The use of the DPE radical polymerization method for the synthesis of chromophore-labelled polymers and block copolymers

Two analogues of diphenylethene carrying phenanthrene (1-(9-phenanthryl)-1-phenylethene (PPE)) and anthracene (1-(2-anthryl)-1-phenylethene (APE)) units were used in radical polymerization of styrene (St) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) at 80 °C using AIBN as initiator. Because of the nature of the polymerization, the resulting polymers possess the corresponding chromophoric groups. Using the methodology of a DPE system, these labelled polymers were further used for the synthesis of block copolymers. In this way poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-poly(styrene) and poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-poly(acrylonitrile) with molar masses of 60,000-90,000 g/mol were synthesized. Incorporation of the chromophoric groups into both homo- and block copolymers was confirmed by spectral measurements.     

Computation of Rotation Matrices Making Lined‐Up to the Local Cartesian Coordinates

Rotation matrices were expressed in terms of Gaunt coefficients and complex spherical harmonics. The rotation matrices were calculated using two different ways. In the first, Gaunt coefficients and normalized complex spherical harmonics were directly calculated using binomial coefficients; in the second, Gaunt coefficients and complex spherical harmonics were recursively calculated. The methods were compared with respect to accuracy and computation time (CPU) for low and very high quantum numbers.     

Redox polymerization of methyl methacrylate with allyl alcohol 1,2-butoxylate-block-ethoxylate initiated by Ce(IV)/HNO3 redox system

Redox initiated free-radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) with allyl alcohol 1,2-butoxylate-block-ethoxylate (AABE) was carried out using cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate/nitric acid (HNO₃) redox system to yield AABE-b-PMMA copolymers. The effects of MMA, AABE, Ce(IV) and HNO₃ concentrations on the polymerization rate and polymer yield were investigated. The effect of temperature on the rate of polymerization and polymer yield was also investigated in the temperature range of 25-70 °C. Copolymers were characterized using GPC, FT-IR, ¹H NMR and viscometry methods.     

Sensitive Flow-Injection Electrochemical Determination of Hydrogen Peroxide at a Palladium Nanoparticle-Modified Pencil Graphite Electrode

A novel flow-injection amperometric method was proposed for the sensitive and enzymeless determination of hydrogen peroxide based on its electrocatalytic reduction at a palladium nanoparticle-modified pretreated pencil graphite electrode in a laboratory-constructed electrochemical flow cell. Cyclic voltammograms of the unmodified and modified electrodes were recorded in pH 7.0 phosphate buffer containing 0.10 M KCl at a scan rate of 50?mV s^?1 for the investigation of electrocatalytic reduction of hydrogen peroxide at the palladium nanoparticle-modified pretreated pencil graphite electrode. Cyclic voltammograms of the pretreated pencil graphite electrode revealed an irreversible oxidation peak and a weak reduction peak of hydrogen peroxide at +1100?mV and –450?mV vs. an Ag/AgCl/KCl saturated reference electrode. However, the reduction of hydrogen peroxide was observed at –100?mV with an increase in current in the cyclic voltammograms of the palladium nanoparticle-modified pretreated pencil graphite electrode compared to the unmodified electrode. These results indicate that the palladium nanoparticle-modified pretreated pencil graphite electrode exhibits efficient electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide. A linear concentration range was obtained between .01 and 10.0?mM hydrogen peroxide with a detection limit of 3.0 µM from flow injection amperometric current–time curves recorded in pH 7.0 phosphate buffer at –100?mV and a 2.0?mL min^?1 flow rate. The novelty of this work relies on its use of a laboratory-constructed flow cell constructed for the pencil graphite electrode using these inexpensive, disposable, and electrochemically reactive modified electrodes for the amperometric determination of hydrogen peroxide in a flow injection analysis system.     

Synthesis of H‐shaped complex macromolecular structures by combination of atom transfer radical polymerization,photoinduced radical coupling,ring‐opening polymerization,and iniferter processes

Three controlled/living polymerization processes, namely atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) and iniferter polymerization, and photoinduced radical coupling reaction were combined for the preparation of ABCBD‐type H‐shaped complex copolymer. First, α‐benzophenone functional polystyrene (BP‐PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (BP‐PMMA) were prepared independently by ATRP. The resulting polymers were irradiated to form ketyl radicals by hydrogen abstraction of the excited benzophenone moieties present at each chain end. Coupling of these radicals resulted in the formation of polystyrene‐b‐poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS‐b‐PMMA) with benzpinacole structure at the junction point possessing both hydroxyl and iniferter functionalities. ROP of ε‐caprolactone (CL) by using PS‐b‐PMMA as bifunctional initiator, in the presence of stannous octoate yielded the corresponding tetrablock copolymer, PCL‐PS‐PMMA‐PCL. Finally, the polymerization of tert‐butyl acrylate (tBA) via iniferter process gave the targeted H‐shaped block copolymer. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 4601–4607     

Magnetic properties of electrochemically prepared crystalline films of Prussian blue-based molecular magnets K j CrII k [CrIII(CN)6] l · mH2O

Crystalline films (thickness ～1 μm) of Prussian blue-based molecular magnets, synthesized using electrochemical method at two different reduction potentials ?0.5 and ?0.9 V, result into K_0.1Cr^II _1.45[Cr^III(CN)₆]?·?mH₂O (film 1) and K_0.8Cr^II _1.1[Cr^III(CN)₆]?·?mH₂O (film 2), respectively. The structural and magnetic properties of such films are investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and dc magnetization measurements. The film morphology, examined using AFM, shows uniformly distributed triangular crystallites over the substrate surface. The presence of Cr^III–C≡N–Cr^II sequence, in the range of 1,900 to 2,300 cm^?1 in IR spectra, confirms formation of Prussian blue analogues. The XRD results reveal information about the crystalline nature of the films and the relative intensities of the Bragg peaks change with the K⁺ ions. The exchange interaction between Cr ions through C≡N ligand confirms that the electron transfer from C≡N molecule to Cr ions is ferrimagnetic in nature. The high Curie temperatures (T _C) are found to be ～195 and ～215 K for film 1 and film 2, respectively. The higher value of T _C is attributed to the inclusion of more K⁺ ions for film 2, resulting decreases in the Cr^III(C≡N)₆ vacancies and increases in the number of nearest neighbors of Cr^II ions. The branching in the zero field-cooled and field-cooled magnetization data below Curie temperature is explained in terms of kinetic behavior of magnetic domains with different cooling conditions and the presence of water molecule vacancies in the lattice.     

Development and characterization of non-treated and chemically modified olive pomace biosorbents to remove Ce(III) ions from aqueous solutions

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - In this study, low-cost olive pomace, which is a waste of olive mill, was chemically modified using different acids, characterized, and utilized...