Highly Proton-Conductive Zinc Metal-Organic Framework Based On Nickel(II) Porphyrinylphosphonate

The design of new solid-state proton-conducting materials is a great challenge for chemistry and materials science. Herein, a new anionic porphyrinylphosphonate-based MOF ( IPCE-1Ni ), which involves dimethylammonium (DMA) cations for charge compensation, is reported. As a result of its unique structure, IPCE-1Ni exhibits one of the highest value of the proton conductivity among reported proton-conducting MOF materials based on porphyrins (1.55×10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at 75 °C and 80 % relative humidity).     

Self-Assembly of C3 Symmetric Rigid Macrolactams into Very Polar and Porous Trigonal Crystals

Cyclohexane and cyclotri-β-alanyl have been used as scaffolds for the design of new C₃-symmetric rings incorporating conjugated alkenes and dienes. All three C₃-symmetric lactams share the same triangular shape and their crystal system is trigonal. They all belong to the R3 space group, R3m, R3 and R3c, for the increasingly large 12-, 18- and 24-membered rigid rings, respectively. All lactams stack on top of each other, through H-bonds and van der Waals noncovalent interactions, leading to endless supramolecular cylinders and tubes. The largest member of the family leads to tubes, the central pores of which is wide enough to let water in. A common feature of all the lactams is their very large dipole, of around 9 D, according to DFT calculations. Surprisingly, all the resulting cylinders and tubes pack side by side in the crystals, with all the dipoles pointing to the same direction. As a result, all three crystals are anisotropic and appear to be the first members of a new kind of highly polar crystals.     

Formation of porous polymer morphology by microsyneresis during divinylbenzene polymerization

This article describes the investigation of the importance of various reaction conditions on microsyneretic pore formation during polymerization of divinylbenzene (DVB) under so‐called “solvothermal” conditions. To induce microsyneretic pore formation, the most important parameter is an unusually high dilution of monomers with a “good” porogen solvating the polymer chains. High dilution and solvation of the growing poly(DVB) chains promote the prolongation of the polymer chains rather than their interconnection by crosslinking. Consequently, when the polymer gel density reaches the point where syneresis starts, the polymer network is geometrically too extensive to be broken up into precipitating entities and, instead, porogen droplets are formed within the continuous polymer gel. The pore geometry created by microsyneresis offers high surface area in wide mesopores and hence, high capacity for supporting functional groups or reactions with much better accessibility than narrow pores between polymer microspheres produced by macrosyneresis in conventional styrenic polymer supports. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 774–781     

Path to achieving molecular dispersion in a dense reactive mixture

A uniform dispersion of reactants is necessary to achieve a complete reaction involving multicomponents. In this study, we have examined the role of plasticizer in the reaction of two seemingly unlikely reactants: a highly crystalline hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) and a strongly hydrogen bonded phenol formaldehyde resin. By combining information from NMR, infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry, we were able to determine the role of specific intermolecular interactions necessary for the plasticizer to dissolve the highly crystalline HMTA and to plasticize the phenol formaldehyde resin in this crosslinking reaction. The presence of the plasticizer increased the segmental mobility, disrupted the hydrogen bonded matrix, and freed the hydroxyl units, which further increased the solubility of the HMTA. Both the endothermic and exothermic transitions are accounted for in the calorimetric data obtained. For the first time, it is possible to obtain the effective molar ratio of each component needed to complete the crosslinking reaction efficiently. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1519–1526     

D3h‐Symmetric Porphyrin‐Based Rigid Macrocyclic Ligands for Multicofacial Multinuclear Complexes in a One‐Nanometer‐Sized Cavity

The one‐step synthesis of D_3h‐symmetric cyclic porphyrin trimers 1 composed of three 2,2′‐[4,4′‐bis(methoxycarbonyl)]bipyridyl moieties and three porphyrinatozinc moieties was achieved from a nickel‐mediated reductive coupling of meso‐5,15‐bis(6‐chloro‐4‐methoxycarbonylpyrid‐2‐yl)porphyrinatozinc. Although cyclic trimers 1 were obtained as a mixture that included other cyclic and acyclic porphyrin oligomers, an extremely specific separation was observed only for cyclic trimers 1 when using columns of silica gel modified with pyrenylethyl, cyanopropyl, and other groups. Structural analysis of cyclic trimers 1 was carried out by means of NMR spectroscopy and X‐ray crystallography. Treatment of an η³‐allylpalladium complex with a cyclic trimer gave a tris(palladium) complex containing three η³‐allylpalladium groups inside the space, which indicated that the bipyridyl moieties inside the ring could work as bidentate metalloligands.     

Synthesis and Self-Assembly of Mixed-Graft Block Copolymers

Mixed-graft block copolymers (mGBCPs) consist of two or more types of polymeric side chains grafted on a linear backbone in a random, alternating, or pseudo-alternating sequence. They can phase-separate with the backbone serving as the interface of the blocks, and the side chains dominate their self-assembly behavior. mGBCPs are an accessible polymer architecture for exploring the idea of encoding polymer properties through the macromolecular architecture, as there are two distinct structural components that can be tuned: the backbone and the side chains. In this Concept article, the current literature on the synthesis of mGBCPs is reviewed, and the advantages and disadvantages of each synthetic method are noted. The self-assembly of mGBCPs is also discussed where possible. Finally, directions for future research on mGBCP synthesis and self-assembly are suggested.     

Studying the process of ionization of hydrogen in conditions of its forced delivery to a porous nickel oxide electrode

The hydrogen ionization process is studied experimentally on an industrial sintered nickel oxide electrode in models of sealed nickel-metal hydride batteries. It is shown that the hydrogen ionization rates that are reached during overcharge by high current densities in conditions of forced gas delivery into the electrode pores (up to 40 mA cm^?2) exceed the self-discharge rate of a nickel-hydrogen battery by two orders of magnitude. Up to 70% of hydrogen delivered into the compact assembly block undergoes ionization during forced charge of models of sealed nickel-metal hydride batteries with a closed hydrogen cycle. Two independent methods (potentiostatic and manometric) are used to determine the relationship between rates of hydrogen ionization with the degree of the electrode filling with gas and perform estimation of the process intensity at a unit reaction surface. It is established that, in conditions of forced gas delivery, practically all the hydrogen oxidation current is generated at the surface of the nickel oxide electrode beneath thin films of an electrolyte solution at the rate of 4–5 mA cm^?2. It is shown that the hydrogen oxidation rate on a nickel oxide electrode filled in part by gas is independent of the electrode potential, probably because of a tangible contribution made by diffusion limitations to the overall hampering of the process.     

Fiber-Optic Chemical Sensor for Detection of NO2 Using Poly (3-Octylthiophene)

A fiber-optic chemical sensor (FOCS) for detection of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) molecules is reported. The FOCS presents an optropode structure because of the transmission properties of the sensitive material. The NO₂ FOCS is activated by using the semiconductor polymer: regioregular head-to-tail poly(3-octylthiophene-2,5-diyl). The operation wavelength of the sensor is 543.5 nm such that a simple LED and detector can be used for the design of this device. The sensor response decreases after each exposure, demonstrating the reduction in sensitivity as well as irreversibility lower than 5%. However, its properties such as rapid response, high selectivity, high sensitivity (0.43 ± 0.01 muW/ppm), hygroscopic properties, and its operation at room temperature make this kind of FOCS a good alternative for NO₂ toxic gas detection.     

Numerical Prediction of the Strain State of Thermoset Matrix/Mineral Filler Composite Plates

The numerical prediction of the fields of inelastic strains (the linear invariant of the tensor of inelastic strains) in thermoset polyester/marble filler composite plates is discussed. A uniformly distributed load is applied to the plates, which lie on a steel base. The strain fields are predicted by means of the boundary element method by using creep test data for the composites and the polyester matrix itself. Identical creep tests were performed for two ages of the materials (1 month and 13 years), which allowed evaluating the aging effect. The study is carried out in two stages. At the first stage, the application of the generalized Maxwell-Gurevich equation to the thermoset matrix/mineral filler composite is demonstrated. The model parameters determined from the experimental creep data is used for the second stage, where the state of inelastic strains in the plates is predicted by applying the boundary element method. The influence of composite formulation (filler content) and physical aging of the polyester matrix on the state of inelastic strains in the plates is shown.__________Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 145–156, March–April, 2005.     

Crystallographic report: Bis(isonicotinonitrile)cadmium diselencyanate, [Cd(SeCN)2(pyCN)2] (pyCN = isonicotinonitrile)

The title compound, [Cd(SeCN)₂(pyCN)₂]_∞, adopts an extended one‐dimensional chain structure in which the neighboring cadmium atoms are bridged by two selenocyanate ions. The central cadmium atom has a distorted octahedral geometry defined by two isonicotinonitrile and four selenocyanate ions in a 4N2Se fashion. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.