Investigation on the Surface‐Confined Self‐Assembly Stabilized by Hydrogen Bonds of Urea and Amide Groups: Quantitative Analysis of Concentration Dependence of Surface Coverage

Formation of a hydrogen‐bond network via an amide group is a key driving force for the nucleation–elongation‐type self‐assembly that is often seen in biomolecules and artificial supramolecular assemblies. In this work, rod‐coil‐like aromatic compounds bearing an amide ( 1 a – 3 a ) or urea group ( 1 u – 3 u ) were synthesized, and their self‐assemblies on a 2‐D surface were investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). According to the quantitative analysis of the concentration dependence of the surface coverage, it was revealed that the strength of the hydrogen bond (i.e., amide or urea) and the number of non‐hydrogen atoms in a molecular component (i.e., size of core and length of alkyl side chain) play a primary role in determining the stabilization energy during nucleation and elongation processes of molecular ordering on the HOPG surface.     

Chiral Ammonium Betaine‐Catalyzed Highly Stereoselective Aza‐Henry Reaction of α‐Aryl Nitromethanes with Aromatic N‐Boc Imines

A highly stereoselective aza‐Henry reaction of α‐aryl nitromethanes with aromatic N‐Boc imines was established by using C₁‐symmetric chiral ammonium betaine as a bifunctional organic base catalyst. Various substituted aryl groups for both imines and nitromethanes were tolerated in the reaction, and a series of precursors for the synthesis of unsymmetrical anti‐1,2‐diaryl ethylenediamines was provided.     

Spectroscopic Properties of Amine‐substituted Analogues of Firefly Luciferin and Oxyluciferin

Spectroscopic and photophysical properties of firefly luciferin and oxyluciferin analogues with an amine substituent (NH₂, NHMe and NMe₂) at the C6' position were studied based on absorption and fluorescence measurements. Their π‐electronic properties were investigated by DFT and TD‐DFT calculations. These compounds showed fluorescence solvatochromism with good quantum yields. An increase in the electron‐donating strength of the substituent led to the bathochromic shift of the fluorescence maximum. The fluorescence maxima of the luciferin analogues and the corresponding oxyluciferin analogues in a solvent were well correlated with each other. Based on the obtained data, the polarity of a luciferase active site was explained. As a result, the maximum wavelength of bioluminescence for a luciferin analogue was readily predicted by measuring the photoluminescence of the luciferin analogue in place of that of the corresponding oxyluciferin analogue.     

Synthesis and structural characterization of Ni(II) complexes with the chiral CpH(PNMent) tripod ligand

Treatment of NiCl₂ with the tripod ligand (L_Ment,S_C)-1H led to (L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)NiCl] in which the potentially tridentate ligand coordinated to the metal center in a bidentate way via the cyclopentadienyl system and the phosphorus atom. In the presence of NH₄PF₆ [(L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)NiCl] readily underwent Cl/PPh₃ exchange to give (L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)NiPPh₃]PF₆. Reaction of (L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)NiCl] with 0.5 eq. of dppe afforded [{(L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)Ni]}₂dppe](PF₆)₂. (L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)NiPPh₃]PF₆ and [{(L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)Ni]}₂dppe](PF₆)₂ were characterized by NMR and MS spectroscopy, and also by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The cyclopentadienyl ligand of (L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)NiPPh₃]PF₆ shows a distortion intermediate between the ene-allyl and diene types, while the two cyclopentadienyl ligands of [{(L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)Ni]}₂dppe](PF₆)₂ have intermediate and diene distortions, respectively. According to the temperature dependent NMR spectra of (L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)NiPPh₃]PF₆ and [{(L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)Ni]}₂dppe](PF₆)₂ two different conformations of the tether in the Cp(PN_Ment)Ni system could be frozen out at low temperatures.     

Morphological change of crystalline polymer films by annealing: substrate‐ and heating/cooling‐rate‐dependent surface roughness

We study the morphological change of crystalline polymer films by annealing using atomic force microscope, X‐ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. As typical samples, we employ high‐density and low‐density polyethylene films prepared by the cast method. After annealing at 135 °C for 4 h, the surface roughness of polyethylene films by the atomic force microscope significantly increases, and the crystallite size by the X‐ray diffraction also shows some increase, while the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectrum hardly exhibits any change. This can be well explained as a result of the growth of crystal structure by recrystallization during annealing. More interestingly, we find that the choice of the substrate and also the heating/cooling rates for annealing significantly influences the surface roughness of the films. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Progress in the demonstration and understanding of water splitting using particulate photocatalysts

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Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes with “Green” Detergents

Solubilization of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is a fundamental technique for the use of CNTs and their conjugates as nanodevices and nanobiodevices. In this work, we demonstrate the preparation of CNT suspensions with “green” detergents made from coconuts and bamboo as fundamental research in CNT nanotechnology. Single-walled CNTs (SWNTs) with a few carboxylic acid groups (3–5%) and pristine multi-walled CNTs (MWNTs) were mixed in each detergent solution and sonicated with a bath-type sonicator. The prepared suspensions were characterized using absorbance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Among the eight combinations of CNTs and detergents (two types of CNTs and four detergents, including sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as the standard), SWNTs/MWNTs were well dispersed in all combinations except the combination of the MWNTs and the bamboo detergent. The stability of the suspensions prepared with coconut detergents was better than that prepared with SDS. Because the efficiency of the bamboo detergents against the MWNTs differed significantly from that against the SWNTs, the natural detergent might be useful for separating CNTs. Our results revealed that the use of the “green” detergents had the advantage of dispersing CNTs as well as SDS.