Modulation of the photophysical properties of C60 by electronic confinement effect

This research work reports on the incorporation of fullerene C60 in diverse inorganic and organic matrixes and how these different environments induce changes on the photophysical properties of the molecule depending on the cavity dimensions of the host. Indeed the fluorescence emission band of C60 experiences a progressive bathochromic shift with respect to C60 in solution as the cavity dimensions of the host decrease in going from the mesoporous material MCM41 to UTD-1 and Na-Y zeolites. This experimental observation, which has been documentarily confirmed by theoretical predictions and recent experimental results, is a reflection of the confinement effect imposed by the host. However, the most striking result reported in this work is that the fluorescence range accessible to this occluded species can be extraordinarily extended by confinement inside the neutral cages of a "dendritic box". The ability of the dendritic shell to create a microenvironment, modifying the properties of its functional core, allows the emission bands of C60 incorporated into a dendrimer to be effectively red-shifted with respect to their emission in solution, and, contrarily to other confined spaces of considerable hardness such as zeolites or the high surface material MCM41, the magnitude of this shifting is maximum and can be modulated under appropriate experimental conditions. This phenomenon has an enormous relevance since it can be exploited in future technological applications.     

Construction of a rigid Zn porphyrin-C60 dyad within dendritic structure: dendrimer effect on singlet energy transfer

A snowflake-shaped Zn porphyrin dendrimer with a C60 terminal was prepared. Covalent linkage of the C60 unit results in significant quenching of the Zn porphyrin fluorescence mainly due to energy transfer from the Zn porphyrin core to the C60 terminal. Comparison of the energy-transfer efficiency with similar dendrons indicates that the dendritic structure considerably delays the energy-transfer rate.     

Local structure of highly dispersed lead species incorporated within zeolite: experimental and theoretical studies

XAFS (both XANES and FT-EXAFS) measurements revealed that the Pb²⁺ /ZSM-5 catalyst prepared from precursor H-ZSM-5 by a conventional ion-exchange method includes a highly dispersed 3-fold coordinated Pb²⁺ ion species within the zeolite framework. UV-irradiation of Pb²⁺ /ZSM-5 led to effective decomposition of NO and N₂O producing N₂. The photocatalytic decomposition of NO is found to be slightly preferable than that of N₂O. The isolated Pb²⁺ ions play a significant role in the decomposition of pollutant NO _x . Ab initio and DFT quantum chemical studies at the HF/Lanl2dz and B3PW91/Lanl2dz levels further shed light on local structures of the Pb²⁺ active site of lead-containing zeolites, as well as on their interactions with pollutant NO and N₂O molecules. In agreement with experiments, 3-fold coordination was found to be the most favorable state for the Pb²⁺ site within the zeolite framework.     

Anaerobic reduction of a sulfonated azo dye, Congo Red, by sulfate-reducing bacteria

The capacity for anaerobic decolorization of a sulfonated azo dye, Congo Red, by a strain of a sulfate-reducing bacterium was evaluated. After optimizing the growth rate of the bacteria on a simple carbon source and terminal electron acceptor pair, lactate and sulfate, respectively, the effect of the dye concentration on their growth rate was analyzed. The decolorization rate was affected by the dye concentration in the growth medium. The azo-bond cleavage mechanism of reductive decolorization with the formation of benzidine was consistent with the results, as this metabolite was identified by high-performance liquid chromatography. Several fractions of the culture medium, including lysed cell extracts, were examined for the capacity to reduce the azo dye. This reduction capacity was found in the culture medium in which the cells had previously grown. The results showed that the mechanism of reductive decolorization of this sulfonated azo dye was extracellular and nonenzymatic, consistent with the production of sulfide anion by the microorganisms while growing on lactate and sulfate. The sulfide anions were the cause of the reduction leading to the disappearance of color in the medium. To increase the rate of decolorization, the presence of ferrous ion was also necessary together with the lactate and sulfate substrates.     

Pressure enhancement in carbon nanopores: a major confinement effect

Phenomena that occur only at high pressures in bulk phases are often observed in nanopores, suggesting that the pressure in such confined phases is large. We report a molecular simulation study of the pressure tensor of an argon nanophase within slit-shaped carbon pores and show that the tangential pressure is positive and large, while the normal pressure can be positive or negative depending on pore width. We also show that small changes in the bulk pressure have a large effect on the tangential pressure, suggesting that it should be possible to control the latter over wide ranges in laboratory experiments.     

The electronic structure of molecules by a many-body approach

The vertical valence ionization potentials of cyclopropane, ethylene oxide and ethylene imine are calculated by a many-body Green's function method. For C₃H₆ the ordering of the ionization potentials is 2e(), 1e(), 2a₁(), 1a₂(), 1e(). The assignment of the 2a₁ and the 1a₂ ionization potentials which has been controversial is thus clarified. The ordering is in agreement with the result obtained via Koopmans' theorem. For ethylene oxide and ethylene imine Koopmans' theorem fails in predicting the correct order of ionic states. For C₂H₄O the ordering of the ionization potentials is 2b ₁(), 4a ₁, 1a ₂(), 2b ₂,3a ₁, 1b ₁(), 1b ₂, 2a ₁ and for C₂H₅N 6a, 5a, 3a, 2a, 4a, 3a, 1a, 2a. The agreement of the computed ionization potentials with the experimental values is very satisfactory.     

Symmetry breaking effect in the ferrocene electronic structure by hydrocarbon-monosubstitution: an experimental and theoretical study

We present here the results of a synchrotron radiation-excited UV-photoemission investigation and density functional theory calculations on a structurally related series of organometallic free molecules: ethylferrocene (EtFC), vinylferrocene (VFC), and ethynylferrocene (EFC). This series exemplifies the electronic interactions operating when the C-C substituent group of an aromatic ring is bound to the substrate surface atoms, from a single C-C bond to the double and triple C-C bond pi systems which are still able to preserve substrate-molecule conjugation. A detailed assignment of the gas phase valence photoelectron spectra is discussed, providing new data on the electronic structure of EtFC and EFC and offering a partial reinterpretation of previous assignments on VFC. The broken symmetry of ferrocene caused by the monosubstitution has notable effects on the removal of the molecular orbital (MO) degeneracy which is found to be especially remarkable for the ferrocenelike e(1)' MOs. This effect is ascribed to the interaction between the aromatic cyclopentadyenyl ring and the substituent through sigma/pi hyperconjugation and pi-conjugation mechanisms depending on the nature of the hydrocarbon moiety and its conformational geometry. The vertical ionization energy values of the highest occupied MO for the alkylferrocene and ferrocene free molecules linearly correlate with the redox potential in acetonitrile for ferrocene and the corresponding hybrids obtained by covalently anchoring the free molecule on silicon.     

Langevin equation for the parametric oscillator: a model for ion confinement in a radio frequency trap

We have calculated 〈x ²〉 and 〈v ²〉 for an ion in a rf trap being cooled by a stochastic force. The results agree with earlier work (using a Fokker-Planck equation) as long as there is white noise. However, there is an appreciable reduction for both quantities, if non-Markovian processes are included.     

Gold nanocluster confined within a cage: template-directed formation of a hexaporphyrin cage and its confinement capability

A novel container complex in which a 1.4 nm gold cluster is confined within a hexaporphyrin cage was synthesized; the cage showed notable confinement capability for the cluster core, but allowed the interpenetration of small molecules into the interstitial space.     

Functionalized heteropolyanions: high-valent metal nitrido fragments incorporated into a Keggin polyoxometalate structure

Three examples of nitrido-functionalized polyoxometalate species are reported, namely (n-Bu4N)4[PW11O39(OsN)] (1), (n-Bu4N)4[PW11O39(ReN)] (2), and (n-Bu4N)3[PW11O39(ReN)] (3), which feature the incorporation of [OsVI identical to N]3+, [ReVI identical to N]3+ and [ReVII identical to N]4+ fragments, respectively, into the framework of a Keggin-type heteropolyanion.     

Brownian motion of a parametric oscillator: A model for ion confinement in radio frequency traps

The distribution function for Brownian motion of a parametric oscillator is calculated exactly with the help of continued fraction expansions in the long time limit. We derive expressions for the energy and the widths of the spatial and velocity distribution. Our results are relevant to understand confinement of particles in radio frequency ion traps.     

Suzuki-Miyaura reaction in water, conducted by employing an amphiphilic dendritic phosphine-palladium catalyst: a positive dendritic effect on chemical yield

A series of amphiphilic dendritic ligands with a phosphine core was synthesized by use of tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)phosphine oxide and poly(benzyl ether) dendron. The corresponding phosphine-palladium core dendrimers were applied as a catalyst to an aqueous-media Suzuki-Miyaura reaction. A positive dendritic effect on chemical yields of cross-coupling products was observed.     

Pseudooctahedral complexes of vanadium(III): electronic structure investigation by magnetic and electronic spectroscopy

A variety of physical methods has been used to probe the non-Kramers, S = 1, V(III) ion in two types of pseudooctahedral complexes: V(acac)(3), where acac = anion of 2,4-pentanedione, and VX(3)(thf)(3), where thf = tetrahydrofuran and X = Cl and Br. These methods include tunable frequency and high-field electron paramagnetic resonance (HFEPR) spectroscopy (using frequencies of approximately 95-700 GHz and fields up to 25 T) in conjunction with electronic absorption, magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), and variable-temperature variable-field MCD (VTVH-MCD) spectroscopies. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility and field-dependent magnetization measurements were also performed. All measurements were conducted on complexes in the solid state (powder or mull samples). The field versus sub-THz wave quantum energy dependence of observed HFEPR resonances yielded the following spin Hamiltonian parameters for V(acac)(3): D = +7.470(1) cm(-1); E = +1.916(1) cm(-1); g(x) = 1.833(4); g(y) = 1.72(2); g(z) = 2.03(2). For VCl(3)(thf)(3), HFEPR detected a single zero-field transition at 15.8 cm(-1) (474 GHz), which was insufficient to determine the complete set of spin Hamiltonian parameters. For VBr(3)(thf)(3), however, a particularly rich data set was obtained using tunable-frequency HFEPR, and analysis of this data set gave the folowing: D = -16.162(6) cm(-1); E = -3.694(4) cm(-1); g(x) = 1.86(1); g(y) = 1.90(1); g(z) = 1.710(4). Analysis of the VTVH-MCD data gave spin Hamiltonian parameters in good agreement with those determined by HFEPR for both V(acac)(3) and VBr(3)(thf)(3) and in rough agreement with the estimate for VCl(3)(thf)(3) (D approximately 10 cm(-1), |E/D| approximately 0.18), together with the finding that the value of D is negative for both thf complexes. The electronic structures of these V(III) complexes are discussed in terms of their molecular structures and the electronic transitions observed by electronic absorption and MCD spectroscopies.     

An unusual reverse turn structure adopted by a furanoid sugar amino acid incorporated in gramicidin S

A new reverse turn, replacing one of the native type II' beta-turns in the cyclic peptide antibiotic gramicidin S, induced by a furanoid sugar amino acid is revealed. The C3-hydroxyl function plays a pivotal role by acting as a H-bond acceptor, consequently flipping the amide bond between residues i and i + 1, as was established by NMR and X-ray crystallographic analysis.     

Electron affinity of Al13: a correlated electronic structure study

Neutral and anionic 13-atom aluminum clusters are studied with high-level, fully ab initio methods: second-order perturbation theory (MP2) and coupled cluster theory with singles, doubles, and perturbative triples (CCSD(T)). Energies and vibrational frequencies are reported for icosahedral and decahedral isomers, and are compared with density functional theory results. At the MP2 level of theory, with all of the basis sets employed, the icosahedral structure is energetically favored over the decahedral structure for both the neutral and anionic Al(13) clusters. Hessian calculations imply that only the icosahedral structures are potential energy minima. The CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ adiabatic electron affinity of Al(13) is found to be 3.57 eV, in excellent agreement with experiment.     

Diels-Alder reaction using a dendritic copper(II) triflate-catalyst: a positive dendritic effect on the chemical yield

A series of dendritic ligands with a 2,2′-bipyridine core was synthesized through the coupling of 4,4′-dihydroxy-2,2′-bipyridine with poly(arylether) dendron in fair yields. The corresponding copper(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate (triflate) dendrimers were applied as a Lewis acid catalyst to the Diels-Alder reaction. A positive dendritic effect on the chemical yields of adducts was observed.     

Molecular orbital calculations on polythiophenes containing heterocyclic substituents: effect of structure on electronic transitions

Molecular orbital calculations have been performed on thiophene oligomers bearing heterocyclic substituents at the third position in order to understand the interplay of effects such as the nature of substituent, skeletal substitution pattern, heteroatom identity, etc. on electronic transitions. The geometry optimization was carried out using the semiempirical AM1 method, and the electronic transitions predicted for the oligomers were extrapolated for polymers using an oligomeric approach. The experimentally determined optical transitions were found to follow the predicted trend of electronic transitions of monomers and polymers.