A Convenient General Access to α-Sulfenylated Acetophenones and Alkanones

Friedel-Crafts acylation of arenes with methylthio- (1) or phenylthio-acetyl chloride (2) provides ready access to α-methylthio- or α-phenylthio-substituted acetophenones. The acyl chlorides 1 and 2 reacted also with organoaluminum reagents to give α-sulfenylated alkanones.     

Pyrolysis of Dibenzyl Selenides to Bibenzyls

The formation of carbon-carbon bond by sulfur extrusion such as pyrolysis of cyclic sulfones is well known as an important synthetic method, especially for the synthesis of cyclophane framework.¹⁾ Little is known about selenium extrusion as the counterpart, though organoseleniums have been properly appreciated as a useful tool for manipulating a functional group.²⁾ Lardon reported that the thermal decomposition of dibenzyl diselenide led to a mixture of dibenzyl selenide and polyselenides.³⁾ In contrast, recent reports showed that at 210°C, heating bis(diphenylmethyl) diselenide resulted in ready selenium extrusion to 1,1,2,2-tetraphenylethane⁴⁾, and dianthrylmethyl mono- and diselenides to 1,2-dianthrylethane.⁵⁾ Therefore,- it is worthwhile to study the thermal behavior of dibenzyl selenide itself.     

Effects of Inorganic Salts on Micellization and Solubilization in an Aqueous Solution of Poly(ethylene oxide)/Poly(propylene oxide)/Poly(ethylene oxide) Triblock Copolymer

The effects of inorganic salts on micellization and solubilization of prednisolone in aqueous solution of poly(ethylene oxide)/poly(propylene oxide)/poly(ethylene oxide) triblock copolymer (Pluronic P85) were studied. The effect of inorganic salts on decrease in the cloud point and the critical micelle concentration (cmc) of Pluronic P85 was the order of Na₂HPO₄ > NaH₂PO₄ > NaCl > NaBr. Moreover, it was found that Pluronic P85 forms two kinds of micelles: monomolecular micelles and polymolecular micelles. The polymolecular micelle increased with increasing amount of added inorganic salts. Moreover, solubilization behavior is explained from the standpoint of salting out for prednisolone and association characteristics of Pluronic P85.     

First Synthesis of DL-2-C-Hydroxymethyl-3-Pentulose in the Formose Reaction

Abstract

The formose reactions² in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) catalyzed by 2-(dimethylamino)ethanol and thiamine hydrochloride, have been found to give rise to dihydroxyacetone and DL-glycero-tetrulose selectively at 1.1 M and 3.0 M of formaldehyde concentration, respectively. In our consecutive study on the formose reaction in DMF, it has been fortunately found that the distribution of products is able to be controlled by the amount of water added to the reaction mixture. We describe herein the first example of the favored formation of DL-2-C-hydroxymethyl-3-pentu-lose (GP-19¹) in the formose reaction using DMF-H₂O solvent, and it's isolation and structure elucidation.     

Development of continuous process enabling nanofibrillation of pulp and melt compounding

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC), a mechanically fibrillated pulp mostly consisting of nanofibrils, is a very attractive material because of its high elastic modulus and strength. Although much research has been done on composites of MFC and polypropylene (PP), it has been difficult to produce such composites at an industrial level because of the difficulties in using MFC in such composites are not only connected to the polarity (that can be improved with compatibilizers), but also with the challenge to make a homogeneous blend of the components, and also the low temperature stability of cellulose that could cause problems during processing. We developed a new processing method which enables continuous microfibrillation of pulp and its melt compounding with PP. Never-dried kraft pulp and powdered PP were used as raw materials to obtain MFC by kneading via a twin-screw extruder. Scanning electron microscopy showed nano to submicron wide fibers entangled in the powdered PP. MFC did not aggregate during the melt compounding process, during which the water content was evaporated. Maleic anhydride polypropylene (MAPP) was used as a compatibilizer to reinforce interfacial adhesion between the polar hydroxyl groups of MFC and non-polar PP. We investigated the effect of MAPP content on the mechanical properties of the composite, which were drastically improved by MAPP addition. Needle-leaf unbleached kraft pulp (NUKP)-derived MFC composites had better mechanical properties than needle-leaf bleached kraft pulp (NBKP)-derived MFC composites. Injection molded NUKP-derived MFC composites had good mechanical and thermal properties. The tensile modulus of 50 wt% MFC composite was two times, and the tensile strength 1.5 times higher than that of neat PP. The heat distortion temperature of 50 wt% MFC content composite under 1.82 MPa flexural load was increased by 53 °C, from 69 to 122 °C. This newly developed continuous process using powder resin has the potential for application at an industrial level.     

Enormously extended π-electronic conjugation system of dimeric octaethylporphyrin transmitted with anthracene

Based on the fact that anthracene (Anth) possesses much higher similarity in electron-releasing ability to porphyrin nucleus than the other polyacenes, the dimeric octaethylporphyrin (OEP) derivatives 4 and 5 (OEP–Anth–OEP) were synthesized and their structure–property relationships were examined, as compared with related OEP dimers 1–3. Among them, the derivative 4 showed enormously high electronic communication between two terminal OEP rings, potentially providing a suitable unit of the electronic structure for molecular design of the OEP devices operating with less energy and with higher sensitivity to outside stimuli.     

Measuring the electron affinity of organic solids: an indispensable new tool for organic electronics

Electron affinity is a fundamental energy parameter of materials. In organic semiconductors, the electron affinity is closely related to electron conduction. It is not only important to understand fundamental electronic processes in organic solids, but it is also indispensable for research and development of organic semiconductor devices such as organic light-emitting diodes and organic photovoltaic cells. However, there has been no experimental technique for examining the electron affinity of organic materials that meets the requirements of such research. Recently, a new method, called low-energy inverse-photoemission spectroscopy, has been developed. A beam of low-energy electrons is focused onto the sample surface, and photons emitted owing to the radiative transition to unoccupied states are then detected. From the onset of the spectral intensity, the electron affinity is determined within an uncertainty of 0.1 eV. Unlike in conventional inverse-photoemission spectroscopy, sample damage is negligible and the resolution is improved by a factor of 2. The principle of the method and several applications are reported.

Approximate analytic expressions for the diffusiophoretic velocity of a spherical colloidal particle

The general expression is derived for the diffusiophoretic velocity of a spherical colloidal particle of radius a in a concentration gradient of symmetrical electrolyte. On the basis of this expression, simple approximate analytic expressions for the diffusiophoretic velocity correct up to the order of 1/κa is derived, where κ is the Debye-Hückel parameter. It is found that the approximate expression correct to order unity can be applied for κa ≥ 50 with negligible errors, while the approximate expression correct to order 1/κa can be applied for κa ≥ 20 with negligible errors.