Synthesis,Crystal Structures,and Properties of 6,12‐Diaryl‐Substituted Indeno[1,2‐b]fluorenes

Fused polycyclic indeno[1,2‐b]fluorene derivatives with aryl substituents at the 6,12‐positions have been prepared as a potential antiaromatic 20π electronic system. They showed strong absorptions in the visible region and amphoteric redox properties. The quinoid‐type molecular structures were revealed by X‐ray crystal‐structure analysis, which indicated that the bond lengths of the quinoid unit depend on the aryl substituents. Whereas nucleus‐independent chemical shift NICS(1) calculations indicate the antiaromatic nature of the s‐indacene core, they have higher stability than substituted acene derivatives. The derivatives with difluorophenyl or anthryl groups were stable in solution. Vapor‐deposited thin films showed ambipolar carrier transportation in the field‐effect transistor devices.     

Controlled production of monodisperse double emulsions by two-step droplet breakup in microfluidic devices

A microfluidic device having both hydrophobic and hydrophilic components is exploited for production of multiple-phase emulsions. For producing water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) dispersions, aqueous droplets ruptured at the upstream hydrophobic junction are enclosed within organic droplets formed at the downstream hydrophilic junction. Droplets produced at each junction could have narrow size distributions with coefficients of variation in diameter of less than 3%. Control of the flow conditions produces variations in internal/external droplet sizes and in the internal droplet number. Both W/O/W emulsions (with two types of internal droplets) and oil-in-water-in-oil emulsions were prepared by varying geometry and wettability in microchannels.     

Deoxyfluorination of alcohols using N,N-diethyl-α,α-difluoro-(m-methylbenzyl)amine

Deoxyfluorination of alcohols was carried out using N,N-diethyl-α,α-difluoro-(m-methylbenzyl)amine (DFMBA). Primary alcohols were effectively converted to fluorides under microwave irradiation or conventional heating. Deoxyfluorination of an anomeric hydroxy group in sugars by DFMBA proceeded at below room temperature and glycosyl fluorides could be obtained in good yields. The deoxyfluorination reaction chemoselectively proceeded and various protecting groups on the sugar can survive under the reaction conditions.     

Hydration Structure Around the Carboxyl Group Studied by Neutron Diffraction with 12C/13C and H/D Isotopic Substitution Methods

Time-of-Flight (TOF) neutron diffraction measurements have been carried out on aqueous 8 mol% sodium acetate solutions in D₂O. Scattering cross sections that were observed for sample solutions involving ¹²C/¹³C and H/D isotopically substituted acetate ions were used to derive the first-order difference functions, Δ_H(Q) and Δ_C(Q), and corresponding distribution functions, G _H(r;r) and G _C(r;r), which describe the environmental structure around the methyl and the carboxyl groups within the acetate ion, respectively. Structural parameters concerning the first hydration shell of the carboxyl group within the acetate ion were obtained through the least squares fit to the observed intermolecular difference function, Δ_C ^inter(Q). The nearest neighbor C _O...D _W1 (C_O: carboxyl carbon atom, D_W1: water deuterium atom) distance, r(C _O...D _W1 ), and the angle, ∠ C _O ...D _W1 -O _W (O _W : water oxygen atom), were determined to be 2.63(1) Å and 120(1)°, respectively. The coordination number, n(C _O ...D _W1 ), was obtained to be 4.0(1). These results are consistent with the hydration structure in which water molecules in the first hydration shell of the carboxyl group are hydrogen-bonded with oxygen atoms of the carboxyl group.     

Axially chiral dicarboxylic acid catalyzed asymmetric semipinacol rearrangement of cyclic β-hydroxy-α-diazo esters

The development of axially chiral dicarboxylic acid catalyzed desymmetrizing asymmetric semipinacol rearrangement of symmetrically substituted six-membered cyclic β-hydroxy-α-diazo esters is reported as a means to give chiral cycloheptanones with good enantioselectivities.     

Efficient synthesis of 2,4-disubstituted 1,2,4-benzothiadiazin-3-one 1,1-dioxides on solid support

The first solid-phase synthesis of 1,2,4-benzothiadiazin-3-one 1,1-dioxides has been developed. Synthesis of the title compounds was achieved by the reduction of 2-nitrobenzenesulfonamides, followed by cyclization with carbonyldiimidazole. Because 1,2,4-benzothiadiazin-3-one 1,1-dioxides have been known to possess various bioactivities, this method is useful from the viewpoint of new drug discovery. In addition to the excellent purity of the title compounds, a large number of compounds can be synthesized with this method, because this synthesis includes four diversity points.     

Charge‐discharge properties of composites of polypyrrole and vanadium oxide powder

Composite of polypyrrole and crystalline V₂O₅ powder was prepared by chemical oxidation of pyrrole with use of V₂O₅ powder itself as an oxidizing agent. The V₂O₅ content was changed from 0 to 94 wt% by changing the amount of V₂O₅ dispersed in the preparation bath. The pellet electrodes could be prepared by pressing the composite powder alone even if amount of polypyrrole in the composite was only 6 wt%. The resulting pellet electrode exhibited good charge‐discharge performance as a positive electrode of Li rechargeable battery in an electrolyte solution as well as in a quasi‐solid cell fabricated by using a gel electrolyte sheet of poly(methyl methacrylate).