Temperature dependence of the dual phosphorescence from xanthone in n-hexane matrices

The phosphoresence spectrum and lifetime of xanthone embedded in an n-hexane matrix has been investigated as a function of temperature (1·6-100 K). Vibrational analyses of the spectra reveal that emission occurs from three sites, two of which are dominant. Emission from one site (B) occurs from the ³ nπ* state of a planar xanthone molecule and is characterized by strong totally symmetric carbonyl stretching vibrations and a short lifetime (2·4 ms). Emission from the other site (C) is shown to arise from the ³ππ* state of an out-of-plane distorted xanthone molecule. It displays a vibrational structure rich in modes of a ₁, b ₁, and b ₂ (C _2v notation) symmetry and a long lifetime (115 ms). Both direct spin orbit coupling via configurational mixing of the nπ* and ππ* states due to the non-planarity of the molecule in its ³ππ* state and spin-orbit vibronic interaction involving ³ A ₁(ππ*)-¹ A ₂(nπ*) spin-orbit and ¹ A ₂(nπ*)-¹ B ₂(ππ*) vibronic interaction via out-of-plane b ₁ vibrations are shown to be responsible for the C site emission intensity. Vibronic mixing between the ³ππ* and ³ nπ* states is not important. With increasing temperature, the phosphorescence intensity from the B site (³ nπ*) emitters increases at first, reaches a maximum at ～20 K and then decreases. The C site (³ππ*) intensity simply decreases with rising temperature. At a given temperature, the phosphorescence lifetimes are identical and exponential for all emission bands regardless of site origin. These observations indicate an equilibrium between emitters in the two sites throughout the lattice. A phonon-assisted energy transfer mechanism is proposed to account for these observations.     

DTI at 7 and 3 T: systematic comparison of SNR and its influence on quantitative metrics

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and advanced related methods such as diffusion spectrum and kurtosis imaging are limited by low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at conventional field strengths. DTI at 7 T can provide increased SNR; however, B0 and B1 inhomogeneity and shorter T2? still pose formidable challenges. The purpose of this study was to quantify and compare SNR at 7 and 3 T for different parallel imaging reduction factors, R, and TE, and to evaluate SNRs influences on fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). We found that R>4 at 7 T and R≥2 at 3 T were needed to reduce geometric distortions due to B0 inhomogeneity. For these R at 7 T, SNR was 70-90 for b=0 s/mm² and 22-28 for b=1000s/mm² in central brain regions. SNR was lower at 3 T (40 for b=0 s/mm² and 15 for b=1000 s/mm²) and in lateral brain regions at 7 T due to B1 inhomogeneity. FA and ADC did not change with MRI field strength, SENSE factor or TE in the tested range. However, the coefficient of variation for FA increased for SNR <15 and for SNR <10 in ADC, consistent with published theoretical studies. Our study demonstrates that 7 T is advantageous for DTI and lays the groundwork for further development. Foremost, future work should further address challenges with B0 and B1 inhomogeneity to take full advantage for the increased SNR at 7 T.     

Simple all-microwave entangling gate for fixed-frequency superconducting qubits

We demonstrate an all-microwave two-qubit gate on superconducting qubits which are fixed in frequency at optimal bias points. The gate requires no additional subcircuitry and is tunable via the amplitude of microwave irradiation on one qubit at the transition frequency of the other. We use the gate to generate entangled states with a maximal extracted concurrence of 0.88, and quantum process tomography reveals a gate fidelity of 81%.     

Preparation of ordered large pore SBA-15 silica functionalized with aminopropyl groups through one-pot synthesis

Highly ordered large pore SBA-15 silica functionalized with up to 16% aminopropyl groups, which gave high catalytic activity and selectivity toward flavanone synthesis through aldol condensation and subsequent intramolecular Michael addition of benzaldehyde and 2'-hydroxyacetophenone, was synthesized for the first time via co-condensation of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) using an amphiphilic block copolymer as the structure-directing agent.     

Oxygen measurement via phosphorescence: reaction of sodium dithionite with dissolved oxygen

A homemade instrument for the measurement of oxygen concentration in aqueous solutions measures the decay rate of the phosphorescence of a Pd-porphyrin complex (phosphor) dissolved in the solution, which is flashed every 0.1 s with 630 nm light. The concentration of O2 is a linear function of the decay rate. The instrument is used to study the reaction of dithionite (S2O42-) with O2 at 25 degrees C and 37 degrees C. It is found that the ratio of dithionite to oxygen consumed in the reaction is 1.2 +/- 0.2 at 25 degrees C and 1.7 +/- 0.1 at 37 degrees C, suggesting a temperature-dependent stoichiometry. At both temperatures, the initial rate of O2 consumption, -d[O2]/dt, is found to be 1/2 order in S2O42- and first order in O2. This finding is consistent with a previously proposed mechanism: S2O42- <--> 2SO2- comes to a rapid equilibrium, and SO2- reacts with O2 in the rate-determining step.     

Electrochemical probing of ground state electronic interactions in polynuclear complexes of a new heteroditopic ligand

The synthesis and electronic properties of dinuclear ([(bipy)2Ru(I)M(terpy)][PF6]4(bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine, terpy = 2,2':6',2'-terpyridine; M = Ru, Os)) and trinuclear ([[(bipy)2Ru(I)]2M][PF6]6 M = Ru, Os, Fe, Co) complexes bridged by 4'-(2,2'-bipyridin-4-yl)-2,2':6',2'-terpyridine (I) have been investigated and are compared with those of mononuclear model complexes. The electrochemical analysis using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry reveals that there are no interactions in the ground state between adjacent metal centres. However, there is strong electronic communication between the 2,2'-bipyridine and 2,2':6',2'-terpyridine components of the bridging ligand. This conclusion is supported by a step-by-step reduction of the dinuclear and trinuclear complexes and the assignment of each electrochemical process to localised ligand sites within the didentate and terdentate domains. The investigation of the electronic absorption and emission spectra reveals an energy transfer in the excited state from the terminating bipy-bound metal centres to the central terpy-bound metal centre. This indicates that the bridge is able to facilitate energy transfer in the excited state between the metal centres despite the lack of interactions in the ground state.     

Broadband rotational resonance in solid state NMR spectroscopy

A new technique for restoring nuclear magnetic dipole-dipole couplings under magic-angle spinning (MAS) in solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is described and demonstrated. In this technique, called broadband rotational resonance (BroBaRR), the coupling between a pair of nuclear spins with NMR frequency difference close (but not necessarily equal) to the MAS frequency is restored by the application of a train of weak radio-frequency pulses at a carrier frequency close to the average of the two NMR frequencies. Phase or amplitude modulation of the pulse train at half the MAS frequency splits the carrier into sidebands close to the two NMR frequencies. The pulse train then removes offsets from the exact rotational resonance condition, leading to dipolar recoupling over a bandwidth controlled by the amplitude of the pulse train. (13)C NMR experiments on uniformly (15)N,(13)C-labeled L-valineHClH(2)O powder validate the theoretical analysis. BroBaRR will be useful in studies of molecular structures by solid state NMR, for example in the detection of long-range couplings between carbons in uniformly labeled organic and biological materials.     

Synthetic Studies on Selectin Ligands/Inhibitors: One-Pot Synthesis of the Mono- and Oligo-Sulfated 2-(Tetradecyl)Hexadecyl β-D-Galacto- and Lactopyranosides as the Sulfatide Mimetics 1

Abstract

The ¹³C NMR spectra of inulin oligomers in D₂O with degree of polymerization (DP) of 3 through 9, along with two other inulin oligomer mixtures of average DP = 17 and DP = 31 were recorded. Significant variations in the chemical shift of some fructofuranose carbon signals indicates that unlike glucans, simple helical structures are not the predominant conformation for inulin oligomers—at least up to DP = 9. Models of the DP = 5 oligomer show that it should prefer a single helical conformation which however, would not be accessible to longer DP oligomers due to severe steric interactions.     

Stereocontrolled synthesis of trisubstituted cyclopropanes: expedient, atom-economical, asymmetric syntheses of (+)-Bicifadine and DOV21947

[reaction: see text] An expedient, atom-economical, asymmetric synthesis of 1-aryl-3-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexanes, including (+)-Bicifadine and DOV21947, in a single-stage through process without isolation of any intermediates has been developed. The key of this synthesis is the in-depth mechanistic understanding of the complicated epoxy nitrile coupling at each reaction stage. Therefore, the desired trisubstituted cyclopropane can be prepared in high ee and yield by controlling the reaction pathway through manipulating the nitrile anion aggregation state.