Search

The UB3LYP level with the augmented Dunning's correlation-consistent polarized valence investigates the [2+2] cycloreversion reaction of formylcyclobutane radical anion (c-C4H7-CHO)(super -). The present two-step 'rotating' cycloreversion mechanism for (c-C4H7-CHO)(super -) is examined.

Constructing a two- and three-dimensional (2D/3D) heterojunction structure on the surface of a 3D perovskite film, termed 2D/3D engineering, is effective in elevating the stability of perovskite polycrystal-based photovoltaic and photoelectronic devices; however, it remains controversial whether this protocol is favorable or detrimental to the device performance. Here, we prepare a series of 2D/3D perovskite films by post-treating the perovskite polycrystalline film with different concentrations of phenethylammonium iodide (PEAI). Systematic spectroscopy and electrochemical studies illustrate that PEAI can penetrate the 3D perovskite network and eliminate the intrinsic trap states of perovskite polycrystals, while the 2D perovskite nanosheets enriched on the top of the polycrystalline film may introduce additional trap states, which manipulate the photoluminescence performance and dynamics of the as-prepared perovskite films in an opposite manner. Based on this finding, the strategy of optimizing the photophysical properties of the host 3D perovskite through 2D/3D engineering is elaborated, paving the way for fabricating high-performance and high-stability perovskite polycrystalline films.

We report the double-edged-sword effect of the thiourea (a typical Lewis base) additive for tailoring the trap state distribution of perovskite polycrystalline films. Through the thiourea treatment, the polycrystal grain size is greatly increased because of the reduced crystallization activation energy, which, together with the surface defect passivation, alters the density of the energetically "deep" and "shallow" trap states in a trade-off manner. Based on this finding and further photoelectric and spectral studies, the nonmonotonic dependence of the photoluminescence intensity on the thiourea concentration and the complicated time-resolved photoluminescence behavior are excellently clarified. As a proof of concept, the photophysical performance of perovskite polycrystals is optimized via a modified Lewis base treatment by taking the proposed double-edged-sword effect into account.

Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs of diameter 5-25 μm) of soy phosphatidylcholine (PC), resistant to intense light exposure (400-440 nm, ~15 mW·mm(-2)), underwent budding when containing chlorophyll a (Chla) in the lipid bilayer ([PC]:[Chla] = 1500:1). On the basis of image heterogeneity analysis using inverted microscopy, a dimensionless entropy parameter for the budding process was shown to increase linearly during an initial budding process. Lipophilic β-carotene (β-Car, [PC]:[β-Car] = 500:1) reduced the initial budding rate by a factor of 2.4, while the hydrophilic glycoside rutin ([PC]:[rutin] = 500:1) had no effect. Chla photosensitized oxidation of PC to form linoleoyl hydroperoxides, further leading to domains of higher polarity in the vesicles, is suggested to trigger budding. The average dipole moment (μ) of linoleic acid hydroperoxides was calculated using density functional theory (DFT) to have the value of 2.84 D, while unoxidized linoleic acid has μ = 1.86 D. β-Carotene as a lipophilic antioxidant and singlet-oxygen quencher seems to hamper oxidation in the lipid bilayers and delay budding in contrast to rutin located in the aqueous phase. The effect on budding of GUVs as a detrimental process for membranes is suggested for use in assays for evaluation of potential protectors of cellular integrity and functions under oxidative stress.

Daidzein, an isoflavonoid with known prooxidative effects in heterogeneous lipid/water systems, changes to an antioxidant for 7-n-alkoxy derivatives of daidzein. For an alkyl length increasing from 4 to 8, 12, and 16 carbons, the oxidation potential decreases gradually from 1.09 V (vs NHE) for daidzein (D) to 0.94 V for D16 in tetrahydrofuran as determined by cyclic voltammetry at 25 °C. The prooxidative effects transform into antioxidative effects from D8 with a maximal effect for D12 for aqueous phase initiation of lipid oxidation in liposomes despite a gradual decrease in Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) with increasing alkyl chain length. Quantum mechanical calculations using density functional theory (DFT) showed that the bond dissociation energy of the O-H bond of the 4'-phenol is constant along the homologue series in contrast to Δμ, the change in dipole moment upon hydrogen atom donation, which increases for increasing chain length. The frontier orbital energy gap goes through a maximum for D12. The change in the A-to-B dihedral angle upon hydrogen atom donation further shows a maximum for D12 of 6.45°. The importance of these microscopic properties for antioxidative activity was confirmed by a change in liposome fluorescence anisotropy using a fluorescent probe showing maximal penetration into the lipid bilayer for D12 along the homologue series.

Hydroxyl radical reacts readily with β-carotene following submicrosecond laser photolysis of N-hydroxypyridine-2(1H)-thione (N-HPT) as a "photo-Fenton" reagent generating hydroxyl and thiyl radicals in acetonitrile:tetrahydrofuran (4:1, v/v) solution. On the basis of spectral evidence, and supported by kinetic considerations and thermodynamic calculations, a short-lived transient species, detected by time-resolved absorption spectroscopy with an absorption maximum at ∼750 nm and a lifetime of ∼150 ns at 25 °C under anaerobic conditions, is suggested to be the long-sought neutral β-carotene radical formed by hydrogen-atom abstraction. The transient spectrum is different from the spectra of the β-carotene radical cation (∼1000 nm absorption maximum with a millisecond lifetime), the β-carotene radical adducts (∼520 nm, several microsecond lifetime), the β-carotene radical cation ion pair (∼750 nm, several hundred microsecond lifetime), and the β-carotene radical anion (∼880 nm, a few tens of microsecond lifetime). In parallel, β-carotene reacts with the thiyl radical to yield a sulfur radical adduct with absorption maximum at ∼520 nm with a lifetime of 3.0 μs. For astaxanthin and canthaxanthin, the reaction with the thiyl radical dominates and the neutral radical is hardly formed in agreement with the less reducing properties of these 4,4'-diketo carotenoids without the reactive 4,4'-hydrogens., (© 2011 American Chemical Society)

We report a novel molecular dyad as an antioxidant, retinylisoflavonoid, with a retinal analogue C(22)-aldehyde and the isoflavonoid daidzein covalently linked. Its physicochemical properties, pK(a) (pK(a1) = 8.45, pK(a2) = 11.42), oxidation potential (1.03 V vs NHE), and Log(10) partition (Log P = 1.96), as well as the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC = 0.4), have been characterized. Spectroscopic and quantum chemical investigations have revealed the following unique structural characters: (i) Either free in solution or included in liposomal membranes, the C(22)-aldehyde moiety of retinylisoflavonoid is coplanar with the B-ring of daidzein owing to the strong intramolecular hydrogen bonding C(14')=O···HO-B4'. Accordingly, the C(22)-aldehyde moiety extends its π-conjugation significantly to the B-ring. (ii) The inherent amphiphilicity of retinylisoflavonoid allows the C(22)-aldehyde moiety embedded in the lipid phase of the liposomes, whereas the daidzein counterpart stays at the membrane surface, in effect facilitating interior-to-surface radical communication. As the result, the antilipooxidation activity of retinylisoflavonoid is improved significantly in protecting membrane lipids compared to the parent compounds alone or in combination, and importantly, the performance is more prominent under higher-level oxidative stress. This work provides an advanced case study of new antioxidant development based on optimized electronic and molecular structures.

We have investigated, by means of steady-state and time-resolved optical spectroscopies, the excited-state dynamics of the luminescent europium complex Eu(III)(tta)(3)dpbt (tta = henoyltrifluoroacetonate; dbpt = 2-(N,N-diethylanilin-4-yl)-4,6-bis(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-yl)-1,3,5-triazine) with Gd(III)(tta)(3)dpbt and Tb(III)(tta)(3)dpbt as the reference complexes that cannot be photosensitized. In the Eu(III)(tta)(3)dpbt complex, the ligand dpbt exhibited biphasic fluorescence decay kinetics; the faster component (decay time constant, 8.5 ps) is ascribed to the rapid conversion of the lowest-lying singlet excited state of dpbt (S(1) or (1)dpbt*) to a ligand-to-metal charge transfer singlet state of the complex ((1)LMCT*), whereas the slower one (1.8 ns) is shown by temperature-dependent luminescence spectroscopy to be delayed fluorescence due to the LMCT-to-dpbt backward energy transfer and represents the time scale of efficient excitation energy flow from the (1)LMCT* state to the (5)D(1) state of Eu(III). On the basis of the spectroscopic results of the Ln(III)(tta)(3)dpbt complexes (Ln = Eu, Gd, and Tb), the crucial role of the (1)LMCT* state in photosensitization of the Eu(III)(tta)(3)dpbt complex is established, and a LMCT-mediated nontriplet sensitization mechanism is proposed, which is advantageous in high efficiency and low excitation photon energy as well as in low susceptibility against oxygen quenching.

Five ruthenium(II) complexes, [Ru(II)(tpy)(dppz)(py-R)](2+) (tpy = 2,2':6',2''-terpyridine; dppz = dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine; py-R = 4-substituted pyridine; R = N(CH(3))(2), NH(2), OCH(3), H, NO(2)), were synthesized; and the substituent effects on the photophysical property, electrochemical property, DNA binding, and DNA photocleavage of the complexes were examined carefully. Increasing the electron-donating ability of the substituent R from NO(2) to N(CH(3))(2) leads to a cathodic shift of Ru-based oxidation potential, a red shift of the (1)MLCT absorption at room temperature and the (3)MLCT emission at 77 K, and enhancement of the DNA photocleavage ability. DNA photocleavage control experiments and the EPR spin-trapping technique confirm that the photocleavage abilities of the complexes originate from (1)O(2) production. Time-resolved absorption spectra suggest that the (3)MLCT lifetime plays an important role in the photosensitized (1)O(2) generation of these complexes, which in turn depends strongly on the electron-donating ability of the substituent R. By changing the substituent of pyridine from the electron-withdrawing to the electron-donating group, the photocleavage abilities of the complexes varied from inactive to active, providing a new strategy for the development of DNA photocleavers of tpy-based Ru(II) complexes.

The lipophilic flavonoid glycoside baicalin from the traditional oriental herb Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (logP = 1.27, pK(a1) = 7.6, pK(a2) = 10.1 as determined at 25 degrees C in 0.1 M NaCl) is found to be as reducing (0.39 V vs NHE, reversible two-electron oxidation by CV at pH 7.4) as other catechol flavonoids but a poor radical scavenger (TEAC = 1.12, pH 7.4) and a poor antioxidant against free radical initiated lipid oxidation in liposomes. However, this compound is able to regenerate beta-carotene (beta-Car) from beta-Car(*+) with a second-order rate constant of (5.6 +/- 0.5) x 10(9) L mol(-1) s(-1) in the methanol/chloroform binary solvent (1:9, v/v) and, more importantly, to exhibit a prominent synergistic effect with beta-Car against the lipoxidation induced by AMVN-derived peroxyl radical in liposomal membrane. Thus, baicalin by itself is not an effective antioxidant, but it becomes one via interaction with beta-Car. The radical scavenging and antilipoxidation properties of baicalin are discussed in terms of its physicochemical properties and molecular structures.

The isoflavonoid genistein was found to be a better antioxidant than the isomeric flavonoid apigenin in phosphatidyl liposomes at pH 7.4. The higher antioxidation activity of genistein compared with apigenin is in agreement with its lower oxidation potential (0.73 vs 0.86 V as determined by cyclic voltammetry in aqueous solution of pH= 7.4), lower dissociation enthalpy (87.03 vs 87.88 kcal mol(-1) as calculated for the more reducing 4'-hydroxyl group), and higher radical scavenging capacity in the TEAC assay. On the basis of quantum mechanical calculations for genistein and apigenin in comparison with the flavonoid naringenin and the isoflavonoids puerarin, daidzein, and equol, a lower dipole moment and a larger deviation for the A-to-B dihedral angle from coplanarity (39.3 degrees for genistein, 18.5 degrees for apigenin) are suggested to be important for the increased antioxidant efficiency at water/lipid interfaces among (iso) flavonoids with an equal number of phenolic groups.

We have attempted to develop surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates by the use of two-dimensional (2D) Au nanorod arrays and to characterize the SERS-active sites of the Au nanostructures. We prepared two different types of 2D Au nanorod arrays by means of the anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template-assisted nanofabrication. In the template-embedded array (type I) an Au nanorod fills up the AAO pore, while in the annularly spaced array (type II) an Au nanorod keeps approximately 20 nm away from the pore wall. The strongest SERS effect was observed for both types of substrates with an Au nanorod diameter of approximately 66 nm. With respect to the bare AAO template, the NaOH-etched (unetched) type I substrate with the 66 nm Au nanorod showed 115-fold (63-fold) enhancement in Raman scattering, corresponding to a SERS enhancement factor of 10(7)-10(9). For the unetched and ordered Au naonorod arrays, the SERS-active sites localized around the rod end, whereas for the NaOH-etched and partially aggregated Au nanorods, hot spots for SERS were found in the interstices between rod tips. The type II substrate allowed the effect of rod length on the SERS response to be investigated, and the SERS response was observed to vary very little with the rod length increase (250-1000 nm), indicating that majority of the signal originates at the rod end. A comparison between the analytes all-trans-beta-carotene and pyridine suggests that, for both types of substrates, the electromagnetic enhancement is predominant over the chemical enhancement. This work demonstrates that the unetched type I substrate is highly SERS effective, for which the fabrication protocol is advantageous in its simplicity and reproducibility.

To investigate the interplay between on-chain keto defect and interchain interaction and its consequence on the blue emission of polyfluorene (PF), first- to third-generation dendronized PFs as well as single-fluorenone-unit doped PF (PFN), synthesized by Suzuki polycondensation, were used as model compounds for steady-state and picosecond time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopic studies. For PF film, the broad-band green emission did not appear, although severe interchain interaction was observed. For PFN film, the green emission that peaked at approximately 540 nm decayed in a multiphasic manner, suggesting significant heterogeneity in the excitation migration toward the keto center. To further examine the interplay effect, a series of novel dendronized-PF/PFN blend films in a molar ratio of 40:1 fluorene-to-fluorenone unit were studied. With reference to pure PFN film, those of the green emission of the blends showed strong dependence on the order of dendronization, that is, a higher generation resulted in a shorter-lived green emission. These observations are discussed in terms of interchain and/or intersegment interactions between the fluorene segments and the keto defect. It is concluded that the keto unit and the keto-centered, interchain aggregation lead to severe color degradation in a synergistic manner, and that dendronization can effectively minimize the undesirable green emission.

The unique behavior of a new Ru(II) diimine complex, Ru(bpy)(2)(L)(2+) (where L is 4-methyl-4'-[p-(dimethyl- amino)-alpha-styryl]-2,2'-bipyridine, bpy is 2,2'-bipyridine), was studied in detail. Due to the strong electron donating property of the amino group, an ILCT (intraligand charge transfer) state is involved either in the absorption spectra or in the time-resolved emission spectra. Dual emission based on (3)MLCT and (3)ILCT states was observed at room temperature for the first time via a time-resolved technique in Ru(II) diimine complexes.