The Mitsunobu Reaction: Origin,Mechanism, Improvements,and Applications

The Mitsunobu reaction is a widely used and versatile method for the dehydrative oxidation–reduction condensation of an acid/pronucleophile usually with a primary or secondary alcohol that requires the combination of a reducing phosphine reagent together with an oxidizing azo reagent. The utility of this reaction stems from the fact that it is generally highly stereoselective and occurs with inversion of the stereochemical configuration of the alcohol starting material. Furthermore, as carboxylic acids, phenols, imides, sulfonamides, and other compounds can be used as the acid/pronucleophile, this reaction is useful for the preparation of a wide variety of functional groups. This Focus Review of the Mitsunobu reaction summarizes its origins, the current understanding of its mechanism, and recent improvements and applications.     

Synthesis, fluorescence and photoisomerization studies of azobenzene-functionalized poly(alkyl aryl ether) dendrimers

A series of azobenzene-functionalized poly(alkyl aryl ether) dendrimers have been synthesized and their photochemical and photophysical properties in solution and as thin films have been investigated. Although the photochemical behavior of the azodendrimers in solution indicated that the azobenzene units behave independently, very similar to the constituent monomer azobenzene unit, the properties of thin solid films of the dendrimers were distinctly different. The azodendrimers, AzoG1, AzoG2, and AzoG3 were observed to form stable supercooled glasses, which showed long-wavelength absorption and red emission characteristics of J-aggregates of the azobenzene chromophores. Reversible photoinduced isomerization of the azodendrimers in the glassy state is described.     

表面起伏光栅形成速率的影响规律 Ⅰ.偶氮生色团种类和官能度的影响

设计并合成了含有不同生色团以及不同官能度的环氧树脂基偶氮高分子 ,系统研究了偶氮生色团的种类和官能度对光栅形成速率的影响规律 .实验结果表明 ,偶氮苯对位是羧基的聚合物的光栅形成速率明显快于偶氮苯对位是硝基的聚合物 ,光栅形成速率随偶氮生色团官能度的增加而加快 .这两类聚合物都可以形成规整的可擦式表面起伏光栅     

吡啶酮系偶氮类化合物可见吸收光谱的预测

利用密度泛函的B3LYP方法, 在6-311G*基组水平对吡啶酮系偶氮类化合物进行构型优化, 并进行了自然键轨道(NBO)分析, 然后用TDDFT方法和ZINDO/S方法分别计算了它们的可见吸收光谱, 结果均与实验值十分吻合. 通过对比发现, 对于最高吸收波长的计算, ZINDO/S能以较快的速度得到较好的结果. 在用ZINDO/S计算的过程中, 回归分析发现π-π重叠加权因子(OWF_π-π)与染料分子吡啶环上两个羰基氧原子平均电荷Z_O有较好的线性关系: OWF_π-π＝0.11425－1.04178ZO, 这一关系不仅可从量子化学的角度进行解释, 而且可用于同类染料可见吸收光谱的预测. 分子轨道的研究表明, 这些化合物的最高可见吸收波长主要对应着共轭体系中给电子体到受电子体的电子跃迁.     

Anaerobic reduction of a sulfonated azo dye, Congo Red, by sulfate-reducing bacteria

The capacity for anaerobic decolorization of a sulfonated azo dye, Congo Red, by a strain of a sulfate-reducing bacterium was evaluated. After optimizing the growth rate of the bacteria on a simple carbon source and terminal electron acceptor pair, lactate and sulfate, respectively, the effect of the dye concentration on their growth rate was analyzed. The decolorization rate was affected by the dye concentration in the growth medium. The azo-bond cleavage mechanism of reductive decolorization with the formation of benzidine was consistent with the results, as this metabolite was identified by high-performance liquid chromatography. Several fractions of the culture medium, including lysed cell extracts, were examined for the capacity to reduce the azo dye. This reduction capacity was found in the culture medium in which the cells had previously grown. The results showed that the mechanism of reductive decolorization of this sulfonated azo dye was extracellular and nonenzymatic, consistent with the production of sulfide anion by the microorganisms while growing on lactate and sulfate. The sulfide anions were the cause of the reduction leading to the disappearance of color in the medium. To increase the rate of decolorization, the presence of ferrous ion was also necessary together with the lactate and sulfate substrates.     

Effect of surface condition on liquid crystal photoalignment by light-induced azo dye adsorption phenomena

The effect of surface condition on the photoalignment of light-induced methyl red (MR) adsorption phenomena on various substrates based on azo dye-doped liquid crystals is investigated. The results show that the polar surface energy determines the initiation of MR adsorption phenomena. The surface polarity energy of different substrates, which are modulated by oxygen plasma treatment (OPT), is further examined using the sessile drop method. The results also indicate that the uniformity and efficiency of MR adsorption can be enhanced by OPT. Light intensity influences the MR adsorption rate. The uniformity of MR adsorption onto various substrates is analysed via polarised optical microscopy.     

Convenient and Efficient Preparation of Ethyl 6-n-Decyloxy-7-ethoxy-4-hydroxyquinoline-3-carboxylate

Ethyl 6-N-decyloxy-7-ethoxy-4-hydroxyquinoline-3-carboxylate has been synthesized from pyrocatechol in six steps and in 39.3% overall yield.     

Design and Synthesis of Nitrogen-Rich Azo-Bridged Furoxanylazoles as High-Performance Energetic Materials

A series of novel energetic materials comprising of azo-bridged furoxanylazoles enriched with energetic functionalities was designed and synthesized. These high-energy materials were thoroughly characterized by IR and multinuclear NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁴N) spectroscopy, high-resolution mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The molecular structures of representative amino and azo oxadiazole assemblies were additionally confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and X-ray powder diffraction. A comparison of contributions of explosophoric moieties into the density of energetic materials revealed that furoxan and 1,2,4-oxadiazole rings are the densest motifs while the substitution of the azide and amino fragments on the nitro and azo ones leads to an increase of the density. Azo bridged energetic materials have high nitrogen-oxygen contents (68.8–76.9 %) and high thermal stability. The synthesized compounds exhibit good experimental densities (1.62–1.88 g cm⁻³), very high enthalpies of formation (846–1720 kJ mol⁻¹), and, as a result, excellent detonation performance (detonation velocities 7.66–9.09 km s⁻¹ and detonation pressures 25.0–37.7 GPa). From the application perspective, the detonation parameters of azo oxadiazole assemblies exceed those of the benchmark explosive RDX, while a combination of high detonation performance and acceptable friction sensitivity of azo(1,2,4-triazolylfuroxan) make it a promising potential alternative to PETN.     

Siloxane polymers containing azo moieties synthesized by click chemistry for photo responsive and liquid crystalline applications

Three new types of siloxane‐based photoactive liquid crystalline polymers containing azo side groups were synthesized through the click chemistry route. The polymers having molecular weight range of 14,000–34,000 g mol^?1 were soluble in most of the polar solvents like chloroform, tetrahydrofuran, dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, and dichloromethane. The photoresponsive trans–cis photoisomerization under UV radiation and cis–trans relaxation process in dark for the polymers were studied. The isomerization rate constants were found to be 0.01–0.04 sec^?1 and 1.16*10^?4–4.67*10^?4 sec^?1, respectively. It has been noted that the polymers showed high intensity absorption for n‐π* in chloroform. Both trans and cis forms of azide monomers having azo moiety exhibited molar extinction coefficient ( ? _max) in the range of 22,000–33,000 L mol^?1 cm^?1. The thermotropic behavior of the polymers was studied by polarizing optical microscope (POM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) experiments. Polymer P1 showed liquid crystalline textures of nematic droplets, whereas P2 showed smectic focal conic texture and nematic droplets. Polymer P1 was also studied for photomechanical bending on exposure to UV radiation. The polymers showed initial degradation temperature in the range of 210–275°C. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012