3,4,5,6‐Tetrafluorophenylnitren‐2‐yl: A Ground‐State Quartet Triradical

The photochemistry of 2‐iodo‐3,4,5,6‐tetrafluorophenyl azide ( 7 d ) has been investigated in argon and neon matrices at 4 K, and the products characterized by IR and EPR spectroscopy. The primary photochemical step is loss of a nitrogen molecule and formation of phenyl nitrene 1 d . Further irradiation with UV or visible light results in mixtures of 1 d with azirine 5 d ′, ketenimine 6 d ′, nitreno radical 2 d , and azirinyl radical 9 . The relative amounts of these products strongly depend on the matrix and on the irradiation conditions. Nitreno radical 2 d with a quartet ground state was characterized by EPR spectroscopy. Electronic structure calculations in combination with the experimental results allow for a detailed understanding of the properties of this unusual new type of organic high‐spin molecules.     

Synthese,Strukturen, EPR‐ und ENDOR‐spektroskopische Untersuchungen an Übergangsmetallkomplexen von N,N‐Diisobutyl‐N′‐(2, 6‐difluor)benzoylselenoharnstoff

Synthesis, Structures, EPR and ENDOR Investigations on Transition Metal Complexes of N, N‐diisobutyl‐N′‐(2, 6‐difluoro)benzoyl selenourea The synthesis and the structures of the Ni^II and Pd^II complexes of the ligand N, N‐diisobutyl‐N′‐(2, 6‐difluoro)benzoylselenourea HBuⁱ₂dfbsu are reported. The ligands coordinate bidentately forming bis‐chelates. The structure of the ligand could not be obtained, however, the structure of its O‐ethyl ester will be reported. Attempts to prepare the Cu^II complex result only in the formation of oily products. However, the Cu^II complex could be incorporated into the corresponding Ni^II and Pd^II compounds. From this diamagnetically diluted powder and single‐crystal samples were obtained being suitable for EPR‐ENDOR measurements. We report X‐ and Q‐band EPR investigations on the systems [Cu/Ni(Buⁱ₂dfbsu)₂] and [Cu/Pd(Buⁱ₂dfbsu)₂] as well as a single‐crystal X‐band EPR study for [Cu/Ni(Buⁱ₂dfbsu)₂]. The obtained ^{63, 65}Cu and ⁷⁷Se hyperfine structure tensors allow a determination of the spin‐density distribution within the first coordination sphere. In addition, orientation selective ¹⁹F Q‐band pulse ENDOR investigations on powder‐samples of [Cu/Ni(Buⁱ₂dfbsu)₂] have been performed. The hyperfine structure tensors of two intramolecular ¹⁹F atoms could be determined. According to the small ¹⁹F couplings only a vanishingly small spin‐density of < 1 % was obtained for these ¹⁹F atoms.     

Correcting for Spectral Cross‐Talk in Dual‐Color Fluorescence Cross‐Correlation Spectroscopy

Dual‐color fluorescence cross‐correlation spectroscopy (dcFCCS) allows one to quantitatively assess the interactions of mobile molecules labeled with distinct fluorophores. The technique is widely applied to both reconstituted and live‐cell biological systems. A major drawback of dcFCCS is the risk of an artifactual false‐positive or overestimated cross‐correlation amplitude arising from spectral cross‐talk. Cross‐talk can be reduced or prevented by fast alternating excitation, but the technology is not easily implemented in standard commercial setups. An experimental strategy is devised that does not require specialized hardware and software for recognizing and correcting for cross‐talk in standard dcFCCS. The dependence of the cross‐talk on particle concentrations and brightnesses is quantitatively confirmed. Moreover, it is straightforward to quantitatively correct for cross‐talk using quickly accessible parameters, that is, the measured (apparent) fluorescence count rates and correlation amplitudes. Only the bleed‐through ratio needs to be determined in a calibration measurement. Finally, the limitations of cross‐talk correction and its influence on experimental error are explored.     

Noble‐Metal‐Free Materials for Surface‐Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Detection

Surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an attractive tool for the sensing of molecules in the fields of chemical and biochemical analysis as it enables the sensitive detection of molecular fingerprint information even at the single‐molecule level. In addition to traditional coinage metals in SERS analysis, recent research on noble‐metal‐free materials has also yielded highly sensitive SERS activity. This Minireview presents the recent development of noble‐metal‐free materials as SERS substrates and their potential applications, especially semiconductors and emerging graphene‐based nanostructures. Rather than providing an exhaustive review of this field, possible contributions from semiconductor substrates, characteristics of graphene enhanced Raman scattering, as well as effect factors such as surface plasmon resonance, structure and defects of the nanostructures that are considered essential for SERS activity are emphasized. The intention is to illustrate, through these examples, that the promise of noble‐metal‐free materials for enhancing detection sensitivity can further fuel the development of SERS‐related applications.     

Nuclear‐Spin‐Induced Cotton–Mouton Effect in a Strong External Magnetic Field

Novel, high‐sensitivity and high‐resolution spectroscopic methods can provide site‐specific nuclear information by exploiting nuclear magneto‐optic properties. We present a first‐principles electronic structure formulation of the recently proposed nuclear‐spin‐induced Cotton–Mouton effect in a strong external magnetic field (NSCM‐B). In NSCM‐B, ellipticity is induced in a linearly polarized light beam, which can be attributed to both the dependence of the symmetric dynamic polarizability on the external magnetic field and the nuclear magnetic moment, as well as the temperature‐dependent partial alignment of the molecules due to the magnetic fields. Quantum‐chemical calculations of NSCM‐B were conducted for a series of molecular liquids. The overall order of magnitude of the induced ellipticities is predicted to be 10^?11–10^?6 rad T^?1 M ^?1 cm^?1 for fully spin‐polarized nuclei. In particular, liquid‐state heavy‐atom systems should be promising for experiments in the Voigt setup.     

Synthesis and Characterization of 3,5‐Diamino‐1,2,4‐triazolium Dinitramide

3,5‐Diamino‐1,2,4‐triazole ( 1 , guanozol) was protonated with diluted hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, as well as perchloric acid forming 3,5‐diamino‐1,2,4‐triazolium chloride hemihydrate ( 2 ), 3,5‐diamino‐1,2,4‐triazolium nitrate ( 3 ) and 3,5‐diamino‐1,2,4‐triazolium perchlorate ( 4 ), respectively. In a second step 4 reacted with potassium dinitramide forming 3,5‐diamino‐1,2,4‐triazolium dinitramide ( 5 ) and low soluble potassium perchlorate. Compounds 2 – 5 were characterized by low temperature single X‐ray diffraction, IR and Raman as well as multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and differential scanning calorimetry. The heats of formation of 1 – 5 were calculated by the CBS‐4M method to be 81.1 ( 1 ), 124.7 ( 2 ), –76.1 ( 3 ), –25.2 ( 4 ) and 138.7 ( 5 ) kJ·mol^–1. With these values as well as the X‐ray densities several detonation parameters were calculated using both computer codes EXPLO5.03 and EXPLO5.04. In addition, the sensitivities of 1 – 5 were determined by the BAM drophammer and friction tester as well as a small scale electrical discharge device.     

Site‐Directed Spin‐Labeling of DNA by the Azide–Alkyne ‘Click’ Reaction: Nanometer Distance Measurements on 7‐Deaza‐2′‐deoxyadenosine and 2′‐Deoxyuridine Nitroxide Conjugates Spatially Separated or Linked to a ‘dA‐dT’ Base Pair

Nucleobase‐directed spin‐labeling by the azide‐alkyne ‘click’ (CuAAC) reaction has been performed for the first time with oligonucleotides. 7‐Deaza‐7‐ethynyl‐2′‐deoxyadenosine ( 1 ) and 5‐ethynyl‐2′‐deoxyuridine ( 2 ) were chosen to incorporate terminal triple bonds into DNA. Oligonucleotides containing 1 or 2 were synthesized on a solid phase and spin labeling with 4‐azido‐2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidine 1‐oxyl (4‐azido‐TEMPO, 3 ) was performed by post‐modification in solution. Two spin labels ( 3 ) were incorporated with high efficiency into the DNA duplex at spatially separated positions or into a ‘dA‐dT’ base pair. Modification at the 5‐position of the pyrimidine base or at the 7‐position of the 7‐deazapurine residue gave steric freedom to the spin label in the major groove of duplex DNA. By applying cw and pulse EPR spectroscopy, very accurate distances between spin labels, within the range of 1–2 nm, were measured. The spin–spin distance was 1.8±0.2 nm for DNA duplex 17 ( dA*^7,10 ) ?11 containing two spin labels that are separated by two nucleotides within one individual strand. A distance of 1.4±0.2 nm was found for the spin‐labeled ‘dA‐dT’ base pair 15 ( dA*⁷ ) ?16 ( dT*⁶ ). The ‘click’ approach has the potential to be applied to all four constituents of DNA, which indicates the universal applicability of the method. New insights into the structural changes of canonical or modified DNA are expected to provide additional information on novel DNA structures, protein interaction, DNA architecture, and synthetic biology.     

Lanthanoidkomplexe von 1‐(2‐Propenyl)‐ und 1‐(3‐Butenyl)‐1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecan‐4,7,10‐triessigsäure

η³‐1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane molybdenum tricarbonyl reacts with allyl bromide and 3‐butenyl bromide in dimethylformamide in the presence of K₂CO₃ yielding 1‐(2‐propenyl)‐1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane ( 1a ) and 1‐(3‐butenyl)‐1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane ( 1b ), which on their part react with bromoacetic acid tert‐butyl ester in CH₃CN to give 1‐(2‐propenyl)‐1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane‐4,7,10‐tris‐acetic acid tert‐butyl ester ( 2a ) and 1‐(3‐butenyl)‐1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane‐4,7,10‐tris‐acetic acid tert‐butyl ester ( 2b ), respectively. Compounds 2a and 2b are converted into the corresponding acids 1‐(2‐propenyl)‐1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane‐4,7,10‐tris‐acetic acid ( 4a ) (MPC) and 1‐(3‐butenyl)‐1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane‐4,7,10‐tris‐acetic acid ( 4b ) (MBC) via the trifluoroacetates 3a and 3b . Sm(NO₃)₃(H₂O)₆, LuCl₃(THF)₃, and TmCl₃(H₂O)₆ react with 4a and 4b forming the lanthanide complexes Sm(MPC) ( 5 ), Lu(MPC) ( 6 ), Tm(MPC) ( 7a ) and Tm(MBC) ( 7b ). The IR as well as the ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra of the new compounds are reported and discussed.     

Real‐Time Band‐Selective Homonuclear Proton Decoupling for Improving Sensitivity and Resolution in Phase‐Sensitive J‐Resolved Spectroscopy

Real‐time band‐selective homonuclear ¹H decoupling during data acquisition of z‐filtered J‐resolved spectroscopy produces ¹H‐decoupled ¹H NMR spectra and leads to sensitivity enhancement and improved resolution, and thus aids the measurement of J couplings and residual dipolar couplings in crowded regions of ¹H NMR spectrum. High quality spectra from peptides, organic molecules, and also from enantiomers dissolved in weakly aligned chiral media are reported.     

Deuterium and Hydrogen Tunneling in the Hydrogenation of 4‐Oxocyclohexa‐2,5‐dienylidene

4‐Oxocyclohexa‐2,5‐dienylidene is a highly reactive triplet ground state carbene that is hydrogenated in solid H₂, HD, and D₂ at temperatures as low as 3 K. The mechanism of the insertion of the carbene into dihydrogen was investigated by IR and EPR spectroscopy and by kinetic studies. H or D atoms were observed as products of the reaction with H₂ and D₂, respectively, whereas HD produces exclusively D atoms. The hydrogenation shows a very large kinetic isotope effect and remarkable isotope selectivity, as was expected for a tunneling reaction. The experiments, therefore, provide clear evidence for both hydrogen tunneling and the rare deuterium tunneling in an intermolecular reaction.     

Lab‐on‐a‐Chip Reactor Imaging with Unprecedented Chemical Resolution by Hadamard‐Encoded Remote Detection NMR

The development of microfluidic processes requires information‐rich detection methods. Here we introduce the concept of remote detection exchange NMR spectroscopy (RD‐EXSY), and show that, along with indirect spatial information extracted from time‐of‐flight data, it provides unique information about the active regions, reaction pathways, and intermediate products in a lab‐on‐a‐chip reactor. Furthermore, we demonstrate that direct spatial resolution can be added to RD‐EXSY efficiently by applying the principles of Hadamard spectroscopy.     

Matrix‐Free DNP‐Enhanced NMR Spectroscopy of Liposomes Using a Lipid‐Anchored Biradical

Magic‐angle spinning dynamic nuclear polarization (MAS‐DNP) has been proven to be a powerful technique to enhance the sensitivity of solid‐state NMR (SSNMR) in a wide range of systems. Here, we show that DNP can be used to polarize lipids using a lipid‐anchored polarizing agent. More specifically, we introduce a C16‐functionalized biradical, which allows localization of the polarizing agents in the lipid bilayer and DNP experiments to be performed in the absence of excess cryo‐protectant molecules (glycerol, dimethyl sulfoxide, etc.). This constitutes another original example of the matrix‐free DNP approach that we recently introduced.     

Solid‐state NMR and EPR Spectroscopy of Mn2+‐Substituted ATP‐Fueled Protein Engines

Paramagnetic metal ions deliver structural information both in EPR and solid‐state NMR experiments, offering a profitable synergetic approach to study bio‐macromolecules. We demonstrate the spectral consequences of Mg²⁺/ Mn²⁺ substitution and the resulting information contents for two different ATP:Mg²⁺‐fueled protein engines, a DnaB helicase from Helicobacter pylori active in the bacterial replisome, and the ABC transporter BmrA, a bacterial efflux pump. We show that, while EPR spectra report on metal binding and provide information on the geometry of the metal centers in the proteins, paramagnetic relaxation enhancements identified in the NMR spectra can be used to localize residues at the binding site. Protein engines are ubiquitous and the methods described herein should be applicable in a broad context.     

Effect of the Side‐Chain‐Distribution Density on the Single‐Conjugated‐Polymer‐Chain Conformation

The spatial arrangement of the side chains of conjugated polymer backbones has critical effects on the morphology and electronic and photophysical properties of the corresponding bulk films. The effect of the side‐chain‐distribution density on the conformation at the isolated single‐polymer‐chain level was investigated with regiorandom (rra‐) poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and poly(3‐hexyl‐2,5‐thienylene vinylene) (P3HTV). Although pure P3HTV films are known to have low fluorescence quantum efficiencies, we observed a considerable increase in fluorescence intensity by dispersing P3HTV in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), which enabled a single‐molecule spectroscopy investigation. With single‐molecule fluorescence excitation polarization spectroscopy, we found that rra‐P3HTV single molecules form highly ordered conformations. In contrast, rra‐P3HT single molecules, display a wide variety of different conformations from isotropic to highly ordered, were observed. The experimental results are supported by extensive molecular dynamics simulations, which reveal that the reduced side‐chain‐distribution density, that is, the spaced‐out side‐chain substitution pattern, in rra‐P3HTV favors more ordered conformations compared to rra‐P3HT. Our results demonstrate that the distribution of side chains strongly affects the polymer‐chain conformation, even at the single‐molecule level, an aspect that has important implications when interpreting the macroscopic interchain packing structure exhibited by bulk polymer films.     

Superoxide Compounds of the Large Pseudo‐Alkali‐Metal Ions Tetramethylammonium, ‐Phosphonium,and ‐Arsonium

Compounds of the three large cations tetramethylammonium, tetramethylphosphonium, and tetramethylarsonium with the superoxide radical anion were synthesized by either metathesis or ion exchange in liquid ammonia. They were obtained from concentrated solutions as ammoniates in the form of long needle‐shaped single crystals. [N(CH₃)₄]‐(O₂)?3NH₃ crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, whereas the two compounds [E(CH₃)₄](O₂)?2NH₃ (E=P, As) are isostructural and belong to the orthorhombic crystal system. The cation–anion packing in all three crystal structures is related to the sodium chloride structure. All structures contain hydrogen bonds between the ammonia molecules and between ammonia and the superoxide. The solvent of crystallization was easily released from the crystals upon complete removal of the solvent from the reaction vessel, leading to polycrystalline samples. The Raman spectra of all three solvent‐free compounds show the symmetric stretching mode of the superoxide ion at about 1123 cm^?1. The desolvated [N(CH₃)₄](O₂) was investigated by powder X‐ray diffraction, and the crystal structure was solved by ab initio simulated annealing methods by using rigid‐body models of the constituent molecular ions. The superoxide ion shows rotational disorder. The magnetic susceptibility of tetramethylammonium superoxide follows the Curie–Weiss law with a high‐temperature effective magnetic moment of 1.66(3) μ_B and a paramagnetic Curie temperature of Θ=?13(6) K. Complementary electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed that the average g factor is temperature‐dependent. It decreased from 2.15 at 10 K to 1.66 at 100 K, possibly due to the onset of rotational motion of the superoxide ion and in accordance with the lower‐than‐expected effective magnetic moment.