Dendrimers for ion sensing : The synthesis and use of new tris‐alkynyl dendrons are reported. So‐called “click” reactions of the dendrimers described with azidomethylferrocene give 27‐ferrocenyl, 81‐ferrocenyl, and 243‐ferrocenyl dendrimers. Electrochemical recognition of oxo‐anions and Pd2+ cations has been compared using the three polyferrocenyl dendrimers.
Bigger, stronger, better : A family of giant π‐conjugated dendrimers has been developed as pure‐blue active materials for organic light‐emitting diodes. The dendrimer‐generation number has little effect on the photophysical, electrochemical, and EL properties, and device efficiency of G0 and G1 . The preliminary OLED devices achieve pure‐blue color with stable CIE chromaticity coordinates (0.16, 0.08) for both G0 and G1 .
Gallant exchange : Upon coordination of phosphanyl gallane ligands to AuCl, both neutral and zwitterionic complexes coexist. NMR spectroscopy provides direct evidence for the transfer of the chloride between gold and gallium in diphosphanyl gallane. The introduction of a third phosphanyl buttress allows the separation and structural characterization of the two coordination isomers (see picture; Au yellow, P red, Cl green, Ga blue).
The effect of carbon is subtle but sweet : The flexible C‐linkage in the newly synthesised C‐glycosyl mimetic, Manα(1,6)‐C‐ManαOPh allows OH? π bonding, both in the gas phase and in aqueous solution. This interaction is absent in the O‐linked disaccharide (see figure).
Copper clusters : Two high‐nuclearity copper cages, tricorne Cu21 and saddlelike cyclic Cu16 (see pictures), were synthesized. Magnetic studies and Monte Carlo calculations were also performed to show the overall antiferromagnetic properties of the two compounds.
N2 the mild : Diazo compounds are extremely versatile intermediates for synthetic organic chemistry, but their synthesis can be challenging in the presence of delicate functional groups. The Staudinger ligation has inspired a mild method for the conversion of a broad range of azides into their diazo compound derivatives through an acyl triazene intermediate.
Cutting ties : Strand scission and base release in hydroxy‐radical adducts of 3′‐uridine monophosphate (UMP) have been explored by using density functional theory. The presence of the ribose 2′‐OH group and the resultant formation of low‐barrier hydrogen bonds with oxygen atoms of the 3′‐phosphate linkage are highly important for hydrogen transfer and the subsequent bond‐breakage reactions (see picture).
Driven round the twist by DNA : One‐dimensional helical J‐aggregates are formed by the self‐assembly of thymidylic acid appended anthracene dye (shown in red and yellow) in the presence of complementary single‐stranded oligoadenylic acid (shown in green and blue) in an aqueous solution.
A promising method for the production of germanium photonic crystals consists of electrodeposition of Ge from GeCl4‐containing ionic liquids inside templates of polystyrene colloidal crystals and subsequent removal of the template. This room‐temperature method gives rise to the fabrication of a three‐dimensional highly ordered macroporous germanium nanostructure (see picture; scale: 2 μm) as a prototype of a photonic crystal.
