Remarkable Second Harmonic Generation Response in (C5H6NO)+(CH3SO3)-: Unraveling the Role of Hydrogen Bond in Thermal Driven Nonlinear Optical Switch.

Heat-activated second harmonic generation (SHG) switching materials are gaining interest for their ability to switch between SHG on and off states, offering potential in optoelectronic applications. The novel nonlinear optical (NLO) switch, (C5H6NO)+(CH3SO3)- (4-hydroxypyridinium methylsulfonate, 4HPMS), is a near-room-temperature thermal driven material with a strong SHG response (3.3 × KDP), making it one of the most potent heat-stimulated NLO switches. It offers excellent contrast of 13 and a high laser-induced damage threshold (2.5 × KDP), with reversibility > 5 cycles. At 73 °C, 4HPMS transitions from the noncentrosymmetric Pna21 room temperature phase (RTP) to the centrosymmetric P21/c phase, caused by the rotation of the (C5H6NO)+ and (CH3SO3)- due to partially thermal breaking of intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The reverse phase change exhibits a large 50 °C thermal hysteresis. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that (C5H6NO)+ primarily dictates both the SHG coefficient (dij) and birefringence (∆n(Zeiss) = 0.216 vs ∆n(cal.) = 0.202 at 546 nm; Δn(Immersion) = 0.210 vs ∆n(cal.) = 0.198 at 589.3 nm), while the band gap (Eg) is influenced synergistically by (C5H6NO)+ and (CH3SO3)-. Additionally, 4HPMS-RTP also exhibits mechanochromism upon grinding as well as an aggregation-enhanced emission in a mixture of acetone and water.

Hydrogen Bond-Driven Order-Disorder Phase Transition in the Near-Room-Temperature Nonlinear Optical Switch [Ag(NH3)2]2SO4.

Herein, we report a near-room-temperature nonlinear optical (NLO) switch material, [Ag(NH3)2]2SO4, exhibiting switching performance with strong room-temperature second harmonic generation (SHG) intensity that outperforms the UV-vis spectral region industry standard KH2PO4 (1.4 times stronger). [Ag(NH3)2]2SO4 undergoes a reversible phase transition (T c = 356 K) from the noncentrosymmetric room-temperature phase (P4̅21 c, RTP) to a centrosymmetric high-temperature phase (I4/mmm, HTP) where both the SO4 2- anions and [Ag(NH3)2]+ cations are highly disordered. The weakening of hydrogen bond interactions in the HTP is also evidenced by the lower energy shift of the stretching vibration of the N-H···O bonds revealed by the in situ FT-IR spectra. Such weakening leads to an unusual negative thermal expansion along the c axis (-3%). In addition, both the atomic displacement parameters of the single-crystal diffraction data and the molecular dynamics-simulated mean squared displacements suggest the motions of the O and N atoms. Such a structural disorder not only hinders the phonon propagation and dramatically drops the thermal conductivity to 0.22 W m-1 K-1 at 361 K but also significantly weakens the optical anisotropy and SHG as verified by the DFT theoretical studies.

Discovery of NLO Semiorganic (C5H6ON)+(H2PO4)-: Dipole Moment Modulation and Superior Synergy in Solar-Blind UV Region.

We herein report a novel semiorganic NLO material, (C5H6ON)+(H2PO4)-, 4HPP, showing promising excellent properties in the important solar-blind UV region where LAP and its deuterated form DLAP are the only commercialized semiorganic materials. For the first time, the 4-hydroxypyridine (4HP+, (C5H6ON)+) cation is identified as NLO active and how to eliminate the dipole-dipole interaction to avoid the unwanted center-symmetry-trap caused by the polar-induced susceptibility is well demonstrated. Remarkably, 4HPP exhibits competitive and even better properties compared with LAP that include better thermal stability (decomposition at 166 vs 112 °C of LAP); wider transparency range (0.26-1.50 µm); very strong SHG response (3 × KDP); a suitable large birefringence (Δncal = 0.25 vs 0.075 of LAP); and a high laser-induced damage threshold (2.2 × KDP). First-principles calculations show that the π-conjugated organic (4HP)+ cation governs the optical anisotropy, whereas the synergy of the organic and inorganic moieties dominates the SHG process. Our discovery points out a new path for the rational design of high performance semiorganic materials that require an acentric structure.

Tuning the Properties of Corannulene-Based Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Varying the Fusing Positions of Corannulene.

The selective fusions with pyrene derivative to the rim and flank bonds of corannulene generated 4 and 7, respectively, which underwent a Scholl reaction to provide novel distorted PAHs CORA-1 and CORA-2, consisting of corannulene and dibenzocoronene units with different connections between them. The studies revealed that the properties of these PAHs are highly dependent on the fusing positions of corannulene.

Solid-State Nonlinear Optical Switch with the Widest Switching Temperature Range Owing to Its Continuously Tunable Tc.

Interest on the nonlinear optical (NLO) switches that turn on/off the second-harmonic generation (SHG) triggered by the external stimulus (such as heat) have continuously grown, especially on the solid-state NLO switches showing superior stability, reversibility, and reproducibility. Herein, we discover (NH4)2PO3F, as an entirely new solid-state NLO switch showing outstanding switch contrast and reversibility as well as strong SHG intensity (1.1 × KH2PO4 (KDP)) and high laser-induced damage threshold (2.0 × KDP), undergoes a unique first-order phase transition that originates from a reversible hydrogen-bond rearrangement and needs to overcome an energy barrier. Accordingly, we put forward a strategy to continuously modify such an energy barrier by reducing the number of hydrogen bonds per unit cell via an isoelectronic replacement of NH4+ by K+ with a similar size yet incapability of providing any hydrogen bond. Consequently, Kx(NH4)2-xPO3F (x = 0-0.3) exhibiting excellent switching performance are obtained. Remarkably, Kx(NH4)2-xPO3F not only realizes a continuously tunable Tc spanning from 270 to 150 K, representing the widest NLO switching temperature range ever known but also indicates the first solid-state NLO switch example with continuous Tc. Intrinsically, such a Tc decline depends on the weakening degree of the hydrogen-bonding interactions in the unit cell. These new insights will shed useful light on the future material design and open new application possibilities.

Identification and Characterization of EI (Elongated Internode) Gene in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum).

Internode length is an important agronomic trait affecting plant architecture and crop yield. However, few genes for internode elongation have been identified in tomato. In this study, we characterized an elongated internode inbred line P502, which is a natural mutant of the tomato cultivar 05T606. The mutant P502 exhibits longer internode and higher bioactive GA concentration compared with wild-type 05T606. Genetic analysis suggested that the elongated internode trait is controlled by quantitative trait loci (QTL). Then, we identified a major QTL on chromosome 2 based on molecular markers and bulked segregant analysis (BSA). The locus was designated as EI (Elongated Internode), which explained 73.6% genetic variance. The EI was further mapped to a 75.8-kb region containing 10 genes in the reference Heinz 1706 genome. One single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the coding region of solyc02g080120.1 was identified, which encodes gibberellin 2-beta-dioxygenase 7 (SlGA2ox7). SlGA2ox7, orthologous to AtGA2ox7 and AtGA2ox8, is involved in the regulation of GA degradation. Overexpression of the wild EI gene in mutant P502 caused a dwarf phenotype with a shortened internode. The difference of EI expression levels was not significant in the P502 and wild-type, but the expression levels of GA biosynthetic genes including CPS, KO, KAO, GA20ox1, GA20ox2, GA20ox4, GA3ox1, GA2ox1, GA2ox2, GA2ox4, and GA2ox5, were upregulated in mutant P502. Our results may provide a better understanding of the genetics underlying the internode elongation and valuable information to improve plant architecture of the tomato.

Construction of a Luminogen Exhibiting High Contrast and Multicolored Emission Switching through Combination of a Bulky Conjugation Core and Tolyl Groups.

Stimuli-responsive luminogens may find application in highly sensitive sensors, memories and security inks. However, few examples exhibiting both high contrast and multi-colored emission switching have been reported due to the absence of a molecular design strategy. Through combination of large conjugation core and peripheral phenyl rings, we obtained ditolyldibenzofulvene (1). Luminogen 1 is AIE active and exhibits tetracolored emission depending on its morphology. Its three single crystals emit blue, yellow and dark orange light upon excitation, exhibiting a maximal emission of 461 nm, 545 nm and 586 nm, respectively, and its amorphous solid emits at 557 nm. All the four aggregates exhibit enhanced emission intensity at lower temperature, but only the orange-emissive crystals exhibit blue-shifted emission. The emission of 1 can be switched reversibly between any two of the four states through morphology tuning. Finally, the potential application of 1 in optical data storage was also investigated.

Locking Interconversion of Aromatic Oligoamide Foldamers by Intramolecular Side-chain Crosslinking: toward Absolute Control of Helicity in Synthetic Aromatic Foldamers.

A series of foldamers of 8-amino-2-quinoline carboxylic acid were stapled by intramolecular ring-closing olefin metathesis to generate the constrained aromatic foldamers with varying lengths of hydrocarbon side-chains. Investigations clearly revealed that the side-chain crosslinkers are capable of completely locking the interconversions of the stapled aromatic foldamers over a wide range of temperatures in CDCl3 , even in C2 D2 Cl4 . Hence, the stapled foldamers with the short hydrocarbon crosslinker can be easily separated by silica-gel chromatography to generate foldamers with stable, absolute one-handed helicity. But the stapled foldamer with the longer crosslinker is inseparable even by chiral HPLC presumably due to the fortuitous identical polarity of the diastereomer.

Flexible, Linear Chains Act as Baffles To Inhibit the Intramolecular Rotation of Molecular Turnstiles.

In artificial molecular devices, flexible, linear chains typically exhibit very weak capability in inhibiting molecular motion. Herein, we describe the dynamic properties of a series of molecular turnstiles consisting of a rigid frame and a phenyl rotator flanked with linear alkoxymethyl substituents. The long, flexible substituents act as elastic baffles to inhibit the rotations of the rotator at medium to fast speeds on the NMR time scale. When the rotator moves slowly, the substituents become more relaxed, thus obtaining an opportunity to completely thread through the cavity of the turnstiles. These findings reveal a basic but missing correlation between steric hindrance and speed of motion for flexible, linear chains in dynamic molecular devices, thus opening up a new direction toward molecular machines with more elaborate dynamic functions.

Crystal structure of (2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-{[(6,6'-dimethyl-2'-oxido-1,1'-biphenyl-2-yl)imino]methyl}phenolato-κ(3) O,N,O')bis(propan-2-olato-κO)titanium(IV).

In the mononuclear Ti(IV) title complex, [Ti(C29H33NO2)(C3H6O)2], the TiNO4 coordination polyhedron comprises an N-atom and two O-atom donors from the dianionic Schiff base ligand and two O-atom donors from monodentate isopropoxide anions. The stereochemistry is distorted trigonal-bipyramidal with the N-donor in an elongated axial site [Ti-N = 2.2540 (17) Å], the O-donors having normal Ti-O bond lengths [1.7937 (14) Š(axial)-1.8690 (14) Å]. In the crystal, C-H⋯π inter-actions link mol-ecules into centrosymmetric dimers.

Group 4 metal complexes with new chiral pincer NHC-ligands: synthesis, structure and catalytic activity.

Chiral group 4 NHC-metal complexes were prepared in good yields by amine elimination from M(NR2)4 (M = Ti, Zr, Hf; R = Me, Et) and chiral pincer NHC-ligands, L4(L4a and L4b), L5 and L6, which are derived from (S,S)-diphenyl-1,2-ethanediamine. Treatment of M(NR2)4 with 1 equiv. of L4 in THF gives, after recrystallization from a benzene solution, the chiral titanium amides (L4)Ti(NMe2)(Br)(THF) (7) and (L4)Ti(NMe2)(Cl)(THF) (11), zirconium amides (L4)Zr(NMe2)(Br)(THF) (8), (L4)Zr(NEt2)(Br)(THF) (10), (L4)Zr(NMe2)(Cl)(THF) (12) and (L4)Zr(NEt2)(Cl)(THF) (14), and hafnium amides (L4)Hf(NMe2)(Br)(THF) (9) and (L4)Hf(NMe2)(Cl)(THF) (13), respectively. Similarly, the reactions of L5 or L6 with 1 equiv. of M(NR2)4 yield the titanium amide (L6)Ti(NMe2)(Cl)(THF) (16), the zirconium amides (L5)Zr(NMe2)(Cl)(THF) (15), (L6)Zr(NMe2)(Cl)(THF) (17) and (L6)Zr(NEt2)(Cl)(THF) (19), and the hafnium amide (L6)Hf(NMe2)(Cl)(THF) (18), respectively. Complexes 7 - 19 were characterized by various spectroscopic techniques and elemental analyses. The molecular structures of 10 and 14 - 19 were also established by X-ray diffraction analyses, which represent the first example of the structurally characterized group 4 chiral NHC-metal complex. Furthermore, 7 - 19 are active catalysts for the polymerization of rac-lactide in the presence of isopropanol, leading to the heterotactic-rich polylactides.

Color- and morphology-controlled self-assembly of new electron-donor-substituted aggregation-induced emission compounds.

Four electron-donor-substituted aggregation-induced emission (AIE) compounds, N,N'-bis(4-methoxylsalicylidene)-p-phenylenediamine (BSPD-OMe), N,N'-bis(4-methylsalicylidene)-p-phenylenediamine (BSPD-Me), N,N'-bis(salicylidene)-p-phenylenediamine (BSPD), and N,N'-bis(4-hydroxylsalicylidene)-p-phenylenediamine (BSPD-OH), are designed and synthesized. They are all found to exhibit controlled self-assembly behaviors and good thermal properties. By changing the terminal electron-donor groups, they are controlled to self-assemble into three emission colors (green, yellow, and orange) and four morphologies (microblocks, microparticles, microrods, and nanowires) in THF/water mixtures. Their self-assembled structures were investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fluorescent microscopy images, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) techniques. In addition, the emission colors of BSPD-OH can be successfully controlled to three colors (green → yellow → orange) through simply changing the water fraction (fw). Their thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) results indicate that their thermal decomposition temperatures (Td, corresponding to 5% weight loss) range from 282 to 319 °C. Their differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data show that BSPD-OH bears a glass-transition temperature (Tg) of 118 °C. The good Td and Tg values will ensure them to be luminogens for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The theoretical calculations and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of BSPD-OMe and BSPD suggest that the stronger electron donor substituent can twist the molecular conformation, decrease the degree of π conjugation, increase the energy gap, and then induce the emission colors' blue shift and morphology variation. The results are meaningful in controlling the emission colors and self-assembly shapes of these derivatives, and they also provide a novel but facile way to get color-tunable AIE luminogens for OLEDs.

Salicylaldehyde azine cluster formation observed by cold-spray ionization mass spectrometry.

We installed a cold-spray ionization (CSI) source on a mass spectrometer to investigate the self-assembly behavior of an aggregation-induced emission enhancement system. Using a CSI source and the three-dimensional platform, a self-assembly system of a salicylaldehyde azine (SAA) was studied in mixture solution. This method permitted the determination of the structural information of the solution state, which cannot be detected by conventional mass spectrometry. In addition to the [M+H](+) ion (M is the SAA molecule), many major ion clusters such as [2M+Na](+) at m/z 503, [3M+Na](+) at m/z 743, [4M+Na](+) at m/z 983 and higher order aggregates were observed in the CSI mass spectra. However, many fragment ions, with the exception of cluster ions, appeared with high abundance when the ESI ion source was used due to the desolvation chamber temperature, suggesting that some aggregation can be detected at low temperatures. To investigate the effect of solvent on the aggregation, the CSI-mass spectrometry (MS) experiments of SAA in absolute ethanol solution and ethanol/water (good/poor solvent) mixture solution were conducted. The most abundant ion peak was protonated SAA (m/z 241) in absolute ethanol, but many cluster ions and some multiple charged ion peaks were observed after adding a small amount of water into the ethanol solution. The results showed good agreement with that inferred by the combinational analysis of scanning electron microscope and fluorescence microscopy, indicating that CSI-MS is capable of providing self-assembly information of labile molecules in the solution state.

The Th=C double bond: an experimental and computational study of thorium poly-carbene complexes.

The first thorium poly-carbene complexes [(Ph(2)P=S)(2)C](2)Th(DME) (2) and [{[(Ph(2)P=S)(2)C](3)Th}Li(2)(DME)](n) (3) have been prepared and structurally characterized. DFT calculations reveal that the Th=C bond is polarized toward the nucleophilic carbene carbon atom, which is further verified by the experimental observation that the Th=C bond shows a nucleophilic behavior with Ph(2)CO.

Cubic ZrW(1.75)Mo(0.25)O(8) from a Rietveld refinement based on neutron powder diffraction data.

The solid solution in the system Zr-Mo-W-O with composition ZrW(1.75)Mo(0.25)O(8) (zirconium tungsten molybdenum octa-oxide) was prepared by solid-state reactions as a polycrystalline material. Its structure has cubic symmetry (space group P2(1)3) at room temperature. The structure contains a network of corner-sharing ZrO(6) octa-hedra (.3. symmetry) and MO(4) (M = W, Mo) tetra-hedra (.3. symmetry). Along the main threefold axis of the cubic unit cell, the MO(4) tetra-hedra are arranged in pairs forming M(2)O(8) units in which the M1O(4) tetra-hedra have larger distortions in terms of bond distances and angles than the M2O(4) tetra-hedra. These units are disordered over two possible orientations, with the M-O(terminal) vectors pointing to the [111] or [] directions. The reversal of the orientations of the M(2)O(8) units results from the concerted flips of these units. The time-averaged proportions of flipped and unflipped M(2)O(8) units were determined and the fraction of unflipped M(2)O(8) units is about 0.95. The order degree of the M(2)O(8) unit orientation is about 0.9. During the reversal process, the M-atom site has a migration about 0.93 Å, one of the O-atom sites has a 0.25 Šmigration distance, whereas two other O-atom sites migrate marginally (≃ 0.08 Å). The results prove the constraint strategy to be a reasonable approach based on the ratcheting mechanism.