Coexistence of multiple conformations in cysteamine monolayers on Au(111)

The structural organization, catalytic function, and electronic properties of cysteamine monolayers on Au(111) have been addressed comprehensively by voltammetry, in situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in anaerobic environment, and a priori molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and STM image simulation. Two sets of voltammetric signals are observed. One peak at -(0.65-0.70) V (SCE) is caused by reductive desorption of cysteamine. The other signal, at -(0.25-0.40) V consists of a peak doublet. The pH dependence of the latter suggests that the origin is catalytic dihydrogen evolution. The doublet feature is indicative of two distinct cysteamine configurations. Cysteamine monolayer formation from initial nucleation to a highly ordered phase has been successfully observed in real time using oxygen-free in situ STM. Random cellular patterns, disordered adlayer formation accompanied by high step edge mobility, and ultimately a highly ordered (square root 3 x 4) R30 degrees lattice are observed sequentially. Pits are formed due to enclosure of the mobile edges during the adsorption process. In the highly ordered cysteamine layer, each unit has two spots with apparent 0.6 A height difference in STM images. The coverage 5.7 +/- 0.1 x 10(-10) mol cm(-2) determined by voltammetry supports that the spots represent two individual cysteamine molecules. A priori MD and density functional simulations hold other clues to the image interpretation and indicate that the NH(3)(+) groups dominate the tunneling contrast. A wide range of interface structures, showing variations in the sulfur binding site and orientation, gauche and trans conformers, and especially hydrogen-bonding interactions, are examined, from which it is concluded that the adsorbate structure is controlled by interactions with the solvent rather than with the substrate.     

Theory of electron tunneling through a bridge molecule with two electronic levels at low temperatures

A theory of electron tunneling through a single-center bridge redox group that has two electronic levels participating in the electron transfer process is presented. The temperature is presumed to be low enough to ignore activation redox conversions of the bridge group. Salient features of this system are due both to the presence of two electroactive states of the bridge group and to relaxation processes along the reaction coordinate. The processes in question make the tunneling current time-dependent at fixed potentials and can bring about hysteresis in current-voltage curves when cycling the bias potential. Effects of inelastic tunneling with excitation of vibrations of a local quantum degree of freedom are considered.     

The free energy gap and temperature dependence of the electronic transmission coefficient in electron-transfer reactions of the solvated electron

We have investigated the dependence of the electronic factor in electron-transfer rate constants on the energy gap and temperature by minimizing the electronic energy with respect to the instantaneous non-equilibrium solvent polarization. The electronic charge billows out and shrinks in the “normal” and strongly exothermic free energy region, respectively, but the effect is only comparable to the variation of the nuclear factor for low temperatures and strongly exothermic processes.     

Microscopic Models for Proton Transfer in Water and Strongly Hydrogen-Bonded Complexes with a Single-Well Proton Potential

A new mechanism and formalism for proton transfer in donor-acceptor complexes with long hydrogen bonds introduced recently [1], is applied to a proton transfer in liquid water. Structural diffusion of hydroxonium ions is regarded as totally adiabatic process, with synchronous hindered translation of two closest water molecules to and from the reaction complex as crucial steps. The water molecules induce a gated shift of the proton from the donor to the acceptor in the double-well potential with simultaneous breaking/formation of hydrogen bonds between these molecules and the proton donor and acceptor. The short-range and long-range proton transfer as structural diffusion of Zundel complexes is also considered. The theoretical formalism is illustrated with the use of Morse, exponential, and harmonic molecular potentials. This approach is extended to proton transfer in strongly hydrogen-bonded donor-acceptor complexes. In contrast to the above model [1], the short hydrogen bond between the donor and acceptor moieties, however, completely erodes the barrier along the proton transfer mode. This introduces some physical pattern differences from proton transfer reactions in truly double-well potentials with a finite proton transfer barrier at the transition configuration with respect to the environmental nuclear coordinates. The differences apply particularly to the origin of the kinetic isotope effect. We discuss explicitly details of the excess proton conductivity in aqueous solution, but the concepts and formalism apply broadly to acid-base reactions, proton conduction channels, and other strongly hydrogen-bonded O- and N-proton donor-acceptor systems.     

Long-range order of organized oligonucleotide monolayers on Au(111) electrodes

Oligonucleotides modified by a hexamethylene linker group adsorb on gold electrodes via Au-S bond formation. We have obtained novel data for adsorption of thiol-modified (HS) single-strand HS-10A and double-stranded HS-10AT oligonucleotides and for analogous thiol-free 10A (A = adenine) and 10T (T = thymine) nonspecifically adsorbed as reference molecules. Mercaptohexanol has served as a second reference molecule. The data are based on cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry, interfacial capacitance data, and in situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) directly in an aqueous buffer solution, with electrochemical potential control of both the sample electrode and the tip. All the data are based on single-crystal, atomically planar Au(111)-electrode surfaces. The high sensitivity of such surfaces provides accurate HS-10A and HS-10AT electrode coverages on the basis of the reductive desorption of the Au-S bond. The coverage is high and in keeping with dense monolayers of adsorbed HS-10A and HS-10AT in an upright or tilted orientation, with the oligonucleotide backbone repelled from the strongly negatively charged electrode surface. Adsorbed thiol-free 10A only gives a Au(111)-reconstruction peak, while 10T shows a subtle pattern involving pronounced voltammetric adsorption peaks indicative of both nonspecific adsorption via single thymine units and potential-dependent structural reorganization in the surface layer. In situ STM supports these findings at the molecular level. In situ STM of HS-10A discloses large, highly ordered domains at strongly negative sample potentials. Reversible domain formation and disordering could, moreover, be controlled by an electrochemical potential variation in the negative and positive directions, respectively. 10A and 10T did not form ordered adsorbate domains, substantiating that domain formation rests on adsorption of thiol-modified oligonucleotide adsorption in an upright or tilted orientation. The comprehensive, high-resolution information reported may hold prospects for single-molecule electronic conduction and molecular-scale mapping of oligonucleotide hybridization.     

A Theory of Electron Transfer in Bridged and Supramolecular Systems

Expressions are derived for the tunnel electric current between two metals produced by the adiabatic transitions of the electrons through a bridge electron level. A new possible physical phenomenon is discussed, viz. electronically driven oscillations of the electron bridge level between two molecular wires.     

Voltammetry and in situ scanning tunnelling spectroscopy of osmium, iron, and ruthenium complexes of 2,2':6',2'-terpyridine covalently linked to Au(111)-electrodes

We have studied self-assembled molecular monolayers (SAMs) of complexes between Os(II)/(III), Fe(II)/(III), and Ru(II)/(III) and a 2,2',6',2'-terpyridine (terpy) derivative linked to Au(111)-electrode surfaces via a 6-acetylthiohexyloxy substituent at the 4'-position of terpy. The complexes were prepared in situ by first linking the terpy ligand to the surface via the S-atom, followed by addition of suitable metal compounds. The metal-terpy SAMs were studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), and in situ scanning tunnelling microscopy with full electrochemical potential control of substrate and tip (in situ STM). Sharp CV peaks were observed for the Os- and Fe complexes, with interfacial electrochemical electron transfer rate constants of 6-50 s(-1). Well-defined but significantly broader peaks (up to 300 mV) were observed for the Ru-complex. Addition of 2,2'-bipyridine (bipy) towards completion of the metal coordination spheres induced voltammetric sharpening. In situ STM images of single molecular scale strong structural features were observed for the osmium and iron complexes. As expected from the voltammetric patterns, the surface coverage was by far the highest for the Ru-complex which was therefore selected for scanning tunnelling spectroscopy. These correlations displayed a strong peak around the equilibrium potential with systematic shifts with increasing bias voltage, as expected for a sequential two-step in situ ET mechanism.     

Biorthonormal electronic basis sets in the theory of electron transfer reactions

We have used the quantum-chemical concept of biorthonormal electronic basis functions to derive the two-centre electron exchange integrals in non-diabatic electron transfer reactions. It is shown that only non-diagonal parts induce the transfer corresponding to inclusion of the diagonal parts in the zero-order hamiltonians. This result coincides with the result derived previously by means of scattering theory.     

Tunnelling in low-temperature atom-transfer processes

We demonstrate that the Franck-Condon vibrational overlap factors, which determine the rates of molecular group nuclear tunnelling processes at low temperatures, can be expressed in terms of the Gamov formula.