Divide and conquer : Polymer nanoparticles with phase‐separation structures prepared with block copolymers and homopolymer blends were used to fabricate unique suprapolymer structures by cross‐linking one polymer moiety and dissolving the other (see scheme; PI=polyisoprene, PSt=polystyrene).
Radical assembly : Halogen bonding has been observed for the first time between an isoindoline nitroxide and an iodoperfluorocarbon (see figure), which cocrystallize to form a discrete 2:1 supramolecular compound in which N? O.???I halogen bonding is the dominant intermolecular interaction. This illustrates the potential use of halogen bonding and isoindoline nitroxide tectons for the assembly of organic spin systems.
Golden capillaries : A gold‐immobilized capillary column reactor allows oxidation of alcohols to carbonyl compounds using molecular oxygen. These capillary columns (see picture) can be used for at least four days without loss of activity.
A rationally designed oligomerization inhibitor interacts with early intermediate assemblies of amyloid‐β polypeptide (Aβ) through the aromatic elements and inhibits their assembly into the toxic oligomers that cause Alzheimer's disease by a unique Cα‐methylation β‐breakage strategy. The electrostatic potential of the low‐energy conformation of the dipeptide inhibitor bound to Aβ is shown.
A facile, self‐seeded , solution–liquid–solid growth of soluble InP and GaP nanowires with a very low amount of native point defects with respect to the carrier concentrations have been synthesized (see scheme) and characterized. They are potentially promising building blocks in optoelectronic applications.
Scan and deliver : By combining imaging‐based spectral/spatial 2D radiofrequency manipulations (see scheme, left) with Hadamard‐weighting principles, 2D NMR spectra can be retrieved within a single scan (right). This approach can give homo‐ or heteronuclear correlations with an enhanced sensitivity over conventional ultrafast 2D NMR spectroscopy.
New pH‐sensitive probe design : A peek into the structure of fluorescent proteins led to the synthesis of fluorescent imidazoles. The prepared compounds demonstrated an array of remarkable pH‐dependent optical properties including at least two types of excited‐state charge transfers (see picture).
Spin‐restricted time‐dependent DFT for open‐shell systems is used to study the spin multiplicity dependence of nonlinear optical coefficients. Calculations are performed for various spin states of the pyrrole radical (see figure). The results indicate a substantial dependence on spin multiplicity of the NLO properties, which are sensitive to the basis set compared to closed shells at the DFT level of theory.
Like penguins on ice , buckybowl molecules move closer together when cooled on a copper surface (see model of a corannulene molecule adsorbed on Cu(111)). Upon heating, the molecules spread out into the original crystal phase again. The lower density at room temperature can be explained by the increase in entropy owing to the excitation of bowl vibrations at the surface.
Continuous organocatalysis : Fast aldol and Mannich reactions require less catalyst when conducted in a microreactor. A proline tetrazole derivative (5–10 mol %) catalyzes asymmetric aldol reactions between various aromatic aldehydes and ketones in microreactor at 60 °C with reaction times ranging from 10 to 30 min.
Recyclable organocatalysts : The first chiral DMAP analogue immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles is a highly active catalyst that is capable of the acylation of racemic sec‐alcohols under convenient, process‐scale friendly conditions (room temperature, 5 mol % loading, with acetic anhydride as the acylating agent) with excellent enantiodiscrimination. The catalyst is easily recovered and possesses unprecedented recyclability—in this study it was demonstrated to retain excellent activity and selectivity over 32 iterative cycles.
The appropriate choice of chiral catalyst and starting materials leads to the synthesis of 1,2‐oxazetidin‐3‐ones by cycloadditions of ketenes with nitroso compounds with very good regioselectivity and enantioselectivity. In addition to serving as potentially bioactive target molecules, the products can be transformed into other important classes of compounds, such as α‐hydroxycarboxylic acid derivatives.
Expanded porphyrins : The electronic excited states of two forms of meso‐hexakis(pentafluorophenyl)‐substituted gold(III) hexaphyrin(1.1.1.1.1.1), such as that depicted, have been investigated by density functional calculations and magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy to assign their low‐energy excited singlet states.
Spiders of the genus Argiope , such as Argiope lobata, contain polyamine toxins that are potent but nonselective blockers of glutamate receptors. However, by very subtle modifications of the structure of native toxins, it is possible to obtain selectivity for subtypes of these receptors, as described by K. Strømgaard and co‐workers in their Communication on page 3087 ff.
