Novel Copolymers of Styrene and Halogen Ring‐Disubstituted 2‐Cyano‐N,N‐Dimethyl‐3‐Phenyl‐2‐Propenamides

Electrophilic trisubstituted ethylene monomers, halogen ring‐disubstituted 2‐cyano‐N,N‐dimethyl‐3‐phenyl‐2‐propenamides, RC₆H₃CH?C(CN)CON(CH₃)₂ (where R is 2,3‐dichloro, 2,4‐dichloro, 2,6‐dichloro, 3,4‐dichloro, 3,5‐dichloro, 2,3‐difluoro, 2,4‐difluoro, 2,6‐difluoro, 3,4‐difluoro, 3,5‐difluoro), were synthesized by potassium hydroxide catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation of ring‐substituted benzaldehydes and N,N‐dimethyl cyanoacetamide, and characterized by CHN elemental analysis, IR, ¹H‐ and ¹³C‐NMR. Novel copolymers of the ethylenes and styrene were prepared at equimolar monomer feed composition by solution copolymerization in the presence of a radical initiator, ABCN at 70°C. The composition of the copolymers was calculated from nitrogen analysis, and the structures were analyzed by IR, ¹H and ¹³C NMR, GPC, DSC, and TGA. High T_g of the copolymers in comparison with that of polystyrene indicates a substantial decrease in chain mobility of the copolymer due to the high dipolar character of the trisubstituted ethylene monomer unit. The gravimetric analysis indicated that the copolymers decompose in the 300–450°C range.     

Synthesis of Conjugated Optically Active Polymetallocenes

The development of methodology for synthesizing new materials in which metal atoms are linked by hydrocarbons whose electronic conjugation is unbroken is described. The fundamental idea is to twist the hydrocarbons into helices. By attaching bulky groups to their precursors, the helices can be made to twist mainly in one direction. The molecules synthesized are helicenes capped by five-membered rings to which metals are attached. If the size of the helix is chosen appropriately, a polymeric structure forms in which hydrocarbon rings and metal atoms alternate. An oligomer with Structure 22 is the first such material prepared. It and related structures might be precursors of molecular solenoids, examples of which are not yet known.     

Nanoalloy Based on Clays: Intercalated‐Exfoliated Layered Silicate in High Performance Elastomer

A novel method is described for the preparation of nanocomposites comprising a high performance rubber for tire application and layered silicates clay. In this work nanocomposites of solution‐styrene butadiene rubber (S‐SBR) with montmorillonite layered silicate were prepared with carboxylated nitrile rubber (XNBR), a polar rubber, as a compatibilizer. A sufficient amount of organomodified layered silicate was loaded in carboxylated nitrile rubber (XNBR) and this compound was blended as a master batch in the S‐SBR. Mixed intercalated/exfoliated morphologies in the nanocomposite are evinced by X‐ray diffraction measurements and transmission electron microscopy. Dynamic mechanical analysis also supports the compatibility of the composites. A good dispersion of the layered silicate in the S‐SBR matrix was reflected from the physical properties of the nanocomposites, especially in terms of tensile strength and high elongation properties.     

Influence of Monomer and Initiator Concentrations on the Simultaneous Grafting of Several Monomers onto Insoluble Collagen

Simultaneous grafting of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and methyl methacrylate (3:1 and 3:2 mole ratios) onto insoluble collagen with ceric ammonium nitrate as initiator was attempted with a view to optimizing conditions for the preparation of hydrogels. The influence of monomer and initiator concentrations on the grafting reactions was investigated. The grafting results are discussed in the light of grafting efficiency and percentage of grafting. They were found to be lower when the 3:1 mole ratio of monomers was used.     

Synthesis,photophysical and NMR evaluations of thiourea-based anion receptors possessing an acetamide moiety

The synthesis and photophysical evaluation of three diaryl thiourea-based anion receptors (4–6) for comparison with their urea counterparts (1–3) is outlined. These anion receptors posses an acetamide functionality on one of the aryl groups and an electron-withdrawing CF₃ group on the other. By varying the position of the acetamide group, in the o-, m- and p-positions of 4–6, respectively, the anion binding ability was both tuneable and found to be, in some cases, significantly different from that seen for the urea analogues 1–3. The binding affinities of the receptors 4–6, as well as the binding stoichiometries, were evaluated using UV–vis absorption spectroscopy in MeCN. However, these receptors were not sufficiently emissive to quantify the anion recognition using fluorescence. The results confirmed strong binding of these receptors to anions such as fluoride, acetate, phosphate, pyrophosphate and chloride. Nevertheless, the overall results obtained did not conform to the anticipated trends seen for 1–3, which is most likely due to the enhanced binding affinity of the thiourea analogues 4–6. The binding interactions were also investigated by using ¹H NMR which confirmed that these receptors interacted with the anions in a stepwise manner, where the primary anion binding interaction occurred at the thiourea side, which led to an activation of the acetamide moiety towards the second anion binding interaction, an example of an allosteric activation mode.     

Lipases,liposomes and lipid-prodrugs

Colloidal and interfacial phenomena lie at the core of drug formulation, drug delivery, as well as drug binding and action at diseased sites, e.g., in cancer therapy. We review a class of liposome-based drug-delivery systems whose design and functional properties are intimately controlled by the stability of sub-micron structures, lipid-bilayer interfaces, and interfacially activated enzymes that can be exploited to target and deliver drugs. Moreover these drugs can themselves be special lipid molecules in the form of lipid prodrugs that both form the liposomal carrier as well as the substrate for endogenously upregulated lipases that turn the prodrugs into potent drugs precisely at the diseased site.     

CoFe2O4/SiO2 nanocomposites by thermal decomposition of some complex combinations embedded in hybrid silica gels

The study reports the preparation of CoFe₂O₄/SiO₂ nanocomposites by a new modified sol–gel method starting from cobalt nitrate, iron nitrate, and diols: 1,2-ethanediol (EG), 1,3-propanediol (1,3PG), and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), for final compositions of 30 %CoFe₂O₄/70 %SiO₂ and 50 %CoFe₂O₄/50 %SiO₂. The method is based on the formation of a Co(II), Fe(III)—carboxylate precursors mixture, during the redox reaction between the NO ₃ ^? ion and the diol (~140 °C) within the silica gels. The thermal decomposition of these complex combinations takes place at ~300 °C leading to the corresponding amorphous metal oxides within the pores of the hybrid gels. Depending on the subsequent thermal treatment, CoFe₂O₄ can be obtained as single phase or in a mixture with Co₂SiO₄. The CoFe₂O₄ crystallites sizes are in the nanometer range (3–10 nm). The obtained nanocomposites have a hard magnet behavior, as a result of the high anisotropy of CoFe₂O₄ having large hysteresis cycles.     

In situ monitoring of electrostriction in anodic and thermal silicon dioxide thin films

Stresses due to electric fields in thermal and anodic silica thin layers can impact the devices using these films as dielectrics. Accurately quantifying the internal stress as a function of the electric field is thus of technological importance. In this work, electrostrictive stresses are monitored during cyclic polarization of silica thin films on silicon and during the growth of anodic silica. These are obtained by combining curvature and ellipsometry measurements in situ. In silica films grown by thermal oxidation of silicon, the electric field can generate either tensile or compressive stresses depending on its magnitude and on the silica polarization history. The electromechanical coupling in thermal silica is assumed to be controlled by a reversible change of the dipole organization. For anodic silica films, the stress generated by the electric field is tensile and varies linearly with the square of the electric field above 0.26 V²/nm² under both cyclic polarization and oxidation conditions.     

Stabilization of Large Adsorbates by Rotational Entropy: A Time‐Resolved Variable‐Temperature STM Study

Investigating the dynamics in an adlayer of the oligopyridine derivative 2‐phenyl‐4,6‐bis(6‐(pyridine‐2‐yl)‐4‐(pyridine‐4‐yl)pyridine‐2‐yl)pyrimidine (2,4′‐BTP) on Ag(111) by fast scanning tunneling microscopy (video‐STM), we found that rotating 2,4′‐BTP adsorbates coexist in a two‐dimensional (2D) liquid phase (β‐phase) in a dynamic equilibrium with static adsorbate molecules. Furthermore, exchange between an ordered phase (α‐phase) and β‐phase leads to fluctuations of the domain boundary on a time scale of seconds. Quantitative evaluation of the temperature‐dependent equilibrium between rotating and static adsorbates, evaluated from a large number of STM images, gains insight into energetic and entropic stabilization and underlines that the rotating adsorbate molecules are stabilized by an entropy contribution, which is compatible with that derived by using statistical mechanics. The general validity of the concept of entropic stabilization of rotating admolecules, favoring rotation already at room temperature, is tested for other typical small, mid‐size and large adsorbates.