Reactive Polymers and Oligomers from Cyclic Ethers and Cyclic Sulfides

(2-Bromoethyl)oxirane is converted in 39% yield to poly-[(2-bromoethyl)oxirane] of inherent viscosity 1.99 dL/g. The AlEt₃/H₂O/AcAc system is a very effective initiator for the polymerization of (2-bromoethyl)oxirane. Poly[(2-bromoethyl)-oxirane] is a white elastomer, soluble in CHCl₃ and insoluble in CH₃OH. Polyether-urethane hydrogels are prepared by the room temperature crosslinking of poly[(3-hydroxypropyl)oxirane] with aliphatic or aromatic diisocyanates. These networks absorb 100–200% of their weights in water, and can be prepared in transparent form with potential application as biomaterials or contact lenses.     

THEN FILM CELLS BASED ON CuInSe2

Abstract

Using thin film devices of the form CdS(n)/CuInSe₂(p) fabricated on electrodeposited CuInSe₂, electrical and optical measurements have been made. From temperature-dependent I-V measurements, it was observed that the recombination current became progressively more important as the temperature was decreased. Results of dark C-V measurements indicated that CuInSe₂ films with carrier concentrations in the range from 10¹⁵ to 10¹⁷ cm^?3 can be easily prepared using the electrodeposition method. Photoresponse of the devices was also measured, giving an essentially flat region in the range from 0.6 to 1.0 micron. At wavelengths beyond 1 micron, the quantum efficiency decreased continuously with the increase in the wavelength. This continuous decrease in the quantum efficiency could be due to the presence of interface states as suggested by the photo capacitance measurements.     

Phosphorescent κ3-(N^C^C)-Gold(III) Complexes: Synthesis,Photophysics, Computational Studies and Application to Solution-Processable OLEDs

Efficient OLED devices have been fabricated using organometallic complexes of platinum group metals. Still, the high material cost and low stability represent central challenges for their application in commercial display technologies. Based on its innate stability, gold(III) complexes are emerging as promising candidates for high-performance OLEDs. Here, a series of alkynyl-, N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)- and aryl-gold(III) complexes stabilized by a κ³-(N^C^C) template have been prepared and their photophysical properties have been characterized in detail. These compounds exhibit good photoluminescence quantum efficiency (η_PL) of up to 33 %. The PL emission can be tuned from sky-blue to yellowish green colors by variations on both the ancillary ligands as well as on the pincer template. Further, solution-processable OLED devices based on some of these complexes display remarkable emissive properties (η_CE 46.6 cd.A⁻¹ and η_ext 14.0 %), thus showcasing the potential of these motifs for the low-cost fabrication of display and illumination technologies.     

Crystal structure,thermal expansion and magnetic properties of Nd2Cu0.8Ge3 compound

A new ternary intermetallic compound, Nd₂Cu_0.8Ge₃, was synthesized and its crystal structure was determined by Rietveld refinement of X-ray powder diffraction data. The Nd₂Cu_0.8Ge₃ compound crystallizes in space group I4₁/amd (No. 141), with a tetragonal a-ThSi₂ structure type, and a=0.41783(2) nm, c=1.43689(9) nm, Z=2 and D_calc=7.466 g/cm³. Using the high temperature powder X-ray diffraction (HTXRD) technique, the lattice thermal expansion behavior of the compound was investigated in the temperature range of 298–648 K, and the result shows that its unit-cell parameters increased anisotropically when temperature increased. The magnetic susceptibility measured in the temperature range of 5–300 K indicated antiferromagnetic order of Nd₂Cu_0.8Ge₃ at low temperatures, and the magnetic susceptibility can be well described over the range of 50–300 K using Curie–Weiss law. The calculated effective magnetic moment (μ_eff) is 3.53 μ_B and dominated by the contribution of the Nd³⁺ ions.     

Efficient Synthesis of 2‐(N‐Substituted)‐2‐imidazolines and 2‐(N‐Substituted)‐1,4,5,6‐tetrahydropyrimidines

A general method for the preparation of 2‐(N‐Substituted)‐2‐imidazolines and 2‐(N‐Substituted)‐1,4,5,6‐tetrahydropyrimidines is described. These heterocycles can be synthesized from their respective anilines with 2‐chloro‐2‐imidazoline or 2‐chloro‐1,4,5,6‐tetrahydropyrimidine, generated in situ from imidazolidin‐2‐one and tetrahydropyrimidin‐2(1H)‐one activated by dimethyl chlorophosphate, in good to excellent yields.     

Colorimetric and bare-eye determination of fluoride using gold nanoparticle agglomeration probes

We report on a sensitive detection scheme for fluoride that is based on a quinone-methide-type of rearrangement reaction to trigger a color change among cloaked gold nanoparticle agglomeration probes. Fluoride ions remove silyl moieties from phenol groups on the surface of the probes, and this causes a quinone-methide-type of rearrangement reaction to occur. This is accompanied by the release of a dithiol in a spontaneous and irreversible reaction at room temperature in aqueous medium. The released dithiol causes aggregation of the AuNPs which leads to a color change from pink-red to violet-blue that can easily be seen with bare eyes.. The generation of color by this cascade reactions is only caused by fluoride and not interfered by any other anions. The assay platform developed here offers a sensitive colorimetric assay for fluoride. The lower limit of detection is 120 μM, and the dynamic concentration range is from 120 μM to 1.5 mM.

A Simple Approach for Multi‐fidelity Experimentation Applied to Financial Engineering

In practical applications, information about the accuracy or ‘fidelity’ of alternative surrogate systems may be ambiguous and difficult to determine. To address this problem, we propose to treat surrogate system fidelity level as a categorical factor in optimal response surface design. To design the associated experiments, we apply the Expected Integrated Mean Squared Error optimal design criterion, which takes into account both variance and bias errors. The performance of the proposed design was compared using three test cases to four types of alternatives using the Empirical Integrated Squared Error. Because of its ability to foster relatively accurate predictions, the proposed design is recommended in fidelity experimental design, particularly when the experimenters lack sufficient information about the fidelity levels of surrogate systems. The method was applied to the case of intraday trading optimization in which data were collected from the Taiwan Futures Exchange. We also calculated the implied volatility from the Merton's Jump‐diffusion model via the fast Fourier transform algorithm with three different models of varying fidelity levels. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

One‐Pot Synthesis of Highly Substituted Polyheteroaromatic Compounds by Rhodium(III)‐Catalyzed Multiple C?H Activation and Annulation

A new method for the synthesis of highly substituted naphthyridine‐based polyheteroaromatic compounds in high yields proceeds through rhodium(III)‐catalyzed multiple C H bond cleavage and C C and C N bond formation in a one‐pot process. Such highly substituted polyheteroaromatic compounds have attracted much attention because of their unique π‐conjugation, which make them suitable materials for organic semiconductors and luminescent materials. Furthermore, a possible mechanism, which involves multiple chelation‐assisted ortho C H activation, alkyne insertion, and reductive elimination, is proposed for this transformation.