Molecular structure, spectroscopic investigations and computational study on the potential molecular switch of (<i>E</i>)-1-(4-(2-hydroxybenzylideneamino)phenyl)ethanone

<p>This paper presents a combined experimental and theoretical study on an ortho-hydroxy Schiff base compound, (<i>E</i>)-1-(4-(2-hydroxybenzylideneamino)phenyl)ethanone. The spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of the compound were determined using IR, UV–vis and ¹H, ¹³C NMR as well as cyclic voltammetry techniques. The hydrogen bond strength was studied using the spectroscopic results, geometry calculations, topological and NBO analysis. The results showed that the predicted nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of the title compound are much greater than those of urea. Thermodynamic properties in the range from 100 to 505 K were obtained. Furthermore, molecular electrostatic potential, Fukui functions, thermodynamic, frontier molecular orbital analysis, reactivity descriptors and NLO properties were found and discussed. Theoretical results show that the conductance of the two tautomers varies seriously, which offers that this molecule has potential usage as a molecular device.</p> <p></p

Fabrication of Chemically Tunable, Hierarchically Branched Polymeric Nanostructures by Multi-branched Anodic Aluminum Oxide Templates

In this paper, a template-assisted replication method is demonstrated for the fabrication of hierarchically branched polymeric nanostructures composed of post-modifiable poly­(pentafluorophenyl acrylate). Anodic aluminum oxide templates with various shapes of hierarchically branched pores are fabricated by an asymmetric two-step anodization process. The hierarchical polymeric nanostructures are obtained by infiltration of pentafluorophenyl acrylate with a cross-linker and photoinitiator, followed by polymerization and selective removal of the template. Furthermore, the nanostructures containing reactive pentafluorophenyl ester are modified with spiropyran amine via post-polymerization modification to fabricate ultraviolet-responsive nanostructures. This method can be readily extended to other amines and offers a generalized strategy for controlling functionality and wettability of surfaces