Controllable Preparation of Plasmonic Gold Nanostars for Enhanced Photothermal and SERS Effects

Gold nanostars(Au NSs) are asymmetric anisotropic nanomaterials with sharp edge structure. As a promising branched nanomaterial, Au NS has excellent plasmonic absorption and scattering properties. In order to tune the plasmonic photothermal and surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS) activity of Au NSs to obtain the desired characteristics, the effects of reagents on the local surface plasmon resonance(LSPR) bands of Au NSs were studied and the morphology and size were regulated. Nanoparticles with different sharp edges were synthesized to make their local plasmon resonance mode tunable in the visible and near-infrared region. The effects of the number and sharpness of different tips under the control of AgNO₃ on the photothermal response of Au NSs and the SERS activity and their mechanism were discussed in detail. The results show that as the length of the branch tip becomes longer and the sharpness increases, the plasmonic photothermal effect of Au NSs is strengthened, and the photothermal conversion efficiency is the highest up to 40% when the length of Au NSs is the longest. Au NSs with high SERS activity are used for the Raman detection substrate. Based on this property, the quantitative detection of the pesticide thiram is achieved.     

Effect of Environment on the Scattering of Electrons by a Junction of Different Topological Materials

The studies of electron transport through a junction of topological materials in the literature so far ignore the coupling of a topological material to its surrounding environment. Here, the dynamics of an open system through a stochastic Hamiltonian are simulated to investigate the influence of the environment on the scattering of electrons by a junction of different topological materials, such as a Dirac–Weyl magnetic junction and a topological insulator. It is found that, although the detrimental effect of the environment is inevitable, the Landauer conductance can be enhanced via adjusting the system–environment coupling strength. This result supplies the possibilty of changing the transport feature of topological materials by modulating the surrounded environment. It is also demonstrated that a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian can be used to replace the stochastic Hamiltonian for this study, when the system and the environment coupling are weak.     

Stability analysis of switched fractional-order continuous-time systems

Nonlinear Dynamics - In this paper, a class of switched fractional-order continuous-time systems with order $$0<\alpha <1$$ is investigated. First, an interesting property of...     

o-Trityl phenoxy-imino vanadium (III) complexes: synthesis,characterization, and catalysis on ethylene (co)polymerization

Several phenoxy-imine ligands bearing o-trityl group in phenoxy moiety RN=CHArOH (Ar = C₆H₂(CPh₃)^tBu, R = 2,6-Me₂C₆H₃ ( L ₁ H ); 2,6-ⁱPr₂C₆H₃ ( L ₂ H ); 3,5-(CF₃)₂C₆H₃ ( L ₃ H ); 3,5-(OMe)₂C₆H₃ ( L ₄ H ); CHPh₂ ( L ₅ H ); CPh₃ ( L ₆ H )) were synthesized and characterized by¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The vanadium complexes based on these ligands LVCl₂(THF)₂ ( 1–6 ) were synthesized via conventional transmetalation reaction in moderate to high yields. Complexes 1–6 were fully characterized by FT-IR, elemental analyses and the molecular structures of 1 , 2 ·H₂O, (2 ·H₂O ) ₂ (μ-Cl) ₂ , 4 , and 5 were confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis in which the six-coordinated vanadium centers are in a typical octahedral geometry. Upon activation with Et₂AlCl in toluene, complexes 1–6 showed high activities in ethylene polymerization affording polymers with moderate molecular weight (5.9–11.8 × 10⁴ Da). Moreover, in hexane or CH₂Cl₂, 1–6 /Et₂AlCl exhibited enhanced activities. When activated with MAO or MMAO in toluene, these complexes showed relatively low activities but afforded polymers with ultra-high molecular weight (up to 3.30 × 10⁶ Da). 1–6 /Et₂AlCl also showed high activities in ethylene/1-hexene copolymerization at room temperature giving moderate molecular-weight polymers (6.5–11.4 × 10⁴ Da) with co-monomer incorporation being of 6.0 ~ 7.8%.     

The metabolites and biotransformation pathways in vivo after oral administration of ocotillol,RT5, and PF11

Ocotillol, pseudo-ginsenoside RT5 (RT₅), and pseudo-ginsenoside F₁₁ (PF₁₁) are ocotillol-type saponins that have the same aglycone structure but with different numbers of glucose at the C-6 position. In this study, the metabolites of ocotillol, RT₅, and PF₁₁ in rat plasma, stomach, intestine, urine, and feces after oral administration were investigated by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The results showed that RT₅ was easily biotransformed into metabolites in vivo, whereas PF₁₁ and RT₅ were difficult to be biotransformed. Hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, dehydration, deglycosylation, deoxygenation, hydration, phosphorylation, deoxidation, glucuronidation, and reactions combining amino acid were speculated to be involved in the biotransformation of ocotillol, RT₅, and PF₁₁. Based on the structural analysis of metabolites, it was deduced that hydrogenation, dehydration, deoxidation, and reactions combining amino acid occurred on the aglycone structure, whereas deglycosylation, hydration, and phosphorylation occurred on the glycosyl chain. Further, metabolites in plasma, urine, feces, and tissues were different: First, glucuronidation products were found in urine, stomach, intestine, and feces, but not in plasma. Second, the ocotillol prototype was not identified in urine samples. Third, the RT₅ prototype was found in stomach, intestine, feces, and urine, but not in plasma.     

新型共价交联纳米胶囊的构筑、调控与功能

利用共价自组装的方法，将刚性组装基元与柔性链在一定条件下进行横向交联，可以方便地制备出单层高分子纳米胶囊.相比于传统的非共价超分子囊泡，这种新型的共价纳米胶囊具有结构稳定、尺度可控且分散性优异等诸多优点.因此，如何利用化学合成的手段来制备新型的纳米胶囊，并进一步实现对其结构调控和性能的探究具有十分重要的意义.针对这些问题，分别发展了功能化的柱[5]芳烃、四苯乙烯、卟啉、三嗪、苯硼酸酐等不同类型构筑基元，并使之与两端具有活性位点的柔性烷基链在适当的溶剂中进行聚合反应，最终获得了一系列的共价纳米胶囊.通过对其结构的修饰和调控，发现这些功能化的高分子纳米胶囊在光捕获、人工酶、抗菌材料以及药物载体等领域具有诸多潜在应用价值.未来，新型共价高分子纳米胶囊的开发、功能化以及应用有望得到进一步的拓展.     

Preparation and photocatalytic properties of biomorphic hierarchical WO3 based on bionic rice hull

Research on Chemical Intermediates - In this study, biomorphic WO3-Cx nanomaterial was successfully prepared with rice hull as biological templates. The structure and morphology of the nanomaterial...     

Micro/Nanoengineered α-Fe2O3 Nanoaggregate Conformably Enclosed by Ultrathin N-Doped Carbon Shell for Ultrastable Lithium Storage and Insight into Phase Evolution Mechanism

The Fe-based transition metal oxides are promising anode candidates for lithium storage considering their high specific capacity, low cost, and environmental compatibility. However, the poor electron/ion conductivity and significant volume stress limit their cycle and rate performances. Furthermore, the phenomena of capacity rise and sudden decay for α-Fe₂O₃ have appeared in most reports. Here, a uniform micro/nano α-Fe₂O₃ nanoaggregate conformably enclosed in an ultrathin N-doped carbon network (denoted as M/N-α-Fe₂O₃@NC) is designed. The M/N porous balls combine the merits of secondary nanoparticles to shorten the Li⁺ transportation pathways as well as alleviating volume expansion, and primary microballs to stabilize the electrode/electrolyte interface. Furthermore, the ultrathin carbon shell favors fast electron transfer and protects the electrode from electrolyte corrosion. Therefore, the M/N-α-Fe₂O₃@NC electrode delivers an excellent reversible capacity of 901 mA h g⁻¹ with capacity retention up to 94.0 % after 200 cycles at 0.2 A g⁻¹. Notably, the capacity rise does not happen during cycling. Moreover, the lithium storage mechanism is elucidated by ex situ XRD and HRTEM experiments. It is verified that the reversible phase transformation of α↔γ occurs during the first cycle, whereas only the α-Fe₂O₃ phase is reversibly transformed during subsequent cycles. This study offers a simple and scalable strategy for the practical application of high-performance Fe₂O₃ electrodes.     

The antidepressant effect of 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol 2-naphthoate through monoaminergic,GABAergic system and BDNF signaling pathway

Abstract

Gastrodigenin, also known as 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol (HBA), is one of the main components of Gastrodia elata, which is a perfect lead compound of natural products. In order to get new active compounds, we modified the structure of HBA through esterification with carboxylic acid, and got a series of derivatives in which 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol 2-naphthoate (NHBA) showed stronger antidepressant activity than HBA. In this paper, we firstly evaluated the antidepressant activity of NHBA by tail suspension test (TST) and forced swimming test (FST). Then, we carried out the biochemical assay and western blot to determine its mechanism. The results displayed that NHBA could increase the content of serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, γ-aminobutyric acid, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) in mice brain. It suggested that NHBA exhibited an antidepressant-like effect through monoaminergic system, GABAergic system and BDNF/TrkB signaling pathways.     

白色荧光粉CaF2∶Yb3+/Eu3+/La3+的制备及其上转换发光特性

采用改进的两步高温固相熔融法制备了Yb^3+、Eu^3+、La^3+共掺杂CaF 2的上转换荧光粉。基于荧光猝灭原理,通过改变La^3+掺杂浓度来调节CaF 2∶Yb^3+/Eu^3+材料的发光性能,并在980 nm近红外光激发下,获得了该材料的白色上转换发光(UCL)。在该发光体系中,Yb^3+不仅起到了敏化Eu^3+的作用,同时,Yb^3+二聚体(Yb^3+-dimer)自身合作发出波长范围480~540 nm的绿色荧光。而白光三基色中的绿光正是来自Yb^3+二聚体的合作发光。Eu^3+则作为激活剂,同时发出红色和蓝色荧光。荧光寿命测试结果表明Yb^3+-dimer与Eu^3+之间存在有效的能量传递。值得注意的是,在980 nm激光激发下,1%La^3+掺杂的样品表现出最佳的红、绿、蓝三基色光比列,实现了材料的上转换白光发射,其色度坐标为(0.311,0.340)。