Dynamics of superionic Rb3H(SeO4)2 single crystals studied by H and Rb spin-lattice relaxation

The ¹H and ⁸⁷Rb spin-lattice relaxation and spin-spin relaxation times in superionic Rb₃H(SeO₄)₂ single crystals grown by the slow evaporation method were measured over the temperature range 160-450 K. The temperature dependencies of the ¹H T₁, T_1ρ, and T₂ are measured. In the ferroelastic phase, T₁ differs from T_1ρ, which is in turn different from T₂, although these three relaxation times converge to similar values near 410 K. This transition seems to occur at temperature which is about 40 K lower than the superionic transition temperature. The observation of liquid-like values of the ¹H T₁, T_1ρ, and T₂ in the high temperature is compatible with the phase being superionic, indicating that the destruction and reconstruction of hydrogen bonds does indeed occur at high temperature. In addition, the ⁸⁷Rb T₁ and T₂ values at high temperature were similar (on the order of milliseconds), a trend that was also observed for ¹H T₁ and T₂. This behavior is expected for most hopping-type ionic conductors, and could be attributed to interactions between the mobile ions and the neighboring group ions within the crystal. The motion giving rise to this liquid-like behavior is related to the superionic motion.     

Scaffold-based molecular design with a graph generative model

Searching for new molecules in areas like drug discovery often starts from the core structures of known molecules. Such a method has called for a strategy of designing derivative compounds retaining a particular scaffold as a substructure. On this account, our present work proposes a graph generative model that targets its use in scaffold-based molecular design. Our model accepts a molecular scaffold as input and extends it by sequentially adding atoms and bonds. The generated molecules are then guaranteed to contain the scaffold with certainty, and their properties can be controlled by conditioning the generation process on desired properties. The learned rule of extending molecules can well generalize to arbitrary kinds of scaffolds, including those unseen during learning. In the conditional generation of molecules, our model can simultaneously control multiple chemical properties despite the search space constrained by fixing the substructure. As a demonstration, we applied our model to designing inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor and show that our model can employ a simple semi-supervised extension to broaden its applicability to situations where only a small amount of data is available.

We propose a scaffold-based graph generative model for designing novel drug candidates that include the desired scaffold as a substructure.     

Lewis-Base Adducts of Group 11 Metal(I) Compounds. LXXVI Structural Studies in the Copper(I) Halide : Norbornadiene System

The structural characterizations of some copper(I) halide (CuX) adducts with norbornadiene (nbd) are recorded. CuCl : nbd (1:1)₄ (a redetermination), (2:1)_2(|), are systems both based around Cu₄Cl₄ cubane-type cluster arrays. CuBr : nbd (7:3)_(|)( 0.5 MeOH), a complex polymer with 3-symmetry, is believed to be the complex previously described as an adduct of 2:1 stoichiometry. Attempts to obtain an iodide counterpart have resulted in the definition of an ephemeral adduct CuI : MeCN (3:2)_(|). 0.5 C₇H₈ in which, remarkably, the nbd is uncoordinated; the complex is a polymer, related to the [AgX(quinoline)]_(|) (X = Cl, Br) saddle polymer.     

Radiationless transitions in electron donor-acceptor complexes: selection rules for S1 → T intersystem crossing and efficiency of S1 → S0 internal conversion

Evidence is presented which indicates that singlet → triplet intersystem crossing from the charge-transfer singlet state of electron donor-acceptor complexes is efficient only when a locally excited triplet state of a component molecule (donor or acceptor) lies below the charge-transfer singlet state.     

A facile synthesis of (6S,1′S)-(+)-hernandulcin and (6S,1′R)-(+)-epihernandulcin

A facile total synthesis of (+)-hernandulcin (1) was accomplished from (−)-isopulegol in 6 steps with 15% overall yield. Epoxidation of (−)-isopulegol with m-chloroperbenzoic acid followed by opening of the epoxide 3a with prenyl Grignard afforded the tertiary alcohol 4a with correct C-6 and C-1′ stereochemistry as a major product. Oxidation of the secondary alcohol in compound 4a to the ketone 5a was accomplished in high yield by using TPAP and N-methylmorpholine N-oxide. Conversion of the ketone 5a to α,β-unsaturated ketone via organoselenium intermediate gave (+)-hernandulcin (1). This method was also successfully applied to the synthesis of (+)-epihernandulcin (2).     

Effect of steps on the decomposition of CH3O at PdZn alloy surfaces

The decomposition of methoxide (CH(3)O) on a PdZn alloy is considered to be the rate-limiting step of steam re-forming of methanol over a Pd/ZnO catalyst. Our previous density functional (DF) studies (Langmuir 2004, 20, 8068; Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2004, 6, 4499) revealed only a very low propensity of defect-free flat (111) and (100) PdZn surfaces to promote C-H or C-O bond breaking of CH(3)O. Thus, we applied the same DF periodic slab-model approach to investigate these two routes of CH(3)O decomposition on PdZn(221) surfaces that expose Pd, (221)(Pd), and Zn, (221)(Zn), steps. C-H bond cleavage of CH(3)O is greatly facilitated on (221)(Pd): the calculated activation energy is dramatically reduced, to approximately 50 kJ mol(-1) from approximately 90 kJ mol(-1) on flat PdZn surfaces, increasing the rate constant by a factor of 10(8). The lower barrier is mainly due to a weaker interaction of the reactant CH(3)O and an enhanced interaction of the product CH(2)O with the substrate. The activation energy for C-O bond scission did not decrease on the (221)(Pd) step. On the (221)(Zn) step, the calculated reaction barriers of both decomposition routes are even higher than on flat surfaces, because of the stronger adsorption of CH(3)O. Steps (and other defects) appear to be crucial for methanol steam re-forming on Pd/ZnO catalyst; the stepped surface PdZn(221)(Pd) is a realistic model for studying the reactivity of this catalyst.     

Europium(II) and ytterbium(II) cyclic organohydroborates with agostic interactions

The divalent lanthanide bis((cyclooctane-1,5-diyl)dihydroborate) complexes {K(THF)4}2{Ln{(mu-H)2BC8H14}4} (Ln = Eu, 3; Yb, 4) were prepared by a metathesis reaction between (THF)(x)LnCl2 and K[H2BC8H14] in THF in a 1:4 molar ratio. Although the reaction ratios were varied between 1:3 and 1:6, complexes 3 and 4 were the only lanthanide 9-BBN hydroborates produced. Because of disorder of THF in crystals of 3 and 4, good single-crystal X-ray structural data could not be obtained. However, when the potassium cation was replaced by the tetramethylammonium cation or when MeTHF (2-methyltetrahydrofuran) was employed in place of THF, good quality crystals were obtained. Complexes [NMe4]2[Ln{(mu-H)2BC8H14}4] (Ln = Eu, 5; Yb, 6) were afforded by metathesis reactions of NMe4Cl with 3 and 4 in situ. On the basis of the single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, the four 9-BBN tetrahydroborate ligands are tetrahedrally arranged around the lanthanide cation in 5 and 6. The two structures differ in that one alpha-C-H bond from each of the four {(mu-H)2BC8H14}4 units exhibits an agostic interaction with Eu(II) in 5 but, in complex 6, only two of the alpha-C-H bonds form agostic interactions with Yb(II). Complexes {K(MeTHF)3}2{Ln{(mu-H)2BC8H14}4} (Ln = Eu, 7; Yb, 8) were produced by employing MeTHF in place of THF. The structures of 7 and 8 display connectivity between the anion {Ln{(mu-H)2BC8H14}4}2- and the cation {K(MeTHF)3}+, in which the potassium not only interacts directly with the hydrogens of the Ln-H-B bridged bonds but is also involved in agostic interactions with alpha-C-H bonds. By systematically examining the structures of complexes 3-8 and taking into account the previously reported complexes (THF)4Ln{(mu-H)2BC8H14}2 (Ln = Eu, 1; Yb, 2), it is concluded that Eu(II) appears to have a better ability to form agostic interactions than Yb(II) because of its larger size, even though Yb(II) has a higher positive charge density.     

Synthesis, characterization and protein adsorption behaviors of PLGA/PEG di-block co-polymer blend films

A series of poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)/poly(ethyleneglycol) (PEG) di-block copolymers were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of D,L-lactide and glycolide with different molecular weights of monomethoxy polyethyleneglycol (mPEG) 750, 2000 and 5000 as an initiator. The bulk properties of these co-polymers were characterized by using 1H NMR spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) results, in which the blend films with the di-block copolymers showed increasing surface oxygen atomic percentage with increasing PEG chain length, indicate that PEG chain segment in the di-block copolymers is surface oriented and enriched onto the surface of the blend films. The extent of protein adsorption onto the surface of these blend films was studied, using iodine radio-labeled human serum albumin, gamma globulin and human growth hormone. The protein adsorption amount was reduced for the blend films prepared with PLGA/PEG 750 and 2000 di-block copolymers, but increased to a great extent for PLGA/PEG 5000 di-block copolymer. This is due to the increased water uptake capacity of the blend film, which absorbed more protein molecules into a swollen polymer matrix in addition to surface adsorption.     

Construction of Compactly Supported Shearlet Frames

Shearlet tight frames have been extensively studied in recent years due to their optimal approximation properties of cartoon-like images and their unified treatment of the continuum and digital settings. However, these studies only concerned shearlet tight frames generated by a band-limited shearlet, whereas for practical purposes compact support in spatial domain is crucial.