Borrowing hydrogen: iridium-catalysed reactions for the formation of C-C bonds from alcohols

Alcohols have been employed as substrates for C-C bond-forming reactions which involve initial activation by the temporary removal of hydrogen to form an aldehyde. The intermediate aldehyde is converted into an alkene via a Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction, nitroaldol and aldol reactions. The 'borrowed hydrogen' is then returned to the alkene to form a C-C bond.     

Properties of functions in an auxiliary spline space

Summary This note examines functions in an auxiliary spline space related to geometrically continuous splines. Previous work [3, 4] required results about the existence and number of zeros of certain functions in this space, as well as results on how to combine these functions. This note provides improved versions of these results.     

Carotene location in processed food samples measured by cryo In-SEM Raman

Cryo In-SEM Raman has been used for the first time to localise carotene compounds in a food matrix. Raman spectra of lycopene and β-carotene have been obtained from sampling oil droplets and plant cell structures visualised with cryo-SEM in tomato and carrot based emulsions containing 5% oil. It was possible to identify the carotenoids in both the oil droplets and the cell walls. Furthermore our results gave some indication that the carotenoids were in the non-crystalline state. It has been suggested that a higher amount of carotenes solubilised into the oil phase of the food matrix would lead to a higher bioaccessibility, thus understanding the effect of processing conditions on micronutrients distribution in a food matrix might help the design of plant based food products with a better nutritional quality. This shows improved structural characterisation of the cryo-SEM with the molecular sensitivity of Raman spectroscopy as a promising approach for complex biological problems.     

Hydrogen plasma interaction with (100) diamond surfaces

Polycrystalline diamond films exhibiting (100) oriented surfaces have been subject to a low pressure hydrogen plasma for durations up to 20 h. The topography of spatially defined 20 × 20 μm areas of the samples were imaged by atomic force microscopy at intervals during the plasma exposure. The mean surface roughness of individual (100) crystallites decreased from ca. 2.4 nm to <1 nm over the period and was independent of the twist and tilt angles of the crystallite. Whilst small hillock growth features were etched completely by the plasma treatment, there was no evidence for etch pits evident in similar experiments carried out with (100) natural diamond. Very low lateral etch rates of the (100) crystallites of 28 ± 4 nm/h were measured for crystallites bounded by (111) planes. High resolution XPS analysis of the C(1s) and O(1s) transitions of the same samples showed that the surface graphitic phase, present in the as-prepared samples, was removed to below detectable limits. The surface oxygen content was reduced from around 9-10% to ca. 3% after prolonged plasma exposure. The C(1s) and O(1s) band contours revealed the presence of oxygen in the form of ether and carbonyl functional groups. The ether:carbonyl: areal density ratio on (100) crystallites decreased only slightly from 83:17 to 64:37 after 20 h of plasma treatment based on fitting of the O(1s) band envelope. Etching products arising from the plasma interaction with the diamond surface were not detected by either optical emission spectroscopy or mass spectrometry.     

Controlled electrodeposition of Cu-Ga from a deep eutectic solvent for low cost fabrication of CuGaSe2 thin film solar cells

The electrochemical deposition of Ga and Cu-Ga alloys from the deep eutectic solvent choline chloride/urea (Reline) is investigated to prepare CuGaSe(2) (CGS) semiconductors for their use in thin film solar cells. Ga electrodeposition is difficult from aqueous solution due to its low standard potential and the interfering hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Ionic liquid electrolytes offer a better thermal stability and larger potential window and thus eliminate the interference of solvent breakdown reactions during Ga deposition. We demonstrate that metallic Ga can be electrodeposited from Reline without HER interference with high plating efficiency on Mo and Cu electrodes. A new low cost synthetic route for the preparation of CuGaSe(2) absorber thin films is presented and involves the one-step electrodeposition of Cu-Ga precursors from Reline followed by thermal annealing. Rotating disk electrode (RDE) cyclic voltammetry (CV) is used in combination with viscosity measurements to determine the diffusion coefficients of gallium and copper ions in Reline. The composition of the codeposited Cu-Ga precursor layers can be controlled to form Cu/Ga thin films with precise stoichiometry, which is important for achieving good optoelectronic properties of the final CuGaSe(2) absorbers. The morphology, the chemical composition and the crystal structure of the deposited thin films are analysed by scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Annealing of the Cu-Ga films in a selenium atmosphere allowed the formation of high quality CuGaSe(2) absorber layers. Completed CGS solar cells achieved a 4.1% total area power conversion efficiency.     

Controlling the length and location of in situ formed nanowires by means of microfluidic tools

Progress in microelectronics, sensors and optics is strongly dependent on the miniaturization of components, and the integration of nanoscale structures into applicable systems. In this regard, conventional top-down technologies such as lithography have limits concerning the dimensions and the choice of material. Therefore, several bottom-up approaches have been investigated to satisfy the need for structures with large aspect ratios in the nanometre regime. For further implementation, however, it is crucial to find methods to define position, orientation and length of the nanowires. In this study, we present a microchip to trap in situ formed bundles of nanowires in microsized cages and clamps, thereby enabling immobilisation, positioning and cutting-out of desired lengths. The microchip consists of two layers, one of which enables the formation of metal-organic nanowires at the interface of two co-flowing laminar streams. The other layer, separated by a thin and deflectable PDMS membrane, serves as the pneumatic control layer to impress microsized features ("donuts") onto the nanowires. In this way, a piece of the nanowire bundle with a prescribed length is immobilised inside the donut. Furthermore, partly open ring-shaped structures enabled trapping of hybrid wires and subsequent functionalisation with fluorescent beads. We believe that the method is a versatile approach to form and modify nanoscale structures via microscale tools, thereby enabling the construction of fully functional nanowire-based systems.     

Investigation of ion-electrode interactions of linear polyimides and alkali metal ions for next generation alternative-ion batteries

Organic electrode materials offer unique opportunities to utilize ion-electrode interactions to develop diverse, versatile, and high-performing secondary batteries, particularly for applications requiring high power densities. However, a lack of well-defined structure–property relationships for redox-active organic materials restricts the advancement of the field. Herein, we investigate a family of diimide-based polymer materials with several charge-compensating ions (Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺) in order to systematically probe how redox-active moiety, ion, and polymer flexibility dictate their thermodynamic and kinetic properties. When favorable ion-electrode interactions are employed (e.g., soft K⁺ anions with soft perylenediimide dianions), the resulting batteries demonstrate increased working potentials and improved cycling stabilities. Further, for all polymers examined herein, we demonstrate that K⁺ accesses the highest percentage of redox-active groups due to its small solvation shell/energy. Through crown ether experiments, cyclic voltammetry, and activation energy measurements, we provide insights into the charge compensation mechanisms of three different polymer structures and rationalize these findings in terms of the differing degrees of improvements observed when cycling with K⁺. Critically, we find that the most flexible polymer enables access to the highest fraction of active sites due to the small activation energy barrier during charge/discharge. These results suggest that improved capacities may be accessible by employing more flexible structures. Overall, our in-depth structure–activity investigation demonstrates how variables such as polymer structure and cation can be used to optimize battery performance and enable the realization of novel battery chemistries.

Organic electrode materials offer unique opportunities to utilize ion-electrode interactions to develop diverse, versatile, and high-performing secondary batteries, particularly for applications requiring high power densities.     

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