Surface reduction of freely floating smectic bubbles

Elongated freely floating smectic bubbles are observed during their relaxation to equilibrium sphere shape. Unlike soap bubbles that perform weakly damped oscillations into equilibrium, this relaxation is overdamped in smectics by internal structure reorganisation processes. The bubble area reduction of centimetre-sized freely floating bubbles with few nanometres film thickness is recorded with high-speed optical imaging in microgravity and analysed quantitatively. We find a nearly linear reduction of the film area with time, driven by capillary forces and inhibited by smectic layer reorganisations. Characteristic times are in the milliseconds range, with little correlation to the film thickness and bubble size. Instead, the homogeneity of the films and the number and sizes of islands of excess layers that spontaneously form on the films appear to have crucial influence on the dynamics. The efficiency of this process sets the time scale of the film area shrinkage. We discuss the limitations of a minimalistic model that captures smectic layer reorganisation processes.     

Manganese‐Catalyzed Dehydrogenative Alkylation or α‐Olefination of Alkyl‐Substituted N‐Heteroarenes with Alcohols

Catalysis with earth‐abundant transition metals is an option to help save our rare noble‐metal resources and is especially interesting when novel reactivity or selectivity patterns are observed. We report here on a novel reaction, namely the dehydrogenative alkylation or α‐olefination of alkyl‐substituted N‐heteroarenes with alcohols. Manganese complexes developed in our laboratory catalyze the reaction with high efficiency whereas iron and cobalt complexes stabilized by the same ligands are essentially inactive. Hydrogen is liberated during the reaction, and bromine and iodine functional groups as well as olefins are tolerated. A variety of alkyl‐substituted N‐heteroarenes can be functionalized, and benzylic and aliphatic alcohols undergo the reaction.     

Quinoxalines X. a new and convenient synthesis of 1H‐Pyrazolo [3,4‐b] quinoxalines (Flavazoles)

Dedicated to Professor Gerhard Kempter on the occasion of his 70^th birthday Quinoxaline‐2‐aldoximes and ‐ketoximes ( 6 ) react with hydrazine, alkylhydrazines or arylhydrazines under acidic conditions to afford lH‐pyrazolo[3,4‐b]quinoxalines (flavazoles) ( 1 ). Since the oximes ( 6 ) are easily available from phenylenediamine, the herein described methodology provides a convenient two step entry to various functionalized flavazoles. Furthermore, acylation and alkylation of the 1‐unsubstituted lH‐pyrazolo[3,4‐b]quinoxalines 7 proceeds smoothly and in good yield to afford 31 different flavazoles 11 and 12.     

Release of Singlet Oxygen from Aromatic Endoperoxides by Chemical Triggers

The generation of reactive singlet oxygen under mild conditions is of current interest in chemistry, biology, and medicine. We were able to release oxygen from dipyridylanthracene endoperoxides (EPOs) by using a simple chemical trigger at low temperature. Protonation and methylation of such EPOs strongly accelerated these reactions. Furthermore, the methyl pyridinium derivatives are water soluble and therefore serve as oxygen carriers in aqueous media. Methylation of the EPO of the ortho isomer affords the parent form directly without increasing the temperature under very mild conditions. This exceptional behavior is ascribed to the close contact between the nitrogen atom and the peroxo group. Singlet oxygen is released upon this reaction, and can be used to oxygenate an acceptor such as tetramethylethylene in the dark with no heating. Thus, a new chemical source of singlet oxygen has been found, which is triggered by a simple stimulus.     

Separation of (Z)- and (E)-isomers of thioxanthene and dibenz[b,e]oxepin derivatives with calixarenes and resorcinarenes as additives in nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis

Five acidic calix[4]arenes with carboxylic or sulfonic groups at either the upper or lower rim of the cavity and one resorc[4]arene were investigated to separate three thioxanthenes (flupentixol, clopenthixol, chlorprothixene) and a dibenz[b,e]oxepin derivative (doxepin) with cis-/trans-isomerism by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE). Partial filling of the capillary with the UV-absorbing selectors led to a low detection limit and an advantageous signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). A sufficient electrophoretic mobility of the calixarenes towards the anode was necessary to outweigh the oppositely directed electroosmotic flow (EOF). This depended from the functional groups, the dissociation and the hydrodynamic radius of the cyclophanes. In contrast, the resorcinarene was useable only by addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) because only the complex of the two selectors had an anodic apparent electrophoretic mobility. p-Sulfonyl-calix[4]arene (ss-a1) was the most capable selector for all E/Z-isomers with maximal alpha-values ranging from 1.056 for doxepin to 1.224 for chlorprothixene. This was due to the sufficient migration in reversed direction to the EOF even at low pH* values of 3.0. Otherwise, electrostatic as well as hydrophobic interactions with the positively charged isomers seem to contribute to a superior recognition. Increasing the concentration up to 15 mM ss-a1 and using acidic media (pH* 5.0) led to high separation efficiency. Changing the organic solvent provides a powerful tool to improve selectivity with N,N-dimethylformamide-methanol (DMF-MeOH)-mixtures for thioxanthenes. Further electrophoretic parameters were optimized, such as the concentration of the electrolytes, the addition of SDS, the kind of electrolytes and the voltage. Distinct differences in selectivities were found between the derivatives with thioxanthene and dibenzo[b,e]oxepin ring system, respectively. Further, the different basic side chain was responsible for the different selectivity at higher pH* values. In contrast, the substitution at position 2 of the thioxanthenes played a secondary role. Based on the studies of single parameters a method for a simultaneous separation of the four pairs of isomers within 13 min was developed.     

Microdevices for manipulation and accumulation of micro- and nanoparticles by dielectrophoresis

Microfluidic devices with three-dimensional (3-D) arrays of microelectrodes embedded in microchannels have been developed to study dielectrophoretic forces acting on synthetic micro- and nanoparticles. In particular, so-called deflector structures were used to separate particles according to their size and to enable accumulation of a fraction of interest into a small sample volume for further analysis. Particle velocity within the microchannels was measured by video microscopy and the hydrodynamic friction forces exerted on deflected particles were determined according to Stokes law. These results lead to an absolute measure of the dielectrophoretic forces and allowed for a quantitative test of the underlying theory. In summary, the influence of channel height, particle size, buffer composition, electric field, strength and frequency on the dielectrophoretic force and the effectiveness of dielectrophoretic deflection structures were determined. For this purpose, microfluidic devices have been developed comprising pairs of electrodes extending into fluid channels on both top and bottom side of the microfluidic channels. Electrodes were aligned under angles varying from 0 to 75 degrees with respect to the direction of flow. Devices with channel height varying between 5 and 50 microm were manufactured. Fabrication involved a dedicated bonding technology using a mask aligner and UV-curing adhesive. Particles with radius ranging from 250 nm to 12 microm were injected into the channels using aqueous buffer solutions.     

There and Back Again—The Journey of LiNiO2 as a Cathode Active Material

This Review provides a comprehensive overview of LiNiO₂ (LNO), almost 30 years after its introduction as a cathode active material. We aim to highlight the physicochemical peculiarities that make LNO a complex material in every aspect. We specifically stress the effect of the Li off‐stoichiometry (Li_1?zNi_1+zO₂) on every property of LNO, especially the electrochemical ones. The key instability issues that plague the compound and the strategies that have been implemented so far to overcome them are discussed in detail. Finally, the open questions that remain to be addressed by the scientific community are summarized, and the research directions that seem the most promising to enable LNO to be fully exploited are elucidated.     

QMX: A versatile environment for hybrid calculations applied to the grafting of Al2Cl3Me3 on a silica surface

We present a new software to easily perform QM:MM and QM:QM' calculations called QMX. It follows the subtraction scheme and it is implemented in the Atomic Simulation Environment (ASE). Special attention is paid to couple molecular calculations with periodic boundaries approaches. QMX inherits the flexibility and versatility of the ASE package: any combination of methods namely force field, semiempirical, first principle, and ab initio, can be used as hybrid potential energy surface (PES). Its ease of use is demonstrated by considering the adsorption of Al₂Cl₃Me₃ on silica surface and by combining different levels of theory (from standard DFT to MP2 calculations) for the so‐called High Level cluster with standard PW91 density functional theory calculations for the Low Level environment. It is shown that the High Level cluster must contain the silanol group close to the aluminum atoms. The bridging adsorption is favored by 58 kJ mol^?1 at the MP2:PW91 level with respect to the terminal position. Using large clusters at the MP2:PW91 level, it is shown that PW91 calculations are sufficient for structure optimization but that embedded methods are required for accurate energy profiles. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.