Mesoporous Silica Particles as Topologically Crosslinking Fillers for Poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) Hydrogels

Here it is demonstrated that mesoporous silicas (MPSs) can be used as effective “topological crosslinkers” for poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPA) hydrogels to improve the mechanical property. Three‐dimensional bicontinuous mesporous silica is found to effectively reinforce the PNIPA hydrogels, as compared to nonporous silica and two‐dimensional hexagonally ordered mesoporous silica.     

Superelastic Organic Crystals

Superelastic materials (crystal‐to‐crystal transformation pseudo elasticity) that consist of organic components have not been observed since superelasticity was discovered in a Au‐Cd alloy in 1932. Superelastic materials have been exclusively developed in metallic or inorganic covalent solids, as represented by Ti‐Ni alloys. Organosuperelasticity is now revealed in a pure organic crystal of terephthalamide, which precisely produces a large motion with high repetition and high energy storage efficiency. This process is driven by a small shear stress owing to the low density of strain energy related to the low lattice energy.     

Organic Dicarboxylate Negative Electrode Materials with Remarkably Small Strain for High‐Voltage Bipolar Batteries

As advanced negative electrodes for powerful and useful high‐voltage bipolar batteries, an intercalated metal–organic framework (iMOF), 2,6‐naphthalene dicarboxylate dilithium, is described which has an organic‐inorganic layered structure of π‐stacked naphthalene and tetrahedral LiO₄ units. The material shows a reversible two‐electron‐transfer Li intercalation at a flat potential of 0.8 V with a small polarization. Detailed crystal structure analysis during Li intercalation shows the layered framework to be maintained and its volume change is only 0.33 %. The material possesses two‐dimensional pathways for efficient electron and Li⁺ transport formed by Li‐doped naphthalene packing and tetrahedral LiO₃C network. A cell with a high potential operating LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ spinel positive and the proposed negative electrodes exhibited favorable cycle performance (96 % capacity retention after 100 cycles), high specific energy (300 Wh kg^?1), and high specific power (5 kW kg^?1). An 8 V bipolar cell was also constructed by connecting only two cells in series.     

Enantiodifferentiating Photodimerization of a 2,6-Disubstituted Anthracene Assisted by Supramolecular Double-Helix Formation with Chiral Amines

A novel 2,6-anthrylene-linked bis(m-terphenylcarboxylic acid) strand ( 1 ) self-associates into a racemic double-helix. In the presence of chiral mono- and diamines, either a right- or left-handed double-helix was predominantly induced by chiral amines sandwiched between the carboxylic acid strands with accompanying stacking of the two prochiral anthracene linker units in an enantiotopic face-selective way, as revealed by circular dichroism and NMR spectral analyses. The photoirradiation of the optically active double helices complexed with chiral amines proceeded in a diastereo- (anti or syn) and enantiodifferentiating way to afford the chiral anti-photodimer with up to 98 % enantiomeric excess when (R)-phenylethylamine was used as a chiral double-helix inducer. The resulting optically active anti-photodimer can recognize the chirality of amines and diastereoselectively complex with chiral amines.     

Biosynthesis of Indole Diterpene Lolitrems: Radical‐Induced Cyclization of an Epoxyalcohol Affording a Characteristic Lolitremane Skeleton

Lolitrems are tremorgenic indole diterpenes that exhibit a unique 5/6 bicyclic system of the indole moiety. Although genetic analysis has indicated that the prenyltransferase LtmE and the cytochrome P450 LtmJ are involved in the construction of this unique structure, the detailed mechanism remains to be elucidated. Herein, we report the reconstitution of the biosynthetic pathway for lolitrems employing a recently established genome‐editing technique for the expression host Aspergillus oryzae. Heterologous expression and bioconversion of the various intermediates revealed that LtmJ catalyzes multistep oxidation to furnish the lolitrem core. We also isolated the key reaction intermediate with an epoxyalcohol moiety. This observation allowed us to establish the mechanism of radical‐induced cyclization, which was firmly supported by density functional theory calculations and a model experiment with a synthetic analogue.     

Synthesis of functional polymers bearing pendant mono-and oligo-saccharide residues

The present paper focuses on (i) a new synthetic methodology to prepare vinyl ether-based synthetic glycoconjugates (glycopolymers) with well-controlled structure, and on (ii) the application of glycopolymers bearing modified disaccharide residue as thermotropic liquid crystalline (LC) materials. Two vinyl ethers (VEs) having pendant glucose residues with their hydroxyl functions protected by acetyl and isopropylidene groups, respectively, were found to undergo living cationic polymerization initiated by a HI/ZnI2-initiating system. Deprotection of the resultant monodisperse polymers led to water-soluble polymers bearing a pendant glucose residue. Sequential living block copolymerization of glucose-containing VE and alkyl VE, and subsequent deprotection afforded an amphiphilic block copolymer of well-controlled structure. Transmission electron microscopic observation of its cast thin film revealed microphase-separated surface morphologies that varied with varying segment composition ratio. A VE substituted with a heptadecanoated cellobiose pendant was independently prepared, and was cationically polymerized to give a thermotropic LC polymer. From X-ray analysis, the mesophase was assigned to a discotic columnar in type, in which each main chain, extended due to the steric repulsion between the neighboring bulky pendants, was surrounded by three discotic columns.     

Structural characteristics of polysaccharide-based thermotropic liquid crystals

Main mesomorphic properties of cellulose and cello- and chito-oligosaccharide derivatives are overviewed, and their structuring principles are briefly discussed with some new analyses incorporated.