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Now showing 1 - 10 of 19
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    Nickel cobalt oxide hollow nanosponges as advanced electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction
    (Cambridge : Soc., 2015) Zhu, Chengzhou; Wen, Dan; Leubner, Susanne; Oschatz, Martin; Liu, Wei; Holzschuh, Matthias; Simon, Frank; Kaskel, Stefan; Eychmüller, Alexander
    A class of novel nickel cobalt oxide hollow nanosponges were synthesized through a sodium borohydride reduction strategy. Due to their porous and hollow nanostructures, and synergetic effects between their components, the optimized nickel cobalt oxide nanosponges exhibited excellent catalytic activity towards oxygen evolution reaction.
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    Online investigation of respiratory quotients in Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies during drought and shading by means of cavity-enhanced Raman multi-gas spectrometry
    (Cambridge : Soc., 2015) Hanf, Stefan; Fischer, Sarah; Hartmann, Henrik; Keiner, Robert; Trumbore, Susan; Popp, Jürgen; Frosch, Torsten
    Photosynthesis and respiration are major components of the plant carbon balance. During stress, like drought, carbohydrate supply from photosynthesis is reduced and the Krebs cycle respiration must be fueled with other stored carbon compounds. However, the dynamics of storage use are still unknown. The respiratory quotient (RQ, CO2 released per O2 consumed during respiration) is an excellent indicator of the nature of the respiration substrate. In plant science, however, online RQ measurements have been challenging or even impossible so far due to very small gas exchange fluxes during respiration. Here we apply cavity-enhanced multi-gas Raman spectrometry (CERS) for online in situ RQ measurements in drought-tolerant pine (Pinus sylvestris [L.]) and drought-intolerant spruce (Picea abies [L. H. Karst]). Two different treatments, drought and shading, were applied to reduce photosynthesis and force dependency on stored substrates. Changes in respiration rates and RQ values were continuously monitored over periods of several days with low levels of variance. The results show that both species switched from COH-dominated respiration (RQ = 1.0) to a mixture of substrates during shading (RQ = 0.77–0.81), while during drought only pine did so (RQ = 0.75). The gas phase measurements were complemented by concentration measurements of non-structural carbohydrates and lipids. These first results suggest a physiological explanation for greater drought tolerance in pine. CERS was proven as powerful technique for non-consumptive and precise real-time monitoring of respiration rates and respirational quotients for the investigation of plant metabolism under drought stress conditions that are predicted to increase with future climate change.
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    Towards a methanol economy based on homogeneous catalysis: methanol to H2 and CO2 to methanol
    (Cambridge : Soc., 2015) Alberico, E.; Nielsen, M.
    The possibility to implement both the exhaustive dehydrogenation of aqueous methanol to hydrogen and CO2 and the reverse reaction, the hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol and water, may pave the way to a methanol based economy as part of a promising renewable energy system. Recently, homogeneous catalytic systems have been reported which are able to promote either one or the other of the two reactions under mild conditions. Here, we review and discuss these developments.
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    Single molecule level plasmonic catalysis – a dilution study of p-nitrothiophenol on gold dimers
    (Cambridge : Soc., 2015) Zhang, Zhenglong; Deckert-Gaudig, Tanja; Singh, Pushkar; Deckert, Volker
    Surface plasmons on isolated gold dimers can initiate intermolecular reactions of adsorbed p-nitrothiophenol. At the single molecule level when dimerization is not possible an intramolecular reaction can be observed. Experimental evidence indicates that plasmon-induced hot electrons provide the required activation energy.
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    Enantio- and diastereoselective synthesis of γ-amino alcohols
    (Cambridge : Soc., 2015) Verkade, Jorge M. M.; Quaedflieg, Peter J. L. M.; Verzijl, Gerard K. M.; Lefort, Laurent; van Delft, Floris L.; de Vries, Johannes G.; Rutjes, Floris P. J. T.
    The γ-amino alcohol structural motif is often encountered in drugs and natural products. We developed two complementary catalytic diastereoselective methods for the synthesis of N-PMP-protected γ-amino alcohols from the corresponding ketones. The anti-products were obtained through Ir-catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation, the syn-products via Rh-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation.
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    Label-free detection of Phytophthora ramorum using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy
    (Cambridge : Soc., 2015) Yüksel, Sezin; Schwenkbier, Lydia; Pollok, Sibyll; Weber, Karina; Cialla-May, Dana; Popp, Jürgen
    In this study, we report on a novel approach for the label-free and species-specific detection of the plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum from real samples using surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). In this context, we consider the entire analysis chain including sample preparation, DNA isolation, amplification and hybridization on SERS substrate-immobilized adenine-free capture probes. Thus, the SERS-based detection of target DNA is verified by the strong spectral feature of adenine which indicates the presence of hybridized target DNA. This property was realized by replacing adenine moieties in the species-specific capture probes with 2-aminopurine. In the case of the matching capture and target sequence, the characteristic adenine peak serves as an indicator for specific DNA hybridization. Altogether, this is the first assay demonstrating the detection of a plant pathogen from an infected plant material by label-free SERS employing DNA hybridization on planar SERS substrates consisting of silver nanoparticles.
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    19F NMR-, ESR-, and vis-NIR-spectroelectrochemical study of the unconventional reduction behaviour of a perfluoroalkylated fullerene: dimerization of the C70(CF3)10− radical anion
    (Cambridge : Soc., 2015) Zalibera, Michal; Machata, Peter; Clikeman, Tyler T.; Rosenkranz, Marco; Strauss, Steven H.; Boltalina, Olga V.; Popov, Alexey A.
    The most abundant isomer of C70(CF3)10 (70-10-1) is a rare example of a perfluoroalkylated fullerene exhibiting electrochemically irreversible reduction. We show that electrochemical reversibility at the first reduction step is achieved at scan rates higher than 500 V s−1. Applying ESR-, vis-NIR-, and 19F NMR-spectroelectrochemistry, as well as mass spectrometry and DFT calculations, we show that the (70-10-1)− radical monoanion is in equilibrium with a singly-bonded diamagnetic dimeric dianion. This study is the first example of 19F NMR spectroelectrochemistry, which promises to be an important method for the elucidation of redox mechanisms of fluoroorganic compounds. Additionally, we demonstrate the importance of combining different spectroelectrochemical methods and quantitative analysis of the transferred charge and spin numbers in the determination of the redox mechanism.
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    All-in-one: a versatile gas sensor based on fiber enhanced Raman spectroscopy for monitoring postharvest fruit conservation and ripening
    (Cambridge : Soc., 2016) Jochum, Tobias; Rahal, Leila; Suckert, Renè J.; Popp, Jürgen; Frosch, Torsten
    In today's fruit conservation rooms the ripening of harvested fruit is delayed by precise management of the interior oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) levels. Ethylene (C2H4), a natural plant hormone, is commonly used to trigger fruit ripening shortly before entering the market. Monitoring of these critical process gases, also of the increasingly favored cooling agent ammonia (NH3), is a crucial task in modern postharvest fruit management. The goal of this work was to develop and characterize a gas sensor setup based on fiber enhanced Raman spectroscopy for fast (time resolution of a few minutes) and non-destructive process gas monitoring throughout the complete postharvest production chain encompassing storage and transport in fruit conservation chambers as well as commercial fruit ripening in industrial ripening rooms. Exploiting a micro-structured hollow-core photonic crystal fiber for analyte gas confinement and sensitivity enhancement, the sensor features simultaneous quantification of O2, CO2, NH3 and C2H4 without cross-sensitivity in just one single measurement. Laboratory measurements of typical fruit conservation gas mixtures showed that the sensor is capable of quantifying O2 and CO2 concentration levels with accuracy of 3% or less with respect to reference concentrations. The sensor detected ammonia concentrations, relevant for chemical alarm purposes. Due to the high spectral resolution of the gas sensor, ethylene could be quantified simultaneously with O2 and CO2 in a multi-component mixture. These results indicate that fiber enhanced Raman sensors have a potential to become universally usable on-site gas sensors for controlled atmosphere applications in postharvest fruit management.
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    Highly active and selective photochemical reduction of CO2 to CO using molecular-defined cyclopentadienone iron complexes
    (Cambridge : Soc., 2015) Rosas-Hernández, Alonso; Alsabeh, Pamela G.; Barsch, Enrico; Junge, Hernrik; Ludwig, Ralf; Beller, Matthias
    Herein, we report highly active (cyclopentadienone)iron–tricarbonyl complexes for CO2 photoreduction using visible light with an Ir complex as photosensitizer and TEOA as electron/proton donor. Turnover numbers (TON) of ca. 600 (1 h) with initial turnover frequencies (TOF) up to 22.2 min−1 were observed. Operando FTIR measurements allowed for the proposal of a plausible mechanism for catalyst activation.
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    A neutral low-coordinate heterocyclic bismuth-tin species
    (Cambridge : Soc., 2015) Hering-Junghans, C.; Schulz, A.; Villinger, A.
    The reaction of distannadiazane bearing bulky RAr*-groups (RAr* = C6H2{C(H)Ph2}2R-2,6,4; R = iPr, tBu) with ECl3 (E = Sb, Bi) was studied resulting in the isolation of previously unknown N,N-bis(dichloropnictino)amines (3) and a novel heterocyclic carbenoid bismuth species (4) bearing a Bi(III) and a Sn(IV) center. The structure and bonding was investigated by means of X-ray structure elucidations and DFT calculations.