Phenyl-triazine oligomers for light-driven hydrogen evolution

The design of stable, yet highly tunable organic photocatalysts which orchestrate multi-step electron transfer reactions is at the heart of the newly emerging field of polymer photocatalysis. Covalent triazine frameworks such as the archetypal CTF-1 have been theorized to constitute a new class of photocatalytically active polymers for light-driven water splitting. Here, we revisit the ionothermal synthesis of CTF-1 by trimerization of 1,4-dicyanobenzene catalyzed by the Lewis acid zinc chloride and demonstrate that the microporous black polymer CTF-1 is essentially inactive for hydrogen evolution. Instead, highly photoactive phenyl-triazine oligomers (PTOs) with higher crystallinity as compared to CTF-1 are obtained by lowering the reaction temperature to 300 °C and prolonging the reaction time to >150 hours. The low reaction temperature of the PTOs largely prevents incipient carbonization and thus results in a carbon-to-nitrogen weight ratio close to the theoretical value of 3.43. The oligomers were characterized by MALDI-TOF and quantitative solid-state NMR spectroscopy, revealing variations in size, connectivity and thus nitrile-to-triazine ratios depending on the initial precursor dilution. The most active PTO samples efficiently and stably reduce water to hydrogen with an average rate of 1076 (±278) μmol h−1 g−1 under simulated sunlight illumination, which is competitive with the best carbon nitride-based and purely organic photocatalysts. The photocatalytic activity of the PTOs is found to sensitively depend on the polymerization degree, thus suggesting a prominent role of the unreacted nitrile moieties in the photocatalytic process. Notably, PTOs even show moderate hydrogen production without the addition of any co-catalyst

Mechanism of Transcription Anti-termination in Human Mitochondria.

In human mitochondria, transcription termination events at a G-quadruplex region near the replication origin are thought to drive replication of mtDNA by generation of an RNA primer. This process is suppressed by a key regulator of mtDNA-the transcription factor TEFM. We determined the structure of an anti-termination complex in which TEFM is bound to transcribing mtRNAP. The structure reveals interactions of the dimeric pseudonuclease core of TEFM with mobile structural elements in mtRNAP and the nucleic acid components of the elongation complex (EC). Binding of TEFM to the DNA forms a downstream sliding clamp, providing high processivity to the EC. TEFM also binds near the RNA exit channel to prevent formation of the RNA G-quadruplex structure required for termination and thus synthesis of the replication primer. Our data provide insights into target specificity of TEFM and mechanisms by which it regulates the switch between transcription and replication of mtDNA

Carbon nitrides: synthesis and characterization of a new class of functional materials

Carbon nitride compounds with high N[thin space (1/6-em)]:[thin space (1/6-em)]C ratios and graphitic to polymeric structures are being investigated as potential next-generation materials for incorporation in devices for energy conversion and storage as well as for optoelectronic and catalysis applications. The materials are built from C- and N-containing heterocycles with heptazine or triazine rings linked via sp2-bonded N atoms (N(C)3 units) or –NH– groups. The electronic, chemical and optical functionalities are determined by the nature of the local to extended structures as well as the chemical composition of the materials. Because of their typically amorphous to nanocrystalline nature and variable composition, significant challenges remain to fully assess and calibrate the structure–functionality relationships among carbon nitride materials. It is also important to devise a useful and consistent approach to naming the different classes of carbon nitride compounds that accurately describes their chemical and structural characteristics related to their functional performance. Here we evaluate the current state of understanding to highlight key issues in these areas and point out new directions in their development as advanced technological materials.Our work on carbon nitride materials has been supported by the EPSRC (EP/L017091/1) and the EU Graphene Flagship grant agreement No. 696656 - GrapheneCore1. Additional support to advance the science and technology of these materials was also received from the UCL Enterprise Fund and the Materials Innovation Impact Acceleration funding enabled by the UK EPSRC

Tailor-Made Photoconductive Pyrene-Based Covalent Organic Frameworks for Visible-Light Driven Hydrogen Generation

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have emerged as a new class of crystalline porous polymers displaying molecular tunability combined with structural definition. Here, a series of three conjugated, photoactive azine-linked COFs based on pyrene building blocks which differ in the number of nitrogen atoms in the peripheral aromatic units is presented. The structure of the COFs is analyzed by combined experimental and computational physisorption as well as quantum-chemical calculations, which suggest a slipped-stacked arrangement of the 2D layers. Photocurrents of up to 6 mu A cm(-2) with subsecond photoresponse times are measured on thin film samples for the first time. While all COFs are capable of producing hydrogen from water, their efficiency increases significantly with decreasing number of nitrogen atoms. The trending activities are rationalized by photoelectrochemical measurements and quantum-chemical calculations which suggest an increase in the thermodynamic driving force with decreasing nitrogen content to be the origin of the observed differences in hydrogen evolution activities