Electric quadrupole model on the formation of molecular chirality dependent domain shapes of lipid monolayers at the air-water interface

Shapes and orientational deformation of a lipid monolayer domain have been analyzed taking into account the surface pressure, line tension, and electrostatic energy due to the spontaneous polarization and electric quadrupole density generated from the domain. The electrostatic energy due to the generation of spontaneous polarization and electric quadrupole density contributes to the formation of orientational deformation as the Frank elastic energy and spontaneous splay, respectively. Since the orientational configuration of the electric quadrupole density and in-plane spontaneous polarization is dependent on the molecular chirality, and the positive splay deformation of electric quadrupole density is induced by the spontaneous splay, the bending direction of in-plane spontaneous polarization depends on the chirality of constituent lipids. The electrostatic energy due to the in-plane spontaneous polarization is dependent on the orientational deformation of in-plane spontaneous polarization, and bends the domain shape towards the bending direction of the in-plane spontaneous polarization. It has been demonstrated that the chiral dependence of the domain shapes of lipid monolayers originated from the chiral dependence of orientational structure due to the electric quadrupole density.     

The rotational spectrum of the NiS radical in the X3Sigma- state

The rotational spectrum of the NiS radical in the X(3)Sigma(-) state was observed by employing a source-modulation microwave spectrometer. The NiS radical was generated in a free space cell by a dc glow discharge in H(2)S diluted with Ar. The nickel atoms were supplied by the sputtering reaction from a nickel cathode. Rotational transitions with J = 11-10 to 25-24 were measured in the region between 135 and 314 GHz. Rotational, centrifugal distortion and several fine-structure constants were determined by a least-squares analysis. Other spectroscopic parameters such as dissociation energy, vibrational wavenumber and equilibrium bond length were also derived from the determined molecular constants. Excitation energies of the lowest (3)Pi and (1)Sigma(+) states were estimated from the fine-structure constants, lambda and gamma.     

N‐Heterocyclic Carbenes as Efficient Organocatalysts for CO2 Fixation Reactions

Getting a fix : N‐heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) and NHC–CO₂ adducts serve as potent organocatalysts for carbonate synthesis by the addition of a CO₂ unit to propargylic alcohols or epoxides under mild and solvent‐free reaction conditions (see scheme). The enhanced Lewis basicity of imidazol‐2‐ylidenes bearing electron‐donating alkyl groups on the nitrogen atoms leads to utilizing CO₂ as a nucleophilic fragment in the chemical fixation processes.

     

Theory of nanoparticle diffusion in unentangled and entangled polymer melts

We propose a statistical dynamical theory for the violation of the hydrodynamic Stokes-Einstein (SE) diffusion law for a spherical nanoparticle in entangled and unentangled polymer melts based on a combination of mode coupling, Brownian motion, and polymer physics ideas. The non-hydrodynamic friction coefficient is related to microscopic equilibrium structure and the length-scale-dependent polymer melt collective density fluctuation relaxation time. When local packing correlations are neglected, analytic scaling laws (with numerical prefactors) in various regimes are derived for the non-hydrodynamic diffusivity as a function of particle size, polymer radius-of-gyration, tube diameter, degree of entanglement, melt density, and temperature. Entanglement effects are the origin of large SE violations (orders of magnitude mobility enhancement) which smoothly increase as the ratio of particle radius to tube diameter decreases. Various crossover conditions for the recovery of the SE law are derived, which are qualitatively distinct for unentangled and entangled melts. The dynamical influence of packing correlations due to both repulsive and interfacial attractive forces is investigated. A central finding is that melt packing fraction, temperature, and interfacial attraction strength all influence the SE violation in qualitatively different directions depending on whether the polymers are entangled or not. Entangled systems exhibit seemingly anomalous trends as a function of these variables as a consequence of the non-diffusive nature of collective density fluctuation relaxation and the different response of polymer-particle structural correlations to adsorption on the mesoscopic entanglement length scale. The theory is in surprisingly good agreement with recent melt experiments, and new parametric studies are suggested.     

19F NMR characterization of the thermodynamics and dynamics of the acid-alkaline transition in a reconstituted sperm whale metmyoglobin

A 19F NMR study on the acid-alkaline transition in sperm whale myoglobin reconstituted with a perfluoromethyl heme, 13,17-bis(2-carboxylatoethyl)-3,8-diethyl-2,12,18-trimethyl-7-trifluoromethylporphyrinatoiron(III), demonstrated that the thermodynamics of the transition is predominantly controlled by the stability of acidic form.     

A versatile scaffold for facile synthesis of fluorescent cyano-substituted stilbenes

Here we report the facile derivatization of a cyano-substituted stilbene into higher π-extended analogues. The cyano-substituted stilbene, which serves as a synthetic scaffold, has a bromo group and a formyl group on its 4- and 4′-position of the phenylene rings and thus readily undergoes selective transformation into other functional groups using various simple organic reactions. The resultant π-conjugated molecules that contain a cyano-substituted stilbene skeleton exhibit fluorescence in solution and in the solid state.     

High pressure and high temperature investigations in the system MgOSiO2H2O

The system MgOSiO₂H₂O was investigated at pressures between 40 and 95 kbar and at temperatures between 500 and 1400°C. The reaction products were examined by X-ray, optical and thermal analysis techniques and the density of phase A discovered by Ringwood and Major was also measured. It was found that phase A was hydrated and its chemical formula was H₆Mg₇Si₂O₁₄. When the $\text{Mg}\text{Si}$ ratio of the system is 2, phase A + clinoenstatite, and forsterite are stable at temperatures lower and higher than a boundary curve T (°C) = 10P (kbar), respectively. When the $\text{Mg}\text{Si}$ ratio of the system is 3, phase A + phase D (which is completely different from the phases, A, B and C discovered by Ringwood and Major, and any other known phases of magnesium silicate) and phase D + brucite are stable at temperatures lower and higher than a boundary curve T(°C) = 10P (kbar) + 200. Phase A has approximately an hexagonal symmetry and the space group and the lattice parameters are determined as P6₃ or $\text{P6}{}_3\text{m}$ and a = 7.866(2) Å and c = 9.600(3) Å, respectively. The measured density is 2.96 ± 0.02 g/cm³. The optical observations show that phase A is biaxial positive crystal with refractive indices α = 1.638 ± 0.001, β = 1.640 ± 0.002, and γ = 1.649 ± 0.001. Some interpretation is given on the inconsistency between the symmetry determined by the X-ray diffraction and the optical observation. The new phase D belongs to the space group $\text{P2}{}_1\text{c}$ with lattice parameters a = 7.914(2)Å, b = 4.752(1) Å, c = 10.350(2) Å and β = 108.71(5)° and is a biaxial crystal with refractive indices α = 1.630 ± 0.002, β = 1.642 ± 0.002 and γ = 1.658 ± 0.001.     

Solvent extraction of the ion-pairs of chromium(VI) and molybdenum(VI) with trioctylmethylammonium chloride and benzyldimethylcetylammonium chloride

The number of capriquat molecules per chromium(VI) atom in the chromate-capriquat ion-association complex has been found to be between one and two. The distribution ratio in the extraction of chromium(VI) with capriquat is dependent on the dielectric constant of the organic solvent, with a minimum at a dielectric constant of about 8. The absorption spectra of the ion-pair extracted into cyclohexane, carbon tetrachloride, benzene and n-butanol are very similar to that of chromate in aqueous solution. The absorption spectra of the chromium(VI)-capriquat extracts in these organic solvents gradually change to an absorption spectrum similar to that of HCrO(4)(-) in aqueous solution. Chromium(VI)-capriquat extracted into chloroform and 1,2-dichloroethane gives absorption spectra similar to that of HCrO(4)(-)in aqueous medium. The chromium(VI)-capriquat species extracted into 1,2-dichloroethane may be (Q(+))(2).CrO(4)(2-)(H(2)O)(n). In contrast, chromium(VI) is extracted with capriquat into the other organic solvents from ammoniacal medium as a mixture of (Q(+))(2).CrO(4)(2-)(H(2)O)(n) and Q(+).NH(4)(+).CrO(4)(2-)(H(2)O)(n). The spectral change is ascribed to the change of the extracted species from (Q(+))(2).CrO(4)(2-)(H(2)O)(n) and Q(+)NH(4)(+).CrO(4)(-)(H(2)O)(n) to Q(+).HCrO(4)(2-)(H(2)O)(n-1). The chromium(VI)-zephiramine species extracted is formulated as (Q(+), NH(4)(+))(2)CrO(4)(2-)(H(2)O)(n).(Q(+).Cl(-))(m). Molybdenum(VI) is extracted with capriquat into the same organic solvents as a mixture of (Q(+))(2).MoO(4)(2-)(H(2)O)(n) and Q(+).NH(4)(+).MoO(4)(2-).(H(2)O)(n).     

Determination of environmental actinide nuclides and210Pb(210Po) by low-energy photon spectrometry with alpha-spectrometry

Low-energy photon spectrometry with -spectrometry was used to determine the environmental concentrations of low-level actinides and other nuclides, especially²¹⁰Pb and²¹⁰Po. The isotopic ratio of²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu was successfully determined by measuring L_x-ray/-ray counting ratio. A reliable method has been developed for the determination of extremely low-level²³⁷Np global fallout in environmental samples. The non-destructive determination by Ge-LEPS for natural²¹⁰Pb in various samples (tobacco leaves, commercially available tobacco, etc.) was also carried out with the determination of²¹⁰Po by -spectrometry using²⁰⁹Po as a yield tracer.