The vibrational relaxation of I2 by H2 in a supersonic jet

The vibrational relaxation of I₂ by H₂ has been studied in a supersonic free jet. It was observed that the addition of 5% H₂ to the helium carrier gas greatly reduces the concentration of X ¹Σ⁺_g(ν″ = 1) I₂ in the jet as compared to the concentration in a pure helium carrier. From this observation we have determined that the average vibrational relaxation cross sections of H₂ is 7.1 times as large as that of helium. Since the average vibrational relaxation cross section of deuterium is at least as large as that of hydrogen, the mechanism responsible for this phenomenon appears not to be dominated by mass effects.     

Spectroelectrochemical study of hemoglobin A, alpha- and beta-fumarate crosslinked hemoglobins; implications to autoxidation reaction

The thermodynamics and kinetics of the reaction DeoxyHb-Fe(2+)<-->MetHb-Fe(3+) for human hemoglobin A (HbA), alpha- and beta-fumarate crosslinked hemoglobins were investigated by spectroelectrochemistry. Information from this study is used to determine what structural features and experimental conditions stabilize ferrous vs. ferric form of hemoglobin, and what implications this stabilization may have on the autoxidation reaction. Alpha- and beta-fumarate crosslinked hemoglobins, alphaXL-HbA and betaXL-HbA, were obtained by crosslinking deoxyhemoglobin and oxyhemoglobin, respectively, with bis(3,5-dibromosalicyl) fumarate (DBSF). Formal redox potentials, E(0), and reduction/oxidation rates were measured in the presence of mediator, hexammineruthenium(III) chloride. It was found that E(0) shifted positive for the alpha-, and negative for the beta-fumarate crosslinked hemoglobin compared to HbA for all experimental conditions investigated. This shift was consistent with stabilization of the tense (positive shift) or relaxed conformation (negative shift) conferred by crosslinking. Formal redox potentials shifted positive with addition of nitrate and chloride ions for alphaXL-HbA, indicating additional stabilization of the T quaternary. The slopes of the Nernst plots showed evidence of cooperativity as expressed by n(max). The data points (E(0), n(max)) were fitted by the MWC model which states that the electron transfer and the addition/removal of water are concerted. The set of K(R) and c values, where the parameter c is the ratio K(R)/K(T) and K(R) and K(T) are the ligand (water molecule and an electron-hole) dissociation constants for the R and T states, for the beta-crosslinked hemoglobin compared to that of HbA and alpha-crosslinked hemoglobin indicated that crosslinking of oxyhemoglobin affected differently the inner-coordination sphere at the heme site. By modulating the electrolyte concentration the reduction rates were measured as a function of DeltaE(0), the difference in E(0) between hemoglobin molecules and mediator. Linearization of the Marcus cross-relationship (based on the concerted water and electron transfer) was good for HbA, and poor for alphaXL-HbA and betaXL-HbA, consistent with results obtained by the MWC analysis. This may imply that the reduction of HbA is controlled by the driving force, DeltaE(0), whereas the reduction of alphaXL-HbA and betaXL-HbA occurs by a non-concerted mechanism controlled by structural features brought about by crosslinking. The autoxidation reaction, conversion of oxygen-bound ferrous hemoglobin to ferric hemoglobin, was found independent of E(0). Alpha-fumarate crosslinked hemoglobin showed the highest autoxidation rate despite its positive shift in formal redox potential as compared to HbA, followed by beta-fumarate crosslinked hemoglobin, and by native hemoglobin. These data suggest that the chemical mechanism of oxygen dissociation and accessibility of water and oxygen radicals to heme site control autoxidation.     

(Tetramethyltetraazaannulene)chromium chloride: a highly active catalyst for the alternating copolymerization of epoxides and carbon dioxide

A tetramethyltetraazaannulene complex incorporating a chromium(III) metal center has been shown to be highly active toward the copolymerization of cyclohexene oxide and carbon dioxide to afford poly(cyclohexene carbonate) in the presence of [PPN]N3 [PPN+=bis(triphenylphosphoranylidene)ammonium] as a cocatalyst. An asymptotical rate increase was observed, leveling at 2 equiv of cocatalyst with a maximum turnover frequency of 1300 h(-1) at 80 degrees C. A benefit of this new catalyst system over that of the previously studied less-active (salen)CrX system is that the (tmtaa)CrCl catalyst has a much lower propensity toward the formation of a cyclic carbonate byproduct throughout the copolymerization reaction.     

Siloxane/silane‐crosslinked systems from supercritical carbon dioxide: I. Fluorinated poly(ether/siloxane)s

A series of new, fluorinated, silicone‐containing polymers with crosslinkable units has been synthesized by hydrosilation in toluene and supercritical carbon dioxide (70°C, 3000 psi) using platinum‐divinyltetramethyldisiloxane (Pt‐DVTMS) as a catalyst. The polymers were characterized by FTIR, NMR, GPC, TGA, and DSC. The molecular weights of these polymers ranged from 9,900 to 41,000. Comparison of the properties between reactions in toluene versus supercritical carbon dioxide indicated that the green solvent is a suitable alternative for hydrosilation. The hydrolysis and thermal curing of the crosslinkable precursor polymers produced higher molecular weight polymers with thermal stabilities ranging from 347 to 417°C. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and properties of new crystalline poly(arylene ether)s containing pendant benzoyl groups

Poly(arylene ether)s ( 3 ) containing pendant benzoyl groups were prepared by the aromatic substitution reaction of 2,5-difluoro-4-benzoylbenzophenone (2) with hydroquinone ( 1a ) and methylhydroquinone ( 1b ) in the presence of potassium carbonate in N,N-dimethylacetamide. The polycondensation proceeded smoothly at 165°C and produced poly(arylene ether)s with inherent viscosities up to 0.8 dL/g. The polymer ( 3b ) derived from methylhydroquinone was quite soluble in common organic solvents and could be processed into uniform films from solutions. On the other hand, the polymer ( 3a ) derived from hydroquinone was only soluble in pentafluorophenol and methanesulfonic acid and had a high crystallinity. These polymers showed 10% weight losses at around 420 and 490°C in nitrogen. Polymer 3b also showed good tensile strength and tensile moduli. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 605–611, 1997     

Low-temperature phases of rubidium silver iodide: crystal structures and dynamics of the mobile silver ions

Recently, broad-band conductivity spectra have been taken in the low-temperature gamma-phase of the archetypal fast ion conductor RbAg4I5. Attempts to reproduce the experimental data in a simple model calculation have led to the conclusion that strictly localized displacive movements of interacting ionic charge carriers should play an important role in the low-temperature phase. However, with no detailed structural study of gamma-RbAg4I5 available, the relevant processes could not be identified within the crystal structure. This state of affairs has triggered the present investigation of the structures of all three phases of rubidium silver iodide. Powder diffraction data of RbAg4I5 have been collected at the high-resolution powder diffractometer at ID31 at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). The structure of the gamma-phase has been solved by successive Rietveld refinements in combination with difference Fourier analyses. The same structural principle is found to prevail in all three phases, interconnected distorted RbI6 octahedra forming a three-dimensional framework, which undergoes only displacive structural changes during the alpha-beta and beta-gamma phase transitions. With decreasing temperature, the disorder in the silver sublattice is found to decrease, and a clustering of the disordered silver ions is found to develop. In the gamma-phase, "pockets" containing partially occupied silver sites have been identified, and it is suggested that the localized displacive motion detected by conductivity spectroscopy is performed by the silver ions located within these pockets.     

Kinetics of photopolymerization of acrylamide in AOT reverse micelles

The kinetics of the photoinitiated polymerization of acrylamide in toluene/AOT/water inverse microemulsions have been examined for systems initiated by AIBN or a dye: triethanolamine redox reaction. The rates of polymerization were determined by dilatometry, the data being corrected for the effect of reaction exotermicity. For both the oil-soluble and the water-soluble initiating systems, the rate of polymerization was found to be proportional to the first power of the incident light intensity. For AIBN-initiated systems, the rate of polymerization was also found to be proportional to the first power of the initiator concentration. The molecular weights of the polymers produced were independent of the rates of polymerization and initiation. These results suggest that exclusively monoradical termination, involving a degradative chain transfer, is occurring in these systems