Non-protein amino acids in peptide design

An overview of the use of non-protein amino acids in the design of conformationally well-defined peptides, based on work from the author’s laboratory, is discussed. The crystal structures of several designed oligopeptides illustrate the useα-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib) in the construction of helices, D-amino acids in the design of helix termination segments and^DPro-Xxx segments for nucleating ofβ-hairpin structures.β- andγ-amino acid residues have been used to expand the range of designed polypeptide structures. Dedicated to Professor C N R Rao on his 70th birthday     

Nano-electrochemical detection of hydrogen or protons using palladium nanoparticles: distinguishing surface and bulk hydrogen.

The benefits of using nanoparticle-modified electrodes are exemplified through the electrochemical detection of protons and/or hydrogen. It is shown that a palladium-nanoparticle-modified boron-doped diamond allows voltammetric information relating to the relative roles played by the surface and the bulk metal to be obtained for the proton-hydrogen system at palladium surfaces which is not accessible using palladium macroelectrodes or microelectrodes.     

A new insight into the understanding of the collapsed form of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) molecules

Possible collapsed forms of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) molecules are reviewed on the basis of first principle calculations. Various configurations and associated conformations are detailed. The calculated optimized structures exhibit different possibilities of creating networks of intra-molecular bonds of the hydrogen type. We show that the most remarkable one is able to form a local, self-saturated and well ordered helix. We also indicate in which direction the synthesis of the molecule should be oriented to improve its global behavior in term of hydrophobic/hydrophilic behavior.     

The Systematics of Muonium Hyperfine Constants

The hyperfine constants for muonium in elemental and binary inorganic solids suggest formation of three different families of defect centre, with distinct electronic structures. The overall range of values, spanning nearly five orders of magnitude, and their correlation with host properties such as band gap and electron affinity, reveal a deep-to-shallow instability which has profound implications for the electrical properties of hydrogen impurity in electronic materials, both semiconducting and dielectric.     

Paper-like Microfibrous Nickel Catalyst for Hydrogen Production via NH3 Decomposition in Fuel Cell Applications

Recently, miniature H2 generator to power fuel cells for portable/micro electronic devices and passenger propulsion has been the focus of intense research activities1-3. One of the strategies is to find simple CO-free H2 production with novel microreactor…     

Assessing contaminated hydrogen peroxide for safe storage and transportation using the FTAI

Hydrogen peroxide is a very versatile oxidizing agent, and it is also environmentally compatible considering that the products of its exothermic decomposition are oxygen and water.When kept in a clean temperature-controlled environment, the self-reaction (decomposition) rate is extremely low. However, it is well known that even a small amount of contamination will dramatically increase the reaction rate. This paper describes the use of the fast thermal activity interpreter (FTAI) instrument to examine the chemical reactivity of commercially available 50% hydrogen peroxide at two different temperatures (30 and 40°C) both with and without contamination. The results show that at 30°C a small amount of rust (330 ppm) increases the reaction rate of 50% hydrogen peroxide by a factor of 50. When the temperature is increased to 40°C, the reaction rate is further increased by almost a factor of four. The implication for reactivity management is that at this contamination level most practical vessel sizes would require emergency venting capability. An evaluation was then performed to determine the emergency venting requirement for the safe transportation or storage of the contaminated hydrogen peroxide. It was determined that for quantities of the material less than 5 gallons, conventional breather vents would be sufficient to accommodate the gas evolved. However, for larger quantities, a safety relief device would be needed. For example, for a 400-gallon tote bin at 40°C the required minimum vent area is estimated to be 4.3 in², corresponding to a minimum vent diameter of 2.3 inches.     

Application of Pulsed Traveling Hydrogen Arcs for Metal Oxide Reduction

A plasma reactor that has a transient traveling arc has been used to study hydrogen in relation to in-flight reduction of metal oxide particles. Experiments were done to determine the nature of the arc and its interaction with the reactor gas. The lifetime of the excited atomic hydrogen was measured and it was found to be more than 4 ms after the arc had ceased. Powders and tablets of oxides were exposed to the pulsed-arc treated hydrogen and found to react much more rapidly and intensely than when exposed to hot molecular hydrogen. The results suggest that atomic hydrogen will exist throughout the volume of such a reactor for a period that is sufficient to reduce particles of FeO, Cr₂O₃, and TiO₂.     

Diphenylmethane transformations over boron trifluoride modified alumina and silica-alumina

Transformations of diphenylmethane were investigated in a flow system in the presence of alumina and silica-alumina modified with boron trifluoride at atmospheric pressure and elevated temperatures. Hydrogen transfer reaction was observed on addition of tetralin to the substrate stream. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effect of genesis on the properties and hydrogen reducibility of NiO-ZnO mixed oxides

The physico-chemical properties and reactivity tested by hydrogen reduction have been studied for two series of NiO-ZnO mixed oxides of various composition. The solid nickel oxide or zinc oxide in interaction with the solution of nitrate of the second component were used as the precursors in each series. The differences in some physico-chemical parameters of the samples in both series were correlated with their reduction behaviour, followed both in iso- and non-isothermal regime. Moreower, the influence of various factors modifying the reactivity of mixed oxides was also investigated and the results were compared with those obtained from earlier studied analogous systems of quite different origin.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Experimental and quantum chemical study of pyrrole self-association through N-H?π hydrogen bonding

An FT-IR study of pyrrole self-association in CCl₄ solutions was carried out. According to the IR measurements, pyrrole forms self-associated dimeric species via N-H?π hydrogen bonding. This was also confirmed by quantum chemical calculations for pyrrole monomer and dimer at B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level of theory. A T-shaped minimum was located on B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) PES of pyrrole dimer characterized with a hydrogen bond of an N-H?π type, with centers-of-mass separation of monomeric units of 4.520 Å, H?π distance of 2.475 Å, the interplanar angle between the two monomeric units being 72.9°. The anharmonic vibrational frequency shift upon dimer formation calculated on the basis of 1D DFT vibrational potentials is in excellent agreement with the experimental data (84 vs. 87 cm⁻¹). Harmonic vibrational analysis predicts somewhat smaller shift (68 cm⁻¹). On the basis of NIR spectroscopic data, anharmonicity constants for the 2ν(N-H) and 2ν(N-H?π) vibrational transitions were calculated. The orientational dynamics of monomeric and self-associated pyrrole species was studied within the framework of the transition dipole moment time correlation function formalism. The period of essentially free rotation in the condensed phase reduces from 0.05 ps for the monomeric pyrrole to 0.02 ps for the proton-donor molecule within the dimer.