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Palasz JM, Long Z, Meng J, Videla PE, Kelly HR, Lian T, Batista VS, Kubiak CP. A Resilient Platform for the Discrete Functionalization of Gold Surfaces Based on N-Heterocyclic Carbene Self-Assembled Monolayers. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:10489-10497. [PMID: 38584354 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c14113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
We describe the synthesis and characterization of a versatile platform for gold functionalization, based on self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of distal-pyridine-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) derived from bis(NHC) Au(I) complexes. The SAMs are characterized using polarization-modulation infrared reflectance-absorption spectroscopy, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The binding mode is examined computationally using density functional theory, including calculations of vibrational spectra and direct comparisons to the experimental spectroscopic signatures of the monolayers. Our joint computational and experimental analyses provide structural information about the SAM binding geometries under ambient conditions. Additionally, we examine the reactivity of the pyridine-functionalized SAMs toward H2SO4 and W(CO)5(THF) and verify the preservation of the introduced functionality at the interface. Our results demonstrate the versatility of N-heterocyclic carbenes as robust platforms for on-surface acid-base and ligand exchange reactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph M Palasz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0358, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Zhuoran Long
- Department of Chemistry and Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University, 225 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, United States
| | - Jinhui Meng
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive Northeast, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Pablo E Videla
- Department of Chemistry and Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University, 225 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, United States
| | - H Ray Kelly
- Department of Chemistry and Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University, 225 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, United States
| | - Tianquan Lian
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive Northeast, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Victor S Batista
- Department of Chemistry and Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University, 225 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, United States
| | - Clifford P Kubiak
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0358, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
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2
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Wang M, Zhang GP. Tuning the polarity of charge carriers in N-heterocyclic carbene-based single-molecule junctions via atomic manipulation. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:9051-9059. [PMID: 38441317 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp04677j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
Tuning the polarity of charge carriers at a single-molecular level is essential for designing complementary logic circuits in the field of molecular electronics. Herein, the transport properties of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-linked single-molecule junctions are investigated using the ab initio quantum transport approach. The results reveal that the hydrogen atoms in NHCs function as a switch for regulating the polarity of charge carriers. Dehydrogenation changes the chemical nature of NHC anchors, thereby rendering holes as the major charge carriers rather than electrons. Essentially, dehydrogenation changes the anchoring group from electron-rich to electron-deficient. The electrons transferred to molecules from the electrodes raise the molecular level closer to the Fermi level, thus resulting in charge carrier polarity conversion. This conversion is influenced by the position and number of hydrogen atoms in the NHC anchors. To efficiently and decisively alter charge carrier polarity via atomic manipulation, a methyl substitution approach is developed and verified. These results confirm that atomic manipulation is a significant method for modulating the polarity of charge carriers in NHC-based single-molecule devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minglang Wang
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Medical Physics and Image Processing & Shandong Provincial Engineering and Technical Center of Light Manipulations, School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250358, China.
| | - Guang-Ping Zhang
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Medical Physics and Image Processing & Shandong Provincial Engineering and Technical Center of Light Manipulations, School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250358, China.
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3
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Gutheil C, Roß G, Amirjalayer S, Mo B, Schäfer AH, Doltsinis NL, Braunschweig B, Glorius F. Tailored Monolayers of N-Heterocyclic Carbenes by Kinetic Control. ACS NANO 2024; 18:3043-3052. [PMID: 38252154 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c08045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
Despite the substantial success of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) as stable and versatile surface modification ligands, their use in nanoscale applications beyond chemistry is still hampered by the failure to control the carbene binding mode, which complicates the fabrication of monolayers with the desired physicochemical properties. Here, we applied vibrational sum-frequency generation spectroscopy to conduct a pseudokinetic surface analysis of NHC monolayers on Au thin films under ambient conditions. We observe for two frequently used carbene structures that their binding mode is highly dynamic and changes with the adsorption time. In addition, we demonstrate that this transition can be accelerated or decelerated to adjust the binding mode of NHCs, which allows fabrication of tailored monolayers of NHCs simply by kinetic control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Gutheil
- Organisch-Chemisches Institut, University of Münster, Corrensstraße 36, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Gina Roß
- Institut für Physikalische Chemie, University of Münster, Corrensstraße 28/30, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Saeed Amirjalayer
- Institut für Festkörpertheorie and Center for Multiscale Theory and Computation, University of Münster, Wilhelm-Klemm-Straße 10, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Boris Mo
- Institut für Pharmazeutische Biologie und Phytochemie, University of Münster, Corrensstraße 48, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | | | - Nikos L Doltsinis
- Institut für Festkörpertheorie and Center for Multiscale Theory and Computation, University of Münster, Wilhelm-Klemm-Straße 10, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Björn Braunschweig
- Institut für Physikalische Chemie, University of Münster, Corrensstraße 28/30, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Frank Glorius
- Organisch-Chemisches Institut, University of Münster, Corrensstraße 36, 48149 Münster, Germany
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Dominique NL, Chandran A, Jensen IM, Jenkins DM, Camden JP. Unmasking the Electrochemical Stability of N-Heterocyclic Carbene Monolayers on Gold. Chemistry 2023:e202303681. [PMID: 38116819 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202303681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) monolayers are transforming electrocatalysis and biosensor design via their increased performance and stability. Despite their increasing use in electrochemical systems, the integrity of the NHC monolayer during voltage perturbations remains largely unknown. Herein, we deploy surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to measure the stability of two model NHCs on gold in ambient conditions as a function of applied potential and under continuous voltammetric interrogation. Our results illustrate that NHC monolayers exhibit electrochemical stability over a wide voltage window (-1 V to 0.5 V vs Ag|AgCl), but they are found to degrade at strongly reducing (< -1 V) or oxidizing (>0.5 V) potentials. We also address NHC monolayer stability under continuous voltammetric interrogation between 0.2 V and -0.5 V, a commonly used voltage window for sensing, showing they are stable for up to 43 hours. However, we additionally find that modifications of the backbone NHC structure can lead to significantly shorter operational lifetimes. While these results highlight the potential of NHC architectures for electrode functionalization, they also reveal potential pitfalls that have not been fully appreciated in electrochemical applications of NHCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathaniel L Dominique
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN-46556, United States
| | - Aruna Chandran
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN-46556, United States
| | - Isabel M Jensen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN-37996
| | - David M Jenkins
- Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN-37996
| | - Jon P Camden
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN-46556, United States
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Sodomaco S, Gómez S, Giovannini T, Cappelli C. Computational Insights into the Adsorption of Ligands on Gold Nanosurfaces. J Phys Chem A 2023; 127:10282-10294. [PMID: 37993110 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.3c05560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
We study the adsorption process of model peptides, nucleobases, and selected standard ligands on gold through the development of a computational protocol based on fully atomistic classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations combined with umbrella sampling techniques. The specific features of the interface components, namely, the molecule, the metallic substrate, and the solvent, are taken into account through different combinations of force fields (FFs), which are found to strongly affect the results, especially changing absolute and relative adsorption free energies and trends. Overall, noncovalent interactions drive the process along the adsorption pathways. Our findings also show that a suitable choice of the FF combinations can shed light on the affinity, position, orientation, and dynamic fluctuations of the target molecule with respect to the surface. The proposed protocol may help the understanding of the adsorption process at the microscopic level and may drive the in-silico design of biosensors for detection purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sveva Sodomaco
- Scuola Normale Superiore, Classe di Scienze, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Sara Gómez
- Scuola Normale Superiore, Classe di Scienze, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Tommaso Giovannini
- Scuola Normale Superiore, Classe di Scienze, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Chiara Cappelli
- Scuola Normale Superiore, Classe di Scienze, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy
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Jensen IM, Chowdhury S, Hu G, Jensen L, Camden JP, Jenkins DM. Seeking a Au-C stretch on gold nanoparticles with 13C-labeled N-heterocyclic carbenes. Chem Commun (Camb) 2023; 59:14524-14527. [PMID: 37966800 DOI: 10.1039/d3cc04973f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
Gold nanoparticles were functionalized with natural abundance and 13C-labeled N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) to investigate the Au-C stretch. A combinatorial approach of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and density-functional theory (DFT) calculations highlighted vibrational modes significantly impacted by isotopic labeling at the carbene carbon. Critically, no isotopically-impacted stretching mode showed majority Au-C character.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel M Jensen
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA.
| | - Shayanta Chowdhury
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
| | - Gaohe Hu
- Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, 104 Chemistry Building, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
| | - Lasse Jensen
- Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, 104 Chemistry Building, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
| | - Jon P Camden
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
| | - David M Jenkins
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA.
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Kong Q, Liu D, Yang L, Zhao H, Zhang J, Xi G. Tungsten Nitride with a Two-Dimensional Multilayer Structure for Boosting the Surface-Enhanced Raman Effect. J Phys Chem Lett 2023:10894-10899. [PMID: 38033103 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c02893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
The development of high-performance surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates is an urgent and important task. Here, tungsten nitride (WN) with a two-dimensional (2D) multilayer structure has been successfully prepared through a nitriding WO2.90 precursor. In addition to the highly active "hot spots" formed on the surface of the WN sheets, a large number of gaps between the nanosheets also exhibit a strong local surface plasmon resonance effect, which greatly improves the SERS activity. Evaluated as the SERS substrate, the WN with a 2D multilayer structure exhibits good SERS characteristics and good homogeneity and stability, even after strong acid, strong alkali, or long-term light treatment. Significantly, typical environmental contaminants such as dichlorophenol and butylated hydroxyanisole also exhibit strong Raman enhancement signals. This research provides a new method for designing inexpensive, high-activity, and universal SERS substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinghong Kong
- School of Emergency Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, P. R. China
| | - Damin Liu
- School of Emergency Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, P. R. China
- Institute of Industrial and Consumer Product Safety, Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, Beijing 100176, P. R. China
| | - Linchangqing Yang
- School of Emergency Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, P. R. China
| | - Han Zhao
- School of Emergency Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, P. R. China
| | - Junhao Zhang
- School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212003, P. R. China
| | - Guangcheng Xi
- Institute of Industrial and Consumer Product Safety, Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, Beijing 100176, P. R. China
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8
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Perras FA, Culver DB. On the use of NMR distance measurements for assessing surface site homogeneity. Dalton Trans 2023. [PMID: 38015038 DOI: 10.1039/d3dt03201a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
The past few decades have seen tremendous growth in the area of single-site heterogeneous catalysis, which aims to combine the best aspects of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, namely molecular-level site control and ease of separation/recycling. Despite this, we still do not have a means of assessing site homogeneity and whether the produced catalyst is indeed a "single-site". Recent developments have enabled the use of NMR-based distance measurements to determine the conformations and configurations of surface sites, leading to the question whether such measurements can be used to distinguish materials containing either single or multiple surface sites with otherwise indistinguishable NMR properties. We describe a Monte Carlo-based multi-structure search algorithm and its application to the determination of multi-site structures from supported metal complexes. The sensitivity of REDOR data to the existence of multiple sites is assessed using synthetic data and prior literature examples are revisited to determine whether the single-site approximation was indeed appropriate. We lastly apply this new methodology to differentiate the configurations of zirconocene complexes grafted onto alumina supports that were thermally treated at different temperatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frédéric A Perras
- Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
- Chemical and Biological Sciences, Ames National Laboratory, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Damien B Culver
- Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
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9
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Hanson MD, Simpson SM. Geometric and Electronic Effects in the Binding Affinity of Imidazole-Based N-Heterocyclic Carbenes to Cu(100)- and Ag(100)-Based Pd and Pt Single-Atom Alloy Surfaces. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:37402-37412. [PMID: 37841151 PMCID: PMC10568601 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c05376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
We have conducted nonlocal periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) adsorbed to Pd/Cu(100), Pt/Cu(100), Pd/Ag(100), and Pt/Ag(100) single atom alloys (SAAs) utilizing the nonlocal optPBE-vdW functional. NHCs with electron donating groups (EDGs) are predicted to bind more strongly to the SAA surface compared to NHCs functionalized with electron withdrawing groups (EWGs). Our calculations show that NHCs typically bind to SAA geometries containing a small space between the heteroatom sites for the SAAs considered. Generally, this pattern is predicted to persist for a single NHCs or for a pair of NHCs bound to the SAA surfaces. Approximate linear relationships between NMR-based parameters and NHC-SAA binding energies are uncovered. We predict that the binding of NHCs to SAA surfaces is composition-dependent and heteroatom geometry dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew D. Hanson
- Department
of Chemistry, Le Moyne College, Syracuse, New York 13214, United States
| | - Scott M. Simpson
- Department
of Chemistry, St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, New York 14778, United States
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