Individual dissolution of single-walled carbon nanotubes in aqueous solutions of steroid or sugar compounds and their Raman and near-IR spectral properties

The individual solubilization of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), achieved by using ten different anionic-, zwitterionic-, and nonionic-steroid biosurfactants and three different sugar biosurfactants, was examined. Aqueous micelles of anionic cholate analogues, such as sodium cholate (SC), sodium deoxycholate (SDC), sodium taurocholate (STC), sodium taurodeoxycholate (STDC), sodium glycocholate (SGC), as well as N,N-bis(3-D-gluconamidopropyl)cholamide (BIGCHAP) and N,N-bis(3-D-gluconamidopropyl)deoxycholamide (deoxy-BIGCHAP), exhibited good abilities to dissolve the SWNTs individually. Aqueous micelles of nonionic biosurfactants, such as sucrose monocholate (SMC), n-octyl-beta-D-glucoside (OG), n-decyl-beta-D-maltoside (DM), and n-decanoyl-N-methylglucamide (MEGA-10), could dissolve the SWNTs, however, the solubilization abilities were weaker than those of the anionic cholate analogues. In sharp contrast, the solubilization abilities of the zwitterionic micelles of 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]propanesulfonic acid (CHAPS) and 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-2-hydroxypropanesulfonic acid (CHAPSO) were very low, and almost zero for OG. It is evident that the chemical structures, in particular the substituent groups of the surfactants, play an important role in the solubilization of SWNTs. The near-IR photoluminescence behaviors of the SWNTs dissolved in aqueous micelles and in 1 mM biosurfactants were investigated. The chirality indices of the SWNTs dissolved in these solutions depend on the chemical structures of the biosurfactants. The Raman spectra of the SWNTs dissolved in a 1 mM solution of SC suggest the selective extraction of the metallic SWNTs. Finally, a possible solubilization mechanism using steroid surfactants is described. The SWNTs dissolved individually in water-containing biocompounds are useful in many areas of nano- and materials chemistry.     

Syntheses, structures, and photoluminescence properties of metal(II) halide complexes with pyridine-containing flexible tripodal ligands

Seven coordination compounds, [Zn(L3)Cl2] . MeOH . H2O (1), [Mn(L3)2Cl2] . 0.5EtOH . 0.5H2O (2), [Cu3(L2)2Cl6] . 2DMF (3), [Cu3(L2)2Br6] . 4MeOH (4), [Hg2(L4)Cl4] (5), [Hg2(L4)Br4] (6), and [Hg3(L4)2I6] . H2O (7), were synthesized by the reactions of ligands 1,3,5-tris(3-pyridylmethoxyl)benzene (L3), 1,3,5-tris(2-pyridylmethoxyl)benzene (L2), and 1,3,5-tris(4-pyridylmethoxyl)benzene (L4) with the corresponding metal halides. All the structures were established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. In complexes 1 and 2, L3 acts as a bidentate ligand using two of three pyridyl arms to link two metal atoms to result in two different 1D chain structures. In complexes 3 and 4, each L2 serves as tridentate ligand and connects three Cu(II) atoms to form a 2D network structure. Complexes 5 and 6 have the same framework structure, and L4 acts as a three-connecting ligand to connect Hg(II) atoms to generate a 3D 4-fold interpenetrated framework, while the structure of complex 7 is an infinite 1D chain. The results indicate that the flexible ligands can adopt different conformations and thus can form complexes with varied structures. In addition, the coordination geometry of the metal atom and the species of the halide were found to have great impact on the structure of the complexes. The photoluminescence properties of the complexes were investigated, and the Zn(II), Mn(II) and Hg(II) complexes showed blue emissions in solid state at room temperature.     

Crystal structures and 77Se NMR spectra of molybdenum(IV) areneselenolates having intramolecular NH...Se hydrogen bonds

Salts of the monooxomolybdenum(IV,V) areneselenolates having intramolecular NH...Se hydrogen bonds, [Mo(IV)O(Se-2-RCONHC6H4)4]2- (R = t-Bu, CH3, CF3) and [Mo(V)O(Se-2-t-BuCONHC6H4)4]-, were synthesized and characterized by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 77Se NMR, electron spin resonance (ESR), UV-visible spectra, X-ray analysis, and electrochemical measurements. 77Se-1H correlated spectroscopy (COSY) indicated a significant correlation between amide 1H and selenolate 77Se atoms through an NH...Se hydrogen bond with 1J(77Se-1H) = 5.4 Hz coupling. The hydrogen bonds contribute to the positive shift in the Mo(V)/Mo(IV) redox potential. In the crystal structure of (PPh4)2[Mo(IV)O(Se-2-CH3CONHC6H4)4], an NH...O=Mo hydrogen bond was found. Ab inito calculations support the presence of intramolecular NH...O=Mo and NH...Se hydrogen bonds.     

Syntheses, structures, near-infrared and visible luminescence, and magnetic properties of lanthanide-organic frameworks with an imidazole-containing flexible ligand

Reactions of tripodal ligand 1,3,5-tris(imidazole-1-ylmethyl)-2,4,6-trimethylbenzene (L) with lanthanide metal salts and triethyl orthoformate led to the formation of six bowl-like dinuclear compounds [Ln2(L)(HL)(NO3)6(HCOO)].3CH3OH (Ln = Gd 1, Tb 2, Dy 3, Er 4, Yb 5, and Eu 6). The single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that six complexes are isomorphous and isostructural and that the dinuclear molecules are further connected by hydrogen bonds and pi-pi interactions, resulting in 3D channel-like structures. The luminescence properties have been studied, and the results showed that the Tb(III) (2) and Eu(III) (6) complexes exhibited sensitized luminescence in the visible region and their luminescence lifetimes in powder and DMSO-d6 solution are in the range of milliseconds. The Yb(III) complex (5) emits typical near-infrared luminescence in DMSO-d6 solution. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements of 1-6 showed that complex 1 (Gd) is nearly a paramagnet and complexes 2 (Tb), 3 (Dy), and 4 (Er) show the ferromagnetic coupling between magnetic centers, whereas the depopulation of the Stark levels in complexes 5 (Yb) and 6 (Eu) leads to a continuous decrease in (chi M)T when the sample is cooled from 300 to 1.8 K.     

Selective synthesis of a [3]rotaxane consisting of size-complementary components and its stepwise deslippage

An α-cyclodextrin-based size-complementary [3]rotaxane with an alkylene axle was selectively synthesized in one pot via an end-capping reaction with 2-bromophenyl isocyanate in water. Thermal degradation of the [3]rotaxane product yielded not only the original components but also the [2]rotaxane. Thermodynamic studies suggested a stepwise deslippage process.     

Thermoresponsive shuttling of rotaxane containing trichloroacetate ion

A thermoresponsive rotaxane shuttling system was developed with a trichloroacetate counteranion of an ammonium/crown ether-type rotaxane. Chemoselective thermal decomposition of the ammonium trichloroacetate moiety on the rotaxane yielded the corresponding nonionic rotaxane accompanied by a positional change of the crown ether on the axle. The rotaxane skeleton facilitated effective dissociation of the acid, markedly lowering the thermal decomposition temperature.     

Photo-impulsive reactions in the electronic ground state without electronic excitation: non-photo, non-thermal chemical reactions

Allyl phenyl ether has an absorption band in the ultraviolet region (λ < 400 nm); therefore, irradiation with few-optical-cycle ultraviolet pulses (λ = 360-440 nm) causes a transition to the ultraviolet band, which leads to an electronic state and a photo-Claisen rearrangement (radical reaction) in the electronic excited state. However, the reaction scheme of allyl phenyl ether under irradiation with few-optical-cycle visible pulses (λ = 525-725 nm) was determined to be same as that of the thermal Claisen rearrangement ([3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement), which is symmetry-allowed in the electronic ground state. Photo-excitation with few-optical cycle visible pulses below the absorption band induces a photo-impulsive reaction in the electronic ground state without electronic excitation, of which the trigger scheme is different from that of photoreaction or thermal-reaction. The photo-impulsive reaction in the electronic ground state is highly possible as a novel reaction scheme.     

Silver supramolecule catalyzed multicomponent reactions under mild conditions

A novel supramolecular complex [Ag(L)(NO(3))] (1) was synthesized by reaction of the oxazoline-containing ligand 1,4-bis(4,5-dihydro-2-oxazolyl)benzene (L) with silver(I) nitrate and its structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Structurally speaking, the one-dimensional (1D) zigzag chains of 1, in which the Ag(I) is three-coordinated with distorted trigonal-planar coordination geometry, are linked together by the hydrogen bonding interactions to form a three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular structure. It was found that the silver supramolecule 1 catalyzes the three-component coupling reactions of aldehyde, alkyne, and amine in the air at room temperature to generate propargylic amines with high efficiency. No additional co-catalyst or activator is required. A variety of aldehydes and amines were used to demonstrate the versatility of the reaction.     

Observation of negative and positive trions in the electrochemically carrier-doped single-walled carbon nanotubes

Understanding of electronic and optical features of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) has been a central issue in science and nanotechnology of carbon nanotubes. We describe the detection of both the positive trion (positively charged exciton) and negative trion (negatively charged exciton) as a three-particle bound state in the SWNTs at room temperature by an in situ photoluminescence spectroelectrochemistry method for an isolated SWNT film cast on an ITO electrode. The electrochemical hole and electron dopings enable us to detect such trions on the SWNTs. The large energy difference between the singlet bright exciton and the negative and positive trions showing a tube diameter dependence is determined by both the exchange splitting energy and the trion binding energy. In contrast to conventional compound semiconductors, on the SWNTs, the negative trion has almost the same binding energy to the positive trion, which is attributed to nearly identical effective masses of the holes and electrons.     

Silicon Oxide Coatings with Very High Rates (>10?nm/s) by Hexamethyldisiloxane-Oxygen Fed Atmospheric-Pressure VHF Plasma: Film-Forming Behavior Using Cylindrical Rotary Electrode

Silicon oxide films are deposited in atmospheric-pressure (AP) He/O₂/HMDSO plasma excited by a 150?MHz VHF power using a cylindrical rotary electrode. The atomic bonding configurations and deposition rate are studied by controlling the O₂ concentration (O₂/HMDSO source ratio) and VHF power density, the other parameters being maintained constant. Under the addition of 0.03?% O₂ to the process gas mixture (O₂/HMDSO????0.09), AP-VHF plasma greatly enhances the fragmentation and oxidation of HMDSO, so that an almost inorganic film is obtained at a very high deposition rate of 33?nm?s^?1. A silicon oxide coating on a polycarbonate pane is demonstrated with no significant thermal deformation of the pane, showing that AP-VHF plasma would be an efficient coating tool for polymer substrates.