Ozone etching of a highly asymmetric triblock copolymer with a majority polydiene component

The ozone etching of thin films of a commercial polystyrene-polyisoprene-polystyrene (PS-PI-PS) triblock copolymer (Vector 4111) was studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and ellipsometry. The major phase of the copolymer consists of PI (82 wt.%) and the copolymer forms a cylindrical structure upon annealing. Moderate ozone doses (1.4% wt/wt) were used to etch the copolymer. This revealed two stages of the ozonation: rapid etching of the PI fragments followed by slow compacting of the remaining PS cylinders. Under certain conditions ozone treatment results in the formation of nanosized grooves in a PS matrix which is suitable for lithographic processes.     

A one-pot synthesis to [(Me3Si)3SiSb]4; a potential precursor for Sb42-

The reaction of (Me(3)Si)(3)SiK[middle dot]18-crown-6 with SbCl(3)(3 : 1 equiv.) provides a simple route to the title complex [(Me(3)Si)(3)SiSb](4). The potassium base initially acts as a nucleophile and then as a coupling agent, forming Sb-Sb bonds.     

Open-tubular capillary electrochromatography/electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry using polymeric surfactant as a stationary phase coating

We describe the use of the polymeric surfactant poly(sodium undecylenic sulfate) (poly-SUS) as a stationary phase coating in open-tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC) coupled with electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) for the analysis of beta-blocker and benzodiazepine analytes. The production of a polymeric surfactant coating on the capillary inner wall involves (i) adsorption of the cationic polymer poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) to the inner surface of capillary, and (ii) adsorption of the negatively charged poly-SUS onto the cationic polymer layer via strong physical interaction of the two polymer layers. As compared with micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) coupled with ESI-MS, the main advantage of this proposed method is minimization of introduction of the monomeric or polymeric surfactant into the mass spectrometer, thus avoiding the interference of the nonvolatile micelle in ESI-MS. The effects of buffer pH and applied voltage on the separation of the analytes are also discussed. Under optimum conditions, four of the five beta-blockers and four benzodiazepines are separated.     

Dipolar and nonpolar altitudinal molecular rotors mounted on an Au(111) surface

We describe the preparation of a compound whose molecules consist of two metal sandwich stands carrying tentacles with affinity to metal surfaces and holding an axle that carries a dipolar or a nonpolar rotator. The dipolar rotor exists as three pairs of enantiomers, rapidly interconverting at room temperature. When mounted on a gold surface, each molecule represents a chiral altitudinal rotor, with the rotator axle parallel to the surface. The surface-mounted rotor molecules are characterized by several spectroscopic and imaging techniques. At any one time, in about one-third of the dipolar rotors the rotator is free to turn and the direction of its dipole can be flipped by the electric field applied by an STM tip, as revealed by differential barrier height imaging. Molecular dynamics calculations suggest that electric field normal to the surface causes members of one pair of enantiomers to rotate unidirectionally.     

Confinement of halide ions within homologous inverse coordination hosts; modification of halide-ion selectivity

The structures of a series of spherical host-guest complexes [{MeE(PPh)(3)Li(4)·3thf}(4)(μ(4)-X)](-) (E = Al, [1X](-); E = Ga, [2X](-); E = In, [3X](-)) reveal that changing the halide ions (X = Cl, Br, or I) within their central tetrahedral Li(4) sites has negligible effect on the structural parameters.     

Hydrogen bonding in the hexagonal ice surface

A recently developed technique in sum frequency generation spectroscopy, polarization angle null (or PAN-SFG), is applied to two orientations of the prism face of hexagonal ice. It is found that the vibrational modes of the surface are similar in different faces. As in the basal face, the prism face of ice contains five dominant resonances: 3096, 3146, 3205, 3253, and 3386 cm(-1). On the basal face, the reddest resonance occurs at 3098 cm(-1); within the bandwidth, the same as the prism face. On both the prism and basal faces, this mode contains a significant quadrupole component and is assigned to the bilayer stitching hydrogen bonds. The bluest of the resonances, 3386 cm(-1), occurs slightly blue-shifted at 3393 cm(-1) in the basal face. The prism face has two orientations: one with the optic or c axis in the input plane (the plane formed by the surface normal and the interrogating beam propagation) and one with the c axis perpendicular to the input plane. The 3386 cm(-1) mode has significant intensity only with the c axis in the input plane. On the basis of these orientation characteristics, the 3386 cm(-1) mode is assigned to double-donor molecules in either the top half bilayer or in the lower half bilayer. On the basis of frequency considerations, it is assigned to double-donor molecules in the top half bilayer. These are water molecules containing a nonbonded lone pair. In addition to identification of the components of the broad hydrogen-bonded region, PAN-SFG measures the tangential vs longitudinal content of the vibrational modes. In accord with previous suggestions, the lower frequency modes are predominantly tangential, whereas the higher frequency modes are mainly longitudinal. On the prism face, the 3386 cm(-1) mode is entirely longitudinal.     

Photodissociation of high molecular weight peptides and proteins in a two-stage linear time-of-flight mass spectrometer

A two-stage linear time-of-flight mass spectrometer is used to investigate the requirements for performance of laser photodissociation of peptide and protein ions. Results are presented that demonstrate that desorption and dissociation laser pulses can be synchronized to irradiate ions that travel at high velocities down the drift tube of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. For example, 193-nm photodissociation of bovine insulin and doubly charged lysozyme is demonstrated, and laser power studies suggest that dissociation is initiated by the absorption of a single 193-nm photon. These results are encouraging because they suggest that laser photodissociation of high molecular weight proteins can lead to fragmentation on time scales compatible with time-of-flight mass spectrometry.     

Fabrication of titania and titania–silica aerogels using rapid supercritical extraction

Titania (TiO₂) and titania–silica (TiSi) aerogels are suitable for photocatalytic oxidation of volatile organic compounds for pollution mitigation; however, methods for fabricating these aerogels can be complex. In this work we describe the use of a rapid supercritical extraction (RSCE) technique to prepare TiO₂ and TiSi aerogels in as little as 8 h. The RSCE technique uses a metal mold and a four-step hydraulic hot press procedure to bring the solvents in the sol–gel pores to a supercritical state and control the supercritical fluid release process. Resulting TiO₂ aerogels were powdery with BET surface areas of 130–180 m²/g, pore volumes ~0.5 cm³/g and skeletal densities of 3.6 g/mL. Monolithic TiSi aerogels were made using two different methods. An impregnation process, in which titania precursor was added to a silica sol–gel, took 4–8 days to complete with a 7-h RSCE and resulted in translucent aerogels with high surface area (560–650 m²/g) and pore volume (2.0–2.6 cm³/g), bulk densities ranging from 0.1 to 0.4 g/mL and skeletal densities of 2.3 g/mL. A co-precursor method for preparing TiSi aerogels took 8 h to complete. The precursor chemical mixture was poured directly into the mold and processed in a 7-h RSCE process. The resulting aerogels were opaque, with high surface areas (510–580 m²/g), low bulk density (0.03 g/mL), skeletal densities of 2 g/mL and pore volumes of 2.6–3.5 cm³/g. Preliminary solar simulator studies show that TiO₂ and TiSi aerogels are capable of photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue in aqueous solution.     

Determination of flavanol and procyanidin (by degree of polymerization 1-10) content of chocolate, cocoa liquors, powder(s), and cocoa flavanol extracts by normal phase high-performance liquid chromatography: collaborative study

An international collaborative study was conducted on an HPLC method with fluorescent detection (FLD) for the determination of flavanols and procyanidins in materials containing chocolate and cocoa. The sum of the oligomeric fractions with degree of polymerization 1-10 was the determined content value. Sample materials included dark and milk chocolates, cocoa powder, cocoa liquors, and cocoa extracts. The content ranged from approximately 2 to 500 mg/g (defatted basis). Thirteen laboratories representing commercial, industrial, and academic institutions in six countries participated in the study. Fourteen samples were sent as blind duplicates to the collaborators. Results from 12 laboratories yielded repeatability relative standard deviation (RSDr) values that were below 10% for all materials analyzed, ranging from 4.17 to 9.61%. The reproducibility relative standard deviation (RSD(R)) values ranged from 5.03 to 12.9% for samples containing 8.07 to 484.7 mg/g. In one sample containing a low content of flavanols and procyanidins (approximately 2 mg/g), the RSD(R) was 17.68%. Based on these results, the method is recommended for Official First Action for the determination of flavanols and procyanidins in chocolate, cocoa liquors, powder(s), and cocoa extracts.     

Synthesis, magnetostructural correlation, and catalytic promiscuity of unsymmetric dinuclear copper(II) complexes: models for catechol oxidases and hydrolases

Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization, through elemental analysis, electronic spectroscopy, electrochemistry, potentiometric titration, electron paramagnetic resonance, and magnetochemistry, of two dinuclear copper(II) complexes, using the unsymmetrical ligands N',N',N-tris(2-pyridylmethyl)-N-(2-hydroxy-3,5-di-tert-butylbenzyl)-1,3-propanediamin-2-ol (L1) and N',N'-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-N,N-(2-hydroxybenzyl)(2-hydroxy-3,5-di-tert-butylbenzyl)-1,3-propanediamin-2-ol (L2). The structures of the complexes [Cu(2)(L1)(μ-OAc)](ClO(4))(2)·(CH(3))(2)CHOH (1) and [Cu(2)(L2)(μ-OAc)](ClO(4))·H(2)O·(CH(3))(2)CHOH (2) were determined by X-ray crystallography. The complex [Cu(2)(L3)(μ-OAc)](2+) [3; L3 = N-(2-hydroxybenzyl)-N',N',N-tris(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,3-propanediamin-2-ol] was included in this study for comparison purposes only (Neves et al. Inorg. Chim. Acta2005, 358, 1807-1822). Magnetic data show that the Cu(II) centers in 1 and 2 are antiferromagnetically coupled and that the difference in the exchange coupling J found for these complexes (J = -4.3 cm(-1) for 1 and J = -40.0 cm(-1) for 2) is a function of the Cu-O-Cu bridging angle. In addition, 1 and 2 were tested as catalysts in the oxidation of the model substrate 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol and can be considered as functional models for catechol oxidase. Because these complexes possess labile sites in their structures and in solution they have a potential nucleophile constituted by a terminal Cu(II)-bound hydroxo group, their activity toward hydrolysis of the model substrate 2,4-bis(dinitrophenyl)phosphate and DNA was also investigated. Double electrophilic activation of the phosphodiester by monodentate coordination to the Cu(II) center that contains the phenol group with tert-butyl substituents and hydrogen bonding of the protonated phenol with the phosphate O atom are proposed to increase the hydrolase activity (K(ass.) and k(cat.)) of 1 and 2 in comparison with that found for complex 3. In fact, complexes 1 and 2 show both oxidoreductase and hydrolase/nuclease activities and can thus be regarded as man-made models for studying catalytic promiscuity.