphilic copolymers that self‐assemble under dilute aqueous conditions and generate supramolecular polymer vesicles or films are ideal candidates for synthetic membranes. Their versatility in terms of chemistry and properties (permeability, mechanical stability, thickness), if appropriately designed, enable the insertion of biological molecules, such as membrane proteins and biopores, or the attachment of biomolecules at their surfaces. Here, we present the domain of synthetic membranes based on amphiphilic copolymers beginning with their generation and up to their applications in medicine, the food industry, and technology. Even though significant progress has been made in combining them with membrane proteins, open questions remain with respect to desired properties that could accommodate biological molecules and support further development of the field, from both the point of view of fundamental understanding and of applications. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

The First Catalytic Synthesis of an Acrylate from CO2 and an Alkene—A Rational Approach

For more than three decades the catalytic synthesis of acrylates from the cheap and abundantly available C₁ building block carbon dioxide and alkenes has been an unsolved problem in catalysis research, both in academia and industry. Herein, we describe a homogeneous catalyst based on nickel that permits the catalytic synthesis of the industrially highly relevant acrylate sodium acrylate from CO₂, ethylene, and a base, as demonstrated, at this stage, by a turnover number of greater than 10 with respect to the metal.