Synthesis of well‐defined block copolymer composed of flexible amphiphilic poly(ethylene glycol) and hydrophobic liquid crystalline segments by living coordination polymerization of allene derivatives and its application to thin film with perpendicularly oriented cylindrical nanostructure

A block copolymer composed of a flexible polar poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and a less polar liquid crystalline poly(allene) segments is prepared by the living coordination polymerization of an allene derivative possessing trans‐azobenzene‐containing mesogenic substituent by the use of a π‐allylnickel macroinitiator bearing PEG segment. The thin film of the block copolymer is prepared by the spin coating of its solution onto mica or silicon wafer which proves to possess perpendicularly oriented nanocylindrical microphase separated structures as supported by the differential calorimetric, polarized optical microscopic, grazing‐incidence small‐angle X‐ray scattering, transmission electron microscope, and atomic force microscope measurements.     

Peripheral Modifications of meso-Hydroxyporphyrins: Formation of π-Electronic Anions and Ion-Pairing Assemblies

Phenyl groups were introduced at the β-positions proximal to the meso-hydroxy moiety in hydroxyporphyrin Ni^II complexes by oxidized BINAP Pd^II complexes. Ion-pairing assemblies of deprotonated π-electronic anions, anionic site of which was stabilized by the introduced phenyl moieties with a bulky cation, were formed. They showed charge-by-charge assemblies, assembly modes of which were modulated by the anionic building units.     

Fused silica capillary tube isotachophoresis using a multichannel photodiode array detector

Isotachophoresis carried out in a 0.25 mm i.d. fused-silica capillary tube yielded high resolution, compared with that in a fluorinated ethylene-propylene polymer tube. The use of an ultraviolet-visible multichannel spectrophotometer with photodiode array as detector together with a cross flow cell (volume 0.01 μl) was investigated. The system was successfully applied to the analysis of cationic dyes such as neutral red, bismarck brown, and basic fuchsine.     

Synthesis of Arenethiolate Complexes of Divalent and Trivalent Lanthanides from Metallic Lanthanides and Diaryl Disulfides: Crystal Structures of [{Yb(hmpa)(3)}(2)(&mgr;-SPh)(3)][SPh] and Ln(SPh)(3)(hmpa)(3) (Ln = Sm, Yb; hmpa = Hexamethylphosphoric Triamide)

A convenient and one-pot synthetic method of lanthanide thiolate compounds was developed. An excess of metallic samarium, europium, and ytterbium directly reacted with diaryl disulfides in THF to give selectively Ln(II) thiolate complexes, [Ln(SAr)(&mgr;-SAr)(thf)(3)](2) (1, Ln = Sm; 2, Ln = Eu; Ar = 2,4,6-triisopropylphenyl), Yb(SAr)(2)(py)(4) (3, py = pyridine), and [{Ln(hmpa)(3)}(2)(&mgr;-SPh)(3)][SPh] (6, Ln = Sm; 7, Ln = Eu; 8, Ln = Yb; hmpa = hexamethylphosphoric triamide). Reaction of metallic lanthanides with 3 equiv of disulfides afforded Ln(III) thiolate complexes, Ln(SAr)(3)(py)(n)()(thf)(3)(-)(n)() (9a, Ln = Sm, n = 3; 9b, Ln = Sm, n = 2; 10, Ln = Yb, n = 3) and Ln(SPh)(3)(hmpa)(3) (11, Ln = Sm; 12, Ln = Eu; 13, Ln = Yb). Thus, Ln(II) and Ln(III) thiolate complexes were prepared from the same source by controlling the stoichiometry of the reactants. X-ray analysis of 8 revealed that 8 has the first ionic structure composed of triply bridged dinuclear cation and benezenethiolate anion [8, orthorhombic, space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with a = 21.057(9), b = 25.963(7), c = 16.442(8) ?, V = 8988(5) ?(3), Z = 4, R = 0.040, R(w) = 0.039 for 5848 reflections with I > 3sigma(I) and 865 parameters]. The monomeric structures of 11 and 13 were revealed by X-ray crystallographic studies [11, triclinic, space group P&onemacr; with a = 14.719(3), b = 17.989(2), c = 11.344(2) ?, alpha = 97.91(1), beta = 110.30(2), gamma = 78.40(1) degrees, V = 2751.9(9) ?(3), Z = 2, R = 0.045, R(w) = 0.041 for 7111 reflections with I > 3sigma(I) and 536 parameters; 13, triclinic, space group P&onemacr; with a = 14.565(2), b = 17.961(2), c = 11.302(1) ?, alpha = 97.72(1), beta = 110.49(1), gamma = 78.37(1) degrees, V = 2706.0(7) ?(3), Z = 2, R = 0.031, R(w) = 0.035 for 9837 reflections with I > 3sigma(I) and 536 parameters]. A comparison with the reported mononuclear and dinuclear lanthanide thiolate complexes has been made to indicate that the Ln-S bonds weakened by the coordination of HMPA to lanthanide metals have ionic character.     

Enhanced electrical properties of highly oriented poly(vinylidene fluoride) films prepared by solid‐state coextrusion

Oriented poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) films with β‐form crystals have been commonly prepared by cold drawing of a melt‐quenched film consisting of α‐form crystals. In this study, we have successfully produced highly oriented PVDF thin films (20 µm thick) with β‐crystals and a high crystallinity (55–76%), by solid‐state coextrusion of a gel film to eight times the original length at an established optimum extrusion temperature of 160°C, some 10°C below the melting temperature. The resultant drawn films had a highly oriented (orientation function f_c = 0.993) fibrous structure, showing high mechanical properties of an extensional elastic modulus of 8.3 GPa and tensile strength of 0.84 GPa, along the draw direction. Such highly oriented and crystalline films exhibited excellent ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties. The square hysteresis loop was significantly sharper than that of a conventional sample. The sharp switching transient yielded the remnant polarization P_r of 90 mC/m², and the electromechanical coupling factor k_t was 0.24 at room temperature. These values are about 1.5 times greater than those of a conventional β‐PVDF film. Thus, solid‐state coextrusion near the melting point was found to be a useful technique for the preparation of highly oriented and highly crystalline β‐PVDF films with superior mechanical and electrical properties. The morphology of the extrudate relevant to such properties is discussed. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 2549–2556, 1999     

Polyacrylamides as hydrophilic selectors in non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis

Polyacrylamides (PAAms) were investigated as hydrophilic selectors in non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis (CE). Separation of 10 substituted benzoates and unsubstituted benzoate as model samples was greatly improved by the addition of PAAms in acetonitrile-CE. The migration behavior indicates that the carbonyl moiety of PAAms works as a good hydrogen-accepting site toward hydrogen-donating analytes such as 4-hydroxybenzoate anion (4OH-BA) in acetonitrile. PAAms also serve as electron-accepting agents with its amide proton interacting with the dissociated carboxyl groups of the benzoates. The ion-dipole interaction is useful to control the migration behavior of benzoates without hydrogen-donating substituents. The overall mode of the interaction is similar to that of polyethylene glycol (PEG) 20000 reported previously, but the complex formation constant of poly(N-tert.-butyl)acrylamide (PBAAm) with 40H-BA estimated here was 130-fold larger than that of PEG 20000. This would be ascribed to the strong basicity of the carbonyl oxygen atoms of PBAAm as compared with the ether oxygen atoms of PEG. Furthermore, a copolymer of (N-tert.-butyl)acrylamide-acrylamide [70:30 (in feed)] exhibited a complex formation constant of about fourfold larger toward 4OH-BA than PBAAm, most probably due to decrease in steric hindrance from the tert.-butyl groups. Adrenaline and its six precursors have been separated successfully using the PAAms.     

A double-functionalized cyclen with carbamoyl and dansyl groups (cyclen = 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane): a selective fluorescent probe for Y(3+) and La(3+).

A cyclen (=1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane) doubly functionalized with three carbamoylmethyl groups and one dansylaminoethyl (dansyl = 2-(5-(dimethylamino)-1-naphthalenesulfonyl) group (L(2) = 1-(2-(5-(dimethylamino)-1-naphthalenesulfonylamido)ethyl)-4,7,10-tris(carbamoylmethyl)-cyclen) was synthesized and characterized. Potentiometrtic pH titration and UV spectrophotometric titration of L(2) served to determine deprotonation of the pendant dansylamide (L(2) --> H(-1)L(2)) with a pK(a) value of 10.6, while the fluorometric titration disclosed a pK(a) value of 8.8 +/- 0.2, which was assigned to the dansyl deprotonation in the excited state. The 1:1 M(3+)-H(-1)L(2) complexation constants (log K(app) = 6.0 for Y(3+) and 5.2 for La(3+), where K(app)(M-H(-1)L(2)) = [M(3+)-H(-1)L(2)]/[M(3+)](free)[L(2)](free) (M(-1)) at pH 7.4) were determined by potentiometric pH titration and UV and fluorescence spectrophotometric titrations (excitation at 335 nm and emission at 520 nm) in aqueous solution (with I = 0.1 (NaNO(3))) and 25 degrees C. The X-ray structure analysis of the Y(3+)-H(-1)L complex showed nine-coordinated Y(3+) with four nitrogens of cyclen, three carbamoyl oxygens, and the deprotonated nitrogen and a sulfonyl oxygen of the dansylamide. The crystal data are as follow: formula C(28)H(49)N(11)O(13.5)SY (Y(3+)-H(-1)L(2) x 2(NO(3)(-)) x 2.5H(2)O), M(r) = 876.73, monoclinic, space group P2(1)/n (No. 14), a = 18.912(3) A, b = 17.042(3) A, c = 24.318(4) A, beta = 95.99(1) degrees, V = 7794(2) A(3), Z = 8, R1 = 0.099. Upon M(3+)-H(-1)L(2) complexation, the dansyl fluorescence greatly increased (8.6 and 3.8 times for Y(3+) and La(3+), respectively) in aqueous solution at pH 7.4. Other lanthanide ions also yielded Ln(3+)-H(-1)L(2) complexes with similar K(app) values, although all the dansyl fluorescences were weakly quenched. On the other hand, zinc(II) formed only a 1:1 Zn(2+)-L(2) complex at neutral pH with negligible fluorescence change. The X-ray crystal structure of the Zn(2+)-L(2) complex confirmed the pendant dansylamide being noncoordinating. The crystal data are as follow: formula C(28)H(51)N(11)O(14)SZn (Zn(2+)-L(2) x 2(NO(3)(-)) x 3H(2)O), M(r) = 863.22, monoclinic, space group C2/n (No. 15), a = 35.361(1) A, b = 13.7298(5) A, c = 18.5998(6) A, beta = 119.073(2) degrees, V = 7892.3(5) A(3), Z = 8, R1 = 0.084. Other divalent metal ions did not interact with L(2) at all (e.g., Mg(2+) and Ca(2+)) or interacted with L(2) with the dansyl fluorescence quenched (e.g., Cu(2+)).     

In Situ Immobilization of Ultrafine Particles Synthesized in a Water/Oil Microemulsion

We investigated the in situ immobilization of ultrafine particles synthesized in a water/oil (w/o) microemulsion to silica for its possible application to supported metal catalysts. ZnS particles immobilized to silica by the ME method were consistent with those synthesized in a w/o microemulsion. Therefore, ZnS particles in a w/o microemulsion could be immobilized to silica without aggregation by this method. The relationship between the method of synthesizing Rh ultrafine particles in a w/o microemulsion and the diameter and diameter distribution of Rh particles immobilized to silica was studied. Rh-SiO(2) catalysts with a sharp diameter distribution could be prepared by immobilizing Rh-hydrazine complex particles because these complex particles would be very stable in a w/o microemulsion. The Rh particle diameters of Rh-SiO(2) catalysts prepared by changing the amount of silica produced were almost identical. Accordingly, the Rh particle diameter of Rh-SiO(2) catalysts could be controlled independently of Rh content by the ME method. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

Anionic Sublattices in Halide Solid Electrolytes: A Case Study with the High-Pressure Phase of Li3ScCl6

The Li₃MX₆ compounds (M=Sc, Y, In; X=Cl, Br) are known as promising ionic conductors due to their compatibility with typical metal oxide cathode materials. In this study, we have successfully synthesized γ-Li₃ScCl₆ using high pressure for the first time in this family. Structural analysis revealed that the high-pressure polymorph crystallizes in the polar and chiral space group P6₃mc with hexagonal close-packing (hcp) of anions, unlike the ambient-pressure α-Li₃ScCl₆ and its spinel analog with cubic closed packing (ccp) of anions. Investigation of the known Li₃MX₆ family further revealed that the cation/anion radius ratio, r_M/r_X, is the factor that determines which anion sublattice is formed and that in γ-Li₃ScCl₆, the difference in compressibility between Sc and Cl exceeds the ccp r_M/r_X threshold under pressure, enabling the ccp-to-hcp conversion. Electrochemical tests of γ-Li₃ScCl₆ demonstrate improved electrochemical reduction stability. These findings open up new avenues and design principles for lithium solid electrolytes, enabling routes for materials exploration and tuning electrochemical stability without compositional changes or the use of coatings.