Boron doping and structure control of carbon materials for supercapacitor application: the effect of freeze-drying and air-drying for porosity engineering

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - In the present work, we demonstrate a strategy of combining boron doping and porosity engineering for a highly modulated carbon component and pore...     

A note on the longest matching consecutive subsequence

The longest matching consecutive subsequence plays an important role in information theory and molecular biology. We consider the Hausdorff dimension of the set of points whose rate of growth of the longest matching consecutive subsequence is almost equal to a class of monotonically increasing functions.     

Nickel (II) tetrapyridyl complexes as electrocatalysts and precatalysts for water oxidation

Two nickel complexes, [Ni(tpen)](ClO₄)₂.0.5CH₃COCH₃ ( 1 ) and [Ni(tpbn)](ClO₄)₂ ( 2 ), of tetrapyridyl ligands N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(2-pyridyl-methyl)-1,2-ethanediamine (tpen) and N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(2-pyridyl-methyl)-1,4-butanediamine (tpbn) were prepared and their catalysis for water oxidation reaction (WOR) studied. In 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS) of pH 8.0, complex 1 is a homogeneous molecular catalyst with an overpotential of ~440 mV and a Faradaic efficiency of 89%. At pH ≥ 9.0, complex 1 degraded gradually during the catalytic process and formed NiO_x composite (nickel oxide with general formula Ni_xO_yH_z) active for WOR. In contrast, complex 2 deteriorated under measured conditions (pH 8.0–12.0) and formed NiO_x composite active for WOR. The NiO_x composite derived from 1 in 0.1 M PBS at pH 11.0 showed an activity with an overpotential of ~500 mV, a Tafel slope of ~90 mV/decade and a Faradaic efficiency of 97%. Mechanisms were proposed for water oxidation catalyzed by 1 and 2 . This work revealed that the catalytic activity of the nickel complexes was related to the flexibility of the tetrapyridyl ligands and the adaptability of the coordination sphere of the nickel(II) center.     

Redox-Active Two-Dimensional Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) for Selective Reductive Separation of Valence-Variable,Redox-Sensitive and Long-Lived Radionuclides

We report the first example of 2D covalent organic framework nanosheets (Redox-COF1) for the selective reduction and in situ loading of valence-variable, redox-sensitive and long-lived radionuclides (abbreviated as VRL nuclides). Compared with sorbents based on chemical adsorption and physical adsorption, the redox adsorption mechanism of Redox-COF1 can effectively reduce the impact of functional group protonation under the usual high-acidity conditions in chemisorption, and raise the adsorption efficiency from the monotonous capture by pores in physisorption. The adsorption selectivity for UO₂²⁺ reaches up to unprecedented ca. 97 % at pH 3, more than for any analogous adsorbing material.     

Planar AIEgens with Enhanced Solid-State Luminescence and ROS Generation for Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Treatment

Planar luminogens have encountered difficulties in overcoming intrinsic aggregation-caused emission quenching by intermolecular π-π stacking interactions. Although excited-state double-bond reorganization (ESDBR) can guide us on designing planar aggregation-induced emission (AIE) luminogens (AIEgens), its mechanism has yet been elucidated. Major challenges in the field include methods to efficiently restrict ESDBR and enhance AIE performance without using bulky substituents (e.g., tetraphenylethylene and triphenylamine). In this study, we rationally developed fluoro-substituent AIEgens with stronger intermolecular H-bonding interaction for restricted molecular motions and increased crystal density, leading to decreased nonradiative decay rate by one order of magnitude. The adjusted ESDBR properties also show a corresponding response to variation in viscosity. Furthermore, their aggregation-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generations have been discovered. The application of such planar AIEgen in treating multidrug-resistant bacteria has been demonstrated in a mouse model. The relationship between ROS generation and distinct E/Z-configurational stacking behaviors have been further understood, providing a design principle for synthesizing planar AIEgen-based photosensitizers.     

间二甲苯分子在不同外电场下结构和解离特性研究

间二甲苯是挥发性有机物(VOCs, Volatile Organic Compounds)的关键活性成分,研究其在外电场下的性质十分重要.采用密度泛函理论(DFT),在B3LYP/6-311G++基组水平上对间二甲苯分子进行优化,从分子结构研究了不同外电场(-0.025 a.u.～0.025 a.u.)作用下,间二甲苯分子的总能量,键长,电偶极矩,前线轨道,红外光谱和解离势能面.计算结果表明,沿两甲基中C原子连线方向的电场(-0.025 a.u.～0.025 a.u.)增加时,分子总能量和能隙先增大后减小,电偶极矩先减小后增加.通过计算发现外电场对间二甲苯分子不同键长和不同振动模式的红外光谱的影响均有所不同.间二甲苯分子的解离特性表现为:沿两甲基中C原子连线方向施加强度超过0.047 a. u.的电场时,位于电场增加方向的甲基与苯环之间起连接作用的C-C键断裂.以上计算结果可为利用电场降解间二甲苯提供重要理论参考.     

Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Zinc Phosphate with 28‐Ring Channels

An organic–inorganic hybrid zinc phosphate with 28‐ring channels was synthesized by use of an organic ligand instead of organic amine template under a hydro(solvo)thermal condition. This crystalline zinc phosphate contains large channels constructed from 28 zinc and phosphate tetrahedral units. The walls of the channels consist of two types of zincophosphate chains, in which the Zn atoms are coordinated by 2,4,5‐tri(4‐pyridyl)‐imidazole ligands as pendent groups. This compound exhibits yellow emission and interesting properties of removing cobalt, cadmium, and mercury cations from aqueous solution. A new two‐dimensional organic–inorganic hybrid zincophosphate was also obtained by changing the solvent mixture ratios in the synthesis.     

Deep oxidative desulfurization of benzothiophene and dibenzothiophene with a peroxophosphotungstate–ionic liquid brush assembly

A novel, efficient and reusable heterogeneous catalytic assembly of peroxophosphotungstate held in an ionic liquid brush was synthesized and an extraction and catalytic oxidative desulfurization (ECODS) procedure was developed for a model oil of benzothiophene (BT) and dibenzothiophene (DBT) using 30 wt% hydrogen peroxide as terminal oxidant and methanol as solvent under mild conditions. Several factors that affect sulfur removal were investigated in detail. The highest sulfur removal can reach 100% for BT in 7 h at 70 °C when the molar ratio of H₂O₂, S and catalyst is 10:1:0.025. The sulfur removal for DBT can also reach 100% in 4 h at 50 °C with the same molar ratio of H₂O₂, S and catalyst. The experimental results demonstrate that this ECODS process has no apparent scale‐up effect. The catalyst can be easily recovered (via simple filtration) and recycled five times without a significant decrease in activity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.