Synchronization Analysis of Coupled Noncoherent Oscillators

We present two different approaches to detect and quantify phase synchronization in the case of coupled non-phase coherent oscillators. The first one is based on the general idea of curvature of an arbitrary curve. The second one is based on recurrences of the trajectory in phase space. We illustrate both methods in the paradigmatic example of the R?ssler system in the funnel regime. We show that the second method is applicable even in the case of noisy data. Furthermore, we extend the second approach to the application of chains of coupled systems, which allows us to detect easily clusters of synchronized oscillators. In order to illustrate the applicability of this approach, we show the results of the algorithm applied to experimental data from a population of 64 electrochemical oscillators.     

XPS investigations of ink‐jet printed paper

Different ink‐jet printed paper materials were investigated using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) yielding the elemental composition of the near‐surface region of the papers. We found significant differences with respect to the detected elements and their atomic concentrations in the different inks studied here. Two different groups of inks could be identified by means of a lower ratio of the O and C atomic concentrations and lower concentrations in specific trace elements like Mg, Na and Si. High‐resolution spectra of C 1s and O 1s core levels allowed a detailed determination of the chemical state of the respective elements. On the basis of a detailed deconvolution of these XPS signals, significant differences between all the investigated ink‐jet printed papers were found, thereby allowing their discrimination. The applicability of the measurements and, more generally, the XPS technique for forensic investigations of paper are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Equilibrium Structure of Methyl Fluoride

The equilibrium structure of CH₃F has been determined using new sets of accurate rotational constants that have been determined by taking into account all the interactions between the excited vibrational states. This experimental structure is in excellent agreement with the equilibrium geometry calculated at the CCSD(T) level of theory with the cc-pV(5, Q)Z basis set (including corrections for the core correlation and for the effect of diffuse functions on fluorine). Finally, the experimental and ab initio structures have been combined by a least-squares analysis. The results are , and L _e(HCH) = 110.2 (1)°, where the uncertainties shown in parentheses correspond to three standard deviations.     

New features in the catalytic cycle of cytochrome P450 during the formation of compound I from compound 0

Density functional theory (DFT) is applied to the dark section of the catalytic cycle of the enzyme cytochrome P450, namely, the formation of the active species, Compound I (Cpd I), from the ferric-hydroperoxide species (Cpd 0) by a protonation-assisted mechanism. The chosen 96-atom model includes the key functionalities deduced from experiment: Asp(251), Thr(252), Glu(366), and the water channels that relay the protons. The DFT model calculations show that (a) Cpd I is not formed spontaneously from Cpd 0 by direct protonation, nor is the process very exothermic. The process is virtually thermoneutral and involves a significant barrier such that formation of Cpd I is not facile on this route. (b) Along the protonation pathway, there exists an intermediate, a protonated Cpd 0, which is a potent oxidant since it is a ferric complex of water oxide. Preliminary quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical calculations confirm that Cpd 0 and Cpd I are of similar energy for the chosen model and that protonated Cpd 0 may exist as an unstable intermediate. The paper also addresses the essential role of Thr(252) as a hydrogen-bond acceptor (in accord with mutation studies of the OH group to OMe).     

Comparative investigation of ruthenium-based metathesis catalysts bearing N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands

Exchange of one PCy3 unit of the classical Grubbs catalyst 1 by N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands leads to "second-generation" metathesis catalysts of superior reactivity and increased stability. Several complexes of this type have been prepared and fully characterized, six of them by X-ray crystallography. These include the unique chelate complexes 13 and 14 in which the NHC- and the Ru-CR entities are tethered to form a metallacycle. A particularly favorable design feature is that the reactivity of such catalysts can be easily adjusted by changing the electronic and steric properties of the NHC ligands. The catalytic activity also strongly depends on the solvent used; NMR investigations provide a tentative explanation of this effect. Applications of the "second-generation" catalysts to ring closing alkene metathesis and intramolecular enyne cycloisomerization reactions provide insights into their catalytic performance. From these comparative studies it is deduced that no single catalyst is optimal for different types of applications. The search for the most reactive catalyst for a specific transformation is facilitated by IR thermography allowing a rapid and semi-quantitative ranking among a given set of catalysts.     

Chiral recognition and separation of beta2-amino acids using non-covalently molecularly imprinted polymers

Non-covalently molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for beta2-amino acids were prepared for the first time. N-(2-chlorobenzyloxycarbonyl)-(R)-beta2-homophenylalanine (N-2-ClZ-(R)-beta2-HPhe) was imprinted with methacrylic acid (MAA) and/or 4-vinylpyridine (4-VPy) as the functional monomers, with ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) as the cross-linker. The MIPs made with different ratios of MAA:4-VPy were studied in HPLC mode. The results show that MIPs made with 4-VPy yielded the best chiral separation factor (alpha= 1.86) for the template molecule. The importance for an efficient separation of pi-stacking interactions between the MIPs and the template molecule is demonstrated. Racemates of Z-alpha-amino acids and beta-amino acid analogues of the template were either not or poorly resolved by the MIPs, thus demonstrating the close three-dimensional complementarity of the MIPs' recognition sites with the template.     

Gaseous alkyne ions

Using the relative abundance of metastable ions, collisional activation spectra, field ionization kinetic measurements, isotopic labelling, appearance energy and kinetic energy release data, it is shown that linear alkyne radical cations with more than six carbon atoms do not isomerize to equilibrating structures prior to decomposition. At the shortest ion lifetimes the molecular ions of linear alkynes decompose mainly by simple β-bond fission which allows an unequivocal localization of the triple bond. At medium ion lifetimes fragmentation occurs predominantly via a McLafferty rearrangement, while at long ion lifetimes competing alkyl losses prevail. These alkyl losses occur via cyclic intermediates leading to thermochemically stable cycloalkenyl ions. All these reactions occur with a high specificity with respect to the carbon and hydrogen atoms involved and are preceded by little or no hydrogen exchange reactions.     

Reference Energies in Semiempirical Parametrizations

The MNDO scheme has been reparametrized for hydrocarbons using both molecular binding energies and heats of formation at 0 K as experimental reference data. Compared with MNDO, there are only minor changes in the optimized parameters, and the results are essentially of the same accuracy. These tests justify the use of heats of formation at 298 K as reference data in the original MNDO parametrization.     

Atomic structure of Beta-tantalum nanocrystallites.

The structural properties of beta-phase tantalum nanocrystallites prepared by room temperature magnetron sputter deposition on amorphous carbon substrates are investigated at atomic resolution. For these purposes spherical aberration-corrected high-resolution transmission electron microscopy is applied in tandem with the numerical retrieval of the exit-plane wavefunction as obtained from a through-focus series of experimental micrographs. We demonstrate that recent improvements in the resolving power of electron microscopes enable the imaging of the atomic structure of beta-tantalum with column spacings of solely 0.127 nm with directly interpretable contrast features. For the first time ever, we substantiate the existence of grain boundaries of 30 degrees tilt type in beta-Ta whose formation may be well explained by atomic agglomeration processes taking place during sputter deposition.