Synthesis and characterization of poly(2‐methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) onto graphene oxide

The polyzwitterionic brushes comprised of poly(2‐methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (pMPC) segments, which are used for surface modification of polymers and biocompatible coatings, were investigated. In this work, reverse surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (RATRP) of zwitterionic 2‐methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) is employed to tailor the functionality of graphene oxide (GeneO) in a well‐controlled manner and produce a series of well‐defined hemocompatible hybrids (termed as GeneO‐g‐pMPC). The complexes were characterized by FT‐IR, XRD, and Raman. Results show that MPC has been coordinated on the graphene oxide sheet. Thermal stability of the nanocomposites in comparison with the neat copolymer is revealed by thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscope images of the nanoconposite displays pMPC chains were capable of existing on GeneO sheet by RATRP. The biocompatibility properties were measured by plasma recalcification profile tests, hemolysis test, and MTT assays, respectively. The results confirm that the pMPC grafting can substantially enhance the hemocompatibility of the GeneO particles, and the GeneO‐g‐pMPC hybrids can be used as biomaterials without causing any hemolysis. With the versatility of RATRP and the excellent hemocompatibility of zwitterionic polymer chains, the GeneO‐g‐pMPC nanoparticles with desirable blood properties can be readily tailored to cater to various biomedical applications. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of fluorinated substituent and terminal length on phase behavior of mesogen‐jacketed liquid crystalline polymers with a biphenyl mesogen

A series of mesogen‐jacketed liquid crystalline polymers, poly{2,2,3,3,4,4,4‐heptafluorobutyl 4′‐hydroxy‐2‐vinylbiphenyl‐4‐carboxylate} (PF3Cm, where m is the number of carbon atoms in the alkoxy groups, and m = 1, 4, 6, and 8), the side chain of which contains a biphenyl core with a fluorocarbon substituent at one end and an alkoxy unit of varying length on the other end, were designed and successfully synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization. For comparison, poly{butyl 4′‐hydroxy‐2‐vinylbiphenyl‐4‐carboxylate} (PC4Cm), similar to PF3Cm but with a butyl group instead of the fluorocarbon substituent, was also prepared. Differential scanning calorimetric results reveal that the glass transition temperatures (T_gs) of the two series of polymers decrease as m increases and T_gs of the fluorocarbon‐substituted polymers are higher than those of the corresponding butyl‐substituted polymers. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction measurements show that the mesophase structures of these polymers are dependent on the number of the carbon atoms in the fluorocarbon substituent and the property of the other terminal substituent. Polymers with fluorocarbon substituents enter into columnar nematic phases when m ≥ 4, whereas the polymer PF3C1 exhibits no liquid crystallinity. For polymers with butyl substituents, columnar nematic phases form when the number of carbon atoms at both ends of the side chain is not equal at high temperatures and disappear after the polymers are cooled to ambient temperature. However, when the polymer has the same number of carbon atoms at both ends of the side chain, a hexagonal columnar phase develops, and this phase remains after the polymer is cooled. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Oxidant Effect of H2O2 for the Syntheses of Quinoline Derivatives via One-Pot Reaction of Aniline and Aldehyde

A convenient one-pot method for the synthesis of substituted quinolines via the reaction of aniline and aldehyde in the presence of a Lewis acid (AlCl₃) and an oxidant (H₂O₂) has been developed. Hydrogen peroxide was found to promote the reaction by its function as a hydrogen hunter, hindering the formation of by-product N-alkylaniline. The effect of the oxidant on the yield and selectivity was studied. When the molar ratio of aniline, n-butyraldehyde, and H₂O₂ was 1:3:0.5 at 25 °C, the yield of 3-ethyl-2-propylquinoline was improved from 64% (reaction without H₂O₂) to 84% (with H₂O₂), and the quinoline selectivity was improved to almost 100%. Moreover, the reaction time was obviously reduced. The substituent effect was also investigated in this work.     

Dielectric Relaxations in Plasma-Polymerized Hydrocarbons and Fluorocarbons

The dielectric behavior of plasma-polymerized ethylene (PPE), ethylene/acetylene (PPEA), ethane/vinyl chloride (PPEVC) and tetrafluoroethylene (PPTFE) was studied over a frequency range of 10² to 10⁵ Hz between -150 and 100°C. After exposure to the atmosphere, each of the polymers exhibited a pronounced loss peak. This relaxation process was designated as the γ_pprocess, and was attributed to the local mode motion of several molecular segments. The average activation energy for all four polymers was found to be 13.8 kcal/mole. It was proposed that oxidation introduces carbonyl groups into the nonpolar polymer chain. The added polar carbonyl groups then act as tracers to render the molecular motions observable by dielectric measurements. The presence of these carbonyl groups was confirmed by concomitant IR spectroscopic determinations. Comparison of the experimental data with the Kirkwood-Froelich theory was found to be satisfactory.     

Theoretical Study on the Hydrogen Bonding Interactions in Complexes of 5‐Hydroxytryptamine with Water

The energies, geometries and harmonic vibrational frequencies of 1:1 5‐hydroxytryptamine‐water (5‐HT‐H₂O) complexes are studied at the MP2/6‐311++G(d,p) level. Natural bond orbital (NBO), quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) analyses and the localized molecular orbital energy decomposition analysis (LMO‐EDA) were performed to explore the nature of the hydrogen‐bonding interactions in these complexes. Various types of hydrogen bonds (H‐bonds) are formed in these 5‐HT‐H₂O complexes. The intermolecular C4H5^5‐HT···O^w H‐bond in HTW3 is strengthened due to the cooperativity, whereas no such cooperativity is found in the other 5‐HT‐H₂O complexes. H‐bond in which nitrogen atom of amino in 5‐HT acted as proton donors was stronger than other H‐bonds. Our researches show that the hydrogen bonding interaction plays a vital role on the relative stabilities of 5‐HT‐H₂O complexes.     

Computational Study of the One‐ and Two‐Dimensional Infrared Spectra of a Proton‐Transfer Mode in a Hydrogen‐Bonded Complex Dissolved in a Polar Nanocluster

The signatures of nanosolvation on the one‐ and two‐dimensional (1D and 2D) IR spectra of a proton‐transfer mode in a hydrogen‐bonded complex dissolved in polar solvent molecule nanoclusters of varying size are elucidated by using mixed quantum–classical molecular dynamics simulations. For this particular system, increasing the number of solvent molecules successively from N=7 to N=9 initiates the transition of the system from a cluster state to a bulk‐like state. Both the 1D and 2D IR spectra reflect this transition through pronounced changes in their peak intensities and numbers, but the time‐resolved 2D IR spectra also manifest spectral features that uniquely identify the onset of the cluster‐to‐bulk transition. In particular, it is observed that in the 1D IR spectra, the relative intensities of the peaks change such that the number of peaks decreases from three to two as the size of the cluster increases from N=7 to N=9. In the 2D IR spectra, off‐diagonal peaks are observed in the N=7 and N=8 cases at zero waiting time, but not in the N=9 case. It is known that there are no off‐diagonal peaks in the 2D IR spectrum of the bulk version of this system at zero waiting time, so the disappearance of these peaks is a unique signature of the onset of bulk‐like behavior. Through an examination of the trajectories of various properties of the complex and solvent, it is possible to relate the emergence of these off‐diagonal peaks to an interplay between the vibrations of the complex and the solvent polarization dynamics.     

Microsensor Chip Integrated with Gold Nanoparticles‐Modified Ultramicroelectrode Array for Improved Electroanalytical Measurement of Copper Ions

This paper presents a microsensor chip integrated with a gold nanoparticles‐modified ultramicroelectrode array (UMEA) as the working electrode for the detection of copper ions in water. The microsensor chip was fabricated with Micro‐Electromechanical System technique. Gold nanoparticles were electrodeposited onto the surface of UMEA at a constant potential of ?0.3 V. The ratio d/R_b of interelectrode spacing (d) over the individual electrode’s radius (R_b) was investigated to improve the electrochemical performance. The UMEA with a d/R_b of 20 showed the best hemispherical diffusion mode, resulted in fast response time and high current response. The gold nanoparticles increased the active surface area of UMEA by not changing the geometries of UMEA, and the current response was increased further. Incorporating the optimized characteristic of UMEA and gold nanoparticles, the microsensor showed a good linear range from 0.5 to 200 µg L^?1 of copper ions in the acetate buffer solutions with the method of square wave stripping voltammetry. Compared with the gold nanoparticles‐modified disk electrode, the gold nanoparticles‐modified UMEA showed higher sensitivity (0.024 µA mm^?2 µg^?1 L) and lower limit of detection (0.2 µg L^?1). Water samples from river water and tap water were analyzed by the microsensor chip with recovery ranging from 100.7 % to 107.8 %.     

Studies on Carbohydrates X. A New Method for the Preparation of Isopropylidene Saccharides

Cabohydrates reacting with acetone in the presence of molecular sieve and p—toluene sulfonic acid provided a simple, convenient, high yield and good selective process for preparation of isopropylidene carbohydrates.     

A New Chiral Catalyst for the Enantioselective Reduction of Prochiral Ketones with Borane

A new chiral β-amino alcohol, (s)-2-amino-1, 1-diphenyl-3-(2-naphthyl)-1-propanol and its use as a catalyst in the enantioselective reduction of prochiral ketones with borane were described.     

Insight into shear‐induced modification for improving processability of polymers: Effect of shear rate on the evolution of entanglement state

Many experimental results have revealed that the re‐entanglement kinetics of disentangled polymers is much slower than that predicted by tube theory. This retarded recovery of fully entangled state is of practical significance that shear‐induced modification may offer a way to improve processability for a polymer by reducing viscosity. This work tried to figure out the shear‐rate dependence variation of viscosity in the view of evolution of entanglement state through disentanglement and re‐entanglement, aiming to provide fundamental insights into application prospect of shear‐induced modification in preparing “in‐pellet” disentangled polymers prior to final processing. High‐density polyethylene was sheared on a parallel‐plate rotational rheometer with a linearly increased shear rate. Results showed that higher shear rate could induce further disentanglement, resulting in a lower viscosity with a reduction rate up to 93.7%, larger molecular weight between entanglements M_e , and longer re‐entanglement time. Additionally, less entanglement would give a larger lamellar thickness of sheared samples after nonisothermal crystallization. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 598–606