Electron Transfer in Metal‐Organic Molecules. A Time Resolved EXAFS and Optical Spectroscopy Study

We have measured, by means of ultrafast x‐ray absorption and optical spectroscopy, the M‐O (M=Fe, Co) and Co‐N metal to ligand bond length change as a function of time and the formation and decay of the excited states and intermediate species, after excitation with a 267 nm femtosecond pulse. These experimental data combined with DFT calculations allowed us to determine the mechanism of electron transfer operating in the redox reaction of two metal‐ligand complexes, [M(III)(C₂O₄)₃]^3‐ and [Co(III)(NH₃)₆ ]³⁺. Based on the data we find that, even though both molecules are excited into their charge transfer band, the redox reaction of [M(III)(C₂O₄)₃]^3‐ proceeds via intermolecular electron transfer while [Co(III)(NH₃)₆ ]³⁺ electron transfer mechanism is intramolecular.     

Synthesis and Surface Activity of Anionic Gemini Surfactants with Alkyl Spacers

A series of anionic Gemini surfactants called alkanediyl-α,ω-bis(m-octylphenoxy sulfonate) with different length of (CH₂)_x spacer, C₈C_xC₈ (x = 2, 4, 6, 8), have been synthesized from 4-n-octylphenol and their basic physicochemical properties are investigated. The results indicate that they are different from cationic Gemini surfactants called alkanediyl-α,ω-bis(dimethyldodecylammonium bromide), 12-(CH₂)_s-12, in the literature. It is found that as the carbon atom number of the spacer increases, the cmc (critical micelle concentration) decreases gradually, and the surface area per molecule (A_min) decreases initially and then increases. The breakpoints appear at number 4 of carbon atom in the spacer. Though the length of the spacer is different for the Gemini surfactants from C₈C₂C₈ to C₈C₆C₈, there is no obvious change on the micropolarity.     

Odd–even effect in biphenyl‐based symmetrical dimers with methylene spacer – evidence of the B4 phase

A series of 4‐decyloxy‐4′‐hydroxybiphenyl esters of α,ω‐alkanedicarboxylic acids containing two mesogenic units connected by a methylene spacer was synthesized. The mesogenic properties of the compounds were investigated by polarising optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X‐ray diffraction methods. A strong influence of the spacer length and its parity on the mesomorphic properties was found. A dramatic odd–even effect was observed for the clearing temperatures and entropies. Compounds with an even number of carbon atoms in the methylene spacer formed tilted smectic phases, whereas compounds with an odd number of carbon atoms in the spacer exhibited the B4 phase, characteristic of bent‐shaped molecules.     

ADDITIONS DES FONCTIONS SUR LA DOUBLE LIAISON DES VINYL SPIROPHOSPHORANES SYNTHÈSE DES α ET β AMINO SPIROPHOSPHORANES ALCOOLYSE DE LA LIAISON P—C DANS LES COMPOSÉS D'ADDITION OBTENUS

Abstract

Addition of amines and of hydrogenphosphonates on the carbon-carbon double bond belonging to vinyl-phosphoranes is examined. The stereochemistry and reactivity of the saturated adducts obtained is rationalized. Alcoholis of the P—C bond is also studied.     

Organic Fluorescent Molecule with High Solid State Lumines- cent Efficiency and Protonation Stimuli-response

A novel organic fluorophor with high solid state luminescent efficiency based on 1,4-bis（2,2-di（pyridin-2-yl）- vinyl）benzene （BDP2VB） was designed and synthesized. It emits faintly in solution, but becomes a strong emitter in the aggregate state, demonstrating its aggregation induced emission （AIE） property. According to the crystal struc- ture analysis, J-type aggregation was formed in the packing mode of the molecule, which was demonstrated to be beneficial to gain high fluorescent quantum efficiency in solid state. Additionally, the emission color of BDP2VB can change dramatically in solid state as well as in solution by the protonation stimuli.     

吖啶衍生物的合成、表征、光致发光及电致发光性质研究

本文设计合成了一系列以吖啶为核的荧光小分子发光化合物（1～4）,通过在分子两侧引入不同的取代基来调节化合物的能级、载流子传输性质.对这些材料的光物理、电化学、热力学和能量转移性能进行了系统表征.结果表明这些材料具有高的发光效率、合理的能级结构和良好的主/客体能量转移特性.以这些材料为发光层的器件显示了优良的性能,电致发光器件的开启电压为2.4V,最高效率可达到13.3lm/W和11.8cd/A.     

Non‐B DNA Structures Show Diverse Conformations and Complex Transition Kinetics Comparable to RNA or Proteins—A Perspective from Mechanical Unfolding and Refolding Experiments

With the firm demonstration of the in vivo presence and biological functions of many non‐B DNA structures, it is of great significance to understand their physiological roles from the perspective of structural conformation, stability, and transition kinetics. Although relatively simple in primary sequences compared to proteins, non‐B DNA species show rather versatile conformations and dynamic transitions. As the most‐studied non‐B DNA species, the G‐quadruplex displays a myriad of conformations that can interconvert between each other in different solutions. These features impose challenges for ensemble‐average techniques, such as X‐ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, and circular dichroism (CD), but leave room for single‐molecular approaches to illustrate the structure, stability, and transition kinetics of individual non‐B DNA species in a solution mixture. Deconvolution of the mixture can be further facilitated by statistical data treatment, such as iPoDNano (i ntegrated po pulation d econvolution with nano meter resolution), which resolves populations with subnanometer size differences. This Personal Account summarizes current mechanical unfolding and refolding methods to interrogate single non‐B DNA species, with an emphasis on DNA G‐quadruplexes and i‐motifs. These single‐molecule studies start to demonstrate that structures and transitions in non‐B DNA species can approach the complexity of those in RNA or proteins, which provides solid justification for the biological functions carried out by non‐B DNA species.     

磁性分子自旋态检测与调控的STM研究

单分子自旋态检测与可逆调控是目前物理、化学及信息技术等领域的研究热点．本文综述了扫描隧道显微镜在该领域的研究进展,着重论述了酞菁类磁性分子在金属单晶表面或绝缘层薄膜上磁性的检测;自旋交叉配合物分子自旋双稳态的检测与可逆调控;单分子磁体的表面制备及输运性质的检测．     

Ultrasensitive electrochemiluminescent aptasensor for ochratoxin A detection with the loop-mediated isothermal amplification

In this study, we for the first time presented an efficient, accurate, rapid, simple and ultrasensitive detection system for small molecule ochratoxin A (OTA) by using the integration of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technique and subsequently direct readout of LAMP amplicons with a signal-on electrochemiluminescent (ECL) system. Firstly, the dsDNA composed by OTA aptamer and its capture DNA were immobilized on the electrode. After the target recognition, the OTA aptamer bond with target OTA and subsequently left off the electrode, which effectively decreased the immobilization amount of OTA aptamer on electrode. Then, the remaining OTA aptamers on the electrode served as inner primer to initiate the LAMP reaction. Interestingly, the LAMP amplification was detected by monitoring the intercalation of DNA-binding Ru(phen)₃²⁺ ECL indictors into newly formed amplicons with a set of integrated electrodes. The ECL indictor Ru(phen)₃²⁺ binding to amplicons caused the reduction of the ECL intensity due to the slow diffusion of Ru(phen)₃²⁺–amplicons complex to the electrode surface. Therefore, the presence of more OTA was expected to lead to the release of more OTA aptamer, which meant less OTA aptamer remained on electrode for producing LAMP amplicons, resulting in less Ru(phen)₃²⁺ interlaced into the formed amplicons within a fixed Ru(phen)₃²⁺ amount with an obviously increased ECL signal input. As a result, a detection limit as low as 10 fM for OTA was achieved. The aptasensor also has good reproducibility and stability.     

Molecular sensing using armchair graphene nanoribbon

In molecular electronics, the conductance strongly depends on the frontier energy levels and spatial orientations of molecules. Utilizing these features, we investigate the electron transport characteristics of conjugated molecules attached on an armchair graphene nanoribbon. The resulting sharp reduction in the transmission which represents molecular fingerprints and the change of the transmission depending on the molecular orientation, are examined in accordance with a unified picture of the Fano–Anderson model. These characteristics, being unique for each molecule, would be applicable to molecular recognition and configurational analysis. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.