An extended ab initio QM/MM MD approach to structure and dynamics of Zn(II) in aqueous solution

Structural and dynamical properties of Zn(II) in aqueous solution were investigated, based on an ab initio quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) molecular dynamics simulation at double-zeta Hartree-Fock quantum mechanical level including the first and second hydration shells into the QM region. The inclusion of the second shell in the QM region resulted in significant changes in the properties of the hydrate. The first shell coordination number was found to be 6, the second shell consists of approximately 14 water molecules. The structural properties were determined in terms of RDF, ADF, tilt and theta angle distributions, while dynamics were characterized by mean ligand residence times, ion-ligand stretching frequencies and the vibrational and librational motions of water ligands.     

Determination of aluminum in highly concentrated iron samples: Study of interferences using high-resolution continuum source atomic absorption spectrometry

High-resolution continuum source atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CS AAS) has been used to investigate spectral and non-spectral interferences found with a conventional line source atomic absorption spectrometer in the determination of aluminum in pharmaceutical products containing elevated iron and sugar concentrations. A transversely heated graphite furnace was used as the atomizer in both spectrometers. The two most sensitive aluminum lines at 309.3 nm and 396.2 nm were investigated and it was found that an iron absorption line at 309.278 nm, in the vicinity of the aluminum line at 309.271 nm, could be responsible for some spectral interference. The simultaneous presence of iron and the organic components of the matrix were responsible for radiation scattering, causing high continuous and also structured background absorption at both wavelengths. The aluminum and iron absorption could not be separated in time, i.e., the iron interference could not be eliminated by optimizing the graphite furnace temperature program. However, an interference-free determination of aluminum was possible carrying out the measurements with HR-CS AAS at 396.152 nm after applying least squares background correction for the elimination of the structured background. Analytical working range and other figures of merit were determined and are presented for both wavelengths using peak volume registration (center pixel ± 1) and the center pixel only. Limits of detection and characteristic masses ranged from 1.1 to 2.5 pg and 13 to 43 pg, respectively. The method was used for the determination of the aluminum contamination in pharmaceutical formulations for iron deficiency treatment, which present iron concentrations from 10 to 50 g l^− 1. Spike recoveries from 89% to 105% show that the proposed method can be satisfactorily used for the quality control of these formulations.     

On the additivity of basis set effects in some simple fluorine containing systems

The reactions F + H₂ → HF + H, HF → H + F, F → F⁺ + e^? and F + e^? → F^? were used as simple test cases to assess the additivity of basis set effects on reaction energetics computed at the MP4 level. The 6-31G and 6-311G basis sets were augmented with 1, 2, and 3 sets of polarization functions, higher angular momentum polarization functions, and diffuse functions (27 basis sets from 6-31Gd, p) to 6-31 ++ G(3df, 3pd) and likewise for the 6-311G series). For both series substantial nonadditivity was found between diffuse functions on the heavy atom and multiple polarization functions (e.g., 6-31 + G(3d, 3p) vs. 6-31 + G(d, p) and 6-31G(3d, 3p)). For the 6-311G series there is an extra nonadditivity between d functions on hydrogen and multiple polarization functions. Provided that these interactions are taken into account, the remaining basis set effects are additive to within ±0.5 kcal/mol for the reactions considered. Large basis set MP4 calculations can also be estimated to within ±0.5 kcal/mol using MP2 calculations, est. E_MP4(6-31 ++ G(3df, 3pd)) ≈ E_MP4(6-31G(d, p)) + E_MP2(6-31 ++ G(3df, 3pd)) – E_MP2(6-31G(d, p)) or E_MP4(6-31 + G(d, p) + E_MP2(6-31 ++ G(3df, 3pd)) – E_MP2(6-31 + G(d, p)) and likewise for the 6-311G series.     

Surprising Homolytic Gas Phase Co−C Bond Dissociation Energies of Organometallic Aryl-Cobinamides Reveal Notable Non-Bonded Intramolecular Interactions

Aryl-cobalamins are a new class of organometallic structural mimics of vitamin B₁₂ designed as potential ‘antivitamins B₁₂’. Here, the first cationic aryl-cobinamides are described, which were synthesized using the newly developed diaryl-iodonium method. The aryl-cobinamides were obtained as pairs of organometallic coordination isomers, the stereo-structure of which was unambiguously assigned based on homo- and heteronuclear NMR spectra. The availability of isomers with axial attachment of the aryl group, either at the ‘beta’ or at the ‘alpha’ face of the cobalt-center allowed for an unprecedented comparison of the organometallic reactivity of such pairs. The homolytic gas-phase bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of the coordination-isomeric phenyl- and 4-ethylphenyl-cobinamides were determined by ESI-MS threshold CID experiments, furnishing (Co−C )-BDEs of 38.4 and 40.6 kcal mol⁻¹, respectively, for the two β-isomers, and the larger BDEs of 46.6 and 43.8 kcal mol⁻¹ for the corresponding α-isomers. Surprisingly, the observed (Co−C )-BDEs of the Co_β-aryl-cobinamides were smaller than the (Co−C )-BDE of Co_β-methyl-cobinamide. DFT studies and the magnitudes of the experimental (Co−C )-BDEs revealed relevant contributions of non-bonded interactions in aryl-cobinamides, notably steric strain between the aryl and the cobalt-corrin moieties and non-bonded interactions with and among the peripheral sidechains.     

Stereochemical Analysis of an Aromatic Triplet Di-π-methane Rearrangement

It is shown that (−)-(S)-N,N-dimethyl-2-(1′-methylallyl)aniline ((−)-(S)- 4 ), on direct irradiation in MeCN at 20°, undergoes in its lowest-lying triplet state an aromatic di-π-methane (ADPM) rearrangement to yield (−)-(1′R,2′R)- and (+)-(1′R,2′S)-N,N-dimethyl-2-(2-methylcyclopropyl)aniline ((−)-trans- and (+)-cis- 7 ) in an initial trans/cis ratio of 4.71 ± 0.14 and in optical yields of 28.8 ± 5.2% and 15 ± 5%, respectively. The ADPM rearrangement of (−)-(S)- 4 to the trans- and cis-configurated products occurs with a preponderance of the path leading to retention of configuration at the pivot atom (C(1′) in the reactant and C(2′) in the products) for (−)-trans- 7 and to inversion of configuration for (+)-cis- 7 , respectively. The results can be rationalized by assuming reaction paths which involve the occurrence of discrete 1,4- and 1,3-diradicals (cf. Schemes 10, 12, and 13). A general analysis of such ADPM rearrangements which allows the classification of these photochemical reactions in terms of borderline cases is presented (Scheme 14). It is found that the optical yields in these ‘step-by-step’ rearrangements are determined by the first step, i.e. by the disrotatory bond formation between C(2) of the aromatic moiety and C(2′) of the allylic side chain leading to the generation of the 1,4-diradicals. Moderation of the optical yields can occur in the ring closure of the 1,3-diradicals to the final products, which may take place with different trans/cis-ratios for the individual 1,3-diradicals. Compounds (−)-trans- 7 as well as (+)-cis- 7 easily undergo the well-known photochemical trans/cis-isomerization. It mainly leads to racemization. However, a small part of the molecules shows trans/cis-isomerization with inversion of configuration at C(1′), which is best explained by a photochemical cleavage of the C(1′)–C(3′) bond.     

Delayed fluorescence from the lowest 1B+3u state of anthracene,due to hetero-triplet—triplet annihilation of 3anthracene* and 3xanthone*

The P-type delayed fluorescence (DF) S_i→S_o of aromatic compounds results from the population of excited singlet states S_i by triplet—triplet annihillation (TTA) of molecules in their lowest and metastable triplet state T₁ : T₁ + T₁

S_i + S_o; S_i may be any excited singlet state whose excitation energy E(S_i ? 2 E(T₁). TTA of unlike molecules A and B (hetero-TTA) may lead to excited singlet states either of A or of B. In particular, if E(T_A¹) < E(T₁^B), hetero-TTA may lead to excited singlet states S_k^A which are not accessible by TTA of 2 T₁^A. In the present paper we report the first example of the detection of the DF from a very short-lived upper excited singlet state S_k^A which has been populated by hetero-TTA. The systems investigated are liquid solutions of A = anthracene-h₁₀ or anthracene-d₁₀ or 9,10-dimethylanthracene and B = xanthone in 1,1,2-trichlorotrifluoroethane at 243 K. S_k^A is the lowest ¹B_3U⁺ state (B_b state) of anthracene.     

Coenzyme F430 from Methanogenic Bacteria: Mechanistic studies on the reductive cleavage of sulfonium ions catalyzed by F430 pentamethyl ester

Mechanistic questions regarding the reductive cleavage of sulfonium ions by the Ni^I form of coenzyme F430 pentamethyl ester (F430M) were addressed in a series of kinetic studies and isotope labeling experiments. In neat DMF, methane formation from dialkyl(methyl)sulfonium ions consistently showed a delay time of ca. 1 h. In the presence of excess propanethiol, no delay was observed and methane formation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics with a logarithmic dependence of the initial rate on the concentration of propanethiol. From the temperature dependence of the reaction rate, an estimate for the activation parameters of ΔH^# = 49 kJ mol^?1 and (apparent) ΔS# = –114 J K^?1 mol^?1 was derived. The observation of deuterium incorporation into methane from (CH₃)₂CHOD, but not from (CH₃)₂CDOH, indicates that the fourth H-entity is introduced into CH₄ as a proton, and that free CH₃ radicals are not involved. In contrast to the reaction with the homogeneous one-electron reductant sodium naphthalide, the F430M-catalyzed reduction of mixed dialkyl(methyl)sulfonium ions showed a pronounced selectivity for the cleavage of Me? S over that of alkyl-S (alkyl ≠ Me) bonds. Mechanisms that are consistent with these results, as well as possible explanations for the time delay and the apparent highly negative entropy of activation, are discussed.     

Structure and ultrafast dynamics of liquid water: a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics molecular dynamics simulations study

A quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics molecular dynamics simulation was performed for liquid water to investigate structural and dynamical properties of this peculiar liquid. The most important region containing a central reference molecule and all nearest surrounding molecules (first coordination shell) was treated by Hartree-Fock (HF), post-Hartree-Fock [second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2)], and hybrid density functional B3LYP [Becke's three parameter functional (B3) with the correlation functional of Lee, Yang, and Parr (LYP)] methods. In addition, another HF-level simulation (2HF) included the full second coordination shell. Site to site interactions between oxygen-oxygen, oxygen-hydrogen, and hydrogen-hydrogen atoms of all ab initio methods were compared to experimental data. The absence of a second peak and the appearance of a shoulder instead in the gO-O graph obtained from the 2HF simulation is notable, as this feature has been observed so far only for pressurized or heated water. Dynamical data show that the 2HF procedure compensates some of the deficiency of the HF one-shell simulation, reducing the difference between correlated (MP2) and HF results. B3LYP apparently leads to too rigid structures and thus to an artificial slow down of the dynamics.     

Preparation and characterization of fused-silica capillary columns coated with <Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis>-carborane–siloxane copolymers for gas chromatography

The carborane–siloxane copolymers Dexsil 300, a 34.5% bis(dimethylsilyl)-m-carborane–65.5% dimethylsiloxane copolymer, and Dexsil 400, a 24.9% bis(dimethylsilyl)-m-carborane–50.8% dimethyl, 24.3% methylphenylsiloxane copolymer, were coated on fused silica capillary columns and their gas chromatographic properties were evaluated. Their selectivity was evaluated using both Rohrschneider–McReynolds constants and triacylglycerol indices. The bis(dimethylsilyl)-m-carborane unit turned out to be equivalent to two dimethylsiloxy units and one half of a diphenylsiloxy unit. The m-carborane unit was found to cause a 15–25 K shift in the elution temperature between 120 and 360 °C. The working range was from 20 and 0 °C to 380 °C for Dexsil 300 and Dexsil 400, respectively. The column bleeding levels at 380 °C were below 20 and 15 pA for Dexsil 300 and Dexsil 400, respectively.     

Azobenzene-containing polyamic acid with excellent Langmuir-Blodgett-Kuhn film formation behavior suitable for all-optical switching

To generate command surfaces for all-optical switching, highly ordered polymeric Langmuir-Blodgett-Kuhn (LBK) multilayers were fabricated onto silicon substrates and gold-coated optical glass slides from novel azobenzene-bearing polyamic acid systems. Pronounced Bragg peaks and well-defined Kiessig fringes observed in the X-ray reflectivity measurement for samples on silicon substrates indicate that these films possess a regularly repeated Y-type LBK multilayer structure and ultrasmooth surfaces. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra taken by grazing incidence reflection suggest specific orientations of the functional groups in the layers. The excellent film-forming properties of the polyamic acid allow for a smooth buildup of several hundreds of layers of the LBK films onto gold-coated glass slides, which in turn allows for determining the geometrical thickness and the anisotropic refractive indices of the films by using optical waveguide spectroscopy. Interestingly, the probe laser beam induced a distinct fluorescence signal from the films, which remained even after the film underwent a thermal imidization process at 160 degrees C for 8 h in vacuo. LBK films fabricated from these compounds can be successfully applied for all-optically switching the alignment of liquid crystals by irradiation with light of different wavelengths.