超分子组装体激发态手性的响应性

圆偏振发光主要是指手性发光体系激发态的性质。由于其在信息加密、高分辨3D显示和智能传感器等领域的潜在应用而备受关注。圆偏振光除了可以通过物理方法获得,即使用线偏振片和四分之一波片的组合,还可以直接从具有光致发光或电致发光性质的手性材料中获得。目前研究者们已经开发了多种圆偏振发光材料,主要包括手性有机分子、手性金属配合物等小分子发光体系以及手性超分子组装体等复合体系。通过将手性组分与响应性功能基团结合而构筑的响应性自组装发光体系对实现智能圆偏振发光材料的发展起着重要作用。在这篇文章里,我们对手性超分子自组装发光体系对各种外界刺激的响应性能进行了总结和归纳,如光照、pH值、溶剂、温度、金属离子等。本综述通过对各种外部刺激对手性组装体激发态性能影响的总结和讨论,旨在进一步推动智能圆偏振发光材料在多学科领域的应用。     

A Unique Layered Cu-formate Hydrate of Cu(HCOO) 2·1/3H2O: Structures,Dehydration, and Thermal and Magnetic Properties

Anew layered Cu-formate hydrate of Cu(HCOO)₂·1/3H₂O is unique in its water content and the strongly waved (4,4) Cu-formate layers held by interlayer weak axial Cu-O_formate bonds and O-H_water···O_formate hydrogen bonds. The crystal is in orthorhombic space group Pbcn, with cell parameters at 80 K:a=7.9777(2) Å, b=7.3656(2) Å, c=21.0317(5) Å(1 Å=10⁻¹ nm), and V=1235.83(5) ų. The Cu²⁺ ions are in the environments of a square pyramid and elongated octahedron, in a ratio of 1/2 within the structure. In the layer, Cu²⁺ ions are connected by anti-anti formates via short basal Cu-O bonds. The structure remains unchanged until the dehydration that produces the layered anhydrous β-Cu(HCOO)₂, and the possible transformation mechanism, supported by diffraction evidence, is the reorganization of the Cu-O_formate bonds across the parent layers after dehydration. The two phases exhibit anisotropic thermal expansion behaviors closely relevant to the transverse thermal vibrations of the constituents. Cu(HCOO)₂·1/3H₂O is a 2-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet, and exhibits a global spin-canted antiferromagnetism with the Néel temperature of 32.1 K. This is not only higher than that of the magnetically denser β-Cu(HCOO)₂, but also the highest among the copper formate frameworks.     

Metal-Organic Frameworks-derived Indium Clusters/Carbon Nanocomposites for Efficient CO2 Electroreduction

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide into value-added products is a promising way to recycle the greenhouse gas, thus solving the crisis of global warming. Pressing challenges remain in regulating the catalytic selectivity. In this work, we demonstrated a metal-organic frameworks-assisted approach to synthesizing In species loaded on the surface of N doped carbon matrix. By controlling the particle sizes, the catalytic selectivity can be easily altered. The obtained In_c/NC possesses the outstanding capability for converting CO₂ into CO. And 80.09% Faraday efficiency (FE) of CO can be achieved at 0.8 V vs. RHE. While the In₂O₃/C exhibits different catalytic behaviors, the main product is formic acid and the FE is more than 50% at 0.8 V vs. RHE. The selectivity reversal can be attributed to the strong interactions between In clusters and N atoms of carbon supports, which efficiently inhibits the formation of the by-product, formic acid. Our research has paved a new way to modulate catalytic selectivity by manipulating the fine structures of the catalysts.     

A stable chemiluminophore,adamantylideneadamantane 1,2-dioxetane: from fundamental properties to utilities in mechanochemistry and soft crystal science

Chemiluminescence (CL) is a luminescence phenomenon originated by a “chemical reaction.” CL provides a basis for real-time imaging technology in materials science. In fact, a CL reaction is easily triggered in general and makes it possible to track its progress in a target material by highly sensitive photon detection. Recently, real-time CL imagings became breakthrough techniques for analyzing the molecular mechanisms of failures of polymeric materials and of reactions and phase transitions in soft crystals. In the CL imaging techniques, adamantylideneadamantane 1,2-dioxetane (Adox) has been adopted as a stable core structure of chemiluminophores. That is, Adox is an essential seed compound to design a chemiluminophore with a desired molecular function. To support developments of real-time CL imaging techniques, we review the chemistry of Adox as a representative stable chemiluminophore including scientific history and utilities of Adox and its derivatives.     

Theoretical insights into the mechanism of photocatalytic reduction of CO2 over semiconductor catalysts

Photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ is one important approach to alleviate greenhouse gas emission and energy crisis, which has gained huge attention in the past decades. However, the lack of understanding complex reaction mechanism impedes new catalysts design. It is also very difficult to understand the mechanism by using only experimental approaches. For this concern, theoretical calculations can effectively supplement the experimental deficiency and thus play an important role. Recently theoretical calculations have been performed on adsorption, migration and reduction of CO₂ molecule on the photocatalyst surface, leading to useful information that have contributed greatly to this field. This review summarizes recent advances in first-principles calculations about CO₂ photoreduction over various semiconductor photocatalysts like metal oxides, sulfides and g-C₃N₄. The methods, models, adsorption and reaction pathways have been discussed in detail. The perspective about future investigation on the photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ using first principles calculations is also presented.     

Beyond green with synthetic chlorophylls – Connecting structural features with spectral properties

The distinct features of chlorophylls in photosynthesis have led to the formation of numerous derivatives for applications encompassing solar energy conversion, molecular photonics, photodynamic therapy, and molecular imaging. Synthetic chlorins created de novo and bearing a geminal dimethyl group in the reduced ring have proved invaluable for fundamental studies. Four decades of research have led to accumulation of tabulated spectra for > 400 such synthetic chlorins with distinct structural frameworks (17-oxochlorins, 13¹-oxophorbines, chlorinimides) and substituents (alkyl, aryl, ethynyl, phenylethynyl, acetyl, formyl) located at specific (meso, β) positions. In this review, spectral traces (324 absorption, 247 fluorescence) are assembled along with photophysical data including the molar absorption coefficient (ε), fluorescence quantum yield (Φ_f) and singlet excited-state lifetime (τ_s). The review uses the accumulated spectral data derived from chlorins all containing a uniform molecular scaffold to (1) highlight the effects of molecular structure on spectral features, and (2) identify trends including how ε, Φ_f and τ_s vary with wavelength and other features. Use of a common geminal-dimethyl-substituted chlorin scaffold – beginning with no substituents, to one substituent at designated sites, and to 2 or more substituents – provides a systematic Aufbau approach for understanding the absorption spectra of chlorins on a path to and beyond the native chlorophylls. The review provides insights concerning the rational design of potent analogues of Nature’s preeminent red-region absorbers for potential utilization in diverse applications and is aimed at multiple audiences: those interested in spectral properties, tetrapyrrole photophysics, and the molecular design of new chromophores.     

Genetically engineered materials: Proteins and beyond

Information-rich molecules provide opportunities for evolution.Genetically engineered materials are superior in that their properties are coded within genetic sequences and could be fine-tuned.In this review,we elaborate the concept of genetically engineered materials(GEMs)using examples ranging from engineered protein materials to engineered living materials.Proteinbased materials are the materials of choice by nature.Recent progress in protein engineering has led to opportunities to tune their sequences for optimal material performance.Proteins also play a central role in living materials where they act in concert with other biological components as well as nonbiological cofactors,giving rise to living features.While the existing GEMs are often limited to those constructed by building blocks of biological origin,being genetically engineerable does not preclude nonbiologic or synthetic materials,the latter of which have yet to be fully explored.     

Designing a deep-UV nonlinear optical monofluorophosphate

Science China Chemistry - As structural variants of famous hexagonal tungsten bronzes, hexagonal tungsten oxides (HTO) represent an important family with fascinating functional properties, such as...     

Aggregation-induced dual-color luminogen with enhanced chiroptical property

Science China Chemistry -     

Phenylboronic acid-functionalized cross-linked chitosan magnetic adsorbents for the magnetic solid-phase extraction of benzoylurea pesticides

In this study, a 4-formylphenylboronic acid-modified cross-linked chitosan magnetic nanoparticle (FPBA@CCHS@Fe₃O₄) was fabricated. The synthesized material was utilized as the magnetic solid-phase extraction adsorbent for the enrichment of six benzoylurea pesticides. In addition to B-N coordination, FPBA@CCHS@Fe₃O₄ interacts with benzoylureas through hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking interaction on account of rich active groups (amino and hydroxyl) and aromatic rings in structure. Compared to traditional extraction methods, less adsorbent (20 mg) and reduced extraction time (3 min) were achieved. The adsorbent also exhibited good reusability (no less than 10 times). Coupled with a high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detector, satisfactory recoveries (89.1–103.9%) and an acceptable limit of detection (0.2–0.7 μg/L) were obtained. Under optimized conditions, the established method was successfully applied to the tea infusion samples from six major tea categories with acceptable recoveries ranging from 76.8 to 110%, indicating its application potential for the quantitative detection of pesticides in complex matrices.