Oligothiophene catenanes and knots. Part II. Mono and dications. A theoretical study

Mono- and dications of catenanes and knots containing 16, 22, and 28 thiophene units have been studied at the BHandHLYP/3-21G* level of theory. The polaron localization and relaxation energies of monoionized molecules increase with dihedral angle between thiophene fragments, being higher for catenanes and knots compared to linear oligomers. Monoionization of catenanes results in the polaron localization at one macrocycle leaving another one intact. In all diionized oligomers, polaron pairs were found to be more stable than corresponding bipolarons. The energy difference between bipolaron and polaron pairs increases with the number of repeating units in oligomers for all studied molecular architectures. Singlet polaron pairs are more stable than triplet ones. The energy difference between triplet and singlet states does not exceed 7-8 kcal/mol and decreases with the number of thiophene units in oligomers. Two different singlet minima were found for diionized catenanes. In the first one (the most stable), each macrocycle loses one electron, and in the other one, the polaron pairs are located at one macrocycle, leaving another intact. The energy difference between two minima decreases with the number of repeating units in catenanes.     

Open tube combustion method of organic samples for stable carbon isotope analysis

A simple and effective method for the conversion of organic carbon into carbon dioxide for analysis of stable carbon isotopes (delta(13)C) in samples of various organic substances, soils, sedimentary rocks, oils and volatile organic liquids is presented. The conversion of organic carbon of the samples is carried out in a quartz reactor connected to a vacuum line for CO(2) freezing and purification. A solid organic sample mixed with CuO is placed at the reactor bottom and the reactor is subsequently filled with granular CuO. One end of the CuO column is preheated to 850 degrees C while the other end of the column in contact with the sample is kept at ambient temperature. Heating of the sample (850 degrees C) and the remainder of the column is then performed. The preheated part of the column provides efficient conversion of carbon into CO(2). The reactor for the conversion of volatile liquid organic compounds is filled with granular CuO. The column of CuO is heated to 850 degrees C. Samples of volatile liquids are introduced into the reactor through a septum using a microsyringe. Complete conversion takes 10 min for solid samples and 3 min for volatile liquids. The precision of the delta(13)C analysis for solid and volatile liquid organic substances is +/-0.1 per thousand and +/-0.04 per thousand, respectively.     

Prussian blue analogue CsFe[Cr(CN)(6)] as a matrix for the Fe(II) spin-crossover

The origin of the intriguing spin-transition behavior of the Prussian blue analogue cesium iron hexacyanochromate CsFe[Cr(CN)6] has been investigated by means of correlated ab initio CASPT2 calculations. Using the smallest transiting core [Fe(NC)6]4-, the relative importance of the local ligand field and the Madelung field generated by the rest of the crystal was estimated. It is shown that in the presence of a frozen-charge environment, the high-spin state lies lower in energy than the low-spin state, thus excluding the possibility of observing a spin transition. In contrast, the charge reorganization in the environment evaluated from unrestricted periodic Hartree-Fock calculations creates a prerequisite for the spin-transition phenomenon. The influence of the disorder in the cesium ions' positions on the spin transition has been examined as a possible stabilizing factor of the low-spin state of [Fe(NC)6]4-. It is concluded that this experimentally observed disorder cannot account solely for the unprecedented behavior of the CsFe[Cr(CN)6] compound.     

Computional Study of Metathesis Degradation of Rubber, 2. Distribution of Cyclic Oligomers via Intramolecular Metathesis Degradation of Natural Rubber

The results of molecular modeling of the ring distributions for the intramolecular metathesis degradation of natural rubber (NR) at HF/6–31G(d) level of theory showed that in the ring‐ring equilibrium participate cyclic oligomers containing from two to four isoprene units with all‐trans cyclic isoprene trimer being the main product. The formation of trans,trans,trans‐1,5,9‐trimethyl‐1,5,9‐cyclododecatriene from larger rings is thermodynamically favored. According to the calculations, the ring‐ring equilibrium for the intramolecular metathesis degradation of cis‐polybutadiene (cis‐PB) is completely shifted towards the all‐trans cyclic butadiene trimer. These results are in reasonable agreement with recent experimental data.     

Superelectrophilic Activation of N‐Substituted Isatins: Implications for Polymer Synthesis,a Theoretical Study

The stability and reactivity of mono‐ and multi‐protonatred N‐substituted isatin derivatives were studied at PBE0/aug‐cc‐pvtz//PBE0/6‐31+G** level of theory in triflic acid (TFSA) solution. Calculations showed that the monocationic intermediates are the principal reactive species in the reaction of hydroxyalkylation of isatin derivatives in TFSA media. Electron‐withdrawing substituents on the nitrogen atom increase the reactivity of isatin‐containing electrophiles towards aromatic hydrocarbons, in accordance with their expected electronic influence. Steric factors also play an important role in the reactivity of isatin‐containing electrophiles, especially in the second reaction step, due to their more sterically hindered reactive center.

     

Dynamic visualization of membrane-inserted fraction of pHluorin-tagged channels using repetitive acidification technique

Background  

Changes in neuronal excitability, synaptic efficacy and generally in cell signaling often result from insertion of key molecules into plasma membrane (PM). Many of the techniques used for monitoring PM insertion lack either spatial or temporal resolution.     

Affinity of An(VI) for N4-Tetradentate Donor Ligands: Complexation of the Actinyl(VI) Ions with N4-Tetradentate Ligands

In this report the affinity of four N₄-tetradentate ligands that incorporate the 2-methylpyridyl functionality with hexavalent actinides $(\mathrm{AnO}_{2}^{2+})$ has been investigated in methanol solution. The ligands studied include N,N??-bis(2-methylpyridyl)diaminoethane (BPMDAE), N,N??-bis(2-methylpyridyl)-1,3-diaminopropane (BPMDAP), N,N??-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)piperazine (BPMPIP), and trans-N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane (BPMDAC). Conditional stability constants describing the strength of the interaction were determined by UV?Cvisible spectrophotometry. The log₁₀ K ₁₀₁ values for both U(VI) and Pu(VI) are comparable and show the same trend of stability with ligand structure. Dinuclear complexes are also indicated as being important. The log₁₀ K ₂₀₁ values for Pu(VI) complexation with the N₄-ligands are identical for the four ligands (within experimental error), indicating that the structure of the ligand backbone has little effect on the stability of the (PuO₂)₂L²⁺ complex. The exception to this trend is the behavior of N,N??-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)piperazine (BPMPIP) with Pu(VI). This ligand displays a tendency to reduce Pu(VI) within the experimental time frame of 45 minutes. BPMPIP is the only ligand tested that contains tertiary amines in the ligand backbone. The decomposition of BPMPIP by Pu(VI) suggests a susceptibility of tertiary amines to oxidative degradation.     

How to Prove Dynamical Localization

Let H be a self-adjoint operator on l ²(Z ^d ) or L ²(R ^d ) with pure point spectrum on some interval I. We establish general necessary and sufficient conditions for dynamical localization for a given vector and on the interval of energies I. The sufficient conditions we obtain improve the existing ones such as SULE or WULE and can be useful in applications. Received: 16 November 2000 / Accepted: 14 February 2001