Lightly crosslinked,mesomorphic networks obtained through the reaction of dimeric,liquid‐crystalline epoxy–imine monomers and heptanedioic acid

We reacted various dimeric, liquid‐crystalline epoxy–imine monomers, differing in the length of the central aliphatic spacer or the dipolar moments, with heptanedioic acid. The resulting systems showed a liquid‐crystalline phase in some cases, depending on the dimer and on the reaction conditions. The systems were characterized with respect to their mesomorphic properties and then were submitted to dynamic mechanical thermal analysis in both fixed‐frequency and frequency‐sweep modes in the shear sandwich configuration. The arrangement in the liquid‐crystalline phase seemed to be mainly affected both by the polarization of the mesogen and by the reaction temperature, which favored the liquid‐crystalline arrangement when it was lying in the range of stability of the dimer mesophase. In agreement with other recent literature data, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis results suggested that the presence of the mesogen directly incorporated into the main chain increased the lifetimes of the elastic modes both in the isotropic phase and in the liquid‐crystalline phase with respect to side‐chain liquid‐crystalline elastomers and that the time–temperature superposition principle did not hold through the liquid‐crystalline‐to‐isotropic transition. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44:6270–6286, 2006     

N,N‐dimethylaminopyridine as initiator in the copolymerization of diglycidylether of bisphenol A with six‐membered cyclic carbonates

N,N‐Dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) was used as initiator to cure mixtures of diglycidylether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and 1,3‐dioxan‐2‐one (TMC) or 5,5‐dimethyl‐1,3‐dioxan‐2‐one (DMTMC). The curing was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared in the attenuated‐total‐reflection mode (FTIR/ATR). FTIR/ATR was used to monitor the competitive reactive processes and to quantify the evolution of the groups involved in the curing. We observed the formation of five‐membered cyclic carbonates and anionic carbonate groups that remain unreacted at the chain ends. The formation of these groups was explained by the attack of the anionic propagation species on the methylene carbon of the carbonate group, which leads to an alkyl‐oxygen rupture. By performing the cure in the thermobalance we could evaluate the loss of CO₂ produced in the samples containing carbonates. The kinetics were studied by DSC and analyzed with isoconversional procedures. The addition of carbonates slows down the curing rate. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) experiments were used to evaluate the properties of the materials obtained. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2873–2882, 2006     

A neutral gas model for electron swarms

A BGK-type Boltzmann equation for a neutral gas is considered as a model for electron swarms, because the gas and the electron Boltzmann equation have a common diffusion approximation. Both full- and half-range theory are developed using orthogonality methods of solution. Preliminary comparisons with diffusion theory are presented.     

Determination of anions in rainwater by capillary electrophoresis with conductivity detection

A routine method for the determination of chloride, nitrate and sulfate anions in rainwater by capillary electrophoresis was developed. The system uses an end-column non-suppressed conductivity detector. Linear calibration plots were generated from 0.050 to 20 mg/l, which is the range generally found in wet depositions. Accuracy and precision were evaluated by analyzing certified standards of simulated rainwater and environmental samples, or by comparing CE results with those obtained by IC, the reference technique for anion analysis in wet deposition. The reproducibility of the method was satisfactory except at the lower and upper limits of the analytical range. Sensitivity lay in the range of few μg/l.     

Use of capillary gas chromatography/sensory analysis as an additional tool for sampling technique comparison in peach aroma analysis

Capillary GC/sensory analysis was used to judge if dynamic headspace on sliced pulp and on intact fruit, and solvent extraction could collect the “character impact” and the “contributory” aroma compounds in peaches. Capillary GC/sensory data showed that the headspace techniques selectively recovered the “contributory” volatile compounds, which are strictly related to the characteristic odor of the various peach cultivars, whereas solvent extraction better quantified the “character impact” compounds (lactones).     

Inorganic-organic hybrids of the p,p′-diphenylmethylenediphosphinate ligand with bivalent metals: a new 2D-layered phenylphosphinate zinc(II) complex

By reaction of Zn(CH₃COO)₂ with p,p′-diphenylmethylenediphosphinic acid in water a new inorganic-organic polymeric hybrid of formula [Zn(CH₂(P(Ph)O₂)₂)] has been synthesized and completely characterized. The X-ray analysis established that the structure consists of 2D-layered polymeric array, the 2D-sheets being built up through strong covalent linkages between the zinc metal and the oxygen donors of the phenylphosphinate ligand. The 2D-layers, which are featuring a mesh-net fashion, present voids of various dimensionality, up to 24-membered rings. The organic parts of the hybrid ligand, namely the phenyl rings, are shielding the inorganic skeleton of the layers, preventing the propagation of the polymer in the third dimension. No water molecules are present in the lattice, both of coordination and crystallization. Crystal data are: monoclinic, P2₁/c, a=11.840(2), b=9.646(9), c=12.516(5) Å, β=95.03(2), V=1423.9(15) Å³, Z=4. The solid material has been characterized by ³¹P MAS NMR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis.     

Effect of core size on the partition of organic solutes in the monolayer of water-soluble nanoparticles: an ESR investigation

ESR spectroscopy has been used to study the interaction of para-pentylbenzyl hydroxyalkyl nitroxide with the monolayer of water-soluble protected gold clusters having a core diameter ranging from 1.6 to 5.3 nm. The solubilization of the nitroxide probe in the more hydrophobic environment of the monolayer strongly depends on the size of the gold core. In particular, the partition equilibrium constant increases as the nanoparticle diameter decreases. These results have been attributed to the different packing of the chains in the monolayer resulting from the different radius of curvature of the investigated nanoparticles. This represents, to the best of our knowledge, the first report demonstrating that the core size of metallic nanoparticles affects the solvating properties of the protective organic monolayer.     

Polymer-supported O-alkylisoureas: useful reagents for the O-alkylation of carboxylic acids

Polymer-supported O-alkylisoureas were prepared by reaction of an alcohol with a polymer-supported carbodiimide under copper(II) catalysis. These reagents were used to transform carboxylic acids into the corresponding methyl, benzyl, allyl, and p-nitrobenzyl esters in a highly chemoselective manner in high yields and in very high purity after simple resin filtration and solvent evaporation. The reactions could be carried out using both conventional or microwave heating, with reaction times as short as 3-5 min in the latter case, without compromising yield, purity, or chemoselectivity. Unfortunately, the corresponding solid-supported tert-butyl isoureas could not be prepared.     

Stereospecific synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted 1,4-benzodioxans

The synthesis of cis- and trans-2-methyl-3-phenyl-1,4-benzodioxans 4 and 5 , from 1-phenyl-2-[2-(hydroxy)-phenoxy]propanols threo 2 and erythro 3 are described.