Sol–gel preparation and properties of hydroxypropylcellulose–titania hybrid thin films

Hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC)–titania hybrid thin films were prepared by sol–gel method where titanium tetraisopropoxide Ti(OC₃H₇ ⁱ )₄ was hydrolyzed under acidic conditions in the presence of HPC, followed by dip-coating and drying at 120 °C for 24 h. The viscosity average molecular weight of HPC was 55,000–70,000 or 110,000–150,000, and the TiO₂/(HPC + TiO₂) mass ratio ranged from 0 to 1, which was calculated on the assumption that all Ti(OC₃H₇ ⁱ )₄ is converted into TiO₂. The films were 0.35–1.0 μm thick, transparent in visible region and opaque in ultraviolet (UV) region, where the optical absorption coefficient in UV region increased with increasing titania content. The refractive index increased with increasing titania content, ranging from 1.6 to 1.8 for the hybrid thin films. The pencil hardness increased from 6B to 5H, the durability in hot water significantly increased and the contact angle of water on films increased from 35° to 89° with increasing titania content. Crack-free films could be deposited on organic polymer substrates irrespective of titania or HPC contents, where cracking did not occur at higher HPC contents even when the substrate was bent.     

Study of ion transport processes in soils by radioabsorption method

The transport processes of Na⁺, K⁺, Cs⁺, Ca²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mn²⁺, Fe³⁺ and HPO ₄ ²⁻ ions were studied in soils by radioabsorption method. The effective diffusion coefficients varied in the interval of 10⁻¹⁶–10⁻¹⁰ m²s⁻¹. The effective diffusion coefficient of Ca²⁺, Co²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions increased by several orders of magnitude as a result of the addition of a complex forming agent.     

Photocyclisation d'hydroxyalkyl glycosides en orthoesters glycosidiques

A free-radical cyclization process makes glycosidic orthoester structures readily available in a one-pot procedure.     

Photochemistry of Isothiocoumarin (= 1H-[2]benzothiopyran-1-one)

Irradiation (λ = 350 nm) of 1H-[2]benzothiopyran-1-one ( 2 ) in the solid state affords selectively and in good yield 6aα, 6bα, 12bα, 12cα -tetrahydrocyclobuta[1, 2-c:4, 3-c′]bis([2]benzothiopyran)-5, 8-dione ( 3 ), the head-to-head (HH) cis-cisoid-cis-cyclodimer of 2 , X-Ray analysis of 2 confirms that this reaction proceeds according to the well-established topochemical principles. The same dimer 3 is obtained in low yields on irradiation of 10⁻¹ M solutions of 2 in either MeOH or MeCN, while no conversion at all is observed in benzene. On irradiation of 2 in MeCN in the presence of tetrachloroethene, the [2 + 2] photocycloadduct 4 is formed in good yield, the conversion 2 → 4 being efficiently quenched by naphthalene. In contrast, no reaction is observed -on irradiation of 2 in the presence of 2, 3-dimethylbut-2-ene, neither in polar nor in apolar solvents.     

Dissociation constants of phenols in methanol--water mixtures

A preferential solvation model that relates solute properties with solvent composition in binary mixtures has been applied to the dissociation pKa values of a set of 28 substituted phenols in methanol-water mixtures. The parameters of the model allow estimation of the pKa value of each phenol for any methanol-water composition. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the pKa values of the whole set of phenols at any methanol-water composition are linearly related to the pKa values of the phenols in water. Equations that relate the correlations' slope and intercept values with the solvent composition have been derived and tested with the set of phenols. The general parameters obtained for these equations allow an accurate calculation of the pKa value of any phenol, even of those not included in the original set, at any methanol-water composition solely from the pKa value of the phenol in water. These calculated pKa values can be used for quantitative structure-HPLC retention relationships. The method is tested by comparison of the calculated pKa values with the HPLC determined pKa values of 26 phenols in a polymeric column with a 50% methanol as mobile phase.     

Stéréochimie des réactions de substitution des alcoxygermanes par les organolithiens et par les réactifs de Grignard

The reactions of organolithium reagents and Grignard reagents with optically active alkoxygermanes R₃GeOR′ have been studied [R₃GeOR′ = ()-i-PrPhNpGeOCH₃, ()-i-PrPhNPGeOMen and ()-MePhNpGeOMen]. Saturated reagents (e.g. butyllithium) give retention of configuration at germanium whilst unsaturated reagents (e.g. allyl- or benzyllithium) lead to inversion.     

Influence of the cathodic polarization on the stability of Ti surface in concentrated KOH solutions

The stability of spontaneous thin layers and thin layers formed upon cathodical polarization of Ti in KOH solutions have been studied by potentiostatic and ellipsometric methods. At open circuit potential (OCP) the strongly adherent films, whose thickness depends on the concentration of the KOH solution, were formed. During the cathodic polarization the transformation of these films to weakly adsorbed precipitated layers on the electrode surface was observed. Comparing the theoretically computed curves with the experimental Ψ vs Δ loci measured ellipsometrically, the complex indices of refraction and the thickness of the generated films, from 3.6 to 60 nm in 1 M KOH and from 36 to 105 nm in 5 M KOH (adherent to the electrode surface), were determined. At OCP the rate of film growth increases with increasing the concentration of KOH solution. Cathodic polarizations change the chemical composition and retard the rate of film growth. Based on the ellipsometric and electrochemical data the chemical compositions of the formed films consisted of TiO₂, Ti₂O₃, TiO₂·H₂O, Ti(OH)₃ and TiOOH·nH₂O.     

Fuzzy Symmetries for Linear Molecules and their Molecular Orbitals

In this paper, the fuzzy symmetry of some prototypical linear molecules has been analyzed. The results show that some molecular orbitals (MOs) are less symmetrical but some others are more symmetrical than the molecular skeleton, which the MOs correspond to. The membership functions of space inversion for MOs are closely related to the chemical characteristics of the MOs. Sometimes, although the symmetry of a molecular skeleton is not obvious, however that of some MO is quite obvious. The membership functions of the fuzzy inversion symmetry depend on the choice of the position of the center of inversion. As compared to those of diatomic molecules and linear tri-atomic molecules, the linear polyatomic molecules in which a distinctive fuzzy symmetry of space translation may exist, and thus a significant effect on their properties can be expected.     

Synthesis,crystal structure,electrochemical properties and large optical limiting effect of a novel 3-(E)-ferrocenyl-vinyl-<Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">N</Emphasis>-hexyl carbazole

The novel compound, 3-(E)-ferrocenyl-vinyl-N-hexylcarbazole (FVHC) was first synthesized and fully characterized by elemental analysis, IR, ¹H-NMR, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet (UV) absorption, cyclic voltammograms (CV) and optical limiting (OL) measurements. The result of single crystal X-ray diffraction for the compound reveals that the ferrocenyl and carbazole groups are approximately coplanar, and bridged by double-bond with E configuration, showing that there is a well-delocalized π-electron system in the molecule. The electrochemical investigation indicated that the electron in the FVHC may partially be delocalized over the π-conjugated system and CT process in functionalized carbazole systems. Besides, the compound exhibited strong UV absorption and large optical limiting effect, indicating promising potential applications as useful OL materials.     

Role of the spacer in the singlet-singlet energy transfer mechanism (Förster vs Dexter) in cofacial bisporphyrins

The cofacial bisporphyrins H4DPS (DPS = 4,6-bis[5-(2,8,13,17-tetraethyl-3,7,12,18-tetramethylporphyrinyl)]dibenzothiophene), H4DPO (DPO = 4,6-bis[5-(2,8,13,17-tetraethyl-3,7,12,18-tetramethylporphyrinyl)]dibenzofuran), H4DPX (DPX = 4,5-bis[5-(2,8,13,17-tetraethyl-3,7,12,18-tetramethylporphyrinyl)]-9,9-dimethylxanthene), H4DPA (DPA = 1,8-bis[5-(2,8,13,17-tetraethyl-3,7,12,18-tetramethylporphyrinyl)]anthracene), and H4DPB (DPB = 1,8-bis[5-(2,8,13,17-tetraethyl-3,7,12,18-tetramethylporphyrinyl)]biphenylene) have been monometalated by Zn(OAc)2.2H2O and by GaCl3 to explore the singlet-singlet energy transfer from the photoexcited metal porphyrin center to the linked free base porphyrin. The spectroscopic (UV-vis and fluorescence) and photophysical properties (fluorescence lifetimes, tauF, and quantum yields, phiF) have been investigated at 298 and 77 K in degassed 2-MeTHF for the donor-acceptor systems, (Zn)H2DPS, (Zn)H2DPO, (Zn)H2DPA, (Zn)H2DPX, and (Zn)H2DPB, as well as for the bis-zinc complexes, (Zn)2DPS, (Zn)2DPO, (Zn)2DPX, and (Zn)2DPB, respectively, and the monoporphyrin derivatives, H2P, (Zn)P, and (Ga-OMe)P (P2- = 5-phenyl-2,8,13,17-tetraethyl-3,7,12,18-tetramethylporphyrin-dianion). The singlet-singlet energy transfer rate constants (KET) were obtained using KET = (1/tauF -1/tauFo), where tauFo is the fluorescence lifetime of the corresponding bis-zinc(II) systems (or (Zn)P and (Ga-OMe)P) where no energy transfer occurs. The tauF value for three bis-zinc(II) compounds varies from 1.69 to 2.01 ns and is 1.84 (at 298 K) and 3.20 ns (at 77 K) for (Ga-OMe)P. In the donor-acceptor bismacrocycles, depending on the spacer and the temperature, the fluorescence lifetimes decrease down to 50-240 ps. The KET values range from approximately 4 to approximately 21 (ns(-1)) and have been analyzed considering both the F?rster and the Dexter mechanisms. Using the C(meso)-C(meso) distance parameters in the calculations, the F?rster and Dexter mechanisms operate for DPS and DPO, and for DPA, DPX, and DPB spacer systems, respectively. The limit distance where one mechanism dominates over the other is estimated to be around 5-6 A.