Ultrafast Dynamics of Isolated Phenylcarbenes Followed by Femtosecond Time-Resolved Velocity Map Imaging

Mapping the electric field distribution of tightly focused cylindrical vector beams with gold nanorings

In this paper gold nanorings (NRs) are applied as particularly well-suited sensing elements for mapping the radially symmetric electric fields in the high numerical aperture focus of cylindrical vector beams. The optical properties of gold nanorings are analyzed by a combination of extinction and single particle dark field spectroscopy as well as confocal photoluminescence (PL) imaging. The results are compared to numerical calculations. The in-plane components in the focus of the cylindrical vector beams are estimated through the PL intensity distributions of the NRs. The optimum overlap between the structure and excitation is visualized by a narrow centre spot in the far-field PL scan.

Guided surface-volume plasmon modes in an ultrathin film at Drude damping limit

We theoretically demonstrate the existence of surface-volume plasmon modes in an ultrathin film at Drude damping limit and the direct optical excitation of the modes. Unlike volume plasmons of longitudinal nature and confinement in the film, the surface-volume plasmon modes have considerable transverse components localized along the surface of the thin film. The transverse component provides an interface with electromagnetic radiation, which allows excitation by localized optical sources. The surface-volume plasmon modes have extreme field confinement and can propagate around sharp corners with little distortion and loss.

Synthesis of Diaziridines and Diazirines via Resin-Bound Sulfonyl Oximes

Diazirines are one of the most prominent functionalities in labeling experiments in vivo and in vitro because they allow photochemical generation of carbenes. The strategy presented herein describes the formation of diaziridines, being essential precursors in diazirine syntheses, using solid-supported procedures with immobilized sulfonyl oximes. The solid-supported building blocks have been shown to be valuable intermediates for CuAAC and amidation reactions, offering the possibility to build complex compounds with diverse functionalities.

Characteristics of surface plasmon polaritons at a chiral-metal interface

The characteristics of surface plasmon polaritons at a chiral-metal interface are analyzed in detail. Compared to conventional surface plasmon waves at a dielectric-metal interface, it is shown that chiral surface plasmon waves have distinguishing features such as the presence of an s-wave at the metal surface, the existence of a cutoff frequency and chirality value, and the dependence of the propagation length on the chiral parameter. These properties of chiral surface plasmon waves can be exploited for on-chip chiral sensing and enantiometric detection applications.

Femtosecond dynamics of cyclopropenylidene, c-C3H2

The photophysics of the B (1)B(1) state of isolated cyclopropenylidene, c-C(3)H(2), has been studied by femtosecond time-resolved photoionisation and photoelectron spectroscopy. The carbene was produced by flash pyrolysis of 3-chlorocycloprop-1-ene. The bands at 266.9 nm and 264.6 nm have been investigated. The excited state deactivates in a two step process. The first time constant of less than 50 fs corresponds most likely to a nonradiative transition to the A-state, the second one on the order of 200 fs describes the internal conversion to the electronic ground state. The data are compared to those measured for the chlorinated carbene c-C(3)HCl. In the photoelectron spectrum of c-C(3)H(2) resonances were observed which can be assigned to members of a Rydberg d-series.

Diazirine based photoaffinity labeling

Diazirines are among the smallest photoreactive groups that form a reactive carbene upon light irradiation. This feature has been widely utilized in photoaffinity labeling to study ligand-receptor, ligand-enzyme and protein-protein interactions, and in the isolation and identification of unknown proteins. This review summarizes recent advances in the use of diazirines in photoaffinity labeling.