Orientation and Bonding of 4,4‘-Biphenyldiisocyanide

Revitalizing silver nanocrystals as a redox catalyst by modifying their surface with an isocyanide-based compound

Silver is an excellent catalyst for oxidation reactions such as ethylene epoxidation, but it shows limited activity toward reduction reactions. Here we report a strategy to revitalize Ag nanocrystals as a redox catalyst for the production of an aromatic azo compound by modifying their surface with an isocyanide-based compound. We also leverage in situ fingerprint spectroscopy to acquire molecular insights into the reaction mechanism by probing the vibrational modes of all chemical species at the catalytic surface with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. We establish that binding of isocyanide to Ag nanocrystals makes it possible for Ag to extract the oxygen atoms from the nitro-groups of nitroaromatics and then use these atoms to oxidize isocyanide to isocyanate. Concurrently, the coupling between two adjacent deoxygenated nitroaromatic molecules leads to the formation of an aromatic azo compound.

Photohole Screening Effects in Polythiophenes with Pendant Groups

We compare two mechanisms that dominate the temperature-dependent changes in electronic structure for poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5 diyl) (P3HT). Structural changes in the relative orientation and configuration of the aromatic ring backbone are observed to occur over a wide range in temperature and affect the local final state screening in photoemission. There are also changes in conductivity and carrier concentration at lower temperatures leading to altered long-range intramolecular screening of photoholes and final state effects that affect excitation spectroscopies including photoemission. For polyethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT), temperature-dependent changes in the structure and configuration of the polymer backbone are not as significant, although temperature-dependent final state effects are observed.