Research Archive

Emergence and Breaking of Duality Symmetry in Generalized Fundamental Thermodynamic Relations

This theory provides a de-mechanized foundation for classical and nanothermodynamics and offers a framework for distilling emergence from large data, free from underlying details.

Controversy Continues Over Whether Hot Water Freezes Faster Than Cold

Decades after a Tanzanian teenager initiated study of the “Mpemba effect,” the effort to confirm or refute it is leading physicists toward new theories about how substances relax to equilibrium.

Sloppy gear mechanism for coupled stochastic transportation: From antiequilibrium flow to kinetic selectivity

Here, using a simple kinetic model, we present a counterintuitive antiequilibrium phenomenon in the passive transportation of particles through a narrow tube.

High-throughput discovery of fluoride-ion conductors via a decoupled, dynamic, and iterative (DDI) framework

Fluoride–ion batteries are a promising alternative to lithium–ion batteries with higher theoretical capacities and working voltages, but they have experienced limited success due to the poor ionic conductivities of known electrolytes and electrodes. Here, we report a high-throughput computational screening of 9747 fluoride-containing materials in search of fluoride-ion conductors.

Photoactivatable Reporter to Perform Multiplexed and Temporally Controlled Measurements of Kinase and Protease Activity in Single Cells

Peptide bioreporters were developed to perform multiplexed measurements of the activation of epidermal growth factor receptor kinase (EGFR), Akt kinase (Akt/protein kinase B), and proteases/peptidases in single cells.

Effects of Ligand Shell Composition on Surface Reduction in PbS Quantum Dots

In this work, we evaluated the impacts of both surface-binding head group and ligand backbone on the properties and reactivity of PbS QDs through a partial exchange of native oleate ligands with undec-10-enoic acid, p-toluate, and undec-10-ene-1-thiol to access mixed-shell QDs.

Enabling practical nanoparticle electrodeposition from aqueous nanodroplets

Historically, the cost of nanodroplet-mediated electrodeposition experimentation is prohibitive because practitioners use 0.1 M to 0.5 M tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAP) dissolved in the oil phase (∼10 mL). Here, we show that supporting electrolyte is not necessary for the oil phase.

A Semiconductor-Mediator-Catalyst Artificial Photosynthetic System for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation

In fabricating an artificial photosynthesis (AP) electrode for water oxidation, we have devised a semiconductor-mediator-catalyst structure that mimics photosystem II (PSII).

Enzymatic Synthesis of Diverse Heterocycles by a Noncanonical Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetase

Here, we characterize a monomodular NRPS, PvfC, encoded by the Pseudomonas virulence factor (pvf) gene cluster that is essential for virulence and signaling in different bacterial species.

Mechanisms of Electrochemical N2 Splitting by a Molybdenum Pincer Complex

The viability of electrochemical N2 binding and splitting by a molybdenum(III) pincer complex, (pyPNP)MoBr3 (pyPNP = 2,6-bis(tBu2PCH2)-C5H3N)), is established in this work, providing a foundation for a detailed mechanistic study of electrode-driven formation of the nitride complex (pyPNP)Mo(N)Br.

Subsite Ligand Recognition and Cooperativity in the TPP Riboswitch: Implications for Fragment-Linking in RNA Ligand Discovery

Here, we investigated the binding of thiamine and methylene diphosphonic acid (MDP, a soluble structural analogue of pyrophosphate) to the thiamine pyrophosphate riboswitch.

Divergent Reactivity of α,α-Disubstituted Alkenyl Hydrazones: Bench Stable Cyclopropylcarbinyl Equivalents

Herein we report the divergent reactivity of 2,2-dialkyl-3-(E)-alkenyl N-tosylhydrazones using Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling conditions, which enable the Z-selective synthesis of 3-aryl-1,4-dienes and gem-dialkyl vinylcyclopropanes.