Copolymerization of optically active N-bornylmaleimide with vinyl monomers

Optically active N-bornylmaleimide (NBMI) was copolymerized with styrene, methyl methacrylate, and vinylidene chloride with a free-radical catalyst to obtain optically active copolymers. The monomer reactivity ratios for the radical copolymerization of NBMI (M₂) with styrene, methyl methacrylate, and vinylidene chloride were: ST-NBMI, r₁ = 0.13, r₂ = 0.05; MMA-NBMI, r₁ = 2.02, r₂ = 0.16; VCl₂-NBMI, r₁ = 1.15, r₂ = 0.47. The Q-e values for NBMI were Q₂ = 0.48 and e₂ = +1.47. The specific rotation and optical rotatory dispersion of these copolymers were measured. The correlation between the specific rotation and composition of these copolymers was not linear. The value of λ_c for each copolymer was independent of the copolymer composition and the comonomer, being 260 mμ for the St-NBMI system, 262 mμ for the MMA-system, and 260 mμ for the VCl₂-NBMI system. The effects of solvents and temperature on the specific rotation of these copolymers were investigated.     

Formation of pyrazine derivatives from D-glucosamine and their deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) strand breakage activity

Two pyrazine derivatives [fructosazine (3) and deoxyfructosazine (6)] were simultaneously formed in a solution of D-glucosamine hydrochloride under various conditions. They showed deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) strand breakage activity in plasmid pBR322 comparable to that of D-glucosamine. The DNA strand breakage by fructosazine (3) was stimulated by Cu2+.     

Isomorphic electron orbitals for vibronic flexibility in a cyclopropenyl radical molecular device

Summary The vibronic character of this molecular device has been studied using isomorphic electron orbitals. The leading role of the softest vibrational mode for the electron transport process is stressed by the quantum mechanical treatment of the rearrangement operator. The theory was used to investigate the possible function of the soliton valve, which has been suggested as a switching tip. The electronic flexibility of the cyclopropenyl radical with respect to molecular vibrations, which is important for the function of the molecular device, is well characterized by the hardness and softness of the electron structure in terms of the orbital energy-occupation number correlation diagram.     

A quantum chemical study of interchain hopping model of negatively charged solitons in polyacetylene

Phonon-assisted interchain hopping of negatively charged solitons in polyacetylene has been studied using a local chemical reaction model CH + CH₄ → CH₄ + CH. Quantum chemical characteristics of the electron transfer process have been analyzed in terms of the dynamic electron density and the mutual polarization moment. The CH stretching vibrational motion of CH₄, which is a local model of the sp³ defect, has been found to play a significant role for the electron transfer. The excitation of the corresponding vibrational mode of the sp³ defect would promote the interchain hopping of the charged soliton. The electron transfer process has also been studied in terms of the “regional” density functional theory. It has been shown that the driving force of the electron transfer is represented by the regional chemical potentials.     

Synthesis of photoreactive polyimide having indan structure

Polyimide containing an indan unit and alkyl moiety with a high molecular weight was prepared from 5,7‐diamino‐1,1,4,6‐tetramethylindan and 3,3′,4,4′‐benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride. This polyimide was amorphous and soluble in common organic solvents, such as tetrahydrofuran, chloroform, and cyclopentanone. Thermogravimetry of the polyimide showed good thermal stability, indicating that a 10% weight loss of the polyimide was observed at 500 °C in nitrogen. The glass‐transition temperature of the polyimide was not observed by DSC measurement between room temperature and 400 °C at a heating rate of 10 °C/min (Apparatus: DSC3100 MAC Science Co., Ltd.). Transparency of the polyimide at 365 nm was 80%. The polyimide acted as a photosensitive resist of negative type by UV radiation. The resist had a sensitivity of 31 mJ/cm² and a contrast of 2.3 when it was developed with cyclopentanone at room temperature. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 423–428, 2002     

UV-Vis, NMR, and time-resolved spectroscopy analysis of photoisomerization behavior of three- and six-azobenzene-bound tris(bipyridine)cobalt complexes

The photoisomerization properties of tris(bipyridine)cobalt complexes containing six or three azobenzene moieties, namely, [Co(II)(dmAB)3](BF4)2 [dmAB = 4,4'-bis[3'-(4'-tolylazo)phenyl]-2,2'-bipyridine], [Co(III)(dmAB)3](BF4)3, [Co(II)(mAB)3](BF4)2 [mAB = 4-[3' '-(4' '-tolylazo)phenyl]-2,2'-bipyridine], and [Co(III)(dmAB)3](BF4)3, derived from the effect of gathering azobenzenes in one molecule and the effect of the cobalt(II) or cobalt(III) ion were investigated using UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, femtosecond transient spectroscopy, and 1H NMR spectroscopy. In the photostationary state of these four complexes, nearly 50% of the trans-azobenzene moieties of the Co(II) complexes were converted to the cis isomer, and nearly 10% of the trans-azobenzene moieties of the Co(III) complexes isomerized to the cis isomer, implying that the cis isomer ratio in the photostationary state upon irradiation at 365 nm is controlled not by the number of azobenzene moieties in one molecule but rather by the oxidation state of the cobalt ions. The femtosecond transient absorption spectra of the ligands and the complexes suggested that the photoexcited states of the azobenzene moieties in the Co(III) complexes were strongly deactivated by electron transfer from the azobenzene moiety to the cobalt center to form an azobenzene radical cation and a Co(II) center. The cooperation among the photochemical structural changes of six azobenzene moieties in [Co(II)(dmAB)3](BF4)2 was investigated with 1H NMR spectroscopy. The time-course change in the 1H NMR signals of the methyl protons indicated that each azobenzene moiety in [Co(II)(dmAB)3](BF4)2 isomerized to a cis isomer with a random probability of 50% and without interactions among the azobenzene moieties.     

Secondary hypervalent I(III)...O interactions: synthesis and structure of hypervalent complexes of diphenyl-lambda3-iodanes with 18-crown-6

Reported here for the first time are the synthesis and characterization of supramolecular complexes between diaryl-lambda(3)-iodanes and 18-crown-6 (18C6). Slow evaporation of solvents afforded 1:1 and 2:1 complexes between Ph(2)IBF(4) and 18C6 as stable crystals, depending on the conditions. X-ray crystal structures of these complexes indicated that each iodine atom contacts with the three adjacent oxygen atoms of 18C6 through two hypervalent secondary bonding and a weak interaction. (1)H NMR analyses and CSI-MS spectra showed that, in dichloromethane solution, Ph(2)IBF(4) exclusively forms the 1:1 complex with 18C6 (binding constant K(a), 1.02 x 10(3) M(-)(1)). The binding constants decrease with the increased solvent donor ability (Gutmann's DN). Changing the heteroatom ligand from BF(4) to the less nucleophilic PF(6) and AsF(6) increased the binding constant by about six times. Substitution of an electron-withdrawing group onto the para position of Ph(2)IBF(4) tends to increase in the complex stability. A linear Hammett relationship (rho = 0.59) between log K(a) and sigma(p)(+) values of substituents indicates that the diaryl-lambda(3)-iodanes with electropositive iodine(III) interact more efficiently with 18C6. Decreased binding magnitude was measured with 15C5, dibenzo-18C6, dibenzo-21C7, and dibenzo-30C10.     

Reaction paths of some open-shell reactive intermediates

The intermolecular interaction energy for reacting systems in singlet, triplet and doublet states was partitioned by the perturbation expansion method into the chemically meaningful five interaction terms: the Coulomb, exchange-repulsion, induction, dispersion, and charge-transfer energies. In the local ZDO approximation, these energy terms were evaluated for the dimerization of methylenes (^1,3CH₂), the additions of carbenes (^1,3CH₂ and^1,3CF₂) as well as amino radicals (²NH₂ and²NF₂) toward ethylene, and the hydrogen abstractions by methylenes (^1,3CH₂), nitrene (³NH), and hydroxyl radical (²OH) from methane. It has been found that the reaction path is much influenced by the spinmultiplicity, and that the charge-transfer and exchange-repulsion terms play a dominant role in determining the course of reactions.     

Alternating copolymerization of polar vinyl monomers in the presence of zinc chloride. I. Propagation and initiation of the copolymerization of acrylonitrile with styrene copolymer

Copolymerization of acrylonitrile with styrene spontaneously occurred on addition of zinc chloride without addition of any other radical initiator. The composition of the copolymer approached that of strictly alternating copolymer as zinc chloride added to the copolymerization system increased. The significance of the apparent monomer reactivity ratios of this copolymerization system was studied from a kinetic point of view, and it was shown that the monomer sequence distribution is indicated by the apparent monomer reactivity ratios. Further, equations which represent the relation between the apparent monomer reactivity ratios and Q,e values at a given salt concentration were derived. These equations reasonably accounted for the decrease of the apparent monomer reactivity ratios of the copolymerization of acrylonitrile with styrene in the presence of zinc chloride and the behavior of the other acrylonitrile copolymerization systems in the presence of zinc chloride. The initiation step of the spontaneous radical copolymerization of acrylonitrile with styrene in the presence of zinc chloride was explained by a cross-initiation mechanism.     

Dipole moments of (styrene-p-chlorostyrene) triblock copolymers in solutions

(Styrene-p-chlorostyrene) triblock copolymers of the ABA and BAB types (A—polystyrene; B—poly-p-chlorostyrene) were prepared by anionic polymerization and their conformational behaviours in solutions were studied from measurements of the dipole moments. Two solvents, toluene and cumene, were used for the study; toluene is a good solvent for both polystyrene and poly-p-chlorostyrene whereas cumene is a selective solvent, good for polystyrene but poor for poly-p-chlorostyrene. It was found that the dipole moments of the block copolymers measured in toluene are the same for the ABA and BAB copolymers; in cumene however the dipole moment of the BAB copolymer is smaller than that of the ABA copolymer. The results give an additional support to our previous conclusion that the conformation of the block copolymers in a good solvent such as toluene could be approximated with a pseudo-random coil form; in a selective solvent, however, some anomalies take place in the conformation of the block copolymers, as deduced from intrinsic viscosity, osmotic pressure and light scattering measurements.