Chemical‐Template Synthesis of Micro/Nanoscale Magnesium Silicate Hollow Spheres for Waste‐Water Treatment

Micro/nanoscale magnesium silicate hollow spheres were synthesized by using silica colloidal spheres as a chemical template in one pot. The hollow spherical structure, consisting of well‐separated nanoscale units, was microscale as a whole and could be easily handled in solution. The as‐synthesized magnesium silicate hollow spheres with large specific surface area showed availability for the removal of organic and heavy‐metal ions efficiently from waste water. Importantly, the micro/nanoscale magnesium silicate hollow spheres that had adsorbed organic pollutants could be regenerated by calcination and used repeatedly in pollutant removal. Magnesium silicate hollow spheres synthesized by a scaled‐up chemical template method may have potential applications in removing cationic dyes and heavy‐metal ions from waste water.     

Amphiphilic crescent-moon-shaped microparticles formed by selective adsorption of colloids

We use a microfluidic device to prepare monodisperse amphiphilic particles in the shape of a crescent-moon and use these particles to stabilize oil droplets in water. The microfluidic device is comprised of a tapered capillary in a theta (θ) shape that injects two oil phases into water in a single receiving capillary. One oil is a fluorocarbon, while the second is a photocurable monomer, which partially wets the first oil drop; silica colloids in the monomer migrate and adsorb to the interface with water but do not protrude into the oil interface. Upon UV-induced polymerization, solid particles with the shape of a crescent moon are formed; removal of fluorocarbon oil yields amphiphilic particles due to the selective adsorption of silica colloids. The resultant amphiphilic microparticles can be used to stabilize oil drops in a mixture of water and ethanol; if they are packed to sufficient surface density on the interface of the oil drop, they become immobilized, preventing direct contact between neighboring drops, thereby providing the stability.     

Porous materials via nanocasting procedures: innovative materials and learning about soft-matter organization

Nanocasting, the 3D-transformation of self-assembled organic nanostructures into hollow inorganic replicas under preservation of fine structural details has recently turned out to be a versatile tool, both for the synthesis of porous media with new pore topology as well as for the characterization of the assembled structures themselves. This review gives a review on recent work describing the potential and restrictions of nanocasting using surfactants, polymers, colloids as well as supramolecular tectons as porogens.     

Hollow Cu‐NP Spheres Made from Electroless Cu Deposition with Colloidal Particles as Templates

Summary: Hollow copper nanoparticle (Cu‐NP) spheres with different wall thicknesses were prepared with organic and inorganic colloids as core combining self‐assembly and electroless Cu deposition techniques. The hollow Cu‐NP spheres made from polymeric colloids possessed a thicker wall but were easy to break in the removal of the core by THF, while those from SiO₂ colloids had thinner wall and remained intact in the removal of the core by HF.

TEM image of the hollow Cu‐NP spheres.     

功能化金属有机骨架材料去除饮用水污染物的研究进展

金属有机骨架(MOFs)材料是一类以过渡金属为中心、含杂原子的有机物为配体、通过配位作用形成的周期性网络多孔晶体材料。与其他的多孔材料相比,MOFs配体种类繁多,比表面积极大,孔径大小可调控且具有特殊(饱和或不饱和)的金属位点,在气体存储、催化、吸附与分离等领域有广阔的应用前景。近年来,功能化MOFs对污染物的富集和去除成为学者关注的热点。这是由于通过对MOFs进行功能化修饰,能够改变MOFs的孔径大小、表面带电性质等物化性质,从而实现对目标物更高效的吸附。该文综述了近年来功能化MOFs对饮用水污染物吸附的研究进展,包括饮用水污染物的类型及危害、功能化MOFs的制备方法以及去除饮用水污染物的应用,并对今后的发展前景进行了展望。     

肽基超分子胶体

肽基超分子胶体是基于肽分子间超分子作用,自发形成且具有有序分子排布及规整结构,兼具传统胶体及超分子特性的组装体系。利用超分子弱相互作用构筑功能性胶体,不仅是人们对生命组装进程深入理解的有效手段,也是实现优异的超分子材料的重要途径。肽分子具有组成明确、性能可调、生物安全性高及可降解等优势,是超分子化学、胶体与界面化学领域重要的组装基元。基于肽的超分子自组装,能够实现多尺度、多功能的生物胶体的构筑,被广泛应用于医药、催化、能源等领域。如何通过对肽序列的设计及分子间作用力的调控,实现对胶体结构和功能的精确控制,是近年来研究的重要课题之一。从分子尺度研究和揭示超分子胶体的组装过程及物理化学机制,探究胶体结构与功能的关系,是实现超分子结构和功能化的重要内容。本文基于"分子间作用的调控"及"结构与功能的关系"两个基本科学问题,系统地综述了肽基超分子胶体的组装机制、结构与功能,以及研究现状。     

One-Pot Fabrication of Pd Nanoparticles@Covalent-Organic-Framework-Derived Hollow Polyamine Spheres as a Synergistic Catalyst for Tandem Catalysis

Facile fabrication of nanocatalysts consisting of metal nanoparticles (NPs) anchored on a functional support is highly desirable, yet remains challenging. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) provide an emerging materials platform for structural control and functional design. Here, a facile one-pot in situ reduction approach is demonstrated for the encapsulation of small Pd NPs into the shell of COF-derived hollow polyamine spheres (Pd@H-PPA). In the one-pot synthetic process, the nucleation and growth of Pd NPs in the cavities of the porous shell take place simultaneously with the reduction of imine linkages to secondary amine groups. Pd@H-PPA shows a significantly enhanced catalytic activity and recyclability in the tandem dehydrogenation of ammonia borane and selective hydrogenation of nitroarenes through an adsorption–activation–reaction mechanism. The strong interactions of the secondary amine linkage with borane and nitroarene molecules afford a positive synergy to promote the catalytic reaction. Moreover, the hierarchical structure of Pd@H-PPA allows the accessibility of active Pd NPs to reactants.     

Covalent Organic Frameworks and Cage Compounds: Design and Applications of Polymeric and Discrete Organic Scaffolds

Porous organic materials are an emerging class of functional nanostructures with unprecedented properties. Dynamic covalent assembly of small organic building blocks under thermodynamic control is utilized for the intriguingly simple formation of complex molecular architectures in one‐pot procedures. In this Review, we aim to analyze the basic design principles that govern the formation of either covalent organic frameworks as crystalline porous polymers or covalent organic cage compounds as shape‐persistent molecular objects. Common synthetic procedures and characterization techniques will be discussed as well as more advanced strategies such as postsynthetic modification or self‐sorting. When appropriate, comparisons are drawn between polymeric frameworks and discrete organic cages in terms of their underlying properties. Furthermore, we highlight the potential of these materials for applications ranging from gas storage to catalysis and organic electronics.     

Hollow spherical supramolecular dendrimers

The synthesis of a library containing 12 conical dendrons that self-assemble into hollow spherical supramolecular dendrimers is reported. The design principles for this library were accessed by development of a method that allows the identification of hollow spheres, followed by structural and retrostructural analysis of their Pm3n cubic lattice. The first hollow spherical supramolecular dendrimer was made by replacing the tapered dendron, from the previously reported tapered dendritic dipeptide that self-assembled into helical pores, with its constitutional isomeric conical dendron. This strategy generated a conical dendritic dipeptide that self-assembled into a hollow spherical supramolecular dendrimer that self-organizes in a Pm3n cubic lattice. Other examples of hollow spheres were assembled from conical dendrons without a dipeptide at their apex. These are conical dendrons originated from tapered dendrons containing additional benzyl ether groups at their apex. The inner part of the hollow sphere assembled from the dipeptide resembles the path of a spherical helix or loxodrome and, therefore, is chiral. The spheres assembled from other conical dendrons are nonhelical, even when they contain stereocenters on the alkyl groups from their periphery. Functionalization of the apex of the conical dendrons with diethylene glycol allowed the encapsulation of LiOTf and RbOTf in the center of the hollow sphere. These experiments showed that hollow spheres function as supramolecular dendritic capsules and therefore are expected to display functions complementary to those of other related molecular and supramolecular structures.     

Au@SiO_2中空微球的制备及催化性能

以天然高分子阿拉伯树胶(AG)为还原剂和稳定剂制备了金纳米粒子;将含有金纳米粒子(Au NPs)、阿拉伯树胶和氨水的溶液滴加到乙醇中形成AG-Au NPs复合胶团;利用正硅酸乙酯水解,在AG-Au NPs表面包覆二氧化硅壳层;通过简单水洗的方法得到了金纳米粒子@二氧化硅(Au@SiO_2)中空微球.采用透射电子显微镜(TEM)、X射线衍射仪(XRD)和氮气吸附实验等对Au@SiO_2中空微球进行表征.通过设计对比实验,证实阿拉伯树胶在中空结构形成过程中起到模板剂的作用.催化性能测试结果表明,所制备的Au@SiO_2中空微球在硼氢化钠还原亚甲基蓝的反应中表现出良好的催化活性和重复使用性.     

Structure-defined c60/polymer colloids supramolecular nanocomposites in water

We report a new supramolecular method for the synthesis of well-defined pristine C 60/polymer colloid nanocomposites in water. The colloids include polymer micelles and emulsion particles. To a polymer colloid solution in water or alcohol, we introduced C 60 solution in a solvent that is miscible with water or alcohol. After the two solutions mixed, polymer colloids and C 60 spontaneously assembled into stable colloidal nanocomposites. After a dialysis process, a nanocomposite dispersion in pure water was obtained. As characterized by DLS and (Cryo-)TEM, the nanocomposites have a core-shell structure with C 60 aggregated on the surface of emulsion particles or micellar cores. The resulting nanocomposites have many potential applications such as biomedicals and photovoltaics.     

Fabrication of hollow and mesoporous germania microspheres by templating against plasma-treated polystyrene microspheres

The surfaces of monodisperse polystyrene (PS) colloids have been modified with hydroxyl groups by means of plasma treatment technique. By templating against these surface-modified PS colloids, the germania coating PS composite microspheres were prepared via a sol–gel process. After removal of PS cores, the resulting composite microspheres converted into hollow germania microspheres with mesoporous structure. The shell thickness of these hollow spheres can be controlled by varying the concentration of germania precursor. BET results indicated that the hollow germania microspheres shell exhibits slightly broader pore size distribution than that of corresponding composite one owing to the swelling effects of the PS core during the etching process. In addition, the as-prepared germania exhibits amorphous phase which can be converted into crystalline phase by calcination treatment. It is worthy to noting that this fabrication protocol demonstrated a facile, low-cost and environment-benign way for fabricating hollow germania structures by templating method. Moreover, this protocol is not limit to germania; it also could be used to create the other hollow inorganic oxides spheres.     

金属有机骨架材料在吸附分离大气污染物中的应用

大气污染问题是关系人民生命健康和经济社会和谐发展的重大问题.因此需要开发高效的吸附材料用于大气污染物的吸附和分离.金属有机骨架材料(MOFs)是一类新型的多孔材料,该材料具有结构多样、孔结构有序、大比表面积和高孔隙率等结构特点.MOFs通过调节有机配体的长度和官能团调节孔径和孔道尺寸,并进行功能化修饰在孔道中引入功能性...     

Complex colloidal microclusters from aerosol droplets

In this Article, we report on a packing scheme of monodisperse colloidal nanospheres by aerosol-assisted clustering. When an aqueous suspension of colloidal nanospheres was sprayed into aerosol droplets by an ultrasonic nebulizer, the nanospheres were encapsulated in the aerosol droplets and the evaporation of water from the droplets at high temperatures led to the packings of nanospheres. The configurations of the colloidal nanospheres minimized the interparticle potential energy or the second moment of mass distribution depending on the number of the constituting nanospheres. Other types of nonspherical microparticles or hollow microclusters were also produced by self-organizing organic-inorganic binary colloids of different sizes in an aerosol spray pyrolysis reactor. The aerosol-assisted fabrication of colloidal clusters was very effective as compared to the method based on oil-in-water or water-in-oil emulsions, in which the removal of residual oil was not easy and time-consuming.     

A reverse cation-exchange route to hollow PbSe nanospheres evolving from Se/Ag2Se core/shell colloids

A reverse cation-exchange approach for the synthesis of hollow PbSe nanospheres is successfully established. This route involves a new strategy of a stepwise, in-situ template-based evolution from spherical amorphous Se colloids to Se/Ag(2)Se core/shell colloids, then to hollow PbSe nanospheres. Se colloids are prepared as the initial product by utilizing the chelation of ethylenediamine to bulk Se. They are converted into Se/Ag(2)Se core/shell colloids through the reaction with Ag(+) in ethylene glycol. During the conversion from Ag(2)Se shell to PbSe shell, a small amount of tributylphosphine is crucial as the capping agent. The characterization results, including XRD, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, and EDX, reveal that hollow PbSe nanospheres with polycrystalline and cubic structure are prepared. The corresponding optical band gap is calculated to be 0.56 eV. This conformation is potentially beneficial to the improvement concerning the applications of PbSe nanostructures.     

具有超高阳离子染料去除能力的磺酸功能化球形共价有机框架

通过三醛基间苯三酚(TFP)与2,2′-联苯胺二磺酸(BDSA)的席夫碱反应, 合成了β-酮烯胺连接的磺酸功能化球形共价有机框架(TFP-BDSA COF). 所得阴离子型TFP-BDSA可迅速吸附如亚甲基蓝(MLB)、 结晶紫(CV)和罗丹明B(RhB)等阳离子染料, 而对如甲基橙(MO)和荧光素钠(FS)等阴离子染料则难以吸附, 该COF可实现基于电荷模式的阴离子、 阳离子染料的分离. TFP-BDSA对阳离子染料的吸附动力学均遵循拟二级吸附动力学模型, 吸附过程符合Langmuir吸附模型, 其对MLB, CV和RhB的最大吸附容量分别高达1116, 1429和1638 mg/g. 与其它COFs材料相比, TFP-BDSA对CV和RhB的吸附容量最高. 该工作可为开发功能COFs材料实现对废水中有机污染物的快速吸附和有效去除提供参考.     

Hollow capsules prepared from all block copolymer micelle multilayers

We introduce a novel and versatile approach for preparing hollow multilayer capsules containing functional hydrophobic components. Protonated polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) and anionic polystyrene-block-poly(acrylic acid) (PS-b-PAA) block copolymer micelles (BCM) were used as building blocks for the layer-by-layer assembly of BCM multilayer films onto polystyrene (PS) colloids. After removing the PS colloids, the stabilities of the formed BCM hollow capsules were found to be strongly dependent on the charge density of the hydrophilic corona segments (i.e., P4VP and PAA block segments) as well as the relative molecular weight ratio of hydrophobic core (i.e., PS segments) blocks and hydrophilic corona shells. Furthermore, in the case of incorporating hydrophobic fluorescent dyes into the PS core blocks of micelles, the hairy/hairy BCM multilayers showed well-defined fluorescent images after colloidal template removal process. These phenomena are mainly caused by the relatively high degree of electrostatic interdigitation between the protonated and anionic corona block shells.     

pH-Triggered Removal of Nitrogenous Organic Micropollutants from Water by Using Metal-Organic Polyhedra

Water pollution threatens human and environmental health worldwide. Thus, there is a pressing need for new approaches to water purification. Herein, we report a novel supramolecular strategy based on the use of a metal-organic polyhedron (MOP) as a capture agent to remove nitrogenous organic micropollutants from water, even at very low concentrations (ppm), based exclusively on coordination chemistry at the external surface of the MOP. Specifically, we exploit the exohedral coordination positions of Rh^II-MOP to coordinatively sequester pollutants bearing N-donor atoms in aqueous solution, and then harness their exposed surface carboxyl groups to control their aqueous solubility through acid/base reactions. We validated this approach for removal of benzotriazole, benzothiazole, isoquinoline, and 1-napthylamine from water.     

Detachment of colloids from a solid surface by a moving air-water interface

Colloid attachment to liquid–gas interfaces is an important process used in industrial applications to separate suspended colloids from the fluid phase. Moving gas bubbles can also be used to remove colloidal dust from surfaces. Similarly, moving liquid–gas interfaces lead to colloid mobilization in the natural subsurface environment, such as in soils and sediments. The objective of this study was to quantify the effect of moving air–water interfaces on the detachment of colloids deposited on an air-dried glass surface, as a function of colloidal properties and interface velocity. We selected four types of polystyrene colloids (positive and negative surface charge, hydrophilic and hydrophobic). The colloids were deposited on clean microscope glass slides using a flow-through deposition chamber. Air–water interfaces were passed over the colloid-deposited glass slides, and we varied the number of passages and the interface velocity. The amounts of colloids deposited on the glass slides were visualized using confocal laser scanning microscopy and quantified by image analysis. Our results showed that colloids attached under unfavorable conditions were removed in significantly greater amounts than those attached under favorable conditions. Hydrophobic colloids were detached more than hydrophilic colloids. The effect of the air–water interface on colloid removal was most pronounced for the first two passages of the air–water interface. Subsequent passages of air–water interfaces over the colloid-deposited glass slides did not cause significant additional colloid removal. Increasing interface velocity led to decreased colloid removal. The force balances, calculated from theory, supported the experimental findings, and highlight the dominance of detachment forces (surface tension forces) over the attachment forces (DLVO forces).     

Hydrogen-bonded Three-Dimensional Networks Encapsulating One-dimensional Covalent Chains: [Cu(3-ampy)(H_2O)_4](SO_4)·(H_2O) (3-ampy = 3-Aminopyridine)

A three-dimensional complex [Cu(3-ampy)(H2O)4](SO4)·(H2O) (3-ampy = 3-amino- pyridine) has been synthesized. Crystallographic data: C5H16CuN2O9S, Mr = 343.80, triclinic, space group P1, a = 7.675(2), b = 8.225(3), c = 10.845(3) A, α = 86.996(4), β = 76.292(4), γ = 68.890(4)°, V = 620.0(3) A3, Z = 2, Dc = 1.841 g/cm3, F(000) = 354 and μ = 1.971 mm-1. The structure was refined to R = 0.0269 and wR = 0.0659 for 1838 observed reflections (I > 2σ(I)). The structure consists of [Cu(3-ampy)(H2O)4]2+ cations, SO42- anions and lattice water molecules. 3-Ampy acting as a bidentate bridging ligand generates a 1D covalent chain. A supramolecular 2D framework is formed through π-π stacking of pyridine rings. The lattice water molecules and SO42- anions are located between the adjacent 2D frameworks. The hydrogen bonding interactions from lattice water molecules and SO42- anions to coordinate water extend the 2D framework into a 3D network.