PCCP Blog

Check out the following HOT articles, these have all been made free to access for a limited time:

Vibrational dynamics and solvatochromism of the label SCN in various solvents and hemoglobin by time dependent IR and 2D-IR spectroscopy
Luuk J. G. W. van Wilderen, Daniela Kern-Michler, Henrike M. Müller-Werkmeister and Jens Bredenbeck
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014,16, 19643-19653
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01498G

Excited-state wavepacket and potential reconstruction by coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering
David Avisar and David J. Tannor
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP03233K

Creating electrochemical gradients by light: from bio-inspired concepts to photoelectric conversion
Xiaojiang Xie and Eric Bakker
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02566K

Potential energy surfaces and quasiclassical trajectory study of the O + H₂⁺ → OH⁺ + H, OH + H⁺ proton and hydrogen atom transfer reactions and isotopic variants (D₂⁺, HD⁺)
Miguel Paniagua, Rodrigo Martínez, Pablo Gamallo and Miguel González
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02631D

Hydrogen bonding, halogen bonding and lithium bonding: an atoms in molecules and natural bond orbital perspective towards conservation of total bond order, inter- and intra-molecular bonding
Abhishek Shahi and Elangannan Arunan
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02585G

Photocatalytic generation of solar fuels from the reduction of H₂O and CO₂: a look at the patent literature
Stefano Protti, Angelo Albini and Nick Serpone
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02828G

Water-mediated interactions between trimethylamine-N-oxide and urea
Johannes Hunger, Niklas Ottosson, Kamila Mazur, Mischa Bonn and Huib J. Bakker
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02709D

On the directionality and non-linearity of halogen and hydrogen bonds
J. Grant Hill and Anthony C. Legon
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP03376K

Check out the following HOT articles, these have all been made free to access for a limited time:

Butterfly effects: novel functional materials inspired from the wings scales
Wang Zhang, Jiajun Gu, Qinglei Liu, Huilan Su, Tongxiang Fan and Di Zhang
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01513D

Fast single-molecule FRET spectroscopy: theory and experiment
Hoi Sung Chung and Irina V. Gopich
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02489C

A unified study for water adsorption on metals: meaningful models from structural motifs
Guillem Revilla-López and Núria López
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02508C

Interaction of electrons with cisplatin and the subsequent effect on DNA damage: a density functional theory study
Hsing-Yin Chen, Hui-Fen Chen, Chai-Lin Kao, Po-Yu Yang and Sodio C. N. Hsu
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02306D

Competing atmospheric reactions of CH₂OO with SO₂ and water vapour
Torsten Berndt, Jens Voigtländer, Frank Stratmann, Heikki Junninen, Roy L. Mauldin III, Mikko Sipilä, Markku Kulmala and Hartmut Herrmann
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02345E

I like picking out Perspective articles to focus on in these blog posts. They give me a chance to read about a field that I know less about, phrased in language that is accessible to those of us who aren’t specialists in that particular area. This then allows me to easily pick out the major themes and hopefully inspire others to follow me in reading a welcoming overview of a different research field. However, even in the spirit of broadening my horizons I wasn’t expecting butterfly wings in PCCP! It stuck out so obviously that I immediately knew I had found the next article I wanted to feature.

How many physical chemists or chemical physicists have extensive lepidopteral knowledge? I’m willing to bet it’s only a handful. In this perspective article, Zhang and co-authors tell the story of how we’re making use of the structural secrets of butterfly wings that have been revealed by previous research.

The study of the structure of butterfly wings is nothing new, its been going on for centuries. Yet it’s only recently that we’ve been able to apply that knowledge and develop new concepts and technologies as structural characterisation has reached the nanoscale. You might be surprised by the diversity of the research areas and applications that are mentioned, I certainly was!

Read the full article online here:

W. Zhang et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys, 2014, DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01513D

Check out the following HOT articles, these have all been made free to access for a limited time:

The optical phonon spectrum of CdSe colloidal quantum dots
Mark J. Fernée, Chiara Sinito, Paul Mulvaney, Philippe Tamarat and Brahim Lounis
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014,16, 16957-16961
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02022G

The effect of a detonation nanodiamond coating on the thermal decomposition properties of RDX explosives
Yi Tong, Rui Liu and Tonglai Zhang
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02237H

Small things make a big difference: binder effects on the performance of Li and Na batteries
Shu-Lei Chou, Yuede Pan, Jia-Zhao Wang, Hua-Kun Liu and Shi-Xue Dou
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02475C

Pursuit of quantum monodromy in the far-infrared and mid-infrared spectra of NCNCS using synchrotron radiation
Manfred Winnewisser, Brenda P. Winnewisser, Frank C. De Lucia, Dennis W. Tokaryk, Stephen C. Ross and Brant E. Billinghurst
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01443J

Investigation of continuous changes in the electric-field-induced electronic state in Bi_1−xCa_xFeO_3−δ
Atsushi Ikeda-Ohno, Ji Soo Lim, Takuo Ohkochi, Chan-Ho Yang and Jan Seidel
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02170C

Development of high-performance printed organic field-effect transistors and integrated circuits
Yong Xu, Chuan Liu, Dongyoon Khim and Yong-Young Noh
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02413C

Please check out the following HOT PCCP articles, these have been made free to access for a limited time:

Charge generation in polymer–fullerene bulk-heterojunction solar cells
Feng Gao and Olle Inganäs  
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01814A

Is HO₃⁻ multiple-minimum and floppy? Covalent to van der Waals isomerization and bond rupture of a peculiar anion
A. J. C. Varandas  
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01757A

Strong enhancement of parity violation effects in chiral uranium compounds
Michael Wormit, Małgorzata Olejniczak, Anna-Lena Deppenmeier, Anastasia Borschevsky, Trond Saue and Peter Schwerdtfeger
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01904K

Improving the photocatalytic activity and anti-photocorrosion of semiconductor ZnO by coupling with versatile carbon
Chuang Han, Min-Quan Yang, Bo Weng and Yi-Jun Xu  
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02189D

On the origin of ionicity in ionic liquids. Ion pairing versus charge transfer
Oldamur Hollóczki, Friedrich Malberg, Tom Welton and Barbara Kirchner  
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01177E

Check out the following HOT PCCP articles, they have all been made free to access for a limited time:

Quantitative measurement and mechanisms for CH₄ production from hydrates with the injection of liquid CO₂
Bo Ram Lee, Carolyn A. Koh and Amadeu K. Sum  
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014,16, 14922-14927
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01780C

Novel high-efficiency crystalline-silicon-based compound heterojunction solar cells: HCT (heterojunction with compound thin-layer)
Yiming Liu, Yun Sun, Wei Liu and Jianghong Yao
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00668B

CdS nanorod arrays with TiO₂ nano-coating for improved photostability and photocatalytic activity
Liangpeng Wu, Yulan Zhang, Xinjun Li and Chaoping Cen  
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01347F

Are hot charge transfer states the primary cause of efficient free-charge generation in polymer:fullerene organic photovoltaic devices? A kinetic Monte Carlo study
Matthew L. Jones, Reesha Dyer, Nigel Clarke and Chris Groves
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01626B

Analysis of parahydrogen polarized spin system in low magnetic fields
P. Türschmann, J. Colell, T. Theis, B. Blümich and S. Appelt  
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01807A

Bimetallic alloys in action: dynamic atomistic motifs for electrochemistry and catalysis
Jonathan E. Mueller, Petr Krtil, Ludwig A. Kibler and Timo Jacob  
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01591F

Critical adsorption of polyelectrolytes onto charged Janus nanospheres
Sidney J. de Carvalho, Ralf Metzler and Andrey G. Cherstvy
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02207F

Molecular collisions coming into focus
Jolijn Onvlee, Sjoerd N. Vogels, Alexander von Zastrow, David H. Parker and Sebastiaan Y. T. van de Meerakker
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01519C

I know I’ve highlighted articles on fullerenes before in this blog, and although I try not to repeat myself too often, the ever evolving story of C₆₀ is a topic too interesting to stay away from. This time around I’ve been learning about the extra special properties of anionic C₆₀, as recently described by Klaimen and co-authors.

One of the most exciting things about the C₆₀ anion is that it has electronically bound excited states, a property not shared by less exciting molecules of similar electron affinity. In this paper, the authors delve into the all-important, but hitherto unanswered, question of why it is that these excited states are able to exist. In order to do so, they turn to high level theory, which allows them to consider the full electron densities of both the anion and the neutral molecule in order to gain their new insight.

The conclusion the authors reach is simultaneously important, neat and potentially liable to cause controversy. If that prospect piques your interest, then I suggest you go and read the article to find out all the details, as they’re best read in the authors’ own words.

By Victoria Parkes, Guest web writer based at the University of Nottingham

Read the full article in PCCP here: All for one and one for all: accommodating an extra electron in C₆₀

Shachar Klaiman, Evgeniy V. Gromov and Lorenz S. Cederbaum

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, 16, 13287–13293