Effect of additive length and chemistry on the morphology of blends of conjugated thiophenes and fullerene derivative acceptor molecules

Small molecule additives have been shown to increase the device efficiency of conjugated polymer (donor) and fullerene derivative (acceptor) based organic solar cells by modifying the morphology of the device active layer. In this paper we conduct a systematic study of how additives affect the donor‐acceptor morphology using molecular dynamics simulations of blends of thiophene‐based oligomers, mimicking poly(3‐dodecylthiophene) (P3DDT) or poly(2,2′:5′,2”‐3,3”‐didocyl‐terthiophene) (PTTT), and fullerene derivatives with additives of varying length and chemical functionalization, mimicking experimentally used additives like methyl ester additives, diiodooctane, and alkanedithiols. We find that functionalization of additives with end groups that are attracted to acceptor molecules are necessary to induce increased donor‐acceptor macrophase separation. In blends where acceptors intercalate between oligomer alkyl side chains, functionalized additives decrease acceptor intercalation. Functionalized additives with shorter alkyl segments increase acceptor macrophase separation more than additives with same chemical functionalization but longer alkyl segments. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1046–1057     

Squaric acid N-hydroxylamides: synthesis, structure, and properties of vinylogous hydroxamic acid analogues

The synthesis of squaric acid N-hydroxylamide esters 5 and amides 6 from dimethyl squarate 2a is described. These derivatives are analogues of the naturally occurring iron(III) chelator hydroxamic acid. On the basis of a comparative reactivity study, a concerted retro-Cope mechanism for the formation of the N-hydroxylamide esters 5 by reaction of dimethyl squarate with hydroxylamines is proposed. A preliminary iron(III) binding study of these hydroxamic acid analogues is presented, demonstrating binding of iron(III) to amides 6 in aqueous solutions, while the esters 5 did not show any sign of metal ion binding. 13C NMR spectroscopic data (chemical shift and spin-lattice relaxation time determination) of these and related derivatives delineate the resonance structures predominant in these molecules. The resonance structures of the derivatives rationalize their spectroscopic data, chemical reactivity, and iron(III) binding properties. Single-crystal X-ray structure analyses of squaric acid N-hydroxylamide ester 5b and squaric acid N-hydroxylamide amide 6c confirm their connectivity and provide structural evidence supporting the spectroscopically derived conclusions. The squaric acid N-hydroxylamides are potentially useful in the construction of chemosensors for iron(III).     

Interactions between terminally substituted amino acids in an aqueous and a non-aqueous environment. Enthalpic interaction coefficients in water and in N,N-dimethylformamide at 25°C

Enthalpies of dilution of the N-acetyl amides of glycine, L-alanine, L-valine, L-leucine, and L-phenylalanine, dissolved in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) as a solvent have been measured at 25°C. The results obtained have been analyzed to give the enthalpic interaction (or virial) coefficients of the solutes and these are compared with information previously obtained in aqueous systems. There are marked differences in the interaction properties in the two solvents and, while the additivity approach of Savage and Wood is applicable to the solutes in water it is not suitable for representing the interactions in DMF. A correlation is presented between the enthalpic second virial coefficients in DMF and the propensity of side-chains to be in proximity in globular proteins.     

Electron-transfer polymers. XXIX. Copolymerizability of vinylhydroquinone derivatives

Ten vinylhydroquinone and one vinyl resorcinol derivatives are compared, particularly with respect to NMR spectra and copolymerizability with styrene. They are vinylhydroquinone dimethyl ether (I), vinyl-O,O′-bis(1-ethoxyethyl)hydroquinone (II), vinylhydroquinone di(2-pentyl)ether (III), 4-vinyl resorcinol bismethoxymethyl ether (IV), 2-vinyl-5-methylhydroquinone dimethyl ether (V), 2-vinyl-5-methyl-O,O′-bis(1-ethoxyethyl)hydroquinone (VI), 2-vinyl-6-methylhydroquinone dimethyl ether (VII), 2-vinyl-5-tert-butylhydroquinone dimethyl ether (VIII), 2-vinyl-5-chlorohydroquinone dimethyl ether (IX), 2-vinyl-3,6-dimethylhydroquinone dimethyl ether (X), and 2-vinyl-3,5,6-trimethylhydroquinone dimethyl ether (XI). All the vinyl protons have almost the same coupling constants. Though subtle distinctions are found among all the spectra, they can in general be put into two groups on the basis of the chemical shifts. Let the hydrogen on carbon-1 of the vinyl group be A, the hydrogen cis to A be B the hydrogen trans to A be C, then in the first group, (I) through (IX), the chemical shifts (τ) are (A) 3.02 ± 0.08, (C) 4.41 ± 0.05, and (B) 4.87 ± 0.07, and in the second group, (X) and (XI), they are (A) 3.30 ± 0.03, (C) 4.49 ± 0.01, and (B) 4.59 ± 0.03. It is supposed that in (X) and (XI) the vinyl group is out of the plane of the ring, because of the two ortho substituents, and this conformation is reflected in the NMR data. Ultraviolet spectra are consonant with this interpretation, since the λ_max of (X) and (XI) correspond closely with those of nonvinyl reference compounds, while those of (II), (V), and (VIII) are shifted to longer wavelengths. When these compounds are copolymerized separately with styrene, the behaviors are classifiable into the following three groups, where r₁ and r₂ are monomer reactivity ratios with styrene as the first monomer: (i) r₁ < 1 and r₂ < 1 for compounds (II) and (III) and the reference compound O,O′-dibenzoylvinylhydroquinone, (ii) r₁ < 1 and r₂ > 1 for compounds (I), (V), (VII), (VIII), (IX), and (iii) r₁ > 1 and r₂ = 0 for compounds (X) and (XI). These behaviors are correlated with the effect of electronegativity of groups on the stability of the radical at the growing end of the chain and with the simultaneous effects of steric hindrance.     

Oxazoline chemistry. Part 12: A metal-mediated synthesis of DMU-212; X-ray diffraction studies of an important anti-cancer agent

An improved synthesis of the anti-cancer agent DMU-212 (trans-3,4,5,4′-tetramethoxystilbene) is described. The methodology involves the use of a Pd-oxazoline catalyst as a mediator of a regio-selective (Heck) C-C bond formation reaction. A simple isolation step is then used to obtain the title material. The compound has been further characterised in the solid-state by X-ray diffraction methods.     

Electron-transfer polymers. XXXIV. Redox polyurethanes from p-benzoquinone-2,5-diols and diisocyanates

It is possible to prepare polyurethanes from p-benzoquinone-diols and diisocyanates by using dibutyltin diacetate catalyst at room temperature or below, since the benzoquinone group does not react with isocyanate under these conditions. This permits preparation of new redox polymers. In preparing the polyurethanes excess isocyanate groups must be destroyed at the end of the reaction time in order to prevent crosslinking during work-up. These polymers are readily reduced by aqueous hydrosulfite. Good viscosity numbers are obtained; and, in general, upon reduction the viscosity increases over that of the oxidized form. There is no evidence of crosslinking. When oxidized and reduced forms of these polymers are mixed there is no evidence of charge transfer.     

Separation of metal ions by capillary electrophoresis

A number of experimental parameters have been optimized for the separation of 26 metal ions, including alkali, alkaline earth, transition and lanthanide metal ions. Experimental parameters that were evaluated included nature of indirect-detection reagent, pH of electrolyte, concentration of complexing agent and nature of the surface of the capillary; unbonded and C₁ and C₁₈ bonded phases were studied. In addition the effect of internal diameter on linearity and signal-to-noise ratio was examined, and separation efficiency was determined for a variety of experimental conditions. Detection limits (signal-to-noise RATIO = 3) were ca. 1 μg/ml for the lanthanides, ca. 0.6 μg/ml for transition and alkaline earth ions and ca. 0.1–0.8 μg/ml for alkali metal ions. The average relative standard deviations of were 3.7, 5.1 and 2.5% on unbonded, C₁ and C₁₈ capillaries, respectively. Whereas conventional regression analysis suggested that the calibration curves were linear over the range of 1·10⁻⁵ to 4·10⁻⁴ mol/l, sensitivity plots showed that the results were actually linear to within 6% only over the range of 2.5·10⁻⁵ to 4·10⁻⁴ mol/l.     

Isolation of ammonium-N as 1-sulfonato-iso-indole for measurement of delta15N

The conversion of ammonium (NH(4) (+)) to 1-sulfonato-iso-indole has been examined as a method for natural abundance measurement of delta(15)N of NH(4) (+). The reaction is complete within 2 h and is based on the derivatisation of NH(4) (+) by o-phthaldialdehyde and sodium sulfite at a high pH, 11.2. The product is readily concentrated from dilute solutions by reverse-phase solid-phase extraction (SPE). The method is compound-specific despite partial derivatisation of potentially interfering amino acids, as their derivatives are not extracted by SPE. delta(15)N values of NH(4) (+) in KCL soil extracts can be measured within 48 h by automated continuous-flow IRMS with a precision of 0.23 per thousand (1 SD). Parallel measurements of NH(4) (+) standards of known delta(15)N are made to allow correction for the isotopic dilution by non-sample NH(4) (+). The practicality of this method is demonstrated by measuring the changes in NH(4) (+) concentration and delta(15)N following the addition of urea as a nitrogen source to inorganic N-depleted soil.     

Crystal structures of phenyl-substituted cyclopropanes. IV. the crystal structure (at 21‡C and −100‡C) and the phenyl ring conformation in 4-cyclopropylacetanilide

The crystal structure of 4-cyclopropylacetanilide was investigated at room temperature (21C) and at –100C in order to determine the orientation of the phenyl ring with respect to the cyclopropane moiety and the effect of this substituent on the stereochemistry of the three-membered ring. The compound was chosen because it is one of the few species containing a simple phenyl ring as the sole cyclopropane ring substituent and whose crystals are suitable for X-ray diffraction at room temperature. The substance crystallizes in space groupP2_l/c at either temperature (no phase transitions) with cell constants: (at 21C)a=9.725(2),b=10.934(3), andc=9.636(2) å,=106.13(1);V=984.21 å³ andd(calc;z=4)=1.182 g cm^–3. The relevant parameters for the –100C structure area=9.557(4),b=10.980(2), andc=9.641(2) å,=106.34(3);V=970.76 å³ and d(calc;z=4)=1.199 g cm^–3. Final values wereR(F)=0.042, R_w=0.035, using unit weights, and its nonhydrogen atoms were used to phase the low-temperature data, whose final discrepancy indices wereR(F)=0.051,R _w =0.061. The phenyl substituent is almost exactly in the bisecting conformation with respect to the C-C-C angle at the point of attachment to cyclopropane and conjugative effects are clearly evident in the lengths of the cyclopropane ring [1.494(3), 1.498(3), and 1.474(4) å, the later being the distal bond]. If one omits the terminal methylene fragments at C10 and C11, the atoms comprising the acetanilide fragment and the substituted carbon of the cyclopropane ring lie in a nearly perfect plane. Molecular mechanics as well as semiempirical (AM1) calculations were carried out in order to determine the structure of the energy-minimized configurations in the two computational environments. The molecular conformations thus obtained are close to that experimentally observed from the X-ray diffraction experiment. In both theoretical models, the lowest energy conformation is that in which the plane of the phenyl ring bisects the cyclopropane C-C-C angle as was experimentally observed. Finally, the shape of the conformational barrier as a function of the orientation of the plane of the phenyl ring was computed, giving a maximum barrier to rotation of 2.2 kcal/mol. Similar calculations were carried out for two other aryl cyclopropanes, whose rings (naphthalene and anthracene) cannot adopt the bisecting position. Comparisons of experimental geometrical parameters as well as of the barriers to rotation are presented.on leave at the University of Houston, 1995–1996.     

The phase diagram and tetragonal superstructures of the rare earth cobaltate phases Ln1−xSrxCoO3-δ (Ln=La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Y, Ho, Dy, Er, Tm and Yb)

Single phase perovskite-based rare earth cobaltates (Ln_1−xSr_xCoO_3−δ) (Ln=La³⁺, Pr³⁺, Nd³⁺, Sm³⁺, Gd³⁺, Dy³⁺, Y³⁺, Ho³⁺, Er³⁺, Tm³⁺ and Yb³⁺; 0.67?x?0.9) have been synthesized at 1100°C under 1 atmosphere of oxygen. X-ray diffraction of phases containing the larger rare earth ions La³⁺, Pr³⁺ and Nd³⁺ reveals simple cubic structures; however electron diffraction shows orientational twinning of a local, tetragonal (I4/mmm; a_p×a_p×2a_p) superstructure phase. Orientational twinning is also present for Ln_1−xSr_xCoO_3−δ compounds containing rare earth ions smaller than Nd³⁺. These compounds show a modulated intermediate parent with a tetragonal superstructure (I4/mmm; 2a_p×2a_p×4a_p). Thermogravimetric measurements have determined the overall oxygen content, and these phases show mixed valence (3⁺/4⁺) cobalt oxidation states with up to 50% Co(IV). X-ray diffraction data and Rietveld techniques have been used to refine the structures of each of these tetragonal superstructure phases (Ln=Sm³⁺-Yb³⁺). Coupled Ln/Sr and oxygen/vacancy ordering and associated structural relaxation are shown to be responsible for the observed superstructure.