Covalent Structures of Phosphorus: A Comprehensive Theoretical Study

Starting from earlier work by Baudler we introduce a chemical heuristic for the systematic deduction and classification of covalent partial structures of phosphorus in polycyclic phosphanes, phosphorus-rich polycyclic phosphides, and allotropes of phosphorus except the black forms. This approach is used to direct ab initio techniques (which also confirm the rules) in the quest for as yet unknown forms of molecular or macromolecular phosphorus. Based on calculated stabilities of systematically generated structural alternatives we rationalize the stabilities of Hittorf's phosphorus and of molecular P₄, confirm the possible existence of at least one other crystalline allotropic form of phosphorus, and provide insight into the probable structure of amorphous red phosphorus. In total, the combined approach of chemical heuristics and large scale ab initio calculations presented in this work supplies a coherent chemical understanding of covalent polyphosphorus structures.     

Perturbing the O–H…O Hydrogen Bond in 1-oxo-3-hydroxy-2-propene

Ab initio MP2/aug’-cc-pVTZ calculations have been carried out to identify and characterize equilibrium structures and transition structures on the 1-oxo-3-hydroxy-2-propene: Lewis acid potential energy surfaces, with the acids LiH, LiF, BeH₂, and BeF₂. Two equilibrium structures, one with the acid interacting with the C=O group and the other with the interaction occurring at the O–H group, exist on all surfaces. These structures are separated by transition structures that present the barriers to the interconversion of the two equilibrium structures. The structures with the acid interacting at the C=O group have the greater binding energies. Since the barriers to convert the structures with interaction occurring at the O–H group are small, only the isomers with interaction occurring at the C=O group could be experimentally observed, even at low temperatures. Charge-transfer energies were computed for equilibrium structures, and EOM-CCSD spin–spin coupling constants ^2hJ(O–O), ^1hJ(H–O), and ¹J(O–H) were computed for equilibrium and transition structures. These coupling constants exhibit a second-order dependence on the corresponding distances, with very high correlation coefficients.     

ChemInform Abstract: Polyhedral Skeletal Electron Pair Theory (PSEPT) of Bare Clusters. Part 1. Small Silicon Clusters.

A number of structures previously proposed as candidates for stable structures of a cluster of given nuclearity are ruled out by application of the PSEPT approach.     

超长碳纳米管的结构调控与制备：进展与挑战

碳纳米管由于其优异的性能和广泛的应用,在过去近三十年中引起了研究者广泛的研究兴趣。在众多不同类型的碳纳米管中,超长碳纳米管由于具有厘米级甚至分米级以上的宏观长度和相对完美的结构,展示出了优异的力学、电学、热学等多方面的优异性能,在透明显示、微电子产业、超强纤维、航空航天等领域具有广阔的应用前景。超长碳纳米管的结构控制制备是充分开发其优异性能并实现其实际应用的关键。在过去二十多年间,超长碳纳米管的研究取得了重要的进展。但同时,在结构控制与批量制备方面也面临巨大的挑战,还存在许多尚未解决的科学与技术难题,从而限制了其实际应用。本文对超长碳纳米管的生长机理、结构控制、选择性制备以及优异性能方面的进展及其背后的创新思想进行了系统的回顾;与此同时,讨论了超长碳纳米管近年来的研究进展、目前面临的挑战和未来的重点攻关方向。期望本文能为超长碳纳米管的可控合成、批量制备以及未来应用提供更多的启发和借鉴,为早日实现高质量超长碳纳米管的宏量制备和产业化起到一些推动作用。     

Microchip-based electrochromatography: designs and applications

Different techniques and methods of electrochromatography on “lab on a chip” devices are reviewed. Described approaches include open-channel microchip electrochromatography relying on C₈, C₁₈ and novel gold nanoparticle (GNP) coating of microchannel wall; packed-channel microchip electrochromatography with new ways of automated loading and unloading of conventional octadecylsilica beads; monolith-based microchip electrochromatography with tailored casting of stationary phase at the specific places of microfluidic network and novel photolitographically fabricated collocated monolithic structures. Specific issues related to the microchip electrochromatography, i.e. importance of high aspect ratio of the microchannels in the open-channel electrochromatography or approaches eliminating the wall effect in the monolith-based electrochromatography, are discussed. Various applications for environmental, pharmacological, genomic and proteomic analysis are described. The operation parameters of reviewed microsystems are summarized in easy-to-read tables.     

ChemInform Abstract: Gas-Phase Molecular Structure of Chromium Oxytetrafluoride,CrOF4.

Electron-diffraction data obtained for CrOF₄ are consistent with C4v symmetry, although C2v-type structures cannot be excluded.     

非共价作用对气相中B-DNA双螺旋结构稳定性的贡献:基于GEBF方法的密度泛函理论计算

采用密度泛函理论, 将基于能量的分子片方法(GEBF)应用于气相中优化B型脱氧核糖核酸(碱基对数目N=2, 5, 10)双螺旋构型的结构. 通过比较M06-2X泛函和其他方法(B3LYP、B3LYP-vdW和TPSS泛函)的结果, 发现不考虑碱基之间的π-π堆积作用将会导致碱基之间的纵向距离拉长. 随着体系双螺旋链长的增加, 没有考虑碱基堆积作用而导致的相邻碱基纵向距离拉长的程度快速衰减. 计算表明, 气相中B-DNA双螺旋结构的稳定性来源于其作用力(主要是氢键和π-π堆积作用)的协同性, 对不多于10组碱基对的体系而言, 其氢键的贡献明显大于碱基堆积作用.     

ChemInform Abstract: Planarization of B7‐ and B12‐ Clusters by Isoelectronic Substitution: AlB6‐ and AlB11‐.

The structures and chemical bonding of AlB₆^‐ and AlB₁₁^‐ clusters are characterized by PES and DFT calculations.     

Narrowband Deep-Blue Multi-Resonance Induced Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence: Insights from the Theoretical Molecular Design

Multi-resonance thermal activated delayed fluorescence (MR-TADF) has been promising with large oscillator strength and narrow full width at half maxima of luminescence, overcoming the compromise of emission intensity and energy criteria of traditional charge transfer TADF frameworks. However, there are still limited theoretical investigations on the excitation mechanism and systematic molecular manipulation of MR-TADF structures. We systematically study the highly localized excitation (LE) characteristics based on typical blue boron-nitrogen (BN) MR-TADF emitters and prove the potential triangular core with theoretical approaches. A design strategy by extending the planar π-conjugate core structure is proposed to enhance the multiple resonance effects. Moreover, several substituted groups are introduced to the designed core, achieving color-tunable functions with relatively small energy split and strong oscillator strength simultaneously. This work provides a theoretical direction for molecular design strategy and a series of potential candidates for highly efficient BN MR-TADF emitters.     

ChemInform Abstract: Novel Structures and Superconductivities of Calcium—Lithium Alloys at High Pressures: A First‐Principles Study.

The crystal structures of Ca—Li alloys are investigated in the pressure range 0—200 GPa using a structure search method based on particle‐swarm optimization algorithms in combination with DFT calculations.     

ChemInform Abstract: Ab initio Studies of Molecular Structures and Energetics. Part 4. Hexacoordinated NF- 6 and CF2- 6 Anions.

The energies, equilibrium molecular structures, and vibrational frequencies of the title anions are computed employing the second-order perturbation approximation (MP₂) for the energy.     

Structural Changes of β-Casein Induced by Temperature and pH Analysed by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance,Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy,and Chemometrics

This study investigated structural changes in β-casein as a function of temperature (4 and 20 °C) and pH (5.9 and 7.0). For this purpose, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were used, in conjunction with chemometric analysis. Both temperature and pH had strongly affected the secondary structure of β-casein, with most affected regions involving random coils and α-helical structures. The α-helical structures showed great pH sensitivity by decreasing at 20 °C and diminishing completely at 4 °C when pH was increased from 5.9 to 7.0. The decrease in α-helix was likely related to the greater presence of random coils at pH 7.0, which was not observed at pH 5.9 at either temperature. The changes in secondary structure components were linked to decreased hydrophobic interactions at lower temperature and increasing pH. The most prominent change of the α-helix took place when the pH was adjusted to 7.0 and the temperature set at 4 °C, which confirms the disruption of the hydrogen bonds and weakening of hydrophobic interactions in the system. The findings can assist in establishing the structural behaviour of the β-casein under conditions that apply as important for solubility and production of β-casein.     

“Polymeromics”: Mass spectrometry based strategies in polymer science toward complete sequencing approaches: A review

Mass spectrometry (MS) is the most versatile and comprehensive method in “OMICS” sciences (i.e. in proteomics, genomics, metabolomics and lipidomics). The applications of MS and tandem MS (MS/MS or MSⁿ) provide sequence information of the full complement of biological samples in order to understand the importance of the sequences on their precise and specific functions. Nowadays, the control of polymer sequences and their accurate characterization is one of the significant challenges of current polymer science. Therefore, a similar approach can be very beneficial for characterizing and understanding the complex structures of synthetic macromolecules. MS-based strategies allow a relatively precise examination of polymeric structures (e.g. their molar mass distributions, monomer units, side chain substituents, end-group functionalities, and copolymer compositions). Moreover, tandem MS offer accurate structural information from intricate macromolecular structures; however, it produces vast amount of data to interpret. In “OMICS” sciences, the software application to interpret the obtained data has developed satisfyingly (e.g. in proteomics), because it is not possible to handle the amount of data acquired via (tandem) MS studies on the biological samples manually. It can be expected that special software tools will improve the interpretation of (tandem) MS output from the investigations of synthetic polymers as well. Eventually, the MS/MS field will also open up for polymer scientists who are not MS-specialists. In this review, we dissect the overall framework of the MS and MS/MS analysis of synthetic polymers into its key components. We discuss the fundamentals of polymer analyses as well as recent advances in the areas of tandem mass spectrometry, software developments, and the overall future perspectives on the way to polymer sequencing, one of the last Holy Grail in polymer science.     

Pressure-Dependent Structure of Methanol–Water Mixtures up to 1.2 GPa: Neutron Diffraction Experiments and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Total scattering structure factors of per-deuterated methanol and heavy water, CD₃OD and D₂O, have been determined across the entire composition range as a function of pressure up to 1.2 GPa, by neutron diffraction. The largest variations due to increasing pressure were observed below a scattering variable value of 5 Å⁻¹, mostly as shifts in terms of the positions of the first and second maxima. Molecular dynamics computer simulations, using combinations of all-atom potentials for methanol and various water force fields, were conducted at the experimental pressures with the aim of interpreting neutron diffraction results. The peak-position shifts mentioned above could be qualitatively reproduced by simulations, although in terms of peak intensities, the accord between neutron diffraction and molecular dynamics was much less satisfactory. However, bearing in mind that increasing pressure must have a profound effect on repulsive forces between neighboring molecules, the agreement between experiment and computer simulation can certainly be termed as satisfactory. In order to reveal the influence of changing pressure on local intermolecular structure in these “simplest of complex” hydrogen-bonded liquid mixtures, simulated structures were analyzed in terms of hydrogen bond-related partial radial distribution functions and size distributions of hydrogen-bonded cyclic entities. Distinct differences between pressure-dependent structures of water-rich and methanol-rich composition regions were revealed.     

Euphorbia Diterpenes: An Update of Isolation,Structure, Pharmacological Activities and Structure–Activity Relationship

Euphorbia species have a rich history of ethnomedicinal use and ethnopharmacological applications in drug discovery. This is due to the presence of a wide range of diterpenes exhibiting great structural diversity and pharmacological activities. As a result, Euphorbia diterpenes have remained the focus of drug discovery investigations from natural products. The current review documents over 350 diterpenes, isolated from Euphorbia species, their structures, classification, biosynthetic pathways, and their structure–activity relationships for the period covering 2013–2020. Among the isolated diterpenes, over 20 skeletal structures were identified. Lathyrane, jatrophane, ingenane, ingenol, and ingol were identified as the major diterpenes in most Euphorbia species. Most of the isolated diterpenes were evaluated for their cytotoxicity activities, multidrug resistance abilities, and inhibitory activities in vitro, and reported good activities with significant half-inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) values ranging from 10–50 µM. The lathyranes, isopimaranes, and jatrophanes diterpenes were further found to show potent inhibition of P-glycoprotein, which is known to confer drug resistance abilities in cells leading to decreased cytotoxic effects. Structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies revealed the significance of a free hydroxyl group at position C-3 in enhancing the anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities and the negative effect it has in position C-2. Esterification of this functionality, in selected diterpenes, was found to enhance these activities. Thus, Euphorbia diterpenes offer a valuable source of lead compounds that could be investigated further as potential candidates for drug discovery.     

Chiral recognition by enantioselective liquid chromatography: Mechanisms and modern chiral stationary phases

An overview of the state-of-the-art in LC enantiomer separation is presented. This tutorial review is mainly focused on mechanisms of chiral recognition and enantiomer distinction of popular chiral selectors and corresponding chiral stationary phases including discussions of thermodynamics, additivity principle of binding increments, site-selective thermodynamics, extrathermodynamic approaches, methods employed for the investigation of dominating intermolecular interactions and complex structures such as spectroscopic methods (IR, NMR), X-ray diffraction and computational methods. Modern chiral stationary phases are discussed with particular focus on those that are commercially available and broadly used. It is attempted to provide the reader with vivid images of molecular recognition mechanisms of selected chiral selector–selectand pairs on basis of solid-state X-ray crystal structures and simulated computer models, respectively. Such snapshot images illustrated in this communication unfortunately cannot account for the molecular dynamics of the real world, but are supposed to be helpful for the understanding. The exploding number of papers about applications of various chiral stationary phases in numerous fields of enantiomer separations is not covered systematically.     

以催化功能优化为导向的无机复合结构表界面和电子态调控

本文概述了具有特定表/界面的无机复合结构纳米晶体的可控合成方法,阐述了合成过程中的关键控制参数。以笔者课题组近年来的进展为例,重点讨论了复合结构的设计对纳米催化剂表/界面状态和电子态的调控。纳米结构的表/界面状态和电子态调控赋予了催化剂在反应分子吸附与活化中的独特行为,从而获得了不同于单一组分催化剂的优异催化性能。     

1,3-取代方酸衍生物非线性光学性质的从头算和半经验方法的比较研究

The structures of 1,3-substituted squaraine derivatives Sq1 ～ Sq12 were fully optimized by ab initio HF method with 6-31G* basis set level,and the electronic structures of Sq1 ～ Sq12 were also calculated. Based on the optimized structures,the electronic spectra were obtained by the CIS / 6-31G* method,which suggested that the max absorption wavelength mainly resulted from the electronic transition from HOMO to LUMO. The second nonlinear optical coefficients（β0）were calculated using ab initio CPHF method at 6-31G* basis set level and FF / AM1,FF / PM3,FF / MNDO,FF / MINDO3 methods. A systematic comparison between the results was carried out. It indicated that the second nonlinear optical coefficients were affected dramatically by the properties of five-membered hetero-rings. β0 can be enhanced by introducing pyrrole,thiazole and oxazole. The position of five-membered rings containing two heteroatoms which were connected with four-membered squaraine rings also affected β0 .     

Diazodiphenylmethane and Monosubstituted Butadienes: Kinetics and a New Chapter of Vinylcyclopropane Chemistry

Diazodiphenylmethane ( DDM ) undergoes cycloadditions to 1‐substituted buta‐1,3‐dienes exclusively at the C(3)?C(4) bond. At room temperature, the N₂ loss from the initially formed 4,5‐dihydro‐3H‐pyrazoles 2 is faster than the cycloaddition and furnishes the vinylcyclopropane derivatives 7 and 9 with structural retention at the C(1)?C(2) bond. 2‐Substituted butadienes react with DDM at the C(3)?C(4) bond to give 12 ; isoprene, however, affords 3,4/1,2 products in the ratio of 86 : 14. DDM is a nucleophilic 1,3‐dipole: 1‐Cyanobutadiene reacts 400 times faster than 1‐methoxybuta‐1,3‐diene (DMF, 40°). The log k₂ for the additions to six 1‐substituted butadienes show a linear correlation with σ_p (Hammett) and ?=+2.9; the log k₂ of five 2‐substituted butadienes are linearly related to Taft's σ_I (?=+1.7). The structures of the vinylcyclopropanes 7, 9 , and 12 are established by NMR spectra and oxidation. A cyclopropyl carbinyl cation is made responsible for the isomerization of 12 , R=Ph, Me, by acetic acid to 4‐substituted 1,1‐diphenylpenta‐1,3‐dienes 25 and 29 ; TsOH at 200° converts 25 further to 9,10‐dihydro‐9‐methyl‐10‐phenyl‐9,10‐ethanoanthracene ( 27 ). Thermal rearrangement of 7, 9 , and 12 at 200–300° produces the 3‐ or 1‐substituted 4,4‐diphenylcyclopentenes 30 and 31 . These give the same mass spectra as the vinylcyclopropanes, and an open‐chain distonic radical cation is suggested as common intermediate. Besides spectroscopic evidence for the cyclopentene structures, hydrogenation and epoxidation are described; NMR data support the trans‐attack by perbenzoic acid.     

Investigation of Structures and Stabilities of AlmPn and AlmP(m+n=2～6)Clusters by DFT

The geometries,electronic states and energies of Alm Pn （ m + n = 2 ～ 6）neutral and anionic clusters have been investigated using the density functional theory（DFT）method of Becke’s three-parameter hybrid exchange functional with the nonlocal correlation of B3LYP. Structural optimization and frequency analyses are performed with the basis of 6-311G（ d）. The calculations predict the existence of a number of previously unknown isomers（i. e. ,Al3P_ and AlmPn （ m + n.5））. The calculations have also predicted that small AlP and（AlP）2 clusters adopt two-and three-dimensional structures characteristic of Si2 and Si4 clusters,while the structures of the larger AlP clusters are different completely from those of Sin clusters with the same electrons. The results show that the structures with the singlet have higher symmetries,while those with the doublet have lower symmetries. The vertical detachment energy of AlmPn （ m + n = 2 ～ 6）are also discused and the adiabatic electron affinities of AlmPn（m + n = 2 ～ 6）and also discussed at the same level. The results agree satisfactorily with the anion photoelectron spectroscopy of aluminum phosphide clusters reported recently by Gomez et al.