Hofmann-type rearrangement of imides by in situ generation of imide-hypervalent iodines(III) from iodoarenes

The Hofmann-type rearrangement of aromatic and aliphatic imides using a hypervalent iodine(III) reagent generated in situ from PhI, m-CPBA, and TsOH·H(2)O proceeded in the presence of a base in alcohol to provide anthranilic acid derivatives and amino acid derivatives in high yields, respectively. This reaction proceeds through a tandem reaction via alcoholysis followed by a Hofmann rearrangement promoted by the formation of an imide-λ(3)-iodane intermediate.     

Highly efficient radiative recombination of electron–hole pairs localized at compound semiconductor quantum dots embedded in Si

We have studied the optical properties of compound semiconductor quantum dots (CSQDs) embedded in Si. Both photoluminescence and electroluminescence spectra were found to be associated with an inhomogeneously broadened band in the near-infrared. A long decay lifetime of luminescence was observed, which is in support of an indirect transition in both k- and real-space. Strong localization of electron–hole pairs was found to occur due to a deep potential well created by the built-in electric dipole at the III–V/Si interface. A Si-based light-emitting diode with GaSb-CSQDs in the active layer showed a high value of quantum efficiency. Light amplification was also observed under pulsed laser excitation.     

Synthesis of 6,6-dimethyltricyclo[5.4.0.02,8]undecane-2,9-diol for (ent-)longipinane-type sesquiterpenoids using two types of radical cyclization reactions

A synthetic route to 6,6-dimethyltricyclo[5.4.0.0^2,8]undecane-2,9-diol, a key precursor to (ent-)longipinane-type sesquiterpenoids, is described. This unique core common to (ent-)longipinanes was constructed using two types of intramolecular radical cyclization reactions, namely, intramolecular coupling of an acid chloride and an alkyl iodide mediated by SmI₂, TBAI and HMPA, and the coupling of a ketone and an epoxide mediated by Cp₂TiI₂ and SmI₂.     

Method for the elucidation of the elemental composition of low molecular mass chemicals using exact masses of product ions and neutral losses: application to environmental chemicals measured by liquid chromatography with hybrid quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A method for elucidating the elemental compositions of low molecular weight chemicals, based primarily on mass measurements made using liquid chromatography (LC) with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) and quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC/QTOFMS), was developed and tested for 113 chemicals of environmental interest with molecular masses up to approximately 400 Da. As the algorithm incorporating the method is not affected by differences in the instrument used, or by the ionization method and other ionization conditions, the method is useful not only for LC/TOFMS, but also for all kinds of mass spectra measured with higher accuracy and precision (uncertainties of a few mDa) employing all ionization methods and on-line separation techniques. The method involves calculating candidate compositions for intact ionized molecules (ionized forms of the sample molecule that have lost or gained no more than a proton, i.e., [M+H](+) or [M-H](-)) as well as for fragment ions and corresponding neutral losses, and eliminating those atomic compositions for the molecules that are inconsistent with the corresponding candidate compositions of fragment ions and neutral losses. Candidate compositions were calculated for the measured masses of the intact ionized molecules and of the fragment ions and corresponding neutral losses, using mass uncertainties of 2 and 5 mDa, respectively. Compositions proposed for the ionized molecule that did not correspond to the sum of the compositions of a candidate fragment ion and its corresponding neutral loss were discarded. One, 2-5, 6-10, 11-20, and >20 candidate compositions were found for 65%, 39%, 1%, 1%, and 0%, respectively, for the 124 ionized molecules formed from the 113 chemicals tested (both positive and negative ions were obtained from 11 of the chemicals). However, no candidate composition was found for 2% of the test cases (i.e., 3 chemicals), for each of which the measured mass of one of the product ions was in error by 5-6.7 mDa.     

Synthesis of polybenzimidazoles with sulfonic acid groups

2-Sulfoterephthalic acid (STA) and disulfoisophthalic acid (DSIA) were synthesized through the sulfonation and the oxidation of m- and p-xylene. The polycondensation reactions of STA and DSIA with aromatic tetraamines gave polybenzimidazoles which contained one or two sulfonic acid groups for each repeating unit. The polymer obtained was soluble in sulfuric acid, some organic solvents, and aqueous strong alkaline solution. The polymers were stable up to 400°C, but they gave polybenzimidazoles above 400°C by eliminating sulfonic acid groups, instead of ring closure.     

A novel calamitic mesophase semiconductor with the fastest mobility of charged carriers: 1,4-di(5'-octyl-2'-thienyl)benzene

The carrier mobility of highly ordered lamellar mesophases was evaluated by a Time-of-Flight (TOF) method for mesogenic 1,4-di(5'-octyl-2'-thienyl)benzene (8-TPT-8) to reveal the fastest drift mobility (0.1 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) for the lowest temperature mesophase) in calamitic liquid crystals reported to date.     

Hands on: thermal bonding of nano- and microfluidic chips

Microchimica Acta - Fused silica microchips have several attractive features; they are stable, transparent and allow fabrication with immense precision, also of nanochannels, which make them good...     

Diphenyl phosphate/4‐dimethylaminopyridine as an efficient binary organocatalyst system for controlled/living ring‐opening polymerization of L‐lactide leading to diblock and end‐functionalized poly(L‐lactide)s

The ring‐opening polymerizations (ROPs) of ε‐caprolactone (ε‐CL) and L ‐lactide (LLA) have been studied using the organocatalysts of diphenyl phosphate (DPP) and 4‐dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP). The “dual activation” property of DPP and the “bifunctional activation” property of DPP/DMAP were confirmed by the NMR measurement for ε‐CL and its chain‐end model of poly(ε‐caprolactone) and for LLA and its chain‐end model of poly(L ‐lactide) (PLLA), respectively. The molar ratio of DPP/DMAP was optimized as 1/2 for the ROP of LLA leading to the well‐defined PLLA, such as the molecular weight determined from ¹H NMR measurement of 19,200 g mol^?1 and the narrow polydispersity of 1.10. Additionally, functional initiators were utilized for producing the end‐functionalized PLLAs. The DPP‐catalyzed ROPs of ε‐CL and its analogue cyclic monomers and then the DPP/DMAP‐catalyzed ROP of LLA produced block copolymers. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 1047–1054