Synthesis of unnatural 2- and 3-deoxyfuranose analogues

This Letter describes the synthesis of two racemic analogues of unnatural 3′-deoxy and 2′-deoxy sugars, where a phosphorus atom replaces the carbon atom in the 2′- or 3′-position. Two methods of four- and 5-steps were developed affording these new unnatural sugar analogues.     

Piecewise constant positive potentials with practically the same fixed energy phase shifts

It has recently been shown that spherically symmetric potentials of finite range are uniquely determined by the part of their phase shifts at a fixed energy level k² > 0. However, numerical experiments show that two quite different potentials can produce almost identical phase shifts. It has been guessed by physicists that such examples are possible only for “less physical” oscillating and changing sign potentials. In this note it is shown that the above guess is incorrect: we give examples of four positive spherically symmetric compactly supported quite different potentials having practically identical phase shifts. The note also describes a hybrid stochastic deterministic method for global minimization for the construction of these potentials.     

Synthesis and structural characterisation of the first N-heterocyclic carbene ligand fused to a porphyrin

The functionalisation of two neighboring beta-pyrrolic positions of a porphyrin by a fused N-heterocyclic carbene ligand, the subsequent metallation of this external coordination site by palladium(II) and the structural characterisation of the resulting compounds are presented.     

Equilibrium between quenched and nonquenched conformations of the major plant light-harvesting complex studied with high-pressure time-resolved fluorescence

Nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) of chlorophyll fluorescence plays an important role in the protection of plants against excessive light. Fluorescence quenching of the major light-harvesting complex (LHCII) provides a model system to study the mechanism of NPQ. The existence of both quenched and nonquenched states of LHCII has been postulated. We used time-resolved fluorescence and hydrostatic pressure to study differences between these states. Pressure shifts the thermodynamic equilibrium between the two states. The estimated volume difference was 5 mL/mol, indicating a local conformational switch. The estimated free energy difference was 7.0 kJ/mol: high enough to keep the quenched state population low under normal conditions, but low enough to switch in a controlled way. These properties are physiologically relevant properties, because they guarantee efficient light harvesting, while at the same time maintaining the capacity to switch to a quenched state. These results indicate that conformational changes of LHCII can play an important role in NPQ.     

The exponent in the general Randić index

We determine conditions for the parameters n and δ, for which the general Randić index R _δ is not an acceptable index of branching of n-vertex trees, i.e., for which the n-vertex star and the n-vertex path have not extremal R _δ-values among all n-vertex trees. Analogous results are established also in the case of n-vertex chemical trees. Numerous other results for the general Randić index of trees and chemical trees are obtained.      

Dynamics and energetics of Ge(001) dimers

The dynamic behavior of surface dimers on Ge(001) has been studied by positioning the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope over single flip-flopping dimers and measuring the tunneling current as a function of time. We observe that not just symmetric, but also asymmetric appearing dimers exhibit flip-flop motion. The dynamics of flip-flopping dimers can be used to sensitively gauge the local potential landscape of the surface. Through a spatial and time-resolved measurement of the flip-flop frequency of the dimers, local strain fields near surface defects can be accurately probed.     

A density functional theory formulation of the reaction field model of solvent effects

It is possible to reformulate the reaction field (RF ) model of continuum solvent effects, by considering an approximate expression describing the energy changes from one ground state to another, in the frame of density functional theory (DFT ). The energy functional for an arbitrary electronic system coupled to a spin-independent electrostatic external perturbation is used to derive the well-known Born expression giving the electrostatic component of the solvation energy of an atomic ion. The approximate RF –DFT model is illustrated for a series of representative singly positive and negatively charged atomic ions. A Kohn–Sham (KS )-like formalism is then proposed to compute solvation energies within a self-consistent field scheme. The extension of the RF -DFT model to molecular systems is also outlined. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Thermal isomerization in cyclopenta[<Emphasis Type="Italic">fg</Emphasis>]aceanthrylene

Abstract  Two mechanisms for the isomerization of cyclopenta[fg]aceanthrylene to acefluoranthene were revealed. The first pathway occurs via a cyclobutyl intermediate, whereas the second pathway involves a transition state that contains an sp ³-hybridized carbon atom. Both patterns show that the Stone-Wales rearrangement requires extremely high activation energy and indicate that the isomerization process can occur only under a drastic temperature regime. Graphical abstract        

A theoretical study on the reaction mechanism for the bergman cyclization from the perspective of the electron localization function and catastrophe theory

The reaction mechanism associated with the Bergman cyclization of the (Z)-hexa-1,5-diyne-3-ene to render p-benzyne has been analyzed by means of a combined use of the electron localization function (ELF) and the catastrophe theory on the basis of density functional theory (DFT) calculations (B3LYP/6-31G(d)). The complex electronic rearrangements of this reaction can be highlighted using this novel quantum mechanical perspective. Five domains of structural stability of the ELF occurring along the intrinsic reaction path as well as four catastrophes (fold-cusp-fold-cusp) responsible for the changes in the topology of the system have been identified. The multiple factors that occur along the intrinsic reaction coordinate path are presented and discussed in a consistent way. The topological analysis of ELF and catastrophe theory reveals that mechanical deformation of the C1-C2-C3 unit and closed-shell repulsion between terminal acetylene groups lead to an early formation of diradicaloid character at C2 and C5 atoms. Immediately after the transition structure (TS) is reached, the open-shell-singlet biradical becomes stable. Meanwhile, C1 and C6 atoms are preparing to be covalently bonded; that will finally occur at a distance of 1.791 A. In addition, a separation of the ELF into in-plane (sigma) and out-of-plane (pi) contributions allows us to discuss the aromaticity profiles; sigma-aromaticity appears in the vicinities of the TS, while pi-aromaticity takes place in the final stage of the reaction path, once the ring has been formed.