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At least 343 records · Page 19

Steric Mapping, Ligand Dynamics, and Cycloisomerization Catalysis with Redox Robust Mn I/0/-I Dicarbenes

Manganese is perhaps the most electronically versatile element, yet the redox properties, reactivity, and catalytic applications of low-valent Mn 0 /Mn −I complexes remain underexplored due to the propensity for Mn 0 to dimerize, quenching highenergy metalloradicals. We report a series of redox-active monometallic Mn I , Mn 0 and Mn −I complexes containing a BH 2 - bridged dicarbene, characterized using a suite of experimental and cutting-edge computational (DFT) methods. Slow electron transfer kinetics at Mn I/0 are observed, with computations and electrochemical simulations in excellent agreement with experimental values. Despite the lack of steric bulk at the BH 2 -bridged Mn 0 , the t Bu groups at the dicarbene provide adequate steric protection to prevent dimerization, with percent buried volume (% V bur ) serving as a valuable steric ranking tool. We also show that a %V bur > 83% prevents dimerization for a diverse array of Mn 0 complexes from the literature. Ligand sterics of BPh 2 -and BH 2 -bridged complexes dictate reaction outcomes when Mn I and Mn −I are exposed to nucleophiles and electrophiles, respectively, while Mn0 facilitates the radical cycloisomerization catalysis of 6-iodo-1- hexene at room temperature. Furthermore, this work underscores the importance of ligand sterics in rationalizing reactivity patterns at Mn and provides valuable insights for designing chelating ligands that can selectively leverage Mn I/0/‑I states in redox-mediated catalytic reactions.

Ligands↗

Kinetics Data of Iron(II), Manganese(II), Dissolved Organic Carbon and Nitrate from Batch Incubation Experiments Using Hyporheic Sediments from the East River Watershed, Colorado.

Hyporheic zones act as critical ecological links between terrestrial and aquatic systems where redox-sensitive metals of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) significantly impact nutrient cycling and water quality. In order to understand the production, release and speciation of Fe(II) and Mn(II) in groundwater, we conducted batch incubation experiments using sediment samples from a hyporheic zone of the East River floodplain in Colorado. The East River is part of the Watershed Function Scientific Focus Area (WFSFA) located in the Upper Colorado River Basin, United States. Collection and processing of the data is described in the Methods, along with details of data file contents. There are 6 data files provided in two formats: 1 zip-folder of .csv (open source) files, and 1 zip-folder of .xlsx (Excel) files. The data tables provided in the two formats are the exact same.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Task Sharing of Proton Incorporation in Vertically Aligned Nanocomposite Triple Conductors: Growth, Structure, and Surface Exchange Kinetics

As protonic ceramic electrolysis cells emerge for efficient H 2 production, there is a need to develop air electrode materials enabling fast, durable steam splitting and proton incorporation. Single-phase triple conductors may fail to satisfy the myriad performance/stability requirements, and their critical charge-carriers (holes, oxygen vacancies, and protons) are in competition, limiting their concentrations. Instead, we propose task-sharing, vertically aligned nanocomposites (VANs), comprising a proton conductor (BaZr 0.9 Y 0.1 O 3-δ ) and a redox-active mixed ionic electronic conductor (Ce 0.9 Pr 0.1 O 2-δ ), that may enable rapid proton surface exchange at the solid–gas interface and transport along the solid–solid heterointerfaces. We grew VANs by pulsed laser deposition and investigated the interplay between their processing conditions, structure, and proton and oxygen surface exchange kinetics. We varied the substrate temperature, laser repetition rate, laser fluence, and processing oxygen pressure. The crystallinity and phases were characterized by grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction, and the strain and structural order as a function of depth were evaluated by angle-dependent synchrotron X-ray pair distribution function analysis. To evaluate the potential for interdiffusion, the formation energies of substitutional defects were simulated with density functional theory. Corresponding structural analysis and elemental mapping were performed by scanning/transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and electron energy-loss spectroscopy, indicating distinct nanoscale compositional regions with a hierarchical structure embedded in individual VANs columns and minimal interdiffusion across a bilayer film. Proton and oxygen surface exchange coefficients (k H , k O ) and polarization resistances were evaluated by electrical and optical relaxations and impedance spectroscopy of VAN-incorporated protonic ceramic electrochemical cells, respectively, at 400–500 °C, demonstrating values comparable to some of the best-known triple and mixed conductors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

High-Speed Ionic Synaptic Memory Based on 2D Titanium Carbide MXene

Synaptic devices with linear high-speed switching can accelerate learning in artificial neural networks (ANNs) embodied in hardware. Conventional resistive memories however suffer from high write noise and asymmetric conductance tuning, preventing parallel programming of ANN arrays. Electrochemical random-access memories (ECRAMs), where resistive switching occurs by ion insertion into a redox-active channel, aim to address these challenges due to their linear switching and low noise. ECRAMs using 2D materials and metal oxides however suffer from slow ion kinetics, whereas organic ECRAMs enable high-speed operation but face challenges toward on-chip integration due to poor temperature stability of polymers. Here, ECRAMs using 2D titanium carbide (Ti 3 C 2 T x ) MXene that combine the high speed of organics and the integration compatibility of inorganic materials in a single high-performance device are demonstrated. These ECRAMs combine the speed, linearity, write noise, switching energy, and endurance metrics essential for parallel acceleration of ANNs, and importantly, they are stable after heat treatment needed for back-end-of-line integration with Si electronics. The high speed and performance of these ECRAMs introduces MXenes, a large family of 2D carbides and nitrides with more than 30 stoichiometric compositions synthesized to date, as promising candidates for devices operating at the nexus of electrochemistry and electronics.

2D materials↗

Electrocatalytic water oxidation performance in an extended porous organic framework with a covalent alliance of distinct Ru sites

The rational synthesis of durable, earth-abundant efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) from water is one of the most important routes for storing renewable energy and minimizing fossil fuel combustion. The prime hurdles for effectively utilizing commercial RuO 2 as (OER) electrocatalysts are its very low stability, catalyst deactivation, and high cost. In this work, we explored a Ru-integrated porous organic polymer (Ru@Bpy-POP) by a facile one-pot Friedel–Crafts alkylation strategy between redox-active (Ru(demob) 3 Cl 2 ) and a carbazole unit, which is composed of unique features including an extended framework unit, isolated active sites, and tunable electrode kinetics. Ru@Bpy-POP can serve as a bridge between a Metal–Organic Framework (MOF) and POP-based catalytic systems with a balanced combination of covalent bonds (structural stability) and open metal sites (single site catalysis). Ru@Bpy-POP, deposited on a three-dimensional nickel foam electrode support, exhibits a promising electrocatalytic OER activity with an ultra-low ruthenium loading compared to a benchmark RuO 2 catalyst, providing an overpotential of about 270 mV to reach 10 mA cm –2 in an alkaline medium. Moreover, a high current density of 248 mA cm –2 was achieved for the Ru@Bpy-POP catalyst at only 1.6 V (vs. RHE), which is much higher than 91 mA cm –2 for commercial RuO 2 . The robust, albeit highly conjugated, POP framework not only triggered facile electro-kinetics but also suppressed aggregation and metallic corrosion during electrolysis. In particular, the benefits of covalent integration of distinct Ru sites into the framework can modulate intermediate adsorption and charge density, which contributes to its exceptional OER activity. All of the critical steps involved in OER are complemented by Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations, which suggest that electrocatalytic water oxidation proceeds from a closed-shell configuration to open-shell electronic configurations with high-spin states. Finally, these open-shell configurations are more stable than their closed-shell counterparts by 1 eV, improving the overall catalytic activity.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Protein folding from heterogeneous unfolded state revealed by time-resolved X-ray solution scattering

One of the most challenging tasks in biological science is to understand how a protein folds. In theoretical studies, the hypothesis adopting a funnel-like free-energy landscape has been recognized as a prominent scheme for explaining protein folding in views of both internal energy and conformational heterogeneity of a protein. Despite numerous experimental efforts, however, comprehensively studying protein folding with respect to its global conformational changes in conjunction with the heterogeneity has been elusive. Here we investigate the redox-coupled folding dynamics of equine heart cytochrome c (cyt-c) induced by external electron injection by using time-resolved X-ray solution scattering. A systematic kinetic analysis unveils a kinetic model for its folding with a stretched exponential behavior during the transition toward the folded state. With the aid of the ensemble optimization method combined with molecular dynamics simulations, we found that during the folding the heterogeneously populated ensemble of the unfolded state is converted to a narrowly populated ensemble of folded conformations. These observations obtained from the kinetic and the structural analyses of X-ray scattering data reveal that the folding dynamics of cyt-c accompanies many parallel pathways associated with the heterogeneously populated ensemble of unfolded conformations, resulting in the stretched exponential kinetics at room temperature. This finding provides direct evidence with a view to microscopic protein conformations that the cyt-c folding initiates from a highly heterogeneous unfolded state, passes through still diverse intermediate structures, and reaches structural homogeneity by arriving at the folded state.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Realizing Two-Electron Transfer in Ni(OH) 2 Nanosheets for Energy Storage

The theoretical capacity of a given electrode material is ultimately determined by the number of electrons transferred in each redox center. The design of multi-electron transfer processes could break through the limitation of one–electron transfer and multiply the total capacity, but is difficult to achieve because multiple electron transfer processes are generally thermodynamically and kinetically more complex. In this work, we report the discovery of two-electron transfer in monolayer Ni(OH) 2 nanosheets, which contrasts with the traditional one-electron transfer found in multilayer materials. The first-principles calculations predict that the first oxidation process from Ni 2+ →Ni 3+ occurs easily, whereas the second electron transfer from Ni 3+ →Ni 4+ is strongly hindered in multilayer materials by both the interlayer hydrogen bonds and the domain H structure induced by the Jahn-Teller distortion of the Ni 3+ (t 2g 6 e g 1 ) centered octahedra. In contrast, the second electron transfer can easily occur in monolayers because all H’s are fully exposed. Experimentally, the as-prepared monolayer is found to deliver an exceptional redox capacity of ~ 576 mAh/g, nearly two times the theoretical capacity of one-electron processes. In-situ experiments demonstrate that monolayer Ni(OH) 2 can transfer two electrons and mostly transform to Ni 4+ in the charging process, while bulk Ni(OH) 2 can be partially transformed . Our work reveals a new redox reaction mechanism in atomically thin Ni(OH) 2 nanosheets, and suggests a promising path towards tuning the electron transfer numbers to multiply the capacity of the relevant energy storage materials.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Anode-less Solid-State Li–S Batteries Enabled by Fe-Stabilized Polysulfides

Anode-less solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries (SSLSBs) with lithium sulfide (Li 2 S) as the cathode promise a high energy density and ease of manufacturing. However, Li 2 S is plagued by poor conductivity, sluggish activation kinetics, and a poor cycle life. Here, in this study, we report an FeCl 3 -activated Li 2 S (FLS) cathode with solid-state polysulfide intermediates generated through a redox reaction between FeCl 3 and Li 2 S. This strategy is shown to boost the electrical conductivity of Li 2 S by 7 orders of magnitude and lower the activation barrier. During cycling, Fe plays a significant role in stabilizing the highly active polysulfide species, contributing to the exceptional electrochemical performance. The FLS cathode achieves 80% capacity retention over 500 cycles with >99% Li 2 S utilization. Furthermore, a Li-metal-free (anode-less) full cell retained over 80% of its initial capacity after 240 cycles. This work underscores the promise of leveraging Fe-stabilized polysulfides in enabling high-energy, long-lasting, solid-state Li-S batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Structures and Free Energies of Cerium Ions in Acidic Electrolytes

The Ce 3+ /Ce 4+ redox potential changes with the electrolyte, which could be due to unequal anion complexation free energies between Ce 3+ and Ce 4+ or a change in the solvent electrostatic screening. Ce complexation with anions and solvent screening also affect the solubility of Ce and charge transfer kinetics for electrochemical reactions involving waste remediation and energy storage. Here, we report the structures and free energies of cerium complexes n seven acidic electrolytes based on Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure, LTV vis, and Density Functional Theory calculations. Ce 3+ coordinates with nine water molecules as [Ce(H 2 O) 9 ] 3+ in all studied electrolytes. However, Ce 4+ complexes with anions in all electrolytes except HClO 4 . Thus, our results suggest that Ce 4+ anion complexation leads to the large shifts in standard redox potential. Long range screening effects are smaller than the anion complexation energies but could be responsible for changes in the Ce solubility with acid.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Hopping mediated transport between finite pools of redox proteins

Transport reactions in biology involve the flow of particles—electrons, ions, or molecules—between reservoirs. Here, we explore how electron transport between finite reservoirs depends on the nature of the reservoirs, including their size, occupancy, and interactions. We compare the transport kinetics produced by narrowband and wideband infinite reservoir models (described earlier) with a finite narrowband reservoir model. The transport between finite reservoirs is found to depend on both the initial charge distribution and the number of carriers present. Whether or not a steady-state transport regime is accessed prior to reaching the equilibrium charge distribution depends on these initial conditions.

10 SYNTHETIC FUELS↗

An Efficient Copper-Based Redox Shuttle Bearing a Hexadentate Polypyridyl Ligand for DSCs under Low-Light Conditions

A Cu complex featuring a hexadentate ligand was synthesized and evaluated as a redox shuttle in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) devices, which exhibited excellent performance under low-light conditions. Cu-based redox shuttles (RSs) have been shown to perform remarkably well under low-light conditions; however, most of the known Cu-based RSs employ bidentate pyridyl ligands and often require bulky flanking groups adjacent to the nitrogen donors of these ligands to prevent distortion and binding of exogenous Lewis bases such as 4- tert -butylpyridine (TBP) that are added to enhance cell performance. Without the bulky substituents, the bidentate ligands are susceptible to ligand exchange with TBP. In this context, we have developed a Cu-based RS with a preorganized multidentate ligand designed to facilitate efficient electron transfer kinetics and high stability via the chelate effect. The Cu system, [Cu(bpyPY4)] 2+/+ , reported here is supported by the hexadentate polypyridyl ligand bpyPY4 (6,6'-bis(1,1-di(pyridine-2-yl)ethyl)-2,2'-bipyridine) and examined as a RS in DSCs. From X-ray crystallography and variable-temperature 1 H NMR studies, bpyPY4 provides a dynamic coordination environment around the metal center. Cyclic voltammetry and UV–visible and NMR spectroscopy indicate that noncoordinated pyridyl donors block binding of TBP to copper. DSC devices using [Cu(bpyPY4)] 2+/+ as the redox electrolyte gave a power conversion efficiency (PCE) value of 4.9% under 1 sun illumination (100 mW/cm 2 ). Strikingly, the device performance increased to 11.11% when irradiated with 2400 lux (0.5 mW/cm 2 ) via a fluorescent lamp light source and improved further to 15.2% PCE at 13500 lux (2.10 mW/cm 2 ). In conclusion, the Cu redox shuttle is an intriguing candidate for implementation with narrow band gap sensitizers with low oxidation potentials, which are important for high photocurrent DSC devices.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Impacts of A‐Site Composition on the Cation Dissolution‐Mediated Surface Restructuring of Layered Nickelate Oxide Electrocatalysts During Alkaline Oxygen Evolution Reaction

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a key anodic counter‐reaction for electrochemical production of fuels and chemicals. It is hindered by sluggish four‐electron transfer kinetics requiring highly oxidative operating potentials to achieve commercially relevant rates. NiFeO x H y electrocatalysts are among the most promising for OER in alkaline electrolytes. The Ni(OH) 2 /NiOOH redox couple has been reported as the active phase in Ni‐based electrocatalysts; however, its activity is often hindered by deactivation arising from the formation of OER‐inactive insulating species. Limited strategies exist for mitigating this deactivation. This study aims to address this by interrogating the evolution of OER active sites as a function of precatalyst composition and structural properties using a series of layered, crystalline Ni‐based Ruddlesden–Popper (RP) oxides (A 2 NiO 4+δ ). In situ evolution of the active NiO x H y surface is probed through Ni‐site OER turnover frequency analysis, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy coupled with scanning transmission electron microscopy. We show that the stability of layered nickelate oxide electrocatalysts is governed by the dynamic competition between cation dissolution and Ni‐site reversibility, which can be tuned through the A‐site composition of RP oxides. These findings yield insights toward engineering OER oxide precatalysts that optimize the stability of in situ‐generated OER active phases.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Sequence Programmable Order–Disorder Transitions in Supramolecular Assembly of Peptide Nanofibers

Protein–protein interactions determine the assembly of complexes that are responsible for numerous key biological processes. The assembly of many natural protein complexes is mediated by post-translational structural changes and environmental stimuli. In this study, we show that incorporation of adjacent lysine residues results in the pH-tunable stability of peptide secondary structure and assembly, allowing for the incorporation of complementary order-inducing motifs. The strategic placement of cysteine pairs in the same peptide sequence results in redox-dependent disulfide staple formation, inducing a transition from random coil to β-sheet conformation and subsequent supramolecular nanofiber assembly from otherwise disordered peptide monomers. Spectroscopic, imaging, molecular dynamics, and kinetic studies highlight the critical role of sequence motif location, oligomerization, and the competitive interplay between intra- and interpeptide disulfide bonding in determining assembly outcomes. We extend this approach to demonstrate phosphorylation-dependent assembly from the design of the same parent peptide sequence, suggesting a general approach to the design of diverse stimulus-responsive peptide sequences for supramolecular assembly. Furthermore, these findings also provide a framework for investigating sequence-dependent pathways in amyloid fiber formation with potential implications for neurodegenerative disease research.

Disulfides↗

Contact with Electrically Conductive Inert Solids Alters Intrinsic Heterogeneous Brønsted Acid Catalysis

Interfacial electric fields at heterogeneous catalyst surfaces have been demonstrated to alter kinetics of liquid-phase reactions. In these systems, electric fields are generated from applying a potential to the catalyst through connection to a potentiostat or through electron transfer from redox-active species in solution. Here, we demonstrate that catalyst polarization can also occur by simply contacting electrically conductive inert solids, leading to the counterintuitive conclusion that a catalyst particle touching an inert solid can alter intrinsic reaction rates. Using dehydration of 1-methylcyclopentanol to 1-methylcyclopentene catalyzed by Brønsted-acidic carboxylic acid groups on carbon nanotubes as a proof-of-concept probe reaction, we show that catalyst contact with inert, thermally reduced carbon nanotubes leads to order-of-magnitude changes in reaction rate. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these contact-induced effects can also be observed under standard laboratory reaction conditions, where particle-to-particle contact in stirred catalyst powder suspensions is sufficient to demote rates by ∼8-fold. This work provides the foundation for a new method of reaction rate control, which could have implications whenever heterogeneous catalyst particles are in contact with inert materials for liquid-phase reactions in the presence of electrolyte.

Alcohols↗

Adapting enzymes to improve their functionality in plants: why and how

Synthetic biology creates new metabolic processes and improves existing ones using engineered or natural enzymes. These enzymes are often sourced from cells that differ from those in the target plant organ with respect to, e.g. redox potential, effector levels, or proteostasis machinery. Non-native enzymes may thus need to be adapted to work well in their new plant context (‘plantized’) even if their specificity and kinetics in vitro are adequate. Hence there are two distinct ways in which an enzyme destined for use in plants can require improvement: In catalytic properties such as substrate and product specificity, kcat, and KM; and in general compatibility with the milieu of cells that express the enzyme. Continuous directed evolution systems can deliver both types of improvement and are so far the most broadly effective way to deliver the second type. Accordingly, in this review we provide a short account of continuous evolution methods, emphasizing the yeast OrthoRep system because of its suitability for plant applications. We then cover the down-to-earth and increasingly urgent issues of which enzymes and enzyme properties can — or cannot — be improved in theory, and which in practice are the best to target for crop improvement, i.e. those that are realistically improvable and important enough to warrant deploying continuous directed evolution. We take horticultural crops as examples because of the opportunities they present and to sharpen the focus.

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology↗

All-Climate and Ultrafast Rechargeable Aluminum Batteries Enabled By Ternary Eutectic Electrolytes

For Rechargeable Aluminum Batteries (RABs), electrolytes emerge as the most crucial and decisive component due to the following aspects: (i) Sluggish reaction kinetics due to high gravimetric density of Al (2.70 g/cm 3 vs. 0.53 g/cm 3 for Li) and high surface charge density, (ii) a limited safe potential window owing to moderate standard redox potential values. The state-of-the-art electrolytes in the field exhibits a limited stability window (<2.6V vs. Al/Al +3 ), leading to undesired side reactions, such as Cl 2 gas generation, and self-discharge in RABs. Exploration of RABs low-temperature performance is restricted by electrolyte limitations.

Raju Vadthya↗

Theoretical Investigation of Solvent Effects on the Hydrodeoxygenation of Propionic Acid over a Ni(111) Catalyst Model

The effect of two solvents, liquid water and 1,4-dioxane, has been studied from first principles on the hydrodeoxygenation of propionic acid over a Ni (111) catalyst surface model. A mean-field microkinetic model was developed to investigate these effects at a temperature of 473 K. Under all reaction conditions, a decarbonylation mechanism is favored significantly over a decarboxylation pathway. Although no significant solvent effects were observed on the decarbonylation rate, a substantial solvent stabilization of two key surface intermediates in the decarboxylation mechanism, CH 3 CCOO and CH 3 CHCOO, lead to a notable increase of the decarboxylation rate by two orders of magnitude in liquid water and by one order of magnitude in liquid 1,4-dioxane. Furthermore, a significant solvent stabilization of the transition state of C-H bond cleavage of the α-carbon of CH 3 CHCO, relative to the stabilization of the C-C bond cleavage of the α-carbon of CH 3 CHCO, leads to a change in dominant pathway in the liquid phase environments. Finally, a sensitivity analysis shows that the C-OH bond cleavage of propionic acid and C-C bond cleavage of the α-carbon of CH 3 CHCO are the most rate controlling states in the gas phase. In contrast, in solvents the dehydrogenation of CH 3 CHCO becomes the most influential step. This shift in rate controlling state is attributed to the solvent effect on the dehydrogenation of CH 3 CHCO, which is facilitated in aqueous phase. Altogether, it is likely that the investigated (111) facet of Ni is not active for the hydrodeoxygenation of propionic acid in neither the gas nor liquid phase and other Ni facets or phases must be responsible for the experimentally observed kinetics.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Twisto-Electrochemical Activity Volcanoes in Trilayer Graphene

In this work, we develop a twist-dependent electrochemical activity map, combining a low-energy continuum electronic structure model with modified Marcus–Hush–Chidsey kinetics in trilayer graphene. We identify a counterintuitive rate enhancement region spanning the magic angle curve and incommensurate twists in the system geometry. We find a broad activity peak with a ruthenium hexamine redox couple in regions corresponding to both magic angles and incommensurate angles, a result qualitatively distinct from the twisted bilayer case. Flat bands and incommensurability offer new avenues for reaction rate enhancements in electrochemical transformations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗