An in situ STM study on the long-range surface restructuring of Au(1 1 1) in a non-chloroaluminumated ionic liquid

We report an in situ STM study of a potential-dependent long-range surface restructuring of Au(1 1 1) electrode in neat 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborates (BMIBF₄) ionic liquid. Au(1 1 1) undergoes a significant long-range surface restructuring upon cathodic excursion to −1.0 V vs. Pt quasi-reference. The restructuring involves the formation of tiny pits, which then develops into a stable worm-like network with an average width of the network grids 2 nm. Electrochemical annealing occurs at the cathodic limit with the presence of a reduction product of cation BMI⁺. A smooth surface is recovered with the appearance of the typical (√3 × 22) reconstruction of Au(1 1 1). The surface restructuring is reestablished upon anodic excursion to −1.3 V after the adsorbed reduction product is oxidized. The long-range surface restructuring phenomenon is tentatively explained as a result of partial charge transfer to the weakly adsorbed BMI⁺, which reduces the metal–metal cohesive energy. In addition, the synergetic effect of the counter anion BF₄⁻ may also be involved. The results provide a knowledge of Au(1 1 1) electrode behavior in the neat ionic liquid and are beneficial to understanding in situ STM results involving surface morphological changes in such a media.     

Ferromagnetic anomaly associated with the antiferromagnetic transitions in (donor)[Ni(mnt)2]-type charge-transfer salts

Three newly prepared [Ni(mnt)2] complexes, (HMTTF)[Ni(mnt)2], (ChSTF)[Ni(mnt)2], and (DBTTF)2[Ni(mnt)2], are reported (DBTTF = dibenzotetrathiafulvalene, ChSTF = 2,3-cyclohexylenedithio-1,4-dithia-5,8-diselanafulvalene, HMTTF = bis(trimethylene)-tetrathiafulvalene, and mnt = maleonitrile dithiolate). The former two compounds have usual DA-type (D = donor, A = acceptor) mixed stacks, whereas the DBTTF complex has DDDDAA-type 6-fold columns. These compounds are electrical insulators, but the HMTTF and ChSTF complexes exhibit chiT minima at 16 and 55 K, respectively, followed by chiT peaks at 8 and 16 K. Below these temperatures the ESR signal disappears, indicating antiferromagnetic transitions. The origin of the ferromagnetic interaction is explained either from the difference of the g values between the donor and the anion or from the intrinsic ferromagnetic interaction of the [Ni(mnt)2] anions.     

Template-free, polymerase-free DNA polymerization

A combination of a DNA ligase and a restriction endonuclease provides a DNA polymerase activity, which might suggest a novel strategy for polymer synthesis.     

Two Novel Antifungal Saponins from Tibetan Herbal Medicine Clematis tangutica

Antifungal assay-guided isolation of the ethanol extract of the aerial parts of Clematis tangutica yielded two novel triterpene saponins. Their structures were determined to be 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl hederagenin 28-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl ester (1) and 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-α-L-arabinopyranosyl hederagenin 28-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl ester (2) on the basis of spectral data and chemical reactions.     

New types of metal squarato-phosphonates: condensation of aminodiphosphonate with squaric acid under hydrothermal conditions

The syntheses and crystal structures of the first copper(I) phosphonate, Cu2(H3L)(bipy)(2).2H2O 1 (H5L = C4HO3N(CH2PO3H2)2), which is also the first example of metal phosphonates formed by a type of organic reaction, and a novel luminescent Mn(II) squarate diphosphonate, {Mn[NH(CH2PO3H)2](H2O)2}2{Mn(C4O4)(H2O)4}.(C4H2O4) 2, have been reported. The structure of 1 features a layer architecture in which the Cu(I) centers are three coordinated, and the newly formed ligand acts as a bidentate metal linker. Compound 2 is composed of 1D chains of Mn[NH(CH2PO3H)2](H2O)2, 1D chains of {Mn(C4O4)(H2O)4}, as well as the neutral squaric acid molecules. These three types of building units are interconnected via hydrogen bonding.     

Catalyst-substrate helical character matching determines enantiomeric excess

In the framework of a helix theory recently developed for molecular chiralities and chiral interactions, it is further proposed that for an asymmetric reaction to be highly enantioselective, the helical characters, that is, the local energies of electrons on the helices, of the catalyst and the substrate complexed with it in the corresponding enantioselection-determining step must be matched. These helical characters can be analyzed on the basis of molecular polarizability and structure properties under a given reaction mechanism. This proposal highlights the importance of polarizability matching in three-dimension chiral space and in essence is a chiral version of the classical hard and soft acid-base theory. It also from an electronic effect angle sheds light on the nature of the conventional lock-and-key origin of high enantioselection and carries the message that, to design a good catalyst (the key), rather than focusing on the rigidity, bulkiness or C₂-symmetry of the catalyst, one should focus more on the helical character of the substrate (the lock) with which the catalyst will interact. It is generally easier to discover a highly enantioselective catalyst for a substrate of a large helical character than for a substrate of a small helical character. The proposal is supported by theoretical modeling as well as numerous experiments and is used to understanding various aspects of current asymmetric catalysis.     

Criteria for Geometric and Algebraic Transience for Discrete-Time Markov Chains

Journal of Theoretical Probability - We present new criteria for geometric and algebraic transience for discrete-time transient Markov chains on general state spaces, based on the moment of the...