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An Automated Ultraclean Ion Exchange Separation Method for the Determinations of 232Th and 238U in Copper using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry
This work presents a novel automated analytical method developed for high throughput ultrasensitive determinations of Th and U in copper using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The method is based on the use of ultra clean sample preparation procedures including the use of a fully automated off-line chromatography system for the extraction and pre-concentration of the analytes prior to ICP-MS analysis. The separation system is equipped with a single reusable chromatographic column that, with the rigorously clean procedures developed herein, provided a low carryover, low background, and reproducible automated separation method. Isotope dilution methods were used for quantitation. Method Detection Limits (MDLs) of 3.7 and 9.4 fg·g-1 were obtained for the quantitation of 232Th and 238U in copper, respectively, corresponding to activities of 0.0148 and 0.116 microBq·kg-1 for 232Th and 238U, respectively. The analytical method provided high and reproducible tracer recoveries. The use of an automated system significantly reduced the extremely tedious active work time required for the chemist (by ca. 80%) relative to manually performing the separation. This method could be adapted to other critical sample matrices requiring the utmost in high throughput clean chemistry procedures for automated ultrasensitive analyses.
Molecular Mechanism for Inhibition of G Protein-Coupled Receptor Kinase 2 by a Selective RNA Aptamer
Cardiovascular homeostasis is maintained in part by the rapid desensitization of activated heptahelical receptors that have been phosphorylated by G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2). However, during chronic heart failure GRK2 is upregulated and believed to contribute to disease progression. We have determined crystallographic structures of GRK2 bound to an RNA aptamer that potently and selectively inhibits kinase activity. Key to the mechanism of inhibition is the positioning of an adenine nucleotide into the ATP-binding pocket and interactions with the basic {alpha}F-{alpha}G loop region of the GRK2 kinase domain. Constraints imposed on the RNA by the terminal stem of the aptamer also play a role. These results highlight how a high-affinity aptamer can be used to selectively trap a novel conformational state of a protein kinase.
Concerted One-Electron Two-Proton Transfer Processes in Models Inspired by the Tyr-His Couple of Photosystem II
Nature employs a TyrZ-His pair as a redox relay that couples proton transfer to the redox process between P680 and the water oxidizing catalyst in photosystem II. Artificial redox relays composed of different benzimidazole- phenol dyads (benzimidazole models His and phenol models Tyr) with substituents designed to simulate the hydrogen bond network surrounding the TyrZ-His pair have been prepared. When the benzimidazole substituents are strong proton acceptors such as primary or tertiary amines, theory predicts that a concerted two proton transfer process associated with the electrochemical oxidation of the phenol will take place. Also, theory predicts a decrease in the redox potential of the phenol by ~300 mV and a small kinetic isotope effect (KIE). Indeed, electrochemical, spectroelectrochemical, and KIE experimental data are consistent with these predictions. Notably, these results were obtained by using theory to guide the rational design of artificial systems and have implications for managing proton activity to optimize efficiency at energy conversion sites involving water oxidation and reduction.
Simultaneous Insight into Dissolution and Aggregation of Metal Sulfide Nanoparticles through Single-Particle Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry
Nanoparticles (NPs) and their colloidal aggregates are ubiquitous and play important roles in the transport and release of metals. Knowledge of their dissolution rates and aggregation behavior in solution are crucial for better prediction of their fate in biogeochemical cycling, ecotoxicity, and environmental remediation. There are however significant technical challenges to accurately obtain such information as a result of the heterogeneity and highly dynamic transformation exhibited by NPs, particularly at relatively low particle concentrations in aqueous systems. Here, we quantitatively examine the simultaneous dissolution and aggregation behavior of metal sulfide NPs using single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP–MS). We focus on nickel sulfide (NiS), with additional data presented for copper sulfide (CuS) and cobalt sulfide (CoS). The kinetics of metal release (dissolution and disaggregation) of NiS was fastest under strongly oxidizing conditions (from 0.04 to >3 min –1 with H 2 O 2 ) and were slower under near-neutral (HEPES buffer/H 2 O) and acidic (1 mM HNO 3 ) conditions (≤0.006 min –1 ). Metal release kinetics in HNO 3 was not faster than in H 2 O or HEPES, suggesting that the solution pH has an influence over both the dissolution kinetics of individual particles and the NP aggregation states, which in combination affect metal release rates over time. Between different metal sulfides, the measured metal release rates were largely consistent with predictions based on the crystallinity, solubility products, and specific surface areas of the NPs, following an order of CoS > NiS > CuS. Here, the spICP–MS approach described here can be easily applied to the characterization of metal release and aggregation of other NPs at low concentrations (~10 5 particles/mL) typically found in natural environments.
Harnessing Photoelectrochemistry for Wastewater Nitrate Treatment Coupled with Resource Recovery
Wastewater is a misplaced resource well suited to recover nutrients, value-added chemicals, energy, and clean water. A photoelectrochemical device is proposed to transform wastewater nitrates to ammonia and nitrous oxide, coupled with water oxidation. Numerical models were developed to quantify the dependence of process efficiencies and nitrogen-removal rates on light absorber band gaps, electrocatalytic kinetic parameters, competing oxygen reduction and hydrogen evolution reactions, and the reacting nitrate species concentrations that affect the mass-transfer limited current densities. With a single light-absorber and state-of-the-art catalysts, optimal solar-to-chemical efficiencies of 7% and 10% and nitrogen-removal rates of 260 and 395 gN m -2 day -1 are predicted for nitrate reduction to ammonia and nitrous oxide, respectively. The influence of competing reactions on the performance depends on the nitrate concentration and band gap of the light absorber modeled. Oxygen reduction is more dominant than hydrogen evolution to compete with the nitrate reduction reaction, but it is mass-transfer limited. Even with kinetic parameters that enhanced the driving forces for the competing reactions, the performance is only minimally affected by these reactions for optimally selected band gaps and nitrate concentrations larger than 100 mM. Here, theoretically predicted peak nitrogen removal rates and specific energy intensities are competitive with reported estimates for electrochemical and Sharon-Anammox processes for ammonia recovery and nitrogen removal, respectively. This result, together with the added benefit of harnessing sunlight to produce value-added products, indicates promise in the photoelectrochemical approach as a tertiary pathway to recover nutrients and energy from wastewater nitrates.
Challenges in the search for magnetic coupling in 3d-4f materials: Syntheses, structures, and magnetic properties of the lanthanide copper heterobimetallic compounds, RE2Cu(TeO3)2(SO4)2
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Coupled Cluster Theory on Graphics Processing Units I. The Coupled Cluster Doubles Method
The coupled cluster (CC) ansatz is generally recognized as providing one of the best wave function-based descriptions of electronic correlation in small- and medium-sized molecules. The fact that the CC equations with double excitations (CCD) may be expressed as a handful of dense matrix-matrix multiplications makes it an ideal method to be ported to graphics processing units (GPUs). Here we present our implementation of the spin-free CCD equations in which the entire iterative procedure is evaluated on the GPU. The GPU-accelerated algorithm readily achieves a factor of 4-5 speedup relative to the multithreaded CPU algorithm on same-generation hardware. The GPU-accelerated algorithm is approximately 8-12 times faster than Molpro, 17-22 times faster than NWChem, and 21-29 times faster than GAMESS for each CC iteration. Single-precision GPU-accelerated computations are also performed, leading to an additional doubling of performance. Single-precision errors in the energy are typically on the order of 10 -6 hartrees and can be improved by about an order of magnitude by performing one additional iteration in double precision.
pH-Dependent Reduction Potentials and Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer Mechanisms in Hydrogen-Producing Nickel Molecular Electrocatalysts
The nickel-based Ph Bz 2 2 P N electrocatalysts, which are comprised of a nickel atom and two 1,5-dibenzyl-3,7-diphenyl-1,5-diaza-3,7-diphosphacyclooctane ligands, have been shown to effectively catalyze H2 production in acetonitrile. Recent electrochemical experiments revealed a linear dependence of the NiII/I reduction potential on pH, suggesting a proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reaction. In the proposed mechanism, the catalytic cycle begins with a PCET process involving electrochemical electron transfer to the nickel center and intermolecular proton transfer from an acid to the pendant amine ligand. This paper presents quantum mechanical calculations of this PCET process to examine the thermodynamics of the sequential mechanisms, in which either the electron or the proton transfers first (ET–PT and PT–ET, respectively), and the concerted mechanism (EPT). The favored mechanism depends on a balance among many factors, including the acid strength, association free energy for the acid–catalyst complex, PT free energy barrier, and ET reduction potential. The ET reduction potential is less negative after PT, favoring the PT–ET mechanism, and the association free energy is less positive after reduction, favoring the ET–PT mechanism. The calculations, along with analysis of the experimental data, indicate that the sequential ET–PT mechanism is favored for weak acids because of the substantial decrease in the association free energy after reduction. For strong acids, however, the PT–ET mechanism may be favored because the association free energy is somewhat smaller and PT is more thermodynamically favorable. The concerted mechanism could also occur, particularly for intermediate acid strengths. In the context of the entire catalytic cycle for H2 production, the initial PCET process involving intermolecular PT has a more negative reduction potential than the subsequent PCET process involving intramolecular PT. As a result, the second PCET should occur spontaneously, which is consistent with cyclic voltammogram experiments. This research was supported as part of the Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences.
Accessing Organonitrogen Compounds via C–N Coupling in Electrocatalytic CO 2 Reduction
Given the limited product variety of electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction reactions solely from CO 2 and H 2 O as the reactants, it is desirable to expand the product scope by introducing additional reactants that provide elemental diversity. The integration of inorganic heteroatom-containing reactants into electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction could in principle enable the sustainable synthesis of valuable products, such as organonitrogen compounds, which have widespread applications but typically rely on NH 3 derived from the energy-intensive and fossil-fuel-dependent Haber-Bosch process for their industrial scale production. Here, in this Perspective, research progress towards building C-N bonds in N-integrated electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction is highlighted, and the electrosyntheses of urea, acetamides, and amines are examined from the standpoint of reactivity, catalyst structure, and most fundamentally, mechanism. Mechanistic discussions of C-N coupling in these advances are emphasized and critically evaluated, with the aim of directing future investigations on improving the product yield and broadening the product scope of N-integrated electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction.
Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer: Moving Together and Charging Forward
Proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) is ubiquitous throughout chemistry and biology. This Perspective discusses recent advances and current challenges in the field of PCET, with an emphasis on the role of theory and computation. The fundamental theoretical concepts are summarized, and expressions for rate constants and kinetic isotope effects are provided. Computational methods for calculating reduction potentials and pKa’s for molecular electrocatalysts, as well as methods for simulating the nonadiabatic dynamics of photoinduced processes, are also described. Representative applications to PCET in solution, proteins, electrochemistry, and photoinduced processes are presented, highlighting the interplay between theoretical and experimental studies. The current challenges and suggested future directions are outlined for each type of application, concluding with an overall view to the future. The work described herein was supported by National Science Foundation Grant CHE-13-61293 (theory development), National Institutes of Health Grant GM056207 (soybean lipoxygenase), Center for Chemical Innovation of the National Science Foundation Solar Fuels Grant CHE-1305124 (cobalt catalysts), Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences (nickel catalysts), and Air Force Office of Scientific Research Award No. FA9550-14-1-0295 (photoinduced PCET).
Surface-to-bulk redox coupling through thermally-driven Li redistribution in Li- and Mn-rich layered cathode materials
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Charge Trapping in Bright and Dark States of Coupled PbS Quantum Dot Films
Analysis of photoluminescence (PL) from chemically treated lead sulfide (PbS) quantum dot (QD) films versus temperature reveals the effects of QD size and ligand binding on the motion of carriers between bright and dark trap states. For strongly coupled QDs, the PL exhibits temperature-dependent quenching and shifting consistent with charges residing in a shallow exponential tail of quasi-localized states below the band gap. The depth of the tail varies from 15 to 40 meV, similar to or smaller than exponential band tail widths measured for polycrystalline Si. The trap state distribution can be manipulated with QD size and surface treatment, and its characterization should provide a clearer picture of charge separation and percolation in disordered QD films than what currently exists.
Efficient upgrading of CO to C3 fuel using asymmetric C-C coupling active sites
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