Polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs): bridging the void between microporous and polymeric materials

Novel types of microporous material are required for chemoselective adsorptions, separations and heterogeneous catalysis. This concept article describes recent research directed towards the synthesis of polymeric materials that possess microporosity that is intrinsic to their molecular structures. These polymers (PIMs) can exhibit analogous behaviour to that of conventional microporous materials, but, in addition, may be processed into convenient forms for use as membranes. The excellent performance of these membranes for gas separation and pervaporation illustrates the unique character of PIMs and suggests immediate technological applications.     

Polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs): robust, solution-processable, organic nanoporous materials

Microporous materials can be derived directly from soluble polymers whose randomly contorted shapes prevent an efficient packing of the macromolecules in the solid state.     

Diazo Compounds and Phenyliodonium Ylides in Inter- and Intramolecular Cyclopropanations Catalyzed by Dirhodium(II). Synthesis and Chiral Resolution by GC versus HPLC

Summary. The dirhodium(II)-catalyzed intermolecular cyclopropanation of a set of olefins with either diazo free phenyliodonium ylides or diazo compounds afforded cyclopropanes derived from Meldrum’s acid, dimethyl malonate, (silanoxyvinyl)diazoacetates, 3,3,3-trifluoro-2-diazopropionate, ethyl diazo(triethyl)- and (dimethylphenyl)silylacetate with moderate to high yield in either racemic or enantio-enriched forms. The intramolecular cyclopropanation of triethylsilyl-substituted allyl diazoacetates in the presence of the chiral rhodium(II) catalyst [Rh₂(s-nttl)₄] in toluene afforded the corresponding cyclopropanes with up to 37% ee. An efficient chiral separation method based on enantioselective GC and HPLC was developed. The method provides information about the chemical yields of the cyclopropane products, enantioselectivity, substrate specifity, and catalytic activity of the chiral catalysts used in the inter- and intramolecular cyclopropanation reactions and avoids time-consuming work-up procedures.     

Organotin polymers—II.Copolymerization parameters for tributyltin methacrylate with methyl acrylate,ethyl acrylate,butyl acrylate and acrylonitrile

Copolymerizations of tributyltin methacrylate (M₁) with methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate and acrylonitrile were carried out in solution at 70° using azobisisobutyronitrile as initiator. Copolymer compositions were determined by tin analysis; monomer reactivity ratios were calculated by Fineman-Ross and Kelen-Tüdös methods. The reactivities of acrylic esters decrease as the alkyl group becomes bulkier. Azeotropic copolymers could be formed from tributyltin methacrylate with butyl acrylate and with acrylonitrile. The structures of M₁ and its azeotropic copolymers have been investigated by infrared spectroscopy.     

Radiation effects on polymers—XIII. The application of cellulose acetate-g-polyacrylamide membranes in the process of water desalination by reverse osmosis

Using computerized programs, the water flux and salt rejection properties in reverse osmosis of cellulose acetate-g-acrylamide membranes are determined. Comparisons are made with ungrafted commercial cellulose acetate membranes, using 0.1 and 1.0 M sodium chloride, sodium sulphate and ammonium sulphate solutions. The grafted cellulose acetates show improved water flux but reduced NaCl rejection. However, they show promising prospects in bigger ion separation as for Na₂SO₄ and (NH₄)₂SO₄ solutions.     

Improving the spectrophotometric determination of the alkylating activity of anticancer agents: A new insight into the mechanism of the NBP method

In this paper, the mechanism of the nitrobenzylpyridine (NBP) method to measure the alkylating activity of drugs originally described by Epstein et al. [J. Epstein, R.W. Rosenthal, R.J. Ess, Anal. Chem. 27 (1955) 1435-1439] and modified later by others was revisited using melphalan, m-sarcolysin, chlorambucil, cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide. Its direct application to determine the activity of these drugs in human serum and aqueous media is described and discussed.This method, based on the formation of a chromophore due to the reaction between the alkylating agent and NBP, was significantly improved by extracting as quickly as possible the reaction product(s) into chloroform before adding alkali to develop the color. This significantly limited the degradation by hydrolysis of the products and enhanced the yield of the end chromophore in the organic phase. The reaction time was optimized by monitoring each compound color development.The best reaction time for each compound was selected and a higher stability of the extracted color over at least 1 h was obtained (compared to a couple of minutes in previous studies). Most interestingly, water evaporation due to heating had little or no effect on the linearity of standard curves evaluated in the micromolar concentration range. Both the sensitivity and reproducibility of the method were therefore significantly improved.There appears to be a direct correlation between compound hydrolysis and alkylation activity; the relative reactivity is different among the compounds owing to the rate of (i) production, (ii) the relative proportions and (iii) the hydrolysis of the intermediates. A general mechanism for the nucleophilic competitive substitution is proposed.     

The interaction between polymerization initiators and inhibitors in solution—IV: The reaction of benzoyl peroxide with hydroquinone in solution

The reaction between benzoyl peroxide and hydroquinone in a wide variety of solvents has been investigated by isolation and identification of the products. Benzoic acid, p-benzoquinone and benzoyloxy derivatives of p-benzoquinone are obtained under all conditions. Their relative amounts are largely determined by the molar ratios of the reactants and the nature of the solvent. In strongly polar solvents of high solvation power, p-benzoquinone is formed in preference to its derivatives. Nevertheless, the yield of 2,5-dibenzoyloxy p-benzoquinone reaches a maximum in acrylonitrile. Only in this solvent, at equal molar ratios of reactants, is full substitution in the hydroquinone nucleus achieved with the formation of tetrabenzoyloxy hydroquinone. These facts, together with the partial polymerization of acrylonitrile at room temperature at slightly higher peroxide/hydroquinone ratios and the complete suppression of the polymerization when perchloric acid is added, could be explained by a heterolytic mechanism involving the formation and controlled separation of ion pairs derived from the reactants.     

Presimplifiable and Cyclic Group Rings

Let R be any commutative ring with identity, and let C be a (finite or infinite) cyclic group. We show that the group ring R(C) is presimplifiable if and only if its augmentation ideal I(C) is presimplifiable. We conjecture that the group rings R(C _n ) are presimplifiable if and only if n = p ^m , p ∈ J(R), p is prime, and R is presimplifiable. We show the necessity of n = p ^m , and we prove the sufficiency when n = 2, 3, 4. These results were made possible by a new formula derived herein for the circulant determinantal coefficients.     

A triptycene-based polymer of intrinsic microposity that displays enhanced surface area and hydrogen adsorption

A novel triptycene-based polymer of intrinsic microporosity (Trip-PIM) displays enhanced surface area (1065 m2 g(-1)) and reversibly adsorbs 1.65% hydrogen by mass at 1 bar/77 K and 2.71% at 10 bar/77 K.     

Optimizing dirhodium(II) tetrakiscarboxylates as chiral NMR auxiliaries

Thirteen enantiopure paddlewheel-shaped dirhodium(II) tetrakiscarboxylate complexes have been checked for their efficiency in the dirhodium method (differentiation of enantiomers by NMR spectroscopy); six of them are new. Their diastereomeric dispersion effects were studied and compared via so-called key numbers KN. Adducts of each complex were tested with five different test ligands representing all relevant donor properties from strong (phosphane) to very weak (ether). Only one of them, the dirhodium complex with four axial (S)-N-2,3-naphthalenedicarboxyl-tert-leucinate groups (N23tL), showed results significantly better for all ligands than the conventional complex Rh* [Rh(II)(2)[(R)-(+)-MTPA](4); MTPA = methoxytrifluoromethylphenylacetate]. On the basis of (1)H{(1)H} NOE spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, a combination of favourable anisotropic group orientation and conformational flexibility is held responsible for the high efficiency of N23tL in enantiodifferentiation. Both complexes, Rh* and N23tL, are recommended as chiral auxiliaries for the dirhodium experiment.