High ionization potential conjugated polymers

We report the synthesis of a series of poly(p-phenylene ethynylene)s (PPEs) with high ionization potentials and associated high excited-state electron affinities. Their photophysical properties were investigated using steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques. The ionization potentials of the polymer thin films were determined using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), and those with the highest ionization potentials displayed high sensitivity for the detection of electron-donating aromatic compounds. The effects of sterics, chemical structure, and electronic properties on the polymers' sensory responses were investigated by fluorescence quenching experiments in both solution and solid thin films. In addition, we report that in some cases the excited-state charge-transfer complexes (exciplexes) of the PPEs with analytes were observed. These latter effects provide promising opportunities for the formation of sensitive and selective chemical sensors.     

Synthesis of polymer-bound hemoglobin samples

Dextran and hydroxyethyl starch have been chemically modified to give aldehyde-substituted polymers. These modified polymers were synthesised either by periodate oxidation of the starting polymer or by attachment of gluteraldehyde to amino-substituted side chains on the polymer. When such modified starches were allowed to react with hemoglobin soluble polymer-bound hemoglobins were formed. These were shown to be capable of binding oxygen but the observed oxygen-binding curves were shifted to the left relative to unbound hemoglobin. Heart perfusion experiments indicate that these polymer-bound hemoglobins are not suitable for use as blood substitutes     

Time-Resolved Fluorescence and Transient Spectroscopy in Determining Photochemical and Photophysical Channels in Reacting Systems in Solutions and Microheterogeneous Media

Abstract— Characterization of short-lived intermediates in homogeneous and microheterogeneous systems has been carried out using time-resolved spectroscopic techniques. The data obtained from these techniques have been analyzed in a relatively unconventional manner to elucidate complex transient behavior for two reactive systems. The highly nonexponential fluorescence decay for a series of fraws-stilbene-derivatized amphiphiles that readily form bilayer systems in aqueous media has been analyzed using a distribution of lifetimes analysis (DLA). The utility of DLA for quantitative studies was first determined by simulation of artificial decay data. Despite some limitations in DLA, qualitative conclusions as to the nature of the fluorescing species may be drawn when supplementary information such as steady-state spectroscopic data are also considered. The results indicate that the observed fluorescence originates from different types of excited-state species that consist of two or more trans-stilbene units; one of the emissions is attributed to the excited state of a ground-state aggregate while the other is assigned to an excimer that may arise from a 'defect'in the bilayer. The nonexponential nature of the decays is attributed to distributions of environments experienced by the fluorescing species. Electron transfer (ET) reactions between several excited pinacols and carbon tetrachloride in solution have been found to yield products with quantum yields that are higher than unity in the presence of oxygen, suggesting a chain mechanism for product formation. In these systems both the donor and the acceptor undergo bond fragmentation following the initial ET step. The individual steps involved in the proposed mechanism for these systems have been investigated in part using different steady-state and time-resolved laser spectroscopic techniques. However, it was also necessary to utilize pulse radiolysis in order to confirm the involvement of certain radical intermediates that were not observable by the usual flash photolysis techniques.     

Charge density analysis of two polymorphs of antimony(III) oxide

High-resolution X-ray diffraction data have been collected on the cubic polymorph of antimony(III) oxide (senarmontite) to determine the charge distribution in the crystal. The results are in quantitative agreement with crystal Hartree-Fock calculations for this polymorph, and have been compared with theoretical calculations on the orthorhombic polymorph (valentinite). Information about the nature of bonding and relative bond strengths in the two polymorphs has been extracted in a straightforward manner via topological analysis of the electron density. All the close contacts in both polymorphs are found to be similar in nature based on the value of the Laplacian, the magnitude of the electron density and the local energy density at the bond critical points, and these characterise the observed interactions as substantially polar covalent, similar to molecular calculation results on Si-O and Ge-O. Electrostatic potential isosurfaces reveal the octopolar nature of this function for senarmontite, and shed light on the observed packing arrangement of Sb4O6 molecules in the crystal.     

Theoretical study of the CH2 + O photodissociation of formaldehyde adsorbed on the Ag(111) surface

Configuration interaction calculations of the ground and excited states of the H2CO molecule adsorbed on the Ag(111) surface have been carried out to study the photoinduced dissociation process leading to polymerization of formaldehyde. The metal-adsorbate system has been described by the embedded cluster and multireference configuration interaction methods. The pi electron-attachment H2CO- and n-pi* internally excited H2CO* states have been considered as possible intermediates. The calculations have shown that H2CO* is only very weakly bound on Ag(111), and thus that the dissociation of adsorbed formaldehyde due to internal excitation is unlikely. By contrast, the H2CO- anion is strongly bound to Ag(111) and gains additional vibrational energy along the C-O stretch coordinate via Franck-Condon excitation from the neutral molecule. Computed energy variations of adsorbed H2CO and H2CO- at different key geometries along the pathway for C-O bond cleavage make evident, however, that complete dissociation is very difficult to attain on the potential energy surface of either of these states. Instead, reneutralization of the vibrationally excited anion by electron transfer back to the substrate is the most promising means of breaking the C-O bond, with subsequent formation of the coadsorbed O and CH2 fragments. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that the most stable state for both dissociation fragments on Ag(111) is a closed-shell singlet, with binding energies relative to the gas-phase products of approximately 3.2 and approximately 1.3 eV for O and CH2, respectively. Further details of the reaction mechanism for the photoinduced C-O bond cleavage of H2CO on the Ag(111) surface are also given.     

Adsorption of O, H, OH, and H2O on Ag(100)

The adsorption of H(2)O and its dissociation products, O, H, and OH, on Ag(100) has been studied using an ab initio embedding method. Results at different sites (atop, bridge, and hollow) are presented. The four-fold hollow site is found to be the most stable adsorption site for O, H, and OH, and the calculated adsorption energies are 87.1, 42.7, and 76.2 kcal mol(-1), respectively. The adsorption energy of water at the atop and bridge sites is almost identical with values of 11.1 and 12.0 kcal mol(-1), respectively. The formation of adsorbed OH species by adsorption of water on oxygen-precovered Ag(100) is predicted to be exothermic by 36 kcal mol(-1).     

Photochemistry and Photophysical Properties of Novel, Unsymmetrically Substituted Metallophthalocyanines

Abstract— A series of novel, unsymmetrically substituted metallophthalocyanines was synthesized, along with their symmetrically substituted analogs, and the effects of structure and metal substitution on their photophysical and photoredox properties were investigated. The macrocy-cles were synthesized using a mixed-condensation method followed by chromatographic separation of the resulting soluble products. They possess a catechol "active site" and three tert-butyl groups for enhanced solubility. The ground- and excited-state photophysical properties of the free-base, Zn(II) and Pd(II) macrocycles were measured and compared with their symmetrically substituted (tetra[ tert -butyl]) analogs. The efficiency with which these macrocycles sensitize the formation of singlet oxygen was determined and discussed in the context of the excited-state photophysical properties. Several examples of photoinduced electron transfer reactions with one- and two-electron acceptors are demonstrated and discussed. These soluble molecules can be tuned to optimize their photochemical and redox properties by varying the central metal, axial ligands and other substituents, thereby providing a series of molecules for the investigation of photodynamic therapy and photoinduced electron transfer mechanisms.