Sensitization of ultra-long-range excited-state electron transfer by energy transfer in a polymerized film

Distance-dependent energy transfer occurs from the Metal-to-Ligand Charge Transfer (MLCT) excited state to an anthracene-acrylate derivative (Acr-An) incorporated into the polymer network of a semirigid poly(ethyleneglycol)dimethacrylate monolith. Following excitation, to Acr-An triplet energy transfer occurs followed by long-range, Acr-3An—Acr-An → Acr-An—Acr-3An, energy migration. With methyl viologen dication (MV2+) added as a trap, Acr-3An + MV2+ → Acr-An+ + MV+ electron transfer results in sensitized electron transfer quenching over a distance of approximately 90 Å

Synthesis, characterization, and water oxidation by a molecular chromophore-catalyst assembly prepared by atomic layer deposition. The “mummy” strategy

A Ru( ii )-polypyridyl chromophore-catalyst assembly for light-assisted water oxidation is constructed using atomic layer deposition with no covalent bonds between molecules required for bilayer formation

Accelerating slow excited state proton transfer

Visible light excitation of the ligand-bridged assembly [(bpy)2RuaII(L)RubII(bpy)(OH2)4+] (bpy is 2,2′-bipyridine; L is the bridging ligand, 4-phen-tpy) results in emission from the lowest energy, bridge-based metal-to-ligand charge transfer excited state (L−•)RubIII-OH2 with an excited-state lifetime of 13 ± 1 ns. Near–diffusion-controlled quenching of the emission occurs with added HPO42− and partial quenching by added acetate anion (OAc−) in buffered solutions with pH control. A Stern–Volmer analysis of quenching by OAc− gave a quenching rate constant of kq = 4.1 × 108 M−1⋅s−1 and an estimated pKa* value of ∼5 ± 1 for the [(bpy)2RuaII(L•−)RubIII(bpy)(OH2)4+]* excited state. Following proton loss and rapid excited-state decay to give [(bpy)2RuaII(L)RubII(bpy)(OH)3+] in a H2PO4−/HPO42− buffer, back proton transfer occurs from H2PO4− to give [(bpy)2RuaII(L)Rub(bpy)(OH2)4+] with kPT,2 = 4.4 × 108 M−1⋅s−1. From the intercept of a plot of kobs vs. [H2PO4−], k = 2.1 × 106 s−1 for reprotonation by water providing a dramatic illustration of kinetically limiting, slow proton transfer for acids and bases with pKa values intermediate between pKa(H3O+) = −1.74 and pKa(H2O) = 15.7

Solar water splitting in a molecular photoelectrochemical cell

Solar water splitting into H2 and O2 with visible light has been achieved by a molecular assembly. The dye sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cell configuration combined with core–shell structures with a thin layer of TiO2 on transparent, nanostructured transparent conducting oxides (TCO), with the outer TiO2 shell formed by atomic layer deposition. In this configuration, excitation and injection occur rapidly and efficiently with the injected electrons collected by the nanostructured TCO on the nanosecond timescale where they are collected by the planar conductive electrode and transmitted to the cathode for H2 production. This allows multiple oxidative equivalents to accumulate at a remote catalyst where water oxidation catalysis occurs

Concerted electron-proton transfer in the optical excitation of hydrogen-bonded dyes

The simultaneous, concerted transfer of electrons and protons—electron-proton transfer (EPT)—is an important mechanism utilized in chemistry and biology to avoid high energy intermediates. There are many examples of thermally activated EPT in ground-state reactions and in excited states following photoexcitation and thermal relaxation. Here we report application of ultrafast excitation with absorption and Raman monitoring to detect a photochemically driven EPT process (photo-EPT). In this process, both electrons and protons are transferred during the absorption of a photon. Photo-EPT is induced by intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) excitation of hydrogen-bonded-base adducts with either a coumarin dye or 4-nitro-4′-biphenylphenol. Femtosecond transient absorption spectral measurements following ICT excitation reveal the appearance of two spectroscopically distinct states having different dynamical signatures. One of these states corresponds to a conventional ICT excited state in which the transferring H+ is initially associated with the proton donor. Proton transfer to the base (B) then occurs on the picosecond time scale. The other state is an ICT-EPT photoproduct. Upon excitation it forms initially in the nuclear configuration of the ground state by application of the Franck–Condon principle. However, due to the change in electronic configuration induced by the transition, excitation is accompanied by proton transfer with the protonated base formed with a highly elongated +H─B bond. Coherent Raman spectroscopy confirms the presence of a vibrational mode corresponding to the protonated base in the optically prepared state

Developmental regulation of neural cell adhesion molecule in human prefrontal cortex

Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) is a membrane-bound cell recognition molecule that exerts important functions in normal neurodevelopment including cell migration, neurite outgrowth, axon fasciculation, and synaptic plasticity. Alternative splicing of NCAM mRNA generates three main protein isoforms: NCAM-180, -140, and -120. Ectodomain shedding of NCAM isoforms can produce an extracellular 105–115 kDa soluble NCAM fragment (NCAM-EC) and a smaller intracellular cytoplasmic fragment (NCAM-IC). NCAM also undergoes a unique post-translational modification in brain by the addition of polysialic acid (PSA)-NCAM. Interestingly, both PSA-NCAM and NCAM-EC have been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The developmental expression patterns of the main NCAM isoforms and PSA-NCAM have been described in rodent brain, but no studies have examined NCAM expression across human cortical development. Western blotting was used to quantify NCAM in human postmortem prefrontal cortex in 42 individuals ranging in age from mid-gestation to early adulthood. Each NCAM isoform (NCAM-180, -140, and -120), post-translational modification (PSA-NCAM) and cleavage fragment (NCAM-EC and NCAM-IC) demonstrated developmental regulation in frontal cortex. NCAM-180, -140, and -120, as well as PSA-NCAM, and NCAM-IC all showed strong developmental regulation during fetal and early postnatal ages, consistent with their identified roles in axon growth and plasticity. NCAM-EC demonstrated a more gradual increase from the early postnatal period to reach a plateau by early adolescence, potentially implicating involvement in later developmental processes. In summary, this study implicates the major NCAM isoforms, PSA- NCAM and proteolytically cleaved NCAM in pre- and postnatal development of the human prefrontal cortex. These data provide new insights on human cortical development and also provide a basis for how altered NCAM signaling during specific developmental intervals could affect synaptic connectivity and circuit formation, and thereby contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders