Efficient removal of crystal violet and methylene blue from wastewater by ultrasound nanoparticles Cu-MOF in comparison with mechanosynthesis method

The present investigation reports the synthesis of CuBTC (BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate) metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) under solid-state conditions and ultrasound irradiation. Herein, we study uptake and release properties of crystal violet (CV) and methylene blue (MB) from ultrasound nano-CuBTC MOF in comparison with mechanosynthesis method (bulk structure). The ultrasound-assisted methods give a decrease in the surface area as calculated from the reduced nitrogen adsorption capability. In comparison, the uptake of guest molecules on ultrasound nano-CuBTC is remarkable and clearly exceeds that of bulk structure in the aqueous solution of guests. In bulk compound the channel length is increased so that the amount of adsorption is decreased a little. The small guest enters and leaves the cavity rapidly, whereas larger guests enter slowly due to their size relative to the size of the gaps in the capsule. As a result, the uptake and release of MB from CuBTC is faster than that of CV.     

Investigation on slot-die coating of hybrid material structure for OLED lightings

With an attempt to fabricate large-area OLED lighting panels, we investigate slot-die coating of a small molecule (SM) hole transport layer (HTL). It is observed that SM HTL films formed by spin coating exhibit pinhole-like surface, whereas the films by slot-die coating show micro-sized hillocks due to agglomeration. As the plate temperature of the slot coater is increased, smaller hillocks appear more densely. To tackle it, a small amount of a polymer HTL is added into the SM HTL (Hybrid HTL). By the aid of entangled polymer chains, small molecules are prohibited from migrating and thus agglomerations disappear. The peak-to-peak roughness of the slot-coated hybrid HTL films is measured to be about 11.5 nm, which is slightly higher than that (~7 nm) of the polymer HTL film, but much lower than that (~1071 nm) of the SM HTL film. Similar results are also observed in spin-coated films. It is also addressed that OLED with the hybrid HTL shows higher luminous efficacy, compared to OLED with the SM HTL or the polymer HTL. We have further demonstrated that the dissolution problem occurring between two stacked layers with different solvents during slot-die coating can be suppressed to a great extent using such a combination of materials in hybrid structure.     

FeOOH Nanocubes Anchored on Carbon Ribbons for Use in Li/O2 Batteries

A composite of FeOOH nanocubes anchored on carbon ribbons has been synthesized and used as a cathode material for Li/O₂ batteries. Fe²⁺ ion-exchanged resin serves as a precursor for both FeOOH nanocubes and carbon ribbons, which are formed simultaneously. The as-prepared FeOOH cubes are proposed to have a core–shell structure, with FeOOH as the shell and Prussian blue as the core, based on information from XPS, TEM, and EDS mapping. As a cathode material for Li/O₂ batteries, FeOOH delivers a specific capacity of 14816 mA h g⁻¹_cathode with a cycling stability of 67 cycles over 400 h. The high performance is related to the low overpotential of the oxygen reduction/evolution reaction on FeOOH. The cube structure, the supporting carbon ribbons, and the -OOH moieties all contribute to the low overpotential. The discharge product Li₂O₂ can be efficiently decomposed in the FeOOH cathode after a charging process, leading to higher cycling stability. Its high activity and stability make FeOOH a good candidate for use in non-aqueous Li/O₂ batteries.     

Blue electroluminescent materials based on indeno[1,2-a]arene derivatives for Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

Abstract

In this study, as a continuous effort for searching efficient blue-emitting materials, we designed and synthesized materials based on indeno[1,2-a]arene. OLED devices using these materials were fabricated in the following sequence; ITO (180?nm)/N,N'-diphenyl-N,N'-(2-napthyl)-(1,1'-phenyl)-4,4'-diamine (NPB) (50?nm)/emitting materials (30?nm)/4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (Bphen) (30?nm)/Liq/Al (2/100?nm). Particularly, a device using 7,7-dimethyl-7H-indeno[1,2-a]pyrene as emitter showed maximum values of luminous efficiency, power efficiency, and external quantum efficiency of 1.10?cd/A, 0.49?lm/W, 1.47% at 20?mA/cm², respectively with CIE (x,y) coordinates of (0.15, 0.08) at 6.0V.     

Theory of nematic–smectic phase separation in thin twisted liquid crystal cells

Recently it has been shown experimentally by the authors that a highly twisted thin nematic cell at low temperatures can separate into a smectic A region in the middle of the cell surrounded by twisted nematic layers at the boundaries. In this case the twist is expelled into the nematic layers and the nematic–smectic A transition temperature is strongly depressed. We present a thermodynamic theory of such a phase transition in a twisted nematic cell, taking into account that the smectic A slab inside the nematic cell can be stable only if the decrease of free energy in the smectic region overcomes the increase in distortion energy of the twist deformation in the nematic layers plus the energy of the nematic–smectic A interface. In such a system the equilibrium thickness of the smectic A slab corresponds to the minimum of the total free energy of the whole cell, which includes all the bulk and surface contributions. Existing experimental data are at least qualitatively explained by the results of the present theory. This opens a unique possibility to study the properties of the nematic–smectic interface which is perpendicular to the smectic layers.     

Monodisperse Six-Armed Starbursts based on Truxene-Cored Multibranched Oligofluorenes: Design,Synthesis, and Stabilized Lasing Characteristics

A series of monodisperse six-armed conjugated starbursts ( Tr1F , Tr2F , and Tr3F ) containing a truxene core and multibranched oligofluorene bridges capped with diphenylamine (DPA) units has been designed, synthesized, and investigated as robust gain media for organic semiconductor lasers (OSLs). The influence of electron-rich DPA end groups on their optoelectronic characteristics has been discussed at length. DPA cappers effectively raise HOMO levels of the starbursts, thus enhancing the hole injection and transport ability. Solution-processed electroluminescence devices based on the resulting six-armed starbursts exhibited efficient deep-blue electroluminescence with clear reduced turn-on voltages (3.2–3.5 V). Moreover, the resulting six-armed molecules showed stabilized electroluminescence and amplified spontaneous emission with low thresholds (27.4–63.9 nJ pulse⁻¹), high net gain coefficients (80.1–101.3 cm⁻¹), and small optical loss (2.6–4.4 cm⁻¹). Distributed feedback OSLs made from Tr3F exhibited a low lasing threshold of 0.31 kW cm⁻² (at 465 nm). The results suggest that the construction of truxene-centered six-armed conjugated starbursts with the incorporation of DPA units can effectively enhance EL properties by precisely regulating the HOMO energy levels, and further optimizing their optical gain properties.     

Alkali Blues: Blue-Emissive Alkali Metal Pyrrolates

2-Iminopyrroles [H^tBuL, 4-tert-butyl phenyl(pyrrol-2-ylmethylene)amine] are non-fluorescent π systems. However, they display blue fluorescence after deprotonation with alkali metal bases in the solid state and in solution at room temperature. In the solid state, the alkali metal 2-imino pyrrolates, M(^tBuL), aggregate to dimers, [M(^tBuL)(NCR)]₂ (M=Li, R=CH₃, CH(CH₃)CNH₂), or polymers, [M(^tBuL)]_n (M=Na, K). In solution (solv=CH₃CN, DMSO, THF, and toluene), solvated, uncharged monomeric species M(^tBuL)(solv)_m with N,N′-chelated alkali metal ions are present. Due to the electron-rich pyrrolate and the electron-poor arylimino moiety, the M(^tBuL) chromophore possesses a low-energy intraligand charge-transfer (ILCT) excited state. The chelated alkali cations rigidify the chromophore, restricting intramolecular motions (RIM) by the chelation-enhanced fluorescence (CHEF) effect in solution and, consequently, switch-on a blue fluorescence emission.