Contact angle hysteresis, adhesion, and marine biofouling

Adhesive and marine biofouling release properties of coatings containing surface-oriented perfluoroalkyl groups were investigated. These coatings were prepared by cross-linking a copolymer of 1H,1H,2H,2H-heptadecafluorodecyl acrylate and acrylic acid with a copolymer of poly(2-isopropenyl-2-oxazoline) and methyl methacrylate at different molar ratios. The relationships between contact angle, contact angle hysteresis, adhesion, and marine biofouling were studied. Adhesion was determined by peel tests using pressure-sensitive adhesives. The chemical nature of the surfaces was studied by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Resistance to marine biofouling of an optimized coating was studied by immersion in seawater and compared to previous, less optimized coatings. The adhesive release properties of the coatings did not correlate well with the surface energies of the coatings estimated from the static and advancing contact angles nor with the amount of fluorine present on the surface. The adhesive properties of the surfaces, however, show a correlation with water receding contact angles and contact angle hysteresis (or wetting hysteresis) resulting from surface penetration and surface reconstruction. Coatings having the best release properties had both the highest cross-link density and the lowest contact angle hysteresis. An optimized coating exhibited unprecedented resistance to marine biofouling. Water contact angle hysteresis appears to correlate with marine biofouling resistance.     

DNA polymerase template interactions probed by degenerate isosteric nucleobase analogs

The development of novel artificial nucleobases and detailed X-ray crystal structures for primer/template/DNA polymerase complexes provide opportunities to assess DNA-protein interactions that dictate specificity. Recent results have shown that base pair shape recognition in the context of DNA polymerase must be considered a significant component. The isosteric azole carboxamide nucleobases (compounds 1-5; ) differ only in the number and placement of nitrogen atoms within a common shape and therefore present unique electronic distributions that are shown to dictate the selectivity of template-directed nucleotide incorporation by DNA polymerases. The results demonstrate how nucleoside triphosphate substrate selection by DNA polymerase is a complex phenomenon involving electrostatic interactions in addition to hydrogen bonding and shape recognition. These azole nucleobase analogs offer unique molecular tools for probing nonbonded interactions dictating substrate selection and fidelity of DNA polymerases.     

Electrical conductivity measurements of aqueous sodium chloride solutions to 600°C and 300 MPa

Electrical conductance measurements of dilute (<0.1>^–1) aqueous NaCl solutions were made primarily to quantify the degree of ion association which increases with increasing temperature and decreasing solvent density. These measurements were carried out at temperatures from 100 to 600°C and pressures up to 300 MPa with a modified version of the apparatus used previously in the high temperature study in this laboratory. Particular emphasis was placed on conditions close to the critical temperaturelpressure region of water, i.e., at 5° intervals from 370 to 400°C. The results verify previous findings that the limiting equivalent conductance A_o of NaCl increases linearly with decreasing density from 0.75 to 0.3 g-cm^–1 and also with increasing temperature from 100 to 350°C. Above 350°C. A_o is virtually temperature independent. The logarithm of the molal association constant as calculated exclusively from the data400°C is represented as a function of temperature (Kelvin) and the logarithm of the density of water (g-cm^–3) as follows:

Complexation of aluminate anion by bis-tris in aqueous media at 25–50°C

Gibbsite, Al(OH)₃, solubility studies in aqueous NaCl solutions at pH 9 demonstrate that the aluminate anion forms a strong complex with the neutral Bis-tris molecule 2,2-Bis(hydroxymethyl)-2,2,2-nitrilotriethanol, at low temperatures. The logarithm of the molal concentration quotient for the reaction

Stereochemistry and bonding in N-substituted-2-phenyl-3-cyanoaziridines

A series of ten N-alkyl(aralkyl)-2-phenyl-3-cyanoaziridines has been synthesized to continue investigations of the molecular stereochemistry and bonding of functionalized aziridines. Substantial spectroscopic evidence is presented which indicates the presence of stereoselective hyperconjugation between the phenyl and nitrile groups and the aziridine ring. The ¹H and ¹³C nmr chemical shifts are rationalized in terms of the interactions of the substituents on the aziridine ring, and how these interactions vary with the steric bulk of the nitrogen substituents. Various stereoselective coupling constants (¹H-¹H and ¹³C-¹H) are also reported.     

Electronic structure and properties of isoreticular metal-organic frameworks: the case of M-IRMOF1 (M = Zn, Cd, Be, Mg, and Ca)

We investigate the possibility of tailoring the electronic properties of isoreticular metal-organic materials by replacing the metal atom in the metal-organic cluster and by doping. The electronic structure of M-IRMOF1, where IRMOF1 stands for isoreticular metal-organic framework 1 and M = Be, Mg, Ca, Zn, and Cd, was examined using density-functional theory. The results show that these materials have similar band gaps (ca. 3.5 eV) and a conduction band that is split into two bands, the lower of which has a width that varies with metal substitution. This variation prompted us to investigate whether doping with Al or Li could be used to tailor the electronic properties of the Zn-IRMOF1 and Be-IRMOF1 materials. It is shown that replacing one metal atom with Al can effectively be used to create IRMOFs with different metallic properties. On the other hand, adding Li produces structural changes that render this approach less suitable.     

Preparation and crystal structure ofexo-2,exo-6-dihydroxy-2,6-dimethyl-9-oxabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane

In a further exploration of the structural factors causing alicyclic diols such asexo-2,exo-6-dihydroxy-2,6-dimethylbicyclo[3.3.1]nonane (1) to adopt the helical tubuland inclusion host structure, the title compound (8) has been synthesized and its crystal structure determined. This 9-oxa analogue of (1) has a totally different structure [C₁₀H₁₈O₃; orthorhombic;P2₁2₁2;a 18.989(4),b 19.064(3),c 14.256(3) Å;Z 20; with finalR 0.065] due to involvement of the ether oxygen atom in the hydrogen bonding network. The structure of the diol (8) approximatesP¯42₁ c symmetry, and 16 of the 20 molecules per cell create a hostlike structure of this symmetry, which consists of tightly bound hydrogen bonded pillars parallel toc. The remaining guestlike molecules occupy inequivalent pseudo ¯4 sites separated byc/2 to form weakly bound columns parallel toc. Hydrogen bonds also occur between the pillars and columns. An ordered structure with sensible intermolecular contacts can be formed inP2₁2₁2₁ with thec axis doubled. A difference betweena andb axial lengths correlates with a difference in occupancies of pseudo-¯4-related sites for the guest-like component of the structure.     

The molecular structure of 1,1-dimethyl-3-phenylpyrazolium-5-oxide

The molecular structure of 1,1-dimethyl-3-phenylpyrazolium-5-oxide has been determined by a single crystal x-ray diffraction study. The crystals are monoclinic, space group P2₁/a, with unit cell dimensions a = 12.630 (5) Å, b = 6.644 (1) Å, c = 12.486 (5) Å, β = 99.17 (2)°. The final R value was 0.049 for 2930 reflections. The bond lengths and angles suggest that a significant contribution to the structure is made by a resonance form in which one of the ring bonds does not exist. No close intermolecular approaches were found.     

Optimization of parameters for semiempirical methods I. Method

A new method for obtaining optimized parameters for semiempirical methods has been developed and applied to the modified neglect of diatomic overlap (MNDO) method. The method uses derivatives of calculated values for properties with respect to adjustable parameters to obtain the optimized values of parameters. The large increase in speed is a result of using a simple series expression for calculated values of properties rather than employing full semiempirical calculations. With this optimization procedure, the rate-determining step for parameterizing elements changes from the mechanics of parameterization to the assembling of experimental reference data.     

The preparation and molecular structure oftrans-[MoCl2(PMe2Ph)4]

Summary The compoundtrans-[MoCl₂(PMe₂Ph)₄] has been prepared by the reduction of MoCl₅ (by Mg) or of [MoCl₃(PMe₂Ph)₃] (by LiBuⁿ) in the presence of PMe₂Ph in tetrahydrofuran (THF). It has _eff=2.84 B.M. and crystallises in space group P1 witha=11.591(3),b=12.931(3),c=12.703(3) Å, = 95.28(2), =105.97(2), =103.54(2)°. Refinement of the structure gave R=0.036. The Mo-Cl and Mo-P distances average 2.443(6) and 2.534(8) Å, respectively.Low-valent phosphine complexes of the Group VI metals continue to attract much attention because of their involvement in studies of the catalytic activation of dinitrogen⁽¹⁾, dihydrogen(^{2, 3}), alkenes and alkynes(⁴). As a by-product during our studies of dinitrogen(¹) and hydride(²) complexes of molybdenum and tungsten, we obtainedtrans-[MoCl_2- (PMe₂Ph)₄] as yellow, paramagnetic crystals (_eff= 2.84 B.M.). We first obtained the compound during the attempted synthesis ofcis-[Mo(N₂)₂(PMe₂Ph)₄] by reduction of MoCl₅ with Mg in the presence of PMe₂Ph (see Experimental). Upon identification of the compound we found that it could be readily synthesised by treatment of [MoCl₃(PMe₂Ph)₃]⁽⁵⁾ with LiBuⁿ in THF in the presence of PMe₂Ph (experimental).The complex was shown to have thetrans structure by x-ray analysis (Figure). Analogues oftrans-[MoCl₂(PMe₂Ph)₄] have been prepared, namely [CrCl₂(Me₂PCH₂CH₂PMe₂)₂]⁽⁶⁾,trans- [MoCl₂(PMe₃)₄]⁽⁷⁾, [WCl₂(PMe₂Ph)₄]⁽⁸⁾ and [WCl₂(PMe₃)₄]⁽⁴⁾, of which onlytrans-[MoCl₂(PMe₃)₄] has been examined by X-rays⁽⁷⁾. Its principal structural parametersi.e. d(Mo-Cl)= 2.420(6), d(Mo-P)_av=2.496(3) Å⁽⁶⁾ are close to those found here fortrans-[MoCl₂(PMe₂Ph)₄].