Tuning the magnetic and electric behavior of lithium ferrite using an eco-friendly pectin sol-gel route

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - Lithium ferrite (LiFe5O8) in the cubic crystal system is a very important and versatile material for several technological applications as it possesses...     

Conversion of E4 (E4=P4, As4, AsP3) by Ni(0) and Ni(I) Synthons – A Comparative Study

The reactivity of white phosphorus and yellow arsenic towards two different nickel nacnac complexes is investigated. The nickel complexes [(L¹Ni)₂tol] ( 1 , L¹=[{N(C₆H₃ⁱPr₂-2,6)C(Me)}₂CH]⁻) and [K₂][(L¹Ni)₂(μ,η^{1 : 1}-N₂)] ( 6 ) were reacted with P₄, As₄ and the interpnictogen compound AsP₃, respectively, yielding the homobimetallic complexes [(L¹Ni)₂(μ-η²,κ¹:η²,κ¹-E₄)] (E=P ( 2 a ), As ( 2 b ), AsP₃ ( 2 c )), [(L¹Ni)₂(μ,η^{3 : 3}-E₃)] (E=P ( 3 a ), As ( 3 b )) and [K@18-c-6(thf)₂][L¹Ni(η^{1 : 1}-E₄)] (E=P ( 7 a ), As ( 7 b )), respectively. Heating of 2 a , 2 b or 2 c also leads to the formation of 3 a or 3 b . Furthermore, the reactivity of these compounds towards reduction agents was investigated, leading to [K₂][(L¹Ni)₂(μ,η^{2 : 2}-P₄)] ( 4 ) and [K@18-c-6(thf)₃][(L¹Ni)₂(μ,η^{3 : 3}-E₃)] (E=P ( 5 a ), As ( 5 b )), respectively. Compound 4 shows an unusual planarization of the initial Ni₂P₄-prism. All products were comprehensively characterized by crystallographic and spectroscopic methods.     

The Ising version of the t–J model

The t–J model is analysed in the limit of strong anisotropy, where the transverse components of electron spin are neglected. We propose a slave-particle-type approach that is valid, in contradiction to many of the standard approaches, in the low-doping regime and becomes exact for a half-filled system. We describe an effective method that allows to numerically study the system with the no-double-occupancy constraint rigorously taken into account at each lattice site. Then, we use this approach to demonstrate the destruction of the antiferromagnetic order by increasing the doping and formation of Nagaoka polarons in the strong interaction regime.     

Fourier analysis of scratches generated on m‐GaN substrates during polishing

Generation of scratches on surface of m‐plane GaN substrates due to polishing was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). For epi‐ready substrates AFM images confirm a flat surface with the atomic step roughness while a lot of scratches are visible in AFM images for partially polished GaN substrates. The Fourier analysis of AFM images show that scratches propagate easier along {c‐plane} and {a‐plane} directions on m‐plane GaN surface. This observation is an evidence of anisotropy of mechanical properties of GaN crystals in the micro‐scale. This anisotropy is directly correlated with the symmetry and atomic arrangement of m‐plane GaN.     

Photodynamic Therapy Efficacy Enhanced by Dynamics: The Role of Charge Transfer and Photostability in the Selection of Photosensitizers

Progress in the photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer should benefit from a rationale to predict the most efficient of a series of photosensitizers that strongly absorb light in the phototherapeutic window (650–800 nm) and efficiently generate reactive oxygen species (ROS=singlet oxygen and oxygen‐centered radicals). We show that the ratios between the triplet photosensitizer–O₂ interaction rate constant (k_D) and the photosensitizer decomposition rate constant (k_d), k_D/k_d, determine the relative photodynamic activities of photosensitizers against various cancer cells. The same efficacy trend is observed in vivo with DBA/2 mice bearing S91 melanoma tumors. The PDT efficacy intimately depends on the dynamics of photosensitizer–oxygen interactions: charge transfer to molecular oxygen with generation of both singlet oxygen and superoxide ion (high k_D) must be tempered by photostability (low k_d). These properties depend on the oxidation potential of the photosensitizer and are suitably combined in a new fluorinated sulfonamide bacteriochlorin, motivated by the rationale.     

Synthesis of New Chlorin e6 Trimethyl and Protoporphyrin IX Dimethyl Ester Derivatives and Their Photophysical and Electrochemical Characterizations

In view of increasing demands for efficient photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy (PDT), we herein report the synthesis and photophysical characterizations of new chlorin e₆ trimethyl ester and protoporphyrin IX dimethyl ester dyads as free bases and Zn^II complexes. The synthesis of these molecules linked at the β‐pyrrolic positions to pyrano[3,2‐c]coumarin, pyrano[3,2‐c]quinolinone, and pyrano[3,2‐c]naphthoquinone moieties was performed by using the domino Knoevenagel hetero Diels–Alder reaction. The α‐methylenechromanes, α‐methylenequinoline, and ortho‐quinone methides were generated in situ from a Knoevenagel reaction of 4‐hydroxycoumarin, 4‐hydroxy‐6‐methylcoumarin, 4‐hydroxy‐N‐methylquinolinone, and 2‐hydroxy‐1,4‐naphthoquinone, respectively, with paraformaldehyde in dioxane. All the dyads as free bases and as Zn^II complexes were obtained in high yields. All new compounds were fully characterized by 1D and 2D NMR techniques, UV/Vis spectroscopy, and HRMS. Their photophysical properties were evaluated by measuring the fluorescence quantum yield, the singlet oxygen quantum yield by luminescence detection, and also the triplet lifetimes were correlated by flash photolysis and intersystem crossing (ISC) rates. The fluorescence lifetimes were measured by a time‐correlated single photon count (TCSPC) method, fluorescence decay associated spectra (FDAS), and anisotropy measurements. Magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) and circular dichroism (CD) spectra were recorded for one Zn^II complex in order to obtain information, respectively, on the electronic and conformational states, and interpretation of these spectra was enhanced by molecular orbital (MO) calculations. Electrochemical studies of the Zn^II complexes were also carried out to gain insights into their behavior for such applications.     

Synthesis and Transformations of 5‐Chloro‐2,2′‐Dipyrrins and Their Boron Complexes, 8‐Chloro‐BODIPYs

Symmetric dipyrrylketones 1 a , b were synthesized in two steps from the corresponding α‐free pyrroles, by reaction with thiophosgene followed by oxidative hydrolysis under basic conditions. The dipyrrylketones produced the corresponding 5‐chloro‐dipyrrinium salts or 5‐ethoxy‐dipyrrins on reaction with phosgene or Meerwein’s salt, respectively. Boron complexation of the dipyrrins afforded the corresponding 8‐functionalized BODIPYs (borondipyrromethenes) in high yields. The 5‐chloro‐dipyrrinium salts reacted with methoxide or ethoxide ions to produce monopyrrole esters, presumably via a 5,5‐dialkoxy‐dipyrromethane intermediate. In contrast, 8‐chloro‐BODIPYs underwent a variety of nucleophilic substitutions of the chloro group in the presence of alkoxide ions, Grignard reagents, and thiols. In the presence of excess alkoxide or Grignard reagent, at room temperature or above, substitution at the boron center also occurred. The 8‐chloro‐BODIPY was a particularly useful reagent for the preparation of 8‐aryl‐, 8‐alkyl‐, and 8‐vinyl‐substituted BODIPYs in very high yields, using Pd⁰‐catalyzed Stille cross‐coupling reactions. The X‐ray structures of eleven BODIPYs and two pyrroles are presented, and the spectroscopic properties of the synthesized BODIPYs are discussed.     

Analytical protocol for investigation of zinc speciation in plant tissue

A specific procedure is proposed for investigating the chemical speciation of zinc (Zn) in plant tissues, viz., the extraction of Zn compounds from Plantago lanceolata L. followed by the chromatographic separation and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) identification of these compounds. In order to separate the Zn compounds, both size-exclusion (SEC) and ionexchange liquid chromatography (IC) were used in direct sequential and reverse sequential modes. In the direct sequential mode, the entire extract undergoes SEC separation and then the individual fractions are injected onto the ion-exchange column. The molecular size distribution is evaluated by SEC coupled on-line to the UV detector. In the reverse sequential mode, the entire extract undergoes the ion-exchange chromatographic separation and then the individual fractions are injected onto the size-exclusion column. The identification of Zn incorporated into the compounds is further performed using ICP-MS. This procedure is particularly useful in speciation studies when identification of the individual components of the element is problematic due to the lack of suitable standard substances, as is the case for Zn compounds. The proposed procedure facilitates assignment of the signals to the individual components of the fractions for both types of chromatography, thus rendering the chemical speciation of Zn possible when the lack of suitable standard substances impedes the identification of individual components.     

Hot Branching Dynamics in a Light‐Harvesting Iron Carbene Complex Revealed by Ultrafast X‐ray Emission Spectroscopy

Iron N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes have received a great deal of attention recently because of their growing potential as light sensitizers or photocatalysts. We present a sub‐ps X‐ray spectroscopy study of an Fe^IINHC complex that identifies and quantifies the states involved in the deactivation cascade after light absorption. Excited molecules relax back to the ground state along two pathways: After population of a hot ³MLCT state, from the initially excited ¹MLCT state, 30 % of the molecules undergo ultrafast (150 fs) relaxation to the ³MC state, in competition with vibrational relaxation and cooling to the relaxed ³MLCT state. The relaxed ³MLCT state then decays much more slowly (7.6 ps) to the ³MC state. The ³MC state is rapidly (2.2 ps) deactivated to the ground state. The ⁵MC state is not involved in the deactivation pathway. The ultrafast partial deactivation of the ³MLCT state constitutes a loss channel from the point of view of photochemical efficiency and highlights the necessity to screen transition‐metal complexes for similar ultrafast decays to optimize photochemical performance.