Synthesis of polypyrrole nanoparticles by batch and semicontinuous heterophase polymerizations

Nanoparticles of semiconducting polypyrrole (PPy) were synthesized by batch heterophase (BHP) and semicontinuous heterophase polymerization (SHP) using ferric chloride (FeCl₃), potassium persulfate (KPS), or ammonium persulfate (APS) as the oxidizing agent, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant, and ethanol (EtOH) or iso-pentyl alcohol (iC₅OH) as co-surfactants. In all cases, the molar ratios of monomer/oxidizing agent were 1/1. Pyrrol polymerization by BHP and SHP allowed using much lower percentages of surfactant than those employed in microemulsion polymerization of this monomer. The effects of temperature, oxidizing agent, and co-surfactant on conductivity were studied. The polymers were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV/Visible and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies, and cyclic voltammetry. Higher PPy conductivities were obtained by polymerizing at 0 °C with FeCl₃ as the oxidizing agent, in the presence of iC₅OH as co-surfactant. When the reaction was carried out by SHP with low reaction times, smaller particles with similar conductivities were obtained compared to those obtained by BHP; the conductivity of PPy decreases with increasing polymerization time, which can be explained by PPy overoxidation.     

Four differently substituted 2‐aryl‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐1H‐1,4‐epoxy‐1‐benzazepines: hydrogen‐bonded structures in one,two and three dimensions

In (2RS,4SR)‐7‐chloro‐2‐exo‐(2‐chloro‐6‐fluorophenyl)‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐1H‐1,4‐epoxy‐1‐benzazepine, C₁₆H₁₂Cl₂FNO, (I), molecules are linked into chains by a single C—H...π(arene) hydrogen bond. (2RS,4SR)‐2‐exo‐(2‐Chloro‐6‐fluorophenyl)‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐1H‐1,4‐epoxy‐1‐benzazepine, C₁₆H₁₃ClFNO, (II), is isomorphous with compound (I) but not strictly isostructural with it, as the hydrogen‐bonded chains in (II) are linked into sheets by an aromatic π–π stacking interaction. The molecules of (2RS,4SR)‐7‐methyl‐2‐exo‐(4‐methylphenyl)‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐1H‐1,4‐epoxy‐1‐benzazepine, C₁₈H₁₉NO, (III), are linked into sheets by a combination of C—H...N and C—H...π(arene) hydrogen bonds. (2S,4R)‐2‐exo‐(2‐Chlorophenyl)‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐1H‐1,4‐epoxy‐1‐benzazepine, C₁₆H₁₄ClNO, (IV), crystallizes as a single enantiomer and the molecules are linked into a three‐dimensional framework structure by a combination of one C—H...O hydrogen bond and three C—H...π(arene) hydrogen bonds.     

NMR Characterization of Lanthanide(3+) Complexes of Tetraazatetrakisphosphinato and Tetraazatetra­kisphosphonato Ligands

The three‐dimensional structures in aqueous solution of the entire series of the Ln³⁺ complexes [Ln(DOTP*‐Et)]^? (formed from the free ligand P,P′,P″,P′′′‐[1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane‐1,4,7,10‐tetrayltetrakis(methylene)]tetrakis[P‐ethylphosphinic acid] (H₄DOTP*‐Et) were studied by NMR techniques to rationalize the parameters governing the relaxivity of the Gd³⁺ complex and evaluate its potential as MRI contrast agent. From the ¹H‐ and ³¹P‐NMR lanthanide‐induced‐shift (LIS) values, especially of the [Yb(DOTP*‐Et)]^? complex, it was concluded that the [Ln(DOTP*‐Et)]^? complexes adopt in solution twisted square antiprismatic coordination geometries which change gradually their coordination‐cage structure along the lanthanide series. These complexes have no inner‐sphere‐H₂O coordination, and preferentially have the (R,R,R,R) configuration of the P‐atoms in the pendant arms. Self‐association was observed in aqueous solution for the tetraazatetrakisphosphonic acid ester complexes [Ln(DOTP*‐OEt)]^? (=[Ln(DOTP‐Et)]^?) and [Ln(DOTP*‐OBu)]^? (=[Ln(DOTP‐Bu)]^?) at and above 5 mM concentration, through analysis of ³¹P‐NMR, EPR, vapor‐pressure‐osmometry, and luminescence‐spectroscopic data. The presence of the cationic detergent cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC; but not of neutral surfactants) shifts the isomer equilibrium of [Eu(DOTP*‐OBu)]^? to the (S,S,S,S) form which selectively binds to the cationic micelle surface.     

Statistical mixture design selective extraction of compounds with antioxidant activity and total polyphenol content from Trichilia catigua

Statistical design mixtures of water, methanol, acetone and ethanol were used to extract material from Trichilia catigua (Meliaceae) barks to study the effects of different solvents and their mixtures on its yield, total polyphenol content and antioxidant activity. The experimental results and their response surface models showed that quaternary mixtures with approximately equal proportions of all four solvents provided the highest yields, total polyphenol contents and antioxidant activities of the crude extracts followed by ternary design mixtures. Principal component and hierarchical clustering analysis of the HPLC–DAD spectra of the chromatographic peaks of 1:1:1:1 water–methanol–acetone–ethanol mixture extracts indicate the presence of cinchonains, gallic acid derivatives, natural polyphenols, flavanoids, catechins, and epicatechins.     

Synthesis of pentabromopseudilin and other arylpyrrole derivatives via Heck arylations

Pentrabromopseudilin and other 2 and 3-arylpyrrole derivatives were synthesized through the Heck–Matsuda reaction involving endocyclic enecarbamates and N-protected 3-pyrrolines, respectively. The overall processes permitted an easy and efficient access to these structural motifs present in several bioactive compounds. Attempts to synthesize the compound isopentabromopseudilin led to a tribromo aryl maleimide. We hypothesize that this latter compound is the putative product arising from the unusual thermal instability of isopentabromopseudilin.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel indole-containing half-crowns as new emissive metal probes

Two new indole derivatives have been synthesized by a one-pot procedure and their potential as fluorescence probes for metal ions was investigated. The sensor capability of 1 and 2 toward cations such as Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Hg²⁻ was studied in dichloromethane solution by absorption, fluorescence emission, and ¹H NMR titrations. Both probes showed selectivity for Ag⁺ and Hg²⁺ ions. The results suggest that these compounds may serve as promising models for future design of novel and more potent sensors.     

Synthesis of novel indenoquinolines and indenopyridazines via photoisomerization of benzotropolone derivatives

We describe the photoisomerization of hetero Diels-Alder adducts of tetramethylpurpurogallin bearing β,γ-unsaturated ketone chromophores and endocyclic -N-O- or -N-N- groups. Based on spectroscopic and crystallographic data, our results indicate that the outcome of the reaction for the two types of substrates can be correlated with the difference in the stabilities of the radical intermediates generated in each case. For oxazines, the photoisomerization involves both the β,γ-unsaturated ketone and -N-O- moieties, and proceeds through the formation of allyl, benzoyl, phenyl, and α-carbonyl radical intermediates. While the same allylic and benzoyl radicals are formed in adducts with an -N-N- group, the hydrazine does not participate in the reaction and the product is a simple rearrangement of the initial intermediate.     

Ion binding to polyelectrolytes: Monte Carlo simulations versus classical mean field theories

The influence of ion size and surface charge model in titrations of ionizable polyelectrolytes is studied by means of the Semi Grand Canonical Monte Carlo simulation method in the context of the primitive model. Three models describing a discrete distribution of charged functional groups on the polyelectrolyte and different values for the radius of the background electrolyte spanning from ionic to hydrated radii values were analyzed. The polyelectrolyte titrations were simulated by calculating the degree of ionization versus pH curves at two ionic strengths. The results allow us to quantify the impact of the sizes of the background salt ions and surface functional groups of the polyelectrolyte on the dissociation degree. This influence is explained in terms of the effectiveness of the screening of the charged surface sites. Finally, by comparison with the Non-Linear Poisson–Boltzmann model, the influence of ionic correlations and finite size of the solution ions is assessed.