Rational Design and Application of a Redox‐Active,Photoresponsive, Discrete Metallogelator

A photoresponsive discrete metallogelator was rationally designed by incorporating a photochromic azobenzene subunit in the structure of a redox‐active ferrocene–peptide conjugate. The target molecule was purposefully equipped with a dipeptide unit capable of self‐assembly in response to sonication. The designed molecule was shown to undergo supramolecular self‐assembly and achieve organogelation in response to ultrasound, light, heat, and redox signals. The sol–gel phase transition of the designed gelator was found to be sensitive to a plethora of input stimuli, allowing the application of the sol–gel transition behavior in basic logic gate operations. A gel‐based NOT logic gate operation was realized when the redox‐active property of the organogel was examined by using different oxidizing agents. The smart response of the gelator was further exploited in designing XOR operations under oxidizing or non‐oxidizing conditions.     

Synthesis,Properties, and Redox Behavior of 1,1,4,4‐Tetracyano‐2‐ferrocenyl‐1,3‐butadienes Connected by Aryl,Biaryl, and Teraryl Spacers

Aryl‐substituted 1,1,4,4‐tetracyano‐1,3‐butadienes (FcTCBDs) and bis(1,1,4,4‐tetracyanobutadiene)s (bis‐FcTCBDs), possessing a ferrocenyl group on each terminal, were prepared by the reaction of a variety of alkynes with tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) in a [2+2] cycloaddition reaction, followed by retro‐electrocyclization of the initially formed [2+2] cycloadducts (i.e., cyclobutene derivatives). The characteristic intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) between the donor (ferrocene) and acceptor (TCBD) moieties were investigated by using UV/Vis spectroscopy. The redox behaviors of FcTCBDs and bis‐FcTCBDs were examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), which revealed their properties of multi‐electron transfer depending on the number of ferrocene and TCBD moieties. Moreover, significant color changes were observed by visible spectroscopy under the electrochemical reduction conditions.     

Fabrication and microstructural characterization of functionally graded porous acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and the effect of cellular morphology on creep behavior

The ability to control material properties in space and time for functionally graded viscoelastic materials makes them an asset where they can be adapted to different design requirements. The continuous microstructure makes them advantageous over conventional composite materials. Functionally graded porous structures have the added advantage over conventional functionally graded materials of offering a significant weight reduction compared to a minor drop in strength. Functionally graded porous structures of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) had been fabricated with a solid‐state constrained foaming process. Correlating the microstructure to material properties requires a deterministic analysis of the cellular structure. This is accomplished by analyzing the scanning electron microscopy images with a locally adaptive image threshold technique based on variational energy minimization. This characterization technique of the cellular morphology is analyst independent and works very well for porous structures. Inferences are drawn from the effect of processing on microstructure and then correlated to creep strain and creep compliance. Creep is strongly correlated to porosity and pore sizes but more associated to the size than to porosity. The results show the potential of controlling the cellular morphology and hence tailoring creep strain/compliance of ABS to some desired values. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 795–803     

Molecular structure and properties of click hydrogels with controlled dangling end defect

In this study, controlled amount of dangling ends is introduced to the two series of poly(ethylene glycol)‐based hydrogel networks with three and four crosslinking functionality by using click chemistry. The structure of the gels with regulated defect percentage is confirmed by comparing the results of low‐field NMR characterization and Monte Carlo simulation. The mechanical properties of these gels were characterized by tensile stress–strain behaviors of the gels, and the results are analyzed by Gent model and Mooney–Rivlin model. The shear modulus of the swollen gels is found to be dependent on the functionality of the network, and decreases with the defect percentage. Furthermore, the value of shear modulus well obeys the Phantom model for all the gels with varied percentage of the defects. The maximum extension ratio, obtained from the fitting of Gent model, is also found to be dependent on the functionality of the network, and does not change with the defect percentage, except at very high defect percentage. The value of the maximum extension ratio is between that predicted from Phantom model and the Affine model. This indicates that at the large deformation, the fluctuation of the crosslinking points is suppressed for some extend but still exists. Polymer volume fractions at various defect percentages obtained from prediction of Flory–Rehner model are found to be in well agreement with the swelling experiment. All these results indicate that click chemistry is a powerful method to regulate the network structure and mechanical properties of the gels. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 1227–1236     

Synthesis of Redox-Active Photochromic Phenanthrene Derivatives

A phenanthrene unit has been functionalized by several methylthiophene units in order to bring it a photochromic behavior. These compounds were characterized by NMR, absorption and emission spectroscopies, theoretical calculations as well as cyclic voltammetry. The association of a phenanthrene group with a photochromic center could open the door to a new generation of organic field-effect transistors.     

不同晶体结构Gd2(MoO4)3:Eu3+荧光粉的合成及其发光性能研究

采用溶胶凝胶-燃烧法,柠檬酸为络合剂合成出系列Gd₂(MoO₄)₃:Eu³⁺荧光粉.利用X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和荧光光谱对样品的结构、形貌和发光性能进行了研究.XRD分析表明:稀土离子与柠檬酸为1:0.5时,800℃热处理获得单斜结构的Gd₂(MoO₄)₃:Eu³⁺荧光粉.单斜结构的Gd₂(MoO₄)₃:Eu³⁺荧光粉到正交结构的Gd₂(MoO₄)₃:Eu³⁺荧光粉的转换可以通过改变稀土离子与柠檬酸摩尔比和热处理温度等合成条件实现.Gd₂(MoO₄)₃:Eu³⁺荧光粉的形貌受合成条件的影响.荧光光谱研究表明:Gd₂(MoO₄)₃:Eu³⁺荧光粉的主发射峰位于616 nm处来自于Eu³⁺的⁵D₀→⁷F₂电偶极跃迁.正交结构的Gd₂(MoO₄)₃:Eu³⁺荧光粉发射强度明显高于单斜结构的荧光粉.计算⁵D₀→⁷F₂与⁵D₀→⁷F₁跃迁发射的相对强度比值表明:正交结构的Gd₂(MoO₄)₃:Eu³⁺中Eu³⁺局域环境的对称性较高。     

Active Intermediates in Copper Nitrite Reductase Reactions Probed by a Cryotrapping‐Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Approach

Redox active metalloenzymes catalyse a range of biochemical processes essential for life. However, due to their complex reaction mechanisms, and often, their poor optical signals, detailed mechanistic understandings of them are limited. Here, we develop a cryoreduction approach coupled to electron paramagnetic resonance measurements to study electron transfer between the copper centers in the copper nitrite reductase (CuNiR) family of enzymes. Unlike alternative methods used to study electron transfer reactions, the cryoreduction approach presented here allows observation of the redox state of both metal centers, a direct read‐out of electron transfer, determines the presence of the substrate/product in the active site and shows the importance of protein motion in inter‐copper electron transfer catalyzed by CuNiRs. Cryoreduction‐EPR is broadly applicable for the study of electron transfer in other redox enzymes and paves the way to explore transient states in multiple redox‐center containing proteins (homo and hetero metal ions).     

酰胺功能化修饰琼脂糖/硅胶复合材料的制备及吸附性能研究

采用溶胶-凝胶法,以氧化琼脂糖和四甲氧基硅烷为前驱体,通过水解、缩聚反应制得琼脂糖/硅胶复合材料,进一步利用开环、"巯-烯"点击和酰胺化反应对复合材料实现酰胺基团功能化修饰.借助红外光谱(FT-IR)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)对所制备复合材料进行结构、组成和微观形貌表征.以制备的酰胺功能化修饰琼脂糖/硅胶复合材料为吸附剂,探讨其对莱克多巴胺的吸附过程,实验考察了溶剂、吸附时间、莱克多巴胺的初始浓度等对吸附的影响.结果表明:经过修饰反应酰胺基团成功接枝到琼脂糖/硅胶复合材料,该材料颗粒呈球形,粒径在2～3μm之间;复合材料对莱克多巴胺表现出良好的吸附性能,吸附过程50 min达到平衡,适合准二级动力学特征,属化学吸附,吸附等温线符合Freundlich模型;复合材料经过6次吸附解析,再生后对莱克多巴胺的吸附率仅有小幅下降,表明具有较好的循环再生吸附能力.