Investigation of mononuclear,dinuclear, and trinuclear transition metal (II) complexes derived from an asymmetric Salamo‐based ligand possessing three different coordination modes

A new asymmetric Salamo‐based ligand H₂L was synthesized using 3‐tert‐butyl‐salicylaldehyde and 6‐methoxy‐2‐[O‐(1‐ethyloxyamide)]‐oxime‐1‐phenol. By adjusting the ratio of the ligand H₂L and Cu (II), Co (II), and Ni (II) ions, mononuclear, dinuclear, and trinuclear transition metal (II) complexes, [Cu(L)], [{Co(L)}₂], and [{Ni(L)(CH₃COO)(CH₃CH₂OH)}₂Ni] with the ligand H₂L possessing completely different coordination modes were obtained, respectively. The optical spectra of ligand H₂L and its Cu (II), Co (II) and Ni (II) complexes were investigated. The Cu (II) complex is a mononuclear structure, and the Cu (II) atom is tetracoordinated to form a planar quadrilateral structure. The Co (II) complex is dinuclear, and the two Co (II) atoms are pentacoordinated and have coordination geometries of distorted triangular bipyramid. The Ni (II) complex is a trinuclear structure, and the terminal and central Ni (II) atoms are all hexacoordinated, forming distorted octahedral geometries. Furthermore, optical properties including UV–Vis, IR, and fluorescence of the Cu (II), Co (II), and Ni (II) complexes were investigated. Finally, the antibacterial activities of the Cu (II), Co (II), and Ni (II) complexes were explored. According to the experimental results, the inhibitory effect was found to be enhanced with increasing concentrations of the Cu (II), Co (II), and Ni (II) complexes.     

Dynamic Variation of Excitonic Coupling in Excited Bilayer Graphene Quantum Dots?

The intermolecular interaction determines the photophysical properties of the organic aggregates, which are critical to the performance of organic photovoltaics. Here, excitonic coupling, an important intermolecular interaction in organic aggregates, between the π-stacking graphene quantum dots is studied by using transient absorption spectroscopy. We find that the spectral evolution of the ground state bleach arises from the dynamic variation of the excitonic coupling in the excited π-stacks. According to the spectral simulations, we demonstrate that the kinetics of the vibronic peak can be exploited as a probe to measure the dynamics of excitonic coupling in the excited π-stacks.     

A stable pillared metal–organic framework constructed by H4TCPP ligand as luminescent sensor for selective detection of TNP and Fe3+ ions

A novel luminescent metal–organic framework ( Zn‐TCPP/BPY ) with pillared structure based on 2,3,5,6‐tetrakis(4‐carboxyphenyl)pyrazine (H₄TCPP) and 4,4′‐bipyridine (BPY) has been designed and synthesized through a solvothermal reaction. The [Zn₂(COO)₄] paddlewheel units are linked by TCPP^4? ligands to form two‐dimensional layers and further connected by BPY ligands as pillars to construct the twofold interpenetrating three‐dimensional framework. Interestingly, Zn‐TCPP/BPY possesses outstanding stability in organic solvents and water as well as maintains its structural rigidity in aqueous solutions of different pH values (3–12). After activation, Zn‐TCPP/BPY possesses permanent porosity with Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area of 630 m² g^–1. Remarkably, Zn‐TCPP/BPY displays excellent fluorescent property in virtue of the aggregation‐induced emission effect of the H₄TCPP ligand, which can be highly active and quenched by small amounts of 2,4,6‐trinitrophenol (TNP) and Fe³⁺ ions. Furthermore, the detection effect of Zn‐TCPP/BPY remains basically the same even after five cycles. The excellent stability, high sensitivity, and recyclability of Zn‐TCPP/BPY make it an outstanding chemical sensor for detecting TNP and Fe³⁺ ions.     

Uniform stability of semilinear wave equations with arbitrary local memory effects versus frictional dampings

This paper is concerned with the mixed initial–boundary value problem for semilinear wave equations with complementary frictional dampings and memory effects. We successfully establish uniform exponential and polynomial decay rates for the solutions to this initial–boundary value problem under much weak conditions concerning memory effects. More specifically, we obtain the exponential and polynomial decay rates after removing the fundamental condition that the memory-effect region includes a part of the system boundary, while the condition is a necessity in the previous literature; moreover, for the polynomial decay rates we only assume minimal conditions on the memory kernel function g, without the usual assumption of $g^{\prime }$ controlled by g.     

[Ru(dcbpy)2dppz]2+/Fullerene Cosensitized PTB7-Th for Ultrasensitive Photoelectrochemical MicroRNA Assay

A new cosensitization photoelectrochemical (PEC) strategy was established by using a donor–acceptor-type photoactive material, poly{4,8-bis[5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl-alt-3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4-b]thiophene-4,6-diyl} (PTB7-Th), as a signal indicator, which was cosensitized with bis(4,4′dicarboxyl-2,2′-bipyridyl)(4,5,9,14-tetraazabenzo[b]triphenylene)ruthenium(II) ([Ru(dcbpy)₂dppz]²⁺) embedded in the grooves of the DNA duplex and fullerene (nano-C₆₀) immobilized on the surface of DNA nanoflowers for microRNA assay. [Ru(dcbpy)₂dppz]²⁺ and nano-C₆₀ could effectively enhance the photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of PTB7-Th as a result of well-matched energy levels among nano-C₆₀, [Ru(dcbpy)₂dppz]²⁺ and PTB7-Th, leading to a clearly enhanced photocurrent signal. Meanwhile, a target recycling magnification technique based on duplex-specific nuclease was applied in this work to obtain higher detection sensitivity. The proposed biosensor demonstrated excellent analytical properties within a linear detection range of 2.5 fm to 2.5 nm and a limit of detection down to 0.83 fm . Impressively, this cosensitization PEC strategy offers an effective and convenient avenue to significantly improve the PCE of a photoactive material, resulting in a remarkably improved photocurrent signal for ultrasensitive and highly accurate detection of various targets.     

A pH-Sensitive Zwitterionic Iron Complex Probe with High Biocompatibility for Tumor-Specific Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Accurate diagnosis of tumor characteristics, including its location and boundary, is of immense value to subsequent therapy. Activatable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents that respond to tumor-specific microenvironments, such as the redox state, pH, and enzyme activity, enable better mapping of tumor tissue. However, the practical application of most reported activatable agents is hampered by problems including potential toxicity, inefficient elimination, and slow activation. In this study, we developed a zwitterionic iron complex (Fe-ZDS) as a positive MRI contrast agent for tumor-specific imaging. Fe-ZDS could dissociate in weakly acidic solution rapidly, accompanied by clear longitudinal relaxivity (r₁) enhancement, which enabled the complex to act as a pH-sensitive contrast agent for tumor-specific MR imaging. In vivo experiments showed that Fe-ZDS rapidly enhanced the tumor-to-normal contrast ratio by >40 %, which assisted in distinguishing the tumor boundary. Furthermore, Fe-ZDS circulated freely in the bloodstream and was excreted relatively safely via kidneys owing to its zwitterionic nature. Therefore, Fe-ZDS is an ideal candidate for a tumor-specific MRI contrast agent and holds considerable potential for clinical translation.     

Effect of Bamboo Flour (BF) Content on the Dynamic Rheological Characteristics of BF-filled High-density Polyethylene (HDPE)

The effects of bamboo flour (BF) content on the dynamic rheological properties of BF-filled HDPE composites were investigated. Our findings showed that the addition of BF caused an enhancement of the non-Newtonianism of wood-plastic composites (WPCs) melt as well as the appearance of some new relaxation processes. In addition, the viscosity and modulus of the BF-filled HDPE composites showed a remarkable increase at 170?°C and 190?°C when the BF content exceeded 30%, which could be associated with the solid-like property of the WPCs at high BF loading, we propose. The present study we suggest will be useful to the formula design as well as the optimization of processing parameters for WPCs in general.     

Applicability of ~9Be global optical potential to reactions of ~(7,10,11,12)Be

Elastic scattering angular distributions and total reaction cross-sections of ~(7,10,11,12)Be projectiles are predicted by the systematic ~9 Be global phenomenological optical model potential for target mass numbers ranging from24 to 209. These predictions provide a detailed analysis by their comparison with the available experimental data.Furthermore, these elastic scattering observables are also predicted for some targets out of the mass number range.The results are in reasonable agreement with the existing experimental data, and they are presented in this study.     

Bis-tridentate IrIII Phosphors Bearing Two Fused Five-Six-Membered Metallacycles: A Strategy to Improved Photostability of Blue Emitters

Iridium complexes bearing chelating cyclometalates are popular choices as dopant emitters in the fabrication of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). In this contribution, we report a series of blue-emitting, bis-tridentate Ir^III complexes bearing chelates with two fused five-six-membered metallacycles, which are in sharp contrast to the traditional designs of tridentate chelates that form the alternative, fused five-five metallacycles. Five Ir^III complexes, Px-21 – 23 , Cz-4 , and Cz-5 , have been synthesized that contain a coordinated dicarbene pincer chelate incorporating a methylene spacer and a dianionic chromophoric chelate possessing either a phenoxy or carbazolyl appendage to tune the coordination arrangement. All these tridentate chelates afford peripheral ligand–metal–ligand bite angles of 166–170°, which are larger than the typical bite angle of 153–155° observed for their five-five-coordinated tridentate counterparts, thereby leading to reduced geometrical distortion in the octahedral frameworks. Photophysical measurements and TD-DFT studies verified the inherent transition characteristics that give rise to high emission efficiency, and photodegradation experiments confirmed the improved stability in comparison with the benchmark fac-[Ir(ppy)₃] in degassed toluene at room temperature. Phosphorescent OLED devices were also fabricated, among which the carbazolyl-functionalized emitter Cz-5 exhibited the best performance among all the studied bis-tridentate phosphors, showing a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE_max) of 18.7 % and CIE_x,y coordinates of (0.145, 0.218), with a slightly reduced EQE of 13.7 % at 100 cd m⁻² due to efficiency roll-off.     

Nickel‐Catalyzed Arylboration of Alkenylarenes: Synthesis of Boron‐Substituted Quaternary Carbons and Regiodivergent Reactions

A method for the construction of boron‐substituted quaternary carbons or diarylquaternary carbons by arylboration of highly substituted alkenylarenes is presented. A wide range of alkenes and arylbromides can participate in this reaction thus allowing for a diverse assortment of products to be prepared. In addition, a solvent dependent regiodivergent arylboration of 1,2‐disubstituted alkenylarenes is presented, thus greatly increasing the scope of products that can be accessed.