Mechanism of formation of radical pairs during the photolysis of 2,6-di-tert-butylquinone diazide in single crystals of 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol

Institute of Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 141–143, July–August, 1992.     

Partially Hydrolyzed Alkylaluminums as the Active Heterogenized Components of Metallocene Catalysts

The heterogenized reaction products of the partial hydrolysis of the organoaluminum compounds AlMe₃ and Al(i-Bu)₃ with water as a constituent of highly hydrated supports, zeolite (ZSM-5-H₂O) and montmorillonite (MMT-H₂O), have been synthesized. The thermal degradation of the resulting heterogenized methylalumoxane compound and methylalumoxane (MAO) in a solid state is studied by temperature-programmed desorption with the mass-spectrometric analysis of liberated gaseous products, and the structural identity of the above compounds is found. Alkylalumoxanes prepared immediately on the surface of a support form heterogenized complexes with the metallocenes Cp₂ZrCl₂ and Et(Ind)₂ZrCl₂. These heterogenized complexes exhibit high activity in the reactions of ethylene and propylene polymerization. For this reason, MAO can be replaced by AlMe₃ or Al(i-Bu)₃ and the additional introduction of MAO or another alkylaluminum for zirconocene activation is unnecessary. It has been found that, upon the immobilization of commercial MAO on dehydrated SiO₂, the MAO molecule loses a portion of its most reactive methyl groups and, as a result of this, becomes incapable of activating metallocenes.     

Heterogenized methylaluminoxane and isobutylaluminoxane as activators for metallocene catalysts

Heterogenized alkylaluminoxanes prepared in situ on the montmorillonite (MMT) surface by the partial hydrolysis of AIR₃ with water of the support are effective activators for metallocenes. The thermal destruction of isobutylaluminoxane molecules in the MMT-H₂O/Al(i-Bu)₃ system has been studied by the temperature-programmed desorption method coupled with mass spectrometry (TPD-MS). The process begins at a lower temperature and is more complicated than the destruction of methylaluminoxane (MAO) in MMT-H₂O/AlMe₃. Isobutyl-substituted aluminoxane and the ansa-metallocene Me₂Si(Ind)₂ZrCl₂ form metal-alkyl complexes that are more active in propylene polymerization than methyl-substituted aluminoxane. The TPD-MS study of the initial stages of gas-phase ethylene and propylene polymerization shows that the nature of the metallocene in the heterogenized metallocene catalysts is an essential factor in the distribution of active sites by the activation energy of the thermal destruction of active Zr-C bonds.     

Amphiphilic poly-n-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone: Synthesis,properties, nanoparticles

Water-soluble amphiphilic polymers based on N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (Amph-PVP) have been synthesized. Amphiphilic diblock polymers have been obtained via a single-step technique. For the synthesized amphiphilic polymers, the critical concentrations of mycelium formation (CCM) have been determined. The structure of the polymers obtained was confirmed by IR and NMR spectroscopy. The critical concentration of micelle formation (CCM) for the synthesized polymers has been found to be in the micromolar range. The fluorescent dye 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (Dil) was chosen as a model substance for the synthesis of nanoparticles. Micellar particles were obtained via an ultrasonic technique followed by evaporation of the organic solvent (emulsion method).     

Mechanism of stratospheric ozone depletion. 1. On chain processes in the stratosphere

The characteristics of the chain processes of stratospheric ozone depletion are considered. It is shown that the basic feature of these processes is the presence of a limiting stage, which determines the rate of chain propagation in this process and, accordingly, the rate of ozone depletion. It is also shown that the practice, so far widespread in the stratospheric chemistry, of defining the rate-limiting step of the chain process as a single reaction with the lowest rate throughout the stratosphere does not enable to correctly determine the rare of the chain process and leads to a significant overestimation of the latter. Methods for correctly calculating the rate of the limiting step for an arbitrary number of chain propagation reactions and for determining the termination rate and the chain length are for the first time proposed. Application of the developed method is demonstrated by the example of the nitrogen oxide cycle.     

Preparation of polymer nanoparticles by self-assembling of amphiphilic poly-<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-vinylpyrrolidone derivatives in aqueous media

Amphiphilic N-vinylpyrrolidone polymers were prepared by a new one-step procedure consisting in radical polymerization of the monomer in the presence of long-chain monobasic saturated carboxylic acid chlorides as chain-transfer and chain-terminating agents. The behavior of the new amphiphilic polymers differing in the structure of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties in aqueous media was studied. The synthesized polymers at definite concentrations undergo spontaneous aggregation with the formation of spherical nanosized micellar particles consisting of a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic shell. The main characteristics of the polymer nanoparticles formed were determined, and the possibility of using them as promising carriers for the delivery of biologically active compounds and drugs was revealed.     

Interaction between ozone and the chloride ion in sulfuric acid solutions up to 6-M concentration

The effect of sulfuric acid concentration on Cl₂ evolution in the reaction between O₃ and Cl^? has been investigated. The catalytic effects of metal ions in this reaction have been studied as a function of solution acidity. The chlorine evolution rate increases markedly with increasing acid concentration. At acid concentrations below 4 mol/l, the most effective catalyst is Co²⁺. The catalytic activities of Fe³⁺ and Cu²⁺ peak at $C_{H_2 SO_4 } $ = 4.8 mol/l. In passing to highly acidic solutions ( $C_{H_2 SO_4 } $ > 5 mol/l), the catalytic activity of the metal ions decreases, but the chlorine evolution rate remains high owing to the high acidity. Kinetics of VO²⁺ oxidation with ozone in acid media have been studied, and the ozone solubility in aqueous sulfuric acid has been measured.