Cubic Mesophase in an Unsymmetrical Alkyl Ammonium Salt. Synthesis and Structural Model

N,N,N‐butylethylpentylpropylammonium iodide 4 and related molecules have been selectively synthesised from commercially available aldehydes, amines and alkyl iodides using a reductive alkylation procedure. The crystalline texture of 4 obtained on cooling is optically isotropic between crossed polarisers, indicating a cubic structure. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC, +10 K min^?1) reveals a glass phase transition at ?59 °C and a melting point at 192 °C. The melting entropy (23.9 J mol^?1 K^?1) indicates a first‐order transition between a highly disordered mesophase and the isotropic liquid. Powder X‐ray diffraction patterns were indexed in the cubic system (a=14.08Å; Pm n space group). In this cell, the molecular packing with Z=6 corresponds to a rather low compactness of 65 %. Iodine and tetraalkylammonium ions occupy positions with a m2 site symmetry. These highly symmetrical states may be generated by stepwise rotation of the ammonium cation. The same structural model for orientationally disordered crystal (ODIC) phases can be applied to a series of tetraalkylammonium bromides and iodides.     

Kinetic versus thermodynamic control during the formation of [2]rotaxanes by a dynamic template-directed clipping process

A template-directed dynamic clipping procedure has generated a library of nine [2]rotaxanes that have been formed from three dialkylammonium salts-acting as the dumbbell-shaped components-and three dynamic, imino bond-containing, [24]crown-8-like macrocycles-acting as the ring-shaped components-which are themselves assembled from three dialdehydes and one diamine. The rates of formation of these [2]rotaxanes differ dramatically, from minutes to days depending on the choice of dialkylammonium ion and dialdehyde, as do their thermodynamic stabilities. Generally, [2]rotaxanes formed by using 2,6-diformylpyridine as the dialdehyde component, or bis(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzyl)ammonium hexafluorophosphate as the dumbbell-shaped component, assembled the most rapidly. Those rotaxanes containing this particular electron-deficient dumbbell-shaped unit, or 2,5-diformylfuran units in the macroring, were the most stable thermodynamically. The relative thermodynamic stabilities of all nine of the [2]rotaxanes were determined by competition experiments that were monitored by (1)H NMR spectroscopy.     

Pore size distributions in low‐k dielectric thin films from X‐ray porosimetry

X‐ray reflectivity has been used to determine the mass uptake of probe molecules in porous thin films supported on thick silicon wafers. The adsorption occurs by capillary condensation when the films are exposed to probe vapor at controlled partial vapor pressures. The probe solvent partial pressure was varied by mixing saturated air and dry air at constant temperature or by changing sample temperature at a constant vapor concentration. Pore size distribution in the films can be calculated from the probe uptake with typical porosimetric approaches such as the application of the Kelvin equation to convert partial pressure into pore size. For illustration, the pore size distribution of three different nanoporous thin films, the primary candidate of ultra‐low‐k interlevel dielectrics in the next generation of integrated circuit chips, was determined with this technique. These samples represent different generations of low‐k dielectrics developed by industry. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 2170–2177, 2002     

Fabrication of Poly(allylamine)ferrocene Monolayer Based on Electrostatic Interaction and Its Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Ascorbic Acid

A poly(allylamine)ferrocene monolayer was built on the surface of gold electrode modified with negatively charged alkanethiol based on electrostatic interaction. The electrochemical behavior of the modified electrode was characterized by cyclic voltammetry in detail. The modified electrode was shown to exhibit excellent electrocatalytic response to the oxidation of ascorbic acid. The anodic overpotential was reduced by about 170 mV compared with that obtained at a bare gold electrode. The modified electrode possesses several attractive features, such as simple preparation, fast response and good chemical and mechanical stability.     

Deposition and characterization of Langmuir‐Blodgett films of cadmium arachidate/SWCNTs composites

The incorporation of single‐wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in cadmium arachidate film by means of the Langmuir‐Blodgett (LB) technique was investigated as a function of arachidic acid/SWCNT mass ratio at the air/water interface and in Langmuir‐Blodgett films. The behaviour at the air/water interface shows that SWCNTs act as an independent phase with respect to the cadmium arachidate. Deposition conditions are optimized when the weight ratio between the arachidic acid (AA) and SWCNTs is in the range 0.018:1 to 1:1. The general order of the LB multilayered structure was destroyed by the progressive density increase in SWCNT quantity as evidenced by X‐ray reflectivity (XRR) analysis. Scanning electron microscopy images indicated that when a multilayered structure was formed its layers consisted of SWCNT bundles stacked one over the other. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of delayed linear electrical perturbation of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction: a case of complex mixed mode oscillations in a batch reactor

Delayed feedbacks are quite common in many physical and biological systems and in particular many physiological systems. Delay can cause a stable system to become unstable and vice versa. One of the well-studied non-biological chemical oscillators is the Belousov-Zhabotinskii (BZ) reaction. This gives relaxation oscillations for a considerable period of time under batch conditions. This paper deals with the effect of perturbing the limit cycle oscillation of BZ reaction by employing a delayed electrical feedback to the system under batch conditions. The parameters chosen to study are external resistance and delay. For various resistances and delays the system was electrically perturbed and found to exhibit various complex mixed mode oscillations. The dynamic features are accounted for by the Oregonator model, with time delay incorporated in one of the variables. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Zur Elektronenstruktur metallorganischer Komplexe der f‐Elemente. 64 Äußert sich die zwitterionische Natur des Triphenylphosphanoxid‐Liganden auch in seinen spektrochemischen Eigenschaften?

Electronic Structures of Organometallic Compounds of f Elements. 64 Does the Zwitterionic Nature of the Triphenylphosphine Oxide Ligand Manifest itself in its Spectrochemical Properties? The triphenylphosphine oxide mono adducts of the moiety tris(η⁵‐cyclopentadienyl)lanthanide(III) (Ln(Cp)₃; Ln = Pr ( 1 ), La ( 2 )) were synthesized and structurally characterized. The Ln–O distances of these compounds are noticeably shorter than those of the corresponding THF adducts. A crystal field (CF) analysis of the optical spectra of 1 leads to a low absolute value of the quadratic CF parameter which is comparable with those of [Pr(Cp)₃(L)]^? adducts with anionic bases but not with [Pr(Cp)₃(MeTHF)]. Reasons for the latter finding are presented.