Characterization of esterified cassava starch with long alkyl side chains and different substitution degrees.

The present work describes the characterization and thermal properties of hydrophobic starch obtained by the esterification of cassava starch with acyl imidazoles, acid chlorides and methyl ester derivatives of fatty acids with n-alkyl chains with 12-22 carbon atoms, in order to compare the dependence of their properties as a function of the length of the side chain and the methodology used for their synthesis. The n-acyl starches presented degrees of substitution (DS) between 0.06 and 1.2. Most of the derivatives obtained with acyl imidazoles were found to be stable at temperatures up to 300°C, whereas those synthesized with acid chlorides or methyl ester decomposed below. Finally, when the n-acyl starches were substituted with n-alkyl side chains of 16 or more carbon atoms, they were capable to crystallize in separate paraffinic phases independent of the starch backbone.

Molecular and crystalline structures of three (S)-4-alkoxycarbonyl-2-azetidinones containing long alkyl side chains from synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data.

The (S)-4-alkoxo-2-azetidinecarboxylic acids are optically active beta-lactam derivatives of aspartic acid, which are used as precursors of carbapenem-type antibiotics and poly-beta-aspartates. The crystal structures of three (S)-4-alkoxo-2-azetidinecarboxylic acids with alkyl chains with 10, 12 and 16 C atoms were solved using parallel tempering and refined against the X-ray powder diffraction data using the Rietveld method. The azetidinone rings in the three compounds display a pattern of asymmetrical bond distances and an almost planar conformation; these characteristics are compared with periodic solid-state, gas-phase density-functional theory (DFT) calculations and MOGUL average bond distances and angles from the CSD. The compounds pack along [001] as corrugated sheets separated by approximately 4.40 A and connected by hydrogen bonds of the type N-H...O.

Structures of (S)-(-)-4-oxo-2-azetidinecarboxylic acid and 3-azetidinecarboxylic acid from powder synchrotron diffraction data.

The crystal structures of the four-membered heterocycles (S)-(-)-4-oxo-2-azetidinecarboxylic acid (I) and 3-azetidinecarboxylic acid (II) were solved by direct methods using powder synchrotron X-ray diffraction data. The asymmetry of the oxoazetidine and azetidine rings is discussed, along with the hydrogen bonding.

Síntesis y caracterización de agentes compatibilizantes obtenidos a partir de polietilenos y diferentes monómeros polares / Synthesis and charcterization of compatibilizing agents obtained from polythylenes and diferent polar monomers

En este trabajo fueron estudiados los productos obtenidos por la funcionalización de copolímeros de etileno-alfa-olefina, que poseían varios comonómeros (1-buteno, 1-hexeno), con diferentes agentes (dietilmaleato, anhídrido maléico, monoitaconato de decilo y acrilamida). Todas las funcionalizaciones fueron realizadas en disolución. La introducción de los agentes funcionalizantes se confirmó por el uso de la espectroscopia infrarroja con transformada de Fourier (FTIR). El fraccionamiento térmico de los productos se realizó utilizando la calorimetría diferencial de barrido (DSC) y la aplicación de la técnica de autonucleación y recocidos sucesivos (SSA). La morfología y los detalles lamelares fueron investigados por observación en el microscopio electrónico de transmisión (TEM) de muestras teñidas por clorosulfonación. Los estudios de fraccionamiento revelaron diferencias entre los productos en cuanto a su comportamiento de fusión. En algunos productos la cantidad de las reacciones colaterales fue mayor que en otros. Los estudios microscópicos confirmaron que la introducción de agentes funcionalizantes dio lugar a la presencia de espesores lamelares más delgados