Controlled particle placement through convective and capillary assembly

A wide variety of methods are now available for the synthesis of colloidal particle having controlled shapes, structures, and dimensions. One of the main challenges in the development of devices that utilize micro- and nanoparticles is still particle placement and integration on surfaces. Required are engineering approaches to control the assembly of these building blocks at accurate positions and at high yield. Here, we investigate two complementary methods to create particle assemblies ranging from full layers to sparse arrays of single particles starting from colloidal suspensions of gold and polystyrene particles. Convective assembly was performed on hydrophilic substrates to create crystalline mono- or multilayers using the convective flow of nanoparticles induced by the evaporation of solvent at the three-phase contact line of a solution. On hydrophobic surfaces, capillary assembly was investigated to create sparse arrays and complex three-dimensional structures using capillary forces to trap and organize particles in the recessed regions of a template. In both methods, the hydrodynamic drag exerted on the particle in the suspension plays a key role in the assembly process. We demonstrate for the first time that the velocity and direction of particles in the suspension can be controlled to perform assembly or disassembly of particles. This is achieved by setting the temperature of the colloidal suspension above or below the dew point. The influence of other parameters, such as substrate velocity, wetting properties, and pattern geometry, is also investigated. For the particular case of capillary assembly, we propose a mechanism that takes into account the relative influences of these parameters on the motion of particles and that describes the influence of temperature on the assembly efficiency.     

Block copolymers via macromercaptan initiated ring opening polymerization

Poly(styrene) macromercaptanes (M_n = 1900, 3600, and 6100 g mol^?1, PDI ≈ 1.2) derived from thiocarbonyl thio capped polymers prepared via reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer polymerization were employed to initiate the ring opening polymerization (ROP) of D ,L ‐lactide under conditions of organo‐catalyis employing 4,4‐dimethylaminopyridine. Poly(styrene)‐block‐poly(lactide) polymers of number average molecular weights up to 25,000 g mol^?1 (PDI ≈ 1.2 to 1.6) were obtained and characterized via multiple detection size exclusion chromatography (SEC) using refractive index as well as UV detection. In addition, diffusion ordered nuclear magnetic resonance and liquid chromatography at critical conditions (of both polystyrene as well as poly(lactide) were employed to assess the copolymers' structure. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that polyethylenes capped with a thiol moiety can also be readily chain extended in a ROP employing D ,L ‐lactide, evidenced via NMR and high temperature SEC. This study indicates that the direct use of macromercaptantes is indeed a methodology to switch from a radical to a ROP process. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Additionsreaktion von 3-Dimethylamino-2,2-dimethyl-2H-azirin mit Phenylisothiocyanat

Reaction of 3-Dimethylamino-2,2-dimethyl-2H-azirine with Phenyl Isothiocyanate In contrast to the reactions of 3-dimethylamino-2,2-dimethyl-2H-azirine ( 1a ) with various isothiocyanates, leading to thiazoline derivatives, the reaction of 1a with phenyl isothiocyanate at room temperature gives 5,5-dimethyl-3-phenyl-Δ¹-imidazolin-4-dimethyliminium-2-thiolate ( 9 , Scheme 2). The structure of 9 is deduced from spectral data and reactions of this zwitterionic compound (Schemes 2 and 4).     

Photoreaktionen von 1-Alkylbenztriazolen

The irradiation of benzotriazoles (cf. Scheme 2) with light of 225–325 nm in protic and in aromatic solvents was investigated. In aqueous 0.1N H₂SO₄ benzotriazole ( 5 ) and 1-methyl-benzotriazole ( 6 ) yielded 2-amino- and 2-methylaminophenol ( 25 and 26 ), respectively (Scheme 3). In 2-propanol 6 , 5-chloro- and 6-chloro-1-methyl-benzotriazole ( 14 and 15 ) were reduced to N-methylaniline, 4-chloro- and 3-chloro-N-methyl-aniline ( 27 , 28 and 29 ), respectively (Scheme 4). When the benzotriazoles were irradiated in aromatic solvents only C, C coupling products were observed (cf. Scheme 6 and Tables 1–4). It is of importance that 5-chloro-1-methyl-benztriazole ( 14 ) when decomposed photolytically in benzene solution yielded only 4-chloro-2-phenyl-N-methyl-aniline ( 49 ) and its 6-chloro isomer only 5-chloro-2-phenyl-N-methyl-aniline ( 50 ), i.e. the intervention of benzo-1H-azirine intermediates (e.g. 53 , Scheme 8) can be excluded. The substitution patterns which are observed when 6 is irradiated in toluene, anisole, fluoro-, chloro-, bromobenzene and benzonitrile (cf. Table 4) can best be explained by assuming that 6 , after loss of nitrogen, forms a diradical intermediate in the singlet state with highly zwitterionic character. 1-(1′-Alkenyl)-benzotriazoles (cf. Table 7) form on irradiation in cyclohexane solution indoles by intramolecular ring closure of the diradical intermediate and proton shift. After irradiation of 1-decyl-benzotriazole ( 8 ) in a glassy matrix at 77K a 7-line ESR. spectrum characteristic of a triplet radical is observed. This is in agreement with the fact that the lowest lying state of intermediates of type 2 (Scheme 1) should be a triplet state (cf. [21] [26]).