Click chemistry in materials synthesis. III. Metal‐adhesive polymers from Cu(I)‐catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition

1,2,3‐Triazole‐based polymers generated from the Cu(I)‐catalyzed cycloaddition between multivalent azides and acetylenes are effective adhesive materials for metal surfaces. The adhesive capacities of candidate mixtures of azide and alkyne components were measured by a modified peel test, using a customized adhesive tester. A particularly effective tetravalent alkyne and trivalent azide combination was identified, giving exceptional strength that matches or exceeds the best commercial formulations. The addition of Cu catalyst was found to be important for the synthesis of stronger adhesive polymers when cured at room temperature. Heating also accelerated curing rates, but the maximum adhesive strengths achieved at both room temperature and high temperature were the same, suggesting that crosslinking reaches the same advanced point in all cases. Polytriazoles also form adhesives to aluminum, but copper is bound more effectively, presumably because active Cu(I) ions may be leached from the surface to promote crosslinking and adhesion. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 5182–5189, 2007     

Deactivation reactions in the modeled 2,2,6,6‐tetramethyl‐1‐piperidinyloxy‐mediated free‐radical polymerization of styrene: A comparative study with the 2,2,6,6‐tetramethyl‐1‐piperidinyloxy/acrylonitrile system

The competitiveness of the combination and disproportionation reactions between a 1‐phenylpropyl radical, standing for a growing polystyryl macroradical, and a 2,2,6,6‐tetramethyl‐1‐piperidinyloxy (TEMPO) radical in the nitroxide‐mediated free‐radical polymerization of styrene was quantitatively evaluated by the study of the transition geometry and the potential energy profiles for the competing reactions with the use of quantum‐mechanical calculations at the density functional theory (DFT) UB3‐LYP/6‐311+G(3df, 2p)//(unrestricted) Austin Model 1 level of theory. The search for transition geometries resulted in six and two transition structures for the radical combination and disproportionation reactions, respectively. The former transition structures, mainly differing in the out‐of‐plane angle of the N? O bond in the transition structure TEMPO molecule, were correlated with the activation energy, which was determined to be in the range of 8.4–19.4 kcal mol^?1 from a single‐point calculation at the DFT UB3‐LYP/6‐311+G(3df, 2p)//unrestricted Austin Model 1 level. The calculated activation energy for the disproportionation reaction was less favorable by a value of more than 30 kcal mol^?1 in comparison with that for the combination reaction. The approximate barrier difference for the TEMPO addition and disproportionation reaction was slightly smaller for the styrene polymerization system than for the acrylonitrile polymerization system, thus indicating that a β‐proton abstraction through a TEMPO radical from the polymer backbone could diminish control over the radical polymerization of styrene with the nitroxide even more than in the latter system. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 232–241, 2007     

Nanostructured polymetallaynes of controlled length: Synthesis and characterization of oligomers and polymers from 1,1′‐bis‐(ethynyl)4,4′‐biphenyl bridging Pt(II) or Pd(II) centers

The reactivity of square planar palladium(II) and platinum(II) complexes in trans or cis configuration, namely trans or cis‐[dichlorobis(tributylphosphine)platinum(II)] and trans‐[dichlorobis(tributylphosphine)palladium(II)] with 1,1′‐bis(ethynyl) 4,4′‐biphenyl, DEBP, leading to π‐conjugated organometallic oligomeric and polymeric metallaynes, was investigated by a systematic variation of the reaction conditions. The formation of polymers and oligomers with defined chain length [? M(PBu₃)₂ (C?C? C₆H₄? C₆H₄? C?C? )]_n (n = 3–10 for the oligomers, n = 20–50 for the polymers) depends on the configuration of the precursor Pt(II) and Pd(II) complexes, the presence/absence of the catalyst CuI, and the reaction time. A series of model reactions monitored by XPS, GPC, and NMR ³¹P spectroscopy showed the route to modulate the chain growth. As expected, the nature of the transition metal (Pt or Pd) and the molecular weight of the polymers markedly influence the photophysical characteristics of the polymetallaynes, such as optical absorption and emission behavior. Polymetallaynes with nanostructured morphology could be obtained by a simple casting procedure of polymer solutions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3311–3329, 2007     

Synthesis and characterization of a novel nano-scale magnetic solid base catalyst involving a layered double hydroxide supported on a ferrite core

A nano-scale magnetic solid base catalyst MgAl-OH-LDH/MgFe₂O₄ (where LDH denotes layered double hydroxide) composed of MgAl-OH-LDH Brønsted base catalytic layers coated on MgFe₂O₄ spinel cores has been prepared. A magnetic precursor MgAl-CO₃-LDH/MgFe₂O₄ was prepared by a method involving separate nucleation and aging steps, and subsequently calcined to give a mixed metal oxide composite MgAl(O)/MgFe₂O₄ which was rehydrated to give MgAl-OH-LDH/MgFe₂O₄. The structure and magnetic properties of the nano-scale magnetic solid base MgAl-OH-LDH/MgFe₂O₄, together with those of the magnetic precursor MgAl-CO₃-LDH/MgFe₂O₄ and MgFe₂O₄ were characterized by XRD, XPS, low temperature N₂ adsorption and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The MgAl-OH-LDH/MgFe₂O₄ composite possesses a mesoporous structure with pore size ranging from 2 to 20 nm with particle size mainly in the range 35-130 nm. The catalytic properties of MgAl-OH-LDH/MgFe₂O₄ were evaluated using the self-condensation of acetone at 273 K as a probe reaction. The results showed that the conversion of acetone to diacetone alcohol reached the thermodynamic equilibrium value of 23% at 273 K. The catalyst was easily recovered through application of an external magnetic field, and when the reclaimed catalyst was used in a second run for the same reaction, the reactivity remained unchanged.     

Volume Chemistry of Nitrogen in Binary Metal Nitrides and Subnitrides

A comparison of the concept of volume increments created by W. Biltz with that based on quantum mechanical calculations by R.F.W. Bader was performed for crystal structures of binary metal nitrides and ‐subnitrides. The mutual comparison of both concepts permits insights into the bonding relationships of these compounds and reveals the considerable range of volume demand of a strongly polarisable bonding partner, such as the nitride ion. Finally it becomes clear that the Biltz volume increments show a quantum‐chemical relevance in the chemistry of solids.     

NMR studies on a palladium(II) complex containing an incompletely coordinated facultative pentadentate Schiff base ligand

Palladium(II) dichloride reacts with 1,10‐bis(2‐pyrrolyl)‐2,5,9‐triaza‐1,9‐decadiene to give a [Pd(C₁₅H₂₀N₅)]Cl complex in which the ligand is four‐coordinated, leaving one pyrrole group dangling. By using COSY, gHSQC, gHMBC connectivities and NOE experiments it has been concluded that one linkage isomer exists in DMSO solution, in spite of the fact that different sets of N atoms of potentially pentadentate ligand might be involved in coordination, and that the three chelate rings in the complex cation are arranged in a sequence: five‐membered, six‐membered, five‐membered which is different from that (5–5–6) found by x‐ray studies on the related [Ni(C₁₅H₂₀N₅)]Cl compound. NMR studies allowed an unambiguous assignment of all ¹H and ¹³C NMR resonances for the complex. Results of x‐ray structural analysis of [Pd(C₁₅H₂₀N₅)](CH₃COO)H₂O supported the five‐membered, six‐membered, five‐membered ring sequence in the [Pd(C₁₅H₂₀N₅)]⁺ complex cation and show an E (trans) orientation of the dangling pyrrole group with respect to the metal center. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Metallo‐supramolecular micelles: Studies by analytical ultracentrifugation and electron microscopy

In aqueous solutions, amphiphilic block copolymers in which a polystyrene (PS) segment is connected to a poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) block via a bis(2,2′:6′,2″‐ terpyridine ruthenium) complex can form micelles. Such micelles of the protomer type PS₂₀‐[Ru]‐PEO₇₀, according to the preparation procedure representing frozen micelles, were studied by sedimentation velocity and sedimentation equilibrium analysis in an analytical ultracentrifuge and by transmission electron microscopy, with different techniques applied for the sample preparation. The particles obtained were surprisingly multifarious in size. In ultracentrifugation experiments performed at relatively low salt concentrations, the distributions of the sedimentation coefficient s_20,w showed a pronounced peak at 9.6 S and a broad, only partly separated second peak around 14 S. The molar mass of the particles at the peak was around 430,000 g/mol, corresponding to an aggregation number of approximately 85. The average hydrodynamic diameter of the particles in the peak fraction was approximately 13 nm. In electron micrographs of negatively stained samples, spheres of diameters between 10 and 25 nm were the most abundant particles, but larger ones with a wide size range were also visible. The latter particles apparently were composed of smaller ones. The data from both sedimentation analysis and electron microscopy showed that (1) the studied compound formed primary micelles of diameters around 20 nm and (2) the primary micelles had a tendency toward aggregation. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 3159–3168, 2003