Research Archive
![](https://chem.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Asymmetric-Ion-Pairing-in-Stereoselective-Vinyl-Polymerization.png)
This Perspective outlines some of the challenges inherent to polymer stereocontrol as well as highlights recent catalyst development in the area of asymmetric ion-pairing that has enabled control of both the configuration and conformation of vinyl polymers.
![](https://chem.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/How-Sugars-Protect-Dry-Protein-Structure.png)
We employed liquid-observed vapor exchange nuclear magnetic resonance (LOVE NMR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) to show how trehalose and other sugars protect two model proteins: the B1 domain of streptococcal protein G (GB1) and truncated barley chymotrypsin inhibitor 2 (CI2).
![](https://chem.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Facile-Synthesis-of-Key-Building-Blocks-of-D18-Series-Conjugated-Polymers-for-High-Performance-Polymer-Solar-Cells.png)
We redesigned the original synthetic scheme of D18, particularly the key monomer, 5,8-bis(5-bromo-4-(2-butyloctyl)thiophen-2-yl)dithieno[3′,2′:3,4;2″,3″:5,6]benzo[1,2-c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (Br2-T2-DTBT), and replaced a few key steps in the original scheme that were hard to reproduce and/or low yielding with simple to operate and high yielding reactions.
![](https://chem.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/The-Magical-Power-of-Water.png)
A personal perspective on the scientific and social dimensions of interactions with Herman Berendsen from 1969 through 2019 shows how his intellect and character had an influence beyond his laboratory.
![](https://chem.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Visible-light-induced-formation-of-a-tungsten-hydride-complex.png)
Here, we show that in the presence of pyridinium tetrafluoroborate, [CpW(CO)3]− reacts further to form a metal hydride complex CpW(CO)3H.
![](https://chem.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Uncovering-Transport-Mechanisms-in-Perovskite-Materials-and-Devices-with-Recombination-Induced-Action-Spectroscopies.png)
The class of action spectroscopies described in this Perspective leverages recombination-induced nonlinearities to distinguish lossy (fluorescence) and productive (photocurrent) processes within the active layers of photovoltaic cells.
![](https://chem.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Energy-landscape-design-principle-for-optimal-energy-harnessing-by-catalytic-molecular-machines.png)
Using an alternative geometrical approach, under fast temperature oscillation, we derive a general design principle for obtaining the optimal catalytic energy landscape that can harness energy from a temperature-oscillatory bath and use it to invert a spontaneous reaction.
![](https://chem.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Cellular-Invasion-Assay-for-the-Real-Time-Tracking-of-Individual-Cells-in-Spheroid-or-Tumor-like-Mimics.png)
To improve the physiological relevance of such assays, we developed an assay format to track cellular movement throughout a uniform density of cells.
![](https://chem.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Synthesis-and-Surface-Attachment-of-Molecular-ReI-Complexes-Supported-by-Functionalized-Bipyridyl-Ligands.png)
We report the synthesis of eleven 2,2′-bipyridine (bpy) ligands functionalized for covalent immobilization on either metal oxide or hydrogen-terminated silicon surfaces.
![](https://chem.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Oxidative-Addition-of-a-Phosphinite-P–O-Bond-at-Nickel.png)
Herein, we report the preferential oxidative addition of a phosphinite P−O bond at Ni over an N−H bond and interrogate both the mechanism of this bond activation and the microscopic reverse reaction by reconstructing the P−O bond using phosphorus electrophiles.
![](https://chem.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Isocyanide-Ligands-Promote-Ligand-to-Metal-Charge-Transfer-Excited-States-in-a-RheniumII-Complex.png)
In the rhenium hexakis(arylisocyanide) complexes, [Re(CNAr)6]n+ (CNAr = 2,6-dimethylphenylisocyanide), the isocyanide ligands facilitate ligand-to-metal charge transfer transitions in the rhenium(II) species and metal-to-ligand charge transfer transition in the rhenium(I) species.