Synthesis, structure and magnetic properties of Nd3+ and Pr3+ 2D polymers with tetrafluoro-p-phthalate

Two lanthanide tetrafluoro-p-phthalate (L(2-)) complexes, Ln(L)(1.5)·DMF·H(2)O (Ln = Pr(3+) (1), Nd(3+) (2)), were synthesized using pyridine as a base. The compounds were found to be isostructural, and the structure of 1 has been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction (monoclinic, space group C2, a = 22.194(2) ?, b = 11.4347(12) ?, c = 11.7160(12) ?, β = 94.703(2)°, V = 2963.3(5) ?(3), Z = 4). The crystal structure of 1 consists of dinuclear Pr(3+) units, which are connected by tetrafluoro-p-phthalate, forming separate 2D polymeric layers. The Ln(3+) ions in the dinuclear Ln(2) units are linked by two μ-O atoms and by two bridging O-C-O groups. The structure is porous with DMF and water molecules located between layers. Non-coordinated DMF molecules occupy about 27% of the unit cell volume. A systematic analysis of reported structures of Ln(III) polymers with p-phthalate and its derivatives shows that the ca. known 60 structures can be divided into six possible structural types depending on the presence of certain structural motifs. The magnetic properties of compounds 1 and 2 were studied. The dependence of χ(M)T on T (where χ(M) is magnetic susceptibility per dinuclear lanthanide unit) for 1 and 2 was simulated using two different models, based on: (i) the Hamiltonian ? = Δ?(z)(2)+ μ(B)g(J)H?, which utilises an axial splitting parameter Δ and temperature-independent paramagnetism (tip) and (ii) crystal field splitting. It was found that both models gave satisfactory fits, indicating that the Ln-Ln exchange interactions are small and the symmetry of the coordination environment is the main factor influencing the magnetic properties of these compounds.     

Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Study of Folded Ubiquitin Conformers Induced By Treatment with <Emphasis Type="Italic">cis</Emphasis>-[Pd(en)(H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O)<Subscript>2</Subscript>]<Superscript>2+</Superscript>

Ion mobility-mass spectrometry is used to study the new conformers of bovine ubiquitin (Ub) and the palladium(II) binding sites after the incubation with cis-[Pd(en)(H₂O)₂]²⁺ where en = ethylenediamine. Palladium(II) complexes are potentially useful proteomic reagents because they selectively bind to the side groups of methionine and histidine and hydrolytically cleave the peptide bond. Incubating 1.0 mM solution of Ub with 10.0 molar excess of cis-[Pd(en)(H₂O)₂]²⁺ results with one to four Pd²⁺ or Pd(en)²⁺ being attached to intact Ub and two conformer families at each of the 4+ to 11+ charge states. The 4+ and 5+ species exhibit a compact form, which is also observed in untreated Ub, and a new highly folded conformer. The 6+ to 10+ exhibit an elongated form, also observed in Ub, and a new partially folded conformer. The new conformers are shown to be more stable if they contain at least one Pd²⁺, rather than all Pd(en)²⁺. IM-MS/MS of [UbPd₂en+5H]⁹⁺ shows that both the partially folded and elongated conformers first lose the en ligand, followed by dissociating into product ions that indicate that Met1, Glu51/Asp52, His68, and Glu16 are binding sites for Pd²⁺. These results suggest that Pd²⁺ is simultaneously binding to multiple side groups across different regions of Ub. This type of sequestering of Pd²⁺ probably reduces the efficiency of Pd²⁺ ions to selectively cleave Ub because it prevents Pd²⁺ anchoring to only Met or His and to an adjacent backbone amide nitrogen and forming the “activated complex” necessary for specific peptide bond cleavage.     

Solution processable high band gap hosts based on carbazole functionalized cyclic phosphazene cores for application in organic light‐emitting diodes

A new class of solution processable dendrimers based on cyclic phosphazene (CP) cores have been prepared and used as host materials for blue and green organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). The dendrimers are prepared in high yield from minimal step reactions, are soluble in common solvents for solution processing, are amorphous, and have excellent thermal properties necessary for application in OLEDs. OLED efficiencies of 10.3 cd/A (4.2 lm/W) and 35.3 cd/A (33.5 lm/W) were achieved using commercially available FIrpic and Ir(mppy)₃ as blue and green phosphorescent emitters, respectively. These efficiencies were 2× higher than control devices prepared using poly(N‐vinylcarbazole), the most commonly used host material in solution processed phosphorescent OLEDs. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2011     

Solid‐state NMR as a tool to describe and quantify the morphology of photoactive layers used in plastic solar cells

The optimization and control of the nanomorphology of thin films used as active layer in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) plastic solar cells is of key importance for a better understanding of the photovoltaic mechanisms and for increasing the device performances. Hereto, solid‐state NMR relaxation experiments have been evaluated to describe the film morphology of one of the “work‐horse” systems poly(2‐methoxy‐5‐(3′,7′‐dimethyloctyloxy)‐1,4‐phenylene‐vinylene)/[6, 6]‐phenyl‐C₆₁butyric acid methyl ester (MDMO‐PPV/PCBM) in a quantitative way. Attention is focused on the influence of the processing solvent (toluene vs. chlorobenzene), the blend composition, and the casting technique, that is, spin coating versus doctor blading. It is demonstrated that independently of the solvent and casting technique, part of the PCBM becomes phase separated from the mixed phase. Whereas casting from toluene results in the development of well‐defined PCBM crystallites, casting from chlorobenzene leads to the formation of PCBM‐rich domains that contain substructures of weakly organized PCBM nanoclusters. The amount and physico‐chemical state of the phase separated PCBM is quantified by solid‐state NMR relaxation times experiments. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Role of the preparation procedure in the formation of spherical and monodisperse surfactant/polyelectrolyte complexes

Complexes formed by a double-tail cationic surfactant, didodecyldimethyl ammonium bromide, and an anionic polyelectrolyte, an alternating copolymer of poly(styrene-alt-maleic acid) in its sodium salt form, were investigated with respect to variation in the charge ratio (x) between the polyelectrolyte negative charges and the surfactant positive charges. The morphology and microstructure of the complexes were studied by light microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering for different preparation conditions. Independent of the sample preparation procedure and the charge ratio x, the X-ray results show that the microscopic structure of the complexes is a condensed lamellar phase. By contrast, the morphology of the complexes changes dramatically with the preparation procedure. The complexes formed by mixing a surfactant solution and a polyelectrolyte solution strongly depend on x and are always extremely heterogeneous in size and shape. Surprisingly, we show that, when the two solutions interdiffuse slowly, spherical complexes of micrometric and rather uniform size are systematically obtained, independently on the initial relative amount of surfactant and polyelectrolyte. The mechanism for the formation of these peculiar complexes is discussed.     

Stereoselective stilbene epoxidation over supported gold-based catalysts

The gold reference catalyst Au/TiO(2) exhibits high activity in the stereoselective epoxidation of trans-stilbene in methylcyclohexane in the presence of 5 mol% TBHP, by taking part in a chain reaction involving the activation of molecular oxygen by a radical produced from methylcyclohexane.     

Evaluation of endothelial cell adhesion onto different protein/gold electrodes by EIS

To study cell attachment to biomaterials, several proteins such as fibronectin, collagen IV, heparin, immunoglobulin G, and albumin have been deposited onto polystyrene adsorbed on a self-assembled monolayer (silane or thiol) on glass or gold, respectively. The different steps of this multilayer assembly have been characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). These data are compared to those of adhesion rate, viability percentage, and cytoskeleton labeling for a better understanding of the cell adhesion process to each protein. All the proteins are endothelial cell adhering biomolecules but not with the same features. A linear relationship has been established between adhesion rate and resistance of the endothelial cell/protein interface for all negatively charged proteins.