Structure, 31P and 13C chemical shift anisotrophy of (CH3)3P, (CH3)3PO, (CH3)3PS and (CH3)3PSe as determined by liquid crystal NMR spectroscopy

The ¹³P and ¹³C spectra of the triply ¹³C labelled molecules (CH₃)₃P, (CH₃)₃PO, (CH₃)₃PS and (CH₃)₃PSe oriented in a nematic phase are reported. The CPC bond angles have been measured. The ¹³P chemical shift tensor shows a large anisotropy except in the case of (CH₃)₃P. The abnormal large value observed for the PSe bond length suggests a large anisotropy of the ¹J(PSe) spin coupling.     

Bio serves nano: biological light-harvesting complex as energy donor for semiconductor quantum dots

Light-harvesting complex (LHCII) of the photosynthetic apparatus in plants is attached to type-II core-shell CdTe/CdSe/ZnS nanocrystals (quantum dots, QD) exhibiting an absorption band at 710 nm and carrying a dihydrolipoic acid coating for water solubility. LHCII stays functional upon binding to the QD surface and enhances the light utilization of the QDs significantly, similar to its light-harvesting function in photosynthesis. Electronic excitation energy transfer of about 50% efficiency is shown by donor (LHCII) fluorescence quenching as well as sensitized acceptor (QD) emission and corroborated by time-resolved fluorescence measurements. The energy transfer efficiency is commensurable with the expected efficiency calculated according to F?rster theory on the basis of the estimated donor-acceptor separation. Light harvesting is particularly efficient in the red spectral domain where QD absorption is relatively low. Excitation over the entire visible spectrum is further improved by complementing the biological pigments in LHCII with a dye attached to the apoprotein; the dye has been chosen to absorb in the "green gap" of the LHCII absorption spectrum and transfers its excitation energy ultimately to QD. This is the first report of a biological light-harvesting complex serving an inorganic semiconductor nanocrystal. Due to the charge separation between the core and the shell in type-II QDs the presented LHCII-QD hybrid complexes are potentially interesting for sensitized charge-transfer and photovoltaic applications.     

Evaluation of Spectroscopic and Morphological Properties of PMMA Modified with ILs

Summary: In recent years, an important class of new compounds, ionic liquids (ILs), has been investigated as additives for polymers. In this work, we carried out the synthesis of 4 different ILs: 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMIM.BF₄), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIM.PF₆), and the chiral ILs acetyl-(−)menthol-1-buthylimidazole tetrafluoroborate ([amebim]BF₄) and acetyl-(−)menthol-1-buthylimidazole hexafluorophosphate ([amebim]PF₆). These ILs were added to poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) in 10, 20 and 30% ratios by weight and the ILs, PMMA and the obtained materials (PMMA:ILs) were characterized by infrared, visible spectroscopy and atomic force microscope. The ILs added to PMMA did not provide significant changes in the infrared spectra, compared to pure PMMA. However, the absorption spectra in the visible region of the PMMA:ILs materials showed differences, compared to the spectrum of pure PMMA.     

Structure de la gouregine,alcaloïde orginal apparente aux cularines

The structure of guoregine, a new isoquinoline alkaloid from $\text{G}$$\text{u}$$\text{a}$$\text{t}$$\text{t}$$\text{e}$$\text{r}$$\text{i}$$\text{a}$$\text{o}$$\text{u}$$\text{r}$$\text{e}$$\text{g}$$\text{o}$$\text{u}$, Annonaceae, has been deduced by spectral analysis and confirmed by an X-ray structure determination. It is the first member of a new class of cularine-related alkaloids (α-$\text{g}$$\text{e}$$\text{m}$-dimetyltetradehydrocularines).     

Theoretical study on the structures and electronic spectra of TCNE2-.

Investigations into the charge-separated states and electron-transfer transitions in tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) complexes have recently generated much interest. In this work we present theoretical calculations showing that the most stable structure of the dianion TCNE2- has D2d symmetry in vacuum as well as in the solvents dichloromethane and acetonitrile. By means of the coupled cluster linear response, we compute the vertical electronic spectrum in both the gas phase and solution. The theoretical results are compared to the experimental data and good agreement is achieved.     

Systematic errors in computed alkane energies using B3LYP and other popular DFT functionals

[structure: see text] Energies computed by B3LYP and other popular DFT functionals are flawed by systematic errors, which can become considerable for larger molecules. These errors, predominately due to inadequacies in assessing longer-range nonbonded attractive effects (dispersion), are illustrated by the isodesmic stabilization energies of n-alkanes (based on methane and ethane, which have no stabilizing 1,3-alkyl group interactions). Newer functionals, designed to describe weak interactions, give somewhat better agreement with experiment, but are not fully satisfactory.     

Expedient synthesis of cyclopropane alpha-amino acids by the catalytic asymmetric cyclopropanation of alkenes using iodonium ylides derived from methyl nitroacetate

A highly enantioselective (up to 97.5% ee) and diastereoselective (95:5 dr trans/cis) Cu(I)-catalyzed cyclopropanation of alkenes using phenyliodonium ylide generated in situ from iodosobenzene and methyl nitroacetate is reported. The cyclopropanation took place with high enantioselectivity for a wide range of alkenes, and the reaction was performed at room temperature. 1-Nitrocyclopropyl esters are versatile building blocks to access the corresponding cyclopropane amino esters and aminocyclopropanes in two and three steps, respectively, from commercially available products.     

Comportement asymptotique des solutions d'un système elliptique conservatif non linéaire

Let M be a compact riemannian manifold; in a previous article we show that every non- negative solution of u_tt + Δ_g u=f(u) on M ×R ⁺, satisfying Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions, converges to a (stationary) solution Φ of Δ_g Φ=f(Φ) with exponential decay of ∥u - Φ∥c²(M), if we assume that f behaves like r? r^p - λr. We extend this result to a system in the following form $$\left\{ {\begin{array}{*{20}c} {u_{tt} + \Delta _g u + \alpha u - G_x (u,\upsilon ) = 0,} \\ {u_{tt} + \Delta _g \upsilon + \beta \upsilon - G_x (u,\upsilon ) = 0,} \\ \end{array} } \right.$$ . where G satisfies some growth and convexity properties.     

Designing a majorization scheme for the recourse function in two-stage stochastic linear programming

We discuss issues pertaining to the domination from above of the second-stage recourse function of a stochastic linear program and we present a scheme to majorize this function using a simpler sublinear function. This majorization is constructed using special geometrical attributes of the recourse function. The result is a proper, simplicial function with a simple characterization which is well-suited for calculations of its expectation as required in the computation of stochastic programs. Experiments indicate that the majorizing function is well-behaved and stable.     

Synthesis of cobalt ferrite core/metallic shell nanoparticles for the development of a specific PNA/DNA biosensor

Controlled synthesis of cobalt ferrite superparamagnetic nanoparticles covered with a gold shell has been achieved by an affinity and trap strategy. Magnetic nanoparticles are functionalized with a mixture of amino and thiol groups that facilitate the electrostatic attraction and further chemisorption of gold nanoparticles, respectively. Using these nanoparticles as seeds, a complete coating shell is achieved by gold salt-iterative reduction leading to monodisperse water-soluble gold-covered magnetic nanoparticles, with an average diameter ranging from 21 to 29 nm. These constitute a versatile platform for immobilization of biomolecules via thiol chemistry, which is exemplified by the immobilization of peptide nucleic acid (PNA) oligomers that specifically hybridize with complementary DNA molecules in solution. Hybridation with DNA probes has been measured using Rhodamine 6G fluorescence marker and the detection of a single nucleotide mutation has been achieved. These results suggest the PNA-nanoparticles application as a biosensor for DNA genotyping avoiding commonly time-consuming procedures employed.