Design,Synthesis, and Properties of Substituted Polyacetylenes

This article reviews recent topics on the polymerization of substituted acetylenes, focusing on the synthesis of poly(diphenylacetylenes) and the living polymerization of phenylacetylenes. Diphenylacetylene (DPA) polymerizes with TaCl_s-n-Bu₄Sn to give a polymer which is thermally very stable but insoluble in any solvents. DPAs with various groups (e.g.,p-Me₃Si,m-Me₃Ge, p-t-Bu,and_p-PhO) polymerize similarly. These polymers are soluble and their M¯_w's reach 1 × 10⁶ to 3 × 10⁶. Some of them are more gas-permeable than poly(dimethylsiloxane). Several acetylenes (e.g., ClC -n-C₆H₁₃ and HCUC-t-Bu) have been found to undergo living polymerization with MoOCl₄-n-Bu₄Sn-EtOH. Whereas phenylacetylene (PA) does not polymerize in a living fashion, ortho-substituents in PA more or less suppress termination and chain transfer. PAs with bulky ortho groups (e.g., CF₃ and Me₃Ge) especially undergo virtually ideal living polymerization.     

Effect of pH on Poly(acrylic acid) Solution Polymerization

The free-radical redox-initiated aqueous solution polymerization of fully and partially neutralized acrylic acid was carried out at room temperature under full exposure to air. The effect of neutralization degree on the polymerization rate and product properties was studied. Increasing neutralization of the reaction mixture with sodium hydroxide resulted in greater conversion of acrylic acid to sodium acrylate. The rate of polymerization, determined from a gravimetric off-line water removal technique, was shown to decrease significantly with decreasing degree of neutralization. Molecular weight also decreased with decreasing degree of neutralization. The glass transition temperature and hydrophilicity of the polymer product decreased with increasing degree of neutralization. In-line infrared monitoring was also used to monitor the reaction progress and was shown to be an effective tool for this purpose.     

Ion Pairing Kinetics Does not Necessarily Follow the Eigen-Tamm Mechanism

The most recognized and employed model of the solvation equilibration in the ionic solutions was proposed by Eigen and Tamm, in which there are four major states for an ion pair in the solution： the completely solvated state, 2SIP （double solvent separate ion pair）, SIP （single solvent separate ion pair）, and CIP （contact ion pair）. Eigen and Tamm suggested that the transition from SIP to CIP is always the slowest step during the whole pairing process, due to a high free energy barrier between these two states. We carried out a series of potential of mean force calculations to study the pairing free energy profiles of two sets of model mono- atomic 1：1 ion pairs 2.0：x and x：2.0. For 2.0：x pairs the free energy barrier between the SIP and CIP states is largely reduced due to the salvation shell water structure. For these pairs the SIP to CIP transition is thus not the slowest step in the ion pair formation course. This is a deviation from the Eigen-Tamm model.     

Quasi-classical Trajectory Study of F-I-H20→HF-I-OH Reaction： Influence of Barrier Height,Reactant Rotational Excitation,and Isotopic Substitution

The reaction dynamics of the F＋H20/D20→HF/DF＋OH/OD are investigated on an accurate potential energy surface （PES） using a quasi-classical trajectory method. For both isotopomers, the hydrogen/deuterium abstraction reaction is dominated by a direct rebound mechanism over a very low ＂reactant-like＂ barrier, which leads to a vibrationally hot HF/DF product with an internally cold OH/OD companion. It is shown that the lowered reaction barrier on this PES, as suggested by high-level ab initio calculations, leads to a much better agreement with the experimental reaction cross section, but has little impact on the product state distributions and mode selectivity. Our results further indicate that rotational excitation of the H20 reactant leads to significant enhancement of the reactivity, suggesting a strong coupling with the reaction coordinate.     

钙钛矿型氧化物负载纳米金属催化剂结构的动态调变及其催化氧化CO反应性能

研究了钛酸钡和钛酸钙担载的Ag和Pt纳米催化剂的表面结构随氧化-还原处理过程的动态变化及其对CO完全氧化反应性能的影响.发现氧化物担载的Ag催化剂在氧化处理后其催化活性较还原处理的高; X射线衍射(XRD)和X射线光电子能谱(XPS)表征结果表明,氧化处理能够提高载体表面Ag颗粒的分散度,而还原处理导致Ag颗粒的聚集,从而降低了催化氧化CO反应的活性.氧化-还原处理改变了担载Ag纳米粒子的尺寸并影响其CO氧化反应活性.与此相反,氧化物担载的Pt催化剂在还原处理后所表现出的CO氧化反应活性较氧化处理的高; 对比研究发现,氧化和还原处理后Pt纳米粒子的尺寸基本相同,但是氧化处理的样品中Pt表面物种以氧化态为主,而还原处理后Pt表面物种主要为金属态.Pt纳米粒子表面化学状态随氧化-还原处理的调变是导致表面催化活性差异的主要原因.     

ClF-分子离子的结构与势能函数

采用单、双取代包括三重激发的二次组态相互作用[QCISD(T)]方法和单、双取代包括非迭代三重激发的耦合簇理论[CCSD(T)]方法, 结合相关一致基组aug-cc-pVXZ (X=D, T, Q, 5)对基态³⁵ClF^-和³⁷ClF^- (X²Σ⁺)分子离子进行了结构优化计算. 对CCSD(T)方法的计算结果用四种方法分别外推至基组极限, 得到了体系在基组极限的平衡结构常数. 在CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVXZ (X=D, T, Q, 5)理论水平进行了单点能扫描. 对扫描计算结果进行基组外推并用Murrell-Sorbie 势能函数拟合得到了体系的解析势能函数表达式, 并进一步得到了³⁵ClF^-和³⁷ClF^-的光谱常数. 拟合所得势能曲线准确地再现了其离解能和平衡结构特征. 对ClF 中性自由基采用完全相同的理论方法进行了计算. 所得结果与有关文献中的实验结果符合得很好, 而且在一定程度上证明了将该理论方法应用于ClF^-分子离子的计算是合适而可靠的. ClF 自由基的优化计算结果还被用于计算其电子亲和能.ClF^-的垂直解离能也同时计算得出. 基于ClF^-的结构优化和单点能扫描计算结果, 通过求解核运动的径向薛定谔方程, 得到了无转动³⁵ClF^-和³⁷ClF^-(X²Σ⁺)的全部振动态及相应的分子常数.     

Substituent effects on the redox potentials of dihydroxybenzenes: theoretical and experimental study

The redox reactions of p-hydroquinone and pyrocatechol undergo a two-proton-two-electron process in aqueous solution. We calculated their redox potentials at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level, and verified the values by employing cyclic voltammetry experiments. Then we selected seven substituent groups (–F, –Cl, –OH, –COOH, –CN, –NH₂, and –NO₂ groups) to systematically investigate the substituent effect, including the sort, position, and number of the substituent, on the redox potentials of p-hydroquinone and pyrocatechol. The calculated results show that –NH₂ and –OH groups can decrease the redox potentials, while –F, –Cl, –COOH, –CN, and –NO₂ groups increase the potential values of p-hydroquinone and pyrocatechol. The calculations can accurately predict the substituent effects on the redox potentials of pyrocatechol and p-hydroquinone. We would expect that the accurate calculation results for the model systems could be applied in the prediction of electrode potentials of other molecules.     

An efficient synthesis of 3-(N-piperidinemethyl)-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-1-oxy-3-pyrroline,a promising radioprotector for cancer radiotherapy

Nitroxides can ameliorate the toxic effects of radiation during cancer therapy. Nitroxides are paramagnetic and can be used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electron paramagnetic resonance imaging (EPRI) to monitor in vivo oxidative stress status. Compound 5 (3-(N-piperidinemethyl)-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-1-oxy-3-pyrroline) was found to be the most effective nitroxide radioprotector. An efficient synthesis for this promising radioprotector was developed.     

Cathode catalysts degradation mechanism from liquid electrolyte to membrane electrode assembly

Single-cell and half-cell degradation test procedures were evaluated for carbon-supported Pt/C, PtCo/C and PtNi/C catalysts. Half-cell analyses were employed to understand the effect of the number of cycles and of the scan rate over the cathode catalysts degradation under potential cycling from 0.6 to 1.2 V. The data suggested a time-dependent degradation for all three catalytic systems. Single-cell measurements were used to evaluate the impact of catalyst degradation on fuel cell performance. The measurements in both setups showed similar ECSA and ORR mass activity losses. Specific degradation mechanisms related to Pt dissolution, Pt agglomeration, and transitional metal leaching were quantified and correlated with performance losses.     

Theoretical Investigations on Photodissociation Dynamics of Deuterated Alkyl Halides CD3CH2F

The product branching ratio between different products in multichannel reactions is as important as the overall rate of reaction, both in terms of practical applications (\emph{e.g}. models of combustion or atmosphere chemistry) in understanding the fundamental mechanisms of such chemical reactions. A global ground state potential energy surface for the dissociation reaction of deuterated alkyl halide CD\begin{document}$ _3 $\end{document}CH\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}F was computed at the CCSD(T)/CBS//B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ level of theory for all species. The decomposition of CD\begin{document}$ _3 $\end{document}CH\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}F is controversial concerning C\begin{document}$ - $\end{document}F bond dissociation reaction and molecular (HF, DF, H\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}, D\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}, HD) elimination reaction. Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) calculations were applied to compute the rate constants for individual reaction steps and the relative product branching ratios for the dissociation products were calculated using the steady-state approach. At the different energies studied, the RRKM method predicts that the main channel for DF or HF elimination from 1, 2-elimination of CD\begin{document}$ _3 $\end{document}CH\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}F is through a four-center transition state, whereas D\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document} or H\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document} elimination from 1, 1-elimination of CD\begin{document}$ _3 $\end{document}CH\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}F occurs through a direct three-center elimination. At 266, 248, and 193 nm photodissociation, the main product CD\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}CH\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}+DF branching ratios are computed to be 96.57%, 91.47%, and 48.52%, respectively; however, at 157 nm photodissociation, the product branching ratio is computed to be 16.11%. Based on these transition state structures and energies, the following photodissociation mechanisms are suggested: at 266, 248, 193 nm, CD\begin{document}$ _3 $\end{document}CH\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}F\begin{document}$ \rightarrow $\end{document}absorption of a photon\begin{document}$ \rightarrow $\end{document}TS5\begin{document}$ \rightarrow $\end{document}the formation of the major product CD\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}CH\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}+DF; at 157 nm, CD\begin{document}$ _3 $\end{document}CH\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}F\begin{document}$ \rightarrow $\end{document}absorption of a photon\begin{document}$ \rightarrow $\end{document}D/F interchange of TS1\begin{document}$ \rightarrow $\end{document}CDH\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}CDF\begin{document}$ \rightarrow $\end{document}H/F interchange of TS2\begin{document}$ \rightarrow $\end{document}CHD\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}CHDF\begin{document}$ \rightarrow $\end{document}the formation of the major product CHD\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}+CHDF.