Alkanes orientation

Surface SHG [4.307] produces frequency-doubled radiation from a single pulsed laser beam. Intensity, polarization dependence, and rotational anisotropy of the SHG provide information about the surface concentration and orientation of adsorbed molecules and on the symmetry of surface structures. SHG has been successfully used for analysis of adsorption kinetics and ordering effects at surfaces and interfaces, reconstruction of solid surfaces and other surface phase transitions, and potential-induced phenomena at electrode surfaces. For example, orientation measurements were used to probe the intermolecular structure at air-methanol, air-water, and alkane-water interfaces and within mono- and multilayer molecular films. Time-resolved investigations have revealed the orientational dynamics at liquid-liquid, liquid-solid, liquid-air, and air-solid interfaces [4.307]. 

However, the assumption of molecule orientation normal to the surface is not convincing enough for this author, and it does not consist well with the results of the molecular d5mamics simulations for the alkane confined between solid walls. An example in Fig. 3 shows that the chain molecules near the wall are found mostly lying parallel, instead of normal, to the wall [6]. This means that the attractions between lubricant molecules and solid wall may readily exceed the inter-molecule forces that are supposed to hold the molecules in the normal direction. Results in Fig. 3 were obtained from simulations for liquid alkane with nonpolar molecules, but similar phenomenon was observed in computer simulations for the functional lubricant PFPE (per-fluoropolyether) adsorbed on a solid substrate [7], confirming that molecules near a solid wall lie parallel to the surface. 

Firouzi, A Schaefer, DH Tolbert, SH Stucky, GD Chmelka, BE, Magnetic-Field-Induced Orientational Ordering of Alkane Lyotropic Silicate-Surfactant Liquid Crystals, Journal of the American Chemical Society 119, 9466, 1997. 

Figure7.11 Orientation and packing for 4,4 -biphenylsubstituted alkaneselenolate molecules on Au and Ag showing the difference between an odd and even number of CH2 groups in the alkane chain. Reproduced with permission from Shaporenko eto/. [196], Copyright (2007) American Chemical Society.

The solvent triangle classification method of Snyder Is the most cosDBon approach to solvent characterization used by chromatographers (510,517). The solvent polarity index, P, and solvent selectivity factors, X), which characterize the relative importemce of orientation and proton donor/acceptor interactions to the total polarity, were based on Rohrscbneider s compilation of experimental gas-liquid distribution constants for a number of test solutes in 75 common, volatile solvents. Snyder chose the solutes nitromethane, ethanol and dloxane as probes for a solvent s capacity for orientation, proton acceptor and proton donor capacity, respectively. The influence of solute molecular size, solute/solvent dispersion interactions, and solute/solvent induction interactions as a result of solvent polarizability were subtracted from the experimental distribution constants first multiplying the experimental distribution constant by the solvent molar volume and thm referencing this quantity to the value calculated for a hypothetical n-alkane with a molar volume identical to the test solute. Each value was then corrected empirically to give a value of zero for the polar distribution constant of the test solutes for saturated hydrocarbon solvents. These residual, values were supposed to arise from inductive and... 

It was shown in the previous section that different relatively stable conformations of a given molecule can result from internal rotation of a particular functional group. The possibility of the existence of various conformers is of extreme importance in many applications. It should be noted, for example, that the biological activity of an organic molecule often depends on its confonfia-tion - in particular the relative orientation of a specific functional grtmp. As another example, the thermodynamic properties of, say, an alkane are directly related to the conformation of its carbon skeleton. In this context the industrial importance of /sooctane is well-known. 

Tetrahedral orientation of groups is the rule for the carbon atoms of all alkanes and cycloalkanes (sp hybridization). 

The titanosilicate version of UTD-1 has been shown to be an effective catalyst for the oxidation of alkanes, alkenes, and alcohols (77-79) by using peroxides as the oxidant. The large pores of Ti-UTD-1 readily accommodate large molecules such as 2,6-di-ferf-butylphenol (2,6-DTBP). The bulky 2,6-DTBP substrate can be converted to the corresponding quinone with activity and selectivity comparable to the mesoporous catalysts Ti-MCM-41 and Ti-HMS (80), where HMS = hexagonal mesoporous silica. Both Ti-UTD-1 and UTD-1 have also been prepared as oriented thin films via a laser ablation technique (81-85). Continuous UTD-1 membranes with the channels oriented normal to the substrate surface have been employed in a catalytic oxidation-separation process (82). At room temperature, a cyclohexene-ferf-butylhydroperoxide was passed through the membrane and epoxidation products were trapped on the down stream side. The UTD-1 membranes supported on metal frits have also been evaluated for the separation of linear paraffins and aromatics (83). In a model separation of n-hexane and toluene, enhanced permeation of the linear alkane was observed. Oriented UTD-1 films have also been evenly coated on small 3D objects such as glass and metal beads (84, 85). 

At this stage in the literature, there is no method available by which one can directly determine the orientation of molecules of liquids at interfaces. Molecules are situated at interfaces (e.g., air-liquid, liquid-liquid, and solid-liquid) under asymmetric forces. Recent studies have been carried out to obtain information about molecular orientation from surface tension studies of fluids (Birdi, 1997). It has been concluded that interfacial water molecules, in the presence of charged amphiphiles, are in a tetrahedral arrangement similar to the structure of ice. Extensive studies of alkanes... 

The dielectric constant (also called relative permittivity), of a solvent is measnred by placing it between the plates of a capacitor. The dielectric constant is given by eqn. 3.4. Dielectric constants range from 2 (alkanes) to over 100 (N-methylacetamide, 191). Between the charged plates, molecules with permanent or induced dipoles are aligned into an ordered arrangement. The dielectric constant represents the ability of a solvent to separate its charges and orient its dipoles. Some typical values are shown in table 3.4. 

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