Imine hydrogenation by alkylaluminum catalysts.

Di-isobutylaluminum hydride and tri-iso-butylaluminum (DIBAL 1, TIBAL 2) are shown to be efficient hydrogenation catalysts for a variety of imines at 100 °C and 100 atm of H2, operating via a hydroalumination/hydrogenolysis mechanism.

From sulfur-amine solutions to metal sulfide nanocrystals: peering into the oleylamine-sulfur black box.

In this Article, we present our findings on the formation of metal sulfide nanocrystals from sulfur-alkylamine solutions. By pulsed field gradient diffusion NMR along with the standard toolbox of 1D and 2D NMR, we determined that sulfur-amine solutions used as a sulfur precursor exist as alkylammonium polysulfides at low temperatures. Upon heating to temperatures used in nanocrystal synthesis, the polysulfide ions react with excess amine to generate H(2)S, which combines with the metal precursor to form metal sulfide. Four different reaction pathways were found, each of which produced H(2)S and the byproducts identified in this Article. Thioamides were identified as an intermediate and were shown to exhibit much more rapid kinetics than sulfur-alkylamine solutions at low temperatures in the synthesis of metal sulfide nanocrystals.

Flash nano-welding: investigation and control of the photothermal response of ultrathin bismuth sulfide nanowire films.

Ultrathin Bi2S3 nanowires undergo a pronounced photothermal response to irradiation from a commercial camera flash. Controlled nano-welding was shown by using single walled carbon nanotube mats as an electrically and thermally conductive substrate. The resulting welded nanowire film is denser and has significantly lower resistance than unflashed bilayer films.

Ultrathin Bi2S3 nanowires: surface and core structure at the cluster-nanocrystal transition.

Herein, we present the structural characterization of the core and surface of colloidally stable ultrathin bismuth sulfide (Bi(2)S(3)) nanowires using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (EXAFS and XANES), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). These three techniques allowed the conclusive structural characterization of the inorganic core as well as the coordination chemistry of the surface ligands of these structures, despite the absence of significant translational periodicity dictated by their ultrathin diameter (1.6 nm) and their polycrystallinity. The atomic structure of the inorganic core is analogous to bulk bismuthinite, but Bi atoms display a remarkably higher coordination number than in the bulk. This can be only explained by a model in which each bismuth atom at the surface (or in close proximity to it) is bound to at least one ligand at any time.