Spectroscopic imaging with volume selection by unpaired adiabatic pi pulses: theory and application

In NMR spectroscopy, volume selection can be advantageously achieved using adiabatic pi pulses, which enable high bandwidth and B(1) insensitivity. In order to avoid the generation of non-linear phase profiles and the subsequent signal loss caused by incoherent averaging, adiabatic pi pulses are usually used in pairs for volume selection in each spatial dimension. Alternatively, when performing spectroscopic imaging (SI), a high enough spatial resolution results in negligible phase dispersion within each pixel. This allows using only one pulse per selected spatial dimension, resulting in a reduced echo-time and reduced power deposition. In this work, the feasibility of such an approach is explored theoretically and numerically, allowing the derivation of explicit conditions to obtain SI images without artifact. Adequate spatial and spectral post-processing procedures are described to compensate for the effect of non-linear phase profiles. These developments are applied to SI in the rat brain at 9.4 T, using a new adiabatic sequence named Pseudo-LASER.     

The topology of interbank payment flows

We explore the network topology of the interbank payments transferred between commercial banks over the Fedwire^®${}^{\circledR }$ Funds Service. We find that the network has both a low average path length and low connectivity. The network includes a tightly connected core of banks to which most other banks connect. The degree distribution is scale free over a substantial range. We find that the properties of the network changed considerably in the immediate aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001.     

Enzymatic Conversion of Flavonoids using Bacterial Chalcone Isomerase and Enoate Reductase

Flavonoids are a large group of plant secondary metabolites with a variety of biological properties and are therefore of interest to many scientists, as they can lead to industrially interesting intermediates. The anaerobic gut bacterium Eubacterium ramulus can catabolize flavonoids, but until now, the pathway has not been experimentally confirmed. In the present work, a chalcone isomerase (CHI) and an enoate reductase (ERED) could be identified through whole genome sequencing and gene motif search. These two enzymes were successfully cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli in their active form, even under aerobic conditions. The catabolic pathway of E. ramulus was confirmed by biotransformations of flavanones into dihydrochalcones. The engineered E. coli strain that expresses both enzymes was used for the conversion of several flavanones, underlining the applicability of this biocatalytic cascade reaction.     

Molecular Engineering of Push–Pull Porphyrin Dyes for Highly Efficient Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells: The Role of Benzene Spacers

Porphyrins have drawn much attention as sensitizers owing to the large absorption coefficients of their Soret and Q bands in the visible region. In a donor and acceptor zinc porphyrin we applied a new strategy of introducing 2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole (BTD) as a π‐conjugated linker between the anchoring group and the porphyrin chromophore to broaden the absorption spectra to fill the valley between the Soret and Q bands. With this novel approach, we observed 12.75 % power‐conversion efficiency under simulated one‐sun illumination (AM1.5G, 100 mW cm^?2). In this study, we showed the importance of introducing the phenyl group as a spacer between the BTD and the zinc porphyrin in achieving high power‐conversion efficiencies. Time‐resolved fluorescence, transient‐photocurrent‐decay, and transient‐photovoltage‐decay measurements were employed to determine the electron‐injection dynamics and the lifetime of the photogenerated charge carriers.     

Phosphaketenes as Building Blocks for the Synthesis of Triphospha Heterocycles

Unsaturated phosphorus compounds, such as phosphaalkenes and phosphaalkynes, show a versatile reactivity in cycloadditions. Although phosphaketenes (R?P?C?O) have been known for three decades, their chemistry has remained limited. Herein, we show that heteroatom‐substituted phosphaketenes, R₃E?P?C?O (E=Si, Sn), are building blocks for silyl‐ and stannyl‐substituted five‐membered heterocycles containing three phosphorous atoms. The structure of the heterocyclic anion depends on the nature of the tetrel atom involved. Although the silyl analogue [P₃C₂(OSiR₃)₂]^? is an aromatic 1,2,4‐triphospholide, the stannyl compound [P(CO)₂(PSnR₃)₂]^? is a 1,2,4‐triphosphacyclopenta‐3,5‐dionate with a delocalized OCPCO fragment. Because of their anionic character, these compounds can easily be used as building blocks, for example, in the preparation of a silyl‐functionalized hexaphosphaferrocene or the parent 1,2,4‐triphosphacyclopenta‐3,5‐dionate [P(CO)₂(PH)₂]^?. NMR spectroscopic investigations and computations have shown that the heterocycle‐formation reactions presented herein are remarkably complex.     

Near-Enantiopure Trimerization of 9-Ethynylphenanthrene on a Chiral Metal Surface

Enantioselectivity in heterogeneous catalysis strongly depends on the chirality transfer between catalyst surface and all reactants, intermediates, and the product along the reaction pathway. Herein we report the first enantioselective on-surface synthesis of molecular structures from an initial racemic mixture and without the need of enantiopure modifier molecules. The reaction consists of a trimerization via an unidentified bonding motif of prochiral 9-ethynylphenanthrene (9-EP) upon annealing to 500 K on the chiral Pd₃-terminated PdGa{111} surfaces into essentially enantiopure, homochiral 9-EP propellers. The observed behavior strongly contrasts the reaction of 9-EP on the chiral Pd₁-terminated PdGa{111} surfaces, where 9-EP monomers that are in nearly enantiopure configuration, dimerize without enantiomeric excess. Our findings demonstrate strong chiral recognition and a significant ensemble effect in the PdGa system, hence highlighting the huge potential of chiral intermetallic compounds for enantioselective synthesis and underlining the importance to control the catalytically active sites at the atomic level.     

Hydrogen Isotope Exchange Catalyzed by Ru Nanocatalysts: Labelling of Complex Molecules Containing N-Heterocycles and Reaction Mechanism Insights

Ruthenium nanocatalysis can provide effective deuteration and tritiation of oxazole, imidazole, triazole and carbazole substructures in complex molecules using D₂ or T₂ gas as isotopic sources. Depending on the substructure considered, this approach does not only represent a significant step forward in practice, with notably higher isotope uptakes, a broader substrate scope and a higher solvent applicability compared to existing procedures, but also the unique way to label important heterocycles using hydrogen isotope exchange. In terms of applications, the high incorporation of deuterium atoms, allows the synthesis of internal standards for LC-MS quantification. Moreover, the efficacy of the catalyst permits, even under subatmospheric pressure of T₂ gas, the preparation of complex radiolabeled drugs owning high molar activities. From a fundamental point of view, a detailed DFT-based mechanistic study identifying undisclosed key intermediates, allowed a deeper understanding of C−H (and N−H) activation processes occurring at the surface of metallic nanoclusters.     

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.     

Formation and Structure of Fluorescent Silver Nanoclusters at Interfacial Binding Sites Facilitating Oligomerization of DNA Hairpins

Fluorescent, DNA‐stabilized silver nanoclusters (DNA‐AgNCs) are applied in a range of applications within nanoscience and nanotechnology. However, their diverse optical properties, mechanism of formation, and aspects of their composition remain unexplored, making the rational design of nanocluster probes challenging. Herein, a synthetic procedure is described for obtaining a high yield of emissive DNA‐AgNCs with a C‐loop hairpin DNA sequence, with subsequent purification by size‐exclusion chromatography (SEC). Through a combination of optical spectroscopy, gel electrophoresis, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS), and small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) in conjunction with the systematic study of various DNA sequences, the low‐resolution structure and mechanism of the formation of AgNCs were investigated. Data indicate that fluorescent DNA‐AgNCs self‐assemble by a head‐to‐head binding of two DNA hairpins, bridged by a silver nanocluster, resulting in the modelling of a dimeric structure harboring an Ag₁₂ cluster.     

A Robust-to-Noise Deconvolution Algorithm to Enhance Displacement and Strain Maps Obtained with Local DIC and LSA

Experimental Mechanics - Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and Localized Spectrum Analysis (LSA) are two techniques available to extract displacement fields from images of deformed surfaces marked...