A polarizable empirical force field for molecular dynamics simulation of liquid hydrocarbons

Electronic polarizability is usually treated implicitly in molecular simulations, which may lead to imprecise or even erroneous molecular behavior in spatially electronically inhomogeneous regions of systems such as proteins, membranes, interfaces between compounds, or mixtures of solvents. The majority of available molecular force fields and molecular dynamics simulation software packages does not account explicitly for electronic polarization. Even the simplest charge‐on‐spring (COS) models have only been developed for few types of molecules. In this work, we report a polarizable COS model for cyclohexane, as this molecule is a widely used solvent, and for linear alkanes, which are also used as solvents, and are the precursors of lipids, amino acid side chains, carbohydrates, or nucleic acid backbones. The model is an extension of a nonpolarizable united‐atom model for alkanes that had been calibrated against experimental values of the density, the heat of vaporization and the Gibbs free energy of hydration for each alkane. The latter quantity was used to calibrate the parameters governing the interaction of the polarizable alkanes with water. Subsequently, the model was tested for other structural, thermodynamic, dielectric, and dynamic properties such as trans/gauche ratios, excess free energy, static dielectric permittivity, and self‐diffusion. A good agreement with the experimental data for a large set of properties for each considered system was obtained, resulting in a transferable set of polarizable force‐field parameters for CH₂, CH₃, and CH₄ moieties. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Stage-I fatigue crack studies in order to validate the dislocation-free zone model of fracture for bulk materials

Stage-I fatigue cracks are commonly described by the model of Bilby, Cottrell and Swinden (BCS model). However, since several experimental investigations have shown a dislocation-free zone (DFZ) in front of crack-tips, it is necessary to validate the new DFZ model and to examine the deviations to the BCS model. Therefore, the dislocation density distribution is derived from height profiles of slip lines in front of stage-I fatigue cracks in CMSX4® single crystals measured by contact-mode atomic force microscopy. This is possible, because the cracks are initiated at notches milled by focused ion beam technique directly on slip planes with a high Schmid factor. Consequently, the directions of the Burgers vectors are well known; it is possible to calculate the dislocation density distributions from the height profiles. The measured distributions are compared to the calculated distribution function of the DFZ model proposed by Chang et al. The additionally measured microscopic friction stress of the dislocations is then used to calculate the influence of grain boundaries on the dislocation density distribution in front of stage-I cracks. The calculation is done by the extended DFZ model of Shiue et al. and compared with the measured distribution function in polycrystalline specimens. Finally, the crack-tip sliding displacement as a measure for the crack propagation rate is compared for the DFZ model and the BCS model with the experimentally revealed values. The important result: the often used BCS model does not reflect the experimental measurements. On the contrary, the DFZ model reflects the measurements at stage-I cracks qualitatively and quantitatively.     

Wastes from Wood Extraction Used in Composite Materials: Behavior after Accelerated Weathering

New materials were obtained by incorporating in polypropylene (PP) matrix 60% wood wastes resulting after extraction with supercritical carbon dioxide, water, and ethanol. Structural, mechanical, thermal, and rheological characterizations, as well as moisture uptake of the composites, were evaluated before and after accelerated weathering. It was found that the extraction method influenced the composite properties due to the hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance. The addition of extracted fibers results in an increase in hardness and tensile properties and a decrease of impact strength as compared to PP.     

Octacyanidorhenate(V) Ion as an Efficient Linker for Hysteretic Two-Step Iron(II) Spin Crossover Switchable by Temperature,Light, and Pressure

A two-step hysteretic Fe^II spin crossover (SCO) effect was achieved in programmed layered Cs{[Fe(3-CNpy)₂][Re(CN)₈]}⋅H₂O ( 1 ) (3-CNpy=3-cyanopyridine) assembly consisting of cyanido-bridged Fe^II-Re^V square grid sheets bonded by Cs⁺ ions. The presence of two non-equivalent Fe^II sites and the conjunction of 2D bimetallic coordination network with non-covalent interlayer interactions involving Cs⁺, [Re^V(CN)₈]³⁻ ions, and 3-CNpy ligands, leads to the occurrence of two steps of thermal SCO with strong cooperativity giving a double thermal hysteresis loop. The resulting spin-transition phenomenon could be tuned by an external pressure giving the room-temperature range of SCO, as well as by visible-light irradiation, inducing an efficient recovery of the high-spin Fe^II state at low temperatures. We prove that octacyanidorhenate(V) ion is an outstanding metalloligand for induction of a cooperative multistep, multiswitchable Fe^II SCO effect.     

Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Unfunctionalized Tetrasubstituted Acyclic Olefins

Asymmetric hydrogenation has evolved as one of the most powerful tools to construct stereocenters. However, the asymmetric hydrogenation of unfunctionalized tetrasubstituted acyclic olefins remains the pinnacle of asymmetric synthesis and an unsolved challenge. We report herein the discovery of an iridium catalyst for the first, generally applicable, highly enantio‐ and diastereoselective hydrogenation of such olefins and the mechanistic insights of the reaction. The power of this chemistry is demonstrated by the successful hydrogenation of a wide variety of electronically and sterically diverse olefins in excellent yield and high enantio‐ and diastereoselectivity.     

Linear and nonlinear relations between DSC parameters and elastic moduli for chemically and thermally treated human hair

Against the practical context of thermal straightening, hair samples were obtained with a chemical (bleaching) as well as a cumulative thermal history (0–800 s, 200 °C). On these samples, tensile testing and DSC analysis, both in the wet state, were conducted to obtain the elastic moduli E_w as well as denaturation temperatures T_D and enthalpies ΔH_D. 3D plots show overall linearity for the relationships between the parameters for natural hair. For bleached hair, pronounced nonlinearities develop beyond 300 s of thermal treatment. At this stage, T_D as well as E_w approaches limiting values, consistent with the state of a highly cross-linked, thermoset polymer. 2D projections are used to investigate the correlations between pairs of parameters. The results show that bleaching imparts a specific sensitivity for thermal damage, namely, to the matrix proteins, which more readily than the intermediate filaments (IF) turn into a thermoset. Overall, correlations between parameters hold well prior to the thermoset range. It is thus suggested that tensile testing to determine the elastic modulus and DSC come to consistent and equivalent results, at least, for the current experimental context. However, while E_w combines contributions of IFs and matrix, DSC differentiates the specific property changes of these components.

     

Sulfur derivatives of 3-methyl-5-phenyl-1,2,4,3-triazaphosphole

The triazaphosphole 1 adds sulfur along with HCl or H₂S to yield, respectively, the dihydrotriazaphosphole thiochloride 4 and sesquisulfide 5 (two diastereomers). In pyridine solution, 1 adds sulfur alone to yield the trimer of a triazaphosphole monosulfide 7 . Its central cyclotriphosphazane trisulfide ring has a trans structure and a boat conformation.