Volume 96, Issue 11, November 2023

Precisely controlling transition metal complexes to direct the desired electron pathways and chemical reactions would enhance their properties and enable the development of novel applications. In this study, transition metals are protected by self-threading ligands with permethylated α-cyclodextrin. Their unique chemical reactivities and optical properties are summarized, with a focus on the distinctive features of platinum acetylide complexes.

The effect of ionic substituents (4-sulfonatophenyl, 4-carboxyphenyl, 4-methylpyridyl, and 4-N,N,N-trimethylaminophenyl-groups) of water-soluble zinc porphyrin on the visible light-driven NADH regeneration by the system of triethanolamine, water-soluble zinc porphyrin, and rhodium complex [Cp*Rh(bpy)(H₂O)]²⁺ (Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadienyl, bpy = 2,2′-bipyridyl) was demonstrated.

A carbon-neutral energy cycle based on highly selective redox reactions between lactic acid and pyruvic acid, both of which are liquid under ambient conditions and can be derived from biomass resources, is demonstrated.

Fungal dimeric anhydrides (FDAs) are a class of polyketide-based natural products, most of which have a 9-membered cyclic ring structure. In this review, we discussed the dimerization mechanism for the synthesis of FDAs from an anhydride monomer.

Four types of chiral π-conjugated compounds were synthesized. All these compounds exhibited ferroelectric chiral smectic C (SmC*) and ordered smectic phases. The fixation of poled structures was attempted. We confirmed the ferroelectric bulk photovoltaic effect in the polarized state of the ordered smectic phase. The maximum open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current density reached +0.66 V and −0.63 µA cm⁻², respectively.

This study presents a novel, bright fluorescent probe comprising a bacteriophage and a fluorescent nanoemulsion (fNE) as biorecognition and signal transduction elements, respectively. We demonstrate that fluorescence microscopy imaging using the S. aureus-specific phage, S13′-fNE (phage-fNE), detects S. aureus in the presence of E. coli or S. pseudintermedius, another closely related Staphylococci, in a highly selective manner.

In this review, we focus on carrier mobilities in crystalline PBTTT and PEDOT doped with various methods, including ionic-liquid-gated transistor doping and H₂SO₄ treatment. The highest charge mobility in doped PBTTT was 1.2 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. H₂SO₄ treatment of PEDOT:PSS caused anion exchange, resulting in crystallization. The charge mobility was 1.9 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. Positive bipolarons were highly mobile.

Micrometer-sized water-in-oil droplets (microdroplets) are attracting attention as carriers for the high-throughput parallel analysis of trace samples. By confining trace amounts of water-soluble samples or reagents within a microdroplet, reactions and detection can be performed while suppressing diffusion dilution. Our recently developed method for selective concentration enrichment of microdroplet contents focuses on molecular transport between microdroplets and reverse micelles.

Molecular dynamics simulations using a new polarizable force field were employed to study the dielectric properties of three hydrocarbon liquids: benzene, diphenylmethane, and c-hexane. The calculated dielectric constants matched well with experimental ones. The difference in dielectric constant between diphenylmethane and benzene was attributed to the difference in their respective liquid structures.

This study organizes remnant and intermediate metastability. The intermediate metastable phase, which is less stable than the thermodynamically independent stable phase, typically transforms into the stable phase(s) at high temperatures. In contrast, the remnant metastable phase once becomes the most stable phase under specific thermodynamic conditions, like ice in a freezer, and is then trapped by upon changing the conditions rapidly.

Newly synthesized B-site ordered double perovskites Ln₂NiTiO₆ were found to adopt geometrically frustrated face-centered cubic lattices consisting of magnetic Ni²⁺ (S = 1) cations. In spite of the geometrical spin frustration of Ni²⁺ spins, the samples have small frustration index, which is due to partial anti-site disorder between Ni²⁺ and Ti⁴⁺ originating in the small valence difference.

Cadmium-free Ag–Cu–In–Ga–S/Ga–S core/shell quantum dots were synthesized by a scalable method and red emission was obtained from a free-to-bound transition via Cu-related localized states. The emission wavelength was controlled by the In/Ga ratio, which allowed the fabrication of high-purity red electroluminescence in compliance with the ITU-R BT.2020 standard.

We successfully achieved the synthesis of siladenoserinol A analogs through one-pot bicycloketal formation using a catalytic amount of AuCl(PPh₃)/AgSbF₆ and AlCl₃. Biological evaluation of the natural product and synthetic analogs revealed that the stereochemistry on the 6,8-DOBCO skeleton would be one of the fundamental factors to control the potency of inhibition of the p53–Hdm2 interaction but not an essential one.

A series of 2-R-substituted 1,3-bis[bis(3′,5′-di-tert-butylphenyl)phosphino]propane SciPROP-R is designed and synthesized. Their iron complexes, especially FeCl₂(SciPROP-TB), are effective catalysts for the highly chemoselective iron-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura-type cross-coupling reaction of alkyl chlorides with arylboron compounds.

An osmium(III)-metalacycle complex consisting of 2-phenylpyridine is converted to the 2-phenoxidopyridine-osmium(III) complex upon treating with tertiary amine N-oxide. Substituent effects of 2-phenylpyridine moiety and the amine N-oxide on the C–O bond formation are examined. The results are consistent with the proposed mechanism in which the C–O bond formation involves conversion of the osmium(III)-N-oxide adduct to its oxido-osmium(V) species.