Photoreactions of Ozone-Tetrahydrothiophene, Ozone-Pyrrolidine, and Ozone-Thiazolidine Complexes Studied Using Matrix-Isolation IR and Visible Absorption Spectroscopies.

The photoreactions of molecular complexes composed of O3 and three 5-membered heterocyclic compounds, tetrahydrothiophene (THT), pyrrolidine (PyD), and thiazolidine (TAD), are systematically investigated using matrix-isolation infrared (IR) and UV-visible spectroscopies. Two visible-light absorption bands appear in the visible spectra obtained for O3-THT and O3-PyD, whereas four bands are observed for O3-TAD, which contains both N and S atoms in the heterocyclic ring. Upon visible-light irradiation, O3-THT and O3-PyD form their corresponding oxide derivatives, tetrahydrothiophene-1-oxide and pyrrolidine-N-oxide. Although two O3-TAD complexes with different photoreactivities are detected, both structures form thiazolidine-1-oxide upon combining with O and S atom in the heterocyclic ring, but not thiazolidine-N-oxide. The mechanism of formation of these oxide compounds can be explained by the stability of the oxide compound in the triplet state formed via the combination of O(3P) and the paired ring molecule.

Visible-light-Induced Reaction of an Ozone-Trimethylamine Complex Studied by Matrix-Isolation IR and Visible Absorption Spectroscopies.

A visible-light-induced reaction of an O3-trimethylamine (TMA) complex isolated in low-temperature noble-gas matrices is investigated by infrared (IR) and visible absorption spectroscopies using the DFT calculation. The complex isolated in a Ne matrix yields trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) upon irradiation (λ ≥ 800 nm) by dissociation of O3. When the wavelength of radiation is changed to λ = 455 nm, two stable conformers of dimethylaminomethanol (DMAM) are recognized besides TMAO. In an Ar matrix, DMAM and not TMAO is mainly produced upon λ = 455 nm irradiation. The photoreaction mechanism of the O3-TMA complex with a single collision reaction between O(3P) and TMA in the gas phase to produce OH and CH2N(CH3)2 radicals is discussed.

Reversible Photoisomerization among Triplet Amino Naphthylnitrene, Triplet Diimine Biradical, and Indazole: Matrix-Isolation IR Spectra of 8-Amino-1-naphthylnitrene, 1,8-Naphthalenediimine, and 1,2-Dihydrobenz[cd]indazole.

Reaction mechanisms of nitrene, one of the most famous biradicals, have been frequently studied, and many spectral data have been obtained so far. In the present study, the experimental IR spectra of triplet 8-amino-1-naphthylnitrene (3ANN), a triplet diimine biradical 1,8-dihydro-1,8-naphthalenediimine (3DND), and 1,2-dihydrobenz[cd]indazole (DBI), which are produced in the UV photolysis of 1,8-diaminonaphthalene in an Ar matrix and identified by a combination method of IR spectroscopy and DFT quantum chemical calculations, are first reported. 3ANN is found to change to DBI by hydrogen-atom migration with bond making between the two nitrogen atoms upon visible-light irradiation (λ > 580 nm) with its backward reaction caused by 350 nm irradiation. In addition, 3ANN isomerizes to 3DND by 700 nm irradiation, while its backward reaction occurs upon 500 nm irradiation. The wavelength dependences of these photoisomerizations are explained in terms of their electronic transition energies estimated by time-dependent DFT calculations. It is concluded that the novel reversible photoisomerization system among 3ANN, 3DND, and DBI is totally different from the well-known photoisomerization between phenylnitrene and a seven-membered cyclic compound.

Flow-Induced Assembly of Colloidal Liquid Crystalline Nanosheets Toward Unidirectional Macroscopic Structures.

Multiscale structures of anisotropic nanoparticles up to macroscopic scales are important in order to produce practical materials through nanotechnology. As an example of such structures, hierarchical organization of colloidal liquid crystals of niobium oxide nanosheets yields stripe textures observable by naked eyes. The stripes are generated by the growth of liquid crystalline domains (tactoids) and the alignment of the tactoids under an electric field and gravity applied in the directions orthogonal to each other. The nanosheets forming the tactoids are unidirectionally aligned along the flow induced by gravity, and the aligned tactoids are stretched to be connected each other to form the stripes. Time evolution of the stripes indicates that they are generated during the settlement of the nanosheets. The nanosheets are debundled with the settlement, and thus the stripes are gradually degenerated during the settlement. Larger tactoids cause faster nanosheet settlement and stripe degeneration. The electric field applied orthogonally to gravity has roles of pinning the nanosheets to slow down their settlement and retains the stripes for several hours.

Panoscopic organization of anisotropic colloidal structures from photofunctional inorganic nanosheet liquid crystals.

Colloidal liquid crystals of inorganic nanosheets with thickness of around 1 nm and lateral dimensions of several micrometers prepared by exfoliation of a layered niobate are converted to hierarchically organized arrays whose structures are controlled from the nano to macroscopic length scale through the growth of liquid crystalline domains called tactoids as the secondary building blocks followed by controlled application of external fields. Growth of the tactoids is attained by incubation of the liquid crystals at room temperature. The tactoids are then assembled into higher-order structures with characteristic lengths of sub-mm to mm under the simultaneous application of an ac electric field and gravity, whose directions determine the final textural motif of the arrays. Whereas a net-like texture is observed when applying the electric and gravitational forces in the same direction, a striped texture where the nanosheets are unidirectionally aligned is observed when the electric field is applied in the direction perpendicular to gravity. The use of well-grown tactoids is key to the macroscopic structural control. Since the niobate nanosheets have wide band-gap semiconducting nature, the nanosheet stripe arrays exhibit photocatalysis that reflected the alignment of the nanosheets with respect to the polarized direction of impinging light.

Excited-state intramolecular proton transfer and charge transfer in 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazole crystals studied by polymorphs-selected electronic spectroscopy.

Crystal structures of polymorphs of 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazole (HPBI), Forms α and ß, are analyzed by X-ray crystallography. The fluorescence excitation (FE) and fluorescence spectra of the polymorphs are separately observed at temperatures 77-298 K. It has been found that the electronic spectra of the two crystal forms are significantly different from each other. Photo-excitation of the enol forms in Forms α and ß induces the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) to produce the S(1) state of the keto forms. In the FE spectra of Forms α and ß, the S(1) ← S(0) (ππ*) transition of the keto form is observed in the 360-420 nm region in addition to that of the enol form in the 250-420 nm region. In the FE spectrum of Form ß a new band peaking at 305 nm is observed, which is assigned to the S(1) ← S(0) transition of a non-planar enol form based on the observation of dual fluorescence in the UV and visible regions and quantum chemical calculation on the transition energy against the twisted angle between the benzimidazole and hydroxyphenyl rings. The fluorescence quantum yield (φ(T)) for the keto form is remarkably dependent on polymorphs at room temperature; φ(T) = 0.53 for Form α is much larger than φ(T) ≤ 0.23 for Form ß. At 77 K the φ(T) values for Forms α and ß increase to 0.67 and ≤0.57, respectively. The changes in the φ(T) values are associated with the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) state. The potential barrier height between the S(1)-keto and S(1)-ICT states is significantly lower for Form ß than for Form α. At 77 K the S(1)-keto → S(1)-ICT process followed by S(1)-ICT → S(0)-keto internal conversion is significantly suppressed in Form ß. We compare difference in the dynamics between Forms α and ß in the electronic ground and excited states.

Thermal luminescence spectra of polyamides and their Maillard reaction with reducing sugars.

Thermal luminescence (TL) spectra of polyamides were measured with a Fourier-transform chemiluminescence spectrometer to elucidate the emission mechanism. A TL band of ε-polylysine with a peak at 542 nm observed at 403 K was assigned to the emission due to the interaction of the -CO-NH- group with oxygen molecules by comparison with nylon-6, polyglycine, and polyalanine. When the sample was kept at 453 K, the intensity of the TL band decreased and the wavelength of the peak shifted to 602 nm, which was assigned to the emission due to the interaction of the NH2 group on the side chain with oxygen molecules by comparison with monomeric lysine. A weak emission with a peak at 668 nm was assigned to the advanced glycosylation end products (AGEs) yielded by the Maillard reaction with a catalytic amount of water. To understand this reaction and to examine the TL emission of AGEs, we measured TL spectra of mixtures of polylysine and reducing sugars such as glucose, maltose, lactose, and dextrin. The minimum temperature for TL emission, wavelength of the peak and the relative intensities of the TL emission were found to depend on the size of the sugars.

Infrared and electronic spectra of radicals produced from 2-naphthol and carbazole by UV-induced hydrogen-atom eliminations.

The photoreaction mechanisms of 2-naphthol and carbazole in low-temperature argon matrices have been investigated by infrared and electronic absorption spectroscopy with aids of density-functional-theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) calculations. When the matrix samples were irradiated upon UV light, 2-naphthoxyl and N-carbazolyl radicals were produced by the elimination of the H atom in the O-H group of 2-naphthol and in the N-H group of carbazole, respectively. The observed IR and electronic absorption spectra of the radicals were reproduced satisfactorily by the quantum chemical calculations. To understand a role of the radicals in the excited-state proton transfer (ESPT), the fluorescence and excitation spectra of 2-naphthol and carbazole were measured in aqueous solution at room temperature as well as in the low-temperature argon matrices. It was found that the intensity of the fluorescence emitted from carbazole anion in aqueous solution decreased when oxygen gas was blown into the solution.

Hydrogen-atom tunneling in isomerization around the C-O bond of 2-chloro-6-fluorophenol in low-temperature argon matrixes.

Infrared spectra of 2-chloro-6-fluorophenol in argon matrixes at 20 K revealed the presence of a "Cl-type" isomer, which has the OH···Cl hydrogen bond, but no "F-type" isomer with OH···F bonding, in striking contrast to the existence of both isomers in the gas and liquid phases at room temperature. This finding suggests that the F-type isomer changes to the more stable Cl-type one by hydrogen-atom tunneling in the matrixes. Similar experiments on the OD···X analog species were performed to confirm the tunneling isomerization, resulting in an O-D stretching band of the F-type isomer appearing as well as that of the Cl type, like the spectra reported in the gas and liquid phases. This implies that tunneling migration of the D atom is inhibited in the argon matrix. In addition, UV-induced photoreactions of 2-chloro-6-fluorophenol were studied by a joint use of matrix-isolation IR spectroscopy assisted by density functional theory calculations. It was found that 2-fluorocyclopentadienylidenemethanone and 4-chloro-2-fluorocyclohexadienone were produced from the Cl type; the former was by the Wolff rearrangement after dissociation of the H atom in the OH group and the Cl atom, and the latter was by intramolecular migration of the H and Cl atoms. As for the deuterated F-type isomer, however, 2-chlorocyclopentadienylidenemethanone was produced by the Wolff rearrangement after dissociation of the D atom in the OD group and the F atom, besides other photoproducts of the deuterated Cl-type isomer. It is thus concluded that the tunneling isomerization around the C-O bond occurs in the OH···X species but not in the OD···X species.

Automated specimen search in cryo-TEM observation with DIFF-defocus imaging.

We have developed an automated specimen search algorithm for cryo-electron microscopy imaging of ice-embedded single particles suspended across regularly spaced holes. To maximize the particle visibility under a low electron exposure rate condition, specimen searching is carried out in diffraction mode. However, images in diffraction mode contain significant pincushion distortion, making it difficult to computationally predict the locations of the regularly spaced holes. We have implemented a distortion-correction mechanism to restore the primitive distortion-free image and a correlation-based algorithm to accurately determine the periodicity of the holes. A stage-shift method to optimize positional reproducibility is also implemented. Addition of our algorithms to the JADAS software for automated transmission electron microscopy data acquisition has significantly improved the accuracy of specimen search.

Electronic spectra of two long-lived photoproducts: double-proton transfer in 7-hydroxyquinoline dimer in a 2-methyltetrahydrofuran glass matrix.

Photoreactions of 7-hydroxyquinoline (7-HQ) in low-temperature (77-100 K) 2-methyltetrahydrofuran glass matrices are investigated using electronic spectroscopy. We have observed fluorescence excitation and fluorescence spectra of two long-lived species generated by irradiation of UV light (230-400 nm). The dominant species responsible for the fluorescence spectrum between 470 and 600 nm was assigned to the S(1)-->S(0) (pipi*) transition of the keto form of cyclic 7-HQ dimer [(7-HQ)(2)] produced by excited-state double-proton transfer, the corresponding S(1)-S(0) fluorescence excitation spectrum of which was detected between 360 and 510 nm. Temperature dependence of the fluorescence excitation spectra showed the occurrence of keto --> enol isomerization in the S(0) state of (7-HQ)(2) due to a back double-proton transfer. A very slow rate for the keto --> enol isomerization implies that the potential barrier height for the back double-proton transfer reacion is substantially high. Theoretical calculations at the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ level of theory indicate that the enol and keto forms of cyclic (7-HQ)(2) are nonplanar, therefore a large change in the geometry is necessary for the back double-proton transfer. A second long-lived species that emits between 410 and 600 nm has been tentatively assigned to the D(3)(2A'') --> D(0)(1A'') transition of the 7-quinolinoxyl radical on the basis of calculated electronic transition energies for possible candidates obtained by MS-CASPT2/aug-cc-pVDZ level calculations as well as IR study of 7-HQ in argon matrices [Sekine, M.; Nagai, Y.; Sekiya, H.; Nakata, M. J. Phys. Chem. A 2009, 113, 8286]. Photoreaction processes leading to the two long-lived species have been discussed.

Photoinduced hydrogen-atom eliminations of 6-hydroxyquinoline and 7-hydroxyquinoline studied by low-temperature matrix-isolation infrared spectroscopy and density-functional-theory calculations.

Photoreaction mechanisms of 6-hydroxyquinoline (6-HQ) and 7-hydroxyquinoline (7-HQ) in low-temperature argon matrixes have been investigated by Fourier transform infrared (IR) spectroscopy and density-functional-theory (DFT) calculations. A comparison of the observed IR spectra of reactants with the corresponding calculated spectral patterns obtained by the DFT method led to the conclusion that the hydrogen atoms in the O-H group of 6-HQ and in that of 7-HQ are selectively located at the outer position against the quinoline ring. When the matrix samples were irradiated upon UV light around 300 nm, IR spectra of unknown chemical species were observed; they were assigned to the photoreaction intermediates, quinolinoxyl radicals and ketene compounds, produced by eliminations of a hydrogen atom and a hydrogen molecule, respectively. In the photoreaction of 7-HQ, a small amount of keto form was also produced by intramolecular hydrogen-atom transfer from oxygen to nitrogen in an argon cage. Kinetic analyses were made by assuming that 5-ketene and 6-ketene were produced from 6-HQ, while 6-ketene and 7-ketene were produced from 7-HQ. The effective rate constants estimated from the absorbance changes of IR bands against irradiation time revealed that the reaction pathway to produce 6-ketene was minor in both HQs, leading to the conclusion that the conformation of reactants, HQs, plays an important role in the photoproduction of ketenes through biradicals in the Wolff rearrangement.

JADAS: a customizable automated data acquisition system and its application to ice-embedded single particles.

The JEOL Automated Data Acquisition System (JADAS) is a software system built for the latest generation of the JEOL Transmission Electron Microscopes. It is designed to partially or fully automate image acquisition for ice-embedded single particles under low dose conditions. Its built-in flexibility permits users to customize the order of various imaging operations. In this paper, we describe how JADAS is used to accurately locate and image suitable specimen areas on a grid of ice-embedded particles. We also demonstrate the utility of JADAS by imaging the epsilon 15 bacteriophage with the JEM3200FSC electron cryo-microscope, showing that sufficient images can be collected in a single 8h session to yield a subnanometer resolution structure which agrees with the previously determined structure.

Evaluation of gas-particle partition of dioxins in flue gas II: estimation of gas-particle partition of dioxins in dust-rich flue gas by parallel sampling with different conditions.

For an accurate determination of the gas-particle partition of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxin-like biphenyls (DLPCBs) in dust-rich flue gas, a parallel monitoring procedure with an isokinetic and a non-isokinetic train was used. For four flue gas samples, the two trains gave a significantly different weight of the collected fly ash particles despite the equal gas volume sampled. On the basis of the quantitative values of PCDD/F and DLPCB homologues and the weight of the collected particles, ratios of each homologue in the real flue gas samples in gaseous form were predicted using simultaneous equations. For the four flue gas samples examined, the predicted gaseous ratios were considerably higher that those calculated using a previously reported equation, suggesting that there are some properties which affect partitions of PCDD/Fs in flue gas besides their saturation vapor pressures and fly ash concentration. The partitions for higher temperature flue gases obtained by fractional determinations of each collection device were additionally different from those predicted by the parallel collection, indicating that conventional determination by fractional measurements is subjected to large errors in dust-rich flue gas due to severe adsorption of gaseous PCDD/Fs and DLPCBs onto particles collected on a low-temperature collection device.

Evaluation of gas-particle partition of dioxins in flue gas I: evaluation of gasification behavior of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans in fly ash by thermal treatment.

The gasification behavior of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in fly ash by thermal treatment has been investigated to estimate gas-particle partition in flue gas. The results obtained in thermal experiments under various conditions showed that gasification of PCDD/Fs depends on air flow rate and treatment weight of fly ash as well as treatment temperature. On the other hand, the results obtained in the thermal experiments using dioxin-free fly ash revealed that during thermal treatment, the de novo synthesis, gasification, and decomposition of PCDFs proceeded at different rates. This difference in the reaction rates indicates that thermal treatment time is also a factor in determining the gas-particle partition of PCDD/Fs in fly ash. Therefore, reasonable thermal treatment conditions were established and applied to three ash samples. For all samples, PCDD/Fs started to gasify at 350 degrees C treatment, whereas 53-98% of PCDD/F homologs gasified at 400 degrees C treatment, implying that gaseous PCDD/Fs are dominant in flue gas at temperatures in the range 350-400 degrees C regardless of particle concentration.

Intramolecular hydrogen atom tunneling in 2-chlorobenzoic acid studied by low-temperature matrix-isolation infrared spectroscopy.

Intramolecular hydrogen atom tunneling in 2-chlorobenzoic acid has been investigated by low-temperature matrix-isolation infrared spectroscopy with the aid of density functional theory calculation. Infrared spectra of two relatively stable syn isomers, SC and ST, were observed in argon and xenon matrixes. When the matrix samples were annealed after deposition, the isomerization from ST to SC occurred around the benzene-carboxyl bond. Two less stable anti isomers, AT, which has an OH...Cl intramolecular hydrogen bond, and AC, which has no OH...Cl bond, were produced from SC and ST upon UV irradiation. When the matrix samples were kept in the dark after UV irradiation, AT and AC changed to ST and SC, respectively, by spontaneous isomerization around the C-O axis in the carboxyl group. The rate constants of isomerization, AT --> ST, in a Xe matrix were estimated from the absorbance changes at various matrix temperatures. The rate constants showed a drastic decrease in deuteration of the hydrogen atom of the carboxyl group. The relationship between the rate constants and the matrix temperature did not follow the Arrhenius law. These findings lead to the conclusion that the isomerization of AT --> ST and AC --> SC in low-temperature rare-gas matrixes proceeds through intramolecular hydrogen atom tunneling.

Dynamics of intramolecular hydrogen-atom migrations in 2-hydroxy-3-nitropyridine studied by low-temperature matrix-isolation infrared spectroscopy and density functional theory calculation.

Intramolecular hydrogen-atom migrations in 2-hydroxy-3-nitropyridine have been investigated by low-temperature matrix-isolation infrared (IR) spectroscopy with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) calculation. An IR spectrum measured after deposition was assigned to an enol isomer, the conformation of which is anti in relation to OH versus N in the pyridine ring. When the matrix sample was exposed to UV and visible light (lambda>350 nm), an IR spectrum consistent with a keto product was observed. During the irradiation, an IR spectrum of a transient species, a photoreaction intermediate between anti-enol and keto, was observed, which was assigned to syn-enol. The bands of syn-enol disappeared completely when the irradiation was stopped, while those of the original isomer, anti-enol, reappeared. No reverse isomerization was observable in the corresponding deuterated species. This led to the conclusion that the isomerization from syn to anti occurs through hydrogen-atom tunneling. On the other hand, an aci-nitro form was produced by UV irradiation (lambda=365+/-10 nm) without visible light. The conformation around the aci-nitro group was determined to be cis-cis by comparison with the spectral patterns obtained by the DFT/B3LYP/6-31++G** calculation. The dynamics of the hydrogen-atom migrations between anti- and syn-enols, syn-enol and keto, and anti-enol and aci-nitro are discussed in terms of the potential surfaces obtained by the DFT calculation.

Analysis of vibrational circular dichroism spectra of (s)-(+)-2-butanol by rotational strengths expressed in local symmetry coordinates.

The vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of (S)-(+)-2-butanol have been observed in dilute CS(2) solutions. Two strong VCD bands are assigned mainly to the OH bending modes with the aid of quantum chemical calculations. The calculated VCD spectra corresponding to these bands are shown to depend on the conformation of the OH group. To understand this feature, we have calculated the contribution of each local vibrational mode to the rotational strengths and concluded that the coupling of the group vibrations between the in-plane and out-of-plane modes about the locally assumed symmetry planes play a significant role in VCD. This finding has provided a new scope of VCD in relation to molecular vibrations.

First asymmetric total synthesis of synerazol, an antifungal antibiotic, and determination of its absolute stereochemistry.

[reaction: see text] By synthesizing two possible diastereomers, the first asymmetric total synthesis of synerazol, an antifungal antibiotic, has been accomplished, allowing determination of its absolute stereochemistry. A more practical second generation route was also established. The key steps are racemization-free deprotection of a TIPS group and introduction of a methyl ether by DMD oxidation of the benzylidene moiety in a substrate having a small protecting group.