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SG1-based poly(d,l-lactide) (PLA) or poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) macro-alkoxyamines were synthesized and further used as macroinitiators for nitroxide-mediated polymerization (NMP) of 2-hydroxyethyl (meth)acrylate (HE(M)A) to obtain the corresponding PLA- or PCL-PHE(M)A block copolymers. First, a PLA-SG1 macro-alkoxyamine was prepared by 1,2-intermolecular radical addition (IRA) of the MAMA-SG1 (BlocBuilder) alkoxyamine onto acrylate end-capped PLA previously prepared by ring-opening polymerization. The NMP of HEA monomer from the PLA-SG1 macro-alkoxyamine appeared to be well controlled in the presence of free SG1 nitroxide, contrary to that of HEMA. In the latter case, adjustable molecular weights could be obtained by varying the HEMA to macro-alkoxyamine ratio. The versatility of our approach was then further applied to the preparation of PHEMA-b-PCL-b-PHEMA copolymers from a alpha,omega-di-SG1 functionalized PCL macro-alkoxyamine previously obtained from a PCL diacrylate by IRA. Preliminary studies of neuroblast cultures on these PCL-based copolymer films showed acceptable cyto-compatibility, demonstrating their potential for nerve repair applications.

Alcohol oxidation and self-assembly: the in situ oxidation of hydroxyl functional groups to quinone groups promotes the formation of enhanced hydrogen bonds and allows reorganization of the resulting supramolecular self-assemblies, which evolve from a weakly bound dense phase to a strongly bound nanoporous open structure (see picture).

Highly labile SG1-based alkoxyamines were synthesized using the photodecomposition of both azo compounds and dithiocarbamates. The former method was a straightforward procedure to obtain the alkoxyamines, but a high [azo]/[nitroxide] ratio is needed. The latter method required only a stoichiometric amount of dithiocarbamate and allowed the recovery of the disulfide after irradiation. This enabled combination of the two methods in a process where only 0.75 equiv of azo compound is needed and where sulfurous compounds acted only as intermediates.

The development of nanoscale masking for particle deposition is exceedingly important to push the future of nanoelectronics beyond the current limits of lithography. We present the first example of ordered hexagonal covalent nanoporous structures deposited in extended arrays of near monolayer coverage across a Ag(111) surface. The networks were formed from the deposition of the reagents from a heated molybdenum crucible between 370 and 460 K under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) onto a cleaned Ag(111) substrate and imaged using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). Two surface covalent organic frameworks (SCOFs) are presented; the first is formed from the deposition of 1,4-benzenediboronic acid (BDBA) and its dehydration to form the boroxine-linked SCOF-1, the second is formed from the co-deposition of BDBA and 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxytriphenylene (HHTP) to form a dioxaborole-linked SCOF-2 network. The networks were found to produce nanoporous structures of 15 A for SCOF-1 and 29 A for SCOF-2, which agreed with theoretical pore sizes determined from DFT calculations. Both SCOFs were found to have exceptional thermal stability, maintaining their structure until approximately 750 K, which was found to be the polymer degradation temperature from thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA).

Alkoxyamines and persistent nitroxides are important regulators of the nitroxide mediated radical polymerization (NMP). Since the polymerization time decreases with increasing values of the homolysis rate constant (kd) for the C--ON bond between the polymer chain and the nitroxide moiety, the factors influencing kd are of considerable interest. Environmentally friendly polymerization methods, such as NMP in emulsion medium, have now been developed. The success of the polymerization depends not only on the strength of the C--ON bond but also on the solubility of the initiator/controller alkoxyamines, which control the nucleation. Various salts of SG1-based alkoxyamines (S+-OOCCMeH-SG1) labelled 1 a-f, where S+=Li+ (a), Na+ (b), K+ (c), nBu3HN+ (d), NH4+ (e), and nBu4N+ (f) are prepared, all of which are soluble in most organic solvents (e.g. pentane, dichlomethane, benzene, ethanol, etc.) as well as in water. Their kd values, which are measured in tert-butylbenzene, reveal unexpected behaviors depending on the diastereoisomers. For the RR/SS diatereoisomers (i.e. slowly homolyzing isomers), kd was not found to be sensitive to any of the salts, whereas for the RS/SR diastereoisomers (i.e. quickly homolyzing isomers), kd is observed to decrease to a greater or lesser extent depending on the type of salt. The conformations of the diastereoisomers of several salts are determined by means of DFT calculations, and the orbital interactions are studied by natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis.

Functional polymers are usually separated by liquid chromatography at critical conditions (LC-CC) using a desorli/adsorli mixture as eluent. In this paper, we describe LC-CC using dimethylformamide (DMF) as pure eluent at 72 degrees C and its application to the analysis of functional polystyrenes. The critical adsorption point is reached by tuning the temperature so that the lack of repeatability is no longer a problem. We analysed several batches of polystyrenes, exhibiting different molecular weights and functionalities. We were able to differentiate di-, mono- and non-functional polystyrenes, bearing carboxylic acid, hydroxyl or nitroxide moieties. The behaviour of these polystyrenes expressed by the experimental results was compared with their behaviour described by the LC-CC theory through the calculation of the effective interaction parameter of each end group. The technique also makes it possible to quantify the fractions of different functional polymers in a blend.

A complete thermodynamic characterization of the chair-to-chair interconversion in beta-diphosphorylated piperidine-N-oxyl radicals was achieved by means of the analysis of temperature-dependent ESR spectra. A new two-dimensional simulation method was developed with the coordinates temperature and magnetic field, in which the entire set of spectra was simulated simultaneously by adjusting the coefficients in the power expansion, giving the temperature-dependent ESR parameters and the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters determining the site populations and exchange rates, respectively. The new method promotes elimination of the ambiguities inherent in the spectroscopic determination of thermodynamic parameters. Labile solvent-solute interactions can strongly influence the chemical exchange, producing a complex network of symmetric and asymmetric interconversions. The solvent dependence of magnetic relaxation was also analyzed.

Alkoxyamines and persistent nitroxides are important regulators of nitroxide-mediated radical polymerization (NMP). Since the polymerization time decreases with the increasing equilibrium constant K (k(d)/k(c)), i.e., the increasing rate constant k(d) of the homolysis of the C-ON bond between the polymer chain and the nitroxide moiety, the factors influencing the cleavage rate constants are of considerable interest. SG1-based alkoxyamines have turned out to be the most potent alkoxyamine family to use for NMP of various monomers. Therefore, it is of high interest to determine the factors which make SG1 derivatives better regulators than TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl) derivatives. Contrary to what we had observed with TEMPO derivatives, we observed two relationships for the plot E(a) vs BDE(C-H), one for the nonpolar released alkyl radicals (E(a) (kJ/mol) = -133.0 + 0.72BDE) and the other one for the polar released alkyl radicals (E(a) (kJ/mol) = -137.0 + 0.69BDE). However, for both families (SG1 and TEMPO derivatives), the rate constants k(d) of the C-ON bond homolysis were correlated to the cleavage temperature T(c) (log(k(d)(s(-)(1))) = 1.51 - 0.058T(c)). Such correlations should help to design new alkoxyamines to use as regulators and to improve the tuning of NMP experiments.

The thermal reactions of several TEMPO and DEPN (N-(2-methylpropan-2-yl)-N-(1-diethylphosphono-2,2-dimethylpropyl)-aminoxyl) based alkoxyamines were studied by means of (1)H and (31)P NMR spectroscopy aiming to distinguish the contributions of diastereoselective homolysis and coupling to the total equilibrium diastereomeric distribution. The TEMPO-based compounds reveal no diastereomeric excess while DEPN based compounds show a moderate excess both upon homolysis and coupling. The diastereomeric preference of homolysis for DEPN-(propionate-like) adducts does not depend on the ester group and it is mainly affected by the size of beta-substituents. The diastereoselective coupling is sensitive to the total recombination rate constant k(c) and diastereoselectivity increases with the decrease of k(c). Small diastereoselective coupling is found in the recombination of DEPN with sec-butyl isobutyrate radical, where no prochiral centers are formed upon cleavage of corresponding alkoxyamine.