Vol 51, No 5 (2017)

It has been established that the main products of the direct photolysis of C15-sphingosine and serinol are 2-tridecenal and glycolaldehyde, which are formed as a result of C–C bond cleavage in the parent compounds. It has been shown that the addition of hydrogen peroxide and acetone to the test solutions extended the range of the photolysis products due to the occurrence of deamination processes. The set of the experimental data has made it possible to propose mechanisms for the photochemical reactions of C15- sphingosine and serinol fragmentation, which occur through the steps of the formation of N- and C-centered radicals.

For films of poly(alkane etherimide) composites containing rubrene microcrystals, the effect of Cu–Ni magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) with a reduced Curie temperature T_C (40–60°C) on luminescence and photoconductivity, as well as on the magnetic spin effect, has been observed and studied. It has been shown that this effect depends on the excitation intensity and weak heating (up to T < T_C°C). The assumption has been made that the excited states of the microcrystals (or charge carriers) interact with the MNP surface, leading to a change in their magnetic characteristics.

The efficiency of interphotochromic energy transfer in the biphotochromic styrylpyridine−benzomerocyanine dyad is 66% due to spatial and spectral separation of two photochromes. Therefore, both photochromes conserve their ability to photoisomerization. By using the photoisomerization of the photochromes for switching between different photostationary states, it has been shown that the dyad can function as photonic three- and four-input molecular logic gates, particularly a 4-to-2 encoder and a parity checker.

Luminescent properties of CdSe@CdS colloidal quantum dots upon replacement of hydrophobic stabilizing ligands with water-soluble 1-thioglycerol have been studied. The data obtained have made it possible to optimize the ligand replacement procedure and significantly decrease the loss of the fluorescence quantum yield of the resulting hydrophilic quantum dots.

The molecular–topological structure of a copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluoromethylvinyl ether has been studied for the first time before and after irradiation with 1- and 4-MeV protons. The pseudo-network structure of the copolymer contains an amorphous block and crystalline segments of macromolecules as branching points. After bombardment with protons, a high-temperature amorphous block is formed in the copolymer with simultaneous complete amorphization of the copolymer structure and a decrease in its molecular flow temperature. The surface of a target plate with a thickness of 500 μm that has not been directly exposed to proton bombardment preserves the molecular–topological structure of the initial copolymer.

In the process of the electron-beam distillation of lignin, its conversion into benzenediols increases in the presence of alkanes in the irradiated sample. An increase in the yield of benzenediols is accompanied by a decrease in the fractions of guaiacol, creosol, ethylguaiacol, and vinylguaiacol in the tar distilled off. It has been noted that alkanes serve as an additional source of atomic hydrogen and alkyl radicals, which, in turn, play a key role in the formation of benzenediols. In the presence of alkanes in the irradiated sample, guaiacol can be the main precursor of catechols; the proportion of guaiacol in the tar is almost three times below that in the case of distillation of individual lignin. It has been hypothesized that the chain decomposition of lignin can occur with the participation of •H and •CH₃ radicals.

Host–guest complexes are of interest as promising nanodevices for molecular recognition and chemosensors. In this work, the structure and molecular dynamics of complexes of the nitroxyl radical TEMPO (I), as models of indicator and analyte, with cucurbituril CB[7] in solution and in the solid phase have been studied by ESR and DFT methods. The kinetic accessibility of the NO group of I for water-soluble reagents has been determined. By simulation of the ESR spectra of the complex, the rotational diffusion coefficients and the anisotropy of its rotation have been determined. To study the rotational mobility of the guest in the CB[7] cavity, solid solutions of I@CB[7] in the CB[7] matrix have been obtained. The ESR spectra indicate rapid jump-like rotation of I about an axis oriented along the normal to the CB[7] portals. The formation energy and the spatial structure of the complex have been calculated by the DFT method; a change in the spin density on the NO group with changing the orientation of I in the CB[7] cavity has been found.

Aerogels of the tetrafluoroethylene radical polymerization products H(C₂F₄)_nR, where R is the radical formed by the abstraction of a hydrogen atom from a solvent molecule, have been obtained by replacing the solvent with supercritical CO₂ and its subsequent rapid evaporation. According to the data of scanning electron and atomic force microscopy, the aerogel consists of loosely bound particles of 1–3 μm in diameter, which is two to three times that of colloid particles in the initial solution, where the particles consist of an oligomer framework filled with solvent molecules. The internal structure of the framework is manifested in the surface topography with a roughness coefficient of 1.6–1.8. High roughness leads to the formation of ultrahydrophobic coatings with contact angles of >160°. A model of supercritical drying in which the solvent is removed from the colloidal particles without alteration of the supramolecular structure is discussed.