SERS microRaman spectral probing of adsorbate‐containing,liquid‐overlayed nanosponge Ag aggregates assembled from fractal aggregates

Adsorbate‐containing, nanosponge Ag aggregates overlayed by a thin (~1.5 mm) liquid layer are reported as a new type of sample for Surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) microRaman spectral measurements and adsorbate (analyte) detection. Macroscopic Ag aggregates (of about 1.5 × 1.0 × 0.025 mm size) with the nanosponge internal morphology (revealed by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)) were prepared by 3D assembling of fused fractal aggregates (D = 1.84 ± 0.04) formed in Ag nanoparticle hydrosol/HCl/adsorbate systems with 2,2’‐bipyridine (bpy) and/or a cationic free‐base tetrakis(2‐methyl‐4‐pyridiniumyl) porphine (H₂TMPyP) as the testing adsorbates. For SERS microRaman measurements, the macroscopic aggregate was overlayed by a thin (~1.5 mm) layer of the residual liquid. Preparation procedure, nanoscale imaging, and SERS spectral probing including the determination of the detection limits of the adsorbates revealed the following advantages of the adsorbate‐containing, liquid‐overlayed 3D nanosponge aggregate as a sample for SERS microRaman spectral measurements: (1) localization of adsorbate (analyte) into hot spots and, simultaneously, prevention of the analyte decomposition during the spectral measurement (carried out without an immersion objective), (2) fast and simple sample preparation, and (3) minimization of sample volume and an efficient concentration of hot spots into the focus of the laser beam. The advantages of the nanosponge Ag aggregates are further demonstrated by the 40 fmol limit of detection of bpy as Ag(0)‐bpy surface complex, as well as by preservation of the native structure of the cationic free‐base porphyrin H₂TMPyP. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Identification of two Ag‐2,2′:6′,2″‐terpyridine surface species on Ag nanoparticle surfaces by excitation wavelength dependence of SERS spectra and factor analysis: evidence for chemical mechanism contribution to SERS of Ag(0)–tpy

Measurement and interpretation of the excitation wavelength dependence of surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra of molecules chemisorbed on plasmonic, e.g. Ag nanoparticle (NP) surfaces, are of principal importance for revealing the charge transfer (CT) mechanism contribution to the overall SERS enhancement. SERS spectra, their excitation wavelength dependence in the 445–780‐nm range and factor analysis (FA) were used for the identification of two Ag‐2,2′:6′,2″‐terpyridine (tpy) surface species, denoted Ag⁺–tpy and Ag(0)–tpy, on Ag NPs in systems with unmodified and/or purposefully modified Ag NPs originating from hydroxylamine hydrochloride‐reduced hydrosols. Ag⁺–tpy is a spectral analogue of [Ag(tpy)]⁺ complex cation, and its SERS shows virtually no excitation wavelength dependence. By contrast, SERS of Ag(0)–tpy surface complex generated upon chloride‐induced compact aggregate formation and/or in strongly reducing ambient shows a pronounced excitation wavelength dependence attributed to a CT resonance (the chemical mechanism) contribution to the overall SERS enhancement. Both the resonance (λ_exc = 532 nm) and off‐resonance (λ_exc = 780 nm) pure‐component spectra of Ag(0)–tpy obtained by FA are largely similar to surface‐enhanced resonance Raman scattering (λ_exc = 532 nm in resonance with singlet metal to ligand CT (¹ MLCT) transition) and SERS (λ_exc = 780 nm) spectra of [Fe(tpy)₂]²⁺ complex dication. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Iron(III) complex of a crown ether-porphyrin conjugate and reversible binding of superoxide to its Iron(II) form

The synthesis and characterization of the Fe(III) complex of a novel crown ether-porphyrin conjugate, 52-N-(4-aza-18-crown-6)methyl-54,104,154,204-tetra-tert-butyl-56-methyl-5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin (H2Porph), as well as the corresponding hydroxo, dimeric, Fe(II), and peroxo species are reported. The crystal structure of [FeIII(Porph)Cl].H3O+.FeCl4-.C6H6.EtOH is also reported. [FeIII(Porph)(DMSO)2]+ and K[FeIII(Porph)(O22-)] are high-spin species (M?ssbauer data: delta = 0.38 mm s(-1), DeltaEq = 0.83 mm s(-1) and delta = 0.41 mm s(-1), DeltaEq = 0.51 mm s(-1), respectively), whereas in a solution of reduced [FeIII(Porph)(DMSO)2]+ complex the low-spin [FeII(Porph)(DMSO)2] (delta = 0.44 mm s(-1), DeltaEq = 1.32 mm s(-1)) and high-spin [FeII(Porph)(DMSO)] (delta = 1.27 mm s(-1), DeltaEq = 3.13 mm s(-1)) iron(II) species are observed. The reaction of [FeIII(Porph)(DMSO)2]+ with KO2 in DMSO has been investigated. The first reaction step, involving reduction to [FeII(Porph)(DMSO)2], was not investigated in detail because of parallel formation of an Fe(III)-hydroxo species. The kinetics and thermodynamics of the second reaction step, reversible binding of superoxide to the Fe(II) complex and formation of an Fe(III)-peroxo species, were studied in detail (by stopped-flow time-resolved UV/vis measurements in DMSO at 25 degrees C), resulting in kon = 36 500 +/- 500 M(-1) s(-1), koff = 0.21 +/- 0.01 s(-1) (direct measurements using an acid as a superoxide scavenger), and KO2- = (1.7 +/- 0.2) x 10(5) (superoxide binding constant kinetically obtained as kon/koff), (1.4 +/- 0.1) x 10(5), and (9.0 +/- 0.1) x 10(4) M(-1) (thermodynamically obtained in the absence and in the presence of 0.1 M NBu4PF6, respectively). Temperature-dependent kinetic measurements for kon (-40 to 25 degrees C in 3:7 DMSO/CH3CN mixture) yielded the activation parameters DeltaH = 61.2 +/- 0.9 kJ mol(-1) and DeltaS = +48 +/- 3 J K(-1) mol(-1). The observed reversible binding of superoxide to the metal center and the obtained kinetic and thermodynamic parameters are unique. The finding that fine-tuning of the proton concentration can cause the Fe(III)-peroxo species to release O2- and form an Fe(II) species is of biological interest, since this process might occur under very specific physiological conditions.     

Structure and bonding of vanadium(V) complexes with hydroxyurea in aqueous solution: density functional theory investigations of isomers and intramolecular rearrangements

Extensive geometry optimizations have been performed at the BP86 level of density functional theory, in order to identify the most stable isomer of pentacoordinated [VO(OH)UH2O]+ and [VOU(H2O)2]2+ as well as of hexacoordinated [VO(OH)U(H2O)2]+ and [VOU(H2O)3]2+ complexes (U = hydroxyurea anion). Most of these are conformationally very flexible, with up to 12 isomers within an energy range of 5 kcal/mol. The most stable hexacoordinate forms are characterized by the oxo ligand in trans position to the carbonyl O atom of U. Bulk solvent effects on the relative stabilities, estimated from a polarizable continuum model, are indicated to be small and do not affect the energetic sequence of the isomers significantly. Details of the coordination sphere of the most stable isomers in aqueous solution (coordination number, protonation state) have been studied with Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations. The preferred mechanisms of interconversion between selected [VO(OH)U(H2O)2]+ isomers, according to the DFT computations, involve proton transfers between H2O and OH or between O and OH ligands in the coordination sphere of the metal, assisted by a water molecule from the second hydration sphere.     

Simulation of the photodeactivation of formamide in the nO-pi* and pi-pi* states: an ab initio on-the-fly surface-hopping dynamics study

The short-time photodynamics (1 ps) of formamide in its low-lying singlet excited n(O)-pi(*) and pi-pi(*) states have been investigated by the direct trajectory surface-hopping method based on multiconfigurational ab initio calculations. The simulations showed that in both states, the primary deactivation process is C-N bond dissociation. In the ground state, the energy is transferred to (a) translational motion of the HCO and NH(2) fragments, (b) additional C-H dissociation from the vibrationally hot HCO fragment, or (c) formation of NH(3) and CO. In addition to the C-N dissociation pathway, C-O bond fission is found to be an additional primary deactivation path in the pi-pi(*) dynamics. From fractional occupations of trajectories, lifetimes of formamide were estimated: tau(S(1))=441 fs and tau(S(2))=66 fs.     

High-performance size-exclusion chromatography of humic substances on the hydroxyethyl methacrylate column

HEMA, the copolymer of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and ethylene dimethacrylate, has proven to be a suitable stationary phase for the size-exclusion chromatographic (SEC) characterization of humic substances in a wide pH range. The SEC measurements were performed typically with alkaline borate-based mobile phase: 0.025 mol/l Na2B4O7, 0.025 mol/l NaCl, 0.001 mol/l Na4P2O7, pH 9.1. After calibrating with globular protein standards, apparent molecular weights of typical peat- and coal-derived humic acids were estimated. The average molecular weights determined with the aid of the HEMA column were quite comparable with the values obtained previously by the method of low-pressure gel-permeation chromatography on the Sephadex column.     

Synthesis of 2‐formyl‐1‐aza‐dibenzo[e,h]azulenes

Synthesis of a novel heterocyclic class of compounds, 1‐aza‐dibenzo[e,h]azulenes [1] ( 6a‐c and 7a‐c ), derived from dibenzo[b,f]oxepin, its 8‐chloro analogue and dibenzo[b,f]thiepin, respectively, is described. Aldol condensation of the starting ketones 4a‐c with (dimethyl‐hydrazono)‐acetaldehyde affords hydrazonoethylidene derivatives 5a‐c , which on reduction with sodium dithionite and subsequent cyclization provide the target tetracyclic 1‐aza‐dibenzo[e,h]azulenes 6a‐c . Regiospecific formylation of 6a‐c with Vilsmeier reagent leads to 2‐formyl derivatives 7a‐c . A series of derivatives 6a‐c and 7a‐c was tested for antiinflammatory activity as potential inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) production in vitro.     

Experimental and DFT studies on competitive heterocyclic rearrangements. Part 2: a one-atom side-chain versus the classic three-atom side-chain (Boulton-Katritzky) ring rearrangement of 3-acylamino-1,2,4-oxadiazoles

The experimental investigation of the base-catalyzed rearrangements of 3-acylamino-1,2,4-oxadiazoles evidenced a new reaction pathway which competes with the well-known ring-degenerate Boulton-Katritzky rearrangement (BKR). The new reaction consists of a one-atom side-chain rearrangement that is base-activated, occurs at a higher temperature than the BKR, and irreversibly leads to the corresponding 2-acylamino-1,3,4-oxadiazoles. An extensive DFT study is reported to elucidate the proposed reaction mechanism and to compare the three possible inherent routes: (i) the reversible three-atom side-chain ring-degenerate BKR, (ii) the ring contraction-ring expansion route (RCRE), and (iii) the one-atom side-chain rearrangement. The results of the computational investigation point out that the latter route is kinetically preferred over the RCRE and can be considered as the ground-state analogue of a previously proposed C(3)-N(2) migration-nucleophilic attack-cyclization (MNAC) photochemically activated pathway. The MNAC consists of the formation of a diazirine intermediate, involving the exocyclic nitrogen, that eventually evolves into a carbodiimide intermediate (migration); the latter undergoes a single intramolecular nucleophilic attack-cyclization step leading to the final 2-acylamino-1,3,4-oxadiazole.     

\ell ^p-Linear Independence of the System of Integer Translates

Various properties of the system \({\mathcal {B}}_{\psi }\) of integer translates of a square integrable function \(\psi \in L^2({\mathbb {R}})\) can be completely described in terms of the periodization function \(p_{\psi }(\xi )=\sum _{k\in {\mathbb {Z}}}|\widehat{\psi }(\xi +k)|^2\) . In this paper, we consider the problem of \(\ell ^p\) -linear independence, where \(p>2\) . The results we present include the method of construction for one type of counterexamples to several naturally taken conjectures, a new sufficient condition for \(\ell ^p\) -linear independence and a characterization theorem having an additional assumption on \({\mathcal {B}}_{\psi }\) . In the latter, we obtain the characterization in terms of the sets of multiplicity of Lebesgue measure zero.