Deciphering an Abnormal Layered-Tunnel Heterostructure Induced by Chemical Substitution for the Sodium Oxide Cathode

Demands for large-scale energy storage systems have driven the development of layered transition-metal oxide cathodes for room-temperature rechargeable sodium ion batteries (SIBs). Now, an abnormal layered-tunnel heterostructure Na_0.44Co_0.1Mn_0.9O₂ cathode material induced by chemical element substitution is reported. By virtue of beneficial synergistic effects, this layered-tunnel electrode shows outstanding electrochemical performance in sodium half-cell system and excellent compatibility with hard carbon anode in sodium full-cell system. The underlying formation process, charge compensation mechanism, phase transition, and sodium-ion storage electrochemistry are clearly articulated and confirmed through combined analyses of in situ high-energy X-ray diffraction and ex situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy as well as operando X-ray diffraction. This crystal structure engineering regulation strategy offers a future outlook into advanced cathode materials for SIBs.     

Thermoelectric Properties of Nano-grained Mooihoekite Cu9Fe9S16

Cu-Fe-S-based compounds gain the interest from thermoelectric community because all the consisting elements, Cu, Fe, and S, are non-toxic and earth-abundant. Comparing with CuFeS₂ and Cu₅FeS₄, the investigation on Cu₉Fe₉S₁₆ is very rare. In this work, a series of Cu_9–xFe_9+xS₁₆ samples were fabricated by means of melting-annealing process. Their phase composition, microstructure, electrical and thermal transport properties were systematically investigated. X-ray measurement confirms that all samples are phase pure. Transmission electron microscopy characterization indicates that the fabricated Cu₉Fe₉S₁₆ has a natural nanostructure. Cu₉Fe₉S₁₆ shows semiconducting-like electrical transport behavior and intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivity. Beyond the numerous boundaries between nanosized grains, the existence of low-frequency optical phonons is also responsible for the intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivity. Doping Fe at the Cu-sites in Cu₉Fe₉S₁₆ significantly alters the electrical transport properties by introducing extra carriers. A peak dimensionless figure of merit zT value of 0.21 is obtained at 800 K for pure Cu₉Fe₉S₁₆, which is comparable with that for CuFeS₂.     

Fast and Selective Semihydrogenation of Alkynes by Palladium Nanoparticles Sandwiched in Metal–Organic Frameworks

The semihydrogenation of alkynes into alkenes rather than alkanes is of great importance in the chemical industry. Unfortunately, state-of-the-art heterogeneous catalysts hardly achieve high turnover frequencies (TOFs) simultaneously with almost full conversion, excellent selectivity, and good stability. Here, we used metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) containing Zr metal nodes (“UiO”) with tunable wettability and electron-withdrawing ability as activity accelerators for the semihydrogenation of alkynes catalyzed by sandwiched palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs). Impressively, the porous hydrophobic UiO support not only leads to an enrichment of phenylacetylene around the Pd NPs but also renders the Pd surfaces more electron-deficient, which leads to a remarkable catalysis performance, including an exceptionally high TOF of 13835 h⁻¹, 100 % phenylacetylene conversion 93.1 % selectivity towards styrene, and no activity decay after successive catalytic cycles. The strategy of using molecularly tailored supports is universal for boosting the selective semihydrogenation of various terminal and internal alkynes.     

Self-Assembly of Highly Stable Zirconium(IV) Coordination Cages with Aggregation Induced Emission Molecular Rotors for Live-Cell Imaging

The self-assembly of highly stable zirconium(IV)-based coordination cages with aggregation induced emission (AIE) molecular rotors for in vitro bio-imaging is reported. The two coordination cages, NUS-100 and NUS-101, are assembled from the highly stable trinuclear zirconium vertices and two flexible carboxyl-decorated tetraphenylethylene (TPE) spacers. Extensive experimental and theoretical results show that the emissive intensity of the coordination cages can be controlled by restricting the dynamics of AIE-active molecular rotors though multiple external stimuli. Because the two coordination cages have excellent chemical stability in aqueous solutions (pH stability: 2–10) and impressive AIE characteristics contributed by the molecular rotors, they can be employed as novel biological fluorescent probes for in vitro live-cell imaging.     

利用自由基引发的1,2-炔基迁移实现非活性烯烃的炔膦酰化

研究了1,4-烯炔衍生物与二芳基膦氧化物在银介导下发生的炔酰化反应.该反应利用自由基引发的1,2-炔基迁移策略合成了一系列γ-酮膦氧化物,产率适中.该反应机理可能涉及膦中心自由基与乙烯基的加成、3-exo-dig环化和1,2-炔基迁移等连续的过程,一步形成了C-P、C-C键等化学键,实现了非活性烯烃的双官能化.     

钯催化芳香硝基化合物与烯烃的选择性还原羰化酰胺化反应

与芳香胺相比,芳香硝基化合物具有廉价易得、官能团兼容性好等优点,作为氮源在下游含氮化学品合成中具有广泛的应用.目前烯烃羰化酰胺化反应绝大多数以胺类化合物为氮源,其中直链和支链酰胺产物的选择性主要是通过具有特定电子和位阻特性的配体调控实现.已报道的芳香硝基化合物的还原酰胺化反应研究中,需要外加还原剂或者利用金属羰基化合物Mo(CO)6释放的CO为羰基源和还原剂.本文发展了一种毋须外加还原剂的钯催化芳香硝基化合物与烯烃的还原羰化酰胺化反应新方法.研究发现,钯金属催化剂(特别是离子型)的抗衡阴离子是还原羰化酰胺化反应中化学选择性和羰化区域选择性的关键因素.抗衡阴离子为氯离子、硼酸为助剂时,最优钯前驱物K2PdCl4的产物主要为支链酰胺,此时不同的膦配体并不能调控其区域选择性,这与胺的烯烃酰胺化反应可以通过配体调控羰化的区域选择性表现出明显的不同.含氮中间体原位捕捉、硝基化合物还原下游可能中间体对照实验等研究表明,芳香硝基化合物在以一氧化碳为还原剂的催化还原体系下被完全脱氧还原为氮烯(Ar-N:),再经过烯酰胺中间体进一步烯键还原得到相应的支链酰胺;当离子型钯前驱物的抗衡阴离子配位性较弱时,最优钯前驱物为Pd(CH3CN)4(OTf)2时,以直链酰胺为主要产物,此时不同的膦配体可以调控酰胺化的区域选择性.同样的机理研究表明,在该催化剂体系下芳香硝基化合物首先被还原为芳基胺,然后再发生与现有报道类似的胺类化合物的烯烃羰化酰胺化反应.这两个催化反应体系都表现出了较好的底物适用性,并且可以高效地应用于除草剂(敌稗)的一步合成.本文为以硝基化合物为起始氮源,通过催化控制生成特定含氮中间体,从而可控合成不同的含氮化学品提供了一条新思路.     

Insights into the interactions between DNA and an infinite clamp-like copper (II) complex

Transition Metal Chemistry - A Cu(II) complex [Cu2(phen)2(NAB)2(HO)]n (phen?=?1, 10-phenanthroline and NABH?=?p-N, N-(2-hydroxyethyl)amino benzoic acid) was synthesized, and...     

Synthesis,structure and antioxidant properties of manganese(II), zinc(II) and cobalt(II) complexes with bis(benzimidazol-2-ylmethyl)allylamine

Three new metal complexes, namely: [Mn(AIDB)Cl₂]·DMF (1), [Zn(AIDB)Br₂]·CH₃OH (2) and [Co(AIDB)Cl₂]·CH₃OH (3) having a ligand bis(benzimidazol-2-ylmethyl)allylamine (AIDB), have been synthesized in high yields and characterized by elemental analyses, molar conductivities, IR, UV–Vis spectra and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The structural analysis revealed that all the three complexes 1–3 have five-coordinated trigonal bipyramid geometry where the degree of distorting is 1>3>2. In vitro antioxidant activity assay demonstrates that the complexes 1 and 3 display high scavenging activity against hydroxyl (OH·) and superoxide (O₂^−·) radicals.

     

基于菁染料响应G-四链体结构变化的半胱氨酸检测探针

半胱氨酸是生物体中起着重要作用的还原性氨基酸,其在体内的含量变化可能会诱发机体发生多种病变。因此高选择性、高灵敏度和低成本的半胱氨酸检测技术具有重要意义。目前,高效的半胱氨酸检测方法有毛细管电泳、质谱、高效液相色谱和表面增强拉曼散射等,这些方法往往需要复杂的样品制备和精细的实验仪器,可能会限制其在半胱氨酸检测中的应用。本文利用富含鸟嘌呤的DNA链序列在钾、钠等金属离子诱导下形成对汞离子产生特殊响应的二级结构,而菁染料能够对DNA结构进行识别,并由此引起其超分子聚集形式的改变,致使其紫外和可见光谱性质随之变化。最终以Hg²⁺调控G-四链体与菁染料(ETC)组建的传感器,实现对溶液体系中半胱氨酸高选择性的快速可视化检测。     

超长碳纳米管的结构调控与制备：进展与挑战

碳纳米管由于其优异的性能和广泛的应用,在过去近三十年中引起了研究者广泛的研究兴趣。在众多不同类型的碳纳米管中,超长碳纳米管由于具有厘米级甚至分米级以上的宏观长度和相对完美的结构,展示出了优异的力学、电学、热学等多方面的优异性能,在透明显示、微电子产业、超强纤维、航空航天等领域具有广阔的应用前景。超长碳纳米管的结构控制制备是充分开发其优异性能并实现其实际应用的关键。在过去二十多年间,超长碳纳米管的研究取得了重要的进展。但同时,在结构控制与批量制备方面也面临巨大的挑战,还存在许多尚未解决的科学与技术难题,从而限制了其实际应用。本文对超长碳纳米管的生长机理、结构控制、选择性制备以及优异性能方面的进展及其背后的创新思想进行了系统的回顾;与此同时,讨论了超长碳纳米管近年来的研究进展、目前面临的挑战和未来的重点攻关方向。期望本文能为超长碳纳米管的可控合成、批量制备以及未来应用提供更多的启发和借鉴,为早日实现高质量超长碳纳米管的宏量制备和产业化起到一些推动作用。