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1. Using light intensity to control reaction kinetics and reversibility in photomechanical crystals

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D0SC03557B  

   Easley, Connor J.; Tong, Fei; Dong, Xinning; Al-Kaysi, Rabih O.; Bardeen, Christopher J. (September 2020, Chemical Science)

   null (Ed.)

   4-Fluoro-9-anthracenecarboxylic acid ( 4F-9AC ) is a thermally reversible (T-type) photomechanical molecular crystal. The photomechanical response is driven by a [4 + 4] photodimerization reaction, while the photodimer dissociation determines the reset time. In this paper, both the chemical kinetics of dimer dissociation (using a microscopic fluorescence-recovery-after-photobleaching experiment) and mechanical reset dynamics (by imaging bending microneedles) for single 4F-9AC crystals are measured. The dissociation kinetics depend strongly on the initial concentration of photodimer, slowing down and becoming nonexponential at high dimer concentrations. This dose-dependent behavior is also observed in the mechanical response of bending microneedles. A new feature in the photomechanical behavior is identified: the ability of a very weak control beam to suppress dimer dissociation after large initial dimer conversions. This phenomenon provides a way to optically control the mechanical response of this photomechanical crystal. To gain physical insight into the origin of the nonexponential recovery curves, the experimental results are analyzed in terms of a standard first-order kinetic model and a nonlinear Finke–Watzky (FW) model. The FW model can qualitatively reproduce the transition from exponential to sigmoidal recovery with larger initial conversions, but neither model can reproduce the suppression of the recovery in the presence of a weak holding beam. These results highlight the need for more sophisticated theories to describe cooperative phenomena in solid-state crystalline reactions, as well as demonstrating how this behavior could lead to new properties and/or improved performance in photomechanical materials. 

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2. Enhanced rare-earth separation with a metal-sensitive lanmodulin dimer

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-05945-5  

   Mattocks, Joseph A.; Jung, Jonathan J.; Lin, Chi-Yun; Dong, Ziye; Yennawar, Neela H.; Featherston, Emily R.; Kang-Yun, Christina S.; Hamilton, Timothy A.; Park, Dan M.; Boal, Amie K.; et al (June 2023, Nature)

   Abstract Technologically critical rare-earth elements are notoriously difficult to separate, owing to their subtle differences in ionic radius and coordination number^1–3. The natural lanthanide-binding protein lanmodulin (LanM)^4,5is a sustainable alternative to conventional solvent-extraction-based separation⁶. Here we characterize a new LanM, fromHansschlegelia quercus(Hans-LanM), with an oligomeric state sensitive to rare-earth ionic radius, the lanthanum(III)-induced dimer being >100-fold tighter than the dysprosium(III)-induced dimer. X-ray crystal structures illustrate how picometre-scale differences in radius between lanthanum(III) and dysprosium(III) are propagated toHans-LanM’s quaternary structure through a carboxylate shift that rearranges a second-sphere hydrogen-bonding network. Comparison to the prototypal LanM fromMethylorubrum extorquensreveals distinct metal coordination strategies, rationalizingHans-LanM’s greater selectivity within the rare-earth elements. Finally, structure-guided mutagenesis of a key residue at theHans-LanM dimer interface modulates dimerization in solution and enables single-stage, column-based separation of a neodymium(III)/dysprosium(III) mixture to >98% individual element purities. This work showcases the natural diversity of selective lanthanide recognition motifs, and it reveals rare-earth-sensitive dimerization as a biological principle by which to tune the performance of biomolecule-based separation processes. 

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3. Accounting for electron-beam-induced warping of molecular nanocrystals in MicroED structure determination

   https://doi.org/10.1107/S2052252524012132  

   Vlahakis, Niko; Clauss, Arden; Rodriguez, Jose A (March 2025, IUCrJ)

   High-energy electrons induce sample damage and motion at the nanoscale to fundamentally limit the determination of molecular structures by electron diffraction. Using a fast event-based electron counting (EBEC) detector, we characterize beam-induced, dynamic, molecular crystal lattice reorientations (BIRs). These changes are sufficiently large to bring reciprocal lattice points entirely in or out of intersection with the sphere of reflection, occur as early events in the decay of diffracted signal due to radiolytic damage, and coincide with beam-induced migrations of crystal bend contours within the same fluence regime and at the same illuminated location on a crystal. These effects are observed in crystals of biotin, a series of amino acid metal chelates, and a six-residue peptide, suggesting that incident electrons inevitably warp molecular lattices. The precise orientation changes experienced by a given microcrystal are unpredictable but are measurable by indexing individual diffraction patterns during beam-induced decay. Reorientations can often tilt a crystal lattice several degrees away from its initial position before irradiation, and for an especially beam-sensitive Zn(II)-methionine chelate, are associated with dramatic crystal quakes prior to 1 e⁻ Å⁻²electron beam fluence accumulates. Since BIR coincides with the early stages of beam-induced damage, it echoes the beam-induced motion observed in single-particle cryoEM. As with motion correction for cryoEM imaging experiments, accounting for BIR-induced errors during data processing could improve the accuracy of MicroED data. 

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4. Selective synthesis and stabilization of peroxides via phosphine oxides

   https://doi.org/10.1039/C9NJ04858H  

   Arp, Fabian F.; Ahn, Shin Hye; Bhuvanesh, Nattamai; Blümel, Janet (November 2019, New Journal of Chemistry)

   Reaction of bis(dicyclohexylphosphino)ethane dioxide with hydrogen peroxide leads to an extended crystalline network based on the formation of hydrogen bonds with the PO groups of the diphosphine dioxide. The structural motif of the network is characterized by X-ray diffraction. A new selective synthesis for an industrially important MEKPO (methyl ethyl ketone peroxide) dimer is described. The dimer is created by reaction of dppe dioxide (bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane dioxide) with butanone and hydrogen peroxide. This peroxide is stabilized by forming strong hydrogen bonds to the phosphine oxide groups within an extended network, which has been characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Reaction of acetylacetone with hydrogen peroxide, irrespective of the presence of phosphine oxide, leads to the stereoselective formation of two dioxolanes. Both cyclic peroxides have been obtained in crystalline forms suitable for single crystal X-ray diffractions. 

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5. Exchange-biased quantum tunnelling of magnetization in a [Mn ₃ ] ₂ dimer of single-molecule magnets with rare ferromagnetic inter-Mn ₃ coupling

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d0cp06611g  

   Ghosh, Tuhin; Marbey, Jonathan; Wernsdorfer, Wolfgang; Hill, Stephen; Abboud, Khalil A.; Christou, George (April 2021, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics)

   null (Ed.)

   A covalently-linked dimer of two single-molecule magnets (SMMs), [Mn 6 O(O 2 CMe) 6 (1,3-ppmd) 3 ](ClO 4 ) 2 , has been synthesized from the reaction of [Mn 3 O(O 2 CMe) 6 (py) 3 ](ClO 4 ) with 1,3-phenylene- bis (pyridin-2-ylmethanone) dioxime (1,3-ppmdH 2 ). It contains two [Mn III 3 O] +7 triangular units linked by three 1,3-ppmd 2− groups into an [Mn 3 ] 2 dimer with D 3 symmetry. Solid-state dc and ac magnetic susceptibility measurements showed that each Mn 3 subunit retains its properties as an SMM with an S = 6 ground state. Magnetization vs. dc field sweeps on a single crystal reveal hysteresis loops below 1.3 K exhibiting exchange-biased quantum tunnelling of magnetization (QTM) steps with a bias field of +0.06 T. This is the first example of a dimer of SMMs showing a positive exchange bias of the QTM steps in the hysteresis loops, and it has therefore been subjected to a detailed analysis. Simulation of the loops determines that each Mn 3 unit is exchange-coupled with its neighbour primarily through the 1,3-ppmd 2− linkers, confirming a weak ferromagnetic inter-Mn 3 interaction of J 12 ≈ +6.5 mK ( Ĥ = −2 JŜ i · Ŝ j convention). High-frequency EPR studies of a microcrystalline powder sample enable accurate determination of the zero-field splitting parameters of the uncoupled Mn 3 SMMs, while also confirming the weak exchange interaction between the two SMMs within each [Mn 3 ] 2 dimer. The combined results emphasize the ability of designed covalent linkers to generate inter-SMM coupling of a particular sign and relative magnitude, and thus the ability of such linkers to modulate the quantum physics. As such, this work supports the feasibility of using designed covalent linkers to develop molecular oligomers of SMMs, or other magnetic molecules, as multi-qubit systems and/or other components of new quantum technologies. 

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