Photophysical properties of a C6 hydrocarbon linked porphyrin dimer

The synthesis and characterisation of a C₆ hydrocarbon linked porphyrin dimer and its zinc complex is described. From fluorescence quantum yields and excited singlet and triplet state lifetimes, recorded for the dimers and the corresponding monomer species, it is suggested that the dimeric porphyrins exist in solution in open and closed conformations. The open conformations retain photophysical properties similar to those of the relevant monomeric species but the closed conformations do not fluoresce.     

Partial transfer of enantioselective chiralities from α-methylated amino acids, known to be of meteoritic origin, into normal amino acids

There is overwhelming evidence that meteorites bring α-methylated amino acids to earth with some l(S) enantiomeric excess. How does that get transferred into normal biological molecules? In this brief account, we show that an α-methylated amino acid, d(R)-α-methylvaline, can react with pyruvate and phenylpyruvate salts in dry mixtures to form alanine and phenylalanine with l enantiomeric excesses, under sensible prebiotic conditions. Thus the meteoritic l(S) excesses of this compound would produce excess d-alanine and d-phenylalanine, which are found in some organisms.     

Oxygen deficiency in oxide films grown by PLD

The incorporation of oxygen atoms in oxide films grown by pulsed laser deposition depends upon the oxygen pressure and laser power density. By carefully controlling these two parameters it is possible to control the oxygen deficiency in the samples, and thus to change their physical properties from insulating and transparent to absorbing and conducting. By using X-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy and resistivity measurements, we show that depending upon the oxide materials oxygen deficiency in the films can induce either the growth of stable sub-oxide phases or the formation of nanocomposite films by phase separation. The first case corresponds to oxides with a mixed valency cation like Ti, which leads to the formation of stable, crystalline and highly conductive TiO_x sub-oxide phases. The second case is well described by the indium tin oxides (ITO) in which a large oxygen deficiency leads to metallic clusters embedded into a stoichiometric matrix, i.e. nanocomposite films. This phenomenon is due to the fact that sub-oxides of these compounds are not stable and thus the oxygen deficiency induced a phase separation.     

Solvent effects on hydrogen bond formation

Enthalpies of solution have been used to calculate transfer enthalpies for phenol, pyridine, and DMSO between the solvent cyclohexane and the solvents CCl₄, benzene, and CHCl₃. By use of model compounds, enthalpies due to interactions with phenol, pyridine, and DMSO have been determined. These enthalpies are used to calculate the effect of solvation relative to cyclohexane on hydrogen bonded complexes in CCl₄ and benzene solvents. Correlations with enthalpies due to interactions and frequency shifts for the hydroxyl stretch in these solvents have also been made.     

Highly efficient quenching of nanoparticles for the detection of electron‐deficient nitroaromatics

Reported herein is the highly efficient quenching of fluorescent organic nanoparticles by 2,4‐dinitrotoluene and 2,4,6‐trinitrotoluene. These fluorescent nanoparticles are formed from the hydrophobic collapse of fluorescent polymer chains and display quenching efficiencies that are in line with the highest reported literature values. Moreover, the fluorescent quenching occurs only for the fluorescent nanoparticles, and not for the precursor polymer solutions, which display marked insensitivity to the presence of nitroaromatics. This aggregation‐dependent fluorescent quenching has numerous applications for the detection of small‐molecule electron‐deficient analytes. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 4150–4155     

Theoretical analysis of aggregation in block‐copolymer films: The optical signature

We focus this work on the theoretical investigation of the block‐copolymer poly[oxyoctyleneoxy‐(2,6‐dimethoxy‐1,4phenylene‐1,2‐ethinylene‐phenanthrene‐2,4diyl) named as LaPPS19, recently proposed for optoelectronic applications. We used for that a variety of methods, from molecular mechanics to quantum semiempirical techniques (AM1, ZINDO/S‐CIS). Our results show that as expected isolated LaPPS19 chains present relevant electron localization over the phenanthrene group. We found, however, that LaPPS19 could assemble in a π‐stacked form, leading to impressive interchain interaction; the stacking induces electronic delocalization between neighbor chains and introduces new states below the phenanthrene‐related absorption; these results allowed us to associate the red‐shift of the absorption edge, seen in the experimental results, to spontaneous π‐stack aggregation of the chains. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010     

Photoluminescent energy transfer from poly(phenyleneethynylene)s to near‐infrared emitting fluorophores

Photoluminescent energy transfer was investigated in conjugated polymer‐fluorophore blended thin films. A pentiptycene‐containing poly(phenyleneethynylene) was used as the energy donor, and 13 fluorophores were used as energy acceptors. The efficiency of energy transfer was measured by monitoring both the quenching of the polymer emission and the enhancement of the fluorophore emission. Near‐infrared emitting squaraines and terrylenes were identified as excellent energy acceptors. These results, where a new fluorescent signal occurs in the near‐infrared region on a completely dark background, offer substantial possibilities for designing highly sensitive turn‐on sensors. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 3382–3391, 2010     

Coexistence of self-organized criticality and intermittent turbulence in the solar corona

An extended data set of extreme ultraviolet images of the solar corona provided by the SOHO spacecraft is analyzed using statistical methods common to studies of self-organized criticality (SOC) and intermittent turbulence (IT). The data exhibit simultaneous hallmarks of both regimes: namely, power-law avalanche statistics as well as multiscaling of structure functions for spatial activity. This implies that both SOC and IT may be manifestations of a single complex dynamical process entangling avalanches of magnetic energy dissipation with turbulent particle flows.