Recent developments in thio‐, seleno‐, and telluro‐ether ligand chemistry

New routes developed recently to overcome the difficulties usually associated with the sequential introduction of Te centers into polytelluro‐ethers and the introduction of tellurium into macrocyclic compounds are described, including the synthesis of the first facultative telluro‐ethers, RTe(CH₂)₃Te(CH₂)₃TeR, R = Me or Ph, and the first tridentate S₂Te‐donor macrocycles and a tetradentate S₃Te‐donor macrocycle. The first systematic investigations into the preparation and characterization of coordination complexes of MX₃ (M = As, Sb, Bi; X = Cl, Br, I) involving polydentate and macrocyclic thio‐ and seleno‐ether ligands are then discussed. The structures of examples of each class of compound are described, including the first examples of seleno‐ether adducts of the group 15 acceptors. A more limited range of telluro‐ether derivatives has been identified and the structure of the first example of this type is included. These species serve to demonstrate the wide structural diversity exhibited by these systems and the factors directing the assembly of these structures are highlighted. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 13:550–560, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/hc.10100     

Influence of surface-attachment functionality on the aggregation, persistence, and electron-transfer reactivity of chalcogenorhodamine dyes on TiO2

Chalcogenorhodamine dyes bearing phosphonic acids and carboxylic acids were compared as sensitizers of nanocrystalline TiO(2) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The dyes were constructed around a 3,6-bis(dimethylamino)chalcogenoxanthylium core and varied in the 9 substituent: 5-carboxythien-2-yl in dyes 1-E (E = O, Se), 4-carboxyphenyl in dyes 2-E (E = O, S), 5-phosphonothien-2-yl in dyes 3-E (E = O, Se), and 4-phosphonophenyl in dyes 4-E (E = O, Se). All dyes adsorbed to TiO(2) as mixtures of H aggregates and monomers, which exhibited broadened absorption spectra relative to those of purely amorphous monolayers. Surface coverages of dyes and the extent of H aggregation varied minimally with the surface-attachment functionality, the structure of the 9-aryl group, and the identity of the chalcogen heteroatom. Carboxylic acid-functionalized dyes 1-E and 2-E desorbed rapidly and completely from TiO(2) into acidified CH(3)CN, but phosphonic acid-functionalized dyes 3-E and 4-E persisted on TiO(2) for days. Short-circuit photocurrent action spectra of DSSCs corresponded closely to the absorptance spectra of dye-functionalized films; thus, H aggregation did not decrease the electron-injection yield or charge-collection efficiency. Maximum monochromatic incident photon-to-current efficiencies (IPCEs) of DSSCs ranged from 53 to 95% and were slightly higher for carboxylic acid-functionalized dyes 1-E and 2-E. Power-conversion efficiencies of DSSCs under white-light illumination were low (<1%), suggesting that dye regeneration was inefficient at high light intensities. The photoelectrochemical performance (under monochromatic or white-light illumination) of 1-E and 2-E decayed significantly within 20-80 min of the assembly of DSSCs, primarily because of the desorption of the dyes. In contrast, the performance of phosphonic acid-functionalized dyes remained stable or improved slightly on similar timescales. Thus, replacing carboxylic acids with phosphonic acids increased the inertness of chalcogenorhodamine-TiO(2) interfaces without greatly impacting the aggregation of dyes or the interfacial electron-transfer reactivity.     

The application of gas barrier and thermal expansion techniques to study structural changes on annealing

Changes occur in the structure of drawn polyethylene when it is annealed at temperatures close to that of the drawing process. Measurements have been made of the oxygen barrier properties and of the thermal expansion coefficient in the draw direction on samples over a wide draw ratio range both before and after annealing at various temperatures. The results are augmented by density, creep modulus, and shrinkage observations. All samples show a drop in the barrier properties and an increase in the thermal expansion after annealing. However, whereas high-draw-ratio samples show relatively small effects, the changes observed at low draw ratios are very large, with some barrier properties even lower than those of the isotropic feedstock. The effects are larger at the higher annealing temperatures. The diffusion and expansion measurements are greatly influenced by the amorphous regions in the polymer; these results are interpreted as a relaxation of internal stresses giving rise to greater accessibility of the intercrystalline regions. Further experimental work is required to exploit these techniques.     

Zur Bestimmung des Formaldehyds

Ohne Zusammenfassung