TY - JOUR A1 - Plehn, Thomas A1 - Megow, Jörg A1 - May, Volkhard T1 - Concerted charge and energy transfer processes in a highly flexible fullerene-dye system: a mixed quantum-classical study JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - Photoinduced excitation energy transfer and accompanying charge separation are elucidated for a supramolecular system of a single fullerene covalently linked to six pyropheophorbide-a dye molecules. Molecular dynamics simulations are performed to gain an atomistic picture of the architecture and the surrounding solvent. Excitation energy transfer among the dye molecules and electron transfer from the excited dyes to the fullerene are described by a mixed quantum-classical version of the Forster rate and the semiclassical Marcus rate, respectively. The mean characteristic time of energy redistribution lies in the range of 10 ps, while electron transfer proceeds within 150 ps. In between, on a 20 to 50 ps time-scale, conformational changes take place in the system. This temporal hierarchy of processes guarantees efficient charge separation, if the structure is exposed to a solvent. The fast energy transfer can adopt the dye excitation to the actual conformation. In this sense, the probability to achieve charge separation is large enough since any dominance of unfavorable conformations that exhibit a large dye-fullerene distance is circumvented. And the slow electron transfer may realize an averaging with respect to different conformations. To confirm the reliability of our computations, ensemble measurements on the charge separation dynamics are simulated and a very good agreement with the experimental data is obtained. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c4cp01081g SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 16 IS - 25 SP - 12949 EP - 12958 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grunzel, Petra A1 - Pilarek, Maciej A1 - Steinbrueck, Doerte A1 - Neubauer, Antje A1 - Brand, Eva A1 - Kumke, Michael Uwe A1 - Neubauer, Peter A1 - Krause, Mirja T1 - Mini-scale cultivation method enables expeditious plasmid production in Escherichia coli JF - Biotechnology journal : systems & synthetic biology, nanobiotech, medicine N2 - The standard procedure in the lab for plasmid isolation usually involves a 2-mL, 16 h over-night cultivation in 15-mL bioreaction tubes in LB medium. This is time consuming, and not suitable for high-throughput applications. This study shows that it is possible to produce plasmid DNA (pDNA) in a 1.5-mL microcentrifuge tube with only 100 L cultivation volume in less than 7 h with a simple protocol. Compared with the standard LB cultivation for pDNA production reaching a final pDNA concentration range of 1.5-4 mu g mL(-1), a 6- to 10-fold increase in plasmid concentration (from 10 up to 25 mu g mL(-1) cultivation volume) is achieved using an optimized medium with an internal substrate delivery system (EnBase (R)). Different strains, plasmids, and the applicability of different inoculation tools (i.e. different starting ODs) were compared, demonstrating the robustness of the system. Additionally, dissolved oxygen was monitored in real time online, indicating that under optimized conditions oxygen limitation can be avoided. We developed a simple protocol with a significantly decreased procedure time, enabling simultaneous handling of more samples, while a consistent quality and a higher final pDNA concentration are ensured. KW - Escherichia coli KW - High-cell-density culture KW - Miniaturized cultivations KW - Optical oxygen sensor KW - Plasmid DNA production Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/biot.201300177 SN - 1860-6768 SN - 1860-7314 VL - 9 IS - 1 SP - 128 EP - 136 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ehlert, Christopher A1 - Unger, Wolfgang E. S. A1 - Saalfrank, Peter T1 - C K-edge NEXAFS spectra of graphene with physical and chemical defects: a study based on density functional theory JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - Recently, C K-edge Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) spectra of graphite (HOPG) surfaces have been measured for the pristine material, and for HOPG treated with either bromine or krypton plasmas (Lippitz et al., Surf. Sci., 2013, 611, L1). Changes of the NEXAFS spectra characteristic for physical (krypton) and/or chemical/physical modifications of the surface (bromine) upon plasma treatment were observed. Their molecular origin, however, remained elusive. In this work we study by density functional theory, the effects of selected point and line defects as well as chemical modifications on NEXAFS carbon K-edge spectra of single graphene layers. For Br-treated surfaces, also Br 3d X-ray Photoelectron Spectra (XPS) are simulated by a cluster approach, to identify possible chemical modifications. We observe that some of the defects related to plasma treatment lead to characteristic changes of NEXAFS spectra, similar to those in experiment. Theory provides possible microscopic origins for these changes. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c4cp01106f SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 16 IS - 27 SP - 14083 EP - 14095 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wirth, Jonas A1 - Neumann, Rainer A1 - Antonietti, Markus A1 - Saalfrank, Peter T1 - Adsorption and photocatalytic splitting of water on graphitic carbon nitride: a combined first principles and semiempirical study JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - Graphitic carbon nitride, g-C3N4, is a promising organic photo-catalyst for a variety of redox reactions. In order to improve its efficiency in a systematic manner, however, a fundamental understanding of the microscopic interaction between catalyst, reactants and products is crucial. Here we present a systematic study of water adsorption on g-C3N4 by means of density functional theory and the density functional based tight-binding method as a prerequisite for understanding photocatalytic water splitting. We then analyze this prototypical redox reaction on the basis of a thermodynamic model providing an estimate of the overpotential for both water oxidation and H+ reduction. While the latter is found to occur readily upon irradiation with visible light, we derive a prohibitive overpotential of 1.56 eV for the water oxidation half reaction, comparing well with the experimental finding that in contrast to H-2 production O-2 evolution is only possible in the presence of oxidation cocatalysts. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c4cp02021a SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 16 IS - 30 SP - 15917 EP - 15926 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jeon, Jae-Hyung A1 - Chechkin, Aleksei A1 - Metzler, Ralf T1 - Scaled Brownian motion: a paradoxical process with a time dependent diffusivity for the description of anomalous diffusion JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - Anomalous diffusion is frequently described by scaled Brownian motion (SBM), a Gaussian process with a power-law time dependent diffusion coefficient. Its mean squared displacement is < x(2)(t) similar or equal to 2K(t)t with K(t) similar or equal to t(alpha-1) for 0 < alpha < 2. SBM may provide a seemingly adequate description in the case of unbounded diffusion, for which its probability density function coincides with that of fractional Brownian motion. Here we show that free SBM is weakly non-ergodic but does not exhibit a significant amplitude scatter of the time averaged mean squared displacement. More severely, we demonstrate that under confinement, the dynamics encoded by SBM is fundamentally different from both fractional Brownian motion and continuous time random walks. SBM is highly non-stationary and cannot provide a physical description for particles in a thermalised stationary system. Our findings have direct impact on the modelling of single particle tracking experiments, in particular, under confinement inside cellular compartments or when optical tweezers tracking methods are used. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c4cp02019g SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 16 IS - 30 SP - 15811 EP - 15817 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wessig, Pablo A1 - Gerngross, Maik A1 - Pape, Simon A1 - Bruhns, Philipp A1 - Weber, Jens T1 - Novel porous materials based on oligospiroketals (OSK) JF - RSC Advances N2 - New porous materials based on covalently connected monomers are presented. The key step of the synthesis is an acetalisation reaction. In previous years we used acetalisation reactions extensively to build up various molecular rods. Based on this approach, investigations towards porous polymeric materials were conducted by us. Here we wish to present the results of these studies in the synthesis of 1D polyacetals and porous 3D polyacetals. By scrambling experiments with 1D acetals we could prove that exchange reactions occur between different building blocks (evidenced by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry). Based on these results we synthesized porous 3D polyacetals under the same mild conditions. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c4ra04437a SN - 2046-2069 VL - 4 IS - 59 SP - 31123 EP - 31129 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zborowski, Krzysztof Kazimierz A1 - Koch, Andreas A1 - Kleinpeter, Erich A1 - Proniewicz, Leonard Marian T1 - Searching for aromatic celate rings. Oxygen versus Thio and Seleno Ligands JF - Zeitschrift für physikalische Chemie : international journal of research in physical chemistry and chemical physics N2 - As a part of searching for fully aromatic chelate compounds, copper complexes of malondialdehyde as well as its sulfur and selenium derivatives were investigated using the DFT quantum chemical methods. Chelate complexes of both Cu(I) and Cu(II) ions wereconsidered. Aromaticity of the metal complexes studied were analyzed using NICS(0), NICS(1), PDI, I-ring, MCI, ICMCI and I-B aromaticity indices, and by TSNMRS visualizations of the spatial magnetic properties. It seems that partial aromaticityof studied chelates increases when oxygen atoms in malondialdehyde are replaced by sulfur and selenium. KW - Aromaticity KW - Chelatoaromaticity KW - Copper Metal Complexes KW - Quantum Chemical Calculations Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1515/zpch-2014-0528 SN - 0942-9352 VL - 228 IS - 8 SP - 869 EP - 878 PB - De Gruyter CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Xie, Zai-Lai A1 - Huang, Xing A1 - Titirici, Maria-Magdalena A1 - Taubert, Andreas T1 - Mesoporous graphite nanoflakes via ionothermal carbonization of fructose and their use in dye removal JF - RSC Advances N2 - The large-scale green synthesis of graphene-type two-dimensional materials is still challenging. Herein, we describe the ionothermal synthesis of carbon-based composites from fructose in the iron-containing ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrachloridoferrate(III), [Bmim][FeCl4] serving as solvent, catalyst, and template for product formation. The resulting composites consist of oligo-layer graphite nanoflakes and iron carbide particles. The mesoporosity, strong magnetic moment, and high specific surface area of the composites make them attractive for water purification with facile magnetic separation. Moreover, Fe3Cfree graphite can be obtained via acid etching, providing access to fairly large amounts of graphite material. The current approach is versatile and scalable, and thus opens the door to ionothermal synthesis towards the larger-scale synthesis of materials that are, although not made via a sustainable process, useful for water treatment such as the removal of organic molecules. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c4ra05146g SN - 2046-2069 VL - 4 IS - 70 SP - 37423 EP - 37430 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmidt, Christian A1 - Behl, Marc A1 - Lendlein, Andreas A1 - Beuermann, Sabine T1 - Synthesis of high molecular weight polyglycolide in supercritical carbon dioxide JF - RSC Advances N2 - Polyglycolide (PGA) is a biodegradable polymer with multiple applications in the medical sector. Here the synthesis of high molecular weight polyglycolide by ring-opening polymerization of diglycolide is reported. For the first time stabilizer free supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO(2)) was used as a reaction medium. scCO(2) allowed for a reduction in reaction temperature compared to conventional processes. Together with the lowering of monomer concentration and consequently reduced heat generation compared to bulk reactions thermal decomposition of the product occurring already during polymerization is strongly reduced. The reaction temperatures and pressures were varied between 120 and 150 degrees C and 145 to 1400 bar. Tin(II) ethyl hexanoate and 1-dodecanol were used as catalyst and initiator, respectively. The highest number average molecular weight of 31 200 g mol(-1) was obtained in 5 hours from polymerization at 120 degrees C and 530 bar. In all cases the products were obtained as a dry white powder. Remarkably, independent of molecular weight the melting temperatures were always at (219 +/- 2)degrees C. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c4ra06815g SN - 2046-2069 VL - 4 IS - 66 SP - 35099 EP - 35105 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hildebrand, Viet A1 - Laschewsky, André A1 - Zehm, Daniel T1 - On the hydrophilicity of polyzwitterion poly (N, N-dimethyl-N(3-(methacrylamido)propyl)ammoniopropane sulfonate) in water, deuterated water, and aqueous salt solutions JF - Journal of biomaterials science : Polymer edition KW - polyzwitterion KW - sulfobetaine KW - synthesis KW - fluorescence label KW - upper critical solution temperature KW - isotope effect KW - anti-polyelectrolyte effect Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/09205063.2014.939918 SN - 0920-5063 SN - 1568-5624 VL - 25 IS - 14-15 SP - 1602 EP - 1618 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER -