Fixed-nuclei and laboratory-frame formalisms for electron scattering by a spherical top,with full incorporation of symmetry

We discuss molecule-frame and laboratory-frame symmetry-adapted formalisms for electron scattering by a spherical top. The molecule-frame formalism is based on the fixed-nuclear-orientation approximation, both for electronically elastic scattering by a vibrationally rigid molecule and also for the more general case where electronic excitation and vibrational degrees of freedom are included. The laboratory-frame formalism is based on the exact symmetries of the problem, which are carefully related to the approximate symmetries of the molecule-frame treatment. We present both the forward and backward transformations between the two representations.     

Influence of assembling pH on the stability of poly(L-glutamic acid) and poly(L-lysine) multilayers against urea treatment

Polyelectrolyte multilayers of poly(L-glutamic acid) (PGA) and poly(L-lysine) (PLL) were built up using the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique in low pH (3.6, PM3.6) and in neutral pH (7.4, PM7.4) solutions. The multilayers were then treated with a concentrated urea (one kind of denaturant for proteins and polypeptides) solution (8M) and rinsed with corresponding buffer. The buildup and treatment processes were investigated by ultraviolet visible spectroscopy and ellipsometry. The surface morphology was observed by scanning force microscopy (SFM). The inner structures were determined by X-ray reflectometry and circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD). An exponential growth of the optical mass and the layer thickness was observed for both PM3.6 and PM7.4. After urea treatment, a significant mass loss for PM3.6 was found, while no mass change was recorded for PM7.4. The dominant driving force for PM7.4 is electrostatic interaction, resulting in multilayers with an abundant beta-sheet structure, which has higher stability against urea treatment. By contrast, the dominant driving force for PM3.6 is hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interaction, which are sensitive to the urea treatment. The mechanism is substantiated by molecular mechanics calculation. This has offered a convenient pathway to mediate the multilayer properties, which is of great importance for potential applications.     

Improving quantitative gas chromatography-electron ionization mass spectrometry results using a modified ion source: demonstration for a pharmaceutical application

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is a well established analytical technique. However, mass spectrometers with electron ionization sources may suffer from signal drifts, hereby negatively influencing quantitative performance. To demonstrate this phenomenon for a real application, a static headspace-gas chromatography method in combination with electron ionization-quadrupole mass spectrometry was optimized for the determination of residual dichloromethane in coronary stent coatings. Validating the method, the quantitative performance of an original stainless steel ion source was compared to that of a modified ion source. Ion source modification included the application of a gold coating on the repeller and exit plate. Several validation aspects such as limit of detection, limit of quantification, linearity and precision were evaluated using both ion sources. It was found that, as expected, the stainless steel ion source suffered from signal drift. As a consequence, non-linearity and high RSD values for repeated analyses were obtained. An additional experiment was performed to check whether an internal standard compound would lead to better results. It was found that the signal drift patterns of the analyte and internal standard were different, consequently leading to high RSD values for the response factor. With the modified ion source however, a more stable signal was observed resulting in acceptable linearity and precision. Moreover, it was also found that sensitivity improved compared to the stainless steel ion source. Finally, the optimized method with the modified ion source was applied to determine residual dichloromethane in the coating of coronary stents. The solvent was detected but found to be below the limit of quantification.     

How anomalous are the anomalous properties of fluorine? Ionization energy and electron affinity revisited

It is well established that atomic fluorine has a miserly high ionization energy and avariciously high electron affinity. Yet, as was shown some 30 years ago, the latter value is anomalously low-linear extrapolation shows the value to be some 110 kJ/mol less than expected by comparison to the heavier halogens. Related literature investigation extended this anomaly to nitrogen and oxygen and their (valence) isoelectronic congeners. We extend it to related cationic species and thereby the noble gases and alkali metals, and the aforementioned species are better understood. We thus ask if the ionization energy/electron affinity anomaly of fluorine remains an anomaly.     

Electron diffraction investigation of PPTA/nylon 3T blends from shear-oriented anisotropic solutions

Nematic solutions of PPTA and nylon 3T were prepared in H₂SO₄ Optical microscopy was used to ascertain the phase behaviour of the blends. In the studied concentration range, no phase separation was observed. The solutions were shear-oriented and coagulated, and the resulting samples were studied by x-ray and electron diffraction. Nylon 3T crystallised even at a low concentration, which is indicative of a phase separation. Electron diffraction investigations of the oriented samples showed that well-oriented areas, which were predominantly composed of PPTA, adjoined areas where the major component, nylon 3T, showed no orientation. The relative proportion of the unoriented areas increased with increasing nylon concentration. It was concluded that, upon coagulation, the nylon was segregated into separate phases and crystallised unoriented, whereas for PPTA, crystallisation proceeded with very little chain rearrangement therefore preserving the orientation.     

An informative subtlety of itemperature-jump or coulostatic responses for surface-attached species

Theoretical relationships are developed to describe the open-circuit responses associated with the indirect laser-induced temperature-jump (ILIT) method, a method for measuring fast electron-transfer rate constants of surface-attached redox species. The analysis is also applicable to data obtained using the coulostatic charge-injection method. The unique relationship between k_m, the relaxation rate constant for the ILIT (or coulostatic) response, and E_i, the potential at which the system is initially poised, exhibits a surprising sensitivity to the values of k₀, E_i^0′ (the standard rate constant and formal potential for the redox couple), α (the transfer coefficient in the Butler–Volmer equation) and γ (a dimensionless parameter which is directly proportional to the total surface concentration of the redox moiety). ILIT data for several examples of surface-attached ferrocene moieties confirm the theoretically predicted k_m vs E_i behavior. Values of E_i^0′ and γ extracted from the ILIT data agree well with the values obtained from cyclic voltammetric data thereby confirming that the ILIT and cyclic voltammogram (CV) experiments are sampling the same ferrocene population.     

The preparation and properties of bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells with indole-containing fulleropyrrolidine derivatives as acceptors

Two indole-containing fullerene derivatives, N-hydrogen-2-[3-(N-2-ethylhexylindolyl)][60]fulleropyrrolidine (EHIHC60P), and N-(2-ethylhexylindolyl))-2-[3-(N-2-ethylhexylindolyl)][60]fulleropyrrolidine (DEHIC60P) were synthesized by the typical Prato reaction. The absorption spectra, electrochemical properties of the two compounds were measured. Inverted solar cells were fabricated with the structure of ITO/ZnO/poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT):fullerene derivatives/MoO₃/Ag. The highest power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 3.32% and 3.23% were obtained for P3HT/EHIHC60P and P3HT/DEHIC60P based solar cells at the composite ratio of 1:1 after the active layers were annealed at 150 °C under inert atmosphere, with a open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 0.66 V and 0.74 V, respectively. For comparison, the device based on P3HT/PCBM at the same conditions showed the PCE of 3.28%, with a V_oc of 0.61 V. The influence on the photovoltaic property of the fullerene derivatives, which was induced by some subtle changes in the chemical structure was compared and discussed.     

Distereoselective one-pot synthesis of pyrimidopyrimidines using sulfated tin oxide as a reusable catalyst： An extension of Biginelli-type reaction

The Biginelli-type compounds 4,5,8a-triarylhexahydropyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidine-2,7（1H,3H）-diones were synthesized by a one-pot three-component reaction using sulfated tin oxide as a reusable catalyst. This method has the advantages of high yields, short reaction time, simple starting materials and reusability of catalyst for several times.     

Comparison of the effective core potential and model potential methods in studies of electron correlation energy in molecules: Dihalides and halogen hydrides

Summary The effective core potential and model potential methods were used in post-SCF calculations on HC1, HBr, Cl₂, and Br₂ in order to gain insight into the effect of insufficient representation of inner nodes in the valence orbitals of the approximate methods. The results show that while the correlation energy may be slightly overestimated (by 1–7%), both the electric moment functions and the quantities depending on energy differences are consistently similar for the methods studied and close to the results from all-electron calculations.Dedicated to Prof. Klaus Ruedenberg     

C D : a computer program to generate 1D, 2D and 3D grids of functions dependent on the molecular ab initio electron density

A program to compute many functions dependent on the electron density ρ(r) from the results of ab initio molecular calculations is presented. The program allows the generation of different one-, two-, and three-dimensional grids for further graphical representation or numerical analysis. Other options like extracting separate atom contributions to the function computed or locating maximum and minimum values are also implemented. A number of illustrative applications regarding different ρ(r)-dependent functions are presented and the performance and portability of the program is discussed.