Double-stranded cycles: toward C84's belt region

The reactivity of the double-stranded hydrocarbon cycle with two ether bridges (1) toward iodotrimethylsilane (TMSI) was investigated in some detail. The carbon skeleton of cycle 1 resembles the belt region of a C84 fullerene which makes it a potential precursor to the long sought after fully aromatic derivative. Upon exposure to TMSI, cycle 1 undergoes a cascade of reactions which involve different states of iodination/reduction which ultimately lead to the hydrogenated cycle 5a, whose structure was proven by single-crystal X-ray analysis. A deeper insight into mechanistic aspects of this sequence of conversions was gained by performing the reaction under dry and wet conditions, whereby the latter involved both normal and deuterated water. With the help of detailed NMR correlation studies and DFT computations, all important aspects were clarified including an unexpected selective H/D exchange at the naphthalenic moieties.     

Phosphinines as ligands in homogeneous catalysis: recent developments, concepts and perspectives

Phosphinines belong to an intriguing class of phosphorus-containing heterocycles with interesting steric, electronic and coordinating properties. This article focuses on recent developments, concepts and perspectives in the field of phosphinines and phosphinine-based ligands and their application as ligands in homogeneous catalytic reactions.     

Analytical Investigations of Bacterial Cellulose

The cultivation of the bacterium Acetobacter xylinus AX 5 was carried out in the common Hestrin-Schramm medium containing D -glucose as C-source and citric acid as buffer component. HPLC studies proved to be convenient methods to investigate the stability and interactions of these constituents in the starting culture liquid. Within the initial sterilization step and limited by the citric acid, up to 6% of the D -glucose was partially isomerized to D-fructose and degraded to dark-yellow products. In static culture, A. xylinus AX 5 produces cellulose extracellularly on the surface of this medium. Solid-state NMR spectroscopy represents a suitable analytical method to characterize the supramolecular structure of the bacterial cellulose in never-dried, air-dried, and freeze-dried states. It could be demonstrated that the drying process reduces the degree of crystallinity in the range of about 12% without changes in the Iα/β ratio of these cellulose modifications.     

Modeling of the Phase Separation Behavior of Polydisperse Semi‐Flexible Diblock Copolymers

Summary: A modified random phase approximation method with a cumulant expansion for the semi‐flexible structure factor of diblock copolymers was exercised to describe the phase separation behavior of semi‐flexible and polydisperse diblock copolymers. Scattering curves and spinodal diagrams were calculated applying monomer specific input parameters. The influence of polydispersity was included applying basic concepts of mathematical statistics utilizing several probability density distributions in the case of the two single blocks. In contrast to semi‐flexibility, the main effect of polydispersity was found to shift the spinodal up, thus to enlarge the range of existence of the homogeneous phase.

Twofold Schultz‐Zimm distribution of diblock copolymers.     

Modeling of the dynamics of multi-section waveguide lasers

A dynamic model for the design of multi-section semiconductor lasers is developed based on the Transmission Line Method. The different building blocks of this model are presented and the model is evaluated for a tunable two-section laser device.