Tolerance factor and phase stability of the garnet structure. Corrigendum

An error in an equation in the paper by Song et al. [ Acta Cryst. (2019), C 75 , 1353–1358 ] is corrected.     

Solidifying framework nucleic acids

正Living organisms have developed their unique strategies during the natural evolution for building hard tissues with minerals, including silica, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, and ferric oxide [1]. Such biomineralized materials generally have complex hierarchical structures with excellent mechanical properties. Although bioinspired approaches have led to the creation of well-defined synthetic structural materials ranging from micro to macro scales, the rational design of discrete biomimetic structures at the nanoscale remains a grand challenge.     

Effects of multiple delays on dynamics of a five-neuron network model

A five-neuron network model with multiple delays is proposed. This paper presents the combined effect of different delays on the dynamics of the proposed network. Pitchfork bifurcation is discussed in detail with the variation of the value of coupled weight or attenuation rate of internal neurons. By analyzing the corresponding characteristic equation, some stable criteria on delay-dependence and delay-independence are derived including multiple delays and coupled weights and the periodic oscillation arises bifurcated from the trivial equilibrium after the network loses its stability. Stable regions on delay-dependence are displayed in the two delayed parameter plane. It is shown that multiple delays can produce stability switching between resting state and periodic activity. Finally, theoretical results are justified by providing two illustrative examples.     

Infinitely many reducts of homogeneous structures

It is shown that the countably infinite dimensional pointed vector space (the vector space equipped with a constant) over a finite field has infinitely many first order definable reducts. This implies that the countable homogeneous Boolean-algebra has infinitely many reducts.     

Hydrophobic Monomers Recognize Microenvironments in Hydrogel Microspheres during Free-Radical-Seeded Emulsion Polymerization

The three-dimensional structure of nanocomposite microgels was precisely determined by cryo-electron micrography. Several nanocomposite microgels that differ with respect to their nanocomposite structure, which were obtained from seeded emulsion polymerization in the presence of microgels, were used as model nanocomposite materials for cryo-electron micrography. The obtained three-dimensional segmentation images of these nanocomposite microgels provide important insights into the interactions between the hydrophobic monomers and the microgels, that is, hydrophobic styrene monomers recognize molecular-scale differences in polarity within the microgels during the emulsion polymerization. This result led to the formation of unprecedented multi-layered nanocomposite microgels, which promise substantial potential in colloidal applications.     

Reverse Thinking of the Aggregation-Induced Emission Principle: Amplifying Molecular Motions to Boost Photothermal Efficiency of Nanofibers**

Using reverse thinking of the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) principle, we demonstrate an ingenious and universal protocol for amplifying molecular motions to boost photothermal efficiency of fibers. Core–shell nanofibers having the olive oil solution of AIE-active molecules as the core surrounded by PVDF-HFP shell were constructed by coaxial electrospinning. The molecularly dissolved state of AIE-active molecules allows them to freely rotate and/or vibrate in nanofibers upon photoexcitation and thus significantly elevates the proportion of non-radiative energy dissipation, affording impressive heat-generating efficiency. Photothermal evaluation shows that the core–shell nanofibers with excellent durability can reach up to 22.36 % of photothermal conversion efficiency, which is 26-fold as the non-core–shell counterpart. Such a core–shell fiber can be used for photothermal textiles and solar steam generation induced by natural sunlight with green and carbon-zero emission.     

Direct Intermediate Regulation Enabled by Sulfur Containers in Working Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Polysulfide intermediates (PSs), the liquid-phase species of active materials in lithium–sulfur (Li-S) batteries, connect the electrochemical reactions between insulative solid sulfur and lithium sulfide and are key to full exertion of the high-energy-density Li-S system. Herein, the concept of sulfur container additives is proposed for the direct modification on the PSs species. By reversible storage and release of the sulfur species, the container molecule converts small PSs into large organosulfur species. The prototype di(tri)sulfide-polyethylene glycol sulfur container is highly efficient in the reversible PS transformation to multiply affect electrochemical behaviors of sulfur cathodes in terms of liquid-species clustering, reaction kinetics, and solid deposition. The stability and capacity of Li-S cells was thereby enhanced. The sulfur container is a strategy to directly modify PSs, enlightening the precise regulation on Li-S batteries and multi-phase electrochemical systems.     

Revealing and comparing different excited-state intramolecular proton transfer processes for 3-(4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-1-(4-fluoro-2-hydroxy-phenyl)-propenone and 3-(4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-1-(4-fluoro-2-hydroxy-phenyl)-3-hydroxy-propenon

Two novel 2′-hydroxychalcone derivatives (i.e., M1 and M2) are explored in this work. We mainly focus on investigating the effects of photoexcitation on hydrogen bonds and on the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) process. On the basis of calculations of electrostatic potential surface and intramolecular interactions, we verify the formation of hydrogen bond O1 H2···O3 in both S₀ and S₁ states. Exploring the ultraviolet–visible spectra in the liquid phase, our simulated results reappear in the experimental phenomenon. Analyzing molecular geometry and infrared stretching vibrational spectra, we confirm O1 H2···O3 is strengthened for both M1 and M2 in the S₁ state. We further confirm that charge redistribution facilitates ESIPT tendency. Constructing potential energy curves, we find the ultrafast ESIPT behavior for M1, which is because of the deficiency of side hydroxyl moiety comparing with M2. This work makes a reasonable affiliation of the ESIPT mechanism for M1 and M2. We wish this paper could facilitate understanding these two novel systems and promote their applications.     

铋化物发光玻璃中银表面等离激元对铒离子的发光增强作用

局域表面等离激元可以由自由空间的光直接激发,这也是局域表面等离激元的优点所在。研究铋化物发光玻璃中纳米银颗粒的表面等离激元对铒离子发光的增强效应、进一步的提高铋化物发光玻璃中铒离子的发光性能很有意义。首先,测量了(A)Er 3+(0.5%)Ag(0.5%):铋化物发光玻璃与(B)Er 3+(0.5%):铋化物发光玻璃样品的吸收谱,发现(A)Er 3+(0.5%)Ag(0.5%):铋化物发光玻璃在约600.0 nm处有一个较弱的宽的银表面等离激元共振吸收峰。同时发现两者都有典型的铒离子的吸收峰,它们的吸收几乎完全一样:在波峰形状、峰值强度和峰值波长等方面都很相近。测量了(A)Er 3+(0.5%)Ag(0.5%):铋化物发光玻璃和(B)Er 3+(0.5%):铋化物发光玻璃样品的激发谱,发现有位于379.0,406.0,451.0,488.0和520.5 nm的5个550.0 nm可见光的可见激发谱峰,和位于379.0,406.5,451.0,488.5,520.5,544.0,651.5和798.0 nm的8个1531.0 nm红外光的红外激发谱峰,容易指认出依次为Er 3+的4I 15/2→4G 11/2,4I 15/2→2H 9/2,4I 15/2→(4F 3/2,4F 5/2),4I 15/2→4F 7/2,4I 15/2→2H 11/2,4I 15/2→4S 3/2,4I 15/2→4F 9/2和4I 15/2→4I 9/2跃迁的吸收峰,通过测量发现(A)Er 3+(0.5%)Ag(0.5%):铋化物发光玻璃相对于(B)Er 3+(0.5%):铋化物发光玻璃样品的可见和红外激发谱的最大增强依次分别是238%和133%。最后,测量了它们的发光谱,发现有位于534.0,547.5和658.5 nm的三组可见发光峰,容易指认出依次为Er 3+的2H 11/2→4I 15/2,4S 3/2→4I 15/2,4F 9/2→4I 15/2荧光跃迁。还发现红外发光峰位于978.0和1531.0 nm,依次为Er 3+的4I 11/2→4I 15/2和4I 13/2→4I 15/2的荧光跃迁。通过测量发现(A)Er 3+(0.5%)Ag(0.5%):铋化物发光玻璃相对于(B)Er 3+(0.5%):铋化物发光玻璃样品的可见和红外发光谱的最大增强依次分别是215%和138%。对于银表面等离激元增强铒离子发光的机理,认为主要为纳米银颗粒的局域表面等离激元共振,造成金属纳米结构附近产生的局域电场的强度要远大于入射光的电场强度,从而导致了金属纳米结构对入射光产生强烈的吸收和散射,进而导致了荧光的增强;即局域表面等离子体共振局域场的场增强效应。