Photopolymerization of methyl methacrylate using hydrogen peroxide as the photoinitiator

Photopolymerization of MMA with the use of H₂O₂ as the photoinitiator under visible light at 30°C was studied. Kinetic features in bulk monomer and in the presence of different diluents differ significantly. Usual free radical kinetics with square-root dependence of rate on initiator, indicating bimolecular termination of chain radicals, were observed for bulk polymerization. On dilution with various solvents polymerization was found to be retarded to different (usual and more than usual) extents, the observed monomer exponent value being much higher than unity in many cases. This deviation from normal kinetics has been interpreted in terms of the predominance of degradative initiator transfer in the diluted systems.     

Oxasmaragdyrin-ferrocene and oxacorrole-ferrocene conjugates: synthesis, structure, and nonlinear optical properties

Ferrocenyl macrocyclic conjugates involving 22 pi oxasmaragdyrins and 18 pi oxacorroles have been synthesized and characterized. The direct covalent linkage of the ferrocenyl moiety to the meso position of the macrocycle is achieved by simple oxidative coupling of appropriate precursors with trifluoroacetic acid as catalyst. The electronic coupling between the ferrocenyl moiety and the macrocyclic pi system is apparent from: a) the red shifts (293-718 cm(-1)) of the Soret and Q-bands in the electronic absorption spectra of ferrocenyl conjugates; b) the shift of oxidation potentials (50-130 mV) of both the ferrocene and the corrole rings to the positive potentials; and c) considerable shortening of the C-C bond which connects the ferrocene and the meso-carbon atom of the macrocycle. The single-crystal X-ray structure of oxasmaragdyrin-ferrocene conjugate 9 reveals the planarity of the 22 pi skeleton with very small deviations of the meso-carbon atoms. The meso-ferrocenyl substituent has a small dihedral angle of 38 degrees, making way for mixing of the molecular orbitals of the ferrocene and the macrocycle. However, the other two meso substituents are almost perpendicular to the mean plane, defined by the three meso carbon atoms. Classical C-H...O and nonclassical C-H...pi interactions lead to a two-dimensional supramolecular network. Ferrocene-smaragdyrin conjugate 9 bonds to a chloride ion in the protonated form and a rhodium(i) ion in the free base form. Nonlinear optical measurements reveal a larger nonlinear refractive index (-5.83 x 10(-8)cm(2)W(-1)) and figure of merit (2.28 x 10(-8)cm(3)W(-1)) for the rhodium smaragdyrin-ferrocene conjugate 19 than for the others, suggesting its possible application in optical devices.     

Photophysical behaviour of 4-(imidazole-1-yl) phenol and its complexation with beta-cyclodextrin in ground and excited states

This paper mainly dwells on photophysics of 4-(imidazole-1-yl) phenol (IDP) in different solvents and temperatures from the investigations of absorption, emission and laser flash photolysis and also on the nature of complexation with beta-cyclodextrin (CD) in ground and excited states. IDP makes 1:1 inclusion complex with beta-CD in ground, excited singlet and also in triplet states. The orientation of complex could be ascertained as imidazole moiety stays inside the cavity with phenol moiety stays in the bulk. A proposed energy level scheme unveils that vibronic interaction and spin-orbit interaction are found to be active differently in aprotic and protic solvents.     

Electron attachment to DNA and RNA nucleobases: An EOMCC investigation

We report a benchmark theoretical investigation of both vertical and adiabatic electron affinities of DNA and RNA nucleobases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil using equation of motion coupled cluster method. The vertical electron affinity (VEA) values of the first five states of the DNA and RNA nucleobases are computed. It is observed that the first electron attached state is energetically accessible in gas phase. Furthermore, an analysis of the natural orbitals exhibits that the first electron attached states of uracil and thymine are valence‐bound in nature and undergo significant structural changes on attachment of an extra electron, which reflects in the deviation of the adiabatic electron affinity (AEA) than that of the vertical ones. Conversely, the first electron attached states of cytosine, adenine, and guanine are in the category of dipole‐bound anions. Their structure, by and large, remain unaffected on attachment of an extra electron, which is evident from the observed small difference between the AEA and VEA values. VEA and AEA values of all the DNA and RNA nucleobases are found to be negative, which implies that the first electron attached states are not stable rather quasi bound. The results of all previous theoretical calculations are out of track and shows large deviation with respect to the experimentally measured values, whereas, our results are found to be in good agreement. Therefore, our computed values can be used as a reliable standard to calibrate new theoretical methods. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A Highly Oxidized Cobalt Porphyrin Dimer: Spin Coupling and Stabilization of the Four‐Electron Oxidation Product

A highly oxidized cobalt porphyrin dimer is reported. Each cobalt(II) ion and porphyrin ring underwent 1e oxidation with iodine as the oxidant to give a 4e‐oxidized cobalt(III) porphyrin π‐cation radical dimer. The bridging ethylene group allows for substantial conjugation of the porphyrin macrocycles, thus leading to a strong antiferromagnetic coupling between the π‐cation radicals and to stabilization of the singlet state. X‐ray crystallography clearly showed that the complex may be considered as a real supramolecule rather than two cobalt(III) porphyrin π‐cation radicals that interact through space.     

Optically definable reaction-diffusion-driven pattern generation of Ag-Au nanoparticles on templated surfaces

We introduce a new lithographic method for the generation of 2D patterns of composite nanoparticles (NPs) of Ag and Au by taking recourse to combine top-down and bottom-up approaches. Micrometer-scale and submicrometer-scale patterned Ag foils of commercially available compact disks (CDs) and digital versatile disks (DVDs), respectively, were used as templates. The galvanic replacement reaction of Ag by HAuCl(4) in the presence of the dye coatings on the foils led to the formation of patterned NP composites of Ag and Au, in addition to the formation of AgCl. The resultant structures appeared in the form of cross patterns of particles with micrometer and submicrometer dimensions. The AgCl crystals thus formed could be removed by using either a saturated NaCl solution or aqueous ammonia. In addition, AgCl could be converted to Ag by electrochemical reduction, thus generating Ag-coated Au NPs. Interestingly, the digital writing on CDs led to the formation of tertiary imprints on the patterns, based on the original writing patterns. This provided an additional handle in generating hierarchical patterns using light in combination with a chemical reaction diffusion process and the nearly parallel line patterns originally present in commercial CDs. The reactions could be carried out in aqueous solution, and the method does not require any additional curing. Also, the density of patterned particles is scalable on the basis of the choice of the original line patterns as present in CDs and DVDs.     

Discovery of novel selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors through development of a protein-based pharmacophore

The serotonin transporter (SERT), a member of the neurotransmitter sodium symporter (NSS) family, is responsible for the reuptake of serotonin from the synaptic cleft to maintain neurotransmitter homeostasis. SERT is established as an important target in the treatment of anxiety and depression. Because a high-resolution crystal structure is not available, a computational model of SERT was built based upon the X-ray coordinates of the leucine transporter LeuT, a bacterial NSS homologue. The model was used to develop the first SERT structure-based pharmacophore. Virtual screening (VS) of a small molecule structural library using the generated SERT computational model yielded candidate ligands of diverse scaffolds. Pharmacological analysis of the VS hits identified two SERT-selective compounds, potential lead compounds for further SERT-related medication development.     

Synthesis of 4‐Aryl‐4,6‐dihydropyrimido[4,5‐d]pyridazine‐2,5(1H,3H)‐diones from Biginelli Compounds

Biginelli compounds 1 were first brominated at Me? C(6) with 2,4,4,6‐tetrabromocyclohex‐2,5‐dien‐1‐one to give Br₂CH? C(6) derivatives 2 . The hydrolysis of the 6‐(dibromomethyl) group of 2c to give the 6‐formyl derivative 3c in the presence of an expensive Ag salt followed by reaction with N₂H₄?H₂O yielded tetrahydropyrimido[4,5‐d]pyridazine‐2,5(1H,3H)‐dione ( 4c ; Scheme 1). However, treatment of the 6‐(dibromomethyl) derivatives 2 directly with N₂H₄?H₂O led to the fused heterocycles 4 in better overall yield (Schemes 1 and 2; Table).     

Unprecedented Halogenation of Biginelli Compounds of Salicyldehyde

Unprecedented results are obtained from bromination of the normal/non-bridged and abnormal/bridged Biginelli compound of salicyldehyde. Bromination with 2,4,4,6-tetrabromocyclohexa-2,5-dienone yields a bridged monobromo-derivative and a bridged dibromo-derivative, respectively, whereas bromination with bromine and acetic acid gives a mixture of those two products in each case. Bromination with N-bromosuccinimide gives a third product, namely a tribromo-derivative, in addition to those two products. Iodination of both the substrates using iodine monochloride (Wijs solution) furnishes a bridged monoiodo-derivative only.     

Charge Transfer in 1,8-Naphthalimide: A Combined Theoretical and Experimental Approach

Photophysics of 1,8-naphthalimide (NAPMD) in different solvents has been delineated in this paper. Theoretically calculated bond distance of N–H and C=O groups rule out any intramolecular proton transfer in the excited state. Concomitant increase in negative charge on O atom compared to N atom and dipole moment hints at possible intramolecular charge transfer. Progressive redshift with polarity of solvents in emission and absorption spectra also confirms the theoretical prediction. Weakening of N–H bond helps hydrogen abstraction and anion formation in water with decay time of 2.54 ns through intermolecular proton transfer. This was corroborated from the ground state photoexcitation of laboratory synthesized anion of NAPMD. Amide hydrolysis in higher pH and excess proton availability at low pH are responsible for anion emission quenching. A possible electron transfer diminishes phosphorescence at 77 K with changing pH.