TY - JOUR A1 - Tarazona, Natalia A. A1 - Wei, Ren A1 - Brott, Stefan A1 - Pfaff, Lara A1 - Bornscheuer, Uwe T. A1 - Lendlein, Andreas A1 - Machatschek, Rainhard T1 - Rapid depolymerization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) thin films by a dual-enzyme system and its impact on material properties JF - Chem Catalysis N2 - Enzymatic hydrolysis holds great promise for plastic waste recycling and upcycling. The interfacial catalysis mode, and the variability of polymer specimen properties under different degradation conditions, add to the complexity and difficulty of understanding polymer cleavage and engineering better biocatalysts. We present a systemic approach to studying the enzyme-catalyzed surface erosion of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) while monitoring/controlling operating conditions in real time with simultaneous detection of mass loss and changes in viscoelastic behavior. PET nanofilms placed on water showed a porous morphology and a thicknessdependent glass transition temperature (T-g) between 40 degrees C and 44 degrees C, which is >20 degrees C lower than the T-g of bulk amorphous PET. Hydrolysis by a dual-enzyme system containing thermostabilized variants of Ideonella sakaiensis PETase and MHETase resulted in a maximum depolymerization of 70% in 1 h at 50 degrees C. We demonstrate that increased accessible surface area, amorphization, and T-g reduction speed up PET degradation while simultaneously lowering the threshold for degradation-induced crystallization. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.checat.2022.11.004 SN - 2667-1093 SN - 2667-1107 VL - 2 IS - 12 SP - 3573 EP - 3589 PB - Cell Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rothe, Martin A1 - Zhao, Yuhang A1 - Halim, Henry A1 - Lu, Yan A1 - Benson, Oliver T1 - Spatial mapping of bleaching in a metal-organic plasmon converter JF - Optics continuum N2 - Hybrid nanophotonic elements, fabricated by organic and inorganic materials, are going to be key components of modern devices. Coupled systems of photoemitters with a plasmonic waveguide serve the demand for nanoscopic frequency converters. However, processes like the degradation of the photoemitters via photobleaching occur and need to be monitored and controlled, to realize future successful devices. We introduce a hybrid perylene-diimide / silver nanowire as plasmon frequency converter. A versatile method is presented to monitor and analyze the bleaching process. It is based on a time series of photoluminescence images, during the operation of a single converter. An analytical model is applied on the data and unveils that the photobleaching rate is constant and independent of the operation of the plasmon converter. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTCON.454911 SN - 2770-0208 VL - 1 IS - 8 SP - 1730 EP - 1740 PB - Optica Publishing Group CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chemura, Sitshengisiwe A1 - Schrumpf, Tim A1 - Günter, Christina A1 - Kumke, Michael Uwe T1 - Ceria nanomaterials containing ytterbium BT - low and high concentration – luminescence analyzed in the near infrared region JF - RSC Advances : an international journal to further the chemical sciences N2 - Lanthanide based ceria nanomaterials are important practical materials due to the redox properties that are useful in the avenues pertaining to technology and life sciences. Sub 10 nm spherical and highly monodisperse Ce1−xYbxO2−y (0.04 ≤ x ≤ 0.22) nanoparticles were synthesized by thermal decomposition, annealed separately at 773 K and 1273 K for 2 hours and characterized. Elemental mapping for Yb3+ doped ceria nanoparticles shows homogeneous distribution of Yb3+ atoms in the ceria with low Yb3+ content annealed at 773 K and 1273 K for 2 hours. However, clusters are observed for 773 K annealed ceria samples with high concentration of Yb3+. These clusters are not detected in 1273 K annealed nanomaterials. Introducing small amounts of Yb3+ ions into the ceria lattice as spectroscopic probes can provide detailed information about the atomic structure and local environments allowing the monitoring of small structural changes, such as clustering. The emission spectra observed at room temperature and at 4 K have a manifold of bands that corresponds to the 2F5/2 → 2F7/2 transition of Yb3+ ions. Some small shifts are observed in the Stark splitting pattern depending on the sample and the annealing conditions. The deconvolution by PARAFAC analysis yielded luminescence decay kinetics as well as the associated luminescence spectra of three species for each of the low Yb3+ doped ceria samples annealed at 773 K and one species for the 1273 K annealed samples. However, the ceria samples with high concentration of Yb3+ annealed at the two temperatures showed only one species with lower decay times as compared to the low Yb3+ doped ceria samples. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/D3RA06868D SN - 2046-2069 VL - 13 IS - 50 SP - 35445 EP - 35456 PB - RSC Publishing CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lehnen, Anne-Catherine A1 - Kurki, Jan A. M. A1 - Hartlieb, Matthias T1 - The difference between photo-iniferter and conventional RAFT polymerization BT - high livingness enables the straightforward synthesis of multiblock copolymers JF - Polymer Chemistry N2 - Photo-iniferter (PI)-RAFT polymerization, the direct activation of chain transfer agents via light, is a fascinating polymerization technique, as it overcomes some restriction of conventional RAFT polymerization. As such, we elucidated the role of reversible deactivation in this context using a monomer-CTA pair with low chain transfer capabilities. Tests with varying targeted degrees of polymerization (DP) or monomer concentrations revealed no significant improvement of polymerization control using the PI-process. Control can however be achieved via slow monomer addition, increasing the number of activation/deactivation events per monomer addition. More importantly, the livingness of the polymerization was found to be extraordinarily high, enabling the straightforward and rapid synthesis of multiblock copolymers with up to 20 blocks and a high number of repeating units per block (DP = 25-100) maintaining an overall excellent definition (M-n = 90 300 g mol(-1), D = 1.29). This study highlights the enormous potential of PI-RAFT polymerization for the synthesis of polymeric materials. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/d1py01530c SN - 1759-9954 SN - 1759-9962 VL - 13 IS - 11 SP - 1537 EP - 1546 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanns, Jolanda A1 - Kunold, Helen T1 - Mechanism comics as a task in a written exam in organic chemistry for pre-service chemistry teachers JF - Chemistry teacher international : best practices in chemistry education N2 - In this paper, we describe and evaluate a study on the use of mechanism comics for writing solutions to a task in a written exam for the course "Organic Chemistry I for Pre-Service Chemistry Teachers." The students had to design a reaction mechanism for a reaction that was unknown to them and write captions explaining every step of their reaction mechanism. The students' work was evaluated using the method of qualitative content analysis in four rounds by both authors. The majority of the captions were coded as "descriptive" and only a minority as "causal." This means that the students mostly described "what" happened, but seldom "why" this happened. Implicit electron movement was also described more often than explicit electron movement. The majority of the captions were technically correct. In summary, the students were capable of designing and describing a reaction mechanism for a previously unknown reaction. The quality of their reasoning could be improved, however. In the new course, the quality of students' mechanistic reasoning and then especially their explanations of "why" mechanistic steps occur will be given much clearer emphasis. KW - concepts KW - mechanistic reasoning KW - organic chemistry KW - pre-service chemistry teachers KW - writing-to-learn Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1515/cti-2021-0035 SN - 2569-3263 VL - 4 IS - 3 SP - 259 EP - 269 PB - De Gruyter CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Titov, Evgenii T1 - Effect of conformational disorder on exciton states of an azobenzene aggregate JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - Azobenzene is a prototypical molecular photoswitch, widely used to trigger a variety of transformations at different length scales. In systems like self-assembled monolayers or micelles, azobenzene chromophores may interact with each other, which gives rise to the emergence of exciton states. Here, using first-principles calculations, we investigate how conformational disorder (induced, e.g., by thermal fluctuations) affects localization of these states, on an example of an H-type azobenzene tetramer. We find that conformational disorder leads to (partial) exciton localization on a single-geometry level, whereas ensemble-averaging results in a delocalized picture. The pi pi* and n pi* excitons at high and low temperatures are discussed. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/d2cp02774g SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 24 IS - 39 SP - 24002 EP - 24006 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sand, Patrick A1 - Schmidt, Bernd T1 - Orthogonal arylation of a diene-sulfonamide using cationic transition metal catalysts JF - European journal of organic chemistry N2 - The regioselectivity of two mechanistically distinct alkenylation reactions catalyzed by in situ-formed cationic transition metal complexes was studied using N-allyl-N-phenylethenesulfonamide as a model compound. Orthogonal selectivity was observed for the Ru-catalyzed C-H-activating alkenylation with acetanilides, which occurs preferentially at the electron deficient double bond, and for a Pd-catalyzed Heck-type coupling with arene diazonium salts, which occurs preferentially at the more electron rich double bond of the N-allyl substituent. KW - arenes KW - C-H activation KW - palladium KW - ruthenium KW - sulfonamides Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ejoc.202201336 SN - 1434-193X SN - 1099-0690 VL - 2022 IS - 47 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Prüfert, Christian A1 - Beitz, Toralf A1 - Reich, Olaf A1 - Löhmannsröben, Hans-Gerd T1 - Inline process analysis of copper-bearing aerosols using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, laser-induced incandescence and optical imaging JF - Spectrochimica acta, Part B, Atomic spectroscopy N2 - The quantification and identification of aerosols in industry plays a key role in process monitoring and control and lays the foundation for process automation aspired by the industry 4.0 initiative. However, measuring particulate matter's mass and number concentrations in harsh environments poses great analytical constraints. The presented approach comprises a comprehensive set of light-and imaging-based techniques, all contactless, in-line, and real-time. It includes, but is not limited to, stroboscopic imaging, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and laser-induced incandescence (LII). Stroboscopic imaging confirmed the particles sphericity and was used to measure the particle number density. A phase-selective LIBS setup with low fluence and 500 Hz repetition rate was used to classify each particle with a single-pulse and in real time. Simultaneously, the created plasma was captured by CCD imaging to determine the detection volume and hit rate of the LIBS setup. Both data sets combined were converted to a particle number density, which was consistent with the particle number density of the stroboscopic measurements. Furthermore, using a photodiode and microphone in parallel to the LIBS setup allowed for the photoacoustic normalization of the spectral line intensity at the laser repetition rate of 500 Hz. This was done as a partial photoacoustic normalization method with the cut-off based on the coefficient of variation (CV), reducing it by 25%. Aside from that photodiode and microphone were proven to be valuable event counting with the advantage of the less spatially constricted. A second laser setup was used for laser -induced incandescence (LII) making it possible to classify the particles based on their incandescence tendency. Given its larger probing volume, LII could be employed at very low particle number densities. With respect to the current literature, this is the first approach of using LII as an in-line, real-time analytical technique for the compositional classification of metal-bearing aerosols. KW - LIBS KW - LII KW - aerosol. photoacoustics KW - stroboscopic imaging KW - minerals Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sab.2022.106527 SN - 0584-8547 SN - 1873-3565 VL - 197 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wessig, Pablo A1 - Badetko, Dominik A1 - Koebe, Michael T1 - Triplet sensitized Photo-Dehydro-Diels-Alder reaction JF - ChemistrySelect N2 - We report on the triplet sensitization of the intramolecular Photo-Dehydro-Diels-Alder (PDDA) reaction of two diaryl suberates bearing methyl propiolate chromophors. Compared with the non-sensitized irradiation, considerably increased yields could be observed. Moreover, it is possible to use the more efficient UVA lamps instead of UVB lamps. Among three investigated sensitizers (xanthone, benzophenone, thioxanthone) xanthone gave the best results. KW - light sources KW - photochemistry KW - photodehydro-Diels-Alder reaction KW - triplet sensitization Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/slct.202202648 SN - 2365-6549 VL - 7 IS - 38 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ebel, Kenny A1 - Bald, Ilko T1 - Low-energy (5-20 eV) electron-induced single and double strand breaks in well-defined DNA sequences JF - Journal of physical chemistry letters N2 - Ionizing radiation is used in cancer radiation therapy to effectively damage the DNA of tumors. The main damage is due to generation of highly reactive secondary species such as low-energy electrons (LEEs). The accurate quantification of DNA radiation damage of well-defined DNA target sequences in terms of absolute cross sections for LEE-induced DNA strand breaks is possible by the DNA origami technique; however, to date, it is possible only for DNA single strands. In the present work DNA double strand breaks in the DNA sequence 5 '-d(CAC)4/5 ' d(GTG)4 are compared with DNA single strand breaks in the oligonucleotides 5 '-d(CAC)4 and 5 '-d(GTG)4 upon irradiation with LEEs in the energy range from 5 to 20 eV. A maximum of strand break cross section was found around 7 and 10 eV independent of the DNA sequence, indicating that dissociative electron attachment is the underlying mechanism of strand breakage and confirming previous studies using plasmid DNA. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c00684 SN - 1948-7185 VL - 13 IS - 22 SP - 4871 EP - 4876 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington, DC ER - TY - THES A1 - Martin, Johannes T1 - Synthesis of protein-polymer conjugates and block copolymers via sortase-mediated ligation N2 - In den vergangenen Jahrzehnten haben therapeutische Proteine in der pharmazeutischen Industrie mehr und mehr an Bedeutung gewonnen. Werden Proteine nichtmenschlichen Ursprungs verwendet, kann es jedoch zu einer Immunreaktion kommen, sodass das Protein sehr schnell aus dem Körper ausgeschieden oder abgebaut wird. Um die Zirkulationszeit im Blut signifikant zu verlängern, werden die Proteine mit synthetischen Polymeren modifiziert (Protein-Polymer-Konjugate). Die Proteine aller heute auf dem Markt erhältlichen Medikamente dieser Art tragen eine oder mehrere Polymerketten aus Poly(ethylenglycol) (PEG). Ein Nachteil der PEGylierung ist, dass viele Patienten bei regelmäßiger Einnahme dieser Medikamente Antikörper gegen PEG entwickeln, die den effizienzsteigernden Effekt der PEGylierung wieder aufheben. Ein weiterer Nachteil der PEGylierung ist die oftmals deutlich verringerte Aktivität der Konjugate im Vergleich zum nativen Protein. Der Grund dafür ist die Herstellungsmethode der Konjugate, bei der meist die primären Amine der Lysin-Seitenketten und der N-Terminus des Proteins genutzt werden. Da die meisten Proteine mehrere gut zugängliche Lysine aufweisen, werden oft unterschiedliche und teilweise mehrere Lysine mit PEG funktionalisiert, was zu einer Mischung an Regioisomeren führt. Je nach Position der PEG-Kette kann das aktive Zentrum abgeschirmt oder die 3D-Struktur des Proteins verändert werden, was zu einem teilweise drastischen Aktivitätsabfall führt. In dieser Arbeit wurde eine neuartige Methode zur Ligation von Makromolekülen untersucht. Die Verwendung eines Enzyms als Katalysator zur Verbindung zweier Makromoleküle ist bisher wenig untersucht und ineffizient. Als Enzym wurde Sortase A ausgewählt, eine gut untersuchte Ligase aus der Familie der Transpeptidasen, welche die Ligation zweier Peptide katalysieren kann. Ein Nachteil dieser Sortase-vermittelten Ligation ist, dass es sich um eine Gleichgewichtsreaktion handelt, wodurch hohe Ausbeuten schwierig zu erreichen sind. Im Rahmen dieser Dissertation wurden zwei zuvor entwickelte Methoden zur Verschiebung des Gleichgewichts ohne Einsatz eines großen Überschusses von einem Edukt für Makromoleküle überprüft. Zur Durchführung der Sortase-vermittelten Ligation werden zwei komplementäre Peptidsequenzen verwendet, die Erkennungssequenz und das Nukleophil. Um eine systematische Untersuchung durchführen zu können, wurden alle nötigen Bausteine (Protein-Erkennungssequenz zur Reaktion mit Nukleophil-Polymer und Polymer-Erkennungssequenz mit Nukleophil-Protein) hergestellt. Als Polymerisationstechnik wurde die radikalische Polymerisation mit reversibler Deaktivierung (im Detail, Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization, ATRP und Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer, RAFT polymerization) gewählt, um eine enge Molmassenverteilung zu erreichen. Die Herstellung der Bausteine begann mit der Synthese der Peptide via automatisierter Festphasen-Peptidsynthese, um eine einfache Änderung der Peptidsequenz zu gewährleisten und um eine Modifizierung der Polymerkette nach der Polymerisation zu umgehen. Um die benötigte unterschiedliche Funktionalität der zwei Peptidsequenzen (freier C-Terminus bei der Erkennungssequenz bzw. freier N-Terminus bei dem Nukleophil) zu erreichen, wurden verschiedene Linker zwischen Harz und Peptid verwendet. Danach wurde der Kettenüberträger (chain transfer agent, CTA) zur Kontrolle der Polymerisation mit dem auf dem Harz befindlichen Peptid gekoppelt. Die für die anschließende Polymerisation verwendeten Monomere basierten auf Acrylamiden und Acrylaten und wurden anhand ihrer Eignung als Alternativen zu PEG ausgewählt. Es wurde eine kürzlich entwickelte Technik basierend auf der RAFT-Polymerisation (xanthate-supported photo-iniferter RAFT, XPI-RAFT) verwendet um eine Reihe an Peptid-Polymeren mit unterschiedlichen Molekulargewichten und engen Molekulargewichtsverteilungen herzustellen. Nach Entfernung der Schutzgruppen der Peptid-Seitenketten wurden die Peptid-Polymere zunächst genutzt, um mittels Sortase-vermittelter Ligation zwei Polymerketten zu einem Blockcopolymer zu verbinden. Unter Verwendung von Ni2+-Ionen in Kombination mit einer Verlängerung der Erkennungssequenz um ein Histidin zur Unterdrückung der Rückreaktion konnte ein maximaler Umsatz von 70 % erreicht werden. Dabei zeigte sich ein oberes Limit von durchschnittlich 100 Wiederholungseinheiten; die Ligation von längeren Polymeren war nicht erfolgreich. Danach wurden ein Modellprotein und ein Nanobody mit vielversprechenden medizinischen Eigenschaften mit den für die enzymkatalysierte Ligation benötigten Peptidsequenzen für die Kopplung mit den zuvor hergestellten Peptid-Polymeren verwendet. Dabei konnte bei Verwendung des Modellproteins keine Bildung von Protein-Polymer-Konjugaten beobachtet werden. Der Nanobody konnte dagegen C-terminal mit einem Polymer funktionalisiert werden. Dabei wurde eine ähnliche Limitierung in der Polymer-Kettenlänge beobachtet wie zuvor. Die auf Ni-Ionen basierte Strategie zur Gleichgewichtsverschiebung hatte hier keinen ausschlaggebenden Effekt, während die Verwendung von einem Überschuss an Polymer zur vollständigen Umsetzung des Edukt-Nanobody führte. Die erhaltenen Daten aus diesem Projekt bilden eine gute Basis für weitere Forschung in dem vielversprechenden Feld der enzymkatalysierten Herstellung von Protein-Polymer-Konjugaten und Blockcopolymeren. Langfristig könnte diese Herangehensweise eine vielseitig einsetzbare Herstellungsmethode von ortsspezifischen therapeutischen Protein-Polymer Konjugaten darstellen, welche sowohl eine hohe Aktivität als auch eine lange Zirkulationszeit im Blut aufweisen. N2 - During the last decades, therapeutical proteins have risen to great significance in the pharmaceutical industry. As non-human proteins that are introduced into the human body cause a distinct immune system reaction that triggers their rapid clearance, most newly approved protein pharmaceuticals are shielded by modification with synthetic polymers to significantly improve their blood circulation time. All such clinically approved protein-polymer conjugates contain polyethylene glycol (PEG) and its conjugation is denoted as PEGylation. However, many patients develop anti-PEG antibodies which cause a rapid clearance of PEGylated molecules upon repeated administration. Therefore, the search for alternative polymers that can replace PEG in therapeutic applications has become important. In addition, although the blood circulation time is significantly prolonged, the therapeutic activity of some conjugates is decreased compared to the unmodified protein. The reason is that these conjugates are formed by the traditional conjugation method that addresses the protein's lysine side chains. As proteins have many solvent exposed lysines, this results in a somewhat uncontrolled attachment of polymer chains, leading to a mixture of regioisomers, with some of them eventually affecting the therapeutic performance. This thesis investigates a novel method for ligating macromolecules in a site-specific manner, using enzymatic catalysis. Sortase A is used as the enzyme: It is a well-studied transpeptidase which is able to catalyze the intermolecular ligation of two peptides. This process is commonly referred to as sortase-mediated ligation (SML). SML constitutes an equilibrium reaction, which limits product yield. Two previously reported methods to overcome this major limitation were tested with polymers without using an excessive amount of one reactant. Specific C- or N-terminal peptide sequences (recognition sequence and nucleophile) as part of the protein are required for SML. The complementary peptide was located at the polymer chain end. Grafting-to was used to avoid damaging the protein during polymerization. To be able to investigate all possible combinations (protein-recognition sequence and nucleophile-protein as well as polymer-recognition sequence and nucleophile-polymer) all necessary building blocks were synthesized. Polymerization via reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) was used to achieve a narrow molecular weight distribution of the polymers, which is required for therapeutic use. The synthesis of the polymeric building blocks was started by synthesizing the peptide via automated solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) to avoid post-polymerization attachment and to enable easy adaptation of changes in the peptide sequence. To account for the different functionalities (free N- or C-terminus) required for SML, different linker molecules between resin and peptide were used. To facilitate purification, the chain transfer agent (CTA) for reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization was coupled to the resin-immobilized recognition sequence peptide. The acrylamide and acrylate-based monomers used in this thesis were chosen for their potential to replace PEG. Following that, surface-initiated (SI) ATRP and RAFT polymerization were attempted, but failed. As a result, the newly developed method of xanthate-supported photo-iniferter (XPI) RAFT polymerization in solution was used successfully to obtain a library of various peptide-polymer conjugates with different chain lengths and narrow molar mass distributions. After peptide side chain deprotection, these constructs were used first to ligate two polymers via SML, which was successful but revealed a limit in polymer chain length (max. 100 repeat units). When utilizing equimolar amounts of reactants, the use of Ni2+ ions in combination with a histidine after the recognition sequence to remove the cleaved peptide from the equilibrium maximized product formation with conversions of up to 70 %. Finally, a model protein and a nanobody with promising properties for therapeutical use were biotechnologically modified to contain the peptide sequences required for SML. Using the model protein for C- or N-terminal SML with various polymers did not result in protein-polymer conjugates. The reason is most likely the lack of accessibility of the protein termini to the enzyme. Using the nanobody for C-terminal SML, on the other hand, was successful. However, a similar polymer chain length limit was observed as in polymer-polymer SML. Furthermore, in case of the synthesis of protein-polymer conjugates, it was more effective to shift the SML equilibrium by using an excess of polymer than by employing the Ni2+ ion strategy. Overall, the experimental data from this work provides a good foundation for future research in this promising field; however, more research is required to fully understand the potential and limitations of using SML for protein-polymer synthesis. In future, the method explored in this dissertation could prove to be a very versatile pathway to obtain therapeutic protein-polymer conjugates that exhibit high activities and long blood circulation times. KW - biohybrid molecules KW - sortaseA KW - polymerization KW - RAFT KW - ATRP KW - peptide synthesis KW - enzymatic conjugation KW - sortagging Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-645669 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Wang, Zhenyu A1 - Breternitz, Joachim A1 - Schorr, Susan T1 - Cation disorder in zinc-group IV- nitride and oxide nitride semiconductor materials revealed through neutron diffraction T2 - Acta crystallographica / International Union of Crystallography. Section A, Foundations and advances KW - nitride materials KW - semiconductors KW - structure-property relationships Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1107/S0108767321086256 SN - 2053-2733 VL - 77 IS - Suppl. SP - C1077 EP - C1077 PB - Blackwell CY - Oxford [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Erler, Alexander A1 - Riebe, Daniel A1 - Beitz, Toralf A1 - Löhmannsröben, Hans-Gerd A1 - Leenen, Mathias A1 - Pätzold, Stefan A1 - Ostermann, Markus A1 - Wójcik, Michał T1 - Mobile laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for future application in precision agriculture BT - a case study JF - Sensors N2 - In precision agriculture, the estimation of soil parameters via sensors and the creation of nutrient maps are a prerequisite for farmers to take targeted measures such as spatially resolved fertilization. In this work, 68 soil samples uniformly distributed over a field near Bonn are investigated using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). These investigations include the determination of the total contents of macro- and micronutrients as well as further soil parameters such as soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM) content, and soil texture. The applied LIBS instruments are a handheld and a platform spectrometer, which potentially allows for the single-point measurement and scanning of whole fields, respectively. Their results are compared with a high-resolution lab spectrometer. The prediction of soil parameters was based on multivariate methods. Different feature selection methods and regression methods like PLS, PCR, SVM, Lasso, and Gaussian processes were tested and compared. While good predictions were obtained for Ca, Mg, P, Mn, Cu, and silt content, excellent predictions were obtained for K, Fe, and clay content. The comparison of the three different spectrometers showed that although the lab spectrometer gives the best results, measurements with both field spectrometers also yield good results. This allows for a method transfer to the in-field measurements. KW - LIBS KW - precision agriculture KW - soil KW - multivariate methods KW - feature selection Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/s23167178 SN - 1424-8220 VL - 23 IS - 16 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Adesina, Morenike O. A1 - Block, Inga A1 - Günter, Christina A1 - Unuabonah, Emmanuel Iyayi A1 - Taubert, Andreas T1 - Efficient Removal of Tetracycline and Bisphenol A from Water with a New Hybrid Clay/TiO2 Composite JF - ACS Omega N2 - New TiO2 hybrid composites were prepared fromkaolinclay, predried and carbonized biomass, and titanium tetraisopropoxideand explored for tetracycline (TET) and bisphenol A (BPA) removalfrom water. Overall, the removal rate is 84% for TET and 51% for BPA.The maximum adsorption capacities (q (m))are 30 and 23 mg/g for TET and BPA, respectively. These capacitiesare far greater than those obtained for unmodified TiO2. Increasing the ionic strength of the solution does not change theadsorption capacity of the adsorbent. pH changes only slightly changeBPA adsorption, while a pH > 7 significantly reduces the adsorptionof TET on the material. The Brouers-Sotolongo fractal modelbest describes the kinetic data for both TET and BPA adsorption, predictingthat the adsorption process occurs via a complex mechanism involvingvarious forces of attraction. Temkin and Freundlich isotherms, whichbest fit the equilibrium adsorption data for TET and BPA, respectively,suggest that adsorption sites are heterogeneous in nature. Overall,the composite materials are much more effective for TET removal fromaqueous solution than for BPA. This phenomenon is assigned to a differencein the TET/adsorbent interactions vs the BPA/adsorbent interactions:the decisive factor appears to be favorable electrostatic interactionsfor TET yielding a more effective TET removal. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.3c00184 SN - 2470-1343 VL - 8 IS - 24 SP - 21594 EP - 21604 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mazarei, Elham A1 - Penschke, Christopher A1 - Saalfrank, Peter T1 - Band gap engineering in two-dimensional materials by functionalization BT - Methylation of graphene and graphene bilayers JF - ACS Omega N2 - Graphene is well-knownfor its unique combination of electricaland mechanical properties. However, its vanishing band gap limitsthe use of graphene in microelectronics. Covalent functionalizationof graphene has been a common approach to address this critical issueand introduce a band gap. In this Article, we systematically analyzethe functionalization of single-layer graphene (SLG) and bilayer graphene(BLG) with methyl (CH3) using periodic density functionaltheory (DFT) at the PBE+D3 level of theory. We also include a comparisonof methylated single-layer and bilayer graphene, as well as a discussionof different methylation options (radicalic, cationic, and anionic).For SLG, methyl coverages ranging from 1/8 to 1/1, (i.e.,the fully methylated analogue of graphane) are considered. We findthat up to a coverage theta of 1/2, graphene readily accepts CH3, with neighbor CH3 groups preferring trans positions. Above theta = 1/2, the tendency to accept further CH3 weakens and the lattice constant increases. The band gapbehaves less regularly, but overall it increases with increasing methylcoverage. Thus, methylated graphene shows potential for developingband gap-tuned microelectronics devices and may offer further functionalizationoptions. To guide in the interpretation of methylation experiments,vibrational signatures of various species are characterized by normal-modeanalysis (NMA), their vibrational density of states (VDOS), and infrared(IR) spectra, the latter two are obtained from ab initio moleculardynamics (AIMD) in combination with a velocity-velocity autocorrelationfunction (VVAF) approach. KW - Adsorption KW - Alkyls KW - Band structure KW - Electrical conductivity KW - Two dimensional materials Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.3c02068 SN - 2470-1343 VL - 8 IS - 24 SP - 22026 EP - 22041 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kleinpeter, Erich A1 - Koch, Andreas T1 - The multiple bond character of the carbon-boron bond in boron trapped N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) and cyclic(alkyl)(amino) carbenes (CAACs) on the magnetic criterion JF - Tetrahedron N2 - Geometry, 11B, 13C chemical shifts and the spatial magnetic properties (Through-Space NMR Shieldings -TSNMRS) of both cations and anions of boron-trapped N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) and cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbenes (CAACs) and of the corresponding diborane/diborene/diboryne dis-carbene adducts have been calculated using the GIAO perturbation method employing the nucleus independent chemical shift (NICS) concept; the TSNMRS results are visualized as iso-chemical-shielding surfaces (ICSS) of various size and direction. The ICSS of the TSNMRS (actually the anisotropy effects measurable in 1H NMR spectroscopy) are employed to qualify and quantify the present multiple bond character of the Carbene-Boron bond in the trapped NHCs and CAACs. Results are confirmed by bond length and 11B/13C chemical shift variations. Thus the partial multiple bond character of the Carbene-Boron bond cannot be expressed by the arrow of weak, much longer dative bonds and should be omitted as in other covalent lone pair-it or triel bonds. & COPY; 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - NHCs KW - CAACs KW - Multiple NHC(CAAC)-Boron bonds KW - Through -space NMR KW - shieldings (TSNMRS) KW - NICS KW - Anisotropy effect KW - Ring current effect Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tet.2023.133469 SN - 0040-4020 SN - 1464-5416 VL - 140 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schlappa, Stephanie A1 - Bressel, Lena A1 - Reich, Oliver A1 - Münzberg, Marvin T1 - Advanced particle size analysis in high-solid-content polymer dispersions using photon density wave spectroscopy JF - Polymers N2 - High-solid-content polystyrene and polyvinyl acetate dispersions of polymer particles with a 50 nm to 500 nm mean particle diameter and 12-55% (w/w) solid content have been produced via emulsion polymerization and characterized regarding their optical and physical properties. Both systems have been analyzed with common particle-size-measuring techniques like dynamic light scattering (DLS) and static light scattering (SLS) and compared to inline particle size distribution (PSD) measurements via photon density wave (PDW) spectroscopy in undiluted samples. It is shown that particle size measurements of undiluted polystyrene dispersions are in good agreement between analysis methods. However, for polyvinyl acetate particles, size determination is challenging due to bound water in the produced polymer. For the first time, water-swelling factors were determined via an iterative approach of PDW spectroscopy error (X-2) minimization. It is shown that water-swollen particles can be analyzed in high-solid-content solutions and their physical properties can be assumed to determine the refractive index, density, and volume fraction in dispersion. It was found that assumed water swelling improved the reduced scattering coefficient fit by PDW spectroscopy by up to ten times and particle size determination was refined and enabled. Particle size analysis of the water-swollen particles agreed well with offline-based state-of-the-art techniques. KW - emulsion polymerization KW - multiple light scattering KW - photon density wave KW - spectroscopy KW - particle sizing KW - swelling of polymers Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15153181 SN - 2073-4360 VL - 15 IS - 15 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Xu, Yaolin A1 - Dong, Kang A1 - Jie, Yulin A1 - Adelhelm, Philipp A1 - Chen, Yawei A1 - Xu, Liang A1 - Yu, Peiping A1 - Kim, Junghwa A1 - Kochovski, Zdravko A1 - Yu, Zhilong A1 - Li, Wanxia A1 - LeBeau, James A1 - Shao-Horn, Yang A1 - Cao, Ruiguo A1 - Jiao, Shuhong A1 - Cheng, Tao A1 - Manke, Ingo A1 - Lu, Yan T1 - Promoting mechanistic understanding of lithium deposition and solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation using advanced characterization and simulation methods: recent progress, limitations, and future perspectives JF - Avanced energy materials N2 - In recent years, due to its great promise in boosting the energy density of lithium batteries for future energy storage, research on the Li metal anode, as an alternative to the graphite anode in Li-ion batteries, has gained significant momentum. However, the practical use of Li metal anodes has been plagued by unstable Li (re)deposition and poor cyclability. Although tremendous efforts have been devoted to the stabilization of Li metal anodes, the mechanisms of electrochemical (re-)deposition/dissolution of Li and solid-electrolyte-interphase (SEI) formation remain elusive. This article highlights the recent mechanistic understandings and observations of Li deposition/dissolution and SEI formation achieved from advanced characterization techniques and simulation methods, and discusses major limitations and open questions in these processes. In particular, the authors provide their perspectives on advanced and emerging/potential methods for obtaining new insights into these questions. In addition, they give an outlook into cutting-edge interdisciplinary research topics for Li metal anodes. It pushes beyond the current knowledge and is expected to accelerate development toward a more in-depth and comprehensive understanding, in order to guide future research on Li metal anodes toward practical application. KW - advanced characterization KW - Li deposition KW - Li dissolution KW - Li metal KW - anodes KW - mechanistic understanding KW - solid-electrolyte-interphase KW - theoretical simulation Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202200398 SN - 1614-6832 SN - 1614-6840 VL - 12 IS - 19 PB - Wiley CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rothe, Martin A1 - Zhao, Yuhang A1 - Müller, Johannes A1 - Kewes, Günter A1 - Koch, Christoph T. A1 - Lu, Yan A1 - Benson, Oliver T1 - Self-assembly of plasmonic nanoantenna-waveguide structures for subdiffractional chiral sensing JF - ACS nano N2 - Spin-momentum locking is a peculiar effect in the near-field of guided optical or plasmonic modes. It can be utilized to map the spinning or handedness of electromagnetic fields onto the propagation direction. This motivates a method to probe the circular dichroism of an illuminated chiral object. In this work, we demonstrate local, subdiffraction limited chiral coupling of light and propagating surface plasmon polaritons in a self-assembled system of a gold nanoantenna and a silver nanowire. A thin silica shell around the nanowire provides precise distance control and also serves as a host for fluorescent molecules, which indicate the direction of plasmon propagation. We characterize our nanoantenna-nanowire systems comprehensively through correlated electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, dark-field, and fluorescence imaging. Three-dimensional numerical simulations support the experimental findings. Besides our measurement of far-field polarization, we estimate sensing capabilities and derive not only a sensitivity of 1 mdeg for the ellipticity of the light field, but also find 10(3) deg cm(2)/dmol for the circular dichroism of an analyte locally introduced in the hot spot of the antenna-wire system. Thorough modeling of a prototypical design predicts on-chip sensing of chiral analytes. This introduces our system as an ultracompact sensor for chiral response far below the diffraction limit. KW - plasmonics KW - nanoparticle assemblies KW - core-shell KW - spin-orbit coupling KW - chirality KW - circular dichroism KW - nano-optics Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.0c05240 SN - 1936-0851 SN - 1936-086X VL - 15 IS - 1 SP - 351 EP - 361 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ning, Jiaoyi A1 - Yu, Hongtao A1 - Mei, Shilin A1 - Schütze, Yannik A1 - Risse, Sebastian A1 - Kardjilov, Nikolay A1 - Hilger, André A1 - Manke, Ingo A1 - Bande, Annika A1 - Ruiz, Victor G. A1 - Dzubiella, Joachim A1 - Meng, Hong A1 - Lu, Yan T1 - Constructing binder- and carbon additive-free organosulfur cathodes based on conducting thiol-polymers through electropolymerization for lithium-sulfur batteries JF - ChemSusChem N2 - Herein, the concept of constructing binder- and carbon additive-free organosulfur cathode was proved based on thiol-containing conducting polymer poly(4-(thiophene-3-yl) benzenethiol) (PTBT). The PTBT featured the polythiophene-structure main chain as a highly conducting framework and the benzenethiol side chain to copolymerize with sulfur and form a crosslinked organosulfur polymer (namely S/PTBT). Meanwhile, it could be in-situ deposited on the current collector by electro-polymerization, making it a binder-free and free-standing cathode for Li-S batteries. The S/PTBT cathode exhibited a reversible capacity of around 870 mAh g(-1) at 0.1 C and improved cycling performance compared to the physically mixed cathode (namely S&PTBT). This multifunction cathode eliminated the influence of the additives (carbon/binder), making it suitable to be applied as a model electrode for operando analysis. Operando X-ray imaging revealed the remarkable effect in the suppression of polysulfides shuttle via introducing covalent bonds, paving the way for the study of the intrinsic mechanisms in Li-S batteries. KW - electrochemistry KW - energy storage KW - lithium-sulfur batteries KW - operando KW - studies KW - organosulfur Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.202200434 SN - 1864-5631 SN - 1864-564X VL - 15 IS - 14 PB - Wiley CY - Weinheim ER -