How Water and Ion Mobility Affect the NMR Fingerprints of the Hydrated JBW Zeolite: A Combined Computational-Experimental Investigation

An important aspect within zeolite synthesis is to make fully tunable framework materials with controlled aluminium distribution. A major challenge in characterising these zeolites at operating conditions is the presence of water. In this work, we investigate the effect of hydration on the ²⁷Al NMR parameters of the ultracrystalline K,Na-compensated aluminosilicate JBW zeolite using experimental and computational techniques. The JBW framework, with Si/Al ratio of 1, is an ideal benchmark system as a stepping stone towards more complicated zeolites. The presence and mobility of water and extraframework species directly affect NMR fingerprints. Excellent agreement between theoretical and experimental spectra is obtained provided dynamic methods are employed with hydrated structural models. This work shows how NMR is instrumental in characterising aluminium distributions in zeolites at operating conditions.     

Non-Globular Organic Ionic Plastic Crystal Containing a Crown-Ether Moiety – Tuning Its Behaviour Using Sodium Salts

Organic ionic plastic crystals (OIPCs) are a class of soft materials showing positional order while still allowing orientational freedom. Due to their motional freedom in the solid state, they possess plasticity, non-flammability and high ionic conductivity. OIPC behavior is typically exhibited by ‘simple’ globular molecules allowing molecular rotation, whereas the interactions that govern the formation of OIPC phases in complex non-globular molecules are less understood. To better understand these interactions, a new family of non-globular OIPCs containing a 15-crown-5 ether moiety was synthetized and characterized. The 15C5BA molecule prepared does not exhibit the sought-after behavior because of its non-globular nature and strong intermolecular H-bonds that restrict orientational motion. However, the OIPC behavior was successfully obtained through complexation of the crown-ether moiety with sodium salts containing chaotropic anions. Those anions weaken the interactions between the molecules, allowing rotational freedom and tuning of the thermal and morphological properties of the OIPC.     

Stable [C2H7O2]+ isomers: Experimental and theoretical evidence for the existence of protonated peroxides and proton-bound dimers in the gas phase

Evidence is presented for the gas phase generation of at least eight stable isomeric [C₂H₇O₂]⁺ ions. These include energy-rich protonated peroxides (ions \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm CH}_2 {\rm O}\mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm H}_{\rm 2} $\end{document} (e), \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm CH}_{\rm 2} \mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm (H)OH} $\end{document} (f) and \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm O}\mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm (H)CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm (g)),} $\end{document} (g)), proton-bound dimers (ions \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm CH = O} \cdot \cdot \cdot \mathop {\rm H}\limits^{\rm 3} \cdot \cdot \cdot {\rm OH}_{\rm 2} $\end{document} (h) and \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH2 = O} \cdot \cdot \cdot \mathop {\rm H}\limits^{\rm + } \cdot \cdot \cdot {\rm HOCH}_{\rm 3} $\end{document} (i)) and hydroxy-protonated species (ions \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 2} {\rm (OH)CH}_{\rm 2} \mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm H}_{\rm 2} (a), $\end{document} \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm CH(OH)}\mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm H}_{\rm 2} $\end{document} (b) and \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm OCH}_{\rm 2} \mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm H}_{\rm 2} $\end{document} (c)). The important points of the present study are (i) that these ions are prevented by high barriers from facile interconversion and (ii) that both electron-impact- and proton-induced gas phase decompositions seem to proceed via multistep reactions, some of which eventually result in the formation of proton-bound dimers.     

Electrochemical Measurements of Optogenetically Stimulated Quantal Amine Release from Single Nerve Cell Varicosities in Drosophila Larvae

The nerve terminals found in the body wall of Drosophila melanogaster larvae are readily accessible to experimental manipulation. We used the light‐activated ion channel, channelrhodopsin‐2, which is expressed by genetic manipulation in Type II varicosities to study octopamine release in Drosophila. We report the development of a method to measure neurotransmitter release from exocytosis events at individual varicosities in the Drosophila larval system by amperometry. A microelectrode was placed in a region of the muscle containing a varicosity and held at a potential sufficient to oxidize octopamine and the terminal stimulated by blue light. Optical stimulation of Type II boutons evokes exocytosis of octopamine, which is detected through oxidization at the electrode surface. We observe 22700±4200 molecules of octopamine released per vesicle. This system provides a genetically accessible platform to study the regulation of amine release at an intact synapse.