Ab initio study of small acetonitrile cluster anions

Ab initio electronic structure calculations have been performed for (CH(3)CN)(2) (-) and (CH(3)CN)(3) (-) cluster anions using a diffuse basis set. We found both the dipole-bound structures and internal structures, where in the former structure an excess electron is mainly distributed on the surface of the cluster while an excess electron is internally trapped in the latter configuration. The optimized structures found for cluster anions were compared to those for neutral clusters. Potential-energy surfaces were also plotted as a function of appropriate internal coordinates in order to understand the interconversions of the optimized structures of clusters. The relative stabilities of the optimized confirmers have been discussed on the basis of the characteristics of these potential surfaces, relative energies, and electron vertical detachment energies.     

Radical-initiated homo- and copolymerization of cyanomethyl methacrylate

The kinetics of cyanomethyl methacrylate (CyMA) homopolymerization was investigated in acetonitrile with azobisisobutyronitrile as initiator. The rate of polymerization R_p was expressed by R_p = k[AIBN]^0.49[CyMA]^1.2 and the overall activation energy was calculated as 72.3 kJ/mol. Kinetic constants for CyMA polymerization were obtained as follows: k_p/k = 0.10 L^1/2s^?1/2; 2fk_d = 1.57 × 10^?5s^?. The relative reactivity ratios of CyMA(M₂) copolymerization with styrene (r₁ = 0.15, r₂ = 0.29) and methyl methacrylate (r₁ = 0.43, r₂ = 0.75) in acetonitrile were obtained. Applying the Q-e scheme (in styrene copolymerization) led to Q = 1.64 and e = 0.98. The glass transition temperature T_g of poly(CyMA) was observed to be 91°C by thermomechanical analysis. Thermogravimetry of poly(CyMA) showed a 10% weight loss at 265°C in air.     

Polymeric arylsulfonylnitromethane: A novel polymer reagent

p-Vinylphenylsulfonylnitromethane ( 3 ) was synthesized by the reaction of sodium p-styrenesulfinate with nitromethane. Free radical copolymerizations of 3 with styrene and N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone provided soluble copolymers. Conversions of RCH₂X (X = Br, OAc) with the copolymers as reagents proceeded in a different manner from the corresponding lowmolecular-weight compound, phenylsulfonylnitromethane, to afford RCOOH in addition to the expected RCH₂CH₂NO₂ and RCH₂COOH; no nitriles were formed.     

Influence of nano-structure on electrolytic properties in CeO2 based system

Doped ceria (CeO₂) compounds are fluorite type oxides that show oxygen ionic conductivity higher than yttria stabilized zirconia, in oxidizing atmosphere. In order to improve the conductivity, the effective index was suggested to maximize the oxygen ionic conductivity in doped CeO₂ based oxides. In addition, the true microstructure of doped CeO₂ was observed at atomic scale for conclusion of conduction mechanism. Doped CeO₂ had small domains (10-50 nm) with ordered structure in a grain. It is found that the electrolytic properties strongly depended on the nano-structural feature at atomic scale in doped CeO₂ electrolyte. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Saccharide-branched Cyclodextrins as Targeting Drug Carriers

A synthetic series of heptakis-galactose-branched cyclodextrins (termed CDs) having a longer spacer arm using two amino-caproic acids as an enlarging unit were prepared. Starting with heptakis-amino-β-CD or heptakis-amino-caproic-amide-β-CD, treated with galactosyl-glucono-amide-caproic acid, the new compounds heptakis (Gal-cap1)-CD (4) or heptakis (Gal-cap2)-CD (5) were obtained. The longer galactose spacer arm extremely favors the PNA association. The effect of branch length on K with PNA was enhanced up to 138-fold 3 as well as with DXR enhanced up to 81-fold. Hexakis (Gal-cap2)-CD (6) was prepared and the association constants with rat liver cells were observed to be 2.5 × 10¹⁰ M⁻¹. A multi-high mannose type oligosaccharide branched CD (7) showed a large association constant with DXR up to 1.1 × 10⁹ M⁻¹. The two-dimensional map for the association constants of newly synthesized oligosaccharide-branched CDs toward lectin or liver cells versus the association constants toward a drug (doxorubicin) suggested a method of finding a better targeting drug carrier. The structural effect of the oligosaccharide-CDs showed that the number and length of the branch were dominant factors in designing for enhanced dual recognition.     

Stepwise and dramatic enhancement of anion recognition with a triple-site receptor based on the calix[4]arene framework using two different cationic effectors

Synthesis and binding behavior of a novel multi-responsive host 1, in which two esters, two polyether moieties, two urea sites, and two bipyridine units as ion binding sites are arranged on the calix[4]arene skeleton, is reported. 1 recognizes Na(+) and Ag(+) simultaneously and quantitatively and captures an anionic guest. The ability of 1 to recognize anions, including CF(3)SO(3)(-) and BF(4)(-), remarkably increases in a stepwise manner using Na(+) and Ag(+) as effectors. The enhancement of the K(a) eventually reaches factors of 1500 and 2000 for NO(3)(-) and CF(3)SO(3)(-), respectively, in the presence of both Na(+) and Ag(+), compared to the free 1. The regulation of binding of multiple ligands may be applicable to multistep cascade systems for the amplification of molecular events, and further studies in this field could provide insight applicable to more advanced molecular devices.     

Cationic ring-opening polymerization of 1,4-anhydro-2,3-di-O-benzyl-α-L-arabinopyranose and synthesis of L-arabinofuranan

1,4-Anhydro-2,3-di-O-benzyl-α-L -arabinopyranose (=1,5-anhydro-2,3-di-O-benzyl-β-L -arabinofuranose) (ABAP) was synthesized and underwent cationic ring-opening polymerization with several kinds of Lewis acids. All the polylmers prepared by Lewis acids as catalyst were found to consist of two different structural units, α-furanosidic and β-furanosidic units, and the structure of the polymers greatly depended on the polymerization conditions. Polymerization of ABAP with antimony pentachloride catalyst at 0°C for 42 h gave a polymer with the highest α content of 93%, and that at ?20°C for 3 h gave a polymer with the lowest (25%) α content. The other catalysts such as phosphorus pentafluoride, boron trifluoride etherate, niobium pentafluoride, and tantalum pentafluoride also afforded polymers with mixed structure of α-and β-furanosides. After debenzylation of poly(ABAP), a new polysaccharide, L -arabinofuranan was obtained.     

Reaction of poly(vinyl chloride) with magnesium and grignard reagents

Reaction of poly(vinyl chloride) with magnesium under various conditions was attempted, but poly(vinyl chloride) did not react with magnesium. The reactions of poly(vinyl chloride) with benzylmagnesium chloride and allylmagnesium chloride as Grignard reagents were carried out in tetrahydrofuran at reflux temperature. It was found that the chlorine atoms in the poly(vinyl chloride) were replaced by benzyl and allyl groups by the coupling reaction, and a small amount of Grignard reagent of poly(vinyl chloride) was formed by the magnesium–halogen exchange reaction. The extent of the substitution increased with increasing reaction time and concentration of the Grignard reagent.     

Positron/positronium annihilation in nanocrystalline silicon thin films

Positron and positronium annihilation investigations were applied to nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) thin films, for the first time. The nc-Si thin films with average grain diameters of 3–5 nm show intense blue luminescence at room temperature. The nanometer-sized Si crystallites formed in amorphous Si (a-Si) matrix give rise to this luminescence. Very highS-parameters up to 0.62 were observed in the as-grown a-Si thin film suggesting positronium formation in the a-Si layer. The average lifetime of the positrons in the a-Si was determined to be about 520 ps. TheS-parameters dropped significantly to 0.53 by crystallization of the thin film at 800 °C for 10 seconds, which was almost the same to the value observed in bulk Si (100) substrate. Further crystallization from 60 seconds to 1 hour showed smaller change in theS-parameters than that from the a-Si to 10 seconds. The large change in theS-parameters due to the annealing might be caused by the formation of Si nanocrystallites in a-Si matrix suggesting that positron is a sensitive probe for structural investigations of the nc-Si materials.     

Regulation of geometry around the ruthenium center of bis(2-pyridinecarboxylato) complexes by the nitrosyl moiety: syntheses, structures, and theoretical studies

cis-[Ru(NO)Cl(pyca)(2)] (pyca = 2-pyridinecarboxylato), in which the two pyridyl nitrogen atoms of the two pyca ligands coordinate at the trans position to each other and the two carboxylic oxygen atoms at the trans position to the nitrosyl ligand and the chloro ligand, respectively (type I shown as in Chart 1), reacted with NaOCH(3) to generate cis-[Ru(NO)(OCH(3))(pyca)(2)] (type I). The geometry of this complex was confirmed to be the same as the starting complex by X-ray crystallography: C(13.5)H(13)N(3)O(6.5)Ru; monoclinic, P2(1)/n; a = 8.120(1), b = 16.650(1), c = 11.510(1) A; beta = 99.07(1) degrees; V = 1536.7(2) A(3); Z = 4. The cis-trans geometrical change reaction occurred in the reactions of cis-[Ru(NO)(OCH(3))(pyca)(2)] (type I) in water and alcohol (ROH, R = CH(3), C(2)H(5)) to form [[trans-Ru(NO)(pyca)(2)](2)(H(3)O(2))](+) (type V) and trans-[Ru(NO)(OR)(pyca)(2)] (type V). The reactions of the trans-form complexes, trans-[Ru(NO)(H(2)O)(pyca)(2)](+) (type V) and trans-[Ru(NO)(OCH(3))(pyca)(2)] (type V), with Cl(-) in hydrochloric acid solution afforded the cis-form complex, cis-[Ru(NO)Cl(pyca)(2)] (type I). The favorable geometry of [Ru(NO)X(pyca)(2)](n)(+) depended on the nature of the coexisting ligand X. This conclusion was confirmed by theoretical, synthetic, and structural studies. The mono-pyca-containing nitrosylruthenium complex (C(2)H(5))(4)N[Ru(NO)Cl(3)(pyca)] was synthesized by the reaction of [Ru(NO)Cl(5)](2)(-) with Hpyca and characterized by X-ray structural analysis: C(14)H(24)N(3)O(3)Cl(3)Ru; triclinic, Ponemacr;, a = 7.631(1), b = 9.669(1), c = 13.627(1) A; alpha = 83.05(2), beta = 82.23(1), gamma = 81.94(1) degrees; V = 981.1(1) A(3); Z = 2. The type II complex of cis-[Ru(NO)Cl(pyca)(2)] was synthesized by the reaction of [Ru(NO)Cl(3)(pyca)](-) or [Ru(NO)Cl(5)](2)(-) with Hpyca and isolated by column chromatography. The structure was determined by X-ray structural analysis: C(12)H(8)N(3)O(5)ClRu; monoclinic, P2(1)/n; a = 10.010(1), b = 13.280(1), c = 11.335(1) A; beta = 113.45(1) degrees; V = 1382.4(2) A(3); Z = 4.