Photoinduced intramolecular charge separation in a polymer solid below the glass transition temperature

Photoinduced intramolecular charge separation (CS) in a polar polymer glass, cyanoethylated pullulan (CN-PUL), was studied below the glass transition temperature (Tg=395 K). A series of three carbazole (Cz: donor)-cyclohexane (S: spacer)-acceptor (A: acceptor) molecules (Cz-S-A) was used as intramolecular donor-acceptor dyads. The photoinduced CS rate was evaluated by the fluorescence decay measurement at temperatures from 100 to 400 K. The CS rate (kCS) increased above 200 K even far below Tg where micro-Brownian motions of the whole polymer chain are frozen. Below 200 K, on the other hand, kCS showed weak dependence on temperature. The temperature dependence of kCS is discussed in terms of the dielectric relaxation time of the polymer matrix. Consequently, CS below Tg was well explained by a thermally nonequilibrium electron transfer (ET) formula above 200 K and by a two-mode quantum-mechanical ET formula below 200 K. The increase in kCS above 200 K is mainly caused by a thermally activated low-frequency matrix mode originating from the side-chain relaxation of polar cyano groups. The weak temperature dependence of kCS can be explained by a nuclear-tunneling effect caused by a high-frequency matrix mode (variant Planck's over 2piomegH=250 cm-1) and an intramolecular vibrational mode (variant Planck's over 2piomegaQ=1300 cm-1). The high-frequency mode of the polymer matrix was attributed to a vibrational or librational motion of polar groups in the CN-PUL glassy solid.     

Dynamics of unidirectional exciton migration to the molecular periphery in a photoexcited compact dendrimer

We have studied dynamical natures of electronic excited states in a compact series of phenylacetylene dendrimers. So as to clarify the mechanism of unidirectional migration of a photogenerated exciton in a compact dendrimer, we theoretically investigated the temporal behavior of the photogenerated exciton in the molecule by numerically solving the time-dependent Schrodinger equation for the electronic excited states. The structure of the dendrimers is optimized in the ground state, and it is fixed during the calculation of the exciton dynamics. The calculated results show that the exciton generated in the dendrimeric framework tends to migrate toward the outside of the molecule rather than the inside, and to itinerate around the periphery via the through-space interaction between the outer crowding benzene units. This is one of the intrinsic properties that originates from a highly branched treelike structure of the compact dendrimers.     

Preparation of sterically protected 3,4-bis[(2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenyl)phosphinidene]cyclobutene derivatives having ring-fused structures

[reaction: see text] Sterically protected 3,4-diphosphinidenecyclobutenes, having ring-fused structures, were prepared. Structures of 8,9-bis[(2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenyl)phosphinidene]bicyclo[5.2.0]non-1(7)-ene and its dichloropalladium(II) complex were analyzed by X-ray crystallography. A geometrical change induced by the complex formation was exhibited by X-ray crystallographic analysis. The geometrical change in solution was also suggested by (1)H NMR spectroscopy in CDCl(3).     

A synthesis of heteroaromatic analogues of 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline using the Pummerer-type cyclization reaction: observation of tandem cyclization reaction

The sulfoxides 7b and 7d carrying thiophene or benzothiophene as heteroaromatic nucleophiles, when treated with trifluoroacetic anhydride at room temperature (Pummerer reaction), underwent an intramolecular alkylation in an exclusive manner to yield 4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-7-methyl-4-phenylsulfanylthieno[2,3-c]pyridine-6-carbaldehyde (10) and the corresponding benzothiophene derivative (12b) in high yields, respectively. Thus, this route provides biologically interesting nitrogen heterocycles (1b) and (2b). On the other hand, the sulfoxide (7c) carrying benzofuran as a nucleophile on reaction with TFAA yielded not only the Pummerer-type cyclization product (12a), but also the diastereoisomeric tandem cyclization products (13) and (14) having a noble 11-aza-2-oxa-7-thiatricyclo[4.3.3.0(1,5)]dodecane ring system (B). The formation of these products can be readily rationalized by the intervention of the oxonium ion intermediate (21).     

Raman Scattering and X-Ray Diffraction Studies on Alkali-Metal Intercalated Clays

Abstract

Vermiculite and fluor-tetrasilicic mica were intercalated with alkali metals (Na, K and Rb) by vapor transport. X-ray and Raman scattering experiments were conducted to study the structure and lattice dynamics of the new clay compounds. When Rb and K atoms were intercalated to the host materials, superlattices were formed. In Na intercalated compounds, however, no superlattice x-ray diffraction peaks were found. Raman spectra exhibited drastic changes after alkali-metal intercalation, reflecting the structural changes found by our x-ray diffraction.     

Solid-phase synthesis of O-sulfated glycopeptide by the benzyl-protected glycan strategy

To expand the repertoire of our benzyl-protection strategy for solid-phase glycopeptide synthesis, an O-sulfated glycopeptide was chosen as the synthetic target. Trisaccharyl serine derivatives (Galβ1-4-GlcNAcβ1-2-Manα1-3-Ser) carrying (4-methoxyphenyl)methyl (MPM) groups at either 3-O or 6-O of the Gal residue were prepared through three stereoselective glycosylations. Cleavage of MPM followed by reaction with Me₃N·SO₃ efficiently afforded 3-O- and 6-O-sulfo-glycoserines, respectively. A preliminary debenzylation study using the sulfated glycoserines revealed that the sulfate groups persisted under ‘low-acidity TfOH’ conditions, when using a limited amount of TfOH and extending the reaction period. The 3-O-sulfo-glycoserine was then introduced into an icosapeptide modeled after an α-dystroglycan fragment by a combination of automated and manual solid-phase peptide synthesis procedures. The synthesized glycopeptide was successfully debenzylated by the low-acidity TfOH cocktail with slight damage to the sulfate functionality.     

First synthesis of the bismole‐containing conjugated polymer

We successfully synthesized the first conjugated polymer containing a bismuth atom in the conjugated main chain by incorporating a bismuth atom into the cyclopentadiene framework (bismole), which was constructed by a polymer reaction. A synthetic procedure and characterization of the obtained polymers were discussed. This bismole‐containing conjugated polymer exhibited moderate bluish green photoluminescence in solution. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 4857–4863, 2006