Methyl methoxyacetate(MMAc)and methyl formate(MF)can be produced directly by heterogeneous zeolite-catalyzed carbonylation and disproportionation of dimethoxymethane(DMM),with near 100%selectivity for each process.Des...Methyl methoxyacetate(MMAc)and methyl formate(MF)can be produced directly by heterogeneous zeolite-catalyzed carbonylation and disproportionation of dimethoxymethane(DMM),with near 100%selectivity for each process.Despite continuous research efforts,the insight into the reaction mechanism and kinetics theory are still in their nascent stage.In this study,ZEO-1 material,a zeolite with up to now the largest cages comprising 16×16-MRs,16×12-MRs,and 12×12-MRs,was explored for DMM carbonylation and disproportionation reactions.The rate of MMAc formation based on accessible Brönsted acid sites is 2.5 times higher for ZEO-1(Si/Al=21)relative to the previously investigated FAU(Si/Al=15),indicating the positive effect of spatial separation of active sites in ZEO-1 on catalytic activity.A higher MF formation rate is also observed over ZEO-1 with lower activation energy(79.94 vs.95.19 kJ/mol)compared with FAU(Si/Al=30).Two types of active sites are proposed within ZEO-1 zeolite:Site 1 located in large cages formed by 16×16-MRs and 16×12-MRs,which is active predominantly for MMAc formation,and Site 2 located in smaller cages for methyl formate/dimethyl ether formation.Kinetics investigation of DMM carbonylation over ZEO-1 exhibit a first-order dependence on CO partial pressure and a slightly inverse-order dependence on DMM partial pressure.The DMM disproportionation is nearly first-order dependence on DMM partial pressure,while it reveals a strongly inverse dependence with increasing CO partial pressure.Furthermore,ZEO-1 exhibits good catalytic stability,and almost no deactivation is observed during the more than 70 h test with high carbonylation selectivity of above 89%,due to the well-enhanced diffusion property demonstrated by intelligent-gravimetric analysis.展开更多
In this study,circular dichroism(CD)and molecular dynamics(MD)simulation were used to investigate the thermal unfolding pathway of staphylococcal enterotoxin B(SEB)at temperatures of 298–371 and 298–500 K,and the re...In this study,circular dichroism(CD)and molecular dynamics(MD)simulation were used to investigate the thermal unfolding pathway of staphylococcal enterotoxin B(SEB)at temperatures of 298–371 and 298–500 K,and the relationship between the experimental and simulation results were explored.Our computational findings on the secondary structure of SEB showed that at room temperature,the CD spectroscopic results were highly consistent with the MD results.Moreover,under heating conditions,the changing trends of helix,sheet and random coil obtained by CD spectral fitting were highly consistent with those obtained by MD.In order to gain a deeper understanding of the thermal stability mechanism of SEB,the MD trajectories were analyzed in terms of root mean square deviation(RMSD),secondary structure assignment(SSA),radius of gyration(R_(g)),free energy surfaces(FES),solvent-accessible surface area(SASA),hydrogen bonds and salt bridges.The results showed that at low heating temperature,domain Ⅰ without loops(omitting the mobile loop region)mainly relied on hydrophobic interaction to maintain its thermal stability,whereas the thermal stability of domain Ⅱ was mainly controlled by salt bridges and hydrogen bonds.Under high heating temperature conditions,the hydrophobic interactions in domain Ⅰ without loops were destroyed and the secondary structure was almost completely lost,while domain Ⅱ could still rely on salt bridges as molecular staples to barely maintain the stability of the secondary structure.These results help us to understand the thermodynamic and kinetic mechanisms that maintain the thermal stability of SEB at the molecular level,and provide a direction for establishing safer and more effective food sterilization processes.展开更多
Chirality hold broad applications in life sciences,quantum devices,and various other areas.Traditionally,molecular chirality can be characterized by using steady-state circular dichroism spectroscopy.However,the techn...Chirality hold broad applications in life sciences,quantum devices,and various other areas.Traditionally,molecular chirality can be characterized by using steady-state circular dichroism spectroscopy.However,the techniques that can characterize excited state chirality are progressively capturing the public interest as it can provide the dynamic information for chirality generation and transfer.In this review,we focus on the theoretical background and the developmental history of femtosecond time-resolved circular dichroism spectroscopy(TRCD)techniques around the world.Additionally,we provide examples to showcase the utility of these techniques in the analysis of the dynamical molecular chemical structures,the investigation of molecular chirality generation,and the detection of electron spin dynamics in semiconductor quantum dots.展开更多
Objective This work examines the impact of external electric fields at terahertz(THz)frequencies on doublestranded deoxyribonucleic acid(dsDNA)systems adsorbed on Au(111)surfaces in aqueous environments.Methods The in...Objective This work examines the impact of external electric fields at terahertz(THz)frequencies on doublestranded deoxyribonucleic acid(dsDNA)systems adsorbed on Au(111)surfaces in aqueous environments.Methods The investigation utilizes a molecular dynamics(MD)approach at the atomic level and vibrational dynamics calculations using the GolDNA-Amber force field.Results The results reveal that the sugar-phosphate backbone of the DNA exhibits reduced adherence to the gold surface,while the side chains display a stronger affinity.When subjecting the hydrated DNA strands to an electric field with frequencies up to 10 THz,peak intensities of vibrational dynamic density(VDoS)are observed at five different frequencies.Moreover,the strong electric field causes hydrogen bonds in the DNA within the slit to break.The sensitivity to the electric field is particularly pronounced at 8.8 THz and 9.6 THz,with different vibrational modes observed at varying electric field strengths.Conclusion These findings contribute to an enhanced understanding of the molecular organization of gold-plated charged biological interfaces.展开更多
Photocatalytic splitting of water over p-type semiconductors is a promising strategy for production of hydrogen.However,the determination of rate law is rarely reported.To this purpose,copper oxide(CuO)is selected as ...Photocatalytic splitting of water over p-type semiconductors is a promising strategy for production of hydrogen.However,the determination of rate law is rarely reported.To this purpose,copper oxide(CuO)is selected as a model photocathode in this study,and the photogenerated surface charge density,interfacial charge transfer rate constant and their relation to the water reduction rate(in terms of photocurrent)were investigated by a combination of(photo)electrochemical techniques.The results showed that the charge transfer rate constant is exponential-dependent on the surface charge density,and that the photocurrent equals to the product of the charge transfer rate constant and surface charge density.The reaction is first-order in terms of surface charge density.Such an unconventional rate law contrasts with the reports in literature.The charge density-dependent rate constant results from the Fermi level pinning(i.e.,Galvani potential is the main driving force for the reaction)due to accumulation of charge in the surface states and/or Frumkin behavior(i.e.,chemical potential is the main driving force).This study,therefore,may be helpful for further investigation on the mechanism of hydrogen evolution over a CuO photocathode and for designing more efficient CuO-based photocatalysts.展开更多
Pyrolysis of benzene at 30 Torr was studied from 1360 K to 1820 K in this work. Synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectrometry was employed to detect the pyroly- sis products such as radicals, isomer...Pyrolysis of benzene at 30 Torr was studied from 1360 K to 1820 K in this work. Synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectrometry was employed to detect the pyroly- sis products such as radicals, isomers and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and measure their mole fraction profiles versus temperature. A low-pressure pyrolysis model of benzene was developed and validated by the experimental results. Rate of production analysis was performed to reveal the major reaction networks in both fuel decomposition and aromatic growth processes. It is concluded that benzene is mainly decomposed via H-abstraction reaction to produce phenyl and partly decomposed via unimolecular decomposition reac- tions to produce propargyl or phenyl. The decomposition process stops at the formation of acetylene and polyyne species like diacetylene and 1,3,5-hexatriyne due to their high thermal stabilities. Besides, the aromatic growth process in the low-pressure pyrolysis of benzene is concluded to initiate from benzene and phenyl, and is controlled by the even carbon growth mechanism due to the inhibited formation of C5 and C7 species which play important roles in the odd carbon growth mechanism.展开更多
文摘Methyl methoxyacetate(MMAc)and methyl formate(MF)can be produced directly by heterogeneous zeolite-catalyzed carbonylation and disproportionation of dimethoxymethane(DMM),with near 100%selectivity for each process.Despite continuous research efforts,the insight into the reaction mechanism and kinetics theory are still in their nascent stage.In this study,ZEO-1 material,a zeolite with up to now the largest cages comprising 16×16-MRs,16×12-MRs,and 12×12-MRs,was explored for DMM carbonylation and disproportionation reactions.The rate of MMAc formation based on accessible Brönsted acid sites is 2.5 times higher for ZEO-1(Si/Al=21)relative to the previously investigated FAU(Si/Al=15),indicating the positive effect of spatial separation of active sites in ZEO-1 on catalytic activity.A higher MF formation rate is also observed over ZEO-1 with lower activation energy(79.94 vs.95.19 kJ/mol)compared with FAU(Si/Al=30).Two types of active sites are proposed within ZEO-1 zeolite:Site 1 located in large cages formed by 16×16-MRs and 16×12-MRs,which is active predominantly for MMAc formation,and Site 2 located in smaller cages for methyl formate/dimethyl ether formation.Kinetics investigation of DMM carbonylation over ZEO-1 exhibit a first-order dependence on CO partial pressure and a slightly inverse-order dependence on DMM partial pressure.The DMM disproportionation is nearly first-order dependence on DMM partial pressure,while it reveals a strongly inverse dependence with increasing CO partial pressure.Furthermore,ZEO-1 exhibits good catalytic stability,and almost no deactivation is observed during the more than 70 h test with high carbonylation selectivity of above 89%,due to the well-enhanced diffusion property demonstrated by intelligent-gravimetric analysis.
文摘In this study,circular dichroism(CD)and molecular dynamics(MD)simulation were used to investigate the thermal unfolding pathway of staphylococcal enterotoxin B(SEB)at temperatures of 298–371 and 298–500 K,and the relationship between the experimental and simulation results were explored.Our computational findings on the secondary structure of SEB showed that at room temperature,the CD spectroscopic results were highly consistent with the MD results.Moreover,under heating conditions,the changing trends of helix,sheet and random coil obtained by CD spectral fitting were highly consistent with those obtained by MD.In order to gain a deeper understanding of the thermal stability mechanism of SEB,the MD trajectories were analyzed in terms of root mean square deviation(RMSD),secondary structure assignment(SSA),radius of gyration(R_(g)),free energy surfaces(FES),solvent-accessible surface area(SASA),hydrogen bonds and salt bridges.The results showed that at low heating temperature,domain Ⅰ without loops(omitting the mobile loop region)mainly relied on hydrophobic interaction to maintain its thermal stability,whereas the thermal stability of domain Ⅱ was mainly controlled by salt bridges and hydrogen bonds.Under high heating temperature conditions,the hydrophobic interactions in domain Ⅰ without loops were destroyed and the secondary structure was almost completely lost,while domain Ⅱ could still rely on salt bridges as molecular staples to barely maintain the stability of the secondary structure.These results help us to understand the thermodynamic and kinetic mechanisms that maintain the thermal stability of SEB at the molecular level,and provide a direction for establishing safer and more effective food sterilization processes.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.92156024and No.92356307 to Jinquan Chen)Menghui Jia thanks the Materials Characterization Center and the Office of Laboratory and Equipment of East China Normal University for funding support(ECNUETR2023-13).
文摘Chirality hold broad applications in life sciences,quantum devices,and various other areas.Traditionally,molecular chirality can be characterized by using steady-state circular dichroism spectroscopy.However,the techniques that can characterize excited state chirality are progressively capturing the public interest as it can provide the dynamic information for chirality generation and transfer.In this review,we focus on the theoretical background and the developmental history of femtosecond time-resolved circular dichroism spectroscopy(TRCD)techniques around the world.Additionally,we provide examples to showcase the utility of these techniques in the analysis of the dynamical molecular chemical structures,the investigation of molecular chirality generation,and the detection of electron spin dynamics in semiconductor quantum dots.
文摘Objective This work examines the impact of external electric fields at terahertz(THz)frequencies on doublestranded deoxyribonucleic acid(dsDNA)systems adsorbed on Au(111)surfaces in aqueous environments.Methods The investigation utilizes a molecular dynamics(MD)approach at the atomic level and vibrational dynamics calculations using the GolDNA-Amber force field.Results The results reveal that the sugar-phosphate backbone of the DNA exhibits reduced adherence to the gold surface,while the side chains display a stronger affinity.When subjecting the hydrated DNA strands to an electric field with frequencies up to 10 THz,peak intensities of vibrational dynamic density(VDoS)are observed at five different frequencies.Moreover,the strong electric field causes hydrogen bonds in the DNA within the slit to break.The sensitivity to the electric field is particularly pronounced at 8.8 THz and 9.6 THz,with different vibrational modes observed at varying electric field strengths.Conclusion These findings contribute to an enhanced understanding of the molecular organization of gold-plated charged biological interfaces.
基金the National Basic Research Development of China(2011CB936003)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(50971116)。
文摘Photocatalytic splitting of water over p-type semiconductors is a promising strategy for production of hydrogen.However,the determination of rate law is rarely reported.To this purpose,copper oxide(CuO)is selected as a model photocathode in this study,and the photogenerated surface charge density,interfacial charge transfer rate constant and their relation to the water reduction rate(in terms of photocurrent)were investigated by a combination of(photo)electrochemical techniques.The results showed that the charge transfer rate constant is exponential-dependent on the surface charge density,and that the photocurrent equals to the product of the charge transfer rate constant and surface charge density.The reaction is first-order in terms of surface charge density.Such an unconventional rate law contrasts with the reports in literature.The charge density-dependent rate constant results from the Fermi level pinning(i.e.,Galvani potential is the main driving force for the reaction)due to accumulation of charge in the surface states and/or Frumkin behavior(i.e.,chemical potential is the main driving force).This study,therefore,may be helpful for further investigation on the mechanism of hydrogen evolution over a CuO photocathode and for designing more efficient CuO-based photocatalysts.
基金This work is supported by the National Natu- ral Science Foundation of China （No.51106146 and No.51036007）, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation （No.20100480047 and No.201104326）, Chinese Univer- sities Scientific Fund （No.WK2310000010）, and Chinese Academy of Sciences.
文摘Pyrolysis of benzene at 30 Torr was studied from 1360 K to 1820 K in this work. Synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectrometry was employed to detect the pyroly- sis products such as radicals, isomers and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and measure their mole fraction profiles versus temperature. A low-pressure pyrolysis model of benzene was developed and validated by the experimental results. Rate of production analysis was performed to reveal the major reaction networks in both fuel decomposition and aromatic growth processes. It is concluded that benzene is mainly decomposed via H-abstraction reaction to produce phenyl and partly decomposed via unimolecular decomposition reac- tions to produce propargyl or phenyl. The decomposition process stops at the formation of acetylene and polyyne species like diacetylene and 1,3,5-hexatriyne due to their high thermal stabilities. Besides, the aromatic growth process in the low-pressure pyrolysis of benzene is concluded to initiate from benzene and phenyl, and is controlled by the even carbon growth mechanism due to the inhibited formation of C5 and C7 species which play important roles in the odd carbon growth mechanism.
