Control of photoinduced energy- and electron-transfer steps in zinc porphyrin-oligothiophene-fullerene linked triads with solvent polarity

The dramatic changes of the lifetimes of the charge-separated (CS) states were confirmed in zinc porphyrin (ZnP)-oligothiophene (nT)-fullerene (C(60)) linked triads (ZnP-nT-C(60)) with the solvent polarity. After the selective excitation of the ZnP moiety of ZnP-nT-C(60), an energy transfer took place from the (1)ZnP moiety to the C(60) moiety, generating ZnP-nT-(1)C(60). In polar solvents, the CS process also took place directly via the (1)ZnP moiety, generating ZnP(*+)-nT-C(60)(*-), as well as the energy transfer to the C(60) moiety. After this energy transfer, an indirect CS process took place from the (1)C(60) moiety. In the less polar solvent anisole, the radical cation (hole) of ZnP(*+)-nT-C(60)(*-) shifted to the nT moiety; thus, the nT moiety behaves as a cation trapper, and the rates of the hole shift were evaluated to be in the order of 10(8) s(-1); then, the final CS states ZnP-nT(*+)-C(60)(*-) were lasting for 6-7 mus. In the medium polar solvent o-dichlorobenzene (o-DCB), ZnP-nT(*+)-C(60)(*-) and ZnP(*+)-nT-C(60)(*-) were present as an equilibrium, because both states have almost the same thermodynamic stability. This equilibrium resulted in quite long lifetimes of the CS states (450-910 mus) in o-DCB. In the more polar benzonitrile, the generation of ZnP-nT(*+)-C(60)(*-) was confirmed with apparent short lifetimes (0.6-0.8 mus), which can be explained by the fast hole shift to more stable ZnP(*+)-nT-C(60)(*-) followed by the faster charge recombination. It was revealed that the relation between the energy levels of two CS states, which strongly depend on the solvent polarity, causes dramatic changes of the lifetimes of the CS states in ZnP-nT-C(60); that is, the most appropriate solvents for the long-lived CS state are intermediately polar solvents such as o-DCB. Compared with our previous data for H(2)P-nT-C(60), in which H(2)P is free-base porphyrin, the lifetimes of the CS states of ZnP-nT-C(60) are approximately 30 times longer than those in o-DCB.     

Isolation and structure determination of six glucocerebrosides from the starfish Luidia maculata

Two new glucocerebrosides, luidiacerebroside A (2) and B (6), were isolated from the cerebroside molecular species obtained from the less polar fraction of the CHCl3/MeOH extract of the starfish Luidia maculata using HPLC. Four known cerebrosides, CE-2b (1), astrocerebroside B (3), acanthacerebroside B (4), and CE-3-2 (5) have also been isolated and characterized. The structures of these cerebrosides were determined on the basis of chemical and spectroscopic evidence. Mass spectrometry of dimethyl disulfide derivatives was useful for the determination of the double-bond position in the long-chain base.     

Structural analysis of amylose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) by NMR relevant to its chiral recognition mechanism in HPLC

The structural analysis of amylose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) (ADMPC) was performed by NMR spectroscopy using a sample with a lower degree of polymerization in order to understand the chiral recognition mechanism when it was used as a chiral stationary phase (CSP) in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). ADMPC exhibited chiral discrimination for many enantiomers, including 1-(9-anthryl)-2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (1) and 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol (2) in both NMR and HPLC. A good agreement was observed between the HPLC and NMR results when chloroform was employed as the common solvent. The structure of ADMPC in solution was investigated by NMR using the 2D NOESY technique coupled with computer modeling, and a left-handed 4/3 helical structure was obtained as the most probable one. The binding geometry between ADMPC and the enantiomers of 1 was also investigated by (1)H NMR titration. On the basis of these results combined with molecular modeling, a rational model to explain the chiral discrimination mechanism of 1 on ADMPC was proposed.     

Kinetic study of formaldehyde formation in methanol dehydrogenation over FeTiZn alloy

A kinetic study on methanol dehydrogenation over an FeTiZn_0.44 alloy at 673 K suggested a mechanism including an adsorbed formaldehyde intermediate. A lower W/F and a higher methanol pressure favored a higher formaldehyde selectivity.     

Biphotonic ionization of 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate in polar solvents

The photoionization of 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate in polar solvents occurs through a biphotonic process, as proved by nanosecond flash photolysis. A transient absorption of a charge transfer to solvent (CTTS) state is found with ≈10 ns life-time. The state is shown to be an intermediate of the photoionization process.     

Synthesis,crystal structure and charge transport characteristics of stable peri-tetracene analogues

peri-Acenes have shown great potential for use as functional materials because of their open-shell singlet biradical character. However, only a limited number of peri-acene derivatives larger than peri-tetracene have been synthesized to date, presumably owing to the low stability of the target compounds in addition to the complicated synthesis scheme. Here, a very simple synthesis route for the tetrabenzo[a,f,j,o]perylene (TBP) structure enables the development of highly stable peri-tetracene analogues. Despite a high degree of singlet biradical character, the compounds with four substituents at the zigzag edge show a remarkable stability in solution under ambient conditions, which is better than that of acene derivatives with a closed-shell electronic configuration. The crystal structures of the TBP derivatives were obtained for the first time; these are valuable to understand the relationship between the structure and biradical character of peri-acenes. The application of peri-acenes in electronic devices should also be investigated. Therefore, the semiconducting properties of the TBP derivative were investigated by fabricating the field-effect transistors.

Highly stable peri-tetracene analogues with a high degree of singlet biradical character were synthesized in a very simple route, and their crystal structures and semiconducting properties were investigated.     

A mediator-type biosensor as a new approach to biochemical oxygen demand estimation

A novel biosensor for the determination of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) was developed using potassium hexacyanoferrate(III) [HCF(III)] as a mediator. The sensor element consists of a three-electrode system, with both working and counter electrodes compactly integrated as a disposable using etching and electroplating processes. Pseudomonas fluorescens biovar V (isolated from a wastewater treatment plant) was immobilized on the surface of the working electrode using poly(vinyl alcohol)-quaternized stilbazol (PVA-SbQ) photopolymer gel. Synthetic wastewater described by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was used as a standard solution instead of glucose-glutamic acid synthetic wastewater. The conditions of amperometric measurement were optimized at +600 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) operating potential, namely 40 mM HCF(III) in a 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) at 20 degrees C. The sensor response was linear from 15 up to 200 mg O l-1 BOD. The response time was 15 min at 200 mg O l-1 BOD. To demonstrate the wide metabolic range of activity of the sensor, the sensor response to 14 substances in four categories of organic compounds was investigated. Further, it was shown that the response of this BOD sensor was not influenced in samples with low concentrations of dissolved oxygen under the measuring conditions used. For real wastewaters, the BOD values were determined using the sensor and compared favorably with those determined by the conventional BOD5 method.