Highly photoluminescent nanocrystals based on a gold(I) complex and their electrophoretic patterning

The fabrication of nanocrystals (NCs) composed of the cationic Au(I) complex was demonstrated by the reprecipitation method in which the colloidal solution of the NCs showed brilliant green phosphorescence with a quantum yield of 83% in n-hexane. Characterization of the prepared NCs was performed by transmission electron microscopy observation and elemental analysis with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The obtained Au(I) NCs were particles of random shapes with a diameter of 200-400 nm. The selected-area electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction measurements showed the characteristic diffraction patterns attributable to the crystal structure of the bulk crystal of the Au(I) complex. A similar method was performed with a different counteranion, leading to a colloidal solution of the microcrystals (MCs) with brilliant yellow phosphorescence and a quantum yield of 26% in n-hexane. Luminescence patterning of the NCs and MCs was also achieved successfully by electrophoretic deposition onto an indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass substrate, resulting in characteristic luminescence patterns on the ITO substrates with relatively high photoluminescence quantum yields.     

Examination of Template Structural Effects on CEC Chiral Separation Performance of Molecule Imprinted Polymers Made by a Generalized Preparation Protocol

Some acidic chiral templates were used to prepare open tubular (OT) molecule imprinted polymer (MIP) capillary columns to explore the effects of molecular structures of templates on chiral recognition capabilities and to verify the feasibility of the general MIP preparation protocol introduced in the previous study. The templates are phenyl carboxylic acids and their derivatives. Optimization was carried out for chiral separation of template enantiomers for each MIP column through varying pH and composition of eluent. It was found that the preparation protocol can be successfully applied for the appropriate templates with functional groups fulfilling the three-points interaction rule. The chiral separation performances were quite satisfactory for MIPs of such templates although they are yet inferior to the separation performances of the MIP columns fabricated with the templates of profen drugs (2-arylpropionic acids with a large substituent on the phenyl ring). Subtle variations of the template molecular structures have been found to be critical to enhance chiral recognition ability of the resultant MIP column.     

Fullerenes without symmetry: crystallographic characterization of C1(30)-C90 and C1(32)-C90

Fullerenes are generally considered as highly symmetric, yet fullerene isomers with only C(1) symmetry, such as C(1)(30)-C(90) and C(1)(32)-C(90) whose structures are reported here, become increasingly numerous as fullerene size increases.     

An Identification Problem for First-Order Degenerate Differential Equations

We study a first-order identification problem in a Banach space. We discuss the nondegenerate and mainly the degenerate case. As a first step, suitable hypotheses on the involved closed linear operators are made in order to obtain unique solvability after reduction to a nondegenerate case; the general case is then handled with the help of new results on convolutions. Some applications to partial differential equations motivate this abstract approach.Communicated by I. GalliganiWork partially supported by MIUR (Ministero dell’ Istruzione, dell’ Università e dalla Ricerca), Project PRIN 2004011204 “Analisi Matematica nei Problemi Inversi,” and by the University of Bologna Funds for Selected Research Topics.     

Mixed valence gold chemistry: Stepwise oxidation of a cyclic trigold(I) complex

Oxidation of the cyclic complex Au₃(CH₃OCNCH₃)₃ by iodine or bromine produces three distinct complexes Au₃(CH₃OCNCH₃)₃X_n (_n = 2,4 or 6, X = Br or I) in which the gold atoms undergo stepwise oxidative halogen addition. The products have been characterized by elemental analysis, molecular weight determinations, proton magnetic resonance spectra and IR spectra. The complexes with n = 4 or 2 undergo spontaneous autodecomposition. In the case of Au₃(CH₃OCNCH₃)₃Br₄ this decomposition produces gold metal, Au₃(CH₃OC NCH₃)₃Br₆, methyl bromide, and methyl isocyanate in an extremely clean reaction.     

A reversible polymorphic phase change which affects the luminescence and aurophilic interactions in the gold (I) cluster complex, [mu3-S(AuCNC7H13)3](SbF6)

Crystallographic examination of [mu3-S(AuCNC7H13)3](SbF6) shows that it undergoes a reversible phase change from orthorhombic to monoclinic upon cooling. At 190 K, the structure shows that two cations self-associate to form a pseudo-octahedral array of six gold atoms connected by both intra- and interionic aurophilic interactions. On cooling, the clusters become less symmetric, and in one, the interionic Au...Au separations increase, while they decrease in the second cluster. The luminescence of crystalline [mu3-S(AuCNC7H13)3](SbF6) shows corresponding changes in emission, with two emissions of similar lifetimes but with different excitations at 77 K, but only a single emission at 298 K. In contrast, [mu3-S(AuCNC6H11)3](PF6), which has a similar structure to that of the high-temperature form of [mu3-S(AuCNC7H13)3](SbF6), does not undergo a phase change or change in its luminescence upon cooling.     

Metal complexes of meso-amino-octaethylporphyrin and the oxidation of NiII(meso-amino-octaethylporphyrin)

The crystal structures of meso-NH2-OEPH2, NiII(meso-NH2-OEP), and CuII(meso-NH2-OEP) (where OEP is the dianion of meso-amino-octaethylporphyrin) have been determined to examine the effects of the meso-substituent on the geometry of the ligand. CuII(meso-NH2-OEP) has a nearly planar geometry while the free ligand itself and NiII(meso-NH2-OEP) have ruf conformations. NiII(meso-NH2-OEP) is much less reactive toward oxidation than are (py)2FeII(meso-NH2-OEP), ClFeIII(meso-NH2-OEP), or NiII(meso-HO-OEP), which all undergo oxidation in pyridine solution when exposed to dioxygen. Treatment of NiII(meso-NH2-OEP) with iron(III) chloride in chloroform solution does result in oxidation of the ligand in two separate processes. One involves oxygenation at the trans-meso position, while the other results in ring cleavage and removal of the amino function. The open-chain tetrapyrrole complex, NiII(OEB-CO2Et), has been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and shown to contain a helical ligand with a four-coordinate nickel ion.