Search

Volcanic ash nucleates ice when immersed in supercooled water droplets, giving it the potential to influence weather and climate from local to global scales. This ice nucleation activity (INA) is likely derived from a subset of the crystalline mineral phases in the ash. The INA of other mineral-based dusts can change when exposed to various gaseous and aqueous chemical species, many of which also interact with volcanic ash in the eruption plume and atmosphere. However, the effects of aqueous chemical aging on the INA of volcanic ash have not been explored. We show that the INA of two mineralogically distinct ash samples from Fuego and Astroni volcanoes is variably reduced following immersion in water or aqueous sulfuric acid for minutes to days. Aging in water decreases the INA of both ash samples by up to two orders of magnitude, possibly due to a reduction in surface crystallinity and cation availability accompanying leaching. Aging in sulfuric acid leads to minimal loss of INA for Fuego ash, which is proposed to reflect a quasi-equilibrium between leaching that removes ice-active sites and dissolution that reveals or creates new sites on the pyroxene phases present. Conversely, exposure to sulfuric acid reduces the INA of Astroni ash by one to two orders of magnitude, potentially through selective dissolution of ice-active sites associated with surface microtextures on some K-feldspar phases. Analysis of dissolved element concentrations in the aged ash leachates shows supersaturation of certain mineral species which could have precipitated and altered the INA of the ash. These results highlight the key role that leaching, dissolution, and precipitation likely play in the aqueous aging of volcanic ash with respect to its INA. Finally, we discuss the implications for understanding the nature and reactivity of ice-active sites on volcanic ash and its role in influencing cloud properties in the atmosphere., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Compared to the numerous X-ray crystal structures of protein-carbohydrate complexes, the successful elucidation of the crystal structures of complexes between artificial receptors and carbohydrates has been very rarely reported in the literature. In this work, we describe the binding modes of two complexes formed between methyl α-d-glucopyranoside and an artificial receptor belonging to the class of compounds consisting of a 1,3,5-trisubstituted 2,4,6-trialkylbenzene scaffold. It is particularly noteworthy that these two complexes are present in one crystal structure, as was observed by us for the first time in the case of the recently reported three crystal structures of the complexes with methyl β-d-glucopyranoside, each containing two different receptor-carbohydrate complexes. The noncovalent interactions stabilizing the new complexes are compared with those observed in the aforementioned crystalline complexes with methyl β-d-glucopyranoside., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

29Si enrichment would be advantageous for many NMR studies of the structural properties of sol-gel derived materials. The required starting materials (29Si enriched alkoxysilanes), however, are expensive and difficult to provide. Here we present a scalable, reliable synthesis of 29Si enriched tetraethoxysilane starting from silicon dioxide or elemental silicon with a total yield up to 75%.

Pyroelectrocatalysis is the conversion of thermal energy directly into chemical energy. On the background of renewable energies and the need for efficient industrial processes, the conversion of waste heat into hydrogen is of special relevance. Since the reported thermodynamic cycles for pyroelectric energy harvesting do not fit the conditions encountered in a reactive medium such as water appropriately, we describe a new thermodynamic charge-voltage-cycle characterised by fixed upper and lower potentials. These threshold potentials comprise the redox potential of the reaction of interest - here the hydrogen evolution reaction - as well as an overpotential mainly dictated by the temperature-induced bending of electronic bands in the pyroelectric semiconductor. Because polarisation changes below the threshold are useless for chemical reactions, material properties as well as process conditions have to be chosen accordingly. In particular the particle size along with the temperature difference are shown to determine the conversion efficiency.

Neutral inherently tri- and tetradentate ligands of the type Ph 3-x As(PyO) x (x = 2 (1), 3 (2)) have been synthesized and characterized. Reaction of 1 with [RuCl 2 (PPh 3 ) 3 ] affords complex [PhAs(μ-PyO) 2 RuCl 2 (PPh 3 )] (3), whereas 2 and [RuCl 2 (PPh 3 ) 3 ] react with formation of [As(μ-PyO) 2 RuCl(PPh 3 ) 2 ] (5) and [Ph 3 P(PyO)]Cl (6). Treatment of complex 5 with [AuCl(tht)] (tht = tetrahydrothiophene) results in liberation of tht and formation of [AuCl(As(PyO) 2 )RuCl(PPh 3 ) 2 ] (7), featuring an (Au-As-Ru) core. For compounds 3, 5, and 7 the As-Ru and As-Au bond situation has been investigated using NBO, AIM and ELF analysis, allowing the assignment of pronounced canonical forms of σ-(As III →Ru II ) to 3, σ-(As II -Ru I ) to 5 and σ-(Au I ←As I →Ru II ) to 7.

Raman spectra of aqueous La 3+ , Ce 3+ , Pr 3+ , Nd 3+ and Sm 3+ - perchlorate solutions were measured and weak strongly polarized Raman bands were detected at 343 cm -1 , 344 cm -1 , 347 cm -1 , 352 cm -1 and 363 cm -1 , respectively. The full width at half height for these bands is quite broad (∼50 cm -1 ) in the isotropic spectrum and the band width increases with increasing solute concentration. The polarized Raman bands were assigned to the breathing modes of the nona-aqua ions of the mentioned rare earth ions. Published structural results confirmed that these ions exist as nona-hydrates in aqueous solutions [Ln(H 2 O) 9 ] 3+ . The Ln-O bond distances of these rare earth ions correlate well with the band positions of the nona-aqua ions [Ln(OH 2 ) 9 ] +3 (Ln = La 3+ , Ce 3+ , Pr 3+ , Nd 3+ and Sm 3+ ) and the force constants were calculated for these breathing modes. The strength of the force constants increase with decreasing the Ln-O bond distances (La-O > Ce-O > Pr-O > Nd-O > Sm-O). While the fully hydrated ions are stable in dilute perchlorate solutions (∼0.2 mol L -1 ), in concentrated perchlorate solutions outer-sphere ion pairs and contact ion pairs are formed (C > 1.5 mol L -1 ). In a hydrate melt at 161 °C of Ce(ClO 4 ) 3 plus 6H 2 O, the contact ion pairs are the dominate species. The Raman bands of the ligated perchlorate and the Ce-O breathing mode of the partially hydrated ion pair at 326 cm -1 were measured and characterized. In cerium chloride solutions chloro-complex formation was detected over the measured concentration range from 0.270-2.167 mol L -1 . The chloro-complexes in CeCl 3 (aq) are weak and diminish rapidly with dilution and disappear at a concentration <0.1 mol L -1 . In a CeCl 3 solution, with additional HCl, a series of chloro-complex species of the type [Ce(OH 2 ) 9-n Cl n ] +3-n (n = 1, 2) were detected.

In all realms of soft matter research a fundamental understanding of the structure/property relationships based on molecular interactions is crucial for developing a framework for the targeted design of soft materials. However, a molecular picture is often difficult to ascertain and yet essential for understanding the many different competing interactions at play, including entropies and cooperativities, hydration effects, and the enormous design space of soft matter. Here, we characterized for the first time the interaction between single hydrophobic molecules quantitatively using atomic force microscopy, and demonstrated that single molecular hydrophobic interaction free energies are dominated by the area of the smallest interacting hydrophobe. The interaction free energy amounts to 3-4 kT per hydrophobic unit. Also, we find that the transition state of the hydrophobic interactions is located at 3 Å with respect to the ground state, based on Bell-Evans theory. Our results provide a new path for understanding the nature of hydrophobic interactions at the single molecular scale. Our approach enables us to systematically vary hydrophobic and any other interaction type by utilizing peptide chemistry providing a strategic advancement to unravel molecular surface and soft matter interactions at the single molecular scale.

Chemical tools that recognise post-translational modifications have promising applications in biochemistry and in therapy. We report a simple carboxycalixarene that selectively binds molecules containing di/trimethylammonium moieties in isolation, in cell lysates and when incorporated in histone peptides. Our findings reveal the potential of using carboxycalixarene-based receptors to study epigenetic regulation.

New representatives of compounds combining both a macrocyclic building block and two flexible side arms as recognition units were prepared and their binding properties toward selected carbohydrates were evaluated. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the replacement of the heterocycle-bearing side arms by smaller units, such as hydroxy groups, on the binding capability. The design of this type of receptor was inspired by the participation of the side chain hydroxy group of serine and threonine in the biorecognition of carbohydrates. Such structural modifications enable the recognition of structure-activity relationships, which are of high importance in the development of carbohydrate receptors with predictable binding strength and selectivity.

Due to the problems with the exact prediction of the binding properties of an artificial carbohydrate receptor, the identification of characteristic structural features, having the ability to influence the binding properties in a predictable way, is of high importance. The purpose of our investigation was to examine whether the previously observed higher affinity of 2-aminopyrimidine-bearing carbohydrate receptors in comparison with aminopyridine substituted analogues represents a general tendency of aminopyrimidine-bearing compounds. Systematic binding studies on new compounds consisting of 2-aminopyrimidine groups confirmed such a tendency and allowed the identification of interesting structure-activity relationships. Receptors having different symmetries showed systematic preferences for specific glycosides, which are remarkable for such simple receptor systems. Particularly suitable receptor architectures for the recognition of selected glycosides were identified and represent a valuable base for further developments in this field.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential of trimethoxybenzene- and trimethylbenzene-based compounds bearing imidazole or indole groups as recognition sites in the complexation of carbohydrates. Representatives of these compounds were prepared and their binding properties toward selected carbohydrates evaluated. The results of the binding studies were compared with those obtained for the prepared pyrrole bearing analogues and for the previously described triethylbenzene-based receptors.

The bridge-substituted calix[4]arene carboxylic acid, 5,11,17,23-tetra-tert-butyl-25,26,27,28-tetramethoxy-calix[4]arene-2-carboxylic acid (1), can be readily converted to various esters 2-4 and reduced to the alcohol 5, which reacts with methyl iodide to give the ether 6. The alcohol can be dansylated to give 7, the fluorescence of which is selectively quenched by Cu(II) in acetonitrile. An attempt to convert the acid 1 to an amide resulted unexpectedly in the formation of a lactone 8. The conformational characteristics of 1-8 have been studied in solution and, in the cases of 2 and 4, in the solid state by determination of their single-crystal X-ray structures. With the exception of 8, in all these compounds the bridge substituent adopts an equatorial (lateral) orientation.

A series of new fluorescent calix[4]arenes (2-7; 5 has been isolated as two not yet described conformational isomers) featuring two directly lower rim attached dansyl moieties besides other lower or upper rim site substituents have been synthesized and investigated with reference to their fluorescence properties including potential sensing capability for metal ions. Except for the nitro substituted compound 7, which showed a moderate fluorescence quenching on the addition of Hg2+ in acetonitrile, the calixarenes 2-6 were found to selectively recognize Cu2+ in the 10(-6) mol L(-1) concentration range detectable by the nearly total quenching of their intrinsic fluorescence. Using fluorescence titration experiments, the ideal complexation ratio [metal ion]/[ligand] for three exemplarily investigated calixarenes (3, 5a and 7) was determined to be 2:1. For 5a, a new red shifted signal was observed by the complexation of Cu2+ while the addition of Hg2+ only yields a moderate quenching of the parent signal, indicating a different binding mode for both metal ions. This finding enables the calixarene 5a to be used as a suitable chemosensor for the simultaneous determination of copper and mercury. In this paper we also present the first crystal structures of dansylated calixarenes having the dansyl groups directly attached to the lower rim site. They involve the unsolvated calixarene 5b and the two solvent inclusion compounds 2.CH2(OH)CN and 3.3CH3CN, each showing an extensive pattern of non-covalent interactions. In both solvates, the calixarenes are fixed in a cone conformation while the unsolvated calixarene 5b adopts the partial cone conformation. A solution 1H NMR study in CDCl3 reveals also the cone conformation for all dansylated calixarenes, except the more conformationally flexible upper rim unsubstituted calixarene 5 which showed cone and partial cone conformers 5a and 5b, respectively, in an approximate 2:3 ratio.

Being aimed at a new type of porous solids, a moduled design strategy of molecular tectons, making use of the conjugation between a shape defined artificial backbone and the bioinspired molecular fragments of nucleobases or nucleobase derivatives as functional end-caps, has been developed. This led to the formation of the new hybrid compounds 1-13 of linear and tetrahedral geometry, containing uracil, adenine, adenosine, guanosine and its acylated analogs as the sticky end-cap sites. The compounds were synthesized from a halogen or ethynyl substituted nucleobase component and the corresponding ethynylated spacer unit following a metal assisted coupling process as the key reaction step. X-Ray crystal structure analysis demonstrates that the parent compound 1 is a solvent complex with DMSO (1:2), showing the DMSO molecules incorporated in a hydrogen bonded layer structure. Specific dependencies of the fluorescence properties of the new compounds in solution on the structure of the molecules are reported. A selection of solid compounds has been studied in respect of their ability to adsorb organic vapours. They revealed significant differences both in the sorption capacity and the selectivity towards particular solvent vapours.

Hybrid polymers [(DeltaO3)4Si3]n and [(DeltaO3)SiMe]n (where Delta = C6N7 or C3N3) have been prepared by a novel sol-gel process based on exchange reactions of MeSiCl3 or SiCl4 with C6N7(OSiMe3)3 and C3N3(OSiMe3)3.

Based on the principle of supramolecular preorganization, a new type of oligofunctional amphiphile, of which compounds 1-4 are representative structures, has been designed and synthesized. The typical feature of their structure is a highly rigid and geometrically well-defined central unit composed of ethynylene substituted aromatic spacers with different numbers of amphiphilic segment groups (also of a rigid geometric design) attached to it. The molecules form well-defined Langmuir films when spread from a solution at the air/water interface or when a 10(-4) M aqueous CaCl2 solution was used as the subphase. By analysis of the surface pressure-surface area (pi-A) isotherms, information on the packing behavior and orientation of the amphiphilic molecules depending on the molecular structure could be obtained. Morphological characterization of the dynamic process of monolayer compression at the air/water interface was carried out by Brewster angle microscopy, illustrating several phase states visualized as snap shots. Thin monolayer films produced on a 10(-4) M aqueous CaCl2 subphase can be transferred to a mica solid support by the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Tapping mode atomic force microscopy reveals a surface topography of the monofilms composed of 1 and 3 that differ in roughness and also in the properties of elasticity, hardness and adhesive strength. X-Ray crystal structure analysis of three relevant intermediate compounds of the synthesis were successfully determined giving an indication of the potential structural features inherent in the new amphiphiles.