Tuning Emission Wavelength of Polymorphous Crystal via Controllable Alkyl Chain Stacking and Its Vapor- and Thermo-Responsive Fluorescence

Tuning fluorescence colour of solid-state materials has become a topic of increasing interest for both fundamental mechanism study and practical applications such as sensors, optical recording and security printing. In this work, a fluorescent colour tuneable molecule BA-C16 is rationally designed and facilely synthesized by attaching flexible long alkyl chains to 2-hydroxybenzophenone azine ( BA ), which shows both aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) characteristics. Compared to BA , the simple introduction of long alkyl chains in BA-C16 leads to an emission wavelength redshift from 542 to 558 nm. This strategy of extending emission wavelength is rarely reported, and is ascribed to the enlarged through-space π-conjugation between interplanar molecules in the aggregate of BA-C16 . Three crystals of BA-C16 are obtained with green, yellowish green and yellow emission. According to characterization by X-ray crystallography, X-ray powder diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry, alkyl chains play an important role in inducing different stacking modes of the three crystals, which further leads to polymorph-dependent fluorescence colour. BA-C16 exhibits tuneable solid-state fluorescence upon vapor fumigation, or annealing based on a transition between a “near-monomer” crystalline state and a “dimer” crystalline state. BA-C16 is further applied for rewritable fluorescence printing tuned by vapor- and thermal-treatment.     

Twining Poly(polyoxometalate) Chains into Nanoropes

Organic polymers and inorganic clusters belong to two different disciplines and have completely different properties and structures. When a cluster is attached to the backbone of a polymer as a pendant, the resultant hybrid polymers (polyclusters) exhibit unique behaviours totally different from those of conventional polymers owing to the nanoscale size of the cluster and its particular interactions. Herein, the aggregation of a poly(polyoxometalate)—a polynorbornene backbone with inorganic polyoxometalate cluster pendants—upon addition of a non-solvent to its dilute solution is reported. A three-dimensional network of tangled and snake-like nanothreads was observed. Direct visualisation of individual nanoscale clusters enabled identification of single chains within the nanothreads. These observations suggest that during the process of aggregation, the hybrid polymer forms curved or extended chains as a consequence of an armouring effect in which the collapsed cluster pendants wrap around the backbone. The collapse occurs because they become less soluble in the solvent/non-solvent mixture. The extended chains then become entwined and form nanoropes consisting of multiple chains wound around each other. This study provides a deeper understanding of the nature of polyclusters and should also prove useful for their future development and application.     

Binding and cytotoxicity of 131I-labeled gastrin-releasing peptide receptor antagonists modified by cell penetrating peptides

Gastrin releasing peptide receptors (GRPRs) are one of the most interesting targets over expressed in various tumors. Due to the superior potential of the GRPR antagonist analogs, they have been studied in the tumor radio imaging and therapy field. However, typical antagonists suffered the shortcomings of no internalization and poor binding affinity which hampered their applications in radiotherapy. Therefore, we attempted to introduce Oligoarginines (cell penetrating peptides) to RM26, aiming to increase the binding affinity or even trigger the internalization of the peptides on cells. The results showed Arg₆ as the most potent CPP, significantly enhanced the binding avidity of RM26 to the GRPR.

     

PLA/EMAG共混物的制备与表征

通过熔融共混挤出法制备了不同乙烯-丙烯酸甲酯-甲基丙烯酸缩水甘油酯(EMAG)含量下的聚乳酸(PLA)/EMAG共混物,考察共混体系中EMAG与PLA基体之间的相互作用,研究了PLA/EMAG共混物的结晶性能、力学性能、熔体指数、加工性能以及热稳定性.表征结果显示:EMAG中的环氧基团与PLA的端羟基或端羧基发生化学反应,形成反应性共混体系,PLA/EMAG共混物的韧性较纯PLA有大幅提高,在EMAG含量为15;时达到最大.     

Catalytic amplification based on hole-transporting materials as efficient metal-free electrocatalysts for non-enzymatic glucose sensing

Hole-transporting materials with tunable structures and properties are mainly applied in organic light-emitting diodes as transport layer. But their catalytic properties as signal amplifiers in biological assays are seldom reported. In this paper, a starburst molecule, 4,4,4″-tri(N-carbazolyl)-triphenylamine (TCT), containing a triphenylamine as the central core and three carbazoles as the peripheral functional groups was designed and synthesized. Subsequently, the hole-transporting material based on the TCT polymer, poly(TCT) (PTCT), was achieved via a low-cost electrochemical method and exploited as an efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for non-enzymatic glucose detection. Here, this hole-transporting material served three purposes: electrochemical recognition (owing to hydrogen bonding interaction and the biomimetic microenvironment created by the polymer), electrocatalysis (owing to the hole-transporting capability of triphenylamine and the catalytic property of carbazole), and signal amplification (owing to energy migration along the conductive polymer backbone). The electrocatalytic and sensing performances of the sensor based on PTCT were evaluated in detail. Results revealed that the PTCT film could efficiently catalyze the oxidation of glucose at a less-positive potential (+0.20 V) in the absence of any enzymes. The response to glucose was linear in the concentration range of 1.0–6000 μM, and the detection limit was 0.20 μM. With good stability and selectivity, the proposed sensor could be feasibly applied to detect glucose in practical samples. The encouraging sensing performances suggest that the hole-transporting material is one of the promising biomimetic catalysts for electrocatalysis and relevant fields.     

Characterization of Lignin Compounds at the Molecular Level: Mass Spectrometry Analysis and Raw Data Processing

Lignin is the second most abundant natural biopolymer, which is a potential alternative to conventional fossil fuels. It is also a promising material for the recovery of valuable chemicals such as aromatic compounds as well as an important biomarker for terrestrial organic matter. Lignin is currently produced in large quantities as a by-product of chemical pulping and cellulosic ethanol processes. Consequently, analytical methods are required to assess the content of valuable chemicals contained in these complex lignin wastes. This review is devoted to the application of mass spectrometry, including data analysis strategies, for the elemental and structural elucidation of lignin products. We describe and critically evaluate how these methods have contributed to progress and trends in the utilization of lignin in chemical synthesis, materials, energy, and geochemistry.     

g-C3N4催化石墨化碳质材料的制备及光催化性能研究

通常采用以氢氧化物作为造孔剂,过渡金属硝酸盐或氯化物作为石墨化催化剂的传统两步法策略制备多孔石墨化碳材料。然而制备过程中多涉及有毒和腐蚀性试剂,且多步骤的过程耗时较长。本文以双氰胺为原料通过热缩聚反应得到g-C₃N₄,采用高铁酸钾为催化剂一步法实现g-C₃N₄的同步碳化-石墨化,并研究其光催化性能。与传统的两步法相比,该方法耗时少、效率高、无污染。与初始的g-C₃N₄材料相比,石墨化g-C₃N₄衍生碳质材料不仅显著改善了可见光的吸收,而且大大增强了光催化活性。研究了不同石墨化温度对g-C₃N₄衍生碳质材料在可见光下降解甲基橙溶液的影响。700 ℃下制备的衍生碳质材料的降解率为12.4 mg/g。光电化学测试结果表明,多孔g-C₃N₄衍生碳质材料的光生载流子密度、电荷分离和光电流(提高了5.4倍)均得到显著提高。因此,该简便、灵活方法为提高g-C₃N₄衍生碳质材料的吸附和光催化性能提供了一种有前景的、高效的途径。     

Strategies for Improving the Catalytic Performance of 2D Covalent Organic Frameworks for Hydrogen Evolution and Oxygen Evolution Reactions

Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) have been deemed as clean and sustainable strategies to solve the energy crisis and environmental problems. Various catalysts have been developed to promote the process of HER and OER. Among them, two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (2D COFs) have received great attention due to their diverse and designable structure. In this minireview, we mainly summarize the diverse linkages of 2D COFs and strategies for enhancing the catalytic performance of 2D COFs for HER and OER, such as introducing active building blocks, metal ions and tailored linkages. Furthermore, a brief outlook for the development directions of COFs in the field of HER and OER is provided, expecting to stimulate new opportunities in future research.