Electron spin resonance of hydrogen-absorbed graphite-potassium intercalation compounds

The conduction electron spin resonance (CESR) of the graphite—potassium intercalation compounds, C₈ K and C₂₄ K, was studied in hydrogen gas. An enhancement of CESR absorption and a decrease in asymmetry parameter were observed for C₈K in the initial stage of hydrogen absorption, attributed to paramagnetic hydrogen atoms stabilized in the matrix of the compound.     

Efficient direct electron transfer with enzyme on a nanostructured carbon film fabricated with a maskless top-down UV/ozone process

We have developed a new carbon film electrode material with thornlike surface nanostructures to realize efficient direct electron transfer (DET) with enzymes, which is very important for various enzyme biosensors and for anodes or cathodes used in biofuel cells. The nanostructures were fabricated using UV/ozone treatment without a mask, and the obtained nanostructures were typically 2-3.5 nm high as confirmed by atomic force microscopy measurements. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy revealed that these nanostructures could be formed by employing significantly different etching rates depending on nanometer-order differences in the local sp(3) content of the nanocarbon film, which we fabricated with the electron cyclotron resonance sputtering method. These structures could not be realized using other carbon films such as boron-doped diamond, glassy carbon, pyrolyzed polymers based on spin-coated polyimide or vacuum-deposited phthalocyanine films, or diamond-like carbon films because those carbon films have relatively homogeneous structures or micrometer-order crystalline structures. With physically adsorbed bilirubin oxidase on the nanostructured carbon surface, the DET catalytic current amplification was 30 times greater than that obtained with the original carbon film with a flat surface. This efficient DET of an enzyme could not be achieved by changing the hydrophilicity of the flat carbon surface, suggesting that DET was accelerated by the formation of nanostructures with a hydrophilic surface. Efficient DET was also observed using cytochrome c.     

UV and IR spectroscopic studies of cold alkali metal ion-crown ether complexes in the gas phase

We report UV photodissociation (UVPD) and IR-UV double-resonance spectra of dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DB18C6) complexes with alkali metal ions (Li(+), Na(+), K(+), Rb(+), and Cs(+)) in a cold, 22-pole ion trap. All the complexes show a number of vibronically resolved UV bands in the 36,000-38,000 cm(-1) region. The Li(+) and Na(+) complexes each exhibit two stable conformations in the cold ion trap (as verified by IR-UV double resonance), whereas the K(+), Rb(+), and Cs(+) complexes exist in a single conformation. We analyze the structure of the conformers with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. In the Li(+) and Na(+) complexes, DB18C6 distorts the ether ring to fit the cavity size to the small diameter of Li(+) and Na(+). In the complexes with K(+), Rb(+), and Cs(+), DB18C6 adopts a boat-type (C(2v)) open conformation. The K(+) ion is captured in the cavity of the open conformer thanks to the optimum matching between the cavity size and the ion diameter. The Rb(+) and Cs(+) ions sit on top of the ether ring because they are too large to enter the cavity of the open conformer. According to time-dependent DFT calculations, complexes that are highly distorted to hold metal ions open the ether ring upon S(1)-S(0) excitation, and this is confirmed by extensive low-frequency progressions in the UVPD spectra.     

Structure of host-guest complexes between dibenzo-18-crown-6 and water, ammonia, methanol, and acetylene: evidence of molecular recognition on the complexation

Complexes of dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DB18C6, host) with water, ammonia, methanol, and acetylene (guest) in supersonic jets have been characterized by laser induced fluorescence (LIF), UV-UV hole-burning (UV-UV HB), and IR-UV double resonance (IR-UV DR) spectroscopy. Firstly, we reinvestigated the conformation of bare DB18C6 (species m1 and m2) and the structure of DB18C6-H(2)O (species a) [R. Kusaka, Y. Inokuchi, T. Ebata, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2008, 10, 6238] by measuring IR-UV DR spectra in the region of the methylene CH stretching vibrations. The IR spectral feature of the methylene CH stretch of DB18C6-H(2)O is clearly different from those of bare DB18C6 conformers, suggesting that DB18C6 changes its conformation when forming a complex with a water molecule. With the aid of Monte Carlo simulation for extensive conformational search and density functional calculations (M05-2X/6-31+G*), we reassigned species m1 and m2 to conformers having C(1) and C(2) symmetry, respectively. Also, we confirmed the DB18C6 part in species a of DB18C6-H(2)O to be "boat" conformation (C(2v)). Secondly, we identified nine, one, and two species for the DB18C6 complexes with ammonia, methanol, and acetylene, respectively, by the combination of LIF and UV-UV HB spectroscopy. From the IR spectroscopic measurement in the methylene CH stretching region, a similar conformational change was identified in the DB18C6-ammonia complexes, but not in the complexes with methanol or acetylene. The structures of all the complexes were determined by analyzing the electronic transition energies, exciton splitting, and IR spectra in the region of the OH, NH, and CH stretching vibrations. In DB18C6-ammonia complexes, an ammonia molecule is incorporated into the cavity of the boat conformation by forming "bifurcated" and "bidentate" hydrogen-bond (H-bond), similar to the case of the DB18C6-H(2)O complex. On the other hand, in the DB18C6-methanol and -acetylene complexes, methanol and acetylene molecules are simply attached to the C(1) and C(2) conformations, respectively. From the difference of the DB18C6 conformations depending on the type of the guest molecules, it is concluded that DB18C6 distinguishes water and ammonia from methanol and acetylene when it forms complexes, depending on whether guest molecules have an ability to form bidentate H-bonding.     

Electrical conductivity of cytochrome c anhydrous film

Electrical conducitivities of both ferricytochrome c and ferrocytochrome c anhydrous films were measured at physiological temperatures. A film-casting method was applied to prepare the films. Rather low values of resistivities (55°C) of 6.5 × 10¹⁰ Ω cm for ferrocytochrome c in comparison with the previously reported value of 10¹¹ Ω cm (127°C) were obtained. Apparent activation energies for the above conductivities, 0.6 eV, were the same in both samples.