Quantum state reconstruction for rigid rotors

We describe a quantum state reconstruction scheme for dipolar rigid rotors based on determination of the expectation value of the molecular orientation. A key feature is the use of half-cycle pulses to excite the rotor prior to the orientation measurement. The set of expectation values obtained by varying the intensity and polarization of the laser and the time interval between excitation and measurement can be inverted directly to yield the rotor density operator. When the density operator corresponds to the admixture of relatively few rotor states, our procedure successfully reconstructs both pure and mixed states.     

The properties of ion-water clusters. I. The protonated 21-water cluster

The ab initio atom-centered density-matrix propagation approach and the multistate empirical valence bond method have been employed to study the structure, dynamics, and rovibrational spectrum of a hydrated proton in the "magic" 21 water cluster. In addition to the conclusion that the hydrated proton tends to reside on the surface of the cluster, with the lone pair on the protonated oxygen pointing "outwards," it is also found that dynamical effects play an important role in determining the vibrational properties of such clusters. This result is used to analyze and complement recent experimental and theoretical studies.     

Calculating binary and ternary multiphase equilibria: extensions of the integral area method

The area method was proposed in 1992 to calculate binary and ternary 2-phase equilibria. In its integral form, the method provides both the necessary and sufficient conditions required for the determination of the global minimum reduced Gibbs energy of mixing (Φ). The method has since been applied to the calculation of both pure component and ternary multiphase equilibria in a differential form. However, the extension of the original (2 point) integral area method to the direct calculation of both binary and ternary multiphase equilibria has not been completed. Direct 3 point and modified 2 point search methods have therefore been developed here and used to estimate the phase compositions of a representative binary vapour-liquid-liquid system. The 2 point area method principle has been extended and applied to the calculation of ternary multiphase equilibria using a net volume approach. However, this volume method was found to fail due to an underlying inconsistency in the bounding of the integrated Φ surface by the trial 3-phase region. A new method is proposed that overcomes this problem by minimising the area of intersection between a tangent plane and the Φ surface. This new method has successfully calculated the 3-phase compositions of two simple test systems from a variety of initial mixture starting points.     

Synthesis,structure, and reactions of a nitroxyl complex of iridium(III), cis,trans-IrHCl2(NH=O)(PPh3)2

Reaction of Ir(NO)(PPh3)3 with anhydrous HCl results in addition of 2 equivalents of HCl with formal protonation of the nitrosyl ligand, affording the unusual six-co-ordinate nitroxyl complex cis,trans-IrHCl2(NH=O)(PPh3)2.     

On fitting a gold embedded atom method potential using the force matching method

We fit a new gold embedded atom method (EAM) potential using an improved force matching methodology which included fitting to high-temperature solid lattice constants and liquid densities. The new potential shows a good overall improvement in agreement to the experimental lattice constants, elastic constants, stacking fault energy, radial distribution function, and fcc/hcp/bcc lattice energy differences over previous potentials by Foiles, Baskes, and Daw (FBD) [Phys. Rev. B 33, 7983 (1986)] Johnson [Phys. Rev. B 37, 3924 (1988)], and the glue model potential by Ercolessi et al. [Philos. Mag. A 50, 213 (1988)]. Surface energy was improved slightly as compared to potentials by FBD and Johnson but as a result vacancy formation energy is slightly inferior as compared to the same potentials. The results obtained here for gold suggest for other metal species that further overall improvements in potentials may still be possible within the EAM framework with an improved fitting methodology. On the other hand, we also explore the limitations of the EAM framework by attempting a brute force fit to all properties exactly which was found to be unsuccessful. The main conflict in such a brute force fit was between the surface energy and the liquid lattice constant where both could not be fitted identically. By intentionally using a very large number of spline sections for the pair potential, electron-density function, and embedding energy function, we eliminated a lack of functional freedom as a possible cause of this conflict and hence can conclude that it must result from a fundamental limitation in the EAM framework.     

Acryloyl-modified cellulose nanocrystals: effects of substitution on crystallinity and copolymerization with acrylic monomers

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are crystalline nano-rods that have high specific strength with hydroxyl surface chemistry. A wide range of chemical modifications have been performed on the surface of CNCs to increase their potential to be used in applications where compatibilization with other materials is required. Understanding the surface chemistry of CNCs and critically examining the functionalization technique are crucial to enable control over the extent of modification and the properties of CNCs. This work aims to optimize the surface modification of wood-derived CNCs with isocyanatoethyl methacrylate (IEM), a bifunctional molecule carrying both isocyanate and vinyl functional groups. We studied the effect of modification reaction time and temperature on the degree of substitution, crystallinity, and morphology of the CNCs. We found that the degree of modification is a strong and increasing function of reaction temperature over the range studied. However, the highest temperature (65 °C) and the longest time of reaction (6 h) resulted in shorter, thinner, and less crystalline CNCs. We obtained surface hydroxyl conversion of 60.1?±?6% and percent crystallinity of 84% by keeping the reaction shorter (30 min) at 65 ºC. Also, the copolymerization ability of modified CNCs was verified by polymerizing attached IEM groups with acrylic monomers via solution polymerization. The polymer-grafted CNCs (6% w/w) dispersed better in an acrylic polymer matrix compared to unmodified CNCs (umCNCs), resulting in approximately 100% improvement in the tensile strength and about 53% enhancement in the hardness of the acrylic, whereas addition of 6% w/w umCNCs did not influence the strength and hardness.

Graphic abstract

     

Search for stratospheric bromine reservoir species: theoretical study of the photostability of mono-, tri-, and pentacoordinated bromine compounds

Previous work has shown that pentacoordinated bromine compounds have their lowest excited electronic states shifted to the blue relative to monocoordinated bromine molecules, and that this shift may be large enough to render them photostable in the lower stratosphere. Our earlier work has also shown that certain pentacoordinated bromine compounds are thermodynamically stable relative to their mono- or tricoordinated isomers, suggesting that if a bromine stratospheric reservoir species exists, it may be a pentacoordinated compound. In this study we have examined the singlet and triplet excited electronic states of several bromine compounds, using time dependent density functional theory, to assess their photostability under stratospheric conditions and in order to elucidate the nature of lowest excited states in mono-, tri-, and pentacoordinated bromine molecules. The triplet states have been included due to the strong spin-orbit mixing in bromine. We have found several pentacoordinated bromine/oxygen compounds that could be photostable in the lower stratosphere, but we have also found that monovalent bromine compounds where the bromine atom is bonded to an atom with no lone-pair p-electrons is far and away the most photostable. Attachment/detachment electron density plots have been useful in ascertaining the nature of the excited electronic states and their likely path to photodissociation.     

Synthesis and application of a new bisphosphite ligand collection for asymmetric hydroformylation of allyl cyanide

A series of mono- and bidentate phosphites was prepared with (S)-5,5',6,6'-tetramethyl-3,3'-di-tert-butyl-1,1'-biphenyl-2,2'-dioxy [(S)-BIPHEN] as a chiral auxiliary and screened in the asymmetric hydroformylation of allyl cyanide. These hydroformylation results were compared with those of two existing chiral ligands, Chiraphite and BINAPHOS, whose utility in asymmetric hydroformylation has been previously demonstrated. Bisphosphite 11 with a 2,2'-biphenol bridge was found to be the best overall ligand for asymmetric hydroformylation of allyl cyanide with up to 80% ee and regioselectivities (branch-to-linear ratio, b/l) of 20 with turnover frequency of 625 [h(-)(1)] at 35 degrees C. BINAPHOS gave enantioselectivities up to 77% ee when the reaction was conducted in either acetone or neat but with poor regioselectivity (b/l 2.8) and activities 7 times lower than that of 11. The product of allyl cyanide hydroformylation using (R,R)-11 was subsequently transformed into (R)-2-methyl-4-aminobutanol, a useful chiral building block. Single-crystal X-ray structures of (S,S)-11 and its rhodium complex 19 were determined.     

Stereoselective Mn-mediated coupling of functionalized iodides and hydrazones: a synthetic entry to the tubulysin gamma-amino acids

[structure: see text] Synthesis of gamma-amino acids, important building blocks in bioorganic and natural product chemistry, is accomplished using a stereoselective carbon-carbon bond construction of the chiral amine. Alkyl iodides and chiral hydrazones with protected alcohol functionality are coupled via highly diastereoselective photolytic Mn-mediated addition to the C=N bond, providing access to enantiomerically pure multifunctional chiral alpha-branched amines. Reductive N-N bond cleavage and alcohol oxidation provides alpha-substituted gamma-amino acid building blocks for tubulysin D.