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Abstract: The morphological changes induced in (RuPc)2 gas sensing thin films by hydration and de-hydration processes were investigated. Prior to this study a preliminary characterization was performed by conductivity measurements upon exposure to NO2 gas fluxes, to verify the electrical sensing response of the films. This response was correlated to the bulk morphological modification of the films. Subsequently, the effect of external moisture on the morphological stability of the films was addressed. This morphological characterization of the films was performed by using the energy dispersive X-ray reflectivity (EDXR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques, both ex situ and in situ, i.e. under operating conditions, during exposure of these films to 100% of relative humidity. The measurements allowed an accurate observation of both the surface morphology (i.e. its roughness obtained independently by EDXR and AFM). Moreover bulk evolution of the films was obtained by in situ EDXR and the morphological changes allowed to retrieve information on the water uptake dynamics. Moreover, the reversibility of the water/film interaction was studied and correlated to the sensing properties of the (RuPc)2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This work reports the first application of the energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXD) for the characterization of old and modern papers. Based on structural and compositional differences observed among various types of paper and building an appropriate database we expect to be able to rapidly identify the provenance of the paper itself using a fast non-destructive technique. This result is quite promising in the field of art conservation and archaeometry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this work, the EDXD/molecular dynamics approach to the study of molecular liquids, is applied to cyclohexane and two substituted analogues, piperidine and morpholine. The Structure Functions and Radial Distribution Functions obtained from EDXD (Energy Dispersive X-ray Diffraction) scattered intensity data are interpreted with the same theoretical model recently used for unsaturated liquids. The agreement obtained is satisfactory, although a bit lower in this case. The models are then refined through least-squares fitting to experimental data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present study investigates the response of NO2 gas sensing devices, based on bis(phthalocyaninato)titanium thin films, by combined electrical and time-resolved energy-dispersive X-ray reflectometry (EDXR) analysis. Samples of various thicknesses were exposed to a NO2 gas flux and their electrical response was recorded, during interaction with the oxidising molecules. At the same time, the changes induced in the film thickness and roughness, produced by the “breathing like” mechanism, which characterized the diffusion of the gas in the film bulk, were monitored by EDXR. Comparing the two results, the first direct correspondence between the morphological changes and the electrical response of the sensor was found. This also demonstrates that the morphological characteristics of the films are actually related to their sensing behaviour and can therefore be used, as an alternative to the electrical response, to follow the gas–film interaction process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Solid-supported lipid/DNA complexes were prepared by using highly aligned 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP) multibilayers as a template. The complex formation was promoted in situ and followed in time. The resulting DOTAP/DNA complex shows a good degree of orientation along the normal to the support as revealed by combined time-resolved energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXD) and surface synchrotron small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this study, we report the structural, thermodynamic and electrochemical properties of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) formed from choline chloride and oxalic acid in anhydrous and di-hydrated form in a 1 : 1 molar ratio. As far as we are aware, this is the first joint X-ray diffraction-molecular dynamics study focussed on analyzing the structural features of DESs.

The binary mixtures of the ionic liquid ethylammonium nitrate with acetonitrile have been studied by means of wide- and small-angle X-ray scattering and via two different computational methods, namely, classical molecular dynamics and DFT. The recently debated odd feature in the extreme low q region of some ionic liquid-based binary mixtures is linked to density fluctuations within the system. We show how the "low q excess" is due to some nanoscopic objects which are formed at certain compositions. These structures have different density with respect to the surrounding, thus generating the feature observed. Our results also show how the local arrangement is directly linked to the long-range structure. Moreover, we found once again a similarity in the physicochemical behavior of ethylammonium nitrate and water.

The nanostructural organisation of mixtures of the ionic liquid (butylammonium butanoate) and water at several mole fractions of water has been investigated using small and wide angle X-ray scattering (S-WAXS) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The presence of a first sharp diffraction peak (FSDP) in the pure ionic liquid has been observed, experimentally and theoretically, suggesting the possibility of segregation of domains of different polarity in the system. With increasing dilution in water, the prepeak is shifted towards smaller Q values, and becomes very weak, while the principal peak moves towards larger Q values. These phenomena suggest the disruption of the hydrogen-bonded network of the ionic liquid, primarily through hydrogen bonding of the anion to water, a conclusion supported by MD simulations.

We present an exhaustive computational study on the effect of high pressure on normal alcohols with alkyl chains with lengths of three-to-eight carbon atoms. 1-Propanol, 1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 1-hexanol, 1-heptanol, and 1-octanol were studied by using classical molecular dynamics simulations and applying pressures in the range of 1 to 10 4  bar. The results of our calculations show that high-pressure values affect the structure significantly. In particular, we have observed a marked difference in behavior for alcohols with chain lengths below six and those with more than six or seven carbon atoms, with hexanol and heptanol being boundary cases. We have named the model with the most shrunk alkyl chains as the Asclepius form inspired by the Rod of Asclepius, the universally known symbol of medicine, in which a snake is coiled around a rod., (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

In this paper, small angle X-ray scattering has been used to study a series of ionic liquids, alkylammonium alkanoates ([N0 0 0 n][CmCO2]), with varying alkyl chain lengths in the cation and the anion. We investigate the behaviour and the structure of such ionic liquids in their neat state, and in binary mixtures with water. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first structural study dealing with the behaviour of propylammonium propanoate [N0 0 0 3][C2CO2], butylammonium propanoate [N0 0 0 4][C2CO2], propylammonium butanoate [N0 0 0 3][C3CO2] and butylammonium butanoate [N0 0 0 4][C3CO2] when mixed in water. Generally, in the ionic liquids containing alkyl chains on both the cation and the anion, the correlation distance and the resulting scattering peak, which signal intermediate range order, are affected equally by both of the chains. The interesting result obtained regarding these systems is that the shift of the pre- and principal peaks with the addition of water depends on the overall molar concentration of the chains and is generally cumulative. Although, for a given sum of cation and anion chain lengths, the shift is reliant on the cation-anion combination in the neat state, it is not the case in their mixtures with water. In some recent papers, it has been reported that with addition of water, the pre-peak position remains constant, but our results show a shift in both pre- and principal Q peaks.

In the present work we report the synthesis and physico-chemical characterization in terms of the viscosity and density of a wide series of cholinium-amino acid based room temperature ionic liquids ([Ch][AA] RTILs). 18 different amino acids were used to obtain 14 room temperature ILs. Among the most common AAs, only valine did not form an RTIL but it is a liquid above 80 °C. With respect to the methods reported in the literature we propose a synthesis based on potentiometric titration which has several advantages such as shorter preparation time, stoichiometry within ±1%, very high yields (close to 100%), high reproducibility, and no use of organic solvents, thus being more environmentally friendly. We tried to prepare dianionic ILs with some AAs with two potentially ionisable groups but in all cases the salts were solids at room temperature. All the ILs were characterized by (1)H NMR to confirm the stoichiometry. Physico-chemical properties such as density, viscosity, refractive index and conductivity were measured as a function of temperature and correlated with empirical equations. The values were compared with the data already reported in the literature for some [Ch][AA] ILs. The thermal expansion coefficient αp and the molar volume Vm were also calculated from the experimental density values. Due to the high number of AAs explored and their structural heterogeneity we have been able to find some interesting correlations between the data obtained and the structural features of the AAs in terms of the alkyl chain length, hydrogen bonding ability, stacking and cyclization. Some parameters were also found to be in good agreement with those reported for other ILs. We think that these data can give an important contribution to the understanding of the structure-property relationship of ILs because they focused on the structural effect of the anions, while most data in the literature are focussed on the cations.

N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) is a solvent with applications in different industrial fields. Although largely employed in aqueous mixtures, little is known on the structural and dynamic properties of this system. In order to improve the knowledge on NMP aqueous solutions, useful to the development of their applications, NMR spectroscopy, calorimetric titration, and puckering analysis of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were employed in this work. Our calorimetric study evidenced the presence of strong interactions between NMP and water and revealed that, under comparable conditions, the solvation of NMP by water results in an interaction stronger than the solvation of water by NMP. Overall, the changes of (1)H and (13)C chemical shifts and 2D ROESY spectra upon dilution suggested a preferential location of water nearby the carbonyl group of NMP and the formation of hydrogen bonding between these two molecules. In parallel, observation of correlation times by (13)C NMR spectroscopy evidenced a different dynamic behavior moving from the NMP-rich region to the water-rich region, characterized by a maximum value at about 0.7 water mole fraction. MD simulations showed that the NMP conformation remains the same over the whole concentration range. Our results were discussed in terms of changes in the NMP assembling upon dilution.

The mesoscopic morphology of binary mixtures of ethylammonium nitrate (EAN), the protic ionic liquid par excellence, and methanol is explored using neutron/X-ray diffraction and computational techniques. Both compounds are amphiphilic and characterized by an extended hydrogen bonding network: surprisingly, though macroscopically homogeneous, these mixtures turn out to be mesoscopically highly heterogeneous. Our study reveals that even in methanol-rich mixtures, a wide distribution of clusters exists where EAN preserves its bulk, sponge-like morphology. Accordingly methanol does not succeed in fully dissociating the ionic liquid that keeps on organizing in a bulk-like fashion. This behavior represents the premises to the more dramatic phenomenology observed with longer alcohols that eventually phase separate from EAN. These results challenge the commonly accepted polar and apolar moieties segregation in ionic liquids/molecular liquids mixtures and the current understanding of technologically relevant solvation processes.

Room temperature ionic liquids are one of the most exciting classes of materials in the last decade. The interest for these low melting, ionic compounds stems from both their technological impact and the stimulating plethora of structural and dynamic peculiarities in the mesoscopic space-time scales. It is nowadays well-established that they are characterised by an enhanced degree of mesoscopic order originating from their inherent amphiphilicity. In this contribution we highlight the existence of a further degree of mesoscopic complexity when dealing with RTILs bearing a medium length fluorous tail: such triphilic materials (they simultaneously contain polar, hydrophobic and fluorophilic moieties that mutually segregate from each other) turn out to be highly structurally compartmentalised at the mesoscopic level, thus paving the way to new smart applications for this new class of RTILs.

The structural properties of liquid N-methyl pyrrolidone have been investigated by combining energy dispersive x-ray diffraction experiments and molecular dynamics simulations with generalized AMBER force field. A very good agreement between theoretical and experimental diffraction patterns was achieved. The analysis of the radial distribution functions shows that the methyl-carbonyl H-bond network observed in the crystal structure is partly preserved in the liquid structure., (© 2012 American Institute of Physics)

X-ray diffraction data for 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}amides are reported as a function of the length of the alkyl chain on the imidazolium ring. The measured diffraction patterns have been compared with the theoretical patterns calculated (from the geometries obtained) with molecular dynamics simulations. This provides a detailed description (at the atomistic level) of the morphology in the liquid state of these salts, highlighting the role played by the alkyl chain length. An analysis of the behavior of the hydrogen bonds that are formed between the imidazolium acidic protons and the anion is presented.

Platinum-organic oligomers are actively studied for their large physical and functional properties such as solubility, processability, color, luminescence, and optoelectronics related to the different metal groups and auxiliary coligands around the metal coordination spheres. Previous studies on nanotechnology devices have shown that the structural organization of handled metallopolymer generates several 2D or 3D nano-objects, but only based on trans polymorph chains. Here we report the first self-assembly of powder cis-Pt-DEBP oligomers that shows great self-assembling ability to form nanoscale supramolecular architectures. As a powder is obtained that shows a poor crystalline organization of the aggregates, the energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction is the nondestructive technique of choice to obtain short-range order structural parameters of a single nano-object by radial distribution function analysis. The supramolecular architecture of 8-units-long chains reveals a self-assembling organization of 18 chains exhibiting an overall linear inverted open square structure. The ensemble of oligomer chains form a parallelepiped shape with small internal square cavities of approximately 3.2 nm diameter capable of hosting smaller molecules, which opens up to all applications where sieving and sensing is important. This structural investigation of short-range order materials has provided a substantial additional impetus to the field by opening up the area of self-assembled supramolecular materials based on metallopolymers for technological applications.

The effect of cholesterol on the formation and hydration behavior of solid-supported polysorbate 20 (Tween 20)/cholesterol self-assemblies was investigated by means of in situ energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction in a wide range of relative humidity (0.4 < RH < 1). At low hydration, Tween 20 and cholesterol were found to demix, with the latter molecules forming crystallites with a pseudobilayer structure (d approximately = 34 A). Water adsorption promoted the progressive solubilization of cholesterol crystallites. When in the presence of enough cholesterol, the formation of niosomal bilayer membranes rich in Tween 20 occurred (RH approximately = 0.985). Upon further hydration, two distinct regimes associated with remarkable changes in the niosomal membrane structure were identified. In the first regime (0.985 < RH < 0.988), the swelling of the lamellar d spacing was due to the enlargement of the membrane thickness. In the second regime, the structure of Tween 20/cholesterol membranes was quite insensitive to hydration, and the thickness of the intermembrane water layer increased substantially. Remarkably, the curve of the calculated number of waters per surfactant molecule showed a distinct break at RH approximately 0.988, suggesting that the observed structural change in niosomal membranes was most likely due to the completion of the filling of the Tween 20 hydration shell. At full hydration, niosomal membranes exhibited the same lamellar d spacing of niosomes vesicles in aqueous solution. The process completely reversed upon dehydration.

The kinetics of the alpha-PcCu --> beta-PcCu conversion in air has been followed, under isothermal conditions, in situ real-time in the 423-443 K temperature range. Data have been fitted following the JMAK model. The reaction order of the kinetics at 423 K is consistent with a diffusion controlled, deceleratory nucleation rate process for 2D laminar particles, whereas at higher temperatures it is consistent with a phase boundary controlled, deceleratory nucleation rate process for 2D laminar particles. At 423 K, the overall transformation mechanism implies three steps: growth of the alpha-PcCu phase, disordering of adjacent columns of molecules of phthalocyanine, and nucleation and growth of the beta-PcCu phase. The calculated empirical activation energy is of 187 kJ/mol significantly greater than that for the alpha-PcCo --> beta-PcCo conversion. This fact seems to support the reported different structures of alpha-PcCo and alpha-PcCu. Investigation of the thermal behavior of beta-PcCu indicates a strongly anisotropic thermal expansion that follows the alpha(c) >> alpha(a) approximately = alpha(b) trend. Moreover, the beta angle decreases with increasing temperature. Such anisotropy is consistent with the geometry of the very weak N3...H3 hydrogen bond which acts mainly along the c axis.

We report on an experimental and simulation study done on a representative room temperature ionic liquid, namely tetradecyltrihexylphosphonium chloride, at ambient conditions. The study was conducted using small and wide angle X-ray scattering and molecular dynamics simulations. Both approaches converge in indicating that this material is characterized by the existence of strong P-Cl interactions (with characteristic distances between 3.5 and 5.0 A) and by the occurrence of nanoscale segregation, despite the symmetric nature of the cation and similarly to other room temperature ionic liquids. A good agreement is found between the structure factor and pair correlation functions obtained from MD simulations and the corresponding experimental observables, thus strongly validating the interaction potential used in the simulations.

Designer multicomponent lipoplexes have recently emerged as especially promising transfection candidates, since they are from 10 to 100 times more efficient than binary complexes usually employed for gene delivery purposes. Here, we show, for the first time, that after internalization binary complexes of lower transfection potency remain in compact perinuclear endosomes, while multicomponent systems have intrinsic endosomal rupture properties that allow plasmid DNA to escape from endosomes with extremely high efficiency. Endosomal rupture results in an extraordinarily homogeneous distribution of unbound plasmid DNA throughout the cytoplasm and in the nucleus.

The mechanism of formation of multicomponent lipoplexes was investigated by means of synchrotron Small-Angle X-ray Diffraction (SAXD). Mixed lipid dispersions were prepared by mixing different populations of binary cationic liposomes. When adding DNA to mixed lipid dispersions, multicomponent lipoplexes spontaneously formed exhibiting structural properties, i.e., membrane thickness, surface charge density, and one-dimensional DNA packing density, intermediate between those of binary lipoplexes. These results suggested that DNA lets liposomes come into contact and fuse and that a complete lipid mixing at the molecular level occurs. The equilibrium structure of multicomponent lipoplexes was found to be unique and did not depend on the number and kind of populations composing lipid dispersion but only on the lipid species involved and on their relative molar ratio. According to recent theoretical models we identified two-dimensional lipid mixing entropy as the key factor regulating the existence of only multicomponent lipoplexes with ideally mixed lipid species.

Multilamellar liposomes of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) in solution with DNA and bivalent metal cations (Ca2+, Mn2+, Mg2+) self-assemble into a ternary DPPC-DNA-Me2+ complex. The supramolecular structure of the complex consists of an ordered multilamellar assembly where hydrated DNA helices are sandwiched between the lipid bilayers and the metal cations bind the phosphate groups of DNA to the lipid polar heads. In the range of explored incubation times, the complex coexists with the uncomplexed DPPC over the whole temperature range investigated (20-55 degrees C). Accordingly, two distinct coexisting lamellar phases are observed, one corresponding to the ternary complex and the other to the uncomplexed lipid. The structure and thermotropic phase behavior of both of these have been investigated by means of synchrotron X-ray diffraction, and the relevant structural data are deduced from experimental electron density profiles. While the uncomplexed lipid exhibits the same phase behavior as pure DPPC, that is, L beta'-P beta'-L alpha, the thermotropic behavior of the bound lipid in the complex is partially altered. This is manifested as an increase in the main transition temperature and the disappearance of the ripple phase leading to the single -phase transition. The role of the different metal cations in promoting and stabilizing the DNA condensation into the ternary complex is also discussed.

Multicomponent cationic lipid-DNA complexes (lipoplexes) were prepared by adding linear DNA to mixed lipid dispersions containing two populations of binary cationic liposomes and characterized by means of small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Four kinds of cationic liposomes were used. The first binary lipid mixture was made of the cationic lipid (3'[N-(N',N'-dimethylaminoethane)-carbamoyl]cholesterol (DC-Chol) and the neutral helper lipid dioleoylphosphocholine (DOPC) (DC-Chol/DOPC liposomes), the second one of the cationic 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP) and the neutral dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) (DOTAP/DOPE liposomes), the third one of DC-Chol and DOPE (DC-Chol/DOPE liposomes), and the fourth one of DOTAP and DOPC (DOTAP/DOPC liposomes). Upon DNA-induced fusion of liposomes, large lipid mixing at the molecular level occurs. As a result, highly organized mixed lipoplexes spontaneously form with membrane properties intermediate between those of starting liposomes. By varying the composition of lipid dispersions, different DNA packing density regimes can also be achieved. Furthermore, occurring lipid mixing was found to induce hexagonal to lamellar phase transition in DOTAP/DOPE membranes. Molecular mechanisms underlying experimental findings are discussed.