Proton-coupled mechanochemical transduction: a mechanogenerated acid.

A novel mechanophore with acid-releasing capability is designed to produce a simple catalyst for chemical change in materials under mechanical stress. The mechanophore, based on a gem-dichlorocyclopropanated indene, is synthesized and used as a cross-linker in poly(methyl acrylate). Force-dependent rearrangement is demonstrated for cross-linked mechanophore samples loaded in compression, while the control shows no significant response.

A short, rigid, structurally pure carbon nanotube by stepwise chemical synthesis.

The inaccessibility of uniform-diameter, single-chirality carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in pure form continues to thwart efforts by scientists to use these ultrathin materials in innovative applications that could revolutionize nanoscale electronics. Stimulated by the challenge to address this long-standing problem, we and other organic chemists have envisioned a new production strategy involving the controlled elongation of small hydrocarbon templates, such as hemispherical nanotube end-caps, prepared by bottom-up chemical synthesis; the diameter and rim structure encoded in the template would dictate the diameter and chirality of the resulting CNT. Toward that objective, a short [5,5] CNT has now been synthesized by stepwise chemical methods.

Routine analysis and characterization of highly insoluble polycyclic aromatic compounds by direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART).

Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART), is used for the first time for the routine rapid analysis of highly insoluble polycyclic aromatic compounds. Direct analysis of such compounds as solid samples under solvent-free conditions shows that DART is a powerful analytical platform capable of providing high-throughput analysis for these complex samples, requiring no special sample pre-treatment or instrument setup.

Aromatic pi-systems more curved than C(60). The complete family of all indenocorannulenes synthesized by iterative microwave-assisted intramolecular arylations.

Syntheses and X-ray crystal structures are reported for all seven members of the indenocorannulene family, comprising indenocorannulene, both isomers of diindenocorannulene, both isomers of triindenocorannulene, tetraindenocorannulene, and pentaindenocorannulene. With each additional indenoannulation, the pyramidalization of the trigonal carbon atoms at the hub of the corannulene increases. Five of the seven indenocorannulenes contain carbon atoms at the hub that are actually more pyramidalized than the carbon atoms of C(60).