Interaction of highly charged ions with carbon-based materials using Kobe EBIS

Interaction of highly charged ions (HCIs) with surfaces produce various specific phenomena as a consequence of the potential energy that HCI possesses. In the present study, we have observed photon emission, structural, magnetic, and electronic modification on various carbon-based materials such as carbon nanotube by the impact of HCIs using an electron beam ion source named Kobe EBIS installed at the Kobe University. In order to study the potential effect, HCIs of Ar^q+ (q = 6–16) with the intensity of 0.1–1 nA are projected on the surface with a constant kinetic energy (16 keV). For photon emission measurements, we observed spatial and spectral distribution of visible light emission from the surface during irradiation with HCIs. On the other hand, the structural modification of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) irradiated with HCIs has been analyzed using a transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Irradiation effects on the resistivity of single MWCNT supported on micrometer scale bridge pattern were also measured. We have also measured magnetic structure of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite irradiated with HCIs using electron spin resonance at low temperature. At the present paper, we will review our recent experimental results on the interaction of HCI with various carbon-based materials.     

Thermal phase transition of RbMnFe(CN)6 observed by X-ray emission and absorption spectroscopy

The thermal phase transition of RbMnFe(CN)₆ has been observed by Mn and Fe 3p-1s X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and 1s X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The thermal variations of the spin states and the valences of Mn and Fe were determined to be Mn²⁺(S=5/2)-NC-Fe³⁺(S=1/2) for the high-temperature (HT) phase and Mn³⁺(S=2)-NC-Fe²⁺(S=0) for the low-temperature (LT) phase. These transitions are thus caused by charge transfer between Mn and Fe. The temperature dependences of Mn and Fe 3p-1s XES and 1s XAS were observed as the composition of the spectra of the HT and LT phases. The ratios of the HT component in each spectrum show good agreement with the thermal transition curves observed with magnetic susceptibility measurements.     

Ion–ion interactions of LiPF6 and LiBF4 in propylene carbonate solutions

Self-diffusion coefficients of Li⁺ D_Li⁺, PF₆⁻ D_PF6⁻ and solvent propylene carbonate (PC) D_PC in LiPF₆−PC solutions were determined at 298 K by the pulse gradient spin echo (PGSE) NMR technique over the salt concentration range of 0.1–3.0 M (M = mol dm^– 3). The order of the diffusion coefficients was found to be D_Li⁺ < D_PF6⁻ < D_PC over the concentration range examined, and they were monotonically decreased with increasing the salt concentration. Haven ratio Λ/Λ_NMR, where Λ and Λ_NMR represent the ionic conductivity measured electrochemically and that estimated via the Nernst-Einstein equation using the diffusion coefficient, respectively, was evaluated as the measure of the ion–ion interaction in the LiPF₆–PC solutions. Though Λ/Λ_NMR values for LiPF₆-solutions decrease with increasing the salt concentration, they were greater than those for LiBF₄–PC solutions over the whole concentration range examined, which indicates that the ion pair formation ability of PF₆^– ion is weaker than that of the BF₄^– ion. The smaller value of the ionic conductivity for the highly concentrated LiPF₆–PC solution (above 2.0 M) than that of the LiBF₄-solutions can be attributed to the more rapidly increased viscosity relative to the LiBF₄-solution. Classic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for the respective LiPF₆ and LiBF₄-solution of 0.5 and 1.0 M were also carried out based on the effective pair potentials. Diffusion coefficients, ionic conductivity and Haven ratio for these solutions were calculated from MD trajectories, and they qualitatively agree with those evaluated by experiments. Pair correlation functions g_LiO(r) (for Li⁺–O (PC) pair) and g_LiPF6(r) (for Li⁺–PF₆^– pair) or g_LiBF4(r) (for Li⁺–BF₄^– pair) revealed that the lithium ion weakly forms the contact ion pairs with PF₆^–, whilst strongly with BF₄^–, which supports the present experimental results. Moreover, the simulation results show that both anions in the contact ion pairs predominantly take the monodentate form, which is in contrast to the multidentate coordination predicted by ab initio calculation in gas phase.     

A Theoretical study on the charge and discharge states of Na-ion battery cathode material,Na1+xFePO4F

Na₂FePO₄F is a promising cathode material for a Na-ion battery because of its high electronic capacity and good cycle performance. In this work, first principle calculations combined with cluster expansion and the Monte Carlo method have been applied to analyze the charge and discharge processes of Na₂FePO₄F by examining the voltage curve and the phase diagram. As a result of the density functional theory calculation and experimental verification with structural analysis, we found that the most stable structure of Na_1.5FePO₄F has the P2₁/b11 space group, which has not been reported to date. The estimated voltage curve has two clear plateaus caused by the two-phase structure composed of P2₁/b11 Na_1.5FePO₄F and Pbcn Na₂FePO₄F or Na₁FePO₄F and separated along the c-axis direction. The phase diagram shows the stability of the phase-separated structure. Considering that Na₂FePO₄F has diffusion paths in the a- and c-axis directions, Na₂FePO₄F has both innerphase and interphase diffusion paths. We suggest that the stable two-phase structure and the diffusion paths to both the innerphase and interphases are a key for the very clear plateau. We challenge to simulate a nonequilibrium state at high rate discharge with high temperature by introducing a coordinate-dependent chemical potential. The simulation shows agreement with the experimental discharge curve on the disappearance of the two plateaus. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Photothermal Oxidation of Cinnamyl Alcohol with Hydrogen Peroxide Catalyzed by Gold Nanoparticle/Antimony-Doped Tin Oxide Nanocrystals

Gold nanoparticles with different mean sizes were formed on antimony-doped tin oxide nanocrystals by the temperature-varied deposition-precipitation method (Au/ATO NCs). Au/ATO NCs possess strong absorption in the near-infrared region due to Drude excitation in addition to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of AuNPs around 530 nm. Au/ATO NCs show thermally activated catalytic activity for the oxidation of cinnamyl alcohol to cinnamaldehyde by hydrogen peroxide. The catalytic activity increases with a decrease in the mean Au particle size (d_Au) at 5.3 nm≤d_Au≤8.2 nm. Light irradiation (λ_ex >660 nm, ∼0.5 sun) of Au/ATO NCs increases the rate of reaction by more than twice with ∼95 % selectivity. Kinetic analyses indicated that the striking enhancement of the reaction stems from the rise in the temperature near the catalyst surface of ∼30 K due to the photothermal effect of the ATO NCs.     

Photoinduced magnetization in copper octacyanomolybdate

This article describes the studies of a photomagnetic cyanide-bridged Cu-Mo bimetallic assembly, Cu(II)(2)[Mo(IV)(CN)(8)].8H(2)O (Cu(II), S = (1)/(2); Mo(IV), S = 0) (1), which has an intervalence transfer (IT) band from Mo(IV)-CN-Cu(II) to Mo(V)-CN-Cu(I) around 480 nm. Wide-angle X-ray scattering and X-ray spectroscopic studies provide precise information about the 3D connectivity and the local environment of the transition metal ions. Irradiating with blue light causes solid 1 to exhibit a spontaneous magnetization (Curie temperature = 25 K). The thermal reversibility is carefully studied and shows the long-time stability of the photoinduced state up to 100 K. Photoreversibility is also observed; i.e., the magnetization is induced by irradiation with light below 520 nm, while the magnetization is reduced by irradiation with light above 520 nm. The UV-vis absorption spectrum after irradiation shows a decrease of the IT band and the appearance of the reverse-IT band in the region of 600-900 nm (lambda(max) = 710 nm). This UV-vis absorption spectrum is recovered to the original spectrum by irradiation with 658-, 785-, and 840-nm light. In this photomagnetic effect, the excitation of the IT band causes an electron transfer from Mo(IV) to Cu(II), producing a ferromagnetic mixed-valence isomer of Cu(I)Cu(II)[Mo(V)(CN)(8)].8H(2)O (Cu(I), S = 0; Cu(II), S = (1)/(2); Mo(V), S = (1)/(2)) (1'). 1' returns to 1 by irradiation of the reverse-IT band, which obeys the scheme for the potential energy surface in mixed-valence class II compounds.     

Metal ions dramatically enhance the enantioselectivity for lipase-catalysed reactions in organic solvents

We propose a simple and a powerful method to enhance the enantioselectivity for lipase-catalysed transformations in organic solvents by an addition of metal ion-containing water to the reaction mixture. In this paper, various metal ions such as LiCl or MgCl2 are tested to improve the enantioselectivity for the model reactions. The enantioselectivities obtained are dramatically enhanced, the E values of which are about 100-fold as compared with the ordinary conditions without a metal ion, for example, E = 200 by addition of LiCl. Furthermore, lowering the reaction temperature led to an almost perfect enantioselectivity of lipase in the presence of a metal ion, for example, E = 1,300 by addition of LiCl. Also, a mechanism for the drastic enhancement by metal ions is discussed briefly on the basis of the EPR spectroscopic study and the initial rate for each enantiomer of the substrate.     

Conformation of solvent N,N-dimethylpropionamide in the coordination sphere of the zinc(II) ion studied by Raman spectroscopy and DFT calculations

Solvation structure of the zinc(II) ion in N,N-dimethylpropionamide (DMPA) was studied by Raman spectroscopy at varying temperature and by quantum mechanical calculations. No significant ion-pair formation was found for the Zn(ClO4)2 solution in the molality range m(Zn) < 1.5 mol kg(-1), and the solvation number of the zinc(II) ion was determined to be 4, indicating that 6-coordination of DMPA is sterically hindered. Interestingly, DMPA molecules are under equilibrium between planar cis and nonplanar staggered conformers, and the latter is more preferred in the coordination sphere, while the reverse is the case in the bulk. The DeltaG degrees , DeltaH degrees , and TDeltaS degrees values of conformational change from planar cis to nonplanar staggered in the coordination sphere were obtained to be -0.9, -8.5, and -7.5 kJ mol(-1), respectively. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the planar cis conformer is more favorable than the nonplanar staggered one in the 1:2 cluster, as is the case for a single DMPA molecule and H(DMPA)+, indicating that there hardly occurs solvent-solvent interaction through the metal ion in the Zn2+-DMPA 1:2 cluster. On the other hand, the SCF energy of [Zn(planar cis-DMPA)4-n(nonplanar staggered DMPA)n]2+ (n = 0-4) decreases with increasing n, implying that the nonplanar staggered conformer is preferred in the solvate ion. It is thus concluded that solvent-solvent interaction through space, or solvation steric effect, plays a crucial role in the conformational equilibrium in the coordination sphere of the four-solvate metal ion.     

A novel approach for LC-MS/MS-based chiral metabolomics fingerprinting and chiral metabolomics extraction using a pair of enantiomers of chiral derivatization reagents

Chiral metabolites are found in a wide variety of living organisms and some of them are understood to be physiologically active compounds and biomarkers. However, the overall analysis of chiral metabolomics is quite difficult due to the high number of metabolites, the significant diversity in their physicochemical properties, and concentration range from metabolite-to-metabolite. To solve this difficulty, we developed a novel approach for chiral metabolomics fingerprinting and chiral metabolomics extraction, which is based on the labeling of a pair of enantiomers of chiral derivatization reagents (i.e., DMT-(S,R)-Pro-OSu and DMT-3(S,R)-Apy) and precursor ion scan chromatography of the derivatives. The multivariate statistics is also required for this strategy. The proposed procedures were evaluated by the detection of a diagnostic marker (i.e., d-lactic acid) using the saliva of diabetic patients. This method was used for the determination of biomarker candidates of chiral amines and carboxyls in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain homogenates. As the results, l-phenylalanine (L-Phe) and l-lactic acid (L-LA) were identified as the decreased and increased biomarker candidates in the AD brain, respectively. Therefore, the proposed approach seems to be helpful for the determination of non-target chiral metabolomics possessing amines and carboxyls.     

Structure of cypridina biluciferyl,a dimer of cypridina luciferyl radical having bioluminescent activity

Structure of $\text{Cypridina}$ biluciferyl (luciferyl radical dimer), which is produced by chemical oxidation of $\text{C}$. luciferin with such as ferricyanide, was determined to be the symmetric 5,5′-dimer of $\text{C}$. luciferin. It gives light in the presence of $\text{C}$. luciferase, although the bioluminescent rate is very low. We suggest that the biluciferyl is an intermediate in the oxidation of the luciferin to $\text{C}$. luciferinol.