Isolating Reactions at the Picoliter Scale: Parallel Control of Reaction Kinetics at the Liquid–Liquid Interface

Miniaturized liquid–liquid interfacial reactors offer enhanced surface area and rapid confinement of compounds of opposite solubility, yet they are unable to provide in situ reaction monitoring at a molecular level at the interface. A picoreactor operative at the liquid–liquid interface is described, comprising plasmonic colloidosomes containing Ag octahedra strategically assembled at the water‐in‐decane emulsion interface. The plasmonic colloidosomes isolate ultrasmall amounts of solutions (<200 pL), allowing parallel monitoring of multiple reactions simultaneously. Using the surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) technique, in situ monitoring of the interfacial protonation of dimethyl yellow (p‐dimethylaminoazobenzene (DY)) is performed, revealing an apparent rate constant of 0.09 min^?1 for the first‐order reaction. The presence of isomeric products with similar physical properties is resolved, which would otherwise be indiscernible by other analytical methods.     

A Supramolecularly Activated Radical Cation for Accelerated Catalytic Oxidation

Tuning the activity of radicals is crucial for radical reactions and radical‐based materials. Herein, we report a supramolecular strategy to accelerate the Fenton reaction through the construction of supramolecularly activated radical cations. As a proof of the concept, cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) was introduced, through host–guest interactions, onto each side of a derivative of 1,4‐diketopyrrolo[3,4‐c]pyrrole (DPP), a model dye for Fenton oxidation. The DPP radical cation, the key intermediate in the oxidation process, was activated by the electrostatically negative carbonyl groups of CB[7]. The activation induced a drastic decrease in the apparent activation energy and greatly increased the reaction rate. This facile supramolecular strategy is a promising method for promoting radical reactions. It may also open up a new route for the catalytic oxidation of organic pollutants for water purification and widen the realm of supramolecular catalysis.     

Functionalized Conjugated Polyelectrolytes for Biological Sensing and Imaging

Conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) are macromolecules with highly delocalized π‐conjugated backbones and charged side chains, which are unique types of active materials, with wide applications in optoelectronics, sensing, imaging, and therapy. By attaching specific groups (e.g., recognition elements, magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agents, gene carriers, and drugs) to the side chain or backbone of CPEs, functionalized CPEs have been developed and used for specific biological applications. In this account, we summarize the recent progress of functionalized CPEs with respect to their synthesis and biomedical applications. Future perspectives are also discussed at the end.     

Synthesis and structural characterization of a novel dimolybdenum(I) compound with mixed‐tribridging ligands: [Bu4N][Mo2(μ‐SPh)2(μ‐Cl(CO6]

A novel mixed‐tribridged dimolybdenum(I) compound [Bn₄N][Mo₂(μ‐SPh)₂(μ‐Cl)(CO)₆] (1) has been synthesized from the reaction of Mo₂(CO)₃(SPh)₂ with BU₄NCl. Compound 1 was characterized by IR, UV‐Vis and ¹H, ¹³C, ⁹⁵Mo NMR spectroscopic analyses. The electrochemical behavior was measured by cyclic voltammetry, indicating a quasi‐reversible two‐electron transfer in one step. The crystal structure determined by X‐ray crystallography shows that 1 contains a [Mo₂(μ‐S)₂(μ‐Cl)]^? core with a planar Mo₂S₂unit and a Cl bridge. The Mo? Mo distance is 0.28709(7) nm, and the Mo‐Cl‐Mo angle is 66.44(4)°. A newface‐sharing bioctahedral structure is discussed.     

A 1:1 cocrystal of di‐μ‐chloro‐bis{[N‐(1‐hydroxy­but‐2‐yl)­salicyl­idene­iminato‐N,O,O′]copper(II)} monohydrate and its methanol solvate

The structure consists of two crystallographically independent and differently solvated binuclear complexes, {[Cu₂Cl₂(C₁₁H₁₄NO₂)₂]·CH₄O}·{[Cu₂Cl₂(C₁₁H₁₄NO₂)₂]·H₂O}. The water and methanol solvate mol­ecules are similarly connected with the complex mol­ecules by two hydrogen bonds. The asymmetrical system of hydrogen bonds breaks up the potential centrosymmetricity of both chelate mol­ecules. All copper(II) centres are in a square‐pyramidal environment, with four short bonds in the basal plane formed by two trans O atoms and one N atom of the tridentate ligand, and a bridge chloride ion. The fifth axial long bond is formed by a chloride ligand which lies in the basal plane of the neighbouring copper(II) ion.     

4‐[2‐(4‐Methoxyphenyl)ethenyl]‐N‐methylpyridinium tetraphenylborate

In the cation of the title compound, C₁₅H₁₆NO⁺·C₂₄H₂₀B^?, the pyridyl ring makes a dihedral angle of 14.03° with the phenyl ring. The anion has a slightly distorted tetrahedral geometry and forms honeycomb‐like sheets which extend along the b axis, forming channels containing the cations. A comparison of packing energies reveals a difference between the title compound and a similar material which has non‐linear optical properties.     

Bromo­di­methyl(N‐methyl­pyrrolidin‐2‐one‐O)­tin(IV)‐di‐μ‐bromo‐bromo­di­methyl­tin(IV)

The preparation and X‐ray analysis of the title compound, [Sn₂Br₄(CH₃)₄(C₅H₉NO)], are described. The compound contains two Sn atoms in the asymmetric unit, that complexed by N‐methyl­pyrrolidin‐2‐one being hexacoordinated (a), the other exhibiting pentacoordination (b). The most important features are three different Sn—Br bond lengths at both Sn atoms with the following values: (a) 2.5060 (9), 2.7152 (10) and 3.7118 (10) Å; (b) 2.5084 (10), 2.5279 (9) and 3.5841 (10) Å.     

A supramolecular cadmium(II) complex: (1,10‐phenanthroline)[tris(2‐amino­ethyl)­amine]­cadmium(II) dinitrate hydrate

Colourless prismatic crystals of the title compound, [Cd(tren)(phen)](NO₃)₂·H₂O [phen = 1,10‐phen­an­thro­line, C₁₂H₈N₂; tren = tris(2‐amino­ethyl)­amine, C₆H₁₈N₄], form from an aqueous solution of equivalent amounts of Cd(NO₃)₂, tren and phen. Infinite one‐dimensional polymeric zigzag motifs, constructed via alternating hydrogen‐bonding and π–π interactions, are further mediated by nitrate–amine hydrogen bonds to create three‐dimensional networks.     

Sorption and pervaporation properties of crosslinked membranes of poly(ethylene oxide imide) segmented copolymer to aromatic/nonaromatic hydrocarbon mixtures

Poly(ethylene oxide imide) segmented copolymer (PEO‐PI) membranes were crosslinked by the chemical reaction between ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether and benzylalcohol groups of diamine moieties in polyimide segments at high temperatures. Sorption and diffusion of penetrants took place in poly(ethylene oxide) segment microdomains. Sorption and desorption behavior of pure vapors such as benzene (Bz), cyclohexane (Cx) and n‐hexane (Hx) was classified as the Fickian diffusion. Sorption isotherms of binary liquid mixtures could be represented by the Flory–Rehner model, but the model overpredicted the sorption amounts of Cx and Hx, leading to small predictions of sorption selectivity α_S for Bz/Cx and Bz/Hx systems. UNIFAC‐FV model fairly well predicted the sorption amounts of aromatic hydrocarbons, but significantly overestimated those of nonaromatic ones, leading to too small predictions of α_S. Pervaporation (PV) behavior of PEO‐PI membranes was governed by sorption behavior followed by membrane swelling. Diffusion coefficient weakly depended on the minimum cross section of a penetrant. The diffusivity selectivity α_D hardly depended on the feed composition and was about 1.4 and 0.75 for Bz/Cx and Bz/Hx, respectively. PV selectivity α_PV was larger for Bz/Hx than for Bz/Cx because of larger α_S. PEO‐PI membranes displayed high specific permeation flux Ql and reasonably high α_PV for aromatic/nonaromatic hydrocarbons; for example, Ql = 60 Kg μm/(m² h) and α_PV = 8 for a feed mixture containing Bz, Tol, Hx, n‐Ot and i‐Ot of 20 wt % at 353 K. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 1800–1811, 2000