Mild Amide‐Cleavage Reaction Mediated by Electrophilic Benzylation

An extremely mild method for amide‐cleavage by using the triazine‐based benzylating reagent 4‐(4,6‐diphenoxy‐1,3,5‐triazin‐2‐yl)‐4‐benzylmorpholinium trifluoromethanesulfonate (DPT‐BM), which spontaneously releases benzyl cation species when being dissolved at room temperature, has been developed. O‐Benzylation of the amide with DPT‐BM and the subsequent hydrolysis of the resulting intermediate benzyl imidate salt afford the corresponding amine and benzyl ester, which can be converted by hydrogenolysis into a carboxylic acid under neutral conditions. O‐Benzylation proceeds depending on both steric and electronic factors around the amide group. Thus, some amides have been selectively cleaved over other amides. Furthermore, intramolecular chemoselective cleavage of an amide group in the presence of an ester group was achieved. Such selective hydrolytic reactions cannot be performed with Meerwein reagents as well as under acidic or basic hydrolytic conditions.     

Theoretical Prediction on Photovoltaic Properties of 4Cl‐BPPQ/PC61BM System via Density Functional Theory Calculations

Designing and synthesizing high‐performable electron donor materials are very important for fabricating organic solar cell devices with high power conversion efficiency (PCE). In this work, quantum chemical and molecular dynamics calculations coupled with the Marcus‐Hush charge transfer model were used to investigate the photovoltaic properties of 4Cl‐BPPQ/PC₆₁BM. Results reveal that 4Cl‐BPPQ/PC₆₁BM system theoretically possesses a large open‐circuit voltage (1.29 V), high fill factor (0.90), and over 9% PCE. Moreover, calculations also reveal that the 4Cl‐BPPQ/PC₆₁BM system has a middle‐sized exciton binding energy (0.492 eV), but relatively small charge‐dissociation and charge‐recombination reorganization energies (0.345 eV and 0.355 eV). Based on the 4Cl‐BPPQ/PC₆₁BM complex, the charge‐dissociation rate constant, k_dis, is estimated to be as large as 6.575×10¹² s^?1, while the charge‐recombination one, k_rec, is very small (<1.0 s^?1) under the same condition due to the very small driving force (ΔG_rec=?1.900 eV). In addition, by means of an amorphous cell containing one hundred 4Cl‐BPPQ molecules, the hole carrier mobility of 4Cl‐BPPQ solid is estimated as high as 3.191×10^?3 cm²·V^?1·s^?1. In brief, our calculation shows that 4Cl‐BPPQ/PC₆₁BM system is a very promising organic solar cell system, and is worth of making further device research by experiments.     

Gold‐Nanoparticle‐Loaded Carbonate‐Modified Titanium(IV) Oxide Surface: Visible‐Light‐Driven Formation of Hydrogen Peroxide from Oxygen

Gold nanoparticle‐loaded rutile TiO₂ with a bimodal size distribution around 10.6 nm and 2.3 nm (BM‐Au/TiO₂) was prepared by the deposition precipitation and chemical reduction (DP‐CR) technique. Visible‐light irradiation (λ>430 nm) of the BM‐Au/TiO₂ plasmonic photocatalyst yields 35 μm H₂O₂ in aerated pure water at irradiation time (t_p)=1 h, and the H₂O₂ concentration increases to 640±60 μm by the addition of 4 % HCOOH as a sacrificing electron donor. Further, a carbonate‐modified surface BM‐Au/TiO₂ (BM‐Au/TiO₂‐CO₃^2?) generates a millimolar level of H₂O₂ at t_p=1 h with a quantum efficiency (Φ) of 5.4 % at λ=530 nm under the same conditions. The recycle experiments confirmed the stable performance of BM‐Au/TiO₂.     

Synthesis and characterization of cyclic P3HT as a donor polymer for organic solar cells

In this study, cyclic poly(3‐hexylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl) (c‐P3HT) with a controlled M_n was synthesized by the intramolecular cyclization of α‐bromo‐ω‐ethynyl‐functionalized P3HT via the Sonogashira coupling reaction. The effect of the cyclic structure, which does not have terminal groups of polymers, on the photoelectric conversion characteristics was investigated in comparison to linear P3HT (l‐P3HT). c‐P3HT was successfully synthesized with M_n ≈ 17,000, dispersity ≈ 1.2, and regioregularity ≈ 99%. The hole mobility was determined to be 5.1 × 10^?4 cm² V^?1 s^?1 by time‐of‐flight (TOF) experiment. This was comparable to that of l‐P3HT of 5.6 × 10^?4 cm² V^?1 s^?1. Organic solar cell systems were fabricated with each polymer by blending them with [6,6]‐phenyl‐C₇₁‐butyric acid methyl ester (PC₇₁BM). The l‐P3HT:PC₇₁BM system showed a dispersive TOF photocurrent profile for electron transport, whereas a nondispersive profile was observed for c‐P3HT:PC₇₁BM. In addition, an amount of collected electrons in c‐P3HT:PC₇₁BM was greater than that in l‐P3HT:PC₇₁BM for TOF experiments. The photoelectric conversion characteristics were improved by using c‐P3HT rather than l‐P3HT (power conversion efficiency [PCE] = 4.05% vs 3.23%), reflecting the nondispersive transport and the improvement of electron collection. PCEs will be much improved by applying this cyclic concept to highly‐efficient OSC polymers. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 266–271     

Free Carrier Generation in Organic Photovoltaic Bulk Heterojunctions of Conjugated Polymers with Molecular Acceptors: Planar versus Spherical Acceptors

A comparative study of the photophysical performance of the prototypical fullerene derivative PC₆₁BM with a planar small‐molecule acceptor in an organic photovoltaic device is presented. The small‐molecule planar acceptor is 2‐[{7‐(9,9‐di‐n‐propyl‐9H‐fluoren‐2‐yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazol‐4‐yl}methylene]malononitrile, termed K12. We discuss photoinduced free charge‐carrier generation and transport in blends of PC₆₁BM or K12 with poly(3‐n‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT), surveying literature results for P3HT:PC₆₁BM and presenting new results on P3HT:K12. For both systems we also review previous work on film structure and correlate the structural and photophysical results. In both cases, a disordered mixed phase is formed between P3HT and the acceptor, although the photophysical properties of this mixed phase differ markedly for PC₆₁BM and K12. In the case of PC₆₁BM the mixed phase acts as a free carrier generation region that can efficiently shuttle carriers to the pure polymer and fullerene domains. As a result, the vast majority of excitons quenched in P3HT:PC₆₁BM blends yield free carriers detected by the contactless time‐resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) method. In contrast, approximately 85 % of the excitons quenched in P3HT:K12 do not result in free carriers over the nanosecond timescale of the TRMC experiment. We attribute this to poor electron‐transport properties in the mixed P3HT:K12 phase. We propose that the observed differences can be traced to the respective shapes of PC₆₁BM and K12: the three‐dimensional nature of the fullerene cage facilitates coupling between PC₆₁BM molecules irrespective of their relative orientation, whereas for K12 strong electronic coupling is only expected for molecules oriented with their π systems parallel to each other. Comparison between the eutectic compositions of the P3HT:PC₆₁BM and P3HT:K12 shows that the former contains enough fullerene to form a percolation pathway for electrons, whereas the latter contains a sub‐percolating volume fraction of the planar acceptor. Furthermore, the planar K12 co‐assembles with P3HT into a disordered, glassy phase that partly accounts for the poor electron‐transport properties, and may also enhance recombination due to the strong intermolecular interactions between the donor and the acceptor. The implication for the performance of organic photovoltaic devices with the two acceptors is also discussed.     

Atomistic understanding of the C·T mismatched DNA base pair tautomerization via the DPT: QM and QTAIM computational approaches

It was established that the cytosine·thymine (C·T) mismatched DNA base pair with cis‐oriented N1H glycosidic bonds has propeller‐like structure (|N3C4C4N3| = 38.4°), which is stabilized by three specific intermolecular interactions–two antiparallel N4H…O4 (5.19 kcal mol^?1) and N3H…N3 (6.33 kcal mol^?1) H‐bonds and a van der Waals (vdW) contact O2…O2 (0.32 kcal mol^?1). The C·T base mispair is thermodynamically stable structure (ΔG_int = ?1.54 kcal mol^?1) and even slightly more stable than the A·T Watson–Crick DNA base pair (ΔG_int = ?1.43 kcal mol^?1) at the room temperature. It was shown that the C·T ? C*·T* tautomerization via the double proton transfer (DPT) is assisted by the O2…O2 vdW contact along the entire range of the intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC). The positive value of the Grunenberg's compliance constants (31.186, 30.265, and 22.166 Å/mdyn for the C·T, C*·T*, and TS_{C·T ? C*·T*}, respectively) proves that the O2…O2 vdW contact is a stabilizing interaction. Based on the sweeps of the H‐bond energies, it was found that the N4H…O4/O4H…N4, and N3H…N3 H‐bonds in the C·T and C*·T* base pairs are anticooperative and weaken each other, whereas the middle N3H…N3 H‐bond and the O2…O2 vdW contact are cooperative and mutually reinforce each other. It was found that the tautomerization of the C·T base mispair through the DPT is concerted and asynchronous reaction that proceeds via the TS_{C·T ? C*·T*} stabilized by the loosened N4? H? O4 covalent bridge, N3H…N3 H‐bond (9.67 kcal mol^?1) and O2…O2 vdW contact (0.41 kcal mol^?1). The nine key points, describing the evolution of the C·T ? C*·T* tautomerization via the DPT, were detected and completely investigated along the IRC. The C*·T* mispair was revealed to be the dynamically unstable structure with a lifetime 2.13·× 10^?13 s. In this case, as for the A·T Watson–Crick DNA base pair, activates the mechanism of the quantum protection of the C·T DNA base mispair from its spontaneous mutagenic tautomerization through the DPT. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Three‐dimensional reference interaction site model self‐consistent field analysis of solvent and substituent effects on the absorption spectra of Brooker's merocyanine

Solvent and substituent effects on the absorption spectra of Brooker's merocyanine (BM) are investigated using the three‐dimensional reference interaction site model self‐consistent field method and time‐dependent density functional theory. The π–π* excitation energies are computed for BM and its derivative 2,6‐di‐tert‐butyl (di‐t‐Bu) BM. The behaviors of the computed excitation energies with increasing solvent polarity are in good agreement with those of the corresponding experimental measurements. In addition, analysis of the solute–solvent interaction energies and spatial distribution functions reveals that the effects of the solvent on the absorption spectra are reduced by the steric hindrance of the t‐Bu groups. Furthermore, from the difference in the solute–solvent interaction energies of BM and di‐t‐Bu BM, it is shown that the effect of the t‐Bu substituents on the absorption spectrum is greater in high‐polarity solvents. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Performance Enhancement of Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells with Direct Growth of CdS‐Cluster‐Decorated Graphene Nanosheets

Two‐dimensional graphene–CdS (G–CdS) semiconductor hybrid nanosheets were synthesized in situ by graphene oxide (GO) quantum wells and a metal–xanthate precursor through a one‐step growth process. Incorporation of G–CdS nanosheets into a photoactive film consisting of poly[4,8‐bis‐(2‐ethyl‐hexyl‐thiophene‐5‐yl)‐benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b]dithiophene‐2,6‐diyl]‐alt‐[2‐(2‐ethyl‐hexanoyl)‐thieno[3,4‐b]thiophen‐4,6‐diyl] (PBDTTT‐C‐T) and [6,6]‐phenyl C₇₀ butyric acid methyl ester (PC₇₀BM) effectively decreases the exciton lifetime to accelerate exciton dissociation. More importantly, the decreasing energy levels of PBDTTT‐C‐T, PC₇₀BM, and G–CdS produces versatile heterojunction interfaces of PBDTTT‐C‐T:PC₇₀BM, PBDTTT‐C‐T:G–CdS, and PBDTTT‐C‐T:PC₇₀BM:G–CdS; this offers multi‐charge‐transfer channels for more efficient charge separation and transfer. The charge transfer in the blend film also depends on the G–CdS nanosheet loadings. In addition, G–CdS nanosheets improve light utilization and charge mobility in the photoactive layer. As a result, by incorporation of G–CdS nanosheets into the active layer, the power‐conversion efficiency of inverted solar cells based on PBDTTT‐C‐T and PC₇₁BM is improved from 6.0 % for a reference device without G–CdS nanosheets to 7.5 % for the device with 1.5wt % G–CdS nanosheets, due to the dramatically enhanced short‐circuit current. Combined with the advantageous mechanical properties of the PBDTTT‐C‐T:PC₇₀BM:G–CdS active layer, the novel CdS‐cluster‐decorated graphene hybrid nanomaterials provide a promising approach to improve the device performance.     

Tailorable PC71BM Isomers: Using the Most Prevalent Electron Acceptor to Obtain High‐Performance Polymer Solar Cells

Despite being widely used as electron acceptor in polymer solar cells, commercially available PC₇₁BM (phenyl‐C₇₁‐butyric acid methyl ester) usually has a “random” composition of mixed regioisomers or stereoisomers. Here PC₇₁BM has been isolated into three typical isomers, α‐, β₁‐ and β₂‐PC₇₁BM, to establish the isomer‐dependent photovoltaic performance on changing the ternary composition of α‐, β₁‐ and β₂‐PC₇₁BM. Mixing the isomers in a ratio of α/β₁/β₂=8:1:1 resulted in the best power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.67 % for the polymer solar cells with PTB7:PC₇₁BM as photoactive layer (PTB7=poly[[4,8‐bis[(2‐ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene‐2,6‐diyl][3‐fluoro‐2‐[(2‐ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4‐b]thiophenediyl]]). The three typical PC₇₁BM isomers, even though sharing similar LUMO energy levels and light absorption, render starkly different photovoltaic performances with average‐performing PCE of 1.28–7.44 % due to diverse self‐aggregation of individual or mixed PC₇₁BM isomers in the otherwise same polymer solar cells.     

Synthesis of Deuterium Labeled Tryptamine Derivatives

The synthesis of deuterium labeled tryptamine derivatives, [2‐(1H‐indol‐3‐yl)‐[²H₄]‐ethyl]‐dimethylamine (DMT), [²H₁₀]‐diethyl‐[2‐(1H‐indol‐3‐yl)‐ethyl]‐amine (DET), [2‐(1H‐indol‐3‐yl)‐ethyl]‐[²H₆]‐dipropyl‐amine (DPT) and [²H₂]‐alpha‐methyltryptamine (AMT) is described. The isotopically labeled compounds are used as internal standards in gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) assays.     

An Oligothiophene–Fullerene Molecule with a Balanced Donor–Acceptor Backbone for High‐Performance Single‐Component Organic Solar Cells

A new balanced donor–acceptor molecule, namely, benzodithiophene (BDT)‐rhodanine‐[6,6]‐phenyl‐C₇₁ butyric acid methyl ester (Rh‐PC₇₁BM) comprising two covalently linked blocks, a p‐type oligothiophene‐containing BDT‐based moiety and an n‐type PC₇₁BM unit was designed and synthesized. The single‐component organic solar cell (SCOSC) fabricated from Rh‐PC₇₁BM molecules showed a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.22 % with an open‐circuit voltage (V_oc) of 0.98 V. These results rank are among the highest values for SCOSCs based on a monomolecular material. In particular, the one‐molecule Rh‐PC₇₁BM device exhibits excellent thermal stability compared to reference Rh‐OH:PC₇₁BM device. The success of our monomolecular strategy can provide a new way to develop high‐performance SCOSCs.     

Development and validation of a UPLC‐UV method for the determination of daptomycin in rabbit plasma

Daptomycin (DPT) is a lipopeptide antibiotic with potent bactericidal activity in vitro against Gram‐positive bacteria, which has attracted the attention of the scientific community due to its unique mechanism of action and due to the immediate need for new antibiotics in the era of multidrug resistance. In order to assess its pharmacokinetics in rabbits a new analytical method has been developed and validated using ultra performance liquid chromatography in conjugation with ultraviolet detection for the quantitation of the antibiotic in rabbit plasma, using the internal standard methodology. The separation was achieved employing a C₁₈ column with gradient elution using 0.1% aq. trifluoroacetic acid and methanol. The total analysis time was 2.5 min. The sample pretreatment employed protein precipitation with acetonitrile–methanol mixture and centrifugation. The method was validated in terms of linearity, precision, accuracy, sensitivity, robustness, short‐term and freeze–thaw stability and was applied to the quantification of DPT in plasma samples obtained from rabbits treated with 25 mg kg^?1 DPT. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Whole‐Cell Biotransformation of Benzene to Phenol Catalysed by Intracellular Cytochrome P450BM3 Activated by External Additives

An Escherichia coli whole‐cell biocatalyst for the direct hydroxylation of benzene to phenol has been developed. By adding amino acid derivatives as decoy molecules to the culture medium, wild‐type cytochrome P450BM3 (P450BM3) expressed in E.coli can be activated and non‐native substrates hydroxylated, without supplementing with NADPH. The yield of phenol reached 59 % when N‐heptyl‐l ‐prolyl‐l ‐phenylalanine (C7‐Pro‐Phe) was employed as the decoy molecule. It was shown that decoy molecules, especially those lacking fluorination, reached the cytosol of E. coli, thus imparting in vivo catalytic activity for the oxyfunctionalisation of non‐native substrates to intracellular P450BM3.     

Synthesis and applications of 2,7‐carbazole‐based conjugated main‐chain copolymers containing electron deficient bithiazole units for organic solar cells

A series of low‐band‐gap (LBG) donor–accepor conjugated main‐chain copolymers ( P1 – P4 ) containing planar 2,7‐carbazole as electron donors and bithiazole units (4,4′‐dihexyl‐2,2′‐bithiazole and 4,4′‐dihexyl‐5,5′‐di(thiophen‐2‐yl)‐2,2′‐bithiazole) as electron acceptors were synthesized and studied for the applications in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells. The effects of electron deficient bithiazole units on the thermal, optical, electrochemical, and photovoltaic (PV) properties of these LBG copolymers were investigated. Absorption spectra revealed that polymers P1 – P4 exhibited broad absorption bands in UV and visible regions from 300 to 600 nm with optical band gaps in the range of 1.93–1.99 eV, which overlapped with the major region of the solar emission spectrum. Moreover, carbazole‐based polymers P1 – P4 showed low values of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) levels, which provided good air stability and high open circuit voltages (V_oc) in the PV applications. The BHJ PV devices were fabricated using polymers P1 – P4 as electron donors and (6,6)‐phenyl‐C₆₁‐butyric acid methyl ester (PC₆₁BM) or (6,6)‐phenyl‐C₇₁‐butyric acid methyl ester (PC₇₁BM) as electron acceptors in different weight ratios. The PV device bearing an active layer of polymer blend P4:PC₇₁BM (1:1.5 w/w) showed the best power conversion efficiency value of 1.01% with a short circuit current density (J_sc) of 4.83 mA/cm², a fill factor (FF) of 35%, and V_oc = 0.60 V under 100 mW/cm² of AM 1.5 white‐light illumination. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Chemo‐ and Regioselective Dihydroxylation of Benzene to Hydroquinone Enabled by Engineered Cytochrome P450 Monooxygenase

Hydroquinone (HQ) is produced commercially from benzene by multi‐step Hock‐type processes with equivalent amounts of acetone as side‐product. We describe an efficient biocatalytic alternative using the cytochrome P450‐BM3 monooxygenase. Since the wildtype enzyme does not accept benzene, a semi‐rational protein engineering strategy was developed. Highly active mutants were obtained which transform benzene in a one‐pot sequence first into phenol and then regioselectively into HQ without any overoxidation. A computational study shows that the chemoselective oxidation of phenol by the P450‐BM3 variant A82F/A328F leads to the regioselective formation of an epoxide intermediate at the C3=C4 double bond, which departs from the binding pocket and then undergoes fragmentation in aqueous medium with exclusive formation of HQ. As a practical application, an E. coli designer cell system was constructed, which enables the cascade transformation of benzene into the natural product arbutin, which has anti‐inflammatory and anti‐bacterial activities.     

Square-wave voltammetry of 4,4′-diisopropyl-2,2′-bithiazoline and its complex with copper(II)

(4S)-4′-diisopropyl-2,2′-bithiazoline (DPT) is an electroactive organic chiral compound giving two reduction responses in square-wave voltammograms at potentials about −0.2 and −0.4 V by forming a complex with mercury which deposits at the electrode surface. By the addition of copper(II) ion to the solution of DPT a third peak appears between them at about −0.3 V, which corresponds to the reduction of adsorbed Cu-DPT complex. Optimal pH for the investigation of those redox processes was found to be 2.8. By square-wave voltammetric measurements it was interpreted that these redox reactions were quasireversible with immobilized reactants. By plotting i_p/f vs. frequency a quasireversible maximum was obtained, and the apparent standard reaction rate constants were calculated: log (k_s)DPT=(0.91 ± 0.9) and 1 < k_s < 65_S⁻¹, log (k_s)_CuDPT= (0.35 ± 0.9) and 0.3 < k_s < 18 S⁻¹ in 0.55 M NaCl.     

Degradation of triphenyltin compounds in sea water by pyoverdins from Pseudomonas chlororaphis

The yellow compound species pyoverdin was isolated from Pseudomonas chlororaphis. Degradation of triphenyltin (TPT) by pyoverdin (20 mg) was carried in distilled water (30 ml) containing a 6 µg l^?1 concentration of TPT at 20 °C for 96 h in aerobic conditions. The organotins in water and sea water were analyzed by gas chromatograph–mass spectrometry in selected ion mode. TPT and diphenyltin (DPT) in sea water were degraded to monophenyltin (MPT) with pyoverdins isolated from P. ­chlororaphis. Degradation of TPT in sea water increased with increasing temperature between 4 and 37 °C. Optimum degradation of TPT in sea water was at pH 7–8.5. Degradation of TPT and DPT in distilled water can be faster than in sea water. Also, degradation of TPT in both water and sea water was faster than that of DPT. Tributyltin, dibutyltin, monobutyltin and MPT in water and sea water were not degraded by pyoverdins isolated from P. chlororaphis. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Alternating and Diblock Donor–Acceptor Conjugated Polymers Based on Diindeno[1,2‐b:2′,1′‐d]thiophene Structure: Synthesis,Characterization, and Photovoltaic Applications

Pentacyclic diindeno[1,2‐b:2′,1′‐d]thiophene ( DIDT ) unit is a rigid and coplanar conjugated molecule. To the best of our knowledge, this attractive molecule has never been incorporated into a polymer and thus its application in polymer solar cells has never been explored. For the first time, we report the detailed synthesis of the tetra‐alkylated DIDT molecule leading to its dibromo‐ and diboronic ester derivatives, which are the key monomers for preparation of DIDT ‐based polymers. Two donor–acceptor alternating polymers, poly(diindenothiophene‐alt‐benzothiadiazole) PDIDTBT and poly(diindenothiophene‐alt‐dithienylbenzothiadiazole) PDIDTDTBT , were synthesized by using Suzuki polymerization. Copolymer PTDIDTTBT was also prepared by using Stille polymerization. Although PTDIDTTBT is prepared through a manner of random polymerization, we found that the different reactivities of the dibromo‐monomers lead to the resulting polymer having a block copolymer arrangement. With the higher structural regularity, PTDIDTTBT , symbolized as (thiophene‐alt‐ DIDT )_0.5‐block‐(thiophene‐alt‐BT)_0.5, shows the higher degree of crystallization, stronger π–π stacking, and broader absorption spectrum in the solid state, as compared to its alternating PDIDTDTBT analogue. Bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells based on ITO/PEDOT:PSS/polymer:PC₇₁BM/Ca/Al configuration were fabricated and characterized. PDIDTDTBT /PC₇₁BM and PTDIDTTBT /PC₇₁BM systems exhibited promising power‐conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 1.65 % and 2.00 %, respectively. Owing to the complementary absorption spectra, as well as the compatible structures of PDIDTDTBT and PTDIDTTBT , the PCE of the device based on the ternary blend PDIDTDTBT / PTDIDTTBT /PC₇₁BM was further improved to 2.40 %.     

Improved Cyclopropanation Activity of Histidine‐Ligated Cytochrome P450 Enables the Enantioselective Formal Synthesis of Levomilnacipran

Engineering enzymes capable of modes of activation unprecedented in nature will increase the range of industrially important molecules that can be synthesized through biocatalysis. However, low activity for a new function is often a limitation in adopting enzymes for preparative‐scale synthesis, reaction with demanding substrates, or when a natural substrate is also present. By mutating the proximal ligand and other key active‐site residues of the cytochrome P450 enzyme from Bacillus megaterium (P450‐BM3), a highly active His‐ligated variant of P450‐BM3 that can be employed for the enantioselective synthesis of the levomilnacipran core was engineered. This enzyme, BM3‐Hstar, catalyzes the cyclopropanation of N,N‐diethyl‐2‐phenylacrylamide with an estimated initial rate of over 1000 turnovers per minute and can be used under aerobic conditions. Cyclopropanation activity is highly dependent on the electronic properties of the P450 proximal ligand, which can be used to tune this non‐natural enzyme activity.     

Ink‐Jet Printing of Electron Donor/Acceptor Blends: Towards Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells

Summary: We illustrate the ink‐jet printing of a thin‐film library of donor/acceptor systems useful in bulk heterojunction solar cells and their characterization utilizing a UV‐vis/fluorescence plate reader and an optical profilometer. In addition, the morphology of the films has been examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The ink‐jet processing technology allows printing of arrays of different donor/acceptor compositions on one substrate as well as the subsequent fast optical screening of the electron transfer processes. The investigated films consist of blends of a poly(methyl methacrylate) polypyridyl ruthenium(II ) copolymer (RuPMMA) as electron donor material (p‐type) and C₆₀ fullerene (PC₆₀BM) as well as heptyl viologen (C₇‐V) derivatives as electron acceptor materials (n‐type).

Ink‐jet printing process and investigated donor/acceptor pair (RuPMMA‐PC₆₀BM).