Optical absorption of zigzag single walled boron nitride nanotubes in axial magnetic field

We have investigated the effect of axial magnetic field on the band structure, dipole matrix elements and absorption spectrum in different energy ranges, using tight binding approximation. It is found that magnetic field breaks the degeneracy in the band structure and creates new allowed transitions in the dipole matrix which leads to creation of new peaks in the absorption spectrum. It is found that, unlike to CNTs which show metallic–semiconductor transition, the BNNTs remain semiconductor in any magnetic field strength. By calculation the diameter dependence of peak positions, we found that the positions of three first peaks in the lower energy region (E <5.3 eV) are proportional to n⁻². In the middle energy region (7 < E < 7.5 eV) all (n, 0) zigzag BNNTs, with even and odd nanotube index, have two distinct peaks in the absence of magnetic field which these peaks may be used to identify zigzag BNNTs from other tube chiralities. For odd (even) tubes, in the middle energy region, applying the magnetic field leads to splitting of these two peaks into three (five) distinct peaks.     

Virtual isotropic‐nematic transitions in alkyl cyanobiphenyls

Pretransitional fluctuations in the isotropic phase of liquid crystalline and non‐liquid crystalline alkyl cyanobiphenyls have been investigated using light scattering and magnetic birefringence measurements. We find evidence for a virtual isotropic‐nematic phase transition in short‐chain alkyl cyanobiphenyls with no observable nematic phase. The measured temperature dependence of fluctuations is well‐described by mean‐field theory. Virtual phase transition temperatures extrapolated from separate light scattering and magnetic birefringence experiments are in good agreement. Landau–de Gennes model parameters for the compounds investigated are calculated from the experimental results.     

Longitudinal Relaxation Enhancement in 1H NMR Spectroscopy of Tissue Metabolites via Spectrally Selective Excitation

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is governed by longitudinal (T₁) relaxation. For protein and nucleic acid experiments in solutions, it is well established that apparent T₁ values can be enhanced by selective excitation of targeted resonances. The present study explores such longitudinal relaxation enhancement (LRE) effects for molecules residing in biological tissues. The longitudinal relaxation recovery of tissue resonances positioned both down‐ and upfield of the water peak were measured by spectrally selective excitation/refocusing pulses, and compared with conventional water‐suppressed, broadband‐excited counterparts at 9.4 T. Marked LRE effects with up to threefold reductions in apparent T₁ values were observed as expected for resonances in the 6–9 ppm region; remarkably, statistically significant LRE effects were also found for several non‐exchanging metabolite resonances in the 1–4 ppm region, encompassing 30–50 % decreases in apparent T₁ values. These LRE effects suggest a novel means of increasing the sensitivity of tissue‐oriented experiments, and open new vistas to investigate the nature of interactions among metabolites, water and macromolecules at a molecular level.     

Magnetic Coupling Constants of Self‐Assembled CuII [3×3] Grids: Alternative Spin Model from Theoretical Calculations

This paper reports a theoretical analysis of the electronic structure and magnetic properties of a ferromagnetic Cu^II [3×3] grid. A two‐step strategy, combining calculations on the whole grid and on binuclear fragments, has been employed to evaluate all the magnetic interactions in the grid. The calculations confirm an S=7/2 ground state, which is in accordance with the magnetisation versus field curve and the thermal dependence of the magnetic moment data. Only the first‐neighbour coupling terms present non‐negligible amplitudes, all of them in agreement with the structure and arrangement of the Cu 3d magnetic orbitals. The results indicate that the dominant interaction in the system is the antiferromagnetic coupling between the ring and the central Cu sites (J₃=J₄≈?31 cm^?1). In the ring two different interactions can be distinguished, J₁=4.6 cm^?1 and J₂=?0.1 cm^?1, in contrast to the single J model employed in the magnetic data fit. The calculated J values have been used to determine the energy level distribution of the Heisenberg magnetic states. The effective magnetic moment versus temperature plot resulting from this ab initio energy profile is in good agreement with the experimental curve and the fitting obtained with the simplified spin model, despite the differences between these two spin models. This study underlines the role that the theoretical evaluations of the coupling constants can play on the rationalisation of the magnetic properties of these complex polynuclear systems.     

Systematic Tuning and Switching of Neutral and Ionic Phases in a Donor–Acceptor Chain Compound by Doping with Less‐Active Donors and by Pressure Application

The temperature‐induced stepwise neutral–ionic (N–I) phase transition in the covalently bonded donor–acceptor chain compound [Ru₂(2,3,5,6‐F₄PhCO₂)₄DMDCNQI] ? 2(p‐xylene) (2,3,5,6‐F₄PhCO₂^?=2,3,5,6‐tetrafluorobenzoate; DMDCNQI=2,5‐dimethyl‐N,N′‐dicyanoquinodiimine) was systematically tuned over a wide temperature range using two techniques: 1) A chemical technique based on doping with a less‐active donor unit [Ru₂^II,II(F₅PhCO₂)₄] (F₅PhCO₂^?=pentafluorobenzoate), thereby providing an isostructural doped series [{Ru₂^II,II(2,3,5,6‐F₄PhCO₂)₄}_1?x{Ru₂^II,II(F₅PhCO₂)₄}_xDMDCNQI] ? 2(p‐xylene), with x=0.06, 0.10, 0.21, and 0.24; and 2) a physical technique, which was the application of hydrostatic pressure to the doped compounds. The stepwise N–I transition observed in the original compound was systematically varied in terms of the viewpoints of both transition temperature and transition features (stepwise or monotonic) dependent on the amount of dopants x. Application of pressure efficiently tuned the N–I transitions, with the oxidation phases being dramatically modified by applying only weak pressure up to 4 kbar. Even in cases that led to N–I transitions in small domains of the chains at ambient pressure, the application of pressure caused an expansion of the domains that enabled N–I transitions, finally leading to a complete change in the oxidation state of the chains, from neutral to ionic, accompanied by a change from a paramagnetic state to a ferrimagnetically ordered state.     

Diels-Alder reaction mechanisms of substituted chiral anthracene: A theoretical study based on the reaction force and reaction electronic flux

Quantum chemical calculations were used to study the mechanism of Diels-Alder reactions involving chiral anthracenes as dienes and a series of dienophiles. The reaction force analysis was employed to obtain a detailed scrutiny of the reaction mechanisms, it has been found that thermodynamics and kinetics of the reactions are quite consistent: the lower the activation energy, the lower the reaction energy, thus following the Bell-Evans-Polanyi principle. It has been found that activation energies are mostly due to structural rearrangements that in most cases represented more than 70% of the activation energy. Electronic activity mostly due to changes in σ and π bonding were revealed by the reaction electronic flux (REF), this property helps identify whether changes on σ or π bonding drive the reaction. Additionally, new global indexes describing the behavior of the electronic activity were introduced and then used to classify the reactions in terms of the spontaneity of their electronic activity. Local natural bond order electronic population analysis was used to check consistency with global REF through the characterization of specific changes in the electronic density that might be responsible for the activity already detected by the REF. Results show that reactions involving acetoxy lactones are driven by spontaneous electronic activity coming from bond forming/strengthening processes; in the case of maleic anhydrides and maleimides it appears that both spontaneous and non-spontaneous electronic activity are quite active in driving the reactions.     

Polymerization in a magnetic field. X. Solvent effect in poly(methyl methacrylate) synthesis

The effect of a continuous external magnetic field on the free radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate was studied with respect to some properties of the solvents used in the reaction. The studies were performed through dilatometric technique in and out a magnetic field of 0.25 T. Ten different solvents were used to underline the dependence between the magnetic field presence, the reaction medium, and the development of the polymerization process. The intervened magnetokinetic effects are attributed to the changes in the multiplicity of the radical pairs owing to the magnetic field influence. There is an interdependence among the viscosity and molar polarization of the solvents and the magnetic field effect. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Synthesis and relaxivity of polyamide paramagnetic metal complexes for magnetic resonance imaging

A new class of paramagnetic macromolecular magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents has been developed. Eight new polyamide ligands were synthesized by copolymerization of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid dianhydride or diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid dianhydride and diamine monomers. Their gadolinium(III), manganese(II) and iron(III) complexes were also synthesized. All polyamide ligands and metal complexes were characterized by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared spectra and elemental analyses. Relaxivity studies showed that the polyamide paramagnetic metal complexes had obviously higher relaxation effectiveness as compared to corresponding simple monomeric paramagnetic metal complexes.     

Dioxygen Reactivity of Copper(I)/Manganese(II)-Porphyrin Assemblies: Mechanistic Studies and Cooperative Activation of O2

The oxidation of transition metals such as manganese and copper by dioxygen (O₂) is of great interest to chemists and biochemists for fundamental and practical reasons. In this report, the O₂ reactivities of 1:1 and 1:2 mixtures of [(TPP)Mn^II] (1; TPP: Tetraphenylporphyrin) and [(tmpa)Cu^I(MeCN)]⁺ (2; TMPA: Tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine) in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (MeTHF) are described. Variable-temperature (−110 °C to room temperature) absorption spectroscopic measurements support that, at low temperature, oxygenation of the (TPP)Mn/Cu mixtures leads to rapid formation of a cupric superoxo intermediate, [(tmpa)Cu^II(O₂^•–)]⁺ (3), independent of the presence of the manganese porphyrin complex (1). Complex 3 subsequently reacts with 1 to form a heterobinuclear μ-peroxo species, [(tmpa)Cu^II–(O₂^2–)–Mn^III(TPP)]⁺ (4; λ_max = 443 nm), which thermally converts to a μ-oxo complex, [(tmpa)Cu^II–O–Mn^III(TPP)]⁺ (5; λ_max = 434 and 466 nm), confirmed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In the 1:2 (TPP)Mn/Cu mixture, 4 is subsequently attacked by a second equivalent of 3, giving a bis-μ-peroxo species, i.e., [(tmpa)Cu^II−(O₂²⁻)−Mn^IV(TPP)−(O₂²⁻)−Cu^II(tmpa)]²⁺ (7; λ_max = 420 nm and δ_pyrrolic = −44.90 ppm). The final decomposition product of the (TPP)Mn/Cu/O₂ chemistry in MeTHF is [(TPP)Mn^III(MeTHF)₂]⁺ (6), whose X-ray structure is also presented and compared to literature analogs.