Novel synthesis of sensor for selective detection of Fe+3 ions under various solvents

Naked-eye colored chemo dosimeter based on vanilline based conjugated sensor was synthesized and characterized. The main point of this paper is that the solvent also affects on selectivity of metals. Vanilline based conjugate sensor exhibited high selectivity and sensitivity for detection of Ferric ions (Fe⁺³) in all (both polar and nonpolar) solvents according to absorbance which can be observed by naked eye. The selectivity was more prominent in nonpolar or less polar solvent due to solubility factor of ions and sensor but not for polar. The detection of limit of the synthesized probes was shown up to 0.84 ppm. The dielectric constant of solvents affected on the complex formation of ligand with transition metal ions. A filter paper strip system was used for rapid monitoring of detection by color variation.     

Heterointerface Engineering of ZnO/CdS Heterostructures through ZnS Layers for Photocatalytic Water Splitting

Solar-driven water splitting to produce clean and renewable hydrogen offers a green strategy to address the energy crisis and environmental pollution. Heterostructure catalysts are receiving increasing attention for photocatalytic hydrogen generation. ZnO/ZnS/CdS and ZnO/CdS heterostructures have been successfully designed and prepared according to two different strategies. By introducing a heterointerface layer of ZnS between ZnO and CdS, a Z scheme charge-transfer channel was promoted and achieved superior photocatalytic performance. A highest hydrogen generation rate of 156.7 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ was achieved by precise control of the thickness of the heterointerface layer and of the CdS shell. These findings demonstrated that heterostructures are promising catalysts for solar-driven water splitting, and that heterointerface engineering is an effective way to improve the photocatalytic properties of heterostructures.     

Improved Reversible Zinc Storage Achieved in a Constitutionally Crystalline-Stable Mn(VO3)2 Nanobelts Cathode

Rechargeable zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are potential for grid-scale applications owing to their safety, low price, and available sources. The development of ZIBs cathode with high specific capacity, wide operating voltage window and stable cyclability is urgently needed in next-generation commercial batteries. Herein, we report a structurally crystalline-stable Mn(VO₃)₂ nanobelts cathode for ZIBs prepared via a facile hydrothermal method. The as-synthesized Mn(VO₃)₂ exhibited high specific capacity of 350 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹, and maintained a capacity retention of 92 % after 10,000 cycles at 2 A g⁻¹. It also showed good rate performance and obtained a reversible capacity of up to 200 mAh g⁻¹ after 600 cycles at 0.2 A g⁻¹ under −20 °C. The electrochemical tests suggest that Mn(VO₃)₂ nanobelts impart fast Zn²⁺ ions migration, and the introduction of manganese atoms help make the structures more indestructible, leading to a good rate performance and prolonged cycle lifespan.     

Addition of SiO2 to the operation of a polyimide cathode in a sodium battery

The effect of the addition of SiO₂ nanoparticles on the properties of a polyimide cathode was explored by CV, XPS, and galvanostatic cycling methods. The capacity and average cycling potential of the cell increased in the presence of SiO₂. By quantum chemical modeling, it was shown that SiO₂ nanoparticles served as a framework for polyimide, which retained its fixed structure upon metalation with sodium.     

Assessing the Importance of Cation Size in the Tetragonal-Cubic Phase Transition in Lithium-Garnet Electrolytes**

Lithium garnets are promising solid-state electrolytes for next-generation lithium-ion batteries. These materials have high ionic conductivity, a wide electrochemical window and stability with Li metal. However, lithium garnets have a maximum limit of seven lithium atoms per formula unit (e.g., La₃Zr₂Li₇O₁₂), before the system transitions from a cubic to a tetragonal phase with poor ionic mobility. This arises from full occupation of the Li sites. Hence, the most conductive lithium garnets have Li between 6–6.55 Li per formula unit, which maintains the cubic symmetry and the disordered Li sub-lattice. The tetragonal phase, however, forms the highly conducting cubic phase at higher temperatures, thought to arise from increased cell volume and entropic stabilisation permitting Li disorder. However, little work has been undertaken in understanding the controlling factors of this phase transition, which could enable enhanced dopant strategies to maintain room temperature cubic garnet at higher Li contents. Here, a series of nine tetragonal garnets were synthesised and analysed by variable temperature XRD to understand the dependence of site substitution on the phase transition temperature. Interestingly the octahedral site cation radius was identified as the key parameter for the transition temperature with larger or smaller dopants altering the transition temperature noticeably. A site substitution was, however, found to make little difference irrespective of significant changes to cell volume.     

Efficient Gating of Ion Transport in Three‐Dimensional Metal–Organic Framework Sub‐Nanochannels with Confined Light‐Responsive Azobenzene Molecules

1D nanochannels modified with responsive molecules are fabricated to replicate gating functionalities of biological ion channels, but gating effects are usually weak because small molecular gates cannot efficiently block the large channels in the closed states. Now, 3D metal–organic framework (MOF) sub‐nanochannels (SNCs) confined with azobenzene (AZO) molecules achieve efficient light‐gating functionalities. The 3D MOFSNCs consisting of a MOF UiO66 with ca. 9–12 Å cavities connected by ca. 6 Å triangular windows work as angstrom‐scale ion channels, while confined AZO within the MOF cavities function as light‐driven molecular gates to efficiently regulate the ion flux. The AZO‐MOFSNCs show good cyclic gating performance and high on–off ratios up to 17.8, an order of magnitude higher than ratios observed in conventional 1D AZO‐modified nanochannels (1.3–1.5). This work provides a strategy to develop highly efficient switchable ion channels based on 3D porous MOFs and small responsive molecules.     

Counterion-Trapped-Molecules: From High Polarity and Enriched IR Spectra to Induced Isomerization

We report extensive computational studies of some novel intermolecular systems and their properties. Recombination of alkali-halide counterions separated by a noncovalently trapped hydrocarbon molecule is prevented by significant potential energy barriers, resulting in unusual metastable insertion complexes. These systems are extremely polar, while the inserted molecule is strongly counter-polarized, leading to significant cooperative nonadditivity effects. The compression and electric field produced by the counterions favours isomerization of the trapped molecule via a significant reduction of the barriers to bond rearrangement, in a field-induced mechanochemical process. The predicted IR intensity spectra clearly reflect (1) formation of the insertion complex, rather than simple attachment of alkali halide, and (2) isomerization of the trapped molecule, thus allowing experimental access to these events.     

Effects of nuclear charge fluctuations on dilepton photoproduction

Fluctuations of dilepton production from two photon interactions γγ→l~+l~- are studied in semicentral and peripheral nuclear collisions.Based on the Weizsacker-Williams approach,electromagnetic(EM) fields generated by moving nuclear charges are approximated as quasi-real photons.As fluctuating EM fields in each collision event are hard to be measured directly in experiments due to its short lifetime,we study the dilepton photoproduction with fluctuating EM fields,which are crucial for the EM fields induced chiral and charged particle evolutions,and calculate the relative standard deviation of the dilepton mass spectrum with the event-by-event fluctuating nuclear charge distributions.This fluctuation effect becomes smaller in more peripheral collisions where the shift of proton positions is implicit for EM fields outside the nucleus.The uncertainty of effective impact parameter △b on the standard deviation is also studied,and its effect is around one-third of the effect of nuclear charge fluctuations when △b is taken as～1 fm.     

OCS分子在128 nm附近的光解动力学研究：S(3PJ=2,1,0)、S(1D2)以及S(1S0)产物通道

本文利用时间切片离子成像技术对OCS分子进行了真空紫外波段的光解动力学研究. 在四个光解光波长(从129.32到126.08 nm)下测量了硫原子解离产物S(³P_J=2,1,0)、S(¹D₂)、S(¹S₀)的速度影像，并从中清晰地发现了四个主要的解离产物通道：S(³P_J=2,1,0)+CO(X¹Σ⁺)，S(³P_J=2,1,0)+CO(A³π)，S(¹D₂)+CO(X¹Σ⁺)和S(¹S₀)+CO(X¹Σ⁺). 在实验影像中，产物CO分子的部分振动态结构能够得到分辨. 实验还获取解离产物总平动能谱，产物分支比和角分布. 对实验结果进行分析显示除绝热解离通道S(³P_J=2,1,0)+CO(A³π)之外，在其他三个产物通道中非绝热效应都起到非常重要的作用.     

OCS经由F 31Π里德堡态生成CO(X1Σ+)+S(1D2)产物的波长相关性光解离

本文利用时间切片离子速度成像技术在134∽140 nm波段研究了OCS分子经由F 3¹Π里德堡态的真空紫外光解离动力学. 在选取的5个分别对应OCS(F 3¹Π, v₁=0∽4)的伸缩振动激发的光解波长，实验测得了来自CO(X¹Σ⁺)+S(¹D₂)产物通道的SS(¹D₂))实验影像，并获得了总平动能谱和CO(X¹Σ⁺, v)共生产物的振动布居及角分布. 结果分析表明OCS分子解离生成CO(X¹Σ⁺)+S(¹D₂)产物的过程经历了上态F 3¹Π 与C_?v和C_s构型的下电子态间非绝热耦合过程. 实验结果显示了很强的波长相关性：OCS (F 3¹Π, v₁)的较低转动激发态(v₁=0∽2)和较高转动激发态(v₁=3, 4)的CO(X¹Σ⁺)产物的振动布居和角分布具有显著差异，表明该解离过程中具有不同的解离机理. 本结果提供了振动耦合可能对真空紫外光解离动力学产生关键作用的相关证据.