Direct Synthesis of Chiral 3‐Arylsuccinimides by Rhodium‐Catalyzed Enantioselective Conjugate Addition of Arylboronic Acids to Maleimides

Chiral rhodium catalysts comprising 2,5‐diaryl‐ substituted bicyclo[2.2.1]diene ligands L1 – L10 were utilized in the enantioselective 1,4‐addition reaction of arylboronic acids to N‐substituted maleimides. In the presence of 2.5 mol % of Rh^I/ L2 , enantioenriched conjugate addition adducts were isolated in 72–99 % yields with 86–98 % ee. This protocol offers a convenient method to access a variety of 3‐arylsuccinimides in a highly enantioselective manner. Maleimides with readily cleavable N‐protecting groups were tolerated enabling the synthesis of useful synthetic intermediates. Pyrrolidine 4 , a biologically active compound, and pyrrolidine 5 , an ent‐precursor to an HSD‐1 inhibitor, were synthesized to demonstrate the utility of this method.     

Electro‐Optic (E‐O) Molecular Glasses

This Focus Review describes molecular glasses as a new class of materials for nonlinear optical (NLO) applications, especially for electro‐optic (E‐O) devices. Examples of E‐O molecular glasses are reviewed with a focus on the molecular design of NLO chromophores and solid‐state engineering of molecular glasses. Molecular glasses based on dendrimers of multiple chromophores, molecular glass blends of chromophores, and molecular glasses based on reversible self‐assembly of chromophores are introduced as promising architectures to prepare morphologically stable molecular glasses with large E‐O activities and improved material properties for device applications. Future directions to fully exploit the potential of molecular glasses for NLO materials are presented.     

The detection of formaldehyde in textiles using interdigitated microelectrode array diffusion layer titration with electrogenerated hypobromite

An interdigitated microelectrode array (IDA) was applied to the determination of formaldehyde released from textiles produced in industry. The proposed method is based on formaldehyde reaction with hypobromite which is formed in weakly basic media by control current electrooxidation of bromide on the generator segment of the IDA array. The unreacted hypobromite diffuses through the gap between individually polarisable IDA segments and it is amperometrically detected on the collector segment of the IDA. The efficiency of this nonconvective transfer process in the absence of formaldehyde was substantially higher (78%) in comparison with that when using the rotating ring disc electrode. The influence of the added formaldehyde on the transfer process can be utilised to develop a simple and sensitive analytical procedure for formaldehyde detection with a detection limit of 4×10⁻⁶ mol dm⁻³.     

Modulation of the polarization state of light using a weak anisotropic thin film

The polarization state of light is modulated by an anisotropic thin film. An anisotropic MgF(2) film is deposited onto a plate that is put in contact with a BK7 prism to form a BK7 prism/film/air configuration. It is shown that the polarization state of reflected light can be easily modulated from a linear state to a circular state by rotating the thin-film plate.     

A video technique for obtaining corrected true compressive stress

A modification of the method of Watts and Ford is presented, which, when combined with the utilization of a video camera, allows standard compression tests to yield reliable true compressive stress versus strain data. The video images permit diameter measurements to an uncertainty of less than one percent. If radial asymmetries are minimized by proper consideration of end effects, area uncertainties of less than two percent can be achieved. Furthermore, if replicated experiments and statistical calculations are used at each step in the data reduction, one can determine the maximum uncertainty associated with the final true stress versus strain data.     

Fatigue damage in centrally notched GR/EP laminates

The fatigue properties of graphite/epoxy (Gr/Ep) T300/5208 composite laminates of 16 plies with a central circular hole subjected to tension-tension (T-T) constant-stress amplitudes at room temperature and low humidity have been fully investigated. Studied are four types of notched laminates which are classified as unidirectional, off-axis, orthotropic shear and quasi-isotropic. Some of them were precracked to initiate and guide the crack growth transversely. Our work is experimental and the analysis is based on a semiempirical approach. We have experimentally measured S-N curves, failure surfaces, crack lengths and their corresponding growth directions, delamination areas and transverse delamination lengths for the above series of composites. The fatigue failure mechanism was observed and expressed schematically. To analyze the experimental results, we have categorized the S-N curves by three common equations. The effective transverse crack length of quasi-isotropic laminates was found to be independent of the applied stress. For simplicity, it was modeled by a power law of applied cycles. It was also found that the delamination area could be expressed by a power law of applied cycles. Hence, the so-called modified Paris law, i.e., the power law of cycles, proposed here has been verified as satisfactorily acceptable.     

Automatic grid generation of complex geometries in Cartesian co-ordinates

A method of automatic grid generation for complex boundaries in Cartesian co-ordinates is proposed in this paper. In addition to the Cartesian grid lines the diagonal segments are used for the approximations of complex geometries in Cartesian co-ordinates. A structured Cartesian grid is employed for the sake of the numerical simplicity and the potential of automatic grid generation. The automatic grid generation is achieved by this diagonal Cartesian method and the accuracy estimations of geometry approximations are given. The approximations of a few complex geometries, such as the multibody system in porous media, lake banks, grooved channels and spheres are shown and analyzed. The proposed method is verified by the numerical solutions of a rotated cavity flow. It is shown that the diagonal Cartesian method improves both the accuracy of geometry approximations and the numerical solution of a rotated cavity flow, comparing with the traditional saw-tooth method in which only Cartesian grid lines are utilized for geometry approximations. The stability and convergence of the proposed method is demonstrated. Finally, the application of the diagonal Cartesian method for the prediction of a grooved channel flow is presented. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.