Remote Hydrogen Research Articles

Redox Control of Charge Transport in Vertical Ferrocene Molecular Tunnel Junctions

Summary Controlling charge transport through molecular tunnel junctions is of crucial importance for exploring basic physical and chemical mechanisms at the molecular level and realizing the applications of molecular devices. Here, through a combined experimental and theoretical investigation, we demonstrate redox control of cross-plane charge transport in a vertical gold/self-assembled monolayer (SAM)/graphene tunnel junction composed of a ferrocene-based SAM. When an oxidant/reductant or electrochemical control is applied to the outside surface of the neutral single-layer graphene top electrode, reversible redox reactions of ferrocene groups take place with charges crossing the graphene layer. This leads to counter anions on the outer surface of graphene, which balance the charges of ferrocene cations in the oxidized state. Correspondingly, the junctions switch between a high-conductance, neutral state with asymmetrical characteristics and a low-conductance, oxidized state with symmetrical characteristics, yielding a large on/off ratio (>100).

Enantioselective oxygenation of exocyclic methylene groups by a manganese porphyrin catalyst with a chiral recognition site.

The natural enzyme cytochrome P450 is widely recognised for its unique ability to catalyse highly selective oxygen insertion reactions into unactivated C–H bonds under mild conditions. Its exceptional potential for organic synthesis served as an inspiration for the presented biomimetic hydroxylation approach. Via a remote hydrogen bonding motif a high enantioselectivity in the manganese-catalysed oxygenation of quinolone analogues (27 examples, 18–64% yield, 80–99% ee) was achieved. The site-selectivity was completely altered in favour of a less reactive but more accessible position.

Real-time free-running time scale with remote clocks on fiber-based frequency network

In this paper, we propose a real-time free-running time scale based on four remote hydrogen masers. The clocks in the ensemble were scattered around Beijing, connected by urban fiber links using a novel frequency synchronization system. The remote clock ensemble prevents the time scale from potential problems caused by correlation among co-located clocks. Insofar as it is real-time, it fulfills the requirements for applications such as navigation, telecommunications and so on. The free-running time scale is updated every 1200 s, and a disturbance-resistant algorithm makes it robust to fiber link disturbances and clock malfunctions. The results of a continuous experiment over 224 d are reported. The stability of the time scale outperformed any clock in the ensemble for averaging times of more than approximately 104 s.

Synthesis of 1,2-Diamine Bifunctional Catalysts for the Direct Aldol Reaction Through Probing the Remote Amide Hydrogen

Background: While proline can catalyze the asymmetric direct aldol reactions, its catalytic activity and catalyst turnover are both low. To improve the catalytic efficiency, many prolinebased organocatalysts have been developed. In this regard, prolinamide-based bifunctional catalysts have been demonstrated by us and others to be highly efficient catalysts for the direct aldol reactions. Results: Using the β-acetamido- and β-tosylamidoprolinamide catalysts, the highly enantio- and diastereoselective direct aldol reactions between enolizable ketones and aldehydes were achieved (up to >99% ee, 98:2 dr). A low catalyst loading of only 2-5 mol % of the β-tosylamidoprolinamide catalyst was needed to obtain the desired aldol products in good to high yields and high stereoselectivities. Methods: By carefully adjusting the hydrogen bonding ability of the remote β-amide hydrogen of the 1,2-diamine-based prolinamide bifunctional catalysts, the catalytic activity and the asymmetric induction of these catalysts were significantly improved for the direct aldol reaction between aldehydes and enolizable ketones. Conclusion: Some highly efficient 1,2-diamine-based bifunctional prolinamide catalysts have been developed through probing the remote β-amide hydrogen for its hydrogen bonding capability. These catalysts are easy to synthesize and high enantioselectivities may be achieved at very low catalyst loadings.

Characterization of hydrogen plasma defined graphene edges

We investigate the quality of hydrogen plasma defined graphene edges by Raman spectroscopy, atomic resolution AFM and low temperature electronic transport measurements. The exposure of graphite samples to a remote hydrogen plasma leads to the formation of hexagonal shaped etch pits, reflecting the anisotropy of the etch. Atomic resolution AFM reveals that the sides of these hexagons are oriented along the zigzag direction of the graphite crystal lattice and the absence of a D-peak within the noise background in the Raman spectra seems to suggest rather high quality zigzag edges. In a second step of the experiment, we investigate hexagon edges created in single layer graphene on hexagonal boron nitride and find a substantial D-peak intensity. Polarization dependent Raman measurements reveal that hydrogen plasma defined edges consist of a mixture of zigzag and armchair segments. Furthermore, electronic transport measurements were performed on hydrogen plasma defined graphene nanoribbons which indicate a high quality of the bulk but a relatively low edge quality, in agreement with the Raman data. These findings are supported by tight-binding transport simulations. Hence, further optimization of the hydrogen plasma etching technique is required to obtain pure crystalline graphene edges.

Electrochemical and Scalable Dehydrogenative C(sp3 )-H Amination via Remote Hydrogen Atom Transfer in Batch and Continuous Flow.

A hydrogen atom transfer-directed electrochemical intramolecular C-H amination has been developed in which the N-radical species are generated at the anode, and the base required for the reaction is generated at the cathode. A broad range of valuable pyrrolidines were prepared in good yields and with high chemoselectivity. The reaction was easily scaled up in both batch and continuous flow systems.

Optically addressing interaction of Mg/MgO plasmonic systems with hydrogen

Magnesium-based films and nanostructures are being studied in order to improve hydrogen reversibility, storage capacity, and kinetics, because of their potential in the hydrogen economy. Some challenges with magnesium (Mg) samples are their unavoidable oxidation by air exposure and lack of direct in situ real time measurements of hydrogen interaction with Mg and MgO surfaces and Mg plasmonic nanoparticles. Given these challenges, the present article investigates direct interaction of Mg with hydrogen, as well as implications of its inevitable oxidation by real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry for exploiting the optical properties of Mg, MgH2 and MgO. The direct hydrogenation measurements have been performed in a reactor that combines a remote hydrogen plasma source with an in situ spectroscopic ellipsometer, which allows optical monitoring of the hydrogen interaction and results in optical property modification. The hydrogen plasma dual use is to provide the hydrogen-atoms and to reduce barriers to heterogeneous hydrogen reactions.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) surface modification by VUV and neutral active species in remote oxygen or hydrogen plasmas

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are exposed either by VUV photons emitted from oxygen or hydrogen plasmas or by VUV photons and neutral active species from both plasmas. The water contact angle (WCA) of PET surface increased after treatment with H2 VUV + H atoms, due to the cleavage of the oxygen‐containing groups by VUV photons. The WCA decreased for the case of treatment with O2 VUV + O‐related neutral active species, leading to be released the polar groups like −COH or −COOH from the PET surface with a depth of less than about 10 nm. Oxygen‐related neutrals etched the PET film and generated a rough surface which also contributed to the decrease in WCA however no bulk chemical structure obviously changed.

Site-selective nitrenoid insertions utilizing postfunctionalized bifunctional rhodium(ii) catalysts.

We report a new strategy for the preparation of dirhodium(ii) complexes with the general formula Rh2(A)4 that allows the isolation of a dirhodium tetracarboxylate complex with a free amino group available for postfunctionalization. The postfunctionalization of this complex enables the incorporation of a variety of functional groups, including double and triple bonds as well as nucleophilic moieties, thus paving the way to new classes of polymeric as well as bifunctional catalysts, and polymetallic complexes. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a urea containing dirhodium(ii) complex enables site-selective nitrenoid insertions by remote hydrogen bonding control.

Influence of remote intramolecular hydrogen bonding on the acidity of hydroxy‐1,4‐benzoquinonederivatives: A DFT study

AbstractIn this study, the effects of the remote intramolecular hydrogen bonding on the acidity of hydroxy‐1,4‐benzoquinone derivatives have been investigated ab initio by employing density functional theory (DFT) methods. The computational studies were performed for both gas and solution (H2O, DMSO, and MeCN solutions) phases. Our results indicated that remote hydrogen bonding could play an important role in increasing the acidity of hydroxy‐1,4‐benzoquinone. Noncovalent interaction reduced density gradient (NCI‐RDG) methods were used to visualize the attractive and repulsive interactions in the studied acids and their conjugate bases. Natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis was performed to confirm intramolecular hydrogen bonding effect on acidity. Quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) was also used to study the nature of hydrogen bonds. QTAIM results showed that the intramolecular hydrogen bonds in these structures are electrostatic (closed‐shell) interactions in nature.

Competitive interplay of deposition and etching processes in atomic layer growth of cobalt and nickel metal films

Abstract

Operation of caesium fountain frequency standards with remote hydrogen maser references

We report on the operation of a Cs fountain primary frequency standard using as a reference for its microwave source a hydrogen maser located in a remote laboratory up to hundreds of kilometres away. The 10 MHz reference signal for the microwave synthesizer is transferred via a dedicated optical fibre link with an electronically stabilized time delay. Such referencing to a remote maser was first tested with a 50 km spooled fibre on two separate fountain systems using either a quartz-based microwave source or an ultrastable optically-derived one. We subsequently ran two fountains with quartz-based local oscillators, one co-located with a referencing maser and the second linked to it by 34 km of buried optical fibre forming part of telecommunication infrastructure. Finally, the second fountain was referenced to a different maser located much farther away via a link extended to 390 km. We find that in all configurations the addition of the delay-stabilized fibre link, delivering the remote 10 MHz reference, does not degrade the short-term stability of the fountain standard—as long as the bandwidth of a servo locking the local oscillator to the maser reference is optimized.

Precise control of graphene etching by remote hydrogen plasma

Graphene with atomically smooth and configuration-specific edges plays the key role in the performance of graphene-based electronic devices. Remote hydrogen plasma etching of graphene has been proven to be an effective way to create smooth edges with a specific zigzag configuration. However, the etching process is still poorly understood. In this study, with the aid of a custom-made plasma-enhanced hydrogen etching (PEHE) system, a detailed graphene etching process by remote hydrogen plasma is presented. Specifically, we find that hydrogen plasma etching of graphene shows strong thickness and temperature dependence. The etching process of single-layer graphene is isotropic. This is opposite to the anisotropic etching effect observed for bilayer and thicker graphene with an obvious dependence on temperature. On the basis of these observations, a geometrical model was built to illustrate the configuration evolution of graphene edges during etching, which reveals the origin of the anisotropic etching effect. By further utilizing this model, armchair graphene edges were also prepared in a controlled manner for the first time. These investigations offer a better understanding of the etching process for graphene, which should facilitate the fabrication of graphene-based electronic devices with controlled edges and the exploration of more interesting properties of graphene.

Isolation and Identification of Six Difunctional Ethyl Esters from Bio-oil and Their Special Mass Spectral Fragmentation Pathways

Three difunctional ethyl esters (DFEEs), including ethyl 16-hydroxyhexadecanoate, ethyl (Z)-18-hydroxyoctadec-9-enoate, and diethyl (Z)-octadec-9-ene-1,18-dioate, were isolated as nearly pure compounds from sawdust-derived bio-oil. Their structures were tentatively identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS). Combination transesterification reaction of DFEEs to difunctional methyl esters (DFMEs) and determination of the GC/MS retention time differences of DFEEs and corresponding DFMEs is a simple method to determine the ester group number of unknown DFEEs. GC/MS results indicate that the fragment ions at mass-to-charge ratios (m/z) of 88 and 98 are typical ions for these DFEEs. The former ion is formed via well-known McLafferty rearrangement, whereas the formation pathway of the ion at m/z 98 is unreported before. HR-MS results show that the fragment ion at m/z 98 should be a cyclohexanone radical ion, which is possibly formed via a novel rearrangement initiated by remote hydrogen rearrangement. Besides long-chain DFEEs, long-chain difunctional carboxylic acids (including dicarboxylic acids, ω-hydroxy acids, diacid monomethyl ester, and diacid monoethyl ester) and DFMEs (including diacid dimethyl ester and ω-hydroxy methyl ester) are also typical of the fragment ion at m/z 98. Hence, it is a common characteristic to form the rearrangement ion at m/z 98 for long-chain difunctional carboxylic acids, DFEEs, and DFMEs, and this special mass spectral rearrangement could facilitate the identification of these classes of compounds. Using this rearrangement rule of DFEEs, three ω-hydroxy ethyl esters, including ethyl 22-hydroxydocosanoate, ethyl 24-hydroxytetracosanoate, and ethyl 26-hydroxyhexacosanoate, were tentatively identified by GC/MS.

Evaluating root cause: The distinct roles of hydrogen and firing in activating light- and elevated temperature-induced degradation

The root cause of light- and elevated temperature-induced degradation (LeTID) in multicrystalline silicon p-type passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) devices is still unknown. Microwave-induced remote hydrogen plasma (MIRHP) is employed to vary the concentration of bulk hydrogen and to separate the effects of hydrogen and firing temperature in LeTID-affected wafers. We find that hydrogen is required for degradation to occur, and that samples fired prior to the introduction of hydrogen do not degrade. Importantly, samples with hydrogen that have not been fired do degrade, implying that the firing time-temperature profile does not cause LeTID. Together, these results suggest that the LeTID defect reaction consists of at least two reactants: hydrogen and one or more defects that can be separately modified by high-temperature firing. We assess the leading hypotheses for LeTID in the context of our new understanding of the necessary reactants.

Surface modification of silicon oxycarbide films produced by remote hydrogen microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition from tetramethyldisiloxane precursor

The motivation for this contribution is the search for thin-film silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) materials suitable for modern electronics with good chemical/thermal stability, good barrier properties and conformal coverage, which can be deposited on rigid and flexible substrates, and whose surface can be organically functionalized. Two types of thin SiOC films of very different nature, such as polymer-like and ceramic-like, were fabricated by means of remote hydrogen microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition (RP-CVD) from 1,1,3,3–tetramethyldisiloxane (TMDSO). The RP-CVD coatings deposited on a silicon substrate were then modified by treatment with a direct radiofrequency (RF) plasma process induced in a mixture of argon and water vapour (Ar/H2O), which resulted in the surface activation through the formation of highly reactive silanol groups (SiOH). In this process a silicon oxide layer (SiOx) was also formed, and its growth was examined by FTIR, XPS and ellipsometry. The growth of the SiOx structure reduces the film thickness of silicon oxycarbide. Activation of the film surface is completed in <10 s. In the next modification step, the RP-CVD films were silanized by immobilizing (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES). Attachment of APTES molecules to the activated surface of SiOC films was observed with the development of an additional layer of SiOx on the surface. The silanization with APTES vapour under nitrogen allowed the formation of 10 nm-thick condensate. The AFM microscopic examination showed that the deposited APTES layers are homogeneous without aggregates specific for conventional silanization from the solution. The final modification of RP-CVD films was achieved by functionalization with an organic fluorescent probe, which involves the covalent attachment of pyrene to amino group of APTES using hydroxyimide ester linkage (PyNHS). The results of the present study proved that the chemical functionalization of thin silicon oxycarbide films was achieved.

Structural Coupling Throughout the Active Site Hydrogen Bond Networks of Ketosteroid Isomerase and Photoactive Yellow Protein.

Hydrogen bonds are fundamental to biological systems and are regularly found in networks implicated in folding, molecular recognition, catalysis, and allostery. Given their ubiquity, we asked the fundamental questions of whether, and to what extent, hydrogen bonds within networks are structurally coupled. To address these questions, we turned to three protein systems, two variants of ketosteroid isomerase and one of photoactive yellow protein. We perturbed their hydrogen bond networks via a combination of site-directed mutagenesis and unnatural amino acid substitution, and we used 1H NMR and high-resolution X-ray crystallography to determine the effects of these perturbations on the lengths of the two oxyanion hole hydrogen bonds that are donated to negatively charged transition state analogs. Perturbations that lengthened or shortened one of the oxyanion hole hydrogen bonds had the opposite effect on the other. The oxyanion hole hydrogen bonds were also affected by distal hydrogen bonds in the network, with smaller perturbations for more remote hydrogen bonds. Across 19 measurements in three systems, the length change in one oxyanion hole hydrogen bond was propagated to the other, by a factor of -0.30 ± 0.03. This common effect suggests that hydrogen bond coupling is minimally influenced by the remaining protein scaffold. The observed coupling is reproduced by molecular mechanics and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations for changes to a proximal oxyanion hole hydrogen bond. However, effects from distal hydrogen bonds are reproduced only by QM/MM, suggesting the importance of polarization in hydrogen bond coupling. These results deepen our understanding of hydrogen bonds and their networks, providing strong evidence for long-range coupling and for the extent of this coupling. We provide a broadly predictive quantitative relationship that can be applied to and can be further tested in new systems.

Tertiary-Alcohol-Directed Functionalization of Remote C(sp3 )-H Bonds by Sequential Hydrogen Atom and Heteroaryl Migrations.

Reported for the first time is a tertiary-alcohol-guided heteroarylation of remote C(sp3 )-H bonds. The mild and direct generation of alkoxyl radicals from alcohols is enabled by visible-light photocatalysis. A remote hydrogen atom and heteroaryl migration sequence are involved in the reaction. Many sensitive groups remain intact in the reaction, thus illustrating wide functional-group compatibility. This protocol provides a practical strategy for the late-stage modification of alkyl ketones.

Hydrofunctionalization of alkenols triggered by the addition of diverse radicals to unactivated alkenes and subsequent remote hydrogen atom translocation

Concomitantanti-Markovnikov hydrofunctionalization of alkenes and oxidation of remote alcohols are achieved through intramolecular 1,5(6)-hydrogen atom transfer.

Chiral Plasmonic Hydrogen Sensors.

In this article, a chiral plasmonic hydrogen-sensing platform using palladium-based nanohelices is demonstrated. Such 3D chiral nanostructures fabricated by nanoglancing angle deposition exhibit strong circular dichroism both experimentally and theoretically. The chiroptical properties of the palladium nanohelices are altered upon hydrogen uptake and sensitively depend on the hydrogen concentration. Such properties are well suited for remote and spark-free hydrogen sensing in the flammable range. Hysteresis is reduced, when an increasing amount of gold is utilized in the palladium-gold hybrid helices. As a result, the linearity of the circular dichroism in response to hydrogen is significantly improved. The chiral plasmonic sensor scheme is of potential interest for hydrogen-sensing applications, where good linearity and high sensitivity are required.