Nature of the band gap of In2O3 revealed by first-principles calculations and x-ray spectroscopy

Bulk and surface sensitive x-ray spectroscopic techniques are applied in tandem to show that the valence band edge for In2O3 is found significantly closer to the bottom of the conduction band than expected on the basis of the widely quoted bulk band gap of 3.75 eV. First-principles theory shows that the upper valence bands of In2O3 exhibit a small dispersion and the conduction band minimum is positioned at Gamma. However, direct optical transitions give a minimal dipole intensity until 0.8 eV below the valence band maximum. The results set an upper limit on the fundamental band gap of 2.9 eV.     

Three-dimensional porous metal electrodes: Fabrication,characterisation and use

Diverse three-dimensional (3D) porous metal electrodes, including meshes, foams and felts, are used in electrochemical flow reactors for a wide range of industrial applications, such as energy storage, electrosynthesis and degradation of pollutants. Recent work centres on the hierarchical decoration and coating of 3D electrodes with catalysts, although the study of their performance in a controlled and reproducible flow and mass transfer environment ought to receive more attention. New advances have considered metal nanofelts and nanomesh porous electrodes with superior electrode surface area. Opportunities are found in additive manufacturing, advanced structural characterisation by, for example, X-ray computed tomography, and in the modelling of hydrodynamic characteristics, current distribution and mass transfer coefficient of these electrode materials.     

The parallel and convergent universes of polyketide synthases and nonribosomal peptide synthetases

Polyketide synthases (PKSs) and nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) catalyze chain elongation from simple building blocks to create a diverse array of natural products. PKS and NRPS proteins share striking architectural and organizational similarities that can be exploited to generate entirely new natural products.     

Tailoring of glycopeptide scaffolds by the acyltransferases from the teicoplanin and A-40,926 biosynthetic operons

The teicoplanin acyltransferase (Atf) responsible for N-acylation of the glucosamine moiety to create the teicoplanin lipoglycopeptide scaffold has recently been identified. Here we use that enzyme (tAtf) and the cognate acyltransferase from the related A-40,926 biosynthetic cluster (aAtf) to evaluate specificity for glycopeptide scaffolds and for the acyl-CoA donor. In addition to acylation of 2-aminoglucosyl glycopeptide scaffolds with k(cat) values of 400-2000 min(-1), both Atfs transfer acyl groups to regioisomeric 6-aminoglucosyl scaffolds and to glucosyl scaffolds at rates of 0.2-0.5 min(-1) to create variant lipoglycopeptides. Using the teicoplanin glycosyltransferase tGtfA, tAtf, and GtfD, a glycosyltransferase from the vancomycin producer, it is possible to assemble a novel lipoglycopeptide with GlcNAc at beta-OH-Tyr(6) and an N(6)-acyl-glucosaminyl-vancosamine at Phegly(4). This study illustrates the utility of chemo- and regioselective acyltransferases and glycosyltransferases to create novel lipoglycopeptides.     

Highly enantio- and diastereoselective tandem generation of cyclopropyl alcohols with up to four contiguous stereocenters

Three highly enantio- and diastereoselective one-pot procedures for the synthesis of cyclopropyl and iodocyclopropyl alcohols with up to four contiguous stereocenters are reported. Route 1 involves asymmetric addition of an alkylzinc reagent to an enal followed by diastereoselective cyclopropanation. Route 2 parallels route 1, except that iodoform is used to generate the zinc carbenoid, and the products are iodocyclopropyl alcohols. Route 3 entails asymmetric vinylation of an aldehyde with divinylzinc reagents and subsequent diastereoselective cyclopropanation.     

On the activation of valerolactam with triflic anhydride: the synthesis of omega-trifluorosulfonamido dipeptides using a transpeptidation reaction under mild conditions

The activation of valerolactam with triflic anhydride is studied in detail, initially producing an O-triflated lactam, which rearranges, following the addition of base at higher temperatures, to an N-triflated derivative. This reacts with a series of nucleophiles to produce esters and amides, which are formally dipeptides of omega-amino acids.     

Efficient light harvesting by using green Zn-porphyrin-sensitized nanocrystalline TiO2 films

A series of novel zinc metalloporphyrins, cyano-3-(2'-(5',10',15',20'-tetraphenylporphyrinato zinc(II))yl)-acrylic acid (Zn-3), 3-(trans-2'-(5',10',15',20'-tetraphenylporphyrinato zinc(II))yl)-acrylic acid (Zn-5), 2-cyano-5-(2'-(5',10',15',20'-tetraphenylporphyrinato zinc(II))yl)-penta-2,4-dienoic acid (Zn-8), 4-(trans-2'-(2' '-(5' ',10' ',15' ',20' '-tetraphenylporphyrinato zinc(II))yl)ethen-1'-yl))-1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid (Zn-11), and 2-cyano-3-[4'-(trans-2' '-(2' '-(5' ',10' ',15' ',20' '-tetraphenylporphyrinato zinc(II))yl) ethen-1' '-yl)-phenyl]-acrylic acid (Zn-13) were synthesized and characterized by using various spectroscopic techniques. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations show that key molecular orbitals (MOs) of porphyrins Zn-5 and Zn-3 are stabilized and extended out onto the substituent by pi-conjugation, causing enhancement and red shifts of visible transitions and increasing the possibility of electron transfer from the substituent. The porphyrins were investigated for conversion of sunlight into electricity by constructing dye-sensitized TiO(2) solar cells using an I(-)/I(3)(-) electrolyte. The cells yield close to 85% incident photon-to-current efficiencies (IPCEs), and under standard AM 1.5 sunlight, the Zn-3-sensitized solar cell demonstrates a short circuit photocurrent density of 13.0 +/- 0.5 mA/cm(2), an open-circuit voltage of 610 +/- 50 mV, and a fill factor of 0.70 +/- 0.03. This corresponds to an overall conversion efficiency of 5.6%, making it the most efficient porphyrin-sensitized solar cell reported to date.