Purification by HPLC and the UV/Vis absorption spectra of the nitrogen-containing incar-fullerenes iNC60, and iNC70

We report the purification of the nitrogen-containing incar-fullerenes iNC(60) and iNC(70), and their characterisation by UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy.     

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RED LIGHT INDUCED REDUCTION OF A PARTICLE ASSOCIATED b-TYPE CYTOCHROME FROM CORN IN THE PRESENCE OF METHYLENE BLUE*

Methylene blue transfers electrons to a membrane-associated b-type cytochrome in particulate fractions from corn coleoptiles. The K_m for methylene blue is less than 1 µM under optimal conditions. This reaction is destroyed by boiling, but not by 7 M urea. Kinetic analyses of the influence of light intensity on cytochrome reduction suggest that a first order photochemical reaction is limiting. Free EDTA may serve as an electron donor in this system at least at high methylene blue and protein concentrations. The photoactivity does not coincide either with mitochondrial or endoplasmic reticulum markers, and may be localized in plasma membrane. There is an estimated 5 times 10^-10 mol photoreducible cytochrome per g coleoptile tissue. Studies on the effect of pH on the reaction in the presence of methylene blue or thionine indicate that dye photoreduction itself is not rate-limiting. Wavelength dependence studies suggest that it is methylene blue monomer and not dimer which mediates the reaction. Although oxygen is apparently required for the reaction, neither superoxide nor excited singlet oxygen appear to be involved. The reaction mechanism is still unknown.     

The influence of geometry on the vibronic spectra of quantum aggregates

A study is presented of the localisation of excitonic states on extended molecular aggregates composed of identical monomers arising, not from disorder due to statistical energy shifts of the monomers, induced by environmental interactions (Anderson localisation), but rather simply due to changes in the orientation and geometrical arrangement of the transition dipoles. It is shown further that such small changes nevertheless can have a drastic effect on the shape of the vibronic spectrum of the aggregate. The vibronic spectra are calculated using the ‘coherent exciton scattering’ (CES) approximation whose derivation we generalise to be applicable to aggregates of arbitrary size and geometry.     

Fast Li-Ion Conduction in Spinel-Structured Solids

Spinel-structured solids were studied to understand if fast Li⁺ ion conduction can be achieved with Li occupying multiple crystallographic sites of the structure to form a “Li-stuffed” spinel, and if the concept is applicable to prepare a high mixed electronic-ionic conductive, electrochemically active solid solution of the Li⁺ stuffed spinel with spinel-structured Li-ion battery electrodes. This could enable a single-phase fully solid electrode eliminating multi-phase interface incompatibility and impedance commonly observed in multi-phase solid electrolyte–cathode composites. Materials of composition Li_1.25M(III)_0.25TiO₄, M(III) = Cr or Al were prepared through solid-state methods. The room-temperature bulk Li⁺-ion conductivity is 1.63 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ for the composition Li_1.25Cr_0.25Ti_1.5O₄. Addition of Li₃BO₃ (LBO) increases ionic and electronic conductivity reaching a bulk Li⁺ ion conductivity averaging 6.8 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹, a total Li-ion conductivity averaging 4.2 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹, and electronic conductivity averaging 3.8 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ for the composition Li_1.25Cr_0.25Ti_1.5O₄ with 1 wt. % LBO. An electrochemically active solid solution of Li_1.25Cr_0.25Mn_1.5O₄ and LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ was prepared. This work proves that Li-stuffed spinels can achieve fast Li-ion conduction and that the concept is potentially useful to enable a single-phase fully solid electrode without interphase impedance.     

Synthesis of Highly Enantioenriched Sulfonimidoyl Fluorides and Sulfonimidamides by Stereospecific Sulfur–Fluorine Exchange (SuFEx) Reaction

Sulfonimidamides present exciting opportunities as chiral isosteres of sulfonamides, with potential for additional directional interactions. Here, we present the first modular enantioselective synthesis of sulfonimidamides, including the first stereoselective synthesis of enantioenriched sulfonimidoyl fluorides, and studies on their reactivity. A new route to sulfonimidoyl fluorides is presented from solid bench-stable, N-Boc-sulfinamide (Boc=tert-butyloxycarbonyl) salt building blocks. Enantioenriched arylsulfonimidoyl fluorides are shown to be readily racemised by fluoride ions. Conditions are developed, which trap fluoride and enable the stereospecific reaction of sulfonimidoyl fluorides with primary and secondary amines (100 % es, es=enantiospecificity) generating sulfonimidamides with up to 99 % ee. Aryl and alkyl sulfonimidoyl fluoride reagents are suitable for mild late stage functionalisation reactions, exemplified by coupling with a selection of complex amines in marketed drugs.     

Controlling Gas Selectivity in Molecular Porous Liquids by Tuning the Cage Window Size

Control of pore window size is the standard approach for tuning gas selectivity in porous solids. Here, we present the first example where this is translated into a molecular porous liquid formed from organic cage molecules. Reduction of the cage window size by chemical synthesis switches the selectivity from Xe‐selective to CH₄‐selective, which is understood using ¹²⁹Xe, ¹H, and pulsed‐field gradient NMR spectroscopy.     

Inhibition and acceleration of deuterium exchange in amide-functionalized monolayer-protected gold clusters

Hydrogen/deuterium exchange rates in amide-functionalized monolayer protected gold clusters (MPCs) are controlled by the radial nature of the surface, with inhibition and catalysis observed at different chain lengths.     

Elimination of body-frame singularities in the separation of three collective angles in quantum N-body problems

The appearance of body-frame singularities in gauge potentials when three collective angles are separated by means of Wigner D-functions is a fundamental difficulty in the quantum N-body problem. We show that the use of the overcomplete basis of minimal multipolar harmonics allows these singularities to be avoided at the expense of increasing the dimension of the resulting system of coupled equations describing the internal motion of the system.