Comparison of the structure and magnetic order in a series of layered Ni(II) organophosphonates, Ni[(RPO3)(H2O)] (R = C6H5, CH3, C18H37)

The reaction of nickel chloride with phenyl phosphonic acid under hydrothermal conditions resulted in the isolation of yellow-green single crystals of Ni[(C(6)H(5)PO(3))(H(2)O)]. The structure of the compound has been solved by X-ray single-crystal diffraction studies. Ni[(C(6)H(5)PO(3))(H(2)O)] crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pmn2(1) and is isostructural with the Mn(II), Fe(II), and Co(II) analogues. It presents the typical features of the hybrid 2D structures, consisting of alternating inorganic and organic layers. The former are formed by six-coordinated nickel(II) ions bridged by oxygen atoms into the layers. The inorganic layers are capped by the phenyl phosphonate groups, with phenyl groups of two adjacent ligands forming a hydrophobic bilayer region, and van der Waals contacts are established between them. The magnetic properties investigated by means of dc and ac susceptibility measurements point to an AF exchange coupling between nearest neighboring Ni(II) ions. Below 5 K, the compound orders magnetically showing the typical features of a canted antiferromagnet. The magnetic behavior and magnetic dimensionality of Ni[(C(6)H(5)PO(3))(H(2)O)] have been fully analyzed and compared to those of the Ni(II) parent compounds Ni[(RPO(3))(H(2)O)] (where R = CH(3), C(18)H(37)), which exhibit different symmetries of the inorganic layers and lengths of the R groups.     

Multiplicative K-theory and K-theory of Functors

In this article we give a construction of Max Karoubi’s multiplicative K-theory as the K-theory of an appropriate functor between two categories. We use this construction to explain why the two definitions of relative multiplicative K-theory for a compact pair of manifolds we give in the article agree. Part of this work has been done while I was holding an EEC postdoctoral position funded by the network ‘Algebraic K-theory, linear algebraic groups and related structures’ at University College Dublin. I would like to thank Professor David Lewis for inviting me to Dublin. During the later stages of the work, I was supported by EPSERC grant GR/S08046/01.     

Photoenhanced uptake of NO2 by pyrene solid films

We report uptake kinetics measurements of the heterogeneous reaction of gas phase NO2 with solid films of pyrene. By using a coated flow tube equipped with several near-ultraviolet (UV) emitting lamps (range 300-420 nm), we examined the effect of actinic radiation on the heterogeneous loss kinetics of nitrogen dioxide. With atmospherically relevant concentrations of NO2, (20-119 ppbv), the uptake ranged from below 10(-7) in the dark to 3.5 x 10(-6) under near-UV irradiation. Under illuminated conditions, the uptake coefficient decreased markedly with increasing gas-phase concentration, suggestive of a Langmuir-Hinshelwood-type surface reaction mechanism. The NO2 reactivity was not a function of deposited Pyrene mass or of the relative humidity (in the range 10-89%) and depended linearly on the intensity of illumination. Gas-phase product analysis indicated that approximately 50% of the NO2 loss could be accounted for by HONO and NO release. These experimental results are discussed along with a possible nitration mechanism.     

Bifurcation for minimal surface equation in hyperbolic 3-manifolds

Initiated by the work of Uhlenbeck in late 1970s, we study existence, multiplicity and asymptotic behavior for minimal immersions of a closed surface in some hyperbolic three-manifold, with prescribed conformal structure on the surface and second fundamental form of the immersion. We prove several results in these directions, by analyzing the Gauss equation governing the immersion. We determine when existence holds, and obtain unique stable solutions for area minimizing immersions. Furthermore, we find exactly when other (unstable) solutions exist and study how they blow-up. We prove our class of unstable solutions exhibit different blow-up behaviors when the surface is of genus two or greater. We establish similar results for the blow-up behavior of any general family of unstable solutions. This information allows us to consider similar minimal immersion problems when the total extrinsic curvature is also prescribed.     

Electrochemical milling and faceting: size reduction and catalytic activation of palladium nanoparticles

Improved performance through milling: A method for enhancing the catalytic activity of supported metal nanoparticles is reported. This method enhances the activity for the ethanol electro-oxidation of a supported palladium catalyst. The much higher catalytic performance is ascribed to the increased electrochemically active surface area as well as the generation of high-index facets at the milled nanoparticle surface.     

X-ray spectroscopy of heterocyclic biochemicals: xanthine, hypoxanthine, and caffeine

The electronic structures of the purine derivatives xanthine, hypoxanthine and caffeine have been investigated in the gas phase using C, N, and O 1s X-ray photoemission (XPS) and near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy. The results have been interpreted by means of ab initio calculations using the third-order algebraic-diagrammatic construction (ADC(3)) method for the one-particle Green's function and the second-order ADC method (ADC(2)) for the polarization propagator. The carbon, nitrogen and oxygen K-edge NEXAFS spectra of xanthine and caffeine are very similar, since the molecules differ only by substitution of three hydrogen atoms by methyl groups. For hypoxanthine, the electronic structure and spectra differ considerably from xanthine as the purine ring is more highly conjugated, and there is one less oxo group. Effects due to oxo-hydroxy tautomerism were not observed. However, the two oxo tautomeric forms of hypoxanthine oxo-N(9)-H and oxo-N(7)-H are populated in the gas phase, and the C 1s spectra can be simulated only by taking account of these two tautomers, with appropriate Boltzmann population ratios which we have also calculated. For xanthine and caffeine, single tautomeric forms were observed.     

Molecular ordering and structure of quasi-spherical solutes by liquid crystal NMR and Monte Carlo simulations: the case of norbornadiene

Norbornadiene (a C2v symmetry bicyclic rigid hydrocarbon) dissolved in three different nematic mesophases has been studied by liquid crystal NMR, to contribute to a better understanding of the influence of solvents on the solute's ordering and structure. The main results achieved by this work can be summarized as follows: (i) the order parameters obtained by the analysis of the 1H NMR spectra (at different temperatures) were successfully reproduced by a recently proposed model of solute/liquid crystal interactions, by using Monte Carlo numerical simulations; (ii) the theoretical (B3LYP/6-31++G**) "equilibrium" geometry of norbornadiene, vibrationally corrected by using the force field calculated at the same level, is compatible (within, at most, a 5% error) with experimental LXNMR data. This leads to the conclusion that the structure is not significantly distorted by the tested solvents.     

Influence of astaxanthin, zeaxanthin and lutein on DNA damage and repair in UVA-irradiated cells

In order to gain more knowledge about the antioxidant role of the predominant carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin) of the human retina, this study investigated their antioxidant activity and capacity. Astaxanthin was also studied, because its structure is very close to that of lutein and zeaxanthin. The antioxidant activity of these molecules was evaluated using chemiluminescence techniques, with lucigenin and luminol as chemiluminogenic probes for the superoxide radical and hydrogen peroxide, respectively. It was found that all three carotenoids have similar superoxide-scavenging activity. The effect on the reduction of H(2)O(2)-luminol chemiluminescence was present in the following order, zeaxanthin>astaxanthinlutein. Possible antioxidant capacity of these three compounds was sought using a biological system consisting of SK.N.SH human neuroblastoma and rat trachea epithelial cells subjected to oxidative stress from exposure to UVA radiation. In particular, we determined whether these compounds were capable of minimizing DNA damage and influencing the kinetics of DNA repair. DNA damage was assessed using the Comet assay, a rapid and sensitive single-cell gel electrophoresis technique used to detect primary DNA damage in individual cells. Neuroblastoma cells appeared more resistant to oxidative irradiation insult. The presence of carotenoids reduced DNA damage when rat epithelial cells were exposed to UVA radiation for 2min. A different result was obtained in experiments performed on neuroblastoma cells; in this case, the presence of carotenoid during UVA exposition increased the damage. The addition of carotenoids to epithelial cells after 2min of UVA exposition did not seem to improve the kinetics of DNA repair; on the contrary, zeaxanthin (after 60' incubation) and lutein (after 180' incubation) showed a genotoxic effect. The addition of carotenoids to neuroblastoma cells after 30' UVA exposition positively influences the kinetics of DNA repair in the first 15min of incubation. At longer exposition times, while the behaviour measured was not constant, a genotoxic effect was not observed. The data from this study provide additional information on the antioxidant and pro-oxidant activities of the predominant macular pigment carotenoids of the human retina.     

Organic-organic epitaxy of incommensurate systems: quaterthiophene on potassium hydrogen phthalate single crystals

Hot-wall epitaxy and molecular-beam epitaxy have been employed for growing quaterthiophene thin films on the (010) cleavage face of potassium hydrogen phthalate, and the results are compared in terms of film properties and growth mode. Even if there is no geometrical match between substrate and overlayer lattices, these films are epitaxially oriented. To investigate the physical rationale for this strong orientation effect, optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray diffraction are employed. A clear correlation between the morphology of the thin films and the crystallographic orientation is found. The results are also validated by surface potential calculations, which demonstrate the primary role played by the corrugation of the substrate surface.