Shape memory behaviors of crosslinked copolymers containing stearyl acrylate

Shape memory polymers were prepared by copolymerizing stearyl acrylate and methyl acrylate. The principle of this shape memory effect is based on reversible order-disorder transition of crystalline aggregates of stearyl moieties. A specific feature of this type of shape memory copolymer is that the transition temperature at which the polymer abruptly becomes soft and deforms can be controlled by changing the monomer composition, which enables one to adjust the shape memory effect at a desired temperature. Mechanism and process of the shape memory behaviors were discussed.     

1H and 13C NMR assignments for two new angular furanocoumarin glycosides from Peucedanum praeruptorum

Two novel angular-type furanocoumarin glycosides, peucedanoside A (1) and peucedanoside B (2), along with a known compound apterin (3), were isolated from the roots of Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn. Their chemical structures were determined by MS, NMR spectroscopy and chemical analysis. Complete assignments of the 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopic data were achieved by 1D and 2D NMR experiments including DEPT, HSQC, HMBC and ROESY.     

Surface modification for nano‐lignocellulose fiber through vapor‐phase‐assisted surface polymerization

This study addresses the inherent issues surrounding surface modification methods of nanofibers and proposes an environmentally friendly and less toxic strategy for the surface modification of hydrophilic nanofiber. From the continuation of our previous work, which discussed the easy production of nanofiber (average size: 127 nm) from oil palm mesocarp fiber (OPMF), in this work, the surface of nanofibers (M‐IL‐OPMF) were modified through vapor‐phase‐assisted surface polymerization (VASP) to improve the affinity of interface between the polymer grafted M‐IL‐OPMF and non‐polar matrix. VASP of ε‐caprolactone was successfully proceeded from the [M‐IL‐OPMF] at 70 °C for 24 h and 72 h, and compositions were estimated to be 35.7% fiber/64.3% polymer and 27.8% fiber/72.2% polymer. To confirm the grafting of PCL, size‐exclusion chromatography (SEC) and Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetry (TG), and dispersibility test in hydrophobic solvent were carried out. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, 2575–2580     

SUPER TOUGH GELS WITH A DOUBLE NETWORK STRUCTURE

 Living tissues work with fantastic functions in soft and wet gel-like state. Thus, hydrogels have attracted much attention as excellent soft & wet materials, suitable for making artificial organs for medical treatments.However, conventional hydrogels are mechanically too weak for practical uses. We have created double network (DN) hydrogels with extremely high mechanical strength in order to overcome this problem. DN gels are interpenetrating network (IPN) hydrogels consisting of rigid polyelectrolyte and soft neutral polymer. Their excellent mechanical properties cannot be explained by the standard fracture theories. In this paper, we discuss about the toughening mechanism of DN gels in accordance with their characteristic behavior, such as large hysteresis and necking phenomenon. We also describe the results on tissue engineering application of DN gels.     

Chain-terminus triggered chiral memory in an optically inactive 3(10)-helical peptide

A new optically inactive 3(10)-helical peptide with a side-chain cross-linking was found to exhibit chiral memory stored in the peptide backbone, whose chirality was induced by a noncovalent interaction of a chiral molecule at the N-terminal end of the peptide.     

Surface friction of hydrogels with well-defined polyelectrolyte brushes

Hydrogels of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) with well-defined polyelectrolyte brushes of poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PNaSS) of various molecular weights were synthesized, keeping the distance between the polymer brushes constant at ca. 20 nm. The effect of polyelectrolyte brush length on the sliding friction against a glass plate, an electrorepulsive solid substrate, was investigated in water in a velocity range of 7.5 x 10(-5) to 7.5 x 10(-2) m/s. It is found that the presence of polymer brush can dramatically reduce the friction when the polymer brushes are short. With an increase in the length of the polymer brush, this drag reduction effect only works at a low sliding velocity, and the gel with long polymer brushes even shows a higher friction than that of a normal network gel at a high sliding velocity. The strong polymer length and sliding velocity dependence indicate a dynamic mechanism of the polymer brush effect.     

Control of peptide helix sense by temperature tuning of noncovalent chiral domino effect

We have investigated temperature effect on control of a peptide helix sense through the noncovalent chiral domino effect (NCDE: Inai, Y. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 8151-8162). Nonapeptide (1: Inai, Y.; Komori, H. Biomacromolecules 2004, 5, 1231-1240), which alone prefers a right-handed helix, maintained a screw-sense balance or a small imbalance at room temperature in the presence of Boc-d-amino acid. Cooling of the solution induced a left-handed helix more clearly. Conversely, heating from room temperature recovered the original right-handed sense. This helix-helix transition was essentially reversible in cooling-heating cycles. An increase in the Boc-d-amino acid concentration elevated temperature for switching CD signs based on the conformational transition. A similar thermal-driven inversion of helix sense was observed for 1 at other initial concentrations, suggesting that this behavior is insensitive to some peptide aggregation. NMR study provided direct evidence for the domino-type control of helix sense, in which Boc-Leu-OH is mainly located at the N-terminal segment. In addition, a left-handed helix induced by the d-isomer was shown to participate in equilibrium with a right-handed helix, whereas the right-handed helix was predominant in the presence of l-isomer. Consequently, we here have proposed a model for controlling a peptide helix sense (or its screw-sense bias) through temperature tuning of the external chiral interaction specific to the N-terminal sequence.     

Coulombic aggregations of Mn(III) salen-type complexes and Keggin-type polyoxometalates: isolation of Mn2 single-molecule magnets

The reaction of Mn(III) salen-type complexes with di- and tetraanionic α-Keggin-type polyoxometalates (POMs) was performed, and three types of Coulombic aggregations containing Mn(III) out-of-plane dimeric units (abbreviated as [Mn(2)](2+)) that are potentially single-molecule magnets (SMMs) with an S(T) = 4 ground state were synthesized: [Mn(2)(5-MeOsaltmen)(2)(acetone)(2)][SW(12)O(40)] (1), [Mn(2)(salen)(2)(H(2)O)(2)](2)[SiW(12)O(40)] (2), and [Mn(5-Brsaltmen)(H(2)O)(acetone)](2)[{Mn(2)(5-Brsaltmen)(2)}(SiW(12)O(40))] (3), where 5-Rsaltmen(2-) = N,N'-(1,1,2,2-tetramethylethylene)bis(5-R-salicylideneiminate) with R = MeO (methoxy), Br (bromo) and salen(2-) = N,N'-ethylenebis(salicylideneiminate). Compound 1 with a dianionic POM, [SW(12)O(40)](2-), is composed of a 1:1 aggregating set of [Mn(2)](2+)/POM, and 2, with a tetraanionic POM, [SiW(12)O(40)](4-), is a 2:1 set. Compound 3 with [SiW(12)O(40)](4-) forms a unique 1D coordinating chain with a [-{Mn(2)}-POM-](2-) repeating unit, for which a hydrogen-bonded dimeric unit ([Mn(5-Brsaltmen)(H(2)O)(acetone)](2)(2+)) is present as a countercation. Independent of the formula ratio of [Mn(2)](2+)/POM, Mn(III) dimers and POM units in 1-3 form respective segregated columns along a direction of the unit cell, which make an alternate packing to separate evenly identical species in a crystal. The nearest intermolecular Mn···Mn distance is found in the order 2 < 3 < 1. The segregation of the [Mn(2)](2+) dimer resulted in interdimer distances long enough to effectively reduce the intermolecular magnetic interaction, in particular in 1 and 3. Consequently, an intrinsic property, SMM behavior, of Mn(III) dimers has been characterized in this system, even though the interdimer interactions are still crucial in the case of 2, where a long-range magnetic order competitively affects slow relaxation of the magnetization at low ac frequencies.     

N‐Heterocyclic Carbenes as Efficient Organocatalysts for CO2 Fixation Reactions

Getting a fix : N‐heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) and NHC–CO₂ adducts serve as potent organocatalysts for carbonate synthesis by the addition of a CO₂ unit to propargylic alcohols or epoxides under mild and solvent‐free reaction conditions (see scheme). The enhanced Lewis basicity of imidazol‐2‐ylidenes bearing electron‐donating alkyl groups on the nitrogen atoms leads to utilizing CO₂ as a nucleophilic fragment in the chemical fixation processes.