佐藤 文菜

Certain cyanobacteria alter their photosynthetic light absorption between green and red, a phenomenon called complementary chromatic acclimation. The acclimation is regulated by a cyanobacteriochrome-class photosensor that reversibly photoconverts between green-absorbing (Pg) and red-absorbing (Pr) states. Here, we elucidated the structural basis of the green/red photocycle. In the Pg state, the bilin chromophore adopted the extended C15- Z , anti structure within a hydrophobic pocket. Upon photoconversion to the Pr state, the bilin is isomerized to the cyclic C15- E , syn structure, forming a water channel in the pocket. The solvation/desolvation of the bilin causes changes in the protonation state and the stability of π-conjugation at the B ring, leading to a large absorption shift. These results advance our understanding of the enormous spectral diversity of the phytochrome superfamily.

Molecular motion in the solid state is typically precluded by the highly dense environment, and only molecules with a limited range of sizes show such dynamics. Here, we demonstrate the solid-state rotational motion of two giant molecules, i.e., triptycene and pentiptycene, by encapsulating a bulky N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) Au(I) complex in the crystalline media. To date, triptycene is the largest molecule (surface area: 245 Å2 ; volume: 219 Å3 ) for which rotation has been reported in the solid state, with the largest rotational diameter among reported solid-state molecular rotors (9.5 Å). However, the pentiptycene rotator that is the subject of this study (surface area: 392 Å2 ; volume: 361 Å3 ; rotational diameter: 13.0 Å) surpasses this record. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses of both the developed rotors revealed that these possess sufficient free volume around the rotator. The molecular motion in the solid state was confirmed using variable-temperature solid-state 2 H spin-echo NMR studies. The triptycene rotor exhibited three-fold rotation, while temperature-dependent changes of the rotational angle were observed for the pentiptycene rotor.

Controlled self‐assembly of Pt(II) complexes is key to the development of optical and stimuli‐responsive materials, but designing and precisely controlling them is still difficult owing to weak intermolecular interactions. Herein, we report the successful water‐vapor‐induced assembly of an anionic Pt(II) complex [Pt(CN)2(ppy)]– (Hppy = 2‐phenylpyridine) electrostatically loaded on cationically charged layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoparticles consisting of Mg2+ and Al3+ ions. When the Pt(II) complexes were densely loaded onto the LDH nanoparticles, the assembly was maintained, even in dilute aqueous media. In the case of sparse loading, the Pt(II) complexes were loaded discretely in the dry state; however, when water vapor was adsorbed, the increased mobility of the Pt(II) complexes led to their assembly on the LDH nanoparticles. This resulted in a drastic change in luminescence from green to orange owing to the presence of water vapor.