Carbon-13 NMR chemical shift and electronic structure of polypeptide as studied by tight-binding MO theory: poly (β-benzyl L-aspartate) with the right-handle α-helix and left-handed α-helix forms

An attempt was made to calculate ¹³C NMR chemical shifts of poly(β-benzyl L-aspartate) having the right-handed α-helix (α_R-helix) and left-handed α-helix (α_L-helix) forms by a tight-binding MO sum-over-states theory within the extended Hückel framework, in order to examine whether or not the conformation-dependent ¹³C chemical shifts previously determined by the cross polarization-magic angle spinning technique are reproduced by a change of electronic structure of the polymer. It is found that the relative displacements of the observed C_α, C_β and carbonyl ¹³C chemical shifts between the α_R- and α_L-helices are reproduced qualitatively by the calculation.     

A light-scattering study of deformation of liquid-crystalline spherulites of poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate) in an electric field

The deformation of liquid-crystalline spherulites of poly(γ-benzyl-L -glutamate) (PBLG) in an electric field was investigated by light scattering, polarized-light microscopy, and birefringence measurements. Under the polarizing microscope, the deformation was found to be dependent upon the field strength. The spherulites deformed perpendicular to the field. Above 75 V/cm in N,N-dimethylformamide or 120 V/cm in 1,1,2-trichloroethane, the deformed spherulites were transformed to rodlike textures. With increasing voltage, the rods gradually oriented parallel to the electric field. On the basis of the experimental results, models for affine deformation are proposed. With these models, light-scattering patterns are calculated. The calculated and experimental patterns agree semiquantitatively.     

Structures of 17,19-hexatriacontadiyne monolayers on Au(111) studied by infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy

The aggregation and reaction of 17,19-hexatriacontadiyne molecules are studied on a Au(111) surface. The molecular orientation and arrangement are elucidated by infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). A vapor-deposited monolayer and a multilayered film formed by adsorption from the solution provide IRA spectra with bands due to the antisymmetric and symmetric stretching of methylenes in the gauche conformation. After the adsorbed film is rinsed with the solvent, however, the spectrum loses the gauche bands and is characterized by the enhanced C-H(distal) and C-H(proximal) stretching bands, which means that all-trans molecules are laid flat. Only STM images for the rinsed film display columnar structures on the herringbones of the reconstructed Au(111) surface; the alkyl chain direction is found to be parallel to the Au atom row. The results indicate that an ordered monolayer is formed first at the liquid-solid interface, and then, disordered overlayers with the gauche conformation are grown but removed by a rinse. Upon exposure to UV light, thus obtained monomer columns are converted into oligomers with flexible backbones and an increased gauche population in the alkyl chains, which resemble red phase polydiacetylenes in LB films.     

Soft-landing isolation of vanadium-benzene sandwich clusters on a room-temperature substrate using n-alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayer matrixes

Gas-phase synthesized vanadium-benzene 1:2 (VBz(2)) sandwich clusters were size-selectively deposited onto bare gold and long-chain n-alkanethiolate [-S-(CH(2))(n-1)-CH(3); n = 16, 18, and 22] self-assembled monolayer (SAM)-coated gold substrates under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. Investigation of the resulting deposited clusters was performed by infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS) and thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS). The IR frequencies of the soft-landed VBz(2) clusters show excellent agreement with the fundamentals reported in IR data of VBz(2) in an argon matrix. The analysis of IRAS spectra reveals that while there was no orientational preference of the VBz(2) clusters on a bare gold substrate, the VBz(2) clusters deposited onto the SAM substrates were highly oriented with the molecular axis 70-80 degrees tilted off the surface normal. In addition, analysis of TDS spectra revealed unusually large adsorption heats of the physisorbed VBz(2) clusters. The present results are explained by cluster penetration into the long-chain alkanethiolate SAM and for the first time demonstrate the matrix isolation of gas-phase organometallic clusters around room temperature.