Catalysis of Mononuclear Aquaruthenium Complexes in Oxygen Evolution from Water: A New Radical Coupling Path using Hydroxocerium(IV) Species

The mechanism of O₂ evolution from water catalyzed by a series of mononuclear aquaruthenium complexes, [Ru(terpy)(bpy)(OH₂)]²⁺, [Ru(tmtacn)(R₂bpy)(OH₂)]²⁺ (R=H, Me, and OMe; R₂bpy=4,4′‐disubstituted‐2,2′‐bipyridines), and [Ru(tpzm)(R₂bpy)(OH₂)]²⁺ (R=H, Me, and OMe), is investigated, where terpy=2,2′:6′,2′′‐terpyridine, bpy=2,2′‐bipyridine, tmtacn=1,4,7‐trimethyl‐1,4,7‐triazacyclononane, and tpzm=tris(1‐pyrazolyl)methane. The kinetics of O₂ evolution is investigated as a function of either the catalyst concentration or the oxidant concentration by employing Ce(NH₄)₂(NO₃)₆ as an oxidant; these catalysts can be classified into two groups that have different rate laws for O₂ evolution. In one class, the rate of O₂ evolution is linear to both the catalyst and Ce⁴⁺ concentrations, as briefly reported for [Ru(terpy)(bpy)(OH₂)]²⁺ (S. Masaoka, K. Sakai, Chem. Lett. 2009 , 38, 182). For the other class, [Ru(tmtacn)(R₂bpy)(OH₂)]²⁺, the rate of O₂ evolution is quadratic to the catalyst concentration and independent of the Ce⁴⁺ concentration. Moreover, the singlet biradical character of the hydroxocerium(IV) ion was realized by experimental and DFT investigations. These results indicate that the radical coupling between the oxygen atoms of a Ru^V?O species and a hydroxocerium(IV) ion is the key step for the catalysis of [Ru(terpy)(bpy)(OH₂)]²⁺ and [Ru(tpzm)(R₂bpy)(OH₂)]²⁺, while the well‐known oxo‐oxo radical coupling among two Ru^V?O species proceeds in the catalysis of [Ru(tmtacn)(R₂bpy)(OH₂)]²⁺. This is the first report demonstrating that the radical character provided by the hydroxocerium(IV) ion plays a crucial role in the catalysis of such ruthenium complexes in the evolution of O₂ from water.     

Thermosensitive properties of poly(amidoamine) dendrimers with peripheral phenylalanine residues

Dendrimers are unique polymers with globular shapes and well-defined structures. We previously prepared poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers having phenylalanine (Phe) residues at every chain end of the dendrimer as efficient gene carriers. In this study, we found that Phe-derivatized PAMAM dendrimers change their water solubility depending on temperature. The dendrimers were soluble in aqueous solutions at low temperatures, but they became water-insoluble at temperatures above a specific threshold, which is termed the lower critical solution temperature (LCST). Although the LCST of Phe-modified dendrimers decreased with increasing dendrimer generation, these dendrimers exhibited an LCST of 20-30 degrees C under physiological conditions. In addition, the LCST of the dendrimers was controlled by introducing isoleucine (Ile) residues at chain ends of dendrimers at varying ratios with respect to Phe residues. The PAMAM dendrimers are known to encapsulate various drug molecules. For these reasons, temperature-sensitive dendrimers might be useful as efficient drug carriers with controlled size and temperature-responsive properties.     

Study of tribochemical decomposition of ionic liquids on a nascent steel surface

Tribological properties and the decomposition process of ionic liquids (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide and 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide) on a nascent surface of bearing steel 52100 were investigated by a ball-on-disk friction tester in a vacuum chamber equipped with a quadrupole mass spectrometer (Q-MS). Ionic liquids exhibited better tribological properties than synthetic hydrocarbon oil (multialkylated cyclopentane (MAC)) in high vacuum conditions. The induction period for decomposition of MAC was about 10 km, while no obvious gaseous products were observed for ionic liquids even after a sliding distance of 22 km under the same mechanical conditions. The mass spectra indicated that both the anionic and cationic moieties of ionic liquids decomposed on the nascent steel surface during friction processes. The cationic moiety with a longer alkyl chain was more difficult to decompose on the nascent steel surface than that with a shorter alkyl chain. XPS analysis revealed that the tribofilm formed by ionic liquid was mainly composed of FeF₂ and FeS, which deactivated the nascent surface. As a result, desorption rate of gaseous products decreased appreciably comparing with MAC. The critical load for the mechanical activation of the decomposition correspondingly increased from 1.1 N of MAC to 8 N of ionic liquids.     

Magnetic structure and magnetic properties of non-stoichiometric Fe1−xO

The magnetic structure of non-stoichiometric Fe_1?xO was investigated by neutron scattering measurements on a quenched single crystal of Fe_0.91O below the Néel temperature. In each defect cluster, there exist ferromagnetic moments and they are arranged antiferromagnetically with the periodicity of twice that of the atomic superstructure. Relation between the defect structure and the magnetic properties for a wide range of compositions was discussed.     

Development of a method for evaluating drug-likeness and ease of synthesis using a data set in which compounds are assigned scores based on chemists' intuition

The concept of drug-likeness, an important characteristic for any compound in a screening library, is nevertheless difficult to pin down. Based on our belief that this concept is implicit within the collective experience of working chemists, we devised a data set to capture an intuitive human understanding of both this characteristic and ease of synthesis, a second key characteristic. Five chemists assigned a pair of scores to each of 3980 diverse compounds, with the component scores of each pair corresponding to drug-likeness and ease of synthesis, respectively. Using this data set, we devised binary classifiers with an artificial neural network and a support vector machine. These models were found to efficiently eliminate compounds that are not drug-like and/or hard-to-synthesize derivatives, demonstrating the suitability of these models for use as compound acquisition filters.     

Systematic Studies on the Effect of Fluorine Atoms in Fluorinated Tolanes on Their Photophysical Properties

In this study, we synthesized a series of fluorinated and non-fluorinated tolanes, in which one or more fluorine atoms were systematically introduced into one aromatic ring of a tolane scaffold, and systematically evaluated their photophysical properties. All the tolanes with or without fluorine substituents were found to have poor photoluminescence (PL) in tetrahydrofuran (THF) solutions. On the other hand, in the crystalline state, non-fluorinated and fluorinated tolanes with one or four fluorine atoms were less emissive, whereas fluorinated tolanes with three or five fluorine atoms exhibited high PL efficiencies (Ф_PL) up to 0.51. X-ray crystallographic analyses of the emissive fluorinated tolanes revealed that the position of the fluorine substituent played a key role in achieving a high Ф_PL. Fluorine substituents at the ortho (2/6) and para (4) positions led to tight and rigid packing due to plural π–π stacking and/or hydrogen bonding interactions, resulting in enhanced Ф_PL caused by the suppression of non-radiative deactivation. Additionally, fluorinated tolanes with three fluorine atoms exhibited notable aggregation-induced PL emission enhancement in THF/water mixed solvents. This demonstrates that the PL characteristics of small PL materials can be tuned depending on the usage requirements.     

Shock tube and modeling study of 1,3-butadiene pyrolysis

1,3-Butadiene (1,3-C₄H₆) was heated behind reflected shock waves over the temperature range of 1200–1700 K and the total density range of 1.3 × 10⁻⁵ −2.9 × 10⁻⁵ mol/cm³. Reaction products were analyzed by gas-chromatography. The concentration change of 1,3-butadiene was followed by UV kinetic absorption spectroscopy at 230 nm and by quadrupole mass spectrometry. The major products were C₂H₂, C₂H_4, C₄H₄, and CH₄. The yield of CH₄ for a 0.5% 1,3-C₄H₆ in Ar mixture was more than 10% of the initial 1.3-C₄H₆ concentration above 1500 K. In order to interpret the formation of CH₄ successfully, it was necessary to include the isomerization of 1,3-C₄H₆ to 1,2-butadiene (1,2-C₄H₆) and to include subsequent decomposition of the 1,2-C₄H₆ to C₃H₃ and CH₃. The present data and other shock tube data reported over a wide pressure range were qualitatively modeled with a 89 reaction mechanism, which included the isomerizations of 1,3-C₄H₆ to 1,2-C₄H₆ and 2-butyne (2-C₄H₆). © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.