Chemical versus Electrochemical Synthesis of Carbon Nano‐onion/Polypyrrole Composites for Supercapacitor Electrodes

The development of high‐surface‐area carbon electrodes with a defined pore size distribution and the incorporation of pseudo‐active materials to optimize the overall capacitance and conductivity without destroying the stability are at present important research areas. Composite electrodes of carbon nano‐onions (CNOs) and polypyrrole (Ppy) were fabricated to improve the specific capacitance of a supercapacitor. The carbon nanostructures were uniformly coated with Ppy by chemical polymerization or by electrochemical potentiostatic deposition to form homogenous composites or bilayers. The materials were characterized by transmission‐ and scanning electron microscopy, differential thermogravimetric analyses, FTIR spectroscopy, piezoelectric microgravimetry, and cyclic voltammetry. The composites show higher mechanical and electrochemical stabilities, with high specific capacitances of up to about 800 F g^?1 for the CNOs/SDS/Ppy composites (chemical synthesis) and about 1300 F g^?1 for the CNOs/Ppy bilayer (electrochemical deposition).     

Vinylic MIDA Boronates: New Building Blocks for the Synthesis of Aza‐Heterocycles

A two‐step synthesis of structurally diverse pyrrole‐containing bicyclic systems is reported. ortho‐Nitro‐haloarenes coupled with vinylic N‐methyliminodiacetic acid (MIDA) boronates generate ortho‐vinyl‐nitroarenes, which undergo a “metal‐free” nitrene insertion, resulting in a new pyrrole ring. This novel synthetic approach has a wide substrate tolerance and it is applicable in the preparation of more complex “drug‐like” molecules. Interestingly, an ortho‐nitro‐allylarene derivative furnished a cyclic β‐aminophosphonate motif.     

Nanocomposite hydrogel consisting of Na‐montmorillonite with enhanced mechanical properties

A new kind of nanocomposite (NC) hydrogel with Na‐montmorillonite (MMT) is presented in this article. The NC hydrogels were synthesized by free radical copolymerization of acrylamide and (3‐acrylamidopropyl) trimethylammonium chloride (ATC) in the presence of MMT and N,N′‐methylene‐bis‐acrylamide used as chemical cross‐linker. Due to the cation‐exchange reaction between MMT and ATC (cationic monomer) during the synthesis of NC hydrogels, MMT platelets were considered chemical “plane” cross‐linkers, different from “point” cross‐linkers. With increasing amount of MMT, the crosslinking degree enhanced, causing a decrease of the swelling degree at equilibrium. Investigations of mechanical properties indicated that NC hydrogels exhibited enhanced strength and toughness, which resulted from chemical interaction between exfoliated MMT platelets and polymer chains in hydrogels. Dynamic shear measurements showed that both storage modulus and loss modulus increased with increasing MMT content. The idea described here provided a new route to prepare hydrogels with high mechanical properties by using alternative natural Na‐MMT. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1020–1026     

An approach of dynamic mesh adaptation for simulating 3‐dimensional unsteady moving‐immersed‐boundary flows

In this paper, we present an approach of dynamic mesh adaptation for simulating complex 3‐dimensional incompressible moving‐boundary flows by immersed boundary methods. Tetrahedral meshes are adapted by a hierarchical refining/coarsening algorithm. Regular refinement is accomplished by dividing 1 tetrahedron into 8 subcells, and irregular refinement is only for eliminating the hanging points. Merging the 8 subcells obtained by regular refinement, the mesh is coarsened. With hierarchical refining/coarsening, mesh adaptivity can be achieved by adjusting the mesh only 1 time for each adaptation period. The level difference between 2 neighboring cells never exceeds 1, and the geometrical quality of mesh does not degrade as the level of adaptive mesh increases. A predictor‐corrector scheme is introduced to eliminate the phase lag between adapted mesh and unsteady solution. The error caused by each solution transferring from the old mesh to the new adapted one is small because most of the nodes on the 2 meshes are coincident. An immersed boundary method named local domain‐free discretization is employed to solve the flow equations. Several numerical experiments have been conducted for 3‐dimensional incompressible moving‐boundary flows. By using the present approach, the number of mesh nodes is reduced greatly while the accuracy of solution can be preserved.     

A dynamic dissemination model for recurring online public opinion

Nonlinear Dynamics - With an increasing number of people sharing feelings and opinions online, the online platforms have become one of the most important channels for public opinion dissemination....     

Pd0‐Catalyzed Intramolecular α‐Arylation of Sulfones: Domino Reactions in the Synthesis of Functionalized Tetrahydroisoquinolines

A new strategy for the synthesis of tetrahydroisoquinolines based on the Pd⁰‐catalyzed intramolecular α‐arylation of sulfones is reported. The combination of this Pd‐catalyzed reaction with intermolecular Michael and aza‐Michael reactions allows the development of two‐ and three‐step domino processes to synthesize diversely functionalized scaffolds from readily available starting materials.     

Experimental and Theoretical Studies on the Rearrangement of 2‐Oxoazepane α,α‐Amino Acids into 2′‐Oxopiperidine β2,3,3‐Amino Acids: An Example of Intramolecular Catalysis

Enantiopure β‐amino acids represent interesting scaffolds for peptidomimetics, foldamers and bioactive compounds. However, the synthesis of highly substituted analogues is still a major challenge. Herein, we describe the spontaneous rearrangement of 4‐carboxy‐2‐oxoazepane α,α‐amino acids to lead to 2′‐oxopiperidine‐containing β^2,3,3‐amino acids, upon basic or acid hydrolysis of the 2‐oxoazepane α,α‐amino acid ester. Under acidic conditions, a totally stereoselective synthetic route has been developed. The reordering process involved the spontaneous breakdown of an amide bond, which typically requires strong conditions, and the formation of a new bond leading to the six‐membered heterocycle. A quantum mechanical study was carried out to obtain insight into the remarkable ease of this rearrangement, which occurs at room temperature, either in solution or upon storage of the 4‐carboxylic acid substituted 2‐oxoazepane derivatives. This theoretical study suggests that the rearrangement process occurs through a concerted mechanism, in which the energy of the transition states can be lowered by the participation of a catalytic water molecule. Interestingly, it also suggested a role for the carboxylic acid at position 4 of the 2‐oxoazepane ring, which facilitates this rearrangement, participating directly in the intramolecular catalysis.