The missing link : Ferrocene and porphyrin monolayers are tethered on silicon surfaces with short (see picture, left) or long (right) linkers. Electron transfer to the silicon substrate is faster for monolayers with a short linker.
Finely tuned optical properties : The optical properties of substituted protected catechol derivatives can be fine‐tuned (see scheme; TBDMS=tert‐butyldimethylsilyloxy). The DFT‐calculated polarisabilities are compared with experimental data.
Nanoparticle chirality has attracted much attention recently, and the application of chiral nanoparticles to chiral technologies (see figure) is also of interest. This Minireview deals with advances in the preparation and characterization of chiral gold nanoparticles. Origins of the chiroptical properties and potential applications are discussed.
The first ratiometric fluorescent probe for hypochlorite has been developed through regulation of the electron‐withdrawing ability of the electron acceptor in an intramolecular charge‐transfer (ICT) system by a deoximation reaction (see figure; EWG=electron‐withdrawing group).
The center of it all : An antitumor‐active trinuclear platinum complex forms unprecedented interstrand cross‐linked triadducts with 18‐mer DNA duplexes (see figure; complex in yellow with the platinum centers in red) and behaves differently from its dinuclear analogue.
Amphiphilic hybrid materials are formed from polymer‐coated semiconductor nanoparticles that simulate a surfactant‐like response (see picture). The strength and density of the surface coating are the key assembling forces driving a transition from single particles to cylindrical or vesicular superstructures.
In a new direction : In situ NMR spectroscopy and DFT calculation studies demonstrate that the hybrid of imidazolium ionic liquids with morpholine can be formed by means of hydrogen bonds during the crystallization of molecular sieves (see graphic; T=Al or P), which drastically alters the structure‐directing property.
One step at a time : The in situ monitoring of the step‐by‐step formation of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) by using surface plasmon resonance (SPR), allows the nucleation process and the formation of the secondary building units to be investigated. Growth rates on functionalized organic surfaces with different crystallographic orientations can also be studied.
