ChemphyschemPub Date : 2025-04-08DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202400951
Samrat Sarkar, Anjana V. Mathath, Debashree Chakraborty
{"title":"Controlling the Morphology and Orientation of the Helical Self-Assembly of Pyrazine Derivatives by Tuning Hydration Shells","authors":"Samrat Sarkar, Anjana V. Mathath, Debashree Chakraborty","doi":"10.1002/cphc.202400951","DOIUrl":"10.1002/cphc.202400951","url":null,"abstract":"<p>A combination of density functional theory (DFT) and classical molecular dynamics simulations is performed to unveil the guiding force in the self-assembly process of the pyrazine-based biopolymers to helical nanostructures. The highlight of the study shows the decisive role of the solvent-ligand H-bonding and the inter-molecular pi-pi stacking not only ensures the unidirectional packing of the helical structure but also the rotation of left-handed to the right-handed helical structure of the molecule. This transition is supported by the bulk release of the “ordered” water molecules. The extent of this bonding can be tuned by the temperature, concentration, and type of the metal ions. Smaller ions like Na<sup>+</sup> and Al<sup>3+</sup> destroy the structure, whereas bigger ions like Zn<sup>2+</sup>, Ni<sup>2+</sup>, and Au<sup>3+</sup> preserve and rotate the structure according to their concentration. The interaction energy between the pyrazine derivatives is found to be high (−9000 kJ mol<sup>−1</sup>) for right-handed rotation of the helix, which increases further with the addition of D-histidine, forming a superhelical structure (−10300 kJ mol<sup>−1</sup>). The insights gained from this work can be used to generate nanostructures of desired morphology.</p>","PeriodicalId":9819,"journal":{"name":"Chemphyschem","volume":"26 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143802637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemphyschemPub Date : 2025-04-08DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202401121
Sarah Löffelsender, Marilù G. Maraldi, Marc de Wergifosse
{"title":"All-Atom Quantum Mechanical Methodologies for One- and Two-Photon Absorption of Realistic Systems","authors":"Sarah Löffelsender, Marilù G. Maraldi, Marc de Wergifosse","doi":"10.1002/cphc.202401121","DOIUrl":"10.1002/cphc.202401121","url":null,"abstract":"<p>All-atom quantum mechanics (AQM) methodologies are assessed to evaluate one- and two-photon absorption (1PA and 2PA) of realistic systems. All-atom single structure QM (ASQM) and dynamic structure QM (ADQM) methodologies are discussed. These workflows are possible thanks to developments in simplified quantum chemistry methods and in particular with both sTD-DFT-xTB and dt-sTD-DFT-xTB schemes. The ASQM scheme is tested to compute the 1- and 2PA of two proteins: bacteriorhodopsin and iLOV. Results show that the ASQM methodology is able to describe higher-energy transitions involving <i>π</i>-conjugated amino acids such as tryptophan or tyrosine. Then, two variants of the ADQM workflow are evaluated to reproduce the 1- and 2PA of the flavin mononucleotide in aqueous solution, involving either Boltzmann ensemble of conformers in implicit solvent (ADQM-Boltz.) or snapshots of molecular dynamics of explicitly solvated systems (ADQM-MD). Spectra computed with the ADQM-MD approach provide striking comparisons with respect to experiment, while the ADQM-Boltz. approach provides little change with respect to the ASQM workflow.</p>","PeriodicalId":9819,"journal":{"name":"Chemphyschem","volume":"26 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143802636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enhancing Vinyl Acetate Hydroformylation with La-Decorated Rh/TiO2 Nanotubes Catalysts","authors":"Hongyuan Chuai, Baolin Zhu, Shoumin Zhang, WeiPing Huang","doi":"10.1002/cphc.202401016","DOIUrl":"10.1002/cphc.202401016","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The influence of La promoter on the catalytic performance of Rh nanoparticles supported on TiO<sub>2</sub> nanotubes (TNTs) in the hydroformylation of vinyl acetate is investigated. The catalysts are characterized using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared, and H<sub>2</sub>/CO temperature-programmed desorption. The results indicate that an effect attributes to the formation of LaOx–Rh active sites during the catalytic reaction. The optimized Rh<sub>0.25</sub>–La/TNTs catalyst (0.14 wt% Rh, 0.29 wt% La) achieves a high vinyl acetate conversion of 89%, an aldehyde selectivity of 66%, and a remarkable turnover frequency of 5796 h<sup>−1</sup>.</p>","PeriodicalId":9819,"journal":{"name":"Chemphyschem","volume":"26 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143794617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemphyschemPub Date : 2025-04-07DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202500066
Sijin Zhou, Yameng Hou, Kairui Yang, Xianglei Kong
{"title":"Structural Characteristics of Medium-Sized Sulfuric Acid–Ammonia Cluster Cations and Anions and their Atmospheric Implications","authors":"Sijin Zhou, Yameng Hou, Kairui Yang, Xianglei Kong","doi":"10.1002/cphc.202500066","DOIUrl":"10.1002/cphc.202500066","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Sulfuric acid–ammonia clusters play important roles in atmospheric nucleation processes. However, experimental structural analysis of relative medium-sized or large-sized clusters at the molecular level has always been lacking. Herein, tandem mass spectrometry and IR photondissociation (IRPD) spectroscopy are applied to mass-selected medium-sized cluster ions that have diameters of 1.0–1.2 nm. The differences in their dissociation behaviors and IRPD spectra of the cluster cations and anions are attributed to their structural characteristics, which are further revealed by the combination of theoretical calculations. The protonated clusters can be treated as structures composed of ammonium cations and hydrogen sulfate anions with an alternate acid–base arrangement, which makes their dissociation characterized by the loss of the acid–base pair. For deprotonated clusters, the mobility of intra-cluster protons lowers energy barriers of isomerization, making their dissociation pathways more complicated. The differences and commonalities in the formation of organic acid– and inorganic acid–ammonia clusters are also discussed, as well as their impacts on nucleated orders and sizes. The method can be further extended to other clusters for obtaining the lacking information on relative key species in the formation of new particles in the atmosphere.</p>","PeriodicalId":9819,"journal":{"name":"Chemphyschem","volume":"26 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143794759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemphyschemPub Date : 2025-04-07DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202500030
Ibon Alkorta, Anthony Legon
{"title":"Variation of Nucleophilicity N<sub>HnA</sub> of Atoms A in Hydrides H<sub>n</sub>A with the Group and Row of A in the Periodic Table.","authors":"Ibon Alkorta, Anthony Legon","doi":"10.1002/cphc.202500030","DOIUrl":"10.1002/cphc.202500030","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Nucleophilicities N<sub>HnA</sub> of hydrides of atoms A acting as hydrogen-bond acceptors in complexes H<sub>n</sub>A···HX are reported. The H<sub>n</sub>A initially chosen are HB, H<sub>2</sub>C, H<sub>3</sub>N, H<sub>2</sub>O, and HF, that is from groups 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17, respectively, of row 1 of the Periodic Table. The Lewis acids HX involved are HF, HCl, HBr, HI, HCCH, and HCP. Nucleophilicities are determined from dissociation energies D<sub>e</sub> for the process H<sub>n</sub>A···HX = H<sub>n</sub>A + HX by using D<sub>e</sub> = cN<sub>HnA</sub>.E<sub>HX</sub>, where E<sub>HX</sub> are electrophilicities of the Lewis acids HX. This procedure is also followed for hydrides H<sub>n</sub>A in which the atoms A are from the same groups, but from rows 2, 3, and 4 of the Periodic Table. The order of N<sub>HnA</sub> values found is row 1 > row 2 ≈ row 3 ≈ row 4 in each of groups 13, 15, 15, 16, and 17, with a large decrease from row 1 to row 2 but with small decreases from rows 2 to 3 to 4. The series Rg···HX is similarly investigated to give the order of nucleophilicities Rg = Xe > Kr > Ar. > Ne, which is reversed from that in the hydrides of groups 13 to 17.</p>","PeriodicalId":9819,"journal":{"name":"Chemphyschem","volume":" ","pages":"e2500030"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143794839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemphyschemPub Date : 2025-04-07DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202500009
Yang Xiao, Xia Wang, Xiufen Yan, Zeyu Liu, Mengdi Zhao, Tian Lu
{"title":"Structure and Optical Properties of Alkali-Metal Ion (Li+, Na+, K+, Rb+, and Cs+) Endohedral Cyclo[18]carbon","authors":"Yang Xiao, Xia Wang, Xiufen Yan, Zeyu Liu, Mengdi Zhao, Tian Lu","doi":"10.1002/cphc.202500009","DOIUrl":"10.1002/cphc.202500009","url":null,"abstract":"<p>With growing interest in carbon-based materials for energy storage and active research in the field of advanced optoelectronic devices, ten complexes are designed with cyclo[18]carbon (C<sub>18</sub>) inside and outside complexing alkali metal ion (M<sup>+</sup> = Li<sup>+</sup>, Na<sup>+</sup>, K<sup>+</sup>, Rb<sup>+</sup>, and Cs<sup>+</sup>), respectively, referred to as M<sup>+</sup>@C<sub>18</sub><sup>in</sup> and M<sup>+</sup>@C<sub>18</sub><sup>out</sup>, and careful analysis of their structure, binding interaction between M<sup>+</sup> and C<sub>18</sub>, as well as optical properties of stable endohedral complexes M<sup>+</sup>@C<sub>18</sub><sup>in</sup> is performed. The effects of atomic number of alkali metals on structure, binding interaction, electronic absorption spectrum, and molecular (hyper)polarizability of the M<sup>+</sup>@C<sub>18</sub><sup>in</sup> are studied using accurate (time-dependent) density functional theory calculations. The research suggests that the binding modes and strengths of different M<sup>+</sup> with C<sub>18</sub> are different but there is no evident difference in electronic absorption spectra of the complexes. The polarizability and second hyperpolarizability of M<sup>+</sup>@C<sub>18</sub><sup>in</sup> containing different alkali-metal ions are close due to the similarity of ionic properties but their first hyperpolarizability differs greatly by reason of discrepancy in molecular symmetry. The similarities and differences in structure, fragment interaction, electronic absorption spectrum, and (hyper)polarizability of M<sup>+</sup>@C<sub>18</sub><sup>in</sup> are explored using advanced wavefunction analysis methods.</p>","PeriodicalId":9819,"journal":{"name":"Chemphyschem","volume":"26 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143794785","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemphyschemPub Date : 2025-04-07DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202401081
Marcel Walter, Sebastien Elie Hadjadj, Clara Trommer, Jorge Torres, Jendrik Gördes, David Swerev, Tauqir Shinwari, Christian Lotze, Chen Luo, Florin Radu, Felix Tuczek, Sangeeta Thakur, Wolfgang Kuch
{"title":"Spin-Crossover in a Dinuclear Iron(II) Complex on Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite: An X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy Study.","authors":"Marcel Walter, Sebastien Elie Hadjadj, Clara Trommer, Jorge Torres, Jendrik Gördes, David Swerev, Tauqir Shinwari, Christian Lotze, Chen Luo, Florin Radu, Felix Tuczek, Sangeeta Thakur, Wolfgang Kuch","doi":"10.1002/cphc.202401081","DOIUrl":"10.1002/cphc.202401081","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The spin-crossover (SCO) properties of the dinuclear complex <math> <semantics><mrow><mo>[</mo> <msub><mrow><mo>{</mo> <mtext>Fe</mtext> <msub> <mrow><mrow><mo>(</mo> <msub><mi>H</mi> <mn>2</mn></msub> <mi>B</mi> <msub><mrow><mo>(</mo> <mtext>pz</mtext> <mo>)</mo></mrow> <mn>2</mn></msub> <mo>)</mo></mrow> </mrow> <mn>2</mn></msub> <mo>}</mo></mrow> <mn>2</mn></msub> <mi>μ</mi> <mo>-</mo> <mo>(</mo> <msub><mrow><mtext>ac(bipy)</mtext></mrow> <mn>2</mn></msub> <mo>)</mo> <mo>]</mo></mrow> <annotation>$left[right. left{right. text{Fe} left(left(right. left(text{H}right)_{2} text{B} left(left(right. text{pz} left.right)right)_{2} left.right)right)_{2} left(left.right}right)_{2} mu - left(right. left(text{ac(bipy)}right)_{2} left.right) left]right.$</annotation></semantics> </math> are studied as (sub)-monolayer and thin film deposited by an ultrahigh vacuum liquid-jet deposition technique on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. A comparison of the SCO properties of thin films and a dropcast sample indicates that the spin-switching probability of the thin films is limited due to substrate-molecule interactions. The maximum percentage of molecules in the low-spin (LS) state observed for 0.7 and 1.8 monolayers (ML) is ≈43% at a temperature of 80 K in comparison to the dropcast sample where ≈66% of the complex is in the LS state. The similar switching properties of the dropcast sample as of a bulk powder sample confirm that the SCO properties are not affected by the presence of solvent necessary for deposition. The soft-X-ray-induced excited spin-state trapping (SOXIESST) effect is pronounced in all samples, although the light-induced high-spin (HS) fraction of the dropcast and the thin-film samples on HOPG is higher as compared to the HS fraction attained by SOXIESST, which confirms the sensitivity of the complex to light.</p>","PeriodicalId":9819,"journal":{"name":"Chemphyschem","volume":" ","pages":"e2401081"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143794753","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemphyschemPub Date : 2025-04-07DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202500049
Adam K. Nijhawan, Arnold M. Chan, Madeline B. Ho, Changmin Lee, Irina Kosheleva, Lin X. Chen, Kevin L. Kohlstedt
{"title":"Unfolding of the Villin Headpiece Domain: Revealing Structural Heterogeneity with Time-Resolved X-Ray Solution Scattering and Markov State Modeling","authors":"Adam K. Nijhawan, Arnold M. Chan, Madeline B. Ho, Changmin Lee, Irina Kosheleva, Lin X. Chen, Kevin L. Kohlstedt","doi":"10.1002/cphc.202500049","DOIUrl":"10.1002/cphc.202500049","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Understanding protein folding pathways is crucial to deciphering the principles of protein structure and function. Here, the unfolding dynamics of the 35-residue villin headpiece (HP35) and a norleucine-substituted variant (2F4K) using a combination of experimental and computational techniques is investigated. Time-resolved X-ray solution scattering coupled with equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations and Markov state modeling reveals distinct unfolding mechanisms between the two variants: HP35 and 2F4K. Specifically, HP35 exhibits a two-state unfolding process, whereas an intermediate state is identified for the 2F4K mutant. A Markov state model constructed from simulations is used to map atomic-level transitions to experimental observations, providing insights into the role of sequence variations in modulating folding pathways. The findings underscore the importance of integrating experimental and computational approaches to unravel protein unfolding mechanisms between heterogenous structural ensembles.</p>","PeriodicalId":9819,"journal":{"name":"Chemphyschem","volume":"26 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/cphc.202500049","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143794823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemphyschemPub Date : 2025-04-03DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202401049
Maxime Ferrer, Ibon Alkorta, José Elguero, Israel Fernández
{"title":"Reactions of 1,4-Diborinine Derivatives with CO2","authors":"Maxime Ferrer, Ibon Alkorta, José Elguero, Israel Fernández","doi":"10.1002/cphc.202401049","DOIUrl":"10.1002/cphc.202401049","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The reaction of CO<sub>2</sub> with seven molecules featuring a 1,4-diborinine central ring is studied by means of density functional theory calculations. The selected systems present five- and six-membered aza rings surrounding the 1,4-diborinine with neutral, anion, and dianion charges. In all cases, the reaction is exothermic and exergonic. The computed reactivity trends and origin of regioselectivity are quantitatively analyzed in detail with the activation strain model in combination with the energy decomposition analysis method, which indicates the crucial role of electrostatic and orbital interactions in the transformations.</p>","PeriodicalId":9819,"journal":{"name":"Chemphyschem","volume":"26 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/cphc.202401049","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143771526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"QTAIM Analysis of a [2]Rotaxane Molecular Shuttle with a 2,2′-Bipyridyl Rigid Core","authors":"Costantino Zazza, Nico Sanna, Stefano Borocci, Felice Grandinetti","doi":"10.1002/cphc.202500074","DOIUrl":"10.1002/cphc.202500074","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Chemical contacts responsible for the supramolecular assembly of a rigid H-shaped [2]rotaxane molecular shuttle composed of a 24-crown-8(<b>24C8</b>) macrocycle on a molecular thread containing two benzimidazole (Bzi) recognition sites and a central 2,2′-bipyridyl (Bipy) rigid core are analytically addressed by combining the Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules (QTAIM) with density functional theory (DFT). In this respect, the available crystallographic structure—CCDC number 2248267—is taken as a reference condition for addressing the nature of the chemical interactions finely modulating the shuttling of the <b>24C8</b> between Bzi stations. Moreover, previous DFT computations (<i>Chem. Sci.</i>, <b>2023</b>, <i>14</i>, 7215) are extended over a supercomputing environment to address the proposed ligand exchange mechanism involving DMF solvent molecules and promoting the observed shuttling process upon the addition of Zn(II) cations. To this end, converged DFT wavefunctions are fully analyzed by means of electron density <i>ρ(r)</i> and local electronic energy density—<i>H(r)</i>—descriptors; interestingly, the derived covalent versus noncovalent interaction patterns shed some light on the mutual position of the macrocycle along the axle following the coordination of Zn(II) ions in DMF solvent.</p>","PeriodicalId":9819,"journal":{"name":"Chemphyschem","volume":"26 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/cphc.202500074","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143771475","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}