Publications related to A Crystallographic Story of Snakes and Ladders: Encapsulated Water Polymers and Rigid Metal Complexes Based on Mono-N-substituted Carboxylate 4,4'-Bipyridine

Palladium-based supramolecular assemblies: from complex structures to water-soluble anion-receptors

The combination of palladium salts and bipyridyl ligands can lead to the formation of a large variety of coordination complexes, with different shapes and sizes, displaying a very versatile host-guest chemistry. Increasing their structural complexity remai ...

EPFL2024

Structure and dynamics of liquid water from ab initio simulations: adding Minnesota density functionals to Jacob's ladder

Ursula Röthlisberger, Justin Villard, Martin Peter Bircher

The accurate representation of the structural and dynamical properties of water is essential for simulating the unique behavior of this ubiquitous solvent. Here we assess the current status of describing liquid water using ab initio molecular dynamics, wit ...

Royal Soc Chemistry2024

Confinement-Controlled Crystallization of Guanine

Esther Amstad, Chuen-Ru Li

Guanine crystals are frequently encountered in nature in the beta-polymorph to create structural colors, to enhance the vision of creatures, and for camouflage. Unfortunately, it is challenging to control the crystallization of guanine in aqueous condition ...

Amer Chemical Soc2024

Biobased Composites from Eugenol- and Coumarin-Derived Methacrylic Latex and Hemp Nanocellulose: Cross-Linking via [2+2] Photocycloaddition and Barrier Properties

Yves Leterrier, Sara Dalle Vacche

A novel-biobased latex was synthesized by redox-initiated emulsion copolymerization of ethoxy dihydroeugenyl methacrylate with 5 wt % of a photosensitive methacrylate containing a coumarin group. A stable copolymer latex having 16 wt % solids content and a ...

Amer Chemical Soc2024

Nanogels with Metal‐Organic Cages as Functional Crosslinks

Kay Severin, Chaolei Hu

A dinuclear metal-organic cage with four acrylate side chains was prepared by self-assembly. Precipitation polymerization of the cage with N-isopropylacrylamide yielded a thermoresponsive nanogel. The host properties of the cage were retained within the ge ...

Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH2024

Palladium‐Based Dyotropic Rearrangement Enables A Triple Functionalization of Gem‐Disubstituted Alkenes: An Unusual Fluorolactonization Reaction

Qian Wang, Jieping Zhu, Qiang Feng, Chenxu Liu

We report in this paper a Pd(II)-catalyzed migratory gem-fluorolactonization of ene-carboxylic acids. Reaction of 4-methylenealkanoic acid derivatives with Selectfluor in the presence of Pd(OAc)2 (1.0 mol %) at room temperature affords fluorolactones in go ...

Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH2024

Molecular imine cages with π-basic Au3(pyrazolate) faces

Kay Severin, Rosario Scopelliti, Farzaneh Fadaei Tirani, Noga Eren

One tetrahedral and two trigonal prismatic cages with π-basic Au3(pyrazolate)3 faces were obtained by connection of pre-formed gold complexes via dynamic covalent imine chemistry. The parallel arrangement of the Au3(pyrazolate)3 complexes in the prismatic ...

2024

Chalcogen bonding catalysis

Jieping Zhu

Catalysts play a major role in chemical synthesis, and catalysis is considered to be a green and economic process. Catalysis is dominated by covalent interactions between the catalyst and substrate. The design of non-covalent catalysts came into limelight ...

Royal Society of Chemistry2024

From roots to canopy: Unraveling the influence of species diversity on tree water relations under warmer and drier climates

Eugénie Isabelle Mas

The worsening of drought events with rising air temperature alters tree water relations causing severe hydraulic impairments and widespread forest mortality. Mixing tree species with contrasting hydraulic traits could reduce forest vulnerability to extreme ...

EPFL2024

The molecular scale mechanism of deposition ice nucleation on silver iodide

Mária Lbadaoui-Darvas, Athanasios Nenes, André Welti

Heterogeneous ice nucleation is a ubiquitous process in the natural and built environment. Deposition ice nucleation, i.e. heterogeneous ice nucleation that - according to the traditional view - occurs in a subsaturated water vapor environment and in the a ...

Royal Soc Chemistry2024

From Surfactants to 3D Printing: How Ion-Chelator Pair Interactions Affect the Mechanical Properties of Bioinspired Materials

Gaia De Angelis

The remarkable adaptability observed in marine ecosystems has often inspired researchers when developing new soft materials. The research undertaken in this thesis explores how ion chelator pair interactions influence the mechanical properties of bioinspir ...

EPFL2024

New Applications of 1,3,2-Diazaphospholenes in Catalysis

Johannes Klett

The constant urge to construct new molecules in an economical and sustainable fashion led to the development of numerous metal-catalyzed transformations. Organocatalysts consisting of abundant and more sustainable elements offer an elegant solution to over ...

EPFL2024

Modeling, design and economics of PEC devices

Alexandre Dominique M. Cattry

Photo-electrochemical (PEC) devices allow for converting solar energy into chemical energy and for the production of energetically dense solar fuels. Light absorption, charge separation and transport, electrochemical reactions, and ionic transport are requ ...

EPFL2024

On the influence of flow-front orientation on stringer stiffened composite panels in water impacts

Véronique Michaud

Water impacts form the critical load case for high-performance carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) racing craft. Such events produce a peaked, non-uniform pressure distribution that travels along a hull panel as it is immersed. Current design standards ...

2024

Beyond the coupled distortion model: structural analysis of the single domain cupredoxin AcoP, a green mononuclear copper centre with original features

Luciano Andres Abriata

Cupredoxins are widely occurring copper-binding proteins with a typical Greek-key beta barrel fold. They are generally described as electron carriers that rely on a T1 copper centre coordinated by four ligands provided by the folded polypeptide. The discov ...

Royal Soc Chemistry2024

Orientational Self-Sorting in Octahedral Palladium Cages: Scope and Limitations of the “cis Rule”

Kay Severin, Farzaneh Fadaei Tirani, Atena-Bianca Solea, Damien Wen Chen, Jean Charles Edouard de Montmollin

Octahedral coordination cages of the general formula Pd6L1212 were obtained by combining Pd(CH3CN)42 with heteroditopic N-donor ligands. Four different ligands were employed. These ligands have 3-pyridyl donor groups at one end and 4-pyridyl, ...

2024

Soil warming alters tree water use and canopy stomatal conductance in a mixed subtropical forest

Charlotte Grossiord, Christoph Bachofen

As air temperature and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) increase continuously, forests are losing more water through evapotranspiration, with large consequences for local and global hydrological cycles. In regions with high vegetation cover, soil warming can b ...

Elsevier2024

Stepwise synthesis of heterotrimetallic FeII/PdII/AuI coordination cages

Kay Severin, Farzaneh Fadaei Tirani, Noga Eren

The synthesis of heterotrimetallic molecular cages is reported. The assemblies contain three types of coordination compounds: FeII clathrochelate complexes, AuI3(pyrazolate)3 complexes, and [PdII(pyridine)4]2+ complexes. The cages were obtained in a stepwi ...

2024

Synthetic Receptors with Micromolar Affinity for Chloride in Water

Kay Severin, Sylvain Alexandre Marie Sudan, Farzaneh Fadaei Tirani, Damien Wen Chen, Cesare Berton

A water-soluble coordination cage was obtained by reaction of Pd(NO3)2 with a 1,3-di(pyridin-3-yl)benzene ligand featuring a short PEG chain. The cavity of the metal-organic cage contains one nitrate anion, which is readily replaced by chloride. The appare ...

Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH2023

Gas/Surface reactions probed by reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy

Harmina Vejayan

In my thesis, I present an investigation of the dissociation reactions of gas phase molecules on single crystal metal surfaces studied by a molecular beam in combination with Reflection Absorption Infrared Spectroscopy (RAIRS). Two gas/surface systems were ...

EPFL2023