Dielectric study of acetophenone and its derivatives

Complex permittivity measurements on acetophenone and its derivatives o-hydroxybenzaldehyde, o-methylacetophenone, and o-hydroxyacetophenone are performed at frequencies between 1 MHz and 20 GHz at temperatures from 273 to 323 K. The parameters obtained from the fitting of the complex permittivity are analyzed in order to study the effects of the hydroxyl group within a molecule on the dielectric relaxation phenomenon in these liquids. The analysis indicates that dynamical properties are affected not only by the intermolecular hydrogen bond but also by the slight change in molecular structure. This conclusion differs from those obtained from the results of other experiments.     

Yellowish-white photoluminescence from ZnO nanoparticles doped with Al and Li

ZnO nanoparticles codoped with Al and Li were chemically synthesized with a low temperature drying process. They are crystalline and can be made as small as 5 nm. Intense yellowish white photoluminescence was observed from smaller ZnO nanoparticles with a higher concentration of Al and Li. The photoluminescence peak consists of yellow and green emission bands. Both peak intensities increase with increasing the Al and Li concentrations and with decreasing the size of ZnO nanoparticles. The green and yellow emission bands were attributed to donor–acceptor-pair recombination involving Zn vacancies and lithium as the acceptor state, respectively, and the donor responsible for both emissions to oxygen vacancies. Both enhanced emissions by codoping may be explained by an increase in the number of electrons occupying the deep donor level on account of doping with Al. Although the yellowish white emission decays with time, passivation of the crystallite surface with poly(p-phenylene vinylene) suppresses the degradation. The observed high-intensity and stable yellowish white emission makes PPV-passivated ZnO nanoparticles, codoped with Al and Li, more attractive as a candidate for “white” phosphor.     

Polymerization of norbornene with a pendent sulfonyl fluoride group catalyzed by palladium complex bearing tBu3P ligand

The combination of palladium complex (^tBu₃P)Pd(Me)Cl ( 1 ) and NaB[3,5‐(CF₃)₂C₆H₃]₄ (NaBAr₄) catalyzed homopolymerization of a novel monomer, norbornene (NB) with a pendent 2‐fluorosulfonyltetrafluoroethoxymethyl chain (NBSF). Catalytic activities of 1 /NaBAr₄ were higher than those of previously reported palladium or nickel catalysts, probably, because the palladium center with electron donative ^tBu₃P ligand was barely poisoned by the sulfonyl fluoride coordination. Thus, 1 /NaBAr₄ is the current best catalyst system for NBSF polymerization. The catalyst system also gave copolymers of NB with NBSF. The obtained copolymers have high sulfonyl‐fluoride incorporation and a narrow molecular weight distribution. Present catalyst system could control incorporation ratio of NBSF by changing a feed monomer ratio with slow addition of NB solution. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 5133–5141, 2008     

Tetravalent metal complexes as a new family of catalysts for copolymerization of epoxides with carbon dioxide

New tetravalent metal complexes with a trianionic [ONNO]-tetradentate ligand and an ancillary chloride ligand were synthesized as catalysts for the copolymerization of epoxides with carbon dioxide (CO(2)). All of the titanium, zirconium, germanium, and tin complexes were found to copolymerize epoxides with CO(2). In particular, the copolymerization of propylene oxide with CO(2) gave the almost-completely alternating copolymers by using titanium or germanium complexes. These results are the first example of the copolymerization using tetravalent metal complexes as a main component of catalysts.     

Does transparent nematic phase exist in 5CB∕DDAB∕water microemulsions? From the viewpoint of temperature dependent dielectric spectroscopy

Liquid crystal colloids have received tremendous attention because of its great potential both in the understanding of the liquid crystalline phase and in searching for new application of liquid crystals. Inverse microemulsion composed of 4-cyano-4-n-pentylbiphenyl (5CB), didodecyl dimethyl ammonium bromide, and water was investigated by means of broadband dielectric spectroscopy in this study. Based on the understanding of previous investigations on the same system, the isotropic phase was taken into account to quantitatively characterize the bulklike relaxations after the isotropic-to-nematic phase transition. Analogous results concerning the phase transition and phase composition to other investigations were obtained. In addition to bulklike relaxations, a new relaxation was observed at the frequency range about two orders lower than bulklike relaxations. This new relaxation shows abnormal temperature dependence, suggesting that superstructures composed of water droplets and confined 5CB molecules exist. This superstructure possibly possesses a confined nanoscaled liquid crystal ordering and may correspond to the notion of the transparent nematic phase.     

Isolation of a PBP-pincer rhodium complex stabilized by an intermolecular C-H σ coordination as the fourth ligand

A little help from my friends: a highly reactive, 16-electron square-planar rhodium complex was isolated. This species displays an intermolecular interaction between the rhodium and the C-H bond of another molecule as the fourth ligand to form an infinite network in the crystal lattice. The complex undergoes oxidative addition to the O-H bond of phenol or a primary alkyl alcohol to give the corresponding hydrido-phenoxido Rh(III) complex or carbonyl Rh(I) complex, respectively.     

Expression of heme oxygenase-1 due to intracellular reactive oxygen species induced by ultrasound

The present study was undertaken to elucidate the mechanism by which ultrasound induces the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). When human lymphoma U937 cells were exposed to a 1 MHz continuous wave for 1 min, HO-1 expression examined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting was observed at intensities above the cavitational threshold. No induction of HO-1 expression was observed in the cells exposed for 1 min to 42 degrees C, a temperature higher than that during sonication. When a potent antioxidant, N-acetyl-l-cysteine, was added to the culture medium before or after sonication, the induction was attenuated, indicating that reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved. However, the addition of catalase did not affect the induction, and no HO-1 was observed on the addition of pre-sonicated medium, suggesting that hydrogen peroxide due to the recombination of hydroxyl radicals generated extracellularly was not involved. The addition of free radical scavengers, glutathion-monoethyl ester, dimethyl sulfoxide and D(-)-mannitol, suppressed the induction. A decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential and the generation of superoxide were also observed in the sonicated cells, suggesting that mitochondria were the source of intracellularly generated ROS. These results indicate that superoxide secondarily generated from damaged mitochondria, not hydroxyl radicals generated in medium directly by sonication, give rise to intracellular oxidative stress inducing HO-1 expression.