Organic Electron Donors as Powerful Single‐Electron Reducing Agents in Organic Synthesis

One‐electron reduction is commonly used in organic chemistry for the formation of radicals by the stepwise transfer of one or two electrons from a donor to an organic substrate. Besides metallic reagents, single‐electron reducers based on neutral organic molecules have emerged as an attractive novel source of reducing electrons. The past 20 years have seen the blossoming of a particular class of organic reducing agents, the electron‐rich olefins, and their application in organic synthesis. This Review gives an overview of the different types of organic donors and their specific characteristics in organic transformations.     

A measure of electron localizability

A functional of the same‐spin electron pair density is proposed as a measure of electron localizability. This functional yields the average number of same‐spin electron pairs in a region Ω enclosing a fixed charge. The functional equals zero if the fixed charge in Ω originates from one electron only, with all other same‐spin electrons outside the region Ω. Then, the correlation of the electronic motion in Ω and thus the localizability of an electron is high. If the motion of the same‐spin electrons becomes less correlated, more electrons participate in the fixed charge contained in Ω, the average number of same‐spin electron pairs (the functional) increases. In the Hartree–Fock approximation the Taylor expansion of the proposed localizability functional can be related to the electron localization function of Becke and Edgecombe without using an arbitrary reference to the uniform electron gas. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2004     

Structural and Chemical Analysis of Materials with High Spatial Resolution

 An understanding of the correlation between microstructures and properties of materials require the characterization of the material on many different length scales. Often the properties depend primarily on the atomistics of defects, such as dislocations and interfaces. The different techniques of transmission electron microscopy allow the characterization of the structure and of the chemical composition of materials with high spatial resolution to the atomic level: high resolution transmission electron microscopy allows the determination of the position of the columns of atoms (ions) with high accuracy. The accuracy which can be achieved in these measurements depends not only on the instrumentation but also on the quality of the transmitted specimen and on the scattering power of the atoms (ions) present in the analyzed column. The chemical composition can be revealed from investigations by analytical microscopy which includes energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, mainly quantitatively applied for heavy elements, and electron energy-loss spectroscopy. Furthermore, the energy-loss near-edge structure of EELS data results in information on the local band structure of unoccupied states of the excited atoms and, therefore, on bonding. A quantitative evaluation of convergent beam electron diffraction results in information on the electron charge density distribution of the bulk (defect-free) material. The different techniques are described and applied to different problems in materials science. It will be shown that nearly atomic resolution can be achieved in high resolution electron microscopy and in analytical electron microscopy. Recent developments in electron microscopy instrumentation will result in atomic resolution in the foreseeable future.     

Electron localizability indicators ELI–D and ELIA for highly correlated wavefunctions of homonuclear dimers. I. Li2, Be2, B2, and C2

Electron localizability indicators based on the parallel‐spin electron pair density (ELI–D) and the antiparallel‐spin electron pair density (ELIA) are studied for the correlated ground‐state wavefunctions of Li₂, Be₂, B₂, and C₂ diatomic molecules. Different basis sets and reference spaces are used for the multireference configuration interaction method following the complete active space calculations to investigate the local effect of electron correlation on the extent of electron localizability in position space determined by the two functionals. The results are complemented by calculations of effective bond order, vibrational frequency, and Laplacian of the electron density at the bond midpoint. It turns out that for Li₂, B₂, and C₂ the reliable topology of ELI–D is obtained only at the correlated level of theory. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010     

Report on the 42nd IUVSTA workshop ‘Electron scattering in solids: from fundamental concepts to practical applications’

A summary is given of the workshop entitled ‘Electron Scattering in Solids: from fundamental concepts to practical applications,’ which was held in Debrecen, Hungary, on July 4–8, 2004, under the sponsorship of the International Union of Vacuum Science, Technique, and Applications (IUVSTA). This workshop was held to review the present status and level of understanding of electron‐scattering processes in solids, to identify issues of key importance (hot topics) in the light of the most recent scientific results, and to stimulate discussions leading to a deeper understanding and new solutions of current problems. This report contains summaries of presentations and discussions in sessions on elastic scattering of electrons by atoms and solids, inelastic scattering of electrons in solids, modeling of electron transport in solids and applications, and software. The principal areas of application include Auger‐electron spectroscopy (AES), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, elastic‐peak electron spectroscopy (EPES), reflection electron energy‐loss spectroscopy (REELS), secondary‐electron microscopy, electron‐probe microanalysis (EPMA), and the use of coincidence techniques in electron‐scattering experiments. A major focus of the workshop was determination of the inelastic mean free path of electrons for various surface spectroscopies, particularly corrections for surface and core‐hole effects. Published in 2005 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analytical electron microscopy of materials

Analytical electron microscopy enables combined crystallographic and chemical information with a high spatial resolution to be gained from microregions of electron-transparent specimens. This is reached by the combined application of imaging, diffraction and spectroscopic methods, using either a dedicated scanning transmission electron microscope or a conventional high-resolution electron microscope (having a strong objective lens) equipped with suitable X-ray or electron spectrometers. Of the diffraction methods especially the technique of convergent beam diffraction is used, yielding valuable information on crystal structures, lattice parameter changes, symmetry variations and crystal perfection, respectively. For chemical analysis, either energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) is used or electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Finally, high-resolution electron microscopy in the lateral resolution range of some 0.1 nm allows the reliable geometrical inspection of extreme microregions.     

New developments in theory of fast electron scattering in solids: Applications to microbeam analysis

The study of fast electron interaction with solids in the energy range from 100 eV to several tens of keV is prompted by quickly developing microbeam analysis techniques such as electron probe microanalysis, scanning electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy and so on. It turned out that for random solids the electron transport problem might be solved on the basis of the generalized radiative field similarity principle. The latter states that the exact differential elastic cross section in the kinetic equation may be replaced by an approximate one provided the conditions of radiative field similarity are fulfilled. Application of the generalized similarity principle to electron scattering in solids has revealed many interesting features of electron transport. Easy to use and effective formulae have been obtained for the angular and energy distribution of electrons leaving a target, total yields of characteristic photons and slow electrons escaping from a sample bombarded by fast primaries, escape probability of Auger electrons as a function of depth etc. The analytical results have been compared with Monte Carlo calculations and experiments in a broad range of electron energies and scattering properties of solids and good agreement has been observed.     

Secondary electron microanalysis

Secondary electron microanalysis is described as a nonconventional method to observe microareas at sample surfaces. The method is characterized by a high lateral and depth resolution and additionally by a typical sensitivity to localized electric potentials and electron work functions. The limits of the method for measurement at high vacuum conditions in conventional scanning electron microscopes are described in connection with electron-sample interactions. Examples for investigations of distributions of localized electric potentials, electron work functions at semiconductors, ferroelectrics and electric ceramics are given.     

Formation of Temporary Negative Ions and Their Subsequent Fragmentation upon Electron Attachment to CoQ0 and CoQ0H2

Ubiquinone molecules have a high biological relevance due to their action as electron carriers in the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Here, we studied the dissociative interaction of free electrons with CoQ₀, the smallest ubiquinone derivative with no isoprenyl units, and its fully reduced form, 2,3-dimethoxy-5-methylhydroquinone (CoQ₀H₂), an ubiquinol derivative. The anionic products produced upon dissociative electron attachment (DEA) were detected by quadrupole mass spectrometry and studied theoretically through quantum chemical and electron scattering calculations. Despite the structural similarity of the two studied molecules, remarkably only a few DEA reactions are present for both compounds, such as abstraction of a neutral hydrogen atom or the release of a negatively charged methyl group. While the loss of a neutral methyl group represents the most abundant reaction observed in DEA to CoQ₀, this pathway is not observed for CoQ₀H₂. Instead, the loss of a neutral OH radical from the CoQ₀H₂ temporary negative ion is observed as the most abundant reaction channel. Overall, this study gives insights into electron attachment properties of simple derivatives of more complex molecules found in biochemical pathways.     

Approximate method for calculation of electron transition probability for simple outer-sphere electrochemical reactions

The probability of an elementary act in an outer-sphere electrochemical electron transfer reaction is calculated with arbitrary values of the parameter of reactant-electrode electron interaction for diabatic freeenergy surfaces of the parabolic form. The dependence of effective transmission coefficient on the Landau-Zener parameter is found. Interpolation formulas are obtained that describe this dependence and allow calculating the electron transition probability using the results of quantum chemical calculations of the electronic matrix element as a function of distance.     

自组装单分子膜在电化学电子转移过程中的应用

综述了自组装单分子膜作为模型体系在电化学电极过程中长程电子转移方面应用的一些重要研究成果。重点介绍了电子转移距离、电活性中心的微环境、膜表面分子的设计和状态等因素对长程电子转移的影响情况。展望了该领域今后的发展方向。     

How electron delocalization influences the electron-withdrawing properties of isomeric benzobischalcogenadiazoles

The fermionic potential and delocalization indices for benzo-bis-1,2,5-chalcogenadiazoles reveal inhomogeneous electron delocalization in their benzene ring, which results in compactly localized lone electron pairs on the chalcogen atoms. These features of (de)localization are rooted in a local increase in the kinetic component of the electron correlation, which expresses the Fermi hole variability and the kinetic potential response to electron density variations in the benzene ring of benzobis-1,2,5-chalcogenadiazoles. This explains their better electron-withdrawing properties compared to benzobis-1,2,3-chalcogenadiazoles     

Electron injection from nanostructured carbon electrodes at moderate cathodic potentials

Voltammograms of electrodes based on nanostructured carbon of different morphology (single-wall carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofilaments, columnar structures) are taken in hexamethylphosphortriamide solutions. For all listed electrodes, direct experimental proof of the electron injection to the electrolyte solution at moderate cathodic potentials is obtained. It is found that this phenomenon is associated with the existence of atomically sharp spots at the electrode surface, which operate as local cathodes for the electron emission. It is shown that the current-voltage characteristics for the electron injection to the electrolyte solution differ from those for the field electron emission current at the electrode/vacuum interface.     

Theoretical study of electron transfer in uranyl(VI)–uranyl(V) complexes in solution

The rates of the electron self‐exchange between uranyl(VI) and uranyl(V) complexes in solution have been investigated in detail with quantum chemical methods. The calculations have shown that the bond length of U? Oyl is elongated by 0.1 Å when the extra electron is localized on the sites. The diabatic potential surfaces are obtained. The inner reorganization energies are 212.6 and 226.8 kJ mol^?1 for hydroxide and fluoride bridge systems, respectively. The solvent reorganization energies are 28.12 and 31.60 kJ mol^?1 for hydroxide and fluoride bridge systems, respectively. The nuclear frequency factors are 3.17 × 10¹³ and 3.12 × 10¹³ s^?1 for hydroxide and fluoride bridge systems, respectively. The electronic coupling matrix elements are 1.89 and 4.06 kJ mol^?1 for hydroxide and fluoride bridge systems, respectively. The electron‐transfer rates of our calculations are 12.95 and 0.819 M^?1 s^?1 for hydroxide and fluoride bridge systems, respectively. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010     

Reductive electron transfer in phenothiazine-modified DNA is dependent on the base sequence

A new DNA assay has been designed, prepared and applied for the chemical investigation of reductive electron transfer through the DNA. It consists of 5-(10-methyl-phenothiazin-3-yl)-2'-deoxyuridine (Ptz-dU, 1) as the photoexcitable electron injector and 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (Br-dU) as the electron trap. The Ptz-dU-modified oligonucleotides were synthesised by means of a Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling protocol and subsequent automated phosphoramidite chemistry. Br-dU represents a kinetic electron trap, since it undergoes a chemical modification after its one-electron reduction that can be analysed by piperidine-induced strand cleavage. The quantification of the strand cleavage yields from irradiation experiments reveals important information about the electron-transfer efficiency. The performed DNA studies focused on the base sequence dependence of the electron-transfer efficiency with respect to the proposal that C*- and T*- act as intermediate electron carriers during electron hopping. From our observations it became evident that excess-electron transfer is highly sequence dependent and occurs more efficiently over T-A base pairs than over C-G base pairs.     

基于透射电子显微镜的沸石分子筛结构研究进展

透射电子显微镜是解析沸石分子筛新结构、 分析结构缺陷和研究活性位点等的有力工具. 应用于分子筛研究的透射电子显微术总体上可以分为图像法和衍射法, 包括透射电子显微镜和扫描透射电子显微图像、 选区电子衍射和三维电子衍射, 通常结合其中的几种方法进行分析. 近年来, 随着电子显微镜硬件性能的不断提升, 特别是球差矫正器的广泛应用及各种适用于分子筛等电子束敏感材料的探测器和图像处理技术的不断革新, 在原子尺度观察分子筛的结构已成为可能. 此外, 利用原位电子显微镜技术研究分子筛的生长和催化反应机理也在逐步展开. 本文按电子显微镜方法分类, 综述了近些年基于电子显微镜的分子筛研究, 包括新结构解析、 手性确认和金属负载等的最新进展.     

100-femtosecond MeV electron source for ultrafast electron diffraction

A near-relativistic 100-fs MeV electron beam is developed by using a photocathode rf gun for revealing the hidden ultrafast dynamics of intricate molecular and atomic processes in materials through experimentation of ultrafast time-resolved electron diffraction (UED). The transverse and longitudinal dynamics of femtosecond electron beam in the rf gun were studied theoretically by particle simulation. The growths of the emittance, bunch length and energy spread due to the rf and space charge effects were investigated by changing the laser parameters, field gradient and electron charge. The theoretical studies indicate that a 100-fs MeV electron beam with the transverse emittance of 0.1 mm mrad and the relative energy spread of 10⁻³–10⁻⁴ at bunch charge of 0.1–2 pC (10⁶–10⁷ electrons per pulse) is achievable for UED, in which the intensity is three orders of magnitude higher than that produced by the conventional dc or pulsed guns.     

Electron localizability indicators ELI–D and ELIA for highly correlated wavefunctions of homonuclear dimers. II. N2, O2, F2, and Ne2

Electron localizability indicators based on the electron pair density ELI–D and ELIA Electron localizability indicators ELI‐D and ELIA based on the electron pair density are studied for the correlated ground‐state wavefunctions of N₂, O₂, F₂, and Ne₂ diatomics. Different basis sets and reference spaces are used for the multireference configuration interaction method following the complete active space calculations to investigate the local effect of electron correlation on the extent of electron localizability in position space determined by the two indicators. The results are complemented by calculations of effective bond order, vibrational frequency, and Laplacian of the electron density at the bond midpoint. It turns out that for O₂ and F₂, the reliable topology of ELI–D is obtained only at the correlated level of theory. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2010     

Experimental check of the high-frequency behavior of the electrons in molecular and atomic gas plasmas

The high-frequency behavior of the electron component in collision-dominated nitrogen plasmas of dc glow discharges, acted upon by an additional microwave field, has been studied on an adequate kinetic basis for field frequencies exceeding the characteristic frequency for energy dissipation in electron collisions with nitrogen molecules. In particular, the phase delay of the electron current density with respect to the driving microwave field has been calculated. To check the validity of the results obtained by the electron kinetic approach, the phase delay has been experimentally determined adapting an appropriate microwave resonator method to the dc plasma. The comparison of the theoretically and experimentally determined phase delay of the ac electron current in the nitrogen plasma leads to a good agreement in the entire range of high-field frequencies and confirms the conclusions on the high-frequency behavior of the electrons deduced from the electron kinetic approach. Using previous results for a neon plasma, the remarkable impact of the atomic data of the collision processes in different gases on the high-frequency behavior of the electron component in these gas plasmas is additionally evaluated.     

Imaging of Self‐Assembled Structures: Interpretation of TEM and Cryo‐TEM Images

The investigation of solution‐borne nanostructures by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a frequently used analytical method in materials chemistry. In many cases, the preparation of the TEM sample involves drying and staining steps, and the collection of images leads to the interaction of the specimen with the electron beam. Both aspects call for cautious interpretation of the resulting electron micrographs. Alternatively, a near‐native solvated state can be preserved by cryogenic vitrification and subsequent imaging by low‐dose cryogenic TEM. In this Minireview, we provide a critical analysis of sample preparation, and more importantly, of the acquisition and interpretation of electron micrographs. This overview should provide a framework for the application of (cryo)‐TEM as a powerful and reliable tool for the analysis of colloidal and self‐assembled structures with nanoscopic dimensions.