Gate-tunable electroluminescence in Aviram-Ratner-type molecules: Kinetic description.

A theoretical study of the mechanisms of electroluminescence (EL) generation in photoactive molecules with donor and acceptor centers linked by saturated σ-bonds (molecules of the Aviram-Ratner-type) is presented. The approach is based on the kinetics of single-electron transitions between many-body molecular states. This study shows that the EL polarity arises due to asymmetric coupling of molecular orbitals of the photochromic part of the molecule to the electrodes. The gate voltage controls the power of the EL through the occupancy of the excited singlet state. The shifting of the orbital energies forms a resonant or a non-resonant path for the transmission of electrons through the molecule. The action of the gate voltage is reflected in specific critical voltages. An analytical dependence of the critical voltages on the energies of molecular states involved in the formation of EL, as well as on the gate voltage, was derived for both positive and negative polarities. Conditions under which the gate voltage lowers the absolute value of the bias voltage that is responsible for the activation of the resonance mechanism of EL formation were also established. This is an important factor in control of EL in molecular junctions.

Induced ferromagnetism in helium bombarded graphite.

Irradiation with helium ions is an effective method for triggering ferromagnetism in graphite. Chemical inertness of helium suggests that local magnetic moment formation is determined solely by the intrinsic carbon defects created during the target damage. Interacting moments are located in two places: in the vicinity of the sample surface and near the point of maximum defect generation.

Integrated Green Chemical Approach to the Medicinal Plant Carpobrotus edulis Processing.

Many plants have medicinal properties due to substances known as phytochemicals. To utilize these plants in practice, numerous procedures, such as extraction, isolation and characterization methods and toxicology and bioactivity studies, must be designed and implemented. Integrated approach to process Carpobrotus edulis, a weed medicinal plant widely spread in Portugal, was developed into a closed loop of two processes: microwave assisted extraction (MAE) and activation (MAA), to produce both phytochemicals and biochar. The use of MAE for phytochemical extraction was shown to be more energy efficient than conventional Soxhlet extraction: the process time was decreased by 7-8 times, and the energy efficiency was increased by up to 97%. The yield of the extracts is of 27%. Qualitative and quantitative identification/characterization of the phytochemicals were performed by LC-MS and phytochemical screening assays. The results clearly indicated that Carpobrotus edulis is rich by flavonoids (up to 24%). The use of MAA to process the residual biomass could shorten the activation time, resulting in reduced energy consumption. Biochar with a high yield of 65% (on a biomass basis) and a well-developed texture (surface area of 68.9 m2/g; total pore volume of 0.10 cm3/g; micropore volume of 0.07 cm3/g) is obtained.

A versatile synthesis of pyrazolo[3,4-c]isoquinoline derivatives by reaction of 4-aryl-5-aminopyrazoles with aryl/heteroaryl aldehydes: the effect of the heterocycle on the reaction pathways.

The reaction of 4-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-5-aminopyrazoles 7A-D with aromatic and heterocyclic aldehydes in strong acidic media (trifluoroacetic or formic acid) has been studied. The initial azomethine derivatives 8 undergo cyclization similar to the Pictet-Spengler condensation to form the intermediate 4,5-dihydroisoquinolines 9 which readily dehydrogenate giving 5-aryl(heteroaryl)-pyrazolo[3,4-c]isoquinoline derivatives 10 as the final products. Whereas for benzaldehyde and its derivatives this one-pot synthesis presents a convenient general route to 5-aryl-pyrazolo[3,4-c]isoquinolines 10, in the case of heterocyclic aldehydes the product structure varies markedly with the structure of the aldehyde used: (i) 3-pyridyl-, 3-quinolyl-, 3-thienyl-, and 1,2,3-thiadiazolyl-5-carboxaldehydes give 5-heteroarylpyrazolo[3,4-c]isoquinolines; (ii) 1-methylbenzimidazolyl-2-carboxaldehyde gives only intermediate azomethine 8Dh, which does not cyclize; (iii) 1-R-3-indolylcarboxaldehydes (R = H, CH3, CH2Ph) eliminate the heteroaryl fragment resulting in 5-unsubstituted pyrazolo[3,4-c]isoquinolines 11. Thienyl-2-carboxaldehyde reacts by both pathways (i) and (iii) depending on the reaction conditions. The single crystal X-ray structures for 10Dj, 10Cd and 11D provide confirmation of the different types of products formed in these reactions. Mechanisms which explain these transformations are presented.

A (pi-extended tetrathiafulvalene)-fluorene conjugate. Unusual electrochemistry and charge transfer properties: the first observation of a covalent D(2+)-sigma-A(.-) redox state(1).

The synthesis of novel electrochemically amphoteric TTFAQ-sigma-A compounds (TTFAQ = 9,10-bis(1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene)-9,10-dihydroanthracene, sigma = saturated spacer, A = polynitrofluorene acceptor) is reported. Their solution redox behavior is characterized by three single-electron reduction and one two-electron oxidation waves. Electrochemical quasireversibility of the TTFAQ(2+) state and a low E(ox) - E(red) gap ( approximately 0.25 V) for 3-(9-dicyanomethylene-4,5,7-trinitrofluorene-2-sulfonyl)-propionic acid 2-[10-(4,5-dimethyl-[1,3]dithiol-2-ylidene)-9,10-dihydroanthracen-9-ylidene]-5-methyl-[1,3]dithiol-4-ylmethyl ester (10) has enabled the electrochemical generation of the hitherto unknown transient D(2+)-sigma-A(.-) state as observed in cyclic voltammetry and time-resolved spectroelectrochemistry. The ground state of compound 10 was shown to be ionic in the solid but is essentially neutral in solution (according to electron paramagnetic resonance). The X-ray structure of an intermolecular 1:2 complex between 2-[2,7-bis(2-hydroxyethoxy)-9,10-bis(4,5-dimethyl-[1,3]dithiol-2-ylidene)-9,10-dihydroanthracene and 2,5,7-trinitro-4-bromo-9-dicyanomethylenefluorene, 14.(17)(2), reveals, for the first time, full electron transfer in a fluorene charge-transfer complex.