InGaAs/InAlAs Five Layer Asymmetric Coupled Quantum Well (FACQW) for Ultra-Wideband Ultrafast Optical Modulators

An InGaAs/InAlAs five-layer asymmetric coupled quantum well (FACQW) is expected to show very large electrorefractive index change. n in a wideband transparency region. Band structures of the FACQW are analyzed with Luttinger-Kohn Hamiltonian. The electrorefractive characteristics of the FACQW are discussed.     

Radiation-induced copolymerizations of perfluorovinyl acetic acid and its methyl ester with α-olefin

Homopolymerizations and copolymerizations of perfluorovinyl acetic acid (FVA) and its methyl ester (MFVA) were carried out by γ radiation at a temperature of 25°C, a dose rate of 1 × 10⁶ rad/hr, and FVA/α-olefin and MFVA/α-olefin ratios of 10/90-90/10 in the monomer mixture. FVA and MFVA gave small quantities of brown and greasy low-molecular-weight homopolymers. The polymerization rates of both FVA and MFVA were extremely small, as shown by the maximum G value of monomer consumption of 12. FVA and MFVA reacted with α-olefin to form waxlike copolymers. The copolymerization rates of both FVA and MFVA with α-olefin were remarkably larger than those of the homopolymerizations, particularly with ethylene. The polymer compositions of FVA/ethylene or MFVA/ethylene was nearly 1/2 over a wide range of the monomer compositions. The Mayo–Lewis method gave negative r₁ (FVA) and r₁ (MFVA). The polymer composition curves could be well interpreted by introducing the penultimate model.     

Absolute stereochemistry of citrinadins a and B from marine-derived fungus

[Structure: see text]. Citrinadin A (2) is a pentacyclic indolinone alkaloid isolated from the cultured broth of a fungus, Penicillium citrinum, which was separated from a marine red alga. The absolute stereochemistry of the pentacyclic core in 2 and its new congener, citrinadin B (1), was elucidated by analysis of the ROESY spectrum for the chlorohydrin derivative (3) of 1 as well as comparison of the electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra for 1 and 2 with those of known spirooxiindole alkaloids. On the other hand, the absolute configuration at C-21 bearing an epoxide ring was assigned as S by comparison of the vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of 1 with those of model compounds 2S- and 2R-2,3-epoxy-3,3-dimethyl-1-phenylpropan-1-one (4a and 4b, respectively).     

Radiation-induced heterogeneous polymerization of acrylamide in acetone and acetone–water mixtures

The effects of temperature, dose rate, and monomer concentration on the heterogeneous polymerization of acrylamide in acetone–water mixtures have been studied. Heterogeneous polymerization takes place in mixtures containing less than 60 vol-% water. The polymerization is steady in acetone and nonsteady in acetone an nonsteady in mixtures containing 10–50 vol-% water. The average rate of polymerization is highest in mixtures with about 20 vol-% water. Polymer molecular weight increases with the increasing water content in range 0–10 vol-% and does not change in the range of 30–70 vol-% water. For the polymerization in acetone and an acetone–water 60/40 mixture the activation energies are 2.3 and ?1.8 kcal/mole, the dose rate exponents of rate are 0.78 and 0.52, and the monomer concentration exponents of rate are 0.5 and 1.6, respectively. The polymer molecular weight increases with decreasing dose rate, decreasing temperature, and increasing monomer concentration. These results are discussed in connection with the mechanism of heterogeneous polymerization and the solvent effect.     

DPPH (= 2,2‐Diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl = 2,2‐Diphenyl‐1‐(2,4,6‐trinitrophenyl)hydrazyl) Radical‐Scavenging Reaction of Protocatechuic Acid Esters (= 3,4‐Dihydroxybenzoates) in Alcohols: Formation of Bis‐alcohol Adduct

Protocatechuic acid esters (= 3,4‐dihydroxybenzoates) scavenge ca. 5 equiv. of radical in alcoholic solvents, whereas they consume only 2 equiv. of radical in nonalcoholic solvents. While the high radical‐scavenging activity of protocatechuic acid esters in alcoholic solvents as compared to that in nonalcoholic solvents is due to a nucleophilic addition of an alcohol molecule at C(2) of an intermediate o‐quinone structure, thus regenerating a catechol (= benzene‐1,2‐diol) structure, it is still unclear why protocatechuic acid esters scavenge more than 4 equiv. of radical (C(2) refers to the protocatechuic acid numbering). Therefore, to elucidate the oxidation mechanism beyond the formation of the C(2) alcohol adduct, 3,4‐dihydroxy‐2‐methoxybenzoic acid methyl ester ( 4 ), the C(2) MeOH adduct, which is an oxidation product of methyl protocatechuate ( 1 ) in MeOH, was oxidized by the DPPH radical (= 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl) or o‐chloranil (= 3,4,5,6‐tetrachlorocyclohexa‐3,5‐diene‐1,2‐dione) in CD₃OD/(D₆)acetone 3 : 1). The oxidation mixtures were directly analyzed by NMR. Oxidation with both the DPPH radical and o‐chloranil produced a C(2),C(6) bis‐methanol adduct ( 7 ), which could scavenge additional 2 equiv. of radical. Calculations of LUMO electron densities of o‐quinones corroborated the regioselective nucleophilic addition of alcohol molecules with o‐quinones. Our results strongly suggest that the regeneration of a catechol structure via a nucleophilic addition of an alcohol molecule with a o‐quinone is a key reaction for the high radical‐scavenging activity of protocatechuic acid esters in alcoholic solvents.     

Amphidinolide X,a novel 16-membered macrodiolide from dinoflagellate Amphidinium sp

A novel cytotoxic 16-membered macrodiolide, amphidinolide X (1), has been isolated from a marine dinoflagellate Amphidinium sp. (strain Y-42). The gross structure of 1 was elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data including one-bond and long-range (13)C-(13)C correlations. The relative and absolute stereochemistries were determined by combined analyses of NOESY data and (1)H-(1)H and (1)H-(13)C coupling constants of 1 and NMR data of the degradation products. Amphidinolide X (1) is the first macrodiolide consisting of polyketide-derived diacid and diol units from natural sources. The biosynthetic origins of 1 were investigated by means of feeding experiments with (13)C-labeled acetates.     

A novel scheme of heterogeneous polymerization of ethylene

The heterogeneous polymerization of ethylene initiated by radiation in tert-butyl alcohol was studied. The polymerization was carried out in a 100-ml reactor at 25–100°C and pressures of 200–300 kg/cm² in the presence of 50 ml of tert-butyl alcohol containing 7 wt-% water. The amounts of polymerized monomer, the average molecular weight of polymer formed, and the molecular weight distribution of polymer were measured at various stages of reaction and at various temperatures. The molecular weight distribution was found to be very much dependent on the reaction time and temperature. For the polymer formed at 50–60°C in the very early stages of reaction, the molecular weight distribution is unimodal, and in the intermediate stage a shoulder appears at a molecular weight higher than the first peak which increases as the polymerization proceeds; eventually a bimodal curve is formed. The bimodal distribution curves were analyzed to determine the fractions and average molecular weights of the each peak. On the basis of these data for the molecular weight distribution and kinetic behavior, a new scheme for the heterogeneous polymerization is proposed which indicates that the polymerization proceeds via propagating radicals in two different physical states, namely, loose and rigid states.