Dendrimer-functionalized single-wall carbon nanotubes: synthesis, characterization, and photoinduced electron transfer

We describe the synthesis and characterization of a series of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) functionalized with polyamidoamine dendrimers. Importantly, the dendrimers are linked directly to the SWNT surface using a divergent methodology. This approach allows the number of functional groups on the nanotubes to be increased without provoking significant damage to the conjugated pi-system of the SWNTs. Several tetraphenylporphyrin moieties can be linked to the periphery of the dendrimers, and the photophysical properties of the resulting nanoconjugates have been investigated with a series of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy. The fluorescence kinetics provide evidence for two transient decays, one very short-lived (i.e., 0.04 +/- 0.01 ns) and one long-lived (i.e., 8.6 +/- 1.2 ns). A possible explanation is that some porphyrin units do not interact with the nanotubes, thus exhibiting a fluorescence lifetime similar to that of the free porphyrin. Complementary transient absorption measurements not only corroborate the fast decay of the photoexcited tetraphenylporphyrin but also confirm that intraconjugate charge separation evolves from the excited porphyrin to the SWNTs.     

Nanoporosities and catalytic activities of Pd-tailored single wall carbon nanohorns

The nanoporosities and catalytic activities of Pd nanoparticles dispersed on single wall carbon nanohorns (Pd-SWCNHs) and oxidized single wall carbon nanohorns (Pd-ox-SWCNHs) were examined. A transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation indicated that Pd nanoparticles of 2-3 nm size were highly dispersed on both the SWCNHs. X-ray photoelectron spectra and N2 adsorption isotherms at 77 K illustrated the differences in the deposition process mechanisms of the Pd-SWCNHs and Pd-ox-SWCNHs; the deposition process depended on the surface functional groups. The supercritical H2 adsorption isotherms at 77 K suggested the relationships between the interaction of Pd-SWCNHs and Pd-ox-SWCNHs with H2 and the catalytic activities for a water formation reaction in a gas phase at 273 or 298 K. The catalytic activity measurement and TEM observation of the catalysts after the reactions demonstrated that the Pd-SWCNHs and Pd-ox-SWCNHs are promising catalysts.     

Solvent-controlled photoinduced electron transfer between porphyrin and carbon nanotubes

beta-Cyclodextrin (beta-CD)-modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were successfully prepared by reaction of surface-bound carboxylic chloride groups of MWCNTs with aminoethyleneamino-deoxy-beta-CD (ENCD) and comprehensively characterized by FTIR, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis. The beta-CD-modified MWCNTs (ENCD-MWCNTs) are highly water-soluble, with a solubility of ca. 9.0 mg x mL(-1). Furthermore, the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) process between tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin (TCPP) and ENCD-MWCNTs was investigated by means of fluorescence, fluorescence decay, transient absorption spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. Obvious quenching processes were observed upon addition of both MWCNT-COOH and ENCD-MWCNTs to the aqueous solutions of TCPP, indicating that the PET process between TCPP and carbon nanotubes takes place upon irradiation. When 1-adamantane acetic acid was added to the aqueous solutions of TCPP/MWCNT-COOH and TCPP/ENCD-MWCNTs, respectively, the former fluorescence remains, while the latter fluorescence recovers. On the contrary, the fluorescence intensity of TCPP in the DMF solution was hardly decreased upon addition of ENCD-MWCNTs, whereas its fluorescence was quenched in the presence of MWCNT-COOH. The observations indicate that the CD cavities play a vital role on the control of the PET process.     

Supramolecular carbon nanotube-fullerene donor-acceptor hybrids for photoinduced electron transfer

Photoinduced electron transfer in a self-assembled single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT)-fullerene(C60) hybrid with SWNT acting as an electron donor and fullerene as an electron acceptor has been successfully demonstrated. Toward this, first, SWNTs were noncovalently functionalized using alkyl ammonium functionalized pyrene (Pyr-NH3+) to form SWNT/Pyr-NH3+ hybrids. The alkyl ammonium entity of SWNT/Pyr-NH3+ hybrids was further utilized to complex with benzo-18-crown-6 functionalized fullerene, crown-C60, via ammonium-crown ether interactions to yield SWNT/Pyr-NH3+/crown-C60 nanohybrids. The nanohybrids were isolated and characterized by TEM, UV-visible-near IR, and electrochemical methods. Free-energy calculations suggested possibility of electron transfer from the carbon nanotube to the singlet excited fullerene in the SWNT/Pyr-NH3+/crown-C60 nanohybrids. Accordingly, steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence studies revealed efficient quenching of the singlet excited-state of C60 in the nanohybrids. Further studies involving nanosecond transient absorption studies confirmed electron transfer to be the quenching mechanism, in which the electron-transfer product, fullerene anion radical, was possible to spectrally characterize. The rates of charge separation, kCS, and charge recombination, kCR, were found to be 3.46 x 10(9) and 1.04 x 10(7) s-1, respectively. The calculated lifetime of the radical ion-pair was found to be over 100 ns, suggesting charge stabilization in the novel supramolecular nanohybrids. The present nanohybrids were further utilized to reduce hexyl-viologen dication (HV2+) and a sacrificial electron donor, 1-benzyl-1,4-dihydronicotinamide, in an electron-pooling experiment, offering additional proof for the occurrence of photoinduced charge-separation and potential utilization of these materials in light-energy harvesting applications.     

Anion recognition by functionalized single wall carbon nanotubes

Amidoferrocenyl-functionalised single wall carbon nanotubes (Fc-SWNT) are efficient exoreceptors for the redox recognition of H2PO4-.     

A novel photoinduced electron transfer reaction of N-alkylphenothiazines in carbon tetrachloride

U.V. irradiation of N-alkylphenothiazines (1a—c) in carbon tetrachloride produced 3-(phenothiazin-N'-yl-carbonyl)-N′-alkylphenothiazine (2a—b) and/or 3-(N′-alkylphenothiazin-3′-yl-carbonyl)-N-alkylphenothiazine (3b—c) together with the radical cation carbon tetrachloride salt 1~( ·)CCl_4~(-·)(4a—c), presumably via a photoinduced electron transfer mechanism.     

Synthesis, structures, and photoinduced electron transfer reaction in the 9,9'-spirobifluorene-bridged bipolar systems

[reaction: see text] A series of 9,9'-spirobifluorene-bridged bipolar compounds DnAm bearing various n:m ratios for triarylamine (D) versus 1,3,4-oxadiazole-conjugated oligoaryl moiety (A) have been synthesized to investigate the corresponding photoinduced electron transfer (PET) property. The excitation behaviors were probed by steady-state absorption, emission, fluorescence solvatochromism, and femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion spectroscopy. The overall reaction dynamics can be rationalized by the rate of PET, in combination with solvent relaxation dynamics. It was found that the rate of PET is dependent on the anchored D/A ratio. The rate of D1A1 and D2A1 was resolved to be approximately 2.44 x 10(12) and 2.32 x 10(12) s(-)(1), respectively, while it is irresolvable in D1A2 and D2A2 (>6.6 x 10(12) s(-)(1)). In another approach, based on the comprehensive X-ray data, cyclic voltammetry, and absorption/emission spectra, the rate of photoinduced electron transfer was also qualitatively estimated. Fair comparisons were made between experimental and theoretical approaches to gain detailed insight into the PET for the titled systems.     

Self-assembled lamellar structures with functionalized single wall carbon nanotubes

Highly ordered self-assembled multi-layer structures with denatured collagen wrapped single wall carbon nanotubes and surfactant systems were obtained through bioinspired methodology.     

A Pd(II)-hydroxyporphycene: synthesis, characterization, and photoinduced proton-coupled electron transfer

A Pd(II) complex, Pd(TPrPc-OH) (1, TPrPc-OH = 9-hydroxy-2,7,12,17-tetrapropylporphycenato dianion), has been synthesized and characterized. ¹H NMR spectroscopy revealed that compound 1 exists as its enol form in solution. The H atom of the hydroxy group in 1 was exchanged with deuterium on addition of ethanol-d ₆. UV–visible spectra showed a red shift of the Q band of 1 in THF compared with that of the acetoxy derivative Pd(TPrPc-OAc) (2, TPrPc-OAc = 9-acetoxy-2,7,12,17-tetrapropylporphycenato dianion). The pK _a value of the hydroxy group in 1 was determined, by means of a UV–visible titration experiment, to be 10.56. A cyclic voltammogram of 1 in a mixture of THF and Britton–Robinson buffered aqueous solution revealed one-electron and one-proton coupled transfer in the oxidation process in the pH range from 2.7 to 10.5, which was identified by pH-varying experiments and the Pourbaix diagram. Transient absorption spectroscopy revealed that an electron-transfer reaction occurred from the triplet excited-state of 1 to 2,3,5,6-tetramethyl-1,4-benzoquinone (duroquinone, DQ) upon pulse laser irradiation at 532 nm. Such an intermolecular photoinduced electron-transfer reaction was not observed between the Ni analog, Ni(TPrPc-OH), and DQ. The reaction rate constant, k _q, was indicative of a kinetic isotope effect with k _q(H)/k _q(D) = 1.7, supporting the belief that the exited-state electron transfer from 1 to DQ is accompanied by proton transfer.     

Synthesis, characterization, and photoinduced energy and electron transfer in a supramolecular tetrakis (ruthenium(II) phthalocyanine) perylenediimide pentad

Metal coordination was probed as a versatile approach for designing a novel electron donor/acceptor hybrid [PDIpy(4){Ru(CO)Pc}(4)] (1), in which four pyridines placed at the bay region of a perylenediimides (PDIpy(4)) coordinate with four ruthenium phthalocyanine units [Ru(CO)Pc]. This structural motif was expected to promote strong electronic coupling between the electron donors and the electron acceptor, a hypothesis that was confirmed in a full-fledged physicochemical investigation focusing on the ground and excited state reactivities. As far as the ground state is concerned, absorption and electrochemical assays indeed reveal a notable redistribution of electron density, that is, from the electron-donating [Ru(CO)Pc] to the electron-accepting PDIpy(4). The most important thing to note in this context is that both the [Ru(CO)Pc] oxidation and the PDIpy(4) reduction are rendered more difficult in 1 than in the individual building blocks. Likewise, in the excited state, strong electronic communication is the inception for a rapid charge-transfer process in photoexcited 1. Regardless of exciting [Ru(CO)Pc] or PDIpy(4), spectral characteristics of the [RuPc] radical cation (broad absorptive features from 425 to 600 nm with a maximum at 575 nm, as well as a band centered at 725 nm) and of the PDI radical anion (780 nm maximum) emerge. The correspondingly formed radical ion pair state lasts for up to several hundred picoseconds in toluene, for example. On the other hand, employing more polar solvents, such as dichloromethane, destabilizes the radical ion pair state.     

Life uncertainty broadening in photoinduced electron transfer

Two types of energy-level broadening, one caused by electron exchange between radicals and ground-state molecules, the other by selective sampling at short times, are investigated. Both lead, in accordance with the uncertainty principle, to an increase in the B_1/2 value.     

Salt effects in photoinduced electron transfer reactions

Metal salts and oxygen react synergistically to inhibit back-electron-transfer in photoinduced reactions.     

Theory of photoinduced heterogeneous electron transfer

We consider electron injection into the conduction band of a semiconductor, from an electronically excited state of a dye molecule, adsorbed on its surface. For arbitrary width of the conduction band, the survival probability of the excited state can be calculated using a Green's-function approach. We show that the existence of a split-off state can play an important role in the total injection probability. In the wide band limit, the survival probability decays exponentially, but for finite band widths it does not. We further investigate the effect of vibrations on the process. A Green's operator technique may be used to solve this too exactly. We show that the problem may be reduced to a non-Hermitian eigenvalue problem for the vibrational states alone. Exact results can be obtained for arbitrary bandwidth and for a few vibrational degrees of freedom. In the wide band limit, the dynamics is particularly simple and we find that (1) the survival probability of the excited state is unchanged by the inclusion of vibrational motion, but (2) each vibrational state now has a finite lifetime. Numerical results are presented for the effects of reorganization energy, energy of the injecting level, and the variation of the matrix element for the electron injection, on the survival probability of the electron in the excited state. As an illustration of the approach, we also present results of numerical calculation of the absorption spectrum of perylene adsorbed on TiO(2) and compare it with experimental results.     

Theoretical characterization of thioepoxidated single wall carbon nanotubes

We have studied the external addition of sulfur to the walls of the (5,5) and (10,0) SWCNTs forming a cyclic thioepoxide. The binding energies are close to 32 kcal/mol, but they can be increased to 41 kcal/mol if the sulfur atoms are added forming a line along the axis of the (10,0) SWCNT. The addition of sulfur atoms to the (5,5) SWCNT alters the DOS but the tubes remains metallic. However, for the (10,0) SWCNT the exothermic addition of sulfur atoms can induce strong changes in the DOS, depending on the amount of sulfur atoms added. When we included one sulfur per 120 carbons, the (10,0) SWCNT showed metallic properties.     

Interfacing strong electron acceptors with single wall carbon nanotubes

The complementary use of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy in combination with electrochemistry and microscopy are indicative of mutual interactions between semiconducting SWNTs and a water-soluble strong electron acceptor, i.e., perylenediimide. Significant is the stability and the strong electronic coupling of the perylenediimide/SWNT electron donor-acceptor hybrids. Several spectroscopic and spectroelectrochemical techniques, i.e., Raman, absorption, and fluorescence, confirmed that distinct ground- and excited-state interactions occur and that kinetically and spectroscopically well characterized radical ion pair states form within a few picoseconds.     

Formation of CO(x)-free H2 and cup-stacked carbon nanotubes over nano-Ni dispersed single wall carbon nanohorns

Transitional metals (M) were dispersed on single-wall carbon nanohorns (M/SWCNHs, M = Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) by simple thermal treatment of the deposited metal nitrate without H(2) reduction. Nanometallic Ni particles on SWCNH were evidenced by high-resolution transmission electron microscopic observation and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The nano-Ni dispersed on SWCNH showed the highest CH(4) decomposition activity; the activity of used transitional metals decreases in the order Ni ? Co > Fe ? Cu. On the other hand, the reaction rate over Ni/SWCNH was much larger than that over Ni/Al(2)O(3), and the former provided CO(x)-free H(2) and cup-stacked carbon nanotubes, while Ni/Al(2)O(3) produced CO(x) in addition to H(2). SWCNH was superior to Al(2)O(3) as the catalyst support of Ni for the CH(4) decomposition reaction.     

Synthesis,structural characterization,and immunological properties of carbon nanotubes functionalized with peptides

Carbon nanotubes (NTs) are becoming highly attractive molecules for applications in medicinal chemistry. The main problem of insolubility in aqueous media has been solved by developing a synthetic protocol that allows highly water-soluble carbon NTs to be obtained. As a result, biologically active peptides can be easily linked through a stable covalent bond to carbon NTs. We have demonstrated that a bound peptide from the foot-and-mouth disease virus, corresponding to the 141-159 region of the viral envelope protein VP1, retained the structural integrity and was recognized by monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. In addition, this peptide-NT conjugate is immunogenic, eliciting antibody responses of the right specificity. Such a system could be greatly advantageous for diagnostic purposes and could find future applications in vaccine delivery.     

Neutral histidine and photoinduced electron transfer in DNA photolyases

The two major UV-induced DNA lesions, the cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD) and (6-4) pyrimidine-pyrimidone photoproducts, can be repaired by the light-activated enzymes CPD and (6-4) photolyases, respectively. It is a long-standing question how the two classes of photolyases with alike molecular structure are capable of reversing the two chemically different DNA photoproducts. In both photolyases the repair reaction is initiated by photoinduced electron transfer from the hydroquinone-anion part of the flavin adenine dinucleotide (FADH(-)) cofactor to the photoproduct. Here, the state-of-the-art XMCQDPT2-CASSCF approach was employed to compute the excitation spectra of the respective active site models. It is found that protonation of His365 in the presence of the hydroquinone-anion electron donor causes spontaneous, as opposed to photoinduced, coupled proton and electron transfer to the (6-4) photoproduct. The resulting neutralized biradical, containing the neutral semiquinone and the N3'-protonated (6-4) photoproduct neutral radical, corresponds to the lowest energy electronic ground-state minimum. The high electron affinity of the N3'-protonated (6-4) photoproduct underlines this finding. Thus, it is anticipated that the (6-4) photoproduct repair is assisted by His365 in its neutral form, which is in contrast to the repair mechanisms proposed in the literature. The repair via hydroxyl group transfer assisted by neutral His365 is considered. The repair involves the 5'base radical anion of the (6-4) photoproduct which in terms of electronic structure is similar to the CPD radical anion. A unified model of the CPD and (6-4) photoproduct repair is proposed.     

光敏电子转移异构反应中的盐效应

本文利用四正丁基四氟硼酸铵为探针, 研究了顺式芪和四环烷的9,10-二氰基蒽敏化光异构化的反应机理, 加入四正丁基四氟硼酸铵明显加快顺式芪的异构反应而减慢四环烷的反应。荧光猝灭及激光闪光光解实验证明四正丁基四氟硼酸铵能促进电荷分离过程而生成离子自由基对。从而证实顺式芪的异构化反应是经由离子自由基的历程, 而四环烷则是通过激基复合物机理。