Oligomers of a polyester network

Oligomers of glycerol and succinic acid have been prepared by three different methods and characterised by solution ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy at 125.8 MHz. The first series of five oligomers was prepared by reacting glycerol with succinic anhydride; only one acid function of each succinic acid residue formed an ester by this means. They were readily distinguished as the shifts of their glycerol residues were dispersed over 16 ppm, and their shifts provided a guide to the assignment of shifts in the more elaborate oligomers. The second set of oligomers was prepared by treating glycerol with a small quantity of succinic acid, ester links being promoted by means of the reagent dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCDI). When we used 2 mol of DCCDI/mol of acid in the presence of an excess of glycerol, no free acid functions remained, and a new set of oligomers was obtained. Furthermore, within this set the proportion of ring molecules was enhanced by repeating the reaction under much more dilute conditions. In this way the shifts of two ring oligomers were recognized in the spectrum. A different set of oligomers again was obtained when the esterification was performed with 1 mol of DCCDI/mol of succininic acid. After the first generation of oligomers had been identified in the mixtures produced by these three experiments, the reactions continued to produce larger oligomers with new fine structure features in the spectra. Glycerol trisuccinate was prepared in a pure form and heated in a vacuum to eliminate succinic acid groups and allow the formation of oligomers with two and three branch points. The structures successively produced by this reaction were readily recognized. In all we were able to recognize the formation of component structures in at least 17 different oligomers. The shifts of the carbons of the glycerol residues are sensitive to the substitution pattern at that residue, to whether the succinic acid residue to which they are linked has reacted a second time, and in some cases the methine shift is sensitive to how the succinic acid residue attached to a neighboring methylene carbon has reacted. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Oxidative addition of acid chlorides to cationic rhodium(I) complexes of chelating diphosphines

The reaction of benzoyl chloride with [Rh(dppp)₂]Cl at 190°C and with [Rh(dppp)Cl]_{1 or 2} at 25°C where dppp  1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane has been examined. In both cases the five coordinate compound RhCl₂(COPh)-(dppp) was rapidly formed and isolated in high yield. This compound does not undergo phenyl migration to RhCl₂(CO)(Ph)(dppp) even upon warming to 190°C in benzoyl chloride solution and no decarbonylation products are observed. This is in marked contrast to the reaction of RhCl(PPh₃)₃ with benzoyl chloride where the migrated product RhCl₂(CO)(Ph)(PPh₃)₂ is formed with the eventual reductive elimination of chlorobenzene. The single crystal X-ray analysis of RhCl₂(COPh)(dppp) has been carried out (R  0.036). The compound is square pyramidal with the COPh group in the apical position. The Rh—C bond distance of 1.992(3) Å is short for a Rh^III—Cσ bond and indicates d_π → π^★ back bonding.     

Colloidal particles coated and stabilized by DNA-wrapped carbon nanotubes

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are dispersed in water via wrapping with short segments of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). Small angle neutron scattering suggests a power-law exponent that is consistent with clustered nanotubes and hence marginal stability. The SWNT-ssDNA complex is used to stabilize dispersions of hydrophilic colloidal particles with the nanotubes adhered to the surface of the colloids. Near-infrared fluorescence microscopy demonstrates the interfacial band-gap fluorescence of these SWNT-coated particles, suggesting potential routes to novel platforms and applications.     

Acoustical analysis and model-based sound synthesis of the kantele

The five-string Finnish kantele is a traditional folk music instrument that has unique structural features, resulting in a sound of bright and reverberant timbre. This article presents an analysis of the sound generation principles in the kantele, based on measurements and analytical formulation. The most characteristic features of the unique timbre are caused by the bridgeless string termination around a tuning pin at one end and the knotted termination around a supporting bar at the other end. These result in prominent second-order nonlinearity and strong beating of harmonics, respectively. A computational model of the instrument is also formulated and the algorithm is made efficient for real-time synthesis to simulate these features of the instrument timbre.     

Synthesis and structure of nongeminally substituted cyclic phosphazenes with haloalkyl and thioester functional groups

Nongeminally substituted cyclic phosphazenes with various haloalkyl substituents were prepared using deprotonation-substitution reactions at the methyl groups of the cis isomers of nongeminally substituted cis-[Me(Ph)P=N]3, 2. Treatment of 2 with n-BuLi followed by reaction with organic halogenated reagents (RX=C2Cl6, BrC(O)CMe2Br, and ICH2COOEt) at low temperature afforded the various cyclic derivatives cis-[(XCH2)(Ph)PN]3 (3, X=Cl, 4, Br, and 5, I). The mono- and dibromoalkyl derivatives, cis-[Ph3(BrCH2)Me2P3N3], 6, and [Ph3(BrCH2)2MeP3N3], 7, were also isolated along with 4 when the electrophile was dibromoethane. Reaction of cis-[Ph(BrCH2)PN]3, 4, with KSC(O)Me gave cis-[Ph(MeC(O)SCH2)PN]3, 8. The structures of all the cis cyclic phosphazenes were determined by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. All retained the basketlike shape with the hydrophobic phenyl groups opposite the haloalkyl groups on the P3N3 ring. Thermal analysis of the new cyclic trimers indicates that ring-opening polymerization does not occur. The melting points and the thermal stabilities of haloalkyl cyclophosphazenes were higher than those of the parent compound 2.     

NEW NONGEMINAL CYCLOPHOSPHAZENES

A series of new nongeminally-substituted cyclic phosphazenes with various substituents has been prepared via deprotonation-substitution reactions at the Me groups of both the cis and trans isomers of [(Me)(Ph)PN] ₃ . Treatment of [(Me)(Ph)PN] ₃ with n-BuLi followed by reaction with organic electrophilic reagents affords a variety of cyclic derivatives, [(RCH ₂ )(Ph)PN] ₃ , [R = Me, Cl, Br, I, (CH ₂ ) ₂ Br, CH ₂ CH═CH ₂ , SR, C(═O)OLi, C(═O)OMe, C(═O)OEt]. The structures of theses cis cyclic phosphazenes, which were obtained by x-ray diffraction, illustrate the basket-like shape of the molecules. Heating the cis and trans isomers of the parent [(Me)(Ph)PN] ₃ produced mixtures of cyclic trimers and tetramers. The latter were isolated and characterized by x-ray crystallography. Nanoparticles of gold and silver were prepared by reduction of metal salts with a reducing agent in the presence of selected trimers.     

Blended Conjugated Host and Unconjugated Dopant Polymers Towards N-type All-Polymer Conductors and High-ZT Thermoelectrics

N-Type thermoelectrics typically consist of small molecule dopant+polymer host. Only a few polymer dopant+polymer host systems have been reported, and these have lower thermoelectric parameters. N-type polymers with high crystallinity and order are generally used for high-conductivity ( ) organic conductors. Few n-type polymers with only short-range lamellar stacking for high-conductivity materials have been reported. Here, we describe an n-type short-range lamellar-stacked all-polymer thermoelectric system with highest of 78 S⁻¹, power factor (PF) of 163 μW m⁻¹ K⁻², and maximum Figure of merit (ZT) of 0.53 at room temperature with a dopant/host ratio of 75 wt%. The minor effect of polymer dopant on the molecular arrangement of conjugated polymer PDPIN at high ratios, high doping capability, high Seebeck coefficient (S) absolute values relative to , and atypical decreased thermal conductivity ( ) with increased doping ratio contribute to the promising performance.