The assembly of "S3N"-ligands decorated with an azo-dye as potential sensors for heavy metal ions.

An "S3N-ligand azo-dye" conjugate has been synthesised with a view to the development of a sensor for heavy metal ions. Complexation of this system with Ag(i), Hg(ii) and Cu(ii) salts has been investigated and an X-ray structure has been obtained for a Hg(ii) complex. Complexation of the conjugated dye to these metals results in a bathochromic shift in the absorption maximum of the azo dye, an effect which is most pronounced for Cu(ii).

Entanglement in supramolecular spin systems of two weakly coupled antiferromagnetic rings (purple-Cr7Ni).

We characterize supramolecular magnetic structures, consisting of two weakly coupled antiferromagnetic rings, by low-temperature specific heat, susceptibility, magnetization and electron paramagnetic resonance measurements. Intra- and inter-ring interactions are modeled through a microscopic spin-Hamiltonian approach that reproduces all the experimental data quantitatively and legitimates the use of an effective two-qubit picture. Spin entanglement between the rings is experimentally demonstrated through magnetic susceptibility below 50 mK and theoretically quantified by the concurrence.

Imaging Water Dissociation on TiO(2)(110).

Scanning tunneling microscopy has been used to identify the adsorption site of H(2)O on TiO(2)(110)-(1 x 1) at 150 K, and to monitor the site of the dissociation products at 290 K. Water adsorbs onto the rows of fivefold coordinated Ti atoms at 150 K, dissociating by 290 K to form bridging but not terminal hydroxyls. This points to the involvement of bridging O vacancies in the dissociation pathway.

Extended surface chirality from supramolecular assemblies of adsorbed chiral molecules

The increasing demand of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries for enantiomerically pure compounds has spurred the development of a range of so-called 'chiral technologies' (ref. 1), which aim to exert the ultimate control over a chemical reaction by directing its enantioselectivity. Heterogeneous enantioselective catalysis is particularly attractive because it allows the production and ready separation of large quantities of chiral product while using only small quantities of catalyst. Heterogeneous enantioselectivity is usually induced by adsorbing chiral molecules onto catalytically active surfaces. A mimic of one such catalyst is formed by adsorbing (R,R)-tartaric acid molecules on Cu(110) surfaces: this generates a variety of surface phases, of which only one is potentially catalytically active, and leaves the question of how adsorbed chiral molecules give rise to enantioselectivity. Here we show that the active phase consists of extended supramolecular assemblies of adsorbed (R,R)-tartaric acid, which destroy existing symmetry elements of the underlying metal and directly bestow chirality to the modified surface. The adsorbed assemblies create chiral 'channels' exposing bare metal atoms, and it is these chiral spaces that we believe to be responsible for imparting enantioselectivity, by forcing the orientation of reactant molecules docking onto catalytically active metal sites. Our findings demonstrate that it is possible to sustain a single chiral domain across an extended surface--provided that reflection domains of opposite handedness are removed by a rigid and chiral local adsorption geometry, and that inequivalent rotation domains are removed by successful matching of the rotational symmetry of the adsorbed molecule with that of the underlying metal surface.

Performance of the VUV beamline 4.1 at the SRS, Daresbury Laboratory.

The performance of a recently commissioned beamline, designated BL4.1, at the SRS, Daresbury Laboratory, is described. This beamline covers the energy range 15 >/= hupsilon >/= 200 eV, using a spherical grating monochromator, and is equipped with a UHV surface-science endstation containing a Scienta SES200 and an HA54 angle-resolving electron-energy analyser. Design parameters and optical specifications are tabulated. Monochromator resolution has been determined by measuring the Fermi edge of a Pt foil cooled to 40 K and these values are compared with the calculated resolution. The flux delivered to the endstation has been measured directly using a calibrated photodiode. The performance of the beamline is further illustrated by reference to a study of the angular distribution of photoemitted intensity from a band-gap state on a TiO(2)(110) 1 x 2 surface.