Cage-shaped borate esters with tris(2-oxyphenyl)methane or -silane system frameworks bearing multiple tuning factors: geometric and substituent effects on their Lewis acid properties

Boron complexes that contain new tridentate ligands, tris(o‐oxyaryl)methanes and ‐silanes, were prepared. These complexes had a cage‐shaped structure around a boron center and showed higher Lewis acidity and catalytic activity than open‐shaped boron compounds. The cage‐shaped ligands determined the properties of the borates by altering the geometry and were consistently bound to the metal center by chelation. The synthesized compounds were L?B(OC₆H₄)₃CH, L?B(OC₆H₄)₃SiMe, and its derivatives (L=THF or pyridine as an external ligand). Theoretical calculations suggested that the cage‐shaped borates had a large dihedral angle (C_ipso‐O‐B‐O) compared with open‐shaped borates. The geometric effect due to the dihedral angle means that compared with open‐shaped, the cage‐shaped borates have a greater Lewis acidity. The introduction of electron‐withdrawing groups on the aryl moieties in the cage‐shaped framework increased the Lewis acidity. Substitution of a bridgehead Si for a bridgehead C decreased the Lewis acidity of the boron complexes because the large silicon atom reduces the dihedral angle of C_ipso‐O‐B‐O. The ligand‐exchange rates of the para‐fluoro‐substituted compound B(OC₆H₃F)₃CH and the ortho‐phenyl‐substituted compound B(OC₆H₃Ph)₃CH were less than that of the unsubstituted borate B(OC₆H₄)₃CH. The ligand‐exchange rate of B(OC₆H₄)₃SiMe was much faster than that of B(OC₆H₄)₃CH. A hetero Diels–Alder reaction and Mukaiyama‐type aldol reactions were more effectively catalyzed by cage‐shaped borates than by the open‐shaped borate B(OPh)₃ or by the strong Lewis acid BF₃?OEt₂. The cage‐shaped borates with the bulky substituents at the ortho‐positions selectively catalyzed the reaction with less sterically hindered substrates, while the unsubstituted borate showed no selectivity.     

Norharmane: old yet highly selective dual channel ratiometric fluoride and hydrogen sulfate ion sensor

Norharmane provides a simple unexplored class of anion receptor, that allows for the ratiometric selective detection of F(-) and HSO(4)(-) ions. The presence of a strong base can easily form hydrogen bonds with the acidic hydrogen bond donor moiety and the relatively strong acid can easily protonate the basic hydrogen bond acceptor moiety, which can modulate the optical response and can detect the anions efficiently with high selectivity. In view of that, it is promising to conceive the use of these systems in various sensing applications as well as in other situations, such as anion transport and purification, where the availability of cheap and easy-to-make anion receptors, would be advantageous.     

From tetragermacyclobutene to tetragermacyclobutadiene dianion to tetragermacyclobutadiene transition metal complexes

The reaction of 3,4-dichlorotetragermetene derivative 2 with Na(2)[Fe(CO)(4)] in THF produced a (tetragermacyclobutadiene)tricarbonyliron complex, [{η(4)-((t)Bu(2)MeSi)(4)Ge(4)}]Fe(CO)(3)4, which has a slightly folded Ge(4) ring perhaptocoordinated to the Fe center. Structural and spectral characteristics of 4 show a remarkable π-donating ability of the tetragermacyclobutadiene ligand toward the transition metal, surpassing that of tetrasilacyclobutadiene and cyclobutadiene ligands. Reduction of 2 with KC(8) resulted in exclusive formation of the dipotassium salt of the tetragermacyclobutadiene dianion derivative 3(2-)·[K(+)(thf)(2)](2), representing a rare example of a 6π-electron compound that, on the basis of its structural and magnetic properties, was recognized as a nonaromatic species. Reaction of 3(2-)·[K(+)(thf)(2)](2) with CpCoI(2)(PPh(3)) produced a (cyclopentadienyl)(tetragermacyclobutadiene)cobalt complex, [{η(4)-((t)Bu(2)MeSi)(4)Ge(4)}]CoCp 7, as the first example of a sandwich compound featuring an all-germanium-containing cyclic polyene ligand.     

Potential energy curve for ring-opening reactions: comparison between broken-symmetry and multireference coupled cluster methods

The spin-unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF)-based coupled cluster singles and doubles (UHF-CCSD) and Mukherjee's state-specific multireference CCSD (MkCCSD) methods are applied to four ring-opening reactions. The spin-restricted Hartree-Fock (RHF)-based CCSD (RHF-CCSD) calculations are also performed for comparison. In the case of the UHF-CCSD method, an approximate spin-projection (AP) method is applied to the broken-symmetry (BS) singlet solution to remove the spin contamination effect. For potential energy curves (PECs) of all reactions presented in this study, the results of RHF-CCSD and UHF-CCSD are substantially different from those of MkCCSD, while the results after the AP method (AP-UCCSD) reproduce the MkCCSD results well. It strongly suggests that the spin contamination effect should be removed by the AP correction even at the UHF-CCSD level to predict reliable energetics of these reactions.     

Electro-functional octupolar π-conjugated columnar liquid crystals

A series of propeller-shaped π-conjugated molecules based on 2,4,6-tris(thiophene-2-yl)-1,3,5-triazines has been designed and synthesized to obtain ambipolar charge-transporting liquid-crystalline materials. The 3-fold electron-donating aromatic units are attached to the electron-accepting triazine core, which forms electro-functional octupolar π-conjugated structures. These octupolar molecules self-organize into one-dimensional columnar nanostructures and exhibit ambipolar carrier transport behavior, which has been revealed by time-of-flight measurements. In this approach, electron-donor and acceptor electro-active segments are assembled individually in each column to give one-dimensional nanostructured materials with precisely tuned electronic properties. Their desirable electronic structures responsible for both hole and electron conductions have also been examined by cyclic voltammetry and theoretical calculations. The present results provide a new guideline and versatile approach to the design of ambipolar conductive nanostructured liquid-crystalline materials.     

Synthesis and properties of polyimide ionomers containing sulfoalkoxy and fluorenyl groups

A series of sulfopropylated and sulfobutylated polyimide copolymers containing fluorenyl groups, SPI‐4, were synthesized to investigate the effect of alkyl side chains on the properties (stability, mechanical strength, water uptake, and proton conductivity) of the polymimide electrolyte membranes. SPI‐4 showed much better hydrolytic stability (in 10% MeOH aq at 100 °C) than the main chain sulfonated polyimide, SPI‐1. Tough, flexible, and ductile membranes were obtained from these copolymers. At high relative humidity all the SPI‐4 membranes showed high mechanical properties (>34 MPa of the maximum stress) and proton conductivity (>0.1 Scm^?1). These properties are comparable to or even better than those of the perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer (Nafion 112). The new polyimide ionomers have proved to be a possible candidate as polymer electrolyte membrane for PEFCs and DMFCs. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 4439–4445, 2005     

Effect of orientation and mobility of polymer molecules at surfaces on contact angle and its hysteresis

The contact angle of a water droplet on the surface of a solid polymer or hydrogel (water-swollen three-dimensional network) depends on whether a hydrophilic moiety of the polymer molecule is oriented towards the air interface or towards the bulk of the solid, but not on the hydrophilicity of the molecule. Therefore, the short-range rotational mobility of a polymer molecule has a major influence on the apparent hydrophilicity of a polymer surface as measured by the contact angle of water. By the came principle, the abnormally large hysteresis effect observed in advancing and receding contact angles of water on some polymer surfaces can be attributed to the reorientation of hydrophilic moieties of polymer molecules at the surface. These factors are demonstrated by selected polymer surfaces with different degrees of mobility at the polymer-air interface.     

Plasma polymerization investigated by the comparison of hydrocarbons and perfluorocarbons

Plasma polymerization involves to a significant extent the abstraction of atoms attached to carbons, such as hydrogen and halogen atoms, during the process of forming polymers. This abstraction reaction plays a major role in the plasma polymerization of certain groups of organic compounds. However, because of the extremely high degree of crosslinking and branching, characteristic of most plasma polymers of interest or practical value, the analysis of surfaces and/or polymers by the conventional methods is greatly hampered. Utilizing the exceptionally large chemical shifts observable in ESCA C ls spectrum of fluorcarbons, the extent of fluorine-abstraction and the rearrangement of fluorine atoms which occur during the plasma polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene were investigated using an inductive rf discharge of the monomer. The distribution of polymer deposition and the corresponding changes in properties are examined as functions of the experimental parameters. The discharge power level, which can be characterized by J/kg monomer, was found to play a predominant role in determining the physicochemical reactions which occur during the plasma polymerization. Because of the characteristic abstraction reaction which occurs in the plasma polymerization, etching by the plasma of the gas product (i.e., H₂ or F₂) plays an extremely important role in the competitive ablation and polymerization (CAP) scheme of plasma polymerization.