Radical ring-opening polymerization behavior of vinylcyclopropanes derived from dienes and chloroform

1,1-Dichloro-2-vinylcyclopropane ( Ia ), 1,1-dichloro-2-methyl-2-vinylcyclopropane ( Ib ), 1,1,2-trichloro-2-vinylcyclopropane ( Ic ) were prepared from the corresponding dienes and chloroform in the presence of a phase transfer catalyst (PTC), R₄N⁺Cl^?. Monomers Ia – Ic underwent a clean 1,5-type radical ring-opening process to afford the corresponding polymers in good yield. Further, the relative rate of polymerization and reaction of ( I ) with thiophenol were studied.     

The origin of unidirectional charge separation in photosynthetic reaction centers: nonadiabatic quantum dynamics of exciton and charge in pigment–protein complexes

Exciton charge separation in photosynthetic reaction centers from purple bacteria (PbRC) and photosystem II (PSII) occurs exclusively along one of the two pseudo-symmetric branches (active branch) of pigment–protein complexes. The microscopic origin of unidirectional charge separation in photosynthesis remains controversial. Here we elucidate the essential factors leading to unidirectional charge separation in PbRC and PSII, using nonadiabatic quantum dynamics calculations in conjunction with time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) with the quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics/polarizable continuum model (QM/MM/PCM) method. This approach accounts for energetics, electronic coupling, and vibronic coupling of the pigment excited states under electrostatic interactions and polarization of whole protein environments. The calculated time constants of charge separation along the active branches of PbRC and PSII are similar to those observed in time-resolved spectroscopic experiments. In PbRC, Tyr-M210 near the accessary bacteriochlorophyll reduces the energy of the intermediate state and drastically accelerates charge separation overcoming the electron–hole interaction. Remarkably, even though both the active and inactive branches in PSII can accept excitons from light-harvesting complexes, charge separation in the inactive branch is prevented by a weak electronic coupling due to symmetry-breaking of the chlorophyll configurations. The exciton in the inactive branch in PSII can be transferred to the active branch via direct and indirect pathways. Subsequently, the ultrafast electron transfer to pheophytin in the active branch prevents exciton back transfer to the inactive branch, thereby achieving unidirectional charge separation.

Essential factors leading to unidirectional charge separation in photosynthetic reaction centers are clarified via nonadiabatic quantum dynamics calculations.     

Electrical conducting and magnetic properties of (ethylenedithiotetrathiafulvalenothioquinone-1,3-diselenolemethide)2.FeBr4 (GaBr4) crystals with two different interlayer arrangements of donor molecules

Two donor molecules newly synthesized, dimethylthio- and ethylenedithio-tetrathiafulvalenothioquinone-1,3-diselenolemethides (1 and 2), were used to prepare their charge-transfer (CT) salts with a magnetic FeBr(4)(-) counteranion. For 1, a low electrical conducting 1:1 salt (1.FeBr(4)) was obtained, in which molecules of 1 are tightly dimerized in a one-dimensional (1D) stacking column. On the other hand, 2 gave a 2:1 salt (2(2).FeBr(4)) as two different kinds of plate crystals (I and II). Both I and II possess similar stacking structures of molecules of 2 in each 1D column with a half-cut pipelike structure along the c axis. However, for I, the stacking columns are aligned in the same direction along the a and b axes, while for II they are in the same direction along the a axis, but in the reverse direction along the b axis, resulting in the difference in the relative arrangement of molecules of 2 and FeBr(4)(-) ions between the two crystals. The room-temperature electrical conductivities of the single crystals of I and II were 13.6 and 12.7 S cm(-)(1), respectively. The electrical conducting behavior in I was metallic above 170 K but changed to be semiconducting with a very small activation energy of 7.0 meV in the temperature range 4-170 K. In contrast, II showed the semiconducting behavior in the whole temperature range 77-285 K. The corresponding nonmagnetic GaBr(4)(-) salts with almost the same crystal structure as I and II showed definitively different electrical conducting properties in the metal to semiconductor transition temperature in I as well as in the magnitude of activation energy in the semiconducting region of I and II. The interaction between the d spins of FeBr(4)(-) ions was weak and antiferromagnetic in both I and II, but the magnitude of the spin interaction was unexpectedly larger compared with that in the FeBr(4)(-) salt of the corresponding sulfur derivative of 2 with closer contact between the neighboring FeBr(4)(-) ions. These electrical conducting and magnetic results suggest a significant interaction between the conducting pi electrons and the d spins of FeBr(4)(-) ions located near the columns or layers.     

Diastereoselective addition of organolithiums to 1,3-oxazolidines complexed with aluminum tris(2,6-diphenylphenoxide) (ATPH)

1,3-Oxazolidines were easily obtained by condensation of N-substituted (R)-phenylglycinol with aldehydes. Addition of organolithium reagents to 1,3-oxazolidines by complexation with the bulky Lewis acid aluminum tris(2,6-diphenylphenoxide) (ATPH) readily produced the corresponding chiral amines with good yield and high diastereoselectivity. The configuration of the new stereogenic center was shown to be opposite to that of adducts obtained for the same 1,3-oxazolidines using Grignard reagents. The best diastereoselectivity was achieved using N-isopropyl-1,3-oxazolidines. The mechanism of addition was deduced by determining the stereochemistry of the iminium-aluminum complex by NOE experiments.     

Flexible inner and outer coordination of Zn(II) N-confused porphyrin complex

Tetra- and dinuclear Zn(II) N-confused porphyrin dimers (1, 2) and pyridine-coordinating Zn(II) monomer complex (3) were synthesized, and the ditopic, inner and outer coordination of Zn metal in the dimer complex (1) was demonstrated by X-ray analyses.     

Stability of porphyrin-calix[4]arene complexes analyzed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The stability of some porphyrin-calix[4]arene sodium-ion complexes were determined by a collision-activated decomposition (CAD) method utilizing electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Comparing the values of E(1/2), the collision energy at which the relative intensity of the complex ion is 0.5, we found that the porphyrin-calix[4]arene complex with the higher value of E(1/2) corresponded to that with the larger association constant (Kass), as measured by 1H-NMR in CDCl3. Both our ESI-MS and NMR studies proved that the number of hydrogen bonds and the rigidity of the calix[4]arene stabilized the complex. The ESI-MS technique could be successful in screening the binding affinity in host-guest systems with a small amount of sample.     

Spectroscopic and Electrochemical Characterization of Cytochrome P450st‐DDAB Films on a Plastic‐Formed Carbon Electrode

We have studied the characterization of thermophilic cytochrome P450 (P450st)‐didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) films by using UV‐vis absorption, resonance Raman spectroscopy, and electrochemical methods. The observed Raman spectrum indicated near‐native conformation of the heme iron in DDAB film on the surface of a glass slide, while on the surface of a plastic‐formed carbon (PFC) electrode, the conformation of P450st‐DDAB was very similar to that of heme‐DDAB film, suggesting the release of heme from P450st in DDAB films on PFC electrodes. When NaBr was added as salt to the casting solution, the result of Raman spectrum indicated near‐native conformation of P450st in DDAB film even on the PFC electrode, but no redox potential of P450st which has near native structure was observed. This study suggests the essential experimental conditions when working with heme protein‐DDAB films as, in some cases, heme iron from proteins is released on the surface of the electrode.     

Micropore-free surface-activated carbon for the analysis of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins-dibenzofurans and non-ortho-substituted polychlorinated biphenyls in environmental samples

2,3,7,8-Substituted polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and non-ortho-substituted polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) account for almost all of the total toxic equivalents (TEQ) in environmental samples. Activated carbon columns are used to fractionate the samples for GC-MS analysis or bioassay. Micropore-free surface-activated carbon is highly selective for PCDD/Fs and non-ortho-PCBs and can improve the conventional activated carbon column clean-up. Along with sulfuric acid-coated diatomaceous earth columns, micropore-free surface-activated carbon provides a rapid, robust, and high-throughput sample preparation method for PCDD/Fs and non-ortho-PCBs analysis.     

High-Pressure Synthesis and Crystal Structure of B2S3

Two new high-pressure phases of binary boron-sulfur compounds, B₂S₃-II and B₂S₃-III, were synthesized at 3-6.2 GPa. A single crystal of B₂S₃-III was grown and the structure was determined (tetragonal, space group I4₁/a, a=16.086(2) Å, c=30.488(4) Å; V=7888(1) ų, Z=100, R=3.0% and R_w=2.8% for 3047 observed data [I>3.00σ(I)]. The structure of B₂S₃-III consists of two kinds of macrotetrahedra built up from 20 and 34 BS₄-tetrahedra. These macrotetrahedra connect each other to form an interpenetrating zincblende-type structure by sharing BS₄-tetrahedra at the corners of those. B₂S₃-III is anticipated having a rather disordered structure. From the UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectrum, the optical band gap of B₂S₃-III was estimated to be 3.7 eV.     

XPS study of one-dimensional compounds: TiS3

X-Ray photoelectron spectra of TiS₃ with a one-dimensional structure were measured. TiS₃ may be regarded as Ti⁴⁺(S₂)^2?S^2? with pairs of S atoms (S₂) and isolated S atoms. The spectra of the sulfur core-levels are assigned by comparison with those of TiS₂, where all S atoms are largely separated. The binding energy of the S₂ pairs is found to be 1.4 eV higher than that of the isolated S atoms, which is consistent with the larger negative charge of the isolated atoms. The structures of the valence band of TiS₃ are discussed in terms of a molecular orbital scheme for the S₂ pairs.