不同液体环境下聚丙烯酰胺的单分子力学

利用单分子力谱研究了非离子型聚丙烯酰胺(NPAM)及其水解产物阴离子型聚丙烯酰胺(APAM)在不同液体环境下的单链弹性. 利用改进的自由连接链(M-FJC)模型中的单链弹性模量参数(K₀)描述NPAM在不同pH值水溶液中的单链弹性. 实验结果表明, K₀随着溶液pH值增加而增大, 表明NPAM在碱性溶液中的水解度具有pH依赖性. 由于K₀和高分子链的净电荷正相关, K₀增大表明NPAM链净电荷增多, 结构单元之间的静电排斥作用增强使高分子链呈现高度伸展的构象. 在此基础上研究了APAM在不同pH值溶液中的构象, 单分子力谱数据表明, APAM在酸性水溶液中为柔性链, 在碱性水溶液中呈现较伸展的构象, 从而在分子水平上阐明APAM链构建的水凝胶网络的溶胀机理. 单分子层面的深入研究有望阐明这类高分子的减阻机理.     

Adsorption and valence electronic states of nitric oxide on metal surfaces

Among fundamental diatomic molecules, the adsorption of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitric oxide (NO) on metal surfaces has been a subject of intensive research in the surface science community, partly owing to its relevance to heterogeneous catalysis used for environmental control. Compared to the rather well-defined adsorption mechanism of CO, that of NO is less understood because the adsorption results in much more complex reactions. The complexity is ascribed to the open-shell structure of valence electrons, making the molecule readily interact with the metal surface itself as well as with co-adsorbed molecules. Furthermore, the interaction crucially depends on the local structure of the surface. Therefore, to elucidate the interaction at the molecular scale, it is essential to study the valence state as well as the bonding geometry for individual NO molecules placed in a well-defined environment on the surface. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is suitable for this purpose. In this review, we summarize the knowledge about the interaction of NO with metal surfaces, mainly focused on the valence electronic states, followed by recent studies using STM and atomic force microscopy (AFM) at the level of individual molecules.     

Acoustic frequency and optimum sonochemical production at single and multi-bubble scales: A modeling answer to the scaling dilemma

The present work consists of an innovative approach aiming to address the scalability dilemma of the sonochemical activity dependency of acoustic frequency. The study originates from the discordance of observations between the theoretical investigations of the sonochemical activity of the single acoustic cavitation bubble in function of the acoustic frequency, in one hand, and the experimental findings regarding the optimal frequency condition, mainly in terms of pollutant degradation, in the other hand. A single bubble and an up-scaled model of the sonochemical activity are suggested and simulations were conducted based on both of them over the frequencies 20, 200, 300, 360, 443, 500, 600 and 800 kHz under an oxygen atmosphere. The results reveal that the sonochemical production at single bubble scale is monotonously decreasing with the increase of frequency, while all the products demonstrate an absolute optimum of sonochemical production at 200 kHz, except HO^• that attains its maximum molar yield under 300 kHz. Besides, the production of the predominant species, namely HO₂^•, HO^• and O₃, manifests a clear rebound at 500 kHz. All the present results were compared to and confirmed by experimental findings, while the scalability of the concentrations of sonochemically produced species was discussed using a parameter we introduced as “the mass focusing factor”.     

Long-range ordering of composites for organic electronics: TIPS-pentacene single crystals with incorporated nano-fibers

Fluorescent nanofibers are incorporated into high-mobility single-crystals without substantially disrupting crystalline lattice, demonstrating a strategy to multifunctionalize semiconducting single-crystals.     

π-Electron-Assisted Relaxation of Spin Excited States in Cobalt Phthalocyanine Molecules on Au(111) Surface

We present our investigation on the spin relaxation of cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) films on Au(111) (CoPc/Au(111)) surface using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. The spin relaxation time derived from the linewidth of spin-flip inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy is quantitatively analyzed according to the Korringa-like formula. We find that although this regime of the spin relaxation time calculation by just considering the exchange interaction between itinerant conduction electrons and localized d-shells (s-d exchange interaction) can successfully reproduce the experimental value of the adsorbed magnetic atom, it fails in our case of CoPc/Au(111). Instead, we can obtain the relaxation time that is in good agreement with the experimental result by considering the fact that the π electrons in CoPc molecules are spin polarized, where the spin polarized π electrons extended at the Pc macrocycle may also scatter the conduction electrons in addition to the localized d spins. Our analyses indicate that the scattering by the π electrons provides an efficient spin relaxation channel in addition to the s-d interaction and thus leads to much short relaxation time in such a kind of molecular system on a metal substrate.     

Electronic and steric effects controlling efficiencies of photoaddition reactions of fullerene C60 with N-α-trimethylsilyl-N-alkyl-N-benzylamines

Single electron transfer (SET)-promoted photoaddition reactions between fullerene C₆₀ and both various alkyl (Me, Et, i-Pr, t-Bu)- and para-substituted (p-Me, p-OMe, p-F, p-CF₃) arene ring containing, N-α-trimethylsilyl-N-alkyl-N-benzylamines were explored to gain information about photoproduct profiles and how the electronic and steric nature of the amine substrates influence reaction efficiencies. The results show that visible light (λ > 540 nm) irradiation of 10% EtOH-toluene solutions containing C₆₀ and N-α-trimethylsilyl-N-alkyl-N-benzylamines produce 1-aminomethyl-1,2-dihydrofullerenes as a sole photoproduct. In addition, SET-promoted photoaddition reactions of unsubstituted and para-electron donating group substituted arene ring containing N-α-trimethylsilyl-N-alkyl-N-benzylamines take place to give photoproducts more efficiently than those containing para-electron withdrawing group substituted arene rings. Moreover, although steric factors are less significant than the electronic nature of the amine substrates in governing reaction efficiencies, sterics do play a significant role in photoreactions of electron deficient amine substrates.     

A selective and cost-effective method for the reductive deuteration of activated alkenes

A new single electron transfer reaction for the reductive deuteration of activated alkenes has been developed for the selective synthesis of α,β-dideuterio compounds. A cheap, stable and commercially-available sodium dispersion with high specific surface area is employed as the electron donor to replace the traditionally used sodium/liquid ammonium system. Deuterium source is provided by EtOD-d₁. Excellent yields and deuterium incorporations were obtained across a broad range of activated alkenes with good functional group tolerance. This method provided a cheap, efficient and operationally-simple method for the synthesis of deuterium labeled compounds.     

Microwave assisted synthesis of 2,3-dihydro-4H-benzo[4,5]thiazolo[3,2-a]furo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-ones and 6,7-dihydro-5H-furo[2,3-d]thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-5-ones using Mn(OAc)3

2-Hydroxy-4H-benzo[4,5]thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-4-one 2a and 7-hydroxy-5H-thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-5-one 2b, were obtained in high yields under mild conditions from the cyclization reactions of bis-(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl) malonate and 2-aminobenzothiazole or 2-aminothiazole, respectively. A new class of compounds, 2,3-dihydro-4H-benzo[4,5]thiazolo[3,2-a]furo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-ones and 6,7-dihydro-5H-furo[2,3-d]thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-5-ones, were synthesized via the microwave assisted radical addition of compounds 2a and 2b to various alkenes using manganese(III) acetate. A preliminary acetylcholine esterase (AchE) inhibition test of compound 4e showed excellent (92%) inhibitory potential, comparable with the standard drug Donapezil®.     

Expansion of Germanato‐Polyoxovanadate Cluster Cores: Solvothermal Syntheses and Selected Properties of (trenH2)2[{M(tren)}4V15Ge6O48(H2O)] (M = Co and Zn)

Two germanato‐polyoxovanadates with the {V₁₅Ge₆O₄₈} cluster core are extended by covalent bonds to four transition metal amine complexes [M(tren)]²⁺ (M = Co and Zn, tren = tris(2‐aminoethyl)amine). The complexes have bonds to terminal atoms of the Ge₂O₇ units and such expansion of a germanato‐polyxovanadate was never observed before. The characterization of these compounds revealed the presence of two protonated tren molecules charge balancing the negative charges of the [{M(tren)}₄V₁₅Ge₆O₄₈(H₂O)]^4– anion.