Nonplanar Push–Pull Chromophores for Opto-Electronic Applications

Donor-substituted cyanoethynylethenes (CEEs) are planar push–pull chromophores featuring intense intramolecular charge-transfer (CT) interactions and high third-order optical nonlinearities. Their thermal stability allows for the formation of crystalline thin films by vapor-phase deposition. On the other hand, high-quality amorphous thin films are preferred for opto-electronic applications and such films can be prepared using nonplanar push–pull chromophores with a less pronounced propensity to crystallize. By taking advantage of a versatile, atom-economic 'click-chemistry'-type transformation, involving a formal [2 + 2] cycloaddition of tetracyanoethene (TCNE) to electron-rich alkynes, followed by cycloreversion, stable donor-substituted 1,1,4,4-tetracyanobuta-1,3-dienes (TCBDs) are obtained in high yield and large quantities. These nonplanar push–pull chromophores also feature intense intramolecular CT and, in many cases, high third-order optical nonlinearities. Some of these compounds form high-optical-quality amorphous thin films by vapor-phase deposition, and first applications in next-generation opto-electronic devices have already been demonstrated. Chiral derivatives display high helical twisting power and are efficient dopants to translate molecular into macroscopic chirality, by switching nematic into cholesteric liquid crystalline phases

Towards a modeling class for port-Hamiltonian systems with time-delay

The framework of port-Hamiltonian (pH) systems is a powerful and broadly applicable modeling paradigm. In this paper, we extend the scope of pH systems to time-delay systems. Our definition of a delay pH system is motivated by investigating the Kalman-Yakubovich-Popov inequality on the corresponding infinite-dimensional operator equation. Moreover, we show that delay pH systems are passive and closed under interconnection. We describe an explicit way to construct a Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and discuss implications for delayed feedback

The Binding of Benzoarylsulfonamide Ligands to Human Carbonic Anhydrase is Insensitive to Formal Fluorination of the Ligand

Auf das Wasser kommt es an: Konservierte Bindungsgeometrie, enthalpiegetriebene Bindungsweise und nichtunterscheidbare Bindungsaffinitäten für fluorierte und nichtfluorierte Liganden von humaner Carbonsäureanhydrase (siehe Bild) stützen die Theorie, dass das Schlüssel-Schloss-Modell einen wichtigen Bestandteil des Bindungsvorgangs unbeachtet lässt: das Wasser, das die Bindungstasche des Proteins füllt und den Liganden umgibt.Chemistry and Chemical Biolog

Formation of Highly Ordered Self-Assembled Monolayers of Alkynes on Au(111) Substrate

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), prepared by reaction of terminal n-alkynes (HC≡C(CH2)nCH3, n = 5, 7, 9, and 11) with Au(111) at 60 °C were characterized using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and contact angles of water. In contrast to previous spectroscopic studies of this type of SAMs, these combined microscopic and spectroscopic experiments confirm formation of highly ordered SAMs having packing densities and molecular chain orientations very similar to those of alkanethiolates on Au(111). Physical properties, hydrophobicity, high surface order, and packing density, also suggest that SAMs of alkynes are similar to SAMs of alkanethiols. The formation of high-quality SAMs from alkynes requires careful preparation and manipulation of reactants in an oxygen-free environment; trace quantities of O2 lead to oxidized contaminants and disordered surface films. The oxidation process occurs during formation of the SAM by oxidation of the −C≡C– group (most likely catalyzed by the gold substrate in the presence of O2).Chemistry and Chemical Biolog

Filter-Based Assay for Escherichia coli in Aqueous Samples Using Bacteriophage-Based Amplification

This paper describes a method to detect the presence of bacteria in aqueous samples, based on the capture of bacteria on a syringe filter, and the infection of targeted bacterial species with a bacteriophage (phage). The use of phage as a reagent provides two opportunities for signal amplification: i) the replication of phage inside a live bacterial host (1000-fold amplification for M13 phage in E. coli K12), and ii) the rapid conversion of a colorless substrate to a colored or fluorescent product by an enzyme that is co-expressed with the phage (in this demonstration β- galactosidase, which has a turnover rate of ~ 600 molecules/second). This method can detect a single colony-forming unit (CFU) of E. coli in one liter of water with an overnight culture-based assay, or 50 CFUs of E. coli in 1 liter of water (or 10 mL of orange juice, or 10 mL of skim milk) in less than four hours with a solution-based assay with visual readout. The solution-based assay does not require specialized equipment or access to a laboratory, and is more rapid than existing tests that are suitable for use at the point of access. This method could be applied to the detection of many different bacteria, in parallel, with bacteriophages that express enzymes not natively expressed in the target bacteria.Chemistry and Chemical Biolog

Influence of Environment on the Measurement of Rates of Charge Transport across Ag TS /SAM//Ga 2 O 3 /EGaIn Junctions

This paper investigates the influence of the atmosphere used in the fabrication of top electrodes from the liquid eutectic of gallium and indium (EGaIn) (the so-called “EGaIn” electrodes), and in measurements of current density, J(V) $(A/cm^2)$, across self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) incorporated into $Ag/SR//Ga_2O_3$/EGaIn junctions, on values of J(V) obtained using these electrodes. A gas-tight measurement chamber was used to control the atmosphere in which the electrodes were formed, and also to control the environment in which the electrodes were used to measure current densities across SAM-based junctions. Seven different atmospheres—air, oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and ammonia, as well as air containing vapors of acetic acid or water—were surveyed using both “rough” conical-tip electrodes, and “smooth” hanging-drop electrodes. (The manipulation of the oxide film during the creation of the conical-tip electrodes leads to substantial, micrometer-scale roughness on the surface of the electrode, the extrusion of the drop creates a significantly smoother surface.) Comparing junctions using both geometries for the electrodes, across a SAM of n-dodecanethiol, in air, gave $log |J|mean = −2.4 \pm 0.4$ for the conical tip, and $log |J|mean = −0.6 \pm 0.3$ for the drop electrode (and, thus, $\Delta log |J| \approx 1.8)$; this increase in current density is attributed to a change in the effective electrical contact area of the junction. To establish the influence of the resistivity of the $Ga_2O_3$ film on values of J(V), junctions comprising a graphite electrode and a hanging-drop electrode were compared in an experiment where the electrodes did, and did not, have a surface oxide film; the presence of the oxide did not influence measurements of $log |J(V)|$, and therefore did not contribute to the electrical resistance of the electrode. However, the presence of an oxide film did improve the stability of junctions and increase the yield of working electrodes from ∼70% to ∼100%. Increasing the relative humidity (RH) in which J(V) was measured did not influence these values (across methyl $(CH_3)^-$ or carboxyl $(CO_2H)^-$ terminated SAMs) over the range typically encountered in the laboratory (20%–60% (RH)).Chemistry and Chemical Biolog

Characterizing the Metal–SAM Interface in Tunneling Junctions

his paper investigates the influence of the interface between a gold or silver metal electrode and an n-alkyl SAM (supported on that electrode) on the rate of charge transport across junctions with structure Met(Au or Ag)TS/A(CH2)nH//Ga2O3/EGaIn by comparing measurements of current density, J(V), for Met/AR = Au/thiolate (Au/SR), Ag/thiolate (Ag/SR), Ag/carboxylate (Ag/O2CR), and Au/acetylene (Au/C≡CR), where R is an n-alkyl group. Values of J0 and β (from the Simmons equation) were indistinguishable for these four interfaces. Since the anchoring groups, A, have large differences in their physical and electronic properties, the observation that they are indistinguishable in their influence on the injection current, J0 (V = 0.5) indicates that these four Met/A interfaces do not contribute to the shape of the tunneling barrier in a way that influences J(V).Chemistry and Chemical Biolog

Formation of highly ordered self-assembled monolayers of alkynes on Au(111) substrate

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), prepared by reaction of terminal n-alkynes (HC≡C(CH2)nCH3, n = 5, 7, 9, and 11) with Au(111) at 60 °C were characterized using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and contact angles of water. In contrast to previous spectroscopic studies of this type of SAMs, these combined microscopic and spectroscopic experiments confirm formation of highly ordered SAMs having packing densities and molecular chain orientations very similar to those of alkanethiolates on Au(111). Physical properties, hydrophobicity, high surface order, and packing density, also suggest that SAMs of alkynes are similar to SAMs of alkanethiols. The formation of high-quality SAMs from alkynes requires careful preparation and manipulation of reactants in an oxygen-free environment; trace quantities of O2 lead to oxidized contaminants and disordered surface films. The oxidation process occurs during formation of the SAM by oxidation of the −C≡C– group (most likely catalyzed by the gold substrate in the presence of O2)

Synthesis and Optoelectronic Properties of Janus-Dendrimer-Type Multivalent Donor Acceptor Systems

A convergent, multistep protocol was employed for the synthesis of a Janus-type multivalent donoracceptor system. The synthetic approach is based on a Sonogashira cross-coupling of two differently ferrocene-(Fc) substituted dendrons and a final sixfold [2 + 2] cycloaddition-retroelectrocyclization (CA-RE) reaction with tetracyanoethene, which occurs regioselectively at only one of the rigidly linked dendrons. The structural and optoelectronic properties of the compounds were investigated by X-ray analysis, UV/vis spectroscopy, and electrochemistry. The target Janus-system displays redox-amphoteric behavior. The nonalkynylated Fc end groups in one dendron are readily and reversibly oxidized. The second dendron, in which the terminal Fc-activated alkynes underwent the CA-RE reaction to give tetracyanobuta-1,3-dienes in the final step of the synthesis, undergoes four reversible 3-e reductions in the very narrow potential range of 1 V. A spontaneous intramolecular charge transfer from the donor into the acceptor hemisphere was not observed. Furthermore, the oxidation potential of the Fc donors in one hemisphere is hardly perturbed by the pushpull acceptors in the other, which suggests that electronic communication along the p-system, with several meta-connectivities, is not efficient. Therefore, the charge-transfer bands seen in the Janus-type system originate from the interaction of the Fc donors with the directly connected tetracyanobuta-1,3-diene acceptors in the same hemisphere