Asymmetric hydrogenation of aryl ketones mediated by a copper catalyst

[reaction: see text] A novel asymmetric hydrogenation protocol using a copper catalyst is reported. A Cu(I) complex in the presence of nonracemic BDPP hydrogenates aryl ketones with moderate to high enantioselectivity.     

Regioselective synthesis of 5-unsubstituted benzyl pyrrole-2-carboxylates from benzyl isocyanoacetate

A general synthesis of 5-unsubstituted benzyl pyrrole-2-carboxylates was developed based on the reaction of β-nitroacetates with benzyl isocyanoacetate. The advantage of this route over other pyrrole syntheses was the regiochemical control of the substitution pattern on the pyrrole ring.     

Characteristics of Diffraction Gratings Fabricated by the Two-Beam Interference Method Using Photosensitive Hybrid Gel Films

Diffraction gratings of arbitrary periods have been fabricated by the two-beam interference method using photosensitive ZrO₂ gel films and characterized. The ZrO₂ gel films were formed on Si or silica glass substrates from sols that were derived from Zr-butoxide modified chemically with benzoylacetone. The gel films were irradiated with two interference beams from a He-Cd laser (325 nm) and then leached in ethyl alcohol. The above process gave uniform surface-relief gratings of periods ranging from 1.0 to 0.5 m, depending on the incidence angle of the interference beams. The diffraction efficiency, measured in the Littrow configuration using a He-Ne laser (633 nm), showed polarization dependence for the grating of 0.5 m period but not for the gratings of 1.0 m period. The maximum diffraction efficiency was 18% for the grating of 1.0 m period and 28% for that of 0.5 m period in the reflection mode. The present study has proved that the photosensitive gel films are versatile in fabrication of optical devices.     

Long-lived and temperature-independent emission from a novel ruthenium(II) complex having an arylborane charge-transfer unit

We report the redox, absorption, and emission characteristics of the tris(1,10-phenanthroline)ruthenium(II) complexes [Ru(phen)(3)](2+) bearing a (dimesityl)boryldurylethynyl (DBDE) charge-transfer (CT) unit at the 4 (4BRu(2+)) or 5 (5BRu(2+)) position of one of the three phen ligands. In acetonitrile at 298 K, 4BRu(2+) showed absorption and emission maximum wavelengths at 473 and 681 nm, respectively, which were shifted to longer wavelengths by 25 and 74 nm, respectively, compared with the relevant value of 5BRu(2+), 448 and 607 nm, respectively. The effects of a fluoride ion on the absorption and emission spectra of the complexes demonstrated that the CT interaction between the π-electron system in the phen ligand (π(aryl)) and the vacant p orbital on the boron atom (p(B)) in the DBDE group (i.e., π(aryl)-p(B) CT) participated in the excited states of the complexes in addition to the Ru(II)-to-phen metal-to-ligand CT (MLCT) interaction. Reflecting such synergistic MLCT/π(aryl)-p(B) CT, both 4BRu(2+) and 5BRu(2+) exhibited intense emission at 298 K with a quantum yield of 0.11. Furthermore, the emission lifetime of 4BRu(2+) was as long as 12 μs and almost independent of the temperature (T = 280-330 K). The present study indicated that the nonemissive dd excited triplet state did not participate to nonradiative decay in the MLCT excited triplet state of 4BRu(2+). The effects of the synergistic MLCT/π(aryl)-p(B) CT interactions on the redox, absorption/emission, and photophysical characteristics of 4BRu(2+) and 5BRu(2+) are discussed in detail.     

Synthesis of β-mercuri ketones by the reaction of siloxycyclopropanes with mercuric acetate and their conversion to α-methylene ketones and γ-ketoesters

Siloxycyclopropanes were quantitatively converted to β-acetoxymercuri ketones by the reaction with mercuric acetate. Successive treatment with palladium chloride or palladium chloride/carbon monoxide gave α-methylene ketones or γ-ketoesters, respectively, in good yields.     

Effect of molecular weight on microcrystalline structure formation in polymer with perylenediimide side chain

The effect of molecular weight on the molecular aggregation structure of polymers bearing a pendant perylenediimide (PDI) side chain, designated PAc12PDI, was investigated using synchrotron radiation X‐ray diffraction measurements. It was found that depending on molecular weight, either the main chain axis or the side chain axis behaves as the longitudinal axis in fiber samples and was aligned parallel to the fiber axis. A similar phenomenon is present in thin film samples, but was complicated by the additional influence of the interfacial free energy of the side chain group. Even in the case of the polymer with lower molecular weight, the face plane of PDI was found to show both parallel and perpendicular orientations to the substrate (i.e., flat‐on and edge‐on orientations). On the other hand, if the length of the main chain is sufficiently long with respect to the length of the side chain, the face plane of PDI was oriented perpendicular to the substrate, leading to an edge‐on orientation in the thin film. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 2275–2283     

Rate amplification of the two photon emission from para-hydrogen toward the neutrino mass measurement

We recently reported an experiment which focused on demonstrating the macro-coherent amplification mechanism. This mechanism, which was proposed for neutrino mass measurements, indicates that a multi-particle emission rate should be amplified by coherence in a suitable medium. Using a para-hydrogen molecule gas target and the adiabatic Raman excitation method, we observed that the two photon emission rate was amplified by a factor of more than 10¹⁵ from the spontaneous emission rate. This paper briefly summarizes the previous experimental result and presents the current status and the future prospect.