Measuring site-specific cluster-surface bond formation

Recent advances in dynamic force microscopy show that it is possible to measure the forces between atomically sharp tips and particular atomic positions on surfaces as a function of distance. However, on most ionic surfaces, the positive and negative ions can so far not be distinguished. In this paper, we use the CaF2(111) surface, where atomic resolution force microscopy has allowed identification of the positions of the Ca2+ and F- ions in the obtained images, to demonstrate that short-range interaction forces can be measured selectively above chemically identified surface sites. Combining experimental and theoretical results allows a quantification of the strength and distance dependence of the interaction of a tip-terminating cluster with particular surface ions and reveals details of cluster and surface relaxation. Further development of this approach will provide new insight into mechanisms of chemical bond formation between clusters, cluster deposition at surfaces, processes in adhesion and tribology, and single atom manipulation with the force microscope.     

Imaging of tautomerism in a single molecule

Fluorescence imaging is used to visualize directly the transfer of two inner hydrogen atoms in single porphycene molecules. This reaction leads to a chemically equivalent but differently oriented structure and hence results in a rotation of the transition dipole moments. By probing single immobilized molecules with an azimuthally polarized laser beam in the focal spot of a confocal microscope we observe ring-like emission patterns, possible only for a chromophore with two nearly orthogonal transition dipole moments. Numerical simulations of the observed emission patterns yield a value of 72 degrees for the angle between the S0-S1 transition moments in the two tautomeric forms.     

On the interaction of cesium with cleaved GaAs(110) and Ge(111) surfaces: Work function measurements and adsorption site model

The work function of UHV cleaved p-Ge(111) and n-GaAs(110) surfaces has been measured in dependence of the Cs coverage. At very low coverages θ < 0.001 the decrease of the contact potential difference is extremely steep. For GaAs the initial slope of the CPD versus coverage curve amounts to ?740 eV for Ge to ?130 eV per monolayer. Up to the saturation coverage the curves exhibit straight line segments with breaks at distinct coverages. Breaks are found for GaAs at approximately $\text{1}\text{12}$, $\text{1}\text{6}$, and $\text{1}\text{3}$ of a monolayer, for Ge at about $\text{1}\text{12}$, $\text{1}\text{4}$, $\text{1}\text{2}$, and $\text{3}\text{4}$. A new model is developed to explain this behaviour. It is based on the assumption of specific adsorption sites for the Cs atoms at the surfaces. With this model the experimental results, including the breaks, may be described in the whole coverage range from θ = 0.03 up to the saturation. Furthermore the dipole moments derived from the straight line segments are in excellent agreement with those values calculated for different surface molecules between the adsorbed cesium and substrate atoms at the specific adsorption sites.     

The Principle of Minimum Chemical Distance (PMCD)

The principle of minimum chemical distance (PMCD) allows one to formulate the isoprene rule, the conversion of tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene into adamantane, five syntheses of colchicine, and the syntheses of C₁₆-hexaquinacene, morphine and strychnine as optimization problems which can be solved by computers in less than a second. The principle of minimum chemical distance is based on an algebraic theory of constitutional chemistry. The PMCD, a corollary to the well known principle of minimum structure change, is a quantitative heuristic rule which serves as the foundation of the computer-assisted combinatorial solution of a great variety of chemical problems, particularly in substructure analysis, the study of reaction mechanism, and the design of syntheses.     

Distinction between glycosylamines and amadori products by mass spectrometry of their trimethylsilyl derivatives

The TMS-ethers of four glycosylamines and seven Amadori compounds have been investigated by electron impact mass spectrometry. The mass spectra of glycosylamine-TMS derivatives and of their isomeric Amadori rearrangement products are quite characteristic. The two types of compounds can be distinguished by a few characteristic peaks.     

Monolithic poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-divinylbenzene) capillary columns functionalized to strong anion exchangers for nucleotide and oligonucleotide separation

In the present work, poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-divinylbenzene) monoliths were synthesized and further derivatized to obtain strong anion exchange supports. Capillary monoliths (65 x 0.2 mm id) were prepared in situ by copolymerization of glycidyl methacrylate and divinylbenzene, employing 1-decanol and tetrahydrofuran as porogens. The free epoxy groups were derivatized in a two step synthesis to obtain quaternary ammonium functionalities. On testing the pressure stability of the synthesized monolith, a highly linear dependence between flow rate and pressure drop was obtained, indicating the high stability of the material even at high flow rates. The morphology of the copolymer was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. Mercury intrusion porosimetry showed a narrow pore size distribution, having a maximum at 439 nm. On recording a van Deemter plot the number of theoretical plates per meter was found to be 59324. The produced strong anion exchange monoliths turned out to be highly suitable for the separation of nucleotides and oligonucleotides.     

Theoretical study of interaction of urate with li(+), na(+), k(+), be(2+), mg(2+), and ca(2+) metal cations

The geometries and energetics of complexes of Li(+), Na(+), K(+), Be(2+), Mg(2+), and Ca(2+)metal cations with different possible uric acid anions (urate) were studied. The complexes were optimized at the B3LYP level and the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set. Complexes of urate with Mg(2+), and Ca(2+)metal cations were also optimized at the MP2/6-31+G(d) level. Single point energy calculations were performed at the MP2/6-311++G(d,p) level. The interactions of the metal cations at different nucleophilic sites of various possible urate were considered. It was revealed that metal cations would interact with urate in a bi-coordinate manner. In the gas phase, the most preferred position for the interaction of Li(+), Na(+), and K(+) cations is between the N(3) and O(2) sites, while all divalent cations Be(2+), Mg(2+), and Ca(2+) prefer binding between the N(7) and O(6) sites of the corresponding urate. The influence of aqueous solvent on the relative stability of different complexes has been examined using the Tomasi's polarized continuum model. The basis set superposition error (BSSE) corrected interaction energy was also computed for complexes. The AIM theory has been applied to analyze the properties of the bond critical points (electron densities and their Laplacians) involved in the coordination between urate and the metal cations. It was revealed that aqueous solvation would have significant effect on the relative stability of complexes obtained by the interaction of urate with Mg(2+) and Ca(2+)cations. Consequently, several complexes were found to exist in the water solution. The effect of metal cations on different NH and CO stretching vibrational modes of uric acid has also been discussed.     

Copper cation interactions with biologically essential types of ligands: a computational DFT study

This work presents a systematic theoretical study on Cu(I) and Cu(II) cations in variable hydrogen sulfide-aqua-ammine ligand fields. These ligands model the biologically most common environment for Cu ions. Molecular structures of the complexes were optimized at the density functional theory (DFT) level. Subsequent thorough energy analyses revealed the following trends: (i) The ammine complexes are the most stable, followed by those containing the aqua and hydrogen sulfide ligands, which are characterized by similar stabilization energies. (ii) The most preferred Cu(I) coordination number is 2 in ammine or aqua ligand fields. A qualitatively different binding picture was obtained for complexes with H(2)S ligands where the 4-coordination is favored. (iii) The 4- and 5-coordinated structures belong to the most stable complexes for Cu(II), regardless of the ligand types. Vertical and adiabatic ionization potentials of Cu(I) complexes were calculated. Charge distribution (using the natural population analysis (NPA) method) and molecular orbital analyses were performed to elucidate the nature of bonding in the examined systems. The results provide in-depth insight into the Cu-binding properties and can be, among others, used for the calibration of bioinorganic force fields.