Comment on "direct observation of laser filamentation in high-order harmonic generation"

We argue for a different physical interpretation of the results given in the recent Letter by Painter et al. [Opt. Lett.31, 3471 (2006)] in which an elongated Ti:saphire beam with two distinct waists is considered as direct evidence of laser filamentation. As the pulse power is well below the critical power for self-focusing, the authors pleaded for new examination of the n(2) value for He. A three-dimensional numerical modeling, using the published n(2) value for He, reproduces very well the measured data and invalidates the filamentation hypothesis.     

过氧化氢生产与利用的新进展

过氧化氢既可用作环境友好的绿色氧化剂,也可用作燃料电池中的太阳能燃料,因而受到越来越多的关注.本文综述了太阳能驱动分子氧氧化水制备过氧化氢及其作为绿色氧化剂和燃料的研究进展.利用太阳能将水的e^-和4e^-氧化与分子氧的e^-还原相结合,使光催化生产过氧化氢成为可能;本文讨论了与e^-和4e^-水氧化选择性及e^-和4e^-氧还原选择性相关的催化反应控制.由于光催化e^-氧化水和e^-还原分子氧的过程都产生过氧化氢,因此该组合的催化效率较高.太阳能光驱动水氧化及分子氧还原生产过氧化氢与过氧化氢催化氧化底物相结合,在该过程中分子氧用作最环保的氧化剂.     

The first use of [PdBr2(imidazolidin-2-ylidene)(pyridine)] catalysts in the direct C-H bond arylation of C2-substituted furan and thiophene

Research on Chemical Intermediates - N-Heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-linked PEPPSI-type palladium complexes have recently been used in the direct C-H bond arylation of heteroarenes. However, in most...     

meso‐Ester and Carboxylic Acid Substituted BODIPYs with Far‐Red and Near‐Infrared Emission for Bioimaging Applications

A series of meso‐ester‐substituted BODIPY derivatives 1–6 are synthesized and characterized. In particular, dyes functionalized with oligo(ethylene glycol) ether styryl or naphthalene vinylene groups at the α positions of the BODIPY core ( 3 – 6 ) become partially soluble in water, and their absorptions and emissions are located in the far‐red or near‐infrared region. Three synthetic approaches are attempted to access the meso‐carboxylic acid (COOH)‐substituted BODIPYs 7 and 8 from the meso‐ester‐substituted BODIPYs. Two feasible synthetic routes are developed successfully, including one short route with only three steps. The meso‐COOH‐substituted BODIPY 7 is completely soluble in pure water, and its fluorescence maximum reaches around 650 nm with a fluorescence quantum yield of up to 15 %. Time‐dependent density functional theory calculations are conducted to understand the structure–optical properties relationship, and it is revealed that the Stokes shift is dependent mainly on the geometric change from the ground state to the first excited singlet state. Furthermore, cell staining tests demonstrate that the meso‐ester‐substituted BODIPYs ( 1 and 3 – 6 ) and one of the meso‐COOH‐substituted BODIPYs ( 8 ) are very membrane‐permeable. These features make these meso‐ester‐ and meso‐COOH‐substituted BODIPY dyes attractive for bioimaging and biolabeling applications in living cells.     

Biocatalytic Photosynthesis with Water as an Electron Donor

Efficient harvesting of unlimited solar energy and its conversion into valuable chemicals is one of the ultimate goals of scientists. With the ever‐increasing concerns about sustainable growth and environmental issues, numerous efforts have been made to develop artificial photosynthetic process for the production of fuels and fine chemicals, thus mimicking natural photosynthesis. Despite the research progress made over the decades, the technology is still in its infancy because of the difficulties in kinetic coupling of whole photocatalytic cycles. Herein, we report a new type of artificial photosynthesis system that can avoid such problems by integrally coupling biocatalytic redox reactions with photocatalytic water splitting. We found that photocatalytic water splitting can be efficiently coupled with biocatalytic redox reactions by using tetracobalt polyoxometalate and Rh‐based organometallic compound as hole and electron scavengers, respectively, for photoexcited [Ru(bpy)₃]²⁺. Based on these results, we could successfully photosynthesize a model chiral compound (L ‐glutamate) using a model redox enzyme (glutamate dehydrogenase) upon in situ photoregeneration of cofactors.     

Conformation‐Specific Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy of Cold,Isolated Chiral Molecules

The CD spectroscopy of a chiral compound in solution yields an average CD value derived from all of the conformations of a chiral molecule. By contrast, CD spectroscopy of cold chiral molecules in the gas phase distinguishes specific conformers of a chiral molecule, but the weak CD effect has limited the practical application of this technique. Reported herein is the first resonant two‐photon ionization CD spectra of ephedrines in a supersonic jet using circularly polarized laser pulses, which were generated by synchronizing the oscillation of the photoelastic modulator with the laser firing. The spectra exhibited well‐resolved CD bands which were specific for the conformations and vibrational modes of each enantiomer. The CD signs and magnitudes of the jet‐cooled chiral molecules were very sensitive to their conformations and thus offered crucial information for determining the three‐dimensional structures of chiral species, as conducted in combination with quantum chemical calculations.     

Highly Stable,Water‐Dispersible Metal‐Nanoparticle‐Decorated Polymer Nanocapsules and Their Catalytic Applications

A facile synthesis of highly stable, water‐dispersible metal‐nanoparticle‐decorated polymer nanocapsules (M@CB‐PNs: M=Pd, Au, and Pt) was achieved by a simple two‐step process employing a polymer nanocapsule (CB‐PN) made of cucurbit[6]uril (CB[6]) and metal salts. The CB‐PN serves as a versatile platform where various metal nanoparticles with a controlled size can be introduced on the surface and stabilized to prepare new water‐dispersible nanostructures useful for many applications. The Pd nanoparticles on CB‐PN exhibit high stability and dispersibility in water as well as excellent catalytic activity and recyclability in carbon–carbon and carbon–nitrogen bond‐forming reactions in aqueous medium suggesting potential applications as a green catalyst.     

Identification of Novel Rab27a/Melanophilin Blockers by Pharmacophore-Based Virtual Screening

Melanocytes are unique cells that produce specific melanin-containing intracellular organelles called melanosomes. Melanosomes are transported from the perinuclear area of melanocytes toward the plasma membrane as they become more melanized in order to increase skin pigmentation. In this vesicular trafficking of melanosomes, Rab27a, melanophilin, and myosin Va play crucial roles in linking melanosomes to actin-based motors. To identify novel compounds to inhibit binding interface between Rab27a and melanophilin, a pharmacophore model was built based on a modeled 3D structure of the protein complex that describes the essential binding residues in the intermolecular interaction. A pharmacophore model was employed to screen a chemical library database. Finally, 25 virtual hits were selected for biological evaluations. The biological activities of 11 analogues were evaluated in a second assay. Two compounds were identified as having concentration-dependent inhibitory activity. By analyzing structure–activity relationships of derivatives of BMD-20, two hydroxyl functional groups were found to be critical for blocking the intermolecular binding between Rab27a and melanophilin.     

乙酸异丙酯的合成

以乙酸和异丙醇为原料,硫酸氢钠为催化剂,合成了乙酸异丙酯;考察了反应时间、酸醇比、催化剂用量、带水剂用量对酯化率的影响,确定了最佳酯化反应条件:反应时间60min,酸醇的物质的量的比1∶0.8,催化剂用量0.8g,带水剂用量8mL.在最佳反应条件下,酯化率最高可达84.3%.