Chiral II−VI Semiconductor Nanostructure Superlattices Based on an Amino Acid Ligand

Noncovalent Peptide Assembly Enables Crystalline, Permutable, and Reactive Thiol Frameworks

Though thiols are exceptionally versatile, their high reactivity has also hindered the synthesis and characterization of well-defined thiol-containing porous materials. Leveraging the mild conditions of the noncovalent peptide assembly, we readily synthesized and characterized a number of frameworks with thiols displayed at many unique positions and in several permutations. Importantly, nearly all assemblies were structurally determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction to reveal their rich sequence-structure landscape and the cooperative noncovalent interactions underlying their assembly. These observations and supporting molecular dynamics calculations enabled rational engineering by the positive and negative design of noncovalent interactions. Furthermore, the thiol-containing frameworks undergo diverse single-crystal-to-single-crystal reactions, including toxic metal ion coordination (e.g., Cd2+, Pb2+, and Hg2+), selective uptake of Hg2+ ions, and redox transformations. Notably, we find a framework that supports thiol-nitrosothiol interconversion, which is applicable for biocompatible nitric oxide delivery. The modularity, ease of synthesis, functionality, and well-defined nature of these peptide-based thiol frameworks are expected to accelerate the design of complex materials with reactive active sites.

Synthesis, structure and photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes of a copper(II) metal-organic framework (Cu-MOF) with a 4-coordinated three-dimensional CdSO4 topology

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted much interest in the fields of gas separation and storage, catalysis synthesis, nonlinear optics, sensors, luminescence, magnetism, photocatalysis gradation and crystal engineering because of their diverse properties and intriguing topologies. A Cu-MOF, namely poly[[(μ₂-succinato-κ²O:O'){μ₂-tris[4-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)phenyl]amine-κ²N:N'}copper(II)] dihydrate], {[Cu(C₄H₄O₄)(C₂₄H₁₈N₁₀)]·2H₂O}_n or {[Cu(suc)(ttpa)]·2H₂O}_n, (I), was synthesized by the hydrothermal method using tris[4-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)phenyl]amine (ttpa) and succinate (suc^2-), and characterized by IR, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), luminescence, optical band gap and valence band X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (VB XPS). Cu-MOF (I) shows a twofold interpenetrating 4-coordinated three-dimensional CdSO₄ topology with point symbol {6⁵·8}. It presents good photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) under visible-light irradiation. A photocatalytic mechanism was proposed and confirmed.

Chirality-Discriminated Conductivity of Metal-Amino Acid Biocoordination Polymer Nanowires

Biocoordination polymer (BCP) nanowires are successfully constructed through self-assembly of chiral cysteine amino acids and Cd cations in solution. The varied chirality of cysteine is explored to demonstrate the difference of BCP nanowires in both morphology and structure. More interestingly and surprisingly, the electrical property measurement reveals that, although all Cd(II)/cysteine BCP nanowires behave as semiconductors, the conductivity of the Cd(II)/dl-cysteine nanowires is 4 times higher than that of the Cd(II)/l-cysteine or Cd(II)/d-cysteine ones. The origin of such chirality-discriminated characteristics registered in BCP nanowires is further elucidated by theoretical calculation. These findings demonstrate that the morphology, structure, and property of BCP nanostructures could be tuned by the chirality of the bridging ligands, which will shed light on the comprehension of chirality transcription as well as construction of chirality-regulated functional materials.

Experimental evidence of ZnS precursor anisotropy activated by ethylenediamine for constructing nanowires and single-atomic layered hybrid structures

Lateral view of a single-atomic layered ZnS(EN)_0.5 hybrid structure (left: BF-STEM image, right: schematic structure).

Solid state structures of cadmium complexes with relevance for biological systems

This chapter provides a review of the literature on structural information from crystal structures determined by X-ray diffractometry of cadmium(II) complexes containing ligands of potential biological interest. These ligands fall into three broad classes, (i) those containing N-donors such as purine or pyrimidine bases and derivatives of adenine, guanine or cytosine, (ii) those containing carboxylate groups such as α-amino acids, in particular the twenty essential ones, the water soluble vitamins (B-complex) or the polycarboxylates of EDTA type ligands, and (iii) S-donors such as thiols/thiolates or dithiocarbamates. A crystal and molecular structural analysis has been carried out for some representative complexes of these ligands, specifically addressing the coordination mode of ligands, the coordination environment of cadmium and, in some significant cases, the intermolecular interactions.

L-cysteine-assisted growth of core-satellite ZnS-Au nanoassemblies with high photocatalytic efficiency

Core-satellite ZnS-Au nanoassemblies, in which each of the ZnS nanospheres was surrounded by a few Au nanoparticles, have been successfully prepared with a facile L-cysteine-assisted hydrothermal approach. The density of Au nanoparticles encircling each ZnS nanosphere can be readily controlled through suitably modulating the concentration of Au added. Because of the difference in band structures between ZnS and Au, a pronounced photoinduced charge separation was observed for the as-synthesized ZnS-Au nanoassemblies. As compared to the relevant commercial products like Au-loaded P-25 TiO(2) and ZnS powders, ZnS-Au nanoassemblies exhibited superior photocatalytic performance, demonstrating their potential as an efficient photocatalyst in relevant redox reactions. Furthermore, the recycling test revealed that core-satellite nanoassemblies of ZnS-Au could be promisingly utilized in the long-term course of photocatalysis. The present study provides a new paradigm for designing the highly efficient semiconductor/metal hybrid photocatalysts that can effectively produce chemical energy from light.

Size-selective growth and stabilization of small CdSe nanoparticles in aqueous solution

Using cysteine and its derivatives as capping molecules, we investigated the influence of the physical structure and chemical nature of capping molecules on the selective growth and stabilization of small CdSe nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous solution at room temperature. Our investigations revealed specific roles for each functional group of cysteine, and we could correlate this structure and nature of the capping molecules with the size, size restriction, size distribution, and stability of the NPs. For selective growth and stabilization of the NPs in aqueous solution, their capping molecules should have at least one functional group with strong nucleophilicity as well as another free, charged functional group. Capping molecules acting as a monodentate ligand were more effective than those acting as a bidentate ligand for restricting the NPs to a smaller size, whereas the former was less effective than the latter for getting a narrower NP size distribution. Capping molecules with relatively bulky spatial geometry near the ligand-NP interface resulted in the formation of NPs with poor short- and long-term stabilities, whereas those having relatively compact spatial geometry near the interface led to NPs with at least moderate short-term stability. We saw that capping molecules having relatively compact outermost spatial geometry led to NPs with excellent long-term stability, whereas those having relatively bulky outermost spatial geometry produced NPs with at most only moderate long-term stability. Our results clearly showed general trends for the possibility of selective growth of stable semiconductor NPs with particular sizes in aqueous solution.

pH- and mol-ratio dependent formation of zinc(II) coordination polymers with iminodiacetic acid: synthesis, spectroscpic, crystal structure and thermal studies

Three novel zinc coordination polymers (NH(4))(n)[Zn(Hida)Cl(2)](n) (1), [Zn(ida)(H(2)O)(2)](n) (2), [Zn(Hida)(2)](n)·4nH(2)O (3) (H(2)ida = iminodiacetic acid) and a monomeric complex [Zn(ida)(phen)(H(2)O)]·2H(2)O (4) (phen=1,10-phenanthroline) have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction methods. 1 and 2 form one-dimensional (1-D) chain structures, whereas 3 exhibits a three-dimensional (3-D) diamondoid framework with an open channel. The mononuclear complex 4 is extended into a 3-D supramolecular architecture through hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking. Interestingly, cyclic nonplanar tetrameric water clusters are observed that encapsulated in the 3-D lattice of 4. Based on (1)H and (13)C NMR observations, there is obvious coordination of complex 2 in solution, while 1 and 3 decompose into free iminodiacetate ligand. Monomer [Zn(ida)(H(2)O)(3)] (5) is considered as a possible discrete species from 2. These coordination polymers can serve as good molecular precursors for zinc oxide.