Relation between membrane characteristics and performance in nanofiltration

The performance of commercial membranes during nanofiltration of aqueous solutions containing dissolved uncharged or charged organic components, was studied on the basis of membrane characteristics by means of multiple linear regression.

The membrane characteristics studied were surface hydrophobicity, surface roughness, surface charge, molecular weight cut-off (MWCO), permeability and porosity of the top layer (expressed as the volume fraction of small and large pores, determined by Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy). Filtration and adsorption experiments were performed in the presence of various components, which differ in molecular mass, hydrophobicity and (in the case of charged organic components) in charge.

It was concluded that in order to minimize fouling, the membrane should have a low volume fraction of small pores in the top layer. When the organic components are charged, a membrane with a large surface charge and a high hydrophilicity is also favourable. Not only the membrane, but also the feed characteristics have an influence on fouling: the best results during nanofiltration of dissolved uncharged or charged components were obtained with hydrophilic or negatively charged components, respectively. Dissolved organic components were the best retained by membranes with a low MWCO. In addition, uncharged organic components should be hydrophilic and small to obtain a high retention and minimal flux decline, while the interplay between membrane and component charge is crucial during filtration of dissolved charged organic components.     

Effects of Heavy Iodine Atoms and π-Expanded Conjugation on Charge Transfer Dynamics in Carboxylic Acid BODIPY Derivatives as Triplet Photosensitizers

Borondipyrromethene (BODIPY) chromophores are composed of a functional-COOH group at meso position with or without a biphenyl ring, and their compounds with heavy iodine atoms at −2, −6 positions of the BODIPY indacene core were synthesized. The photophysical properties of the compounds were studied with steady-state absorption and fluorescence measurements. It was observed that the absorption band is significantly red-shifted, and fluorescence signals are quenched in the presence of iodine atoms. In addition to that, it was indicated that the biphenyl ring does not affect the spectral shifting in the absorption as well as fluorescence spectra. In an attempt to investigate the effect of π-expanded biphenyl moieties and heavy iodine atoms on charge transfer dynamics, femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy measurements were carried out in the environment of the tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution. Based on the performed ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy, BODIPY compounds with iodine atoms lead to intersystem crossing (ISC) and ISC rates were determined as 150 ps and 180 ps for iodine BODIPY compounds with and without π-expanded biphenyl moieties, respectively. According to the theoretical results, the charge transfer in the investigated compounds mostly appears to be intrinsic local excitations, corresponding to high photoluminescence efficiency. These experimental findings are useful for the design and study of the fundamental photochemistry of organic triplet photosensitizers.     

Reductive Activation of Small Molecules by Anionic Coinage Metal Atoms and Clusters in the Gas Phase

Metal atoms and clusters exhibit chemical properties that are significantly different or totally absent in comparison to their bulk counterparts. Such peculiarity makes them potential building units for the generation of novel catalysts. Investigations of the gas‐phase reactions between size‐ and charge‐selected atoms/clusters and small molecules have provided fundamental insights into their intrinsic reactivity, thus leading to a guiding principle for the rational design of the single‐atom and cluster‐based catalysts. Especially, recent gas‐phase studies have elucidated that small molecules such as O₂, CO₂, and CH₃I can be catalytically activated by negatively‐charged atoms/clusters via donation of a partial electronic charge. This Minireview showcases typical examples of such “reductive activation” processes promoted by anions of metal atoms and clusters. Here, we focus on anionic atoms/clusters of coinage metals (Cu, Ag, and Au) owing to the simplicity of their electronic structures. The determination of a correlation between their activation modes and the electronic structures might be helpful for the future development of innovative coinage metal catalysts.     

Stable Tetra‐ and Penta‐Anions in the Gas Phase

The quest for stable gas‐phase anions in highly negative charge states has been a great challenge. While multiply charged anions are stabilized in solids and liquids by compensating cations and solvation cells, respectively, stable anions containing less than a hundred atoms in the gas phase and capable of carrying charge beyond ?3 is unknown. Here, we report the discovery of thermodynamically stable tetra‐ and penta‐anions, containing less than 50 and 80 atoms, respectively, in the gas phase. A universal model is developed that explains their stability in terms of the synergy between closed shell, high electron affinity, and size and predicts new highly‐charged anions by using the known charged clusters as building blocks. Synthesis of these species can open a new chapter in materials chemistry.     

Structural Transformation and Stabilization of Metal–Organic Motifs Induced by Halogen Doping

The structural transformation of supramolecular nanostructures with constitutional diversity and adaptability by dynamic coordination chemistry would be of fundamental importance for potential applications in molecular switching devices. The role of halogen doping in the formation of elementary metal–organic motifs on surfaces has not been reported. Now, the 9‐ethylguanine molecule (G) and Ni atom, as a model system, are used for the structural transformation and stabilization of metal–organic motifs induced by iodine doping on Au(111). The iodine atoms are homogeneously located at particular hydrogen‐rich locations enclosed by G molecules by electrostatic interactions, which would be the key for such an unexpected stabilizing effect. The generality and robustness of this approach are demonstrated in different metal–organic systems (G/Fe) and also by chlorine and bromine.     

The many flavours of halogen bonds – message from experimental electron density and Raman spectroscopy

Experimental electron‐density studies based on high‐resolution diffraction experiments allow halogen bonds between heavy halogens to be classified. The topological properties of the electron density in Cl…Cl contacts vary smoothly as a function of the interaction distance. The situation is less straightforward for halogen bonds between iodine and small electronegative nucleophiles, such as nitrogen or oxygen, where the electron density in the bond critical point does not simply increase for shorter distances. The number of successful charge–density studies involving iodine is small, but at least individual examples for three cases have been observed. (a) Very short halogen bonds between electron‐rich nucleophiles and heavy halogen atoms resemble three‐centre–four‐electron bonds, with a rather symmetric heavy halogen and without an appreciable σ hole. (b) For a narrow intermediate range of halogen bonds, the asymmetric electronic situation for the heavy halogen with a pronounced σ hole leads to rather low electron density in the (3,?1) critical point of the halogen bond; the properties of this bond critical point cannot fully describe the nature of the associated interaction. (c) For longer and presumably weaker contacts, the electron density in the halogen bond critical point is only to a minor extent reduced by the presence of the σ hole and hence may be higher than in the aforementioned case. In addition to the electron density and its derived properties, the halogen–carbon bond distance opposite to the σ hole and the Raman frequency for the associated vibration emerge as alternative criteria to gauge the halogen‐bond strength. We find exceptionally long C—I distances for tetrafluorodiiodobenzene molecules in cocrystals with short halogen bonds and a significant red shift for their Raman vibrations.     

Supramolecular Assembly of Poly(propyleneimine) Dendrimers Driven By Simple Monovalent Counterions

The self‐assembly of semiglobular, positively charged poly(propyleneimine) (PPI) dendrimers with small monovalent counterions (e.g., Cl^?) in water/acetone mixtures was investigated. We showed that PPI dendrimers can assemble into hollow, spherical, single‐layered blackberry‐type structures mediated by the presence of monovalent counterions. The effects on the assembly of changing the solvent polarity and adjusting the pH were further investigated to confirm the presence of electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding as the driving forces. Results showed that PPI dendrimers form stable, hollow spheres in 5–20 % v/v acetone/water and that the size of the spheres decreases monotonically as the solvent polarity and/or the charge on the dendrimers (i.e., lower solution pH) increases. This is the first example to show that small monovalent counterions can trigger attraction among PPI dendrimers (or broadly defined polyelectrolytes) that is strong enough to bring them together to form large, stable supramolecular assemblies, which indicates that these organic macroions have similar solution behavior to more‐well‐defined inorganic molecular macroions.     

Metastable atom‐activated dissociation mass spectrometry: leucine/isoleucine differentiation and ring cleavage of proline residues

Extensive backbone fragmentation resulting in a‐, b‐, c‐, x‐, y‐ and z‐type ions is observed of singly and doubly charged peptide ions through their interaction with a high kinetic energy beam of argon or helium metastable atoms in a modified quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer. The ability to determine phosphorylation‐sites confirms the observation with previous reports and we report the new ability to distinguish between leucine and isoleucine residues and the ability to cleave two covalent bonds of the proline ring resulting in a‐, b‐, x‐, y‐, z‐ and w‐type ions. The fragmentation spectra indicate that fragmentation occurs through nonergodic radical ion chemistry akin to electron capture dissociation (ECD), electron transfer dissociation (ETD) and electron ionization dissociation mechanisms. However, metastable atom‐activated dissociation mass spectrometry demonstrates three apparent benefits to ECD and ETD: (1) the ability to fragment singly charged precursor ions, (2) the ability to fragment negatively charged ions and (3) the ability to cleave the proline ring that requires the cleavage of two covalent bonds. Helium metastable atoms generated more fragment ions than argon metastable atoms for both substance P and bradykinin regardless of the precursor ion charge state. Reaction times less than 250 ms and efficiencies approaching 5% are compatible with on‐line fragmentation, as would be desirable for bottom‐up proteomics applications. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unique [(1)infinityNi(8)Bi(8)S] metallic wires in a novel quasi-1D compound. Synthesis, crystal and electronic structure, and properties of Ni(8)Bi(8)SI.

A new quasi-one-dimensional compound Ni(8)Bi(8)SI has been synthesized and its crystal structure determined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. The structure of Ni(8)Bi(8)SI consists of [(1)infinityNi(8)Bi(8)S] columns separated by iodine atoms. Conductivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements (down to 4.2 K) show that Ni(8)Bi(8)SI is a one-dimensional metal and exhibits Pauli paramagnetic properties. These observations are in good agreement with the results from electronic structure calculations. An analysis of the chemical bonding employing difference electron charge density maps reveals strong multicenter Ni-Bi bonds and pair Ni-S interactions within the [(1)infinityNi(8)Bi(8)S] columns. Only electrostatic interactions are inferred between the columns and iodine atoms.     

Carbon Nanodots: Supramolecular Electron Donor–Acceptor Hybrids Featuring Perylenediimides

We describe the formation of charge‐transfer complexes that feature electron‐donating carbon nanodots (CND) and electron‐accepting perylenediimides (PDI). The functionalities of PDIs have been selected to complement those of CNDs in terms of electrostatic and π‐stacking interactions based on oppositely charged ionic head groups and extended π‐systems, respectively. Importantly, the contributions from electrostatic interactions were confirmed in reference experiments, in which stronger interactions were found for PDIs that feature positively rather than negatively charged head groups. The electronic interactions between the components in the ground and excited state were characterized in complementary absorption and fluorescence titration assays that suggest charge‐transfer interactions in both states with binding constants on the order of 8×10⁴ M ^?1 (25 L g^?1). Selective excitation of the two components in ultrafast pump probe experiments gave a 210 ps lived charge‐separated state.     

From Mono‐ to Poly‐Substituted Frameworks: A Way of Tuning the Acidic Character of Cc?H in o‐Carborane Derivatives

The incorporation of iodine atoms onto the boron vertices of the o‐carborane framework causes, according to spectroscopic data, a uniform increase in the acidic character of the C_c? H (C_c= cluster carbon) vertices, whereas the incorporation of methyl groups onto the boron vertices of the o‐carborane framework reduces their acidity. Methyl groups when attached to boron are electron‐withdrawing in boron clusters, whereas iodine atoms bonded to boron act as electron donors. This has been proven on B‐methyl and B‐iodinated o‐carboranes with NMR spectroscopy measurements and DFT calculations of natural bond orbital (NBO) charges, which show a cumulative buildup of positive cluster‐only total charge (CTC) on B‐methyl o‐carboranes and a cumulative buildup of negative cluster‐only total charge for B‐iodinated o‐carboranes.     

Versatile organic (fullerene)-inorganic (CdTe nanoparticle) nanoensembles

Novel organic (positively charged fullerene)-inorganic (negatively charged CdTe nanoparticle) nanoensembles were devised through electrostatic interactions and probed as versatile donor-acceptor hybrids. Photoirradiation of their homogeneous solutions, containing the electrostatically packed components, let to very long-lived (1.3 ms) charge separated states.     

Synergistic Spin Transition between Spin Crossover and Spin‐Peierls‐like Singlet Formation in the Halogen‐Bonded Molecular Hybrid System: [Fe(Iqsal)2][Ni(dmit)2]⋅CH3CN⋅H2O

To introduce halogen‐bond interactions between a cation and an anion, a novel Fe^III complex from iodine‐substituted ligands involving a paramagnetic nickel dithiolene anion was prepared and characterized. The compound exhibited the synergy between a spin‐crossover transition and a spin‐Peierls‐like singlet formation. The halogen‐bond interactions between the iodine and the sulfur atoms stabilized the paramagnetic state of π‐spins and played a crucial role in the synergistic magnetic transition between d‐ and π‐spins. In addition, the compound showed the light‐induced excited spin state trapping effect.     

A topological investigation of the nonlinear optical compound: iodoform octasulfur

The crystal structure of the nonlinear optical material, iodoform octasulfur (CHI3.(S8)3), in the polar space group R3m, has been shown to contain three unique S...I and several S...S close contacts (相似文献   

In silico engineering of tailored ink-binding ability at molecular printboards.

Molecular recognition between guest ink molecules and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) cavities at self-assembled monolayers provides a molecular printboard for nanopatterning applications. We recently used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to describe the specificity of ink-printboard binding and here extend the simulations to include charged cyclodextrin hosts, necessary to broaden the chemistry of molecular printboards and bind charged inks such as the ferrocenium cation. Shifting to high pH, or alternatively grafting a charged sidearm onto beta-CD, created three distinct types of anionic beta-CD cavity and we used electronic structure calculations and MD simulations to measure host-guest charge transfer and binding strengths. We find that steric recognition of uncharged organic molecules is retained at the charged printboards, and that improved guest-host electrostatic contacts can strengthen binding of larger inks while penalising small inks, enhancing the level of discrimination. A prudent choice of complementary host-guest shape and charge states thus provides a means of tuning both ink binding strength and specificity at molecular printboards.     

Synthesis and Exploration of Ladder‐Structured Large Aromatic Dianhydrides as Organic Cathodes for Rechargeable Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Compared to anode materials in Li‐ion batteries, the research on cathode materials is far behind, and their capacities are much smaller. Thus, in order to address these issues, we believe that organic conjugated materials could be a solution. In this study, we synthesized two non‐polymeric dianhydrides with large aromatic structures: NDA‐4N (naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride with four nitrogen atoms) and PDA‐4N (perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride with four nitrogen atoms). Their electrochemical properties have been investigated between 2.0 and 3.9 V (vs. Li⁺/Li). Benefiting from multi‐electron reactions, NDA‐4N and PDA‐4N could reversibly achieve 79.7 % and 92.3 %, respectively, of their theoretical capacity. Further cycling reveals that the organic compound with a relatively larger aromatic building block could achieve a better stability, as an obvious 36.5 % improvement of the capacity retention was obtained when the backbone was switched from naphthalene to perylene. This study proposes an opportunity to attain promising small‐molecule‐based cathode materials through tailoring organic structures.     

Triplet Acceptors with a D‐A Structure and Twisted Conformation for Efficient Organic Solar Cells

Triplet acceptors have been developed to construct high‐performance organic solar cells (OSCs) as the long lifetime and diffusion range of triplet excitons may dissociate into free charges instead of net recombination when the energy levels of the lowest triplet state (T₁) are close to those of charge‐transfer states (³CT). The current triplet acceptors were designed by introducing heavy atoms to enhance the intersystem crossing, limiting their applications. Herein, two twisted acceptors without heavy atoms, analogues of Y6, constructed with large π‐conjugated core and D‐A structure, were confirmed to be triplet materials, leading to high‐performance OSCs. The mechanism of triplet excitons were investigated to show that the twisted and D‐A structures result in large spin–orbit coupling (SOC) and small energy gap between the singlet and triplet states, and thus efficient intersystem crossing. Moreover, the energy level of T₁ is close to ³CT, facilitating the split of triplet exciton to free charges.     

Non‐metal Single‐Iodine‐Atom Electrocatalysts for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Common‐metal‐based single‐atom catalysts (SACs) are quite difficult to design due to the complex synthesis processes required. Herein, we report a single‐atom nickel iodide (SANi‐I) electrocatalyst with atomically dispersed non‐metal iodine atoms. The SANi‐I is prepared via a simple calcination step in a vacuum‐sealed ampoule and subsequent cyclic voltammetry activation. Aberration‐corrected high‐angle annular dark‐field scanning transmission electron microscopy and synchrotron‐based X‐ray absorption spectroscopy are applied to confirm the atomic‐level dispersion of iodine atoms and detailed structure of SANi‐I. Single iodine atoms are found to be isolated by oxygen atoms. The SANi‐I is structural stable and shows exceptional electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In situ Raman spectroscopy reveals that the hydrogen adatom (H_ads) is adsorbed by a single iodine atom, forming the I‐H_ads intermediate, which promotes the HER process.     

The essential role of H-F substitution in the electron-phonon interactions and electron transfer in the negatively charged acenes

The single charge transfer through acenes, partially H-F substituted acenes, and fluoroacenes is discussed. The reorganization energies between the neutral molecules and the corresponding monoanions for partially H-F substituted acenes lie between those for acenes and fluoroacenes. The delocalization of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMO) by substituting hydrogen atoms by fluorine atoms with the highest electronegativity in every element is the main reason why the reorganization energy between the neutral molecule and the monoanion for partially H-F substituted acenes lies between those for acenes and fluoroacenes. This result implies that the negatively charged partially H-F substituted acenes would be better conductors with rapid electron transfer than the negatively charged fluoroacenes if we assume that the overlap of the LUMO between partially H-F substituted acenes is not significantly different from that between two neighboring fluoroacenes. The structures of the monoanions of acenes, fluoroacenes, and partially H-F substituted acenes are optimized under D2h geometry, and the Jahn-Teller effects in the monoanions of benzene and fluorobenzene are discussed. The vibration effect onto the charge transfer problem is also discussed. The C-C stretching modes around 1500 cm(-1) are the main modes converting the neutral molecules to the monoanions in acenes, fluoroacenes, and partially H-F substituted acenes. It can be confirmed from the calculational results that the C-C stretching modes around 1500 cm(-1) the most strongly couple to the LUMO in these molecules. The main reason why the total electron-phonon coupling constants (lLUMO) for the monoanions of acenes in which four outer hydrogen atoms are substituted by fluorine atoms are larger than those for the monoanions of acenes in which several inner hydrogen atoms are substituted by fluorine atoms is suggested. The relationships between the electron transfer and the electron-phonon interactions are discussed. The plot of the reorganization energies against the lLUMO values is found to be nearly linear. In view of these results, the relationships between the normal and superconducting states are briefly discussed.