Orientational ordering of liquid crystals containing a difluoro-substituted phenyl ring

The orientational ordering of several liquid crystals containing a difluorosubstituted phenyl ring has been studied through the use of C-13 NMR. The fluorinated phenyl ring of these liquid crystals have C_s symmetry, so three order parameters are required to completely describe the ordering of this ring. All three of these order parameters have been calculated from carbon-fluorine dipolar coupling constants obtained from the carbon-fluorine splittings in the C-13 NMR spectra. Because of the complexity of the fluorine-coupled spectra, variable angle spinning (VAS) was used to resolve the carbon-fluorine splittings. In order to study the orientational ordering over wide ranges of temperature, we have developed an empirical correlation between the order parameter and the value of a carbon-fluorine dipolar coupling constant. This enabled us to study the change in the order parameter with temperature. The results of applying this method to several structurally similar liquid crystals containing the same type of difluorinated phenyl ring are presented. A comparison is made to a similar mono-fluorinated liquid crystal.     

The Ideal Retraction Property for Idempotent Semigroups

A semigroup S is said to have the ideal retraction property provided each of its ideals is the image of an idempotent endomorphism of S. The main result of this work is a characterization of those bands which have the idempotent retraction property. All such bands are normal.     

Mechanical endurance of polymer electrolyte membrane and PEM fuel cell durability

The life of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) is currently limited by the mechanical endurance of polymer electrolyte membranes and membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). In this paper, the authors report recent experimental and modeling work toward understanding the mechanisms of delayed mechanical failures of polymer electrolyte membranes and MEAs under relevant PEMFC operating conditions. Mechanical breach of membranes/MEAs in the form of pinholes and tears has been frequently observed after long‐term or accelerated testing of PEMFC cells/stacks. Catastrophic failure of cell/stack due to rapid gas crossover shortly follows the mechanical breach. Ex situ mechanical characterizations were performed on MEAs after being subjected to the accelerated chemical aging and relative humidity (RH) cycling tests. The results showed significant reduction of MEA ductility manifested as drastically reduced strain‐to‐failure of the chemically aged and RH‐cycled MEAs. Postmortem analysis revealed the formation and growth of mechanical defects such as cracks and crazing in the membranes and MEAs. A finite element model was used to estimate stress/strain states of an edge‐constrained MEA under rapid RH variations. Damage metrics for accelerated testing and life prediction of PEMFCs are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2346–2357, 2006     

SPAR: stochastic programming with adversarial recourse

We consider a general adversarial stochastic optimization model. Our model involves the design of a system that an adversary may subsequently attempt to destroy or degrade. We introduce SPAR, which utilizes mixed-integer programming for the design decision and a Markov decision process (MDP) for the modeling of our adversarial phase.     

An improved algorithm for solving biobjective integer programs

A parametric algorithm for identifying the Pareto set of a biobjective integer program is proposed. The algorithm is based on the weighted Chebyshev (Tchebycheff) scalarization, and its running time is asymptotically optimal. A number of extensions are described, including: a technique for handling weakly dominated outcomes, a Pareto set approximation scheme, and an interactive version that provides access to all Pareto outcomes. Extensive computational tests on instances of the biobjective knapsack problem and a capacitated network routing problem are presented.     

Iron(III) p-toluenesulfonate catalyzed synthesis of homoallyl ethers from acetals and aldehydes

Iron(III) p-toluenesulfonate, Fe(OTs)₃·6H₂O, is an inexpensive, versatile and commercially available catalyst for the allylation of acetals using allyltrimethylsilane to yield homoallyl ethers in moderate to good yields. The one-pot conversion of aldehydes to homoallyl ethers using alkoxysilanes has also been accomplished using Fe(OTs)₃·6H₂O as a catalyst. The use of mild reaction conditions and a relatively non-corrosive catalyst make this method an attractive option for the synthesis of a range of homoallyl ethers.     

Reaction-based machine learning representations for predicting the enantioselectivity of organocatalysts

Hundreds of catalytic methods are developed each year to meet the demand for high-purity chiral compounds. The computational design of enantioselective organocatalysts remains a significant challenge, as catalysts are typically discovered through experimental screening. Recent advances in combining quantum chemical computations and machine learning (ML) hold great potential to propel the next leap forward in asymmetric catalysis. Within the context of quantum chemical machine learning (QML, or atomistic ML), the ML representations used to encode the three-dimensional structure of molecules and evaluate their similarity cannot easily capture the subtle energy differences that govern enantioselectivity. Here, we present a general strategy for improving molecular representations within an atomistic machine learning model to predict the DFT-computed enantiomeric excess of asymmetric propargylation organocatalysts solely from the structure of catalytic cycle intermediates. Mean absolute errors as low as 0.25 kcal mol⁻¹ were achieved in predictions of the activation energy with respect to DFT computations. By virtue of its design, this strategy is generalisable to other ML models, to experimental data and to any catalytic asymmetric reaction, enabling the rapid screening of structurally diverse organocatalysts from available structural information.

A machine learning model for enantioselectivity prediction using reaction-based molecular representations.     

An investigation of mononuclear and binuclear palladium(II) complexes of egta (egta = glycine,N,N′-(1,2-ethanediylbis(oxy-2,1-ethanediyl)bis[N-carboxymethyl]) by 1H-, 13C- and 15N-n.m.r. methods

1:1 and 2:1 palladium(II) complexes of egta^4– (egta^4– = glycine, N,N-(1,2-ethanediylbis)(oxy-2,1-ethanediyl)bis[N-carboxymethyl]) were prepared by 1:1 and 2:1 addition of K₂PdCl₄ to K₄egta, and examined by ¹H-, ¹³C- and ¹⁵N-n.m.r. methods. The 1:1 complex, [Pd(egta)]^2– in solution, utilizes a square-planar coordination comprised of two nitrogen and two glycinato carboxylate donors of egta^4–, leaving two glycinato carboxylates pendant. The complex has a cis-(R,S) stereochemistry which places both pendant carboxylates below the PdN₂O₂ square plane and the tether backbone of egta^4– in the up, up sense above the same plane. The cis-(R,S) assignment was assisted by computer simulations of the ¹³C-n.m.r. spectrum for four possible isomers. Only cis-(R,S) and trans-(R,R) calculated ¹³C-spectra were compatible with the observed ¹³C-n.m.r. pattern. The HH NOESY spectrum of [Pd(egta)]^2– detects long range coupling of the backbone –OCH₂CH₂O– linkage with both coordinated and pendant glycinato CH₂ moieties. The cis-(R,S) isomer's tortional movements allow such contacts whereas a trans-(R,R) isomer does not. The 2:1 complex, [Pd₂(egta)(H₂O)₂] in solution has an extended-chain structure with each palladium(II) center coordinated in the mer-iminodiacetate-like coordination with two bound glycinato-functionalities.     

A simple and versatile method for the synthesis of acetals from aldehydes and ketones using bismuth triflate

Acetals are obtained in good yields by treatment of aldehydes and ketones with trialkyl orthoformate and the corresponding alcohol in the presence of 0.1 mol % Bi(OTf)3.4H2O. A simple procedure for the formation of acetals of diaryl ketones has also been developed. The conversion of carbonyl compounds to the corresponding 1,3-dioxolane using ethylene glycol is also catalyzed by Bi(OTf)3.4H2O (1 mol %). Two methods, both of which avoid the use of benzene, have been developed.