Femtosecond Dynamics in the Lactim Tautomer of Phycocyanobilin: A Long‐Wavelength Absorbing Model Compound for the Phytochrome Chromophore

Transient UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy is used to study the primary dynamics of the ring‐A methyl imino ether of phycocyanobilin (PCB‐AIE), which was shown to mimic the far‐red absorbance of the Pfr chromophore in phytochromes (R. Micura, K. Grubmayr, Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett.­ 1994, 4, 2517–2522 ). After excitation at 615 nm, the excited electronic state is found to decay with τ₁=0.4 ps followed by electronic ground‐state relaxation with τ₂=1.2 and τ₃=6.7 ps. Compared with phycocyanobilin (PCB), the initial kinetics of PCB‐AIE is much faster. Thus, the lactim structure of PCB‐AIE seems to be a suitable model that could not only explain the bathochromic shift in the ground‐state absorption but also the short reaction of the Pfr as compared to the Pr chromophore in phytochrome. In addition, the equivalence of ring‐A and ring‐D lactim tautomers with respect to a red‐shifted absorbance relative to the lactam tautomers is demonstrated by semiempirical calculations.     

Orientation of platelets in multilayered nanocomposite polymer films

The orientation of platelets in micro-meter-thick polymer-clay nanocomposite films was investigated with small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). The films with various clay contents (15–60% by mass fraction) were prepared by a layer-by-layer approach from polymer-clay solutions that led to the formation of a high degree of orientation in both polymer and clay platelets. Shear-induced orientation of polymer-clay solutions is compared with the orientation of polymer-clay films. SANS, SAXS, and WAXD, with beam configurations in and perpendicular to the spread direction of the film, were used to determine the structure and orientation of platelets. In all films, the clay platelets oriented preferentially in the plane of the film. The observed differences in semidilute solutions, with clay surface normal parallel to the vorticity direction, versus bulk films and with clay surface normal parallel to the shear gradient direction at clay mass fractions of 40 and 60%, were attributed to the collapses of clay platelet during the drying process. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 3237–3248, 2003     

The Ozonolysis of Longifolene: A Tool for the Preparation of Useful Chiral Compounds. Configuration Determination of New Stereogenic Centers by NMR Spectroscopy and X‐Ray Crystallography

The ozonolysis of (+)‐longifolene ( 1 ) in different solvents (Et₂O, CH₂Cl₂, CHCl₃, acetone) at ?80° provided quantitatively longifolene epoxide ( 3 ) as a single diastereoisomer in which the O‐atom is endo‐positioned (Scheme 2). Upon warming to room temperature, the epoxide remained stable only in acetone and was isolated as a low‐melting crystalline compound. In CH₂Cl₂, Et₂O, or CHCl₃ solution, epoxide 3 rapidly rearranged to the isomeric enols 4 and 5 , which underwent further rearrangement to give the exo‐aldehyde 6 . On standing for several weeks in CH₂Cl₂ solution, or in CHCl₃ and Et₂O as well, at room temperature, aldehyde 6 slowly rearranged into its epimer 7 . The aldehydes 6 and 7 were isolated on the preparative scale for further synthetic use. The addition of methylmagnesium iodide to 6 and 7 provided the corresponding alcohols 13 / 14 and 15 / 16 , respectively, which were isolated as pure diastereoisomers (Scheme 4). The configurations of the new chiral centers in 13 – 16 were determined by NMR methods and X‐ray crystallography.     

η6‐Arene‐Zirconium‐PNP‐Pincer Complexes: Mechanism of Their Hydrogenolytic Formation and Their Reactivity as Zirconium(II) Synthons

The cyclometalated monobenzyl complexes [(Cbzdiphos^R‐CH)ZrBnX] 1 ^{i Pr} Cl and 1 ^Ph I reacted with dihydrogen (10 bar) to yield the η⁶‐toluene complexes [(Cbzdiphos^R)Zr(η⁶‐tol)X] 2 ^{i Pr} Cl and 2 ^Ph I (cbzdiphos=1,8‐bis(phosphino)‐3,6‐di‐tert‐butyl‐9H‐carbazole). The arene complexes were also found to be directly accessible from the triiodide [(Cbzdiphos^Ph)ZrI₃] through an in situ reaction with a dibenzylmagnesium reagent and subsequent hydrogenolysis, as exemplified for the η⁶‐mesitylene complex [(Cbzdiphos^Ph)Zr(η⁶‐mes)I] ( 3 ^Ph I ). The tolyl‐ring in 2 ^{i Pr} Cl adopts a puckered arrangement (fold angle 23.3°) indicating significant arene‐1,4‐diido character. Deuterium labeling experiments were consistent with an intramolecular reaction sequence after the initial hydrogenolysis of a Zr?C bond by a σ‐bond metathesis. A DFT study of the reaction sequence indicates that hydrogenolysis by σ‐bond metathesis first occurs at the cyclometalated ancillary ligand giving a hydrido‐benzyl intermediate, which subsequently reductively eliminates toluene that then coordinates to the Zr atom as the reduced arene ligand. Complex 2 ^Ph I was reacted with 2,6‐diisopropylphenyl isocyanide giving the deep blue, diamagnetic Zr^II‐diisocyanide complex [(Cbzdiphos^Ph)Zr(CNDipp)₂I] ( 4 ^Ph I ). DFT modeling of 4 ^Ph I demonstrated that the HOMO of the complex is primarily located as a “lone pair on zirconium”, with some degree of back‐bonding into the C≡N π* bond, and the complex is thus most appropriately described as a zirconium(II) species. Reaction of 2 ^Ph I with trimethylsilylazide (N₃TMS) and 2 ^{i Pr} Cl with 1‐azidoadamantane (N₃Ad) resulted in the formation of the imido complexes [(Cbzdiphos^R)Zr=NR′(X)] 5 ^{i Pr} Cl‐NAd and 5 ^Ph I‐NTMS , respectively. Reaction of 2 ^{i Pr} Cl with azobenzene led to N?N bond scission giving 6 ^{i Pr} Cl , in which one of the NPh‐fragments is coupled with the carbazole nitrogen to form a central η²‐bonded hydrazide(?1), whereas the other NPh‐fragment binds to zirconium acting as an imido‐ligand. Finally, addition of pyridine to 2 ^{i Pr} Cl yielded the dark purple complex [(Cbzdiphos^iPr)Zr(bpy)Cl] ( 7 ^{i Pr} Cl ) through a combination of CH‐activation and C?C‐coupling. The structural data and UV/Vis spectroscopic properties of 7 ^{i Pr} Cl indicate that the bpy (bipyridine) may be regarded as a (dianionic) diamido‐type ligand.     

Classical light scattering studies on structure formation in polymer solutions

The scattered light is very sensitive to the presence of supermolecular structures in polymer solutions, offering the possibility to study structure formation in situ by classical light scattering and to characterize the generated particles. An improved analysis of light scattering data yields information on the structure type, polydispersity of the systems, particle mass and size as well as the degree of swelling. The flocculation process of ampholytic modified poly(acrylonitrile) was investigated in dependence on the pH-value and the content of different salts in the solvent. Results obtained give a deeper insight into the flocculation mechanism.