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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Competition between excited state proton and OH- transport via a short water wire: Solvent effects open the gate
    (London [u.a.] : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2014) Bekçioǧlu, G.; Allolio, C.; Ekimova, M.; Nibbering, E.T.J.; Sebastiani, D.
    We investigate the acid-base proton exchange reaction in a microsolvated bifunctional chromophore by means of quantum chemical calculations. The UV/vis spectroscopy shows that equilibrium of the keto-and enol-forms in the electronic ground state is shifted to the keto conformation in the excited state. A previously unknown mechanism involving a hydroxide ion transport along a short water wire is characterized energetically, which turns out to be competitive with the commonly assumed proton transport. Both mechanisms are shown to have a concerted character, as opposed to a step-wise mechanism. The alternative mechanism of a hydrogen atom transport is critically examined, and evidence for strong solvent dependence is presented. Specifically, we observe electrostatic destabilization of the corresponding πσ* state by the aqueous solvent. As a consequence, no conical intersections are found along the reaction pathway.
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    The dynamical behavior of the s-trioxane radical cation - A low-temperature EPR and theoretical study
    (Basel : MDPI AG, 2014) Naumov, S.S.; Knolle, W.; Naumov, S.P.; Pöppl, A.; Janovský, I.
    The radical cation of s-trioxane, radiolytically generated in a freon (CF3CCl3) matrix, was studied in the 10-140 K temperature region. Reversible changes of the EPR spectra were observed, arising from both ring puckering and ring inversion through the molecular plane. The ESREXN program based on the Liouville density matrix equation, allowing the treatment of dynamical exchange, has been used to analyze the experimental results. Two limiting conformer structures of the s-trioxane radical cation were taken into account, namely "rigid" half-boat and averaged planar ones, differing strongly in their electron distribution. The spectrum due to the "rigid" half-boat conformer can be observed only at very low (<60 K) temperatures, when the exchange of conformers is very slow. Two transition states for interconversion by puckering and ring-inversion were identified, close in activation energy (2.3 and 3.0 kJ/mol calculated). Since the energy difference is very small, both processes set on at a comparable temperature. In the case of nearly complete equilibration (fast exchange) between six energetically equivalent structures at T > 120 K in CF3CCl3, a septet due to six equivalent protons (hfs splitting constant 5.9 mT) is observed, characteristic of the dynamically averaged planar geometry of the radical cation. DFT quantum chemical calculations and spectral simulation including intramolecular dynamical exchange support the interpretation.
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    Local protonation control using plasmonic activation
    (Cambridge : RSC, 2001) Singh, P.; Deckert, V.
    Localized protonation of 4-mercaptopyridine (4-MPY), activated by light in the presence of silver nanoparticles is monitored under ambient conditions using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS). The reaction can be controlled by the excitation wavelength and the atmospheric conditions, thus, providing a tool for site-specific control of protonation.