TY - JOUR A1 - Beisebekov, Madiar Maratovich A1 - Serikpayeva, Saniya B. A1 - Zhumagalieva, Shynar Nurlanovna A1 - Beisebekov, Marat Kianovich A1 - Abilov, Zharylkasyn Abduachitovich A1 - Kosmella, Sabine A1 - Koetz, Joachim T1 - Interactions of bentonite clay in composite gels of non-ionic polymers with cationic surfactants and heavy metal ions JF - Colloid and polymer science : official journal of the Kolloid-Gesellschaft N2 - Chemically cross-linked composite gels based on bentonite clay from Manyrak deposit (Kazakhstan Republic) and nonionic polymers, i.e., poly(hydroxyethylacrylate) and poly(acrylamide), were polymerized in situ after preliminary intercalation of monomers in an aqueous suspension of bentonite clay. By means of cryo-scanning electron microscopy, it was shown that bentonite clay is well incorporated into the gel network structure with pore sizes up to 1.5 mu m. The intercalated bentonite clay can adsorb cationic surfactants as well as heavy metal ions due to electrostatic interactions. Conductometric and surface tension measurements indicate not only the adsorption of surfactants and heavy metals inside the hydrogel, but also the displacement of the critical micellization concentration (CMC) of the surfactants. KW - Bentonite clay KW - Cationic surfactants KW - Heavy metal ions KW - Composite hydrogels Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-014-3463-x SN - 0303-402X SN - 1435-1536 VL - 293 IS - 2 SP - 633 EP - 639 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ehlert, Christopher A1 - Kröner, Dominik A1 - Saalfrank, Peter T1 - A combined quantum chemical/molecular dynamics study of X-ray photoelectron spectra of polyvinyl alcohol using oligomer models JF - Journal of electron spectroscopy and related phenomena : the international journal on theoretical and experimental aspects of electron spectroscopy N2 - X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is a powerful tool for probing the local chemical environment of atoms near surfaces. When applied to soft matter, such as polymers, XPS spectra are frequently shifted and broadened due to thermal atom motion and by interchain interactions. We present a combined quantum mechanical QM/molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of X-ray photoelectron spectra of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) using oligomer models in order to account for and quantify these effects on the XPS (C1s) signal. In our study, molecular dynamics at finite temperature were performed with a classical forcefield and by ab initio MD (AIMD) using the Car-Parrinello method. Snapshots along, the trajectories represent possible conformers and/or neighbouring environments, with different C1s ionization potentials for individual C atoms leading to broadened XPS peaks. The latter are determined by Delta-Kohn Sham calculations. We also examine the experimental practice of gauging XPS (C1s) signals of alkylic C-atoms in C-containing polymers to the C1s signal of polyethylene. We find that (i) the experimental XPS (C1s) spectra of PVA (position and width) can be roughly represented by single-strand models, (ii) interchain interactions lead to red-shifts of the XPS peaks by about 0.6 eV, and (iii) AIMD simulations match the findings from classical MD semi-quantitatively. Further, (iv) the gauging procedure of XPS (C1s) signals to the values of PE, introduces errors of about 0.5 eV. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - Simulation of polymer XPS KW - Delta-Kohn Sham method KW - Thermal broadening effects KW - Interchain interactions KW - Classical MD KW - Poly vinyl alcohol Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elspec.2014.12.007 SN - 0368-2048 SN - 1873-2526 VL - 199 SP - 38 EP - 45 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Senge, Mathias O. A1 - Dahms, Katja A1 - Holdt, Hans-Jürgen A1 - Kelling, Alexandra T1 - Porphyrin substituent regiochemistry, conformation and packing - the case of 5,10-diphenylporphyrin JF - Zeitschrift für Naturforschung : B, Chemical sciences N2 - 5,10-Disubstituted porphyrins are more recent additions to the family of meso-substituted porphyrins. A crystallographic comparison of 5,10-diphenylporphyrin with the regioisomeric 5,15-disubstituted system reveals striking differences in their conformation. In the free base porphyrins the former uses mainly out-of-plane distortion to alleviate steric strain while in-plane core elongation predominates in the latter. In contrast, the structure of the Cu(II) complex is planar and forms strong p-p aggregates with very small lateral shifts. Macroscopically, the packing is similar to that of porphyrin sponges of the 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin type. KW - conformational analysis KW - crystal structure KW - porphyrins KW - tetrapyrroles Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1515/znb-2014-0217 SN - 0932-0776 SN - 1865-7117 VL - 70 IS - 2 SP - 119 EP - 123 PB - De Gruyter CY - Tübingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gambinossi, Filippo A1 - Sefcik, Lauren S. A1 - Wischerhoff, Erik A1 - Laschewsky, André A1 - Ferri, James K. T1 - Engineering Adhesion to Thermoresponsive Substrates: Effect of Polymer Composition on Liquid-Liquid-Solid Wetting JF - ACS applied materials & interfaces N2 - Adhesion control in liquidliquidsolid systems represents a challenge for applications ranging from self-cleaning to biocompatibility of engineered materials. By using responsive polymer chemistry and molecular self-assembly, adhesion at solid/liquid interfaces can be achieved and modulated by external stimuli. Here, we utilize thermosensitive polymeric materials based on random copolymers of di(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (x = MEO(2)MA) and oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (y = OEGMA), that is, P(MEO(2)MA(x)-co-OEGMA(y)), to investigate the role of hydrophobicity on the phenomenon of adhesion. The copolymer ratio (x/y) dictates macromolecular changes enabling control of the hydrophilic-to-lipophilic balance (HBL) of the polymer brushes through external triggers such as ionic strength and temperature. We discuss the HBL of the thermobrushes in terms of the surface energy of the substrate by measuring the contact angle at waterdecaneP(MEO(2)MA(x)-co-OEGMA(y)) brush contact line as a function of polymer composition and temperature. Solid supported polyelectrolyte layers grafted with P(MEO(2)MA(x)-co-OEGMA(y)) display a transition in the wettability that is related to the lower critical solution temperature of the polymer brushes. Using experimental observation of the hydrophilic to hydrophobic transition by the contact angle, we extract the underlying energetics associated with liquidliquidsolid adhesion as a function of the copolymer ratio. The change in cellular attachment on P(MEO(2)MA(x)-co-OEGMA(y)) substrates of variable (x/y) composition demonstrates the subtle role of compositional tuning on the ability to control liquidliquidsolid adhesion in biological applications. KW - water/decane contact angle KW - thermoresponsive substrates KW - di(ethylene glycol) methy ether methacrylate KW - oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate KW - hydrophilic-to-lipophilic balance KW - programmable adhesion Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/am507418m SN - 1944-8244 VL - 7 IS - 4 SP - 2518 EP - 2528 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schulze, Michael A1 - Utecht, Manuel Martin A1 - Hebert, Andreas A1 - Rück-Braun, Karola A1 - Saalfrank, Peter A1 - Tegeder, Petra T1 - Reversible Photoswitching of the Interfacial Nonlinear Optical Response JF - The journal of physical chemistry letters N2 - Incorporating photochromic molecules into organic/inorganic hybrid materials may lead to photoresponsive systems. In such systems, the second-order nonlinear properties can be controlled via external stimulation with light at an appropriate wavelength. By creating photochromic molecular switches containing self-assembled monolayers on Si(111), we can demonstrate efficient reversible switching, which is accompanied by a pronounced modulation of the nonlinear optical (NLO) response of the system. The concept of utilizing functionalized photoswitchable Si surfaces could be a way for the generation of two-dimensional NLO switching materials, which are promising for applications in photonic and optoelectronic devices. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/jz502477m SN - 1948-7185 VL - 6 IS - 3 SP - 505 EP - 509 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tong, Yujin A1 - Wirth, Jonas A1 - Kirsch, Harald A1 - Wolf, Martin A1 - Saalfrank, Peter A1 - Campen, Richard Kramer T1 - Optically probing Al-O and O-H vibrations to characterize water adsorption and surface reconstruction on alpha-alumina: An experimental and theoretical study JF - The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr N2 - Oxide/water interfaces are ubiquitous in a wide variety of applications and the environment. Despite this ubiquity, and attendant decades of study, gaining molecular level insight into water/oxide interaction has proven challenging. In part, this challenge springs from a lack of tools to concurrently characterize changes in surface structure (i.e., water/oxide interaction from the perspective of the solid) and O-H population and local environment (i.e., water/oxide interaction from the water perspective). Here, we demonstrate the application of surface specific vibrational spectroscopy to the characterization of the interaction of the paradigmatic alpha-Al2O3(0001) surface and water. By probing both the interfacial Al-O (surface phonon) and O-H spectral response, we characterize this interaction from both perspectives. Through electronic structure calculation, we assign the interfacial Al-O response and rationalize its changes on surface dehydroxylation and reconstruction. Because our technique is all-optical and interface specific, it is equally applicable to oxide surfaces in vacuum, ambient atmospheres and at the solid/liquid interface. Application of this approach to additional alumina surfaces and other oxides thus seems likely to significantly expand our understanding of how water meets oxide surfaces and thus the wide variety of phenomena this interaction controls. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4906346 SN - 0021-9606 SN - 1089-7690 VL - 142 IS - 5 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bauer, Monika A1 - Hartmann, Lutz A1 - Kleinpeter, Erich A1 - Kuschel, Frank A1 - Pithart, Cornelia A1 - Weissflog, Wolfgang T1 - Chiral Dopants Derived from Ephedrine/Pseudoephedrine: Structure and Medium Effects on the Helical Twisting Power JF - Molecular crystals and liquid crystals N2 - Chiral dopants were obtained by acylation of enantiomerically pure ephedrine and pseudoephedrine with promesogenic carbonyl reagents. The products have been investigated with respect to their chiral transfer ability on nematic host matrices characterized by extreme differences of the dielectric anisotropy. It has been found that the medium dependence of the helicity induction nearly disappears at reduced temperatures. Based on variable temperature H-1 NMR studies on monoacylated homologues, the estimated coalescence temperatures and free activation enthalpies for the hindered rotation around C-N bonds could be correlated with the helical twisting power. Measurements by dielectric spectroscopy reveal the correlation between the molar mass of substituents linked to the chiral building block and the dynamic glass transition of corresponding chiral dopants. Furthermore, the effect of intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonds has been studied by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. KW - ephedrine/pseudoephedrine KW - Chiral dopants KW - ATR-FTIR KW - molecular structure KW - dielectric spectroscopy KW - H-1 NMR Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/15421406.2014.949592 SN - 1542-1406 SN - 1563-5287 VL - 608 IS - 1 SP - 14 EP - 24 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Klier, Dennis Tobias A1 - Kumke, Michael Uwe T1 - Upconversion Luminescence Properties of NaYF4:Yb:Er Nanoparticles Codoped with Gd3+ JF - The journal of physical chemistry : C, Nanomaterials and interfaces N2 - The temperature-dependent upconversion luminescence of NaYF4:Yb:Er nanoparticles (UCNP) containing different contents of Gd3+ as additional dopant was characterized. The UCNP were synthesized in a hydrothermal synthesis and stabilized with citrate in order to transfer them to the water phase. Basic characterization was carried out using TEM and DLS to determine the average size of the UCNP. The XRD technique was used to investigate the crystal lattice of the UCNP. It was found that due to the presence of Gd3+, an alteration of the lattice phase from a to beta was induced which was also reflected in the observed upconversion luminescence properties of the UCNP. A detailed analysis of the upconversion luminescence spectraespecially at ultralow temperaturesrevealed the different effects of phonon coupling between the host lattice and the sensitizer (Yb3+) as well as the activator (Er3+). Furthermore, the upconversion luminescence intensity reached a maximum between 15 and 250 K depending on Gd3+ content. In comparison to the very complex temperature behavior of the upconversion luminescence in the temperature range <273 K, the luminescence intensity ratio of H-2(11/2)-> I-4(15/2) to S-4(3/2)-> I-4(15/2) (R = G1/G2) in a higher temperature range can be described by an Arrhenius-type equation. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/jp5103548 SN - 1932-7447 VL - 119 IS - 6 SP - 3363 EP - 3373 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lorenz, Ulf A1 - Saalfrank, Peter T1 - Measures for the non-Markovianity of a harmonic oscillator coupled to a discrete bath derived from numerically exact references JF - The European physical journal : D, Atomic, molecular, optical and plasma physics N2 - System-bath problems in physics and chemistry are often described by Markovian master equations. However, the Markov approximation, i.e., neglect of bath memory effects is not always justified, and different measures of non-Markovianity have been suggested in the literature to judge the validity of this approximation. Here we calculate several computable measures of non-Markovianity for the non-trivial problem of a harmonic oscillator coupled to a large number of bath oscillators. The Multi Configurational Time Dependent Hart ree nietliod is used to provide a numerically converged solution of the system-bath Schrodinger equation, from which the appropriate quantities can be calculated. In particular, we consider measures based on trace-distances and quantum discord for a variety of initial states. These quantities have proven useful in the case of two-level and other small model systems Tpically encountered in quantum optics; but are less straightforward to interpret for the more complex model systems that are relevant for chemical physics. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2014-50727-8 SN - 1434-6060 SN - 1434-6079 VL - 69 IS - 2 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Leroux, Fabrice A1 - Rabu, Pierre A1 - Sommerdijk, Nico A. J. M. A1 - Taubert, Andreas T1 - Two-Dimensional Hybrid Materials: Transferring Technology from Biology to Society JF - European journal of inorganic chemistry : a journal of ChemPubSoc Europe N2 - Hybrid materials are at the forefront of modern research and technology; hence a large number of publications on hybrid materials has already appeared in the scientific literature. This essay focuses on the specifics and peculiarities of hybrid materials based on two-dimensional (2D) building blocks and confinements, for two reasons: (1) 2D materials have a very broad field of application, but they also illustrate many of the scientific challenges the community faces, both on a fundamental and an application level; (2) all authors of this essay are involved in research on 2D materials, but their perspective and vision of how the field will develop in the future and how it is possible to benefit from these new developments are rooted in very different scientific subfields. The current article will thus present a personal, yet quite broad, account of how hybrid materials, specifically 2D hybrid materials, will provide means to aid modern societies in fields as different as healthcare and energy. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ejic.201500153 SN - 1434-1948 SN - 1099-0682 IS - 7 SP - 1089 EP - 1095 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER -