Discotic Liquid Crystals of Transition Metal Complexes, 19: Discotic Mesomorphism and Double Clearing Behavior of Octakis(dialkoxyphenyl)phthalocyanine Derivatives

Eight novel octakis(3,4-dialkoxyphenyl)- phthalocyanine derivatives, Cn-M (2, M=2H; 3, M=Ni; 4, M=Cu; a, decyloxy; b, undecyloxy; c, dodecyloxy), have been synthesized and characterized. It was found that each of the derivatives exhibits discotic liquid crystalline properties, and that each of the Cn–Cu (4) derivatives has two kinds of D_rd2( P 2₁/ a ) mesophases. These Cn–Cu (4a,b,c) and C₁₂–2H (2c) derivatives exhibit a unique double clearing behavior.     

Stereospecific and asymmetric polymerization of 1-phenyldibenzosuberyl methacrylate with radical and anionic initiators

Stereospecific and asymmetric (helix-sense-selective) polymerization of 1-phenyldibenzosuberyl methacrylate (PDBSMA) was performed with radical and anionic initiators. A highly isotactic polymer having triad isotacticity greater than 97% was obtained by radical polymerization with (i-PrOCOO)₂ at 40°C. The radical polymerization of PDBSMA in (+)- and (-)-menthol gave (-)-and (+)-polymers, respectively, whose optical activity is ascribed to the prevailing one-handed helical conformation of a polymer chain. The radical copolymerization of PDBSMA with a small amount of an optically active monomer, (+)-phenyl-2-pyridyl-o-tolylmethyl methacrylate, afforded an optically active copolymer with the prevailing one-handed helical structure of PDBSMA sequences. Asymmetric anionic polymerization of PDBSMA was carried out with the complex of N, N′-diphenylethylenediamine monolithium amide and a chiral ligand, (+)-1-(2-pyrrolidinylmethyl)pyrrolidine in toluene at −78°C. The obtained polymer was highly isotactic and optically active due to nearly 100% one-handed helical structure.     

A survey of metabolic changes in potato leaves by NMR‐based metabolic profiling in relation to resistance to late blight disease under field conditions

Non‐targeted nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)‐based metabolic profiling was applied to potato leaves to survey metabolic changes associated with late blight resistance under field conditions. Potato plants were grown in an experimental field, and the compound leaves with no visible symptoms were collected from 20 cultivars/lines at two sampling time points: (i) the time of initial presentation of symptoms in susceptible cultivars and (ii) 12 days before this initiation. ¹H NMR spectra of the foliar metabolites soluble in deuterium oxide‐ or methanol‐d₄‐based buffers were measured and used for multivariate analysis. Principal component analysis for six cultivars at symptom initiation showed a class separation corresponding to their levels of late blight resistance. This separation was primarily explained by higher levels of malic acid, methanol, and rutin and a lower level of sucrose in the resistant cultivars than in the susceptible ones. Partial least squares regression revealed that the levels of these metabolites were strongly associated with the disease severity measured in this study under field conditions. These associations were observed only for the leaves harvested at the symptom initiation stage, but not for those collected 12 days beforehand. Subsequently, a simple, alternative enzymatic assay for l ‐malic acid was used to estimate late blight resistance, as a model for applying the potential metabolic marker obtained. This study demonstrated the potential of metabolomics for field‐grown plants in combination with targeted methods for quantifying marker levels, moving towards marker‐assisted screening of new cultivars with durable late blight resistance. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Metallic conductivity and ferromagnetic interaction of iron(III) d spins in the needle crystals of (ethylenedithiotetrathiafulvalenoquinone-1,3-dithiolemethide)(2).FeBr(4) salt

The 2:1 charge-transfer (CT) salts (1(2).FeBr(4) and 1(2).GaBr(4)) of ethylenedithiotetrathiafulvalenoquinone-1,3-dithiolemethide (1) with FeBr(4)(-) and GaBr(4)(-) counteranions were obtained as needle crystals, whose structures are almost the same as each other. The 1 molecules form a one dimensionally stacked column with alternation of their molecular axis direction, while the counteranions are aligned in parallel with the 1-stacked columns with the direction of their distorted-tetrahedral geometry maintained. The room-temperature electrical conductivities measured on the single crystals of 1(2).FeBr(4) and 1(2).GaBr(4) were 4.6 and 2.1 S cm(-1), respectively. From the temperature dependences of their electrical conductivities in both cases the electrical conducting properties were metallic between ca. 170 and 300 K, but below ca. 170 K converted to be semiconducting and continued till 5 K, although the activation energies are very small (4-10 meV). For 1(2).FeBr(4) very weak and antiferromagnetic interaction occurred between the d spins of FeBr(4)(-) ions in the temperature range of ca. 1-300 K. However, below ca. 15 K the ferromagnetic interaction was reversely preferential possibly by participation of the pi spin of 1.     

Self-written waveguides in photopolymerizable resins

We study the optically induced growth and interaction of self-written waveguides in a photopolymerizable resin. We investigate experimentally how the interaction depends on the mutual coherence and the relative power of the input beams and suggest an improved analytical model that describes the growth of single waveguides and the main features of their interaction in photosensitive materials.     

Effect of the partial covalency on the solubility of AgBr In α-AgI

The internal energy and free energy of α-AgI-type solid solution have been calculated. On the basis of this calculation, the solubility limit of AgBr in α-AgI has been discussed. The difference of the solubility of AgBr in β-AgI and of β-AgI in AgBr has been interpreted due to the variation of the vibrational entropy depending on the mean value of anion mass. The partial ionicity in these solid solutions has also been discussed.