A compact permanent‐magnet system for measuring magnetic circular dichroism in resonant inelastic soft X‐ray scattering

A compact and portable magnet system for measuring magnetic dichroism in resonant inelastic soft X‐ray scattering (SX‐RIXS) has been developed at the beamline BL07LSU in SPring‐8. A magnetic circuit composed of Nd–Fe–B permanent magnets, which realised ～0.25 T at the center of an 11 mm gap, was rotatable around the axis perpendicular to the X‐ray scattering plane. Using the system, a SX‐RIXS spectrum was obtained under the application of the magnetic field at an angle parallel, nearly 45° or perpendicular to the incident X‐rays. A dedicated sample stage was also designed to be as compact as possible, making it possible to perform SX‐RIXS measurements at arbitrary incident angles by rotating the sample stage in the gap between the magnetic poles. This system enables facile studies of magnetic dichroism in SX‐RIXS for various experimental geometries of the sample and the magnetic field. A brief demonstration of the application is presented.     

Direct Fabrication Methods of Surface Relief Electro-Optic Gratings in Azo-Polymer Films

Two fabrication methods of surface relief electro-optic (EO) gratings in azo-polymer films are described: surface deformation by a continuous wave laser and laser ablation by a pulse laser. In the fabrication process, the periodic intensity modulation of laser beams is formed by an interference fringe or a phase mask. The surface relief EO grating is fabricated by poling the surface relief grating (SRG) after the SRG fabrication process. The linear dependence of an applied voltage in the modulation efficiency of the first-order diffraction beam is observed. The proposed methods are effective for highly-efficient surface relief EO grating fabrication.     

The pion velocity at chiral restoration and the vector manifestation

We study the effects of Lorentz non-invariance on the physical pion velocity at the critical temperature T_c in an effective theory of hidden local symmetry (HLS) with the “vector manifestation” fixed point. We match at a “matching scale” Λ_M the axial-vector current correlator in the HLS with the one in the operator product expansion for QCD, and present the matching condition to determine the bare pion velocity. We find that the physical pion velocity, which is found to be one at T=T_c when starting from the Lorentz invariant bare HLS, remains close to one with the Lorentz non-invariance, v_π(T_c)=0.83–0.99. This result is quite similar to the pion velocity in dense matter.     

Biosynthesis of Indole Diterpene Lolitrems: Radical-Induced Cyclization of an Epoxyalcohol Affording a Characteristic Lolitremane Skeleton

Lolitrems are tremorgenic indole diterpenes that exhibit a unique 5/6 bicyclic system of the indole moiety. Although genetic analysis has indicated that the prenyltransferase LtmE and the cytochrome P450 LtmJ are involved in the construction of this unique structure, the detailed mechanism remains to be elucidated. Herein, we report the reconstitution of the biosynthetic pathway for lolitrems employing a recently established genome-editing technique for the expression host Aspergillus oryzae. Heterologous expression and bioconversion of the various intermediates revealed that LtmJ catalyzes multistep oxidation to furnish the lolitrem core. We also isolated the key reaction intermediate with an epoxyalcohol moiety. This observation allowed us to establish the mechanism of radical-induced cyclization, which was firmly supported by density functional theory calculations and a model experiment with a synthetic analogue.     

Palladium-catalyzed amidation by chemoselective C(sp3)-H activation: concise route to oxindoles using a carbamoyl chloride precursor

Quite select: a new strategy was developed for the synthesis of various oxindoles from carbamoyl chlorides. Under the optimum reaction conditions, with Ad(2)PBu as a ligand, tBuCONHOH as an additive, and a CO atmosphere, selective C(sp(3))-H activation proceeded in the presence of a C(sp(2))-H bond. Ad=adamantyl.     

Regioselective double hydrophosphination of terminal arylacetylenes catalyzed by an iron complex

The first catalytic double hydrophosphination of alkynes was achieved by reaction with diarylphosphines in the presence of an iron catalyst. The double hydrophosphination proceeded regioselectively and effectively for various secondary arylphosphines and terminal alkynes to give 1,2-bisphosphinoethane derivatives.     

Nona-coordinated chiral Eu(III) complexes with stereoselective ligand-ligand noncovalent interactions for enhanced circularly polarized luminescence

Circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) of chiral Eu(III) complexes with nona- and octa-coordinated structures, [Eu(R/S-iPr-Pybox)(D-facam)(3)] (1-R/1-S; R/S-iPr-Pybox, 2,6-bis(4R/4S-isopropyl-2-oxazolin-2-yl)pyridine; D-facam, 3-trifluoroacetyl-d-camphor), [Eu(S,S-Me-Ph-Pybox)(D-facam)(3)] (2-SS; S,S-Me-Ph-Pybox, 2,6-bis(4S-methyl-5S-phenyl-2-oxazolin-2-yl)pyridine), and [Eu(Phen)(D-facam)(3)] (3; Phen, 1,10-phenanthroline) are reported, and their structural features are discussed on the basis of X-ray crystallographic analyses. These chiral Eu(III) complexes showed relatively intense photoluminescence due to their (5)D(0) → (7)F(1) (magnetic-dipole) and (5)D(0) → (7)F(2) (electric-dipole) transition. The dissymmetry factors of CPL (g(CPL)) at the former band of 1-R and 1-S were as large as -1.0 and -0.8, respectively, while the g(CPL) of 3 at the (5)D(0) → (7)F(1) transition was relatively small (g(CPL) = -0.46). X-ray crystallographic data indicated specific ligand-ligand hydrogen bonding in these compounds which was expected to stabilize their chiral structures even in solution phase. CPL properties of 1-R and 1-S were discussed in terms of transition nature of lanthanide luminescence.     

Synthesis of Pyrrolophenanthridine Alkaloids Based on C(sp3)H and C(sp2)H Functionalization Reactions

Assoanine, pratosine, hippadine, and dehydroanhydrolycorine belong to the pyrrolophenanthridine family of alkaloids, which are isolated from plants of the Amaryllidaceae species. Structurally, these alkaloids are characterized by a tetracyclic skeleton that contains a biaryl moiety and an indole core, and compounds belonging to this class have received considerable interest from researchers in a number of fields because of their biological properties and the challenges associated with their synthesis. Herein, a strategy for the total synthesis of these alkaloids by using C? H activation chemistry is described. The tetracyclic skeleton was constructed in a stepwise manner by C(sp³)? H functionalization followed by a Catellani reaction, including C(sp²)? H functionalization. A one‐pot reaction involving both C(sp³)? H and C(sp²)? H functionalization was also attempted. This newly developed strategy is suitable for the facile preparation of various analogues because it uses simple starting materials and does not require protecting groups.     

A Defective Nanotube Molecule of C552H496N24 with Pyridinic and Pyrrolic Nitrogen Atoms

A 3-nm molecule comprising a cylindrical core and cross-shaped rims was designed and synthesized by developing a modular synthetic route. By using a cyclic precursor from previous studies as a starting material, multiple carbazole units were installed at the rims of the defective cylinder. The defective cylinder was synthetically doped with two types of nitrogen atoms, that is, pyridinic and pyrrolic nitrogen atoms, which resulted in solvatochromic shifts in fluorescence by charge-transfer interactions. The structure of the large, C₅₅₂H₄₉₆N₂₄ molecule was fully disclosed by crystallographic analyses, and the unique helical arrangement of nitrogen-doped cylinders in the crystal was revealed.