Chiral recognition of dipeptides in Langmuir monolayers

The recognition of the enantiomeric couples of ditryptophan in Langmuir films of N-hexadecanoyl-l-proline was investigated by surface pressure–area (π–A) isotherm measurements and Brewster angle microscopy experiments. The π–A isotherms relative to the films including the enantiomeric dipeptides show small differences whereas an evident enantiodiscrimination is observed by Brewster angle microscopy images.     

不同分子量木质素磺酸钠对多壁碳纳米管分散性能的影响

研究了不同分子量级分的木质素磺酸钠(SLS)在多壁碳纳米管(MWCNTs)上的吸附特征及其对分散性能的影响.不同级分的SLS及其对MWCNTs的分散性能通过凝胶渗透色谱(GPC),紫外-可见(UV-Vis)光谱、元素分析、傅里叶变换红外(FT-IR)光谱、zeta电位、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)来表征.结果表明,分子量较大的SLS级分中芳香环含量较高,其与MWCNTs之间的π-π作用更强,在MWCNTs上的吸附量大,表现出最佳的分散性能,所分散的MWCNTs的电阻率最小,导电性能较佳.     

Effect of ionic liquid on dielectric, mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes/polychloroprene rubber composites

This paper focuses on the influence of ionic liquid on carbon nanotube based elastomeric composites. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are modified using an ionic liquid at room temperature, 1-butyl 3-methyl imidazolium bis (trifluoromethylsulphonyl) imide (BMI) and modified MWCNTs exhibit physical (cation–π/π–π) interaction with BMI. The polychloroprene rubber (CR) composites are prepared using unmodified and BMI modified MWCNTs. The presence of BMI not only increases the alternating current (AC) electrical conductivity and polarisability of the composites but also improves the state of dispersion of the tubes as observed from dielectric spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy respectively. In addition to the hydrodynamic reinforcement, the formation of improved filler–filler networks is reflected in the dynamic storage modulus (E′) for modified MWCNTs/CR composites in amplitude sweep measurement upon increasing the proportion of BMI. Hardness and mechanical properties are also studied for the composites as a function of BMI.     

Langmuir–Blodgett films of octadecanethiol on gold sols subphase

An octadecanethiol monolayer was formed on an aqueous gold sols subphase, it’s LB films were characterized by means of π-A isotherms, TEM (transmission electron microscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction) and UV–Vis spectroscopy.     

大尺寸石墨烯量子点组装体的制备及电化学发光性能

对氧化石墨烯纳米材料进行HNO₃氧化处理, 制备了水溶性好且具有强电化学发光(ECL)活性的大尺寸石墨烯量子点组装体(Large-sized graphene quantum dot assemblies, LSGQD-NAs). 利用透射电子显微镜(TEM)、 原子力显微镜(AFM)、 傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)和拉曼光谱(Raman)等方法对其进行了表征, 结果表明, 石墨烯量子点组装体的平均高度为20 nm, 且富含大量的羟基和羧基. 电化学测试结果显示, 在共反应物K₂S₂O₈存在下, LSGQD-NAs在阴极产生很强的ECL(峰值约在685 nm); 并推测了其ECL反应机理, 发现LSGQD-NAs容易通过中心未氧化的石墨烯π-π作用于GC电极表面进行组装修饰. 本研究为基于石墨烯量子点ECL传感器的研究提供了新方法.     

利用给体-π-受体分子模板在Au(111)电极表面构筑富勒烯带状结构(英文)

富勒烯与功能分子之间的电荷作用已经被广泛应用于功能性器件的构筑中.这些功能器件的性能与电极表面的薄膜排布结构有着密切关系.因此,研究电极表面的富勒烯和功能分子的组装结构对这些器件的构筑和功能的发挥有着重要意义.本文利用电化学扫描隧道显微镜技术,在HClO4溶液中系统研究了C60分子与有机电子给体-π-受体分子C16H33O-I3CNQ[Z-β-(5-hexadecyloxy-1,3,3-trimethyl-2-indolium)-α-cyano-4-styryl dicyanomethanide]在Au(111)电极表面的二维组装结构.研究发现:C16H33O-I3CNQ分子在Au(111)电极表面组装形成具有短程有序性的条陇状结构;而C60分子在C16H33O-I3CNQ模板之上组装形成了带状结构.C60分子带状结构的形成方向受到了C16H33O-I3CNQ分子中电子给体-π-受体部分排列结构的影响.C60分子与C16H33O-I3CNQ分子之间的π-π堆积作用和电荷转移作用对这种带状结构的形成有着密切关系.这一结果为利用富勒烯和功能分子之间的作用构筑功能器件提供了一种新的制备方法.     

氨基功能化石墨烯量子点表面缺陷钝化及其发光增强

通过酸氧化法将氧化石墨烯进一步“切割”制备石墨烯量子点（GQDs）,在100℃水热条件下,用氨水处理石墨烯量子点制备得到氨基功能化石墨烯量子点（N-GQDs）。傅里叶变换红外光谱证明NH₃可以有效地进攻环氧基碳和羧基碳,形成羟胺和酰胺基。原子力显微镜结果表明NH₃不仅能够有助于产生更小的量子点,还对石墨烯纳米片有致孔作用。氨基功能化之后,由于C-O-C相关的n-π^*跃迁受到抑制,N-GQDs发光具有更弱的激发波长依赖性,并使其荧光量子产率从0.3%提高至9.6%。时间分辨发光光谱表明,相比含氧基团,含氮基团相关的局域电子激发态具有更长的荧光寿命和更弱的发射光谱依赖性。     

Hierarchical nanocomposites of polyaniline scales coated on graphene oxide sheets for enhanced supercapacitors

The homogeneous polyaniline–graphene oxide (PANI-GO) nanocomposites were facilely assembled with a redox system in which cumene hydroperoxide (CHP) and iron dichloride (FeCl₂) acted as oxidant and reductant, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed that PANI scales coated uniformly on the surface of GO sheets owing to the synergistic effect between the PANI and GO. The obtained PANI-GO nanocomposites exhibited improved electrochemical performance as an electrode material for supercapacitors compared with the pure PANI. The specific capacitance of the PANI-GO nanocomposites was high up to 308.3 F g^?1, much higher than that of the pure PANI with specific capacitance of 150 F g^?1 at a current density of 1 A g^?1 in 2 M H₂SO₄ electrolyte. The Raman and XPS results illustrated that enhanced electrochemical performance might be attributed to the π-π conjugation between the PANI and GO sheets.     

Nature of anion-templated π(+)-π(+) interactions

Interaction between positively charged aromatic groups (π(+)-π(+)) is characterized by anti-parallel, displaced-stacked structures in the presence of counteranions. Binding energies of pyridinium, N-methylpyridinium and N-methylimidazolium dimers are much larger than that of benzene-pyridine (π-π) and pyridinium-benzene (π(+)-π). Stabilization is attributed to attractive electrostatic interaction with significant dispersion contribution.     

Double-tandem [4π+2π]·[2π+2π]·[4π+2π]·[2π+2π] synthetic sequence with photoprotolytic oxametathesis and photoepoxidation in the chromone series

Chromones are introduced into a double-tandem [4(π)+2(π)]·[2(π)+2(π)]·[4(π)+2(π)]·[2(π)+2(π)] synthetic sequence, culminating in photoprotolytic oxametathesis, which leads to an expeditious growth of molecular complexity over a few experimentally simple steps. The overall reaction can potentially be utilized in diversity-oriented synthesis, as it allows for three or more diversity inputs furnishing novel unique polycyclic scaffolds decorated with a variety of functionalities and aromatic/heterocyclic pendants. The polycyclic alkenes, resulting from the oxametathesis step, were found to undergo efficient and clean photoinduced epoxidation when irradiated in the presence of molecular oxygen.     

Influence of functional groups on the self-assembly of liquid crystals

Functional groups in the molecule play an important role in the molecular o rganization process.To reveal the influence of functional groups on the self-assembly at interface,herein,the self-assembly structures of three liquid crystal molecules,which only differ in the functional groups,are explicitly characterized by using scanning tunneling microscopy(STM).The high-resolution STM images demonstrate the difference between the supramolecular assembly structures of three liquid crystal molecules,which attribute to the hydrogen bonding interaction and π-π stacking interaction between different functional groups.The density functional theory(DFT) results also confirm the influence of these functional groups on the self-assemblies.The effort on the self-assembly of liquid crystal molecules at interface could enhance the understanding of the supramolecular assembly mechanism and benefit the further application of liquid crystals.     

One-photon photophysics and two-photon absorption of 4-[9,9-di(2-ethylhexyl)-7-diphenylaminofluoren-2-yl]-2,2':6',2'-terpyridine and their platinum chloride complexes

The synthesis, one-photon photophysics and two-photon absorption (2PA) of three dipolar D-π-A 4-[9,9-di(2-ethylhexyl)-7-diphenylaminofluoren-2-yl]-2,2':6',2'-terpyridine and their platinum chloride complexes with different linkers between the donor and acceptor are reported. All ligands exhibit (1)π,π* transition in the UV and (1)π,π*/(1)ICT (intramolecular charge transfer) transition in the visible regions, while the complexes display a lower-energy (1)π,π*/(1)CT (charge transfer) transition in the visible region in addition to the high-energy (1)π,π* transitions. All ligands and the complexes are emissive at room temperature and 77 K, with the emitting excited state assigned as the mixed (1)π,π* and (1)CT states at RT. Transient absorption from the ligands and the complexes were observed. 2PA was investigated for all ligands and complexes. The two-photon absorption cross-sections (σ(2)) of the complexes (600-2000 GM) measured by Z-scan experiment are much larger than those of their corresponding ligands measured by the two-photon induced fluorescence method. The ligand and the complex with the ethynylene linker show much stronger 2PA than those with the vinylene linker.     

Composing NLO Chromophore as a Puzzle: Electrochemistry-based Approach to Design and Effectiveness

A series of D-π-A, D-π-D′-π-A, D-π-A′-π-A nonlinear optical chromophores with vinylene π-electron bridges or bridges with π-deficient/π-excessive heterocyclic moieties along with the corresponding precursors D-vinylene, D-π-D′, D′-π-A, D-π-A′ and A′-π-A are synthesized and studied both experimentally and computationally. The effect of the heterocycle in the π-electron bridge on the oxidation/reduction potentials and the energy gap (ΔE^el) is investigated in detail. The properties of the D-π-A′(D′)-π-A chromophores are shown to correlate with those of building blocks: the oxidation potential is determined by the D-vinylene, and the reduction potential is determined by A′(D′)-π-A truncated compounds. The contribution of the acceptor to the oxidation potential of chromophores in comparison with those of the precursors was estimated and analyzed in terms of electronic communication between the end groups. A good correlation between the ΔE^el and the chromophores’ first hyperpolarizability is revealed.     

Solvent-induced shifts in electronic spectra of uracil

Highly accurate excitation spectra are predicted for the low-lying n-π* and π-π* states of uracil for both the gas phase and in water employing the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) and multiconfigurational quasidegenerate perturbation theory (MCQDPT) methods. Implementation of the effective fragment potential (EFP) solvent method with CASSCF and MCQDPT enables the prediction of highly accurate solvated spectra, along with a direct interpretation of solvent shifts in terms of intermolecular interactions between solvent and solute. Solvent shifts of the n-π* and π-π* excited states arise mainly from a change in the electrostatic interaction between solvent and solute upon photoexcitation. Polarization (induction) interactions contribute about 0.1 eV to the solvent-shifted excitation. The blue shift of the n-π* state is found to be 0.43 eV and the red shift of the π-π* state is found to be -0.26 eV. Furthermore, the spectra show that in solution the π-π* state is 0.4 eV lower in energy than the n-π* state.     

Aromatic Amides: A Smart Backbone toward Isolated Ultralong Bright Blue-Phosphorescence in Confined Polymeric Films

We describe an aromatic amide skeleton for manipulation of triplet excited states toward bright long-lived blue phosphorescence. Spectroscopic studies and theoretical calculations demonstrated that the aromatic amides can promote strong spin-orbit coupling between (π,π*) and the bridged (n,π*) states, and enable multiple channels to populate the emissive ³(π,π*), as well as facilitate robust hydrogen bonding with polyvinyl alcohol to suppress non-radiative relaxations. Isolated inherent deep-blue (0.155, 0.056) to sky-blue (0.175, 0.232) phosphorescence with high quantum yields (up to 34.7 %) in confined films are achieved. The blue afterglow of the films can last for several seconds and are showcased in information display, anti-counterfeiting, and white light afterglow. Owing to the high population of ³(π,π*) states, the smart aromatic amide skeleton provides an important molecular design prototype to manipulate triplet excited states for ultralong phosphorescence with various colors.     

Visibly observed photocrosslinking reaction in indolyl based pendant liquid crystalline polymers: Synthesis and optical property

Visibly observed photocrosslinkable pendant liquid crystalline polymers containing indolyl based chalcone were synthesized by free‐radical polymerization and characterized spectroscopically. The differential scanning calorimetry and polarized optical microscopy were used to examine liquid crystalline property. The photocrosslinking and luminescence properties were monitored by UV‐Vis spectrophotometer and spectrofluorimeter, respectively. It demonstrates the chalcone unit did not manifest cis ? trans‐isomerization reaction along with 2π+2π photodimerization upon irradiation with UV light like other chalcones hitherto reported. The photocrosslinking was visibly monitored in solution through change of fluorescent color to colorless. The spacer lengths play a key role in the reaction. The fluorescence maximum was blue shifted around 70 nm in chloroform solution upon irradiation with UV light confirms the 2π+2π photodimerization of chalcone unit. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 5208–5220, 2009     

Blue two-photon excited fluorescence of several D-π-D, A-π-A, and D-π-A compounds featuring dimesitylboryl acceptor

Several donor-π-donor (D-π-D), acceptor-π-acceptor (A-π-A), and donor-π-acceptor (D-π-A) types of organic compounds with fluorene as π bridge and dimesitylboryl group as electron acceptor, which show strong two-photon excited blue fluorescence, have been synthesized and structurally investigated. The symmetric A-π-A type of compound exhibits the shortest wavelength of two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) at λ_em=405 nm under the excitation of λ_ex=730 nm; the unsymmetric D-π-A type of compound with diphenylamino as donor exhibits the most intense TPEF at blue region (λ_em=484 nm) with a two-photon absorption cross-section of 425 GM under λ_ex=800 nm.     

Mechanism of the photochemical process of singlet oxygen production by phenalenone

Phenalenone (PN) is a very efficient singlet oxygen sensitiser in a wide range of solvents. This work uses ab initio quantum chemical calculations (CASSCF/CASPT2 protocol) to study the mechanism for populating the triplet state of PN responsible for this reaction, the (3)(π-π*) state. To describe in detail this reaction path, the singlet and triplet low-lying excited states of PN have been studied, the critical points of the potential energy surfaces corresponding to these states located and the vertical and adiabatic energies calculated. Our results show that, after the initial population of the S(2) excited state of (π-π*) character, the system undergoes an internal conversion to the (1)(n-π*) state. After populating the dark S(1) state, the system relaxes to the (1)(n-π*) minimum, but rapidly populates the triplet manifold through a very efficient intersystem crossing to the (3)(π-π*) state. Although the population of the minimum of this triplet state is strongly favoured, a conical intersection with the (3)(n-π*) surface opens an internal conversion channel to this state, a path accessible only at high temperatures. Radiationless deactivation processes are ruled out on the basis of the high-energy barriers found for the crossings between the excited states and the ground state. Our computational results satisfactorily explain the experimental findings and are in very good agreement with the experimental data available. In the case of the frequency of fluorescence, this is the first time that these data have been theoretically predicted in good agreement with the experimental results.     

PVK与新型D-π-A分子掺杂体系的能量转移及发光性质

通过对PVK与4种新型D-π-A分子(分别简写为CKD, TKD, PKD, NKD)掺杂体系的吸收光谱、激发光谱和光致发光光谱的研究, 分析了掺杂体系的光致发光特性和能量转移现象. 制备了结构为ITO/PEDOT/PVK∶D-π-A ω/Alq3/Al的电致发光器件, 研究了掺杂体系的电致发光性能. 研究结果表明, 通过改变D-π-A分子中不同给电子能力的电子给体, 可以调控其带隙, 进而实现对D-π-A分子发光峰位的调节; 给电子基团空间立构效应越高, 其荧光量子效率越高. 在掺杂体系的光致发光和电致发光中, PVK与D-π-A分子之间都发生了有效的能量转移, 通过调节PVK与D-π-A分子的比例, 可以调节掺杂体系的发光性能. 当TKD在PVK中的掺杂质量分数为6％时, 电致发光器件发光亮度为729.1 cd/m2时, 发光效率达到1.75 cd/A.     

Absolute cross sections for electronic excitations of cytosine by low energy electron impact

The absolute cross sections (CSs) for electronic excitations of cytosine by electron impact between 5 and 18 eV were measured by electron-energy-loss (EEL) spectroscopy of the molecule deposited at low coverage on an inert Ar substrate. The lowest EEL features found at 3.55 and 4.02 eV are ascribed to transitions from the ground state to the two lowest triplet 1?(3)A(')(π→π(?)) and 2?(3)A(')(π→π(?)) valence states of the molecule. Their energy dependent CSs exhibit essentially a common maximum at about 6 eV with a value of 1.84×10(-17)?cm(2) for the former and 4.94×10(-17)?cm(2) for the latter. In contrast, the CS for the next EEL feature at 4.65 eV, which is ascribed to the optically allowed transition to the 2?(1)A(')(π→π(?)) valence state, shows only a steep rise to about 1.04×10(-16)?cm(2) followed by a monotonous decrease with the incident electron energy. The higher EEL features at 5.39, 6.18, 6.83, and 7.55 eV are assigned to the excitations of the 3?(3,1)A(')(π→π(?)), 4?(1)A(')(π→π(?)), 5?(1)A(')(π→π(?)), and 6?(1)A(')(π→π(?)) valence states, respectively. The CSs for the 3?(3,1)A(') and 4?(1)A(') states exhibit a common enhancement at about 10 eV superimposed on a more or less a steep rise, reaching, respectively, a maximum of 1.27 and 1.79×10(-16)?cm(2), followed by a monotonous decrease. This latter enhancement and the maximum seen at about 6 eV in the lowest triplet states correspond to the core-excited electron resonances that have been found by dissociative electron attachment experiments with cytosine in the gas phase. The weak EEL feature found at 5.01 eV with a maximum CS of 3.8×10(-18)?cm(2) near its excitation threshold is attributed to transitions from the ground state to the 1?(3,1)A(")(n→π(?)) states. The monotonous rise of the EEL signal above 8 eV is attributed to the ionization of the molecule. It is partitioned into four excitation energy regions at about 8.55, 9.21, 9.83, and 11.53 eV, which correspond closely to the ionization energies of the four highest occupied molecular orbitals of cytosine. The sum of the ionization CS for these four excitation regions reaches a maximum of 8.1×10(-16)?cm(2) at the incident energy of 13 eV.