Flavonoid glycosides from Persea caerulea. Unraveling their interactions with SDS‐micelles through matrix‐assisted DOSY,PGSE, mass spectrometry,and NOESY

Two flavonoid glycosides derived from rhamnopyranoside ( 1 ) and arabinofuranoside ( 2 ) have been isolated from leaves of Persea caerulea for the first time. The structures of 1 and 2 have been established by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and IR spectroscopy, together with LC–ESI–TOF and LC–ESI–IT MS spectrometry. From the MS and MS/MS data, the molecular weights of the intact molecules as well as those of quercetin and kaempferol together with their sugar moieties were deduced. The NMR data provided information on the identity of the compounds, as well as the α and β configurations and the position of the glycosides on quercetin and kaempferol. We have also explored the application of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) normal micelles in binary aqueous solution, at a range of concentrations, to the diffusion resolution of these two glycosides, by the application of matrix‐assisted diffusion ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) and pulse field gradient spin echo (PGSE) methodologies, showing that SDS micelles offer a significant resolution which can, in part, be rationalized in terms of differing degrees of hydrophobicity, amphiphilicity, and steric effects. In addition, intra‐residue and inter‐residue proton–proton distances using nuclear Overhauser effect build‐up curves were used to elucidate the conformational preferences of these two flavonoid glycosides when interacting with the micelles. By the combination of both diffusion and nuclear Overhauser spectroscopy techniques, the average location site of kaempferol and quercetin glycosides has been postulated, with the former exhibiting a clear insertion into the interior of the SDS‐micelle, whereas the latter is placed closer to the surface. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Temperature‐dependent phase‐segregation behavior and antifouling performance of UV‐curable methacrylated PDMS/PEG coatings

Controllable phase segregation adjustment for immiscible polymer blends has always been tough, which hinders the development of amphiphilic antifouling coatings from more accessible blends. Herein, methacrylated poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS‐MA) was synthesized and mixed with poly(ethylene glycol)methylether methacrylate (PEG‐MA). It was interestingly discovered that these PDMS‐MA/PEG‐MA blends displayed upper critical solution temperatures (UCST) due to thermo‐induced conformational change of PEG‐MA and the UCST changed with PDMS‐MA/PEG‐MA mass ratios. Micro‐/nano‐phase segregation, nanophase segregation, or homogenous morphology were therefore achieved. These PDMS‐MA/PEG‐MA blends with different mass ratios were UV‐cured under varying temperatures to fabricate coatings. Their surface morphology and wettability are readily adjusted by phase segregation. For the first time, highly hydrophilic surface was achieved for coatings with microphase segregation because of the exposure of PEG‐rich domains, which exhibited an enhanced protein resistance against bovine serum albumin (BSA). Anti‐bacterial performance (Shewanella loihica) was also observed for these PDMS/PEG coatings. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 1612–1623     

TiO2 photocatalysis for the degradation of pollutants in gas phase: From morphological design to plasmonic enhancement

TiO₂-based photocatalysis has become a viable technology in various application fields such as (waste)water purification, photovoltaics/artificial photosynthesis, environmentally friendly organic synthesis and remediation of air pollution. Because of the increasing impact of bad air quality worldwide, this review focuses on the use and optimization of TiO₂-based photocatalysts for gas phase applications. Over the past years various specific aspects of TiO₂ photocatalysis have been reviewed individually. The intent of this review is to offer a broad tutorial on (recent) trends in TiO₂ photocatalyst modification for the intensification of photocatalytic air treatment. After briefly introducing the fundamentals of photocatalysis, TiO₂ photocatalyst modification is discussed both on a morphological and an electronic level from the perspective of gas phase applications. The main focus is laid on recent developments, but also possible opportunities to the field. This review is intended as a solid introduction for researchers new to the field, as well as a summarizing update for established investigators.     

Tailorable PC71BM Isomers: Using the Most Prevalent Electron Acceptor to Obtain High‐Performance Polymer Solar Cells

Despite being widely used as electron acceptor in polymer solar cells, commercially available PC₇₁BM (phenyl‐C₇₁‐butyric acid methyl ester) usually has a “random” composition of mixed regioisomers or stereoisomers. Here PC₇₁BM has been isolated into three typical isomers, α‐, β₁‐ and β₂‐PC₇₁BM, to establish the isomer‐dependent photovoltaic performance on changing the ternary composition of α‐, β₁‐ and β₂‐PC₇₁BM. Mixing the isomers in a ratio of α/β₁/β₂=8:1:1 resulted in the best power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.67 % for the polymer solar cells with PTB7:PC₇₁BM as photoactive layer (PTB7=poly[[4,8‐bis[(2‐ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene‐2,6‐diyl][3‐fluoro‐2‐[(2‐ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4‐b]thiophenediyl]]). The three typical PC₇₁BM isomers, even though sharing similar LUMO energy levels and light absorption, render starkly different photovoltaic performances with average‐performing PCE of 1.28–7.44 % due to diverse self‐aggregation of individual or mixed PC₇₁BM isomers in the otherwise same polymer solar cells.     

Comparative analysis of shape memory-based self-healing coatings

Self-healing materials exhibit the ability to repair and to recover their functionality upon damage. Here, we report on an investigation into preparation and characterization of shape memory assisted self-healing coatings. We built on past work in which poly(ε-caprolactone) electrospun fibers were infiltrated with a shape memory epoxy matrix and delve into fabricating and characterizing a coating with the same materials, but employing a blending approach, polymerization induced phase separation. After applying controlled damage, the ability of both coatings to self-heal upon heating was investigated. In both methods, coatings showed excellent thermally induced crack closure and protection against corrosion, with the blend approach being more suitable for large-scale applications given its process simplicity. Two different approaches to the preparation of shape memory-based self-healing coatings were compared for their ability to heal structurally and functionally by heating. These two approaches, electrospinning versus polymerization-induced phase separation were found to feature comparable and quite complete healing, with the latter system offering the advantage of facile processing. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 1415–1426     

Metal Oxide Assisted Preparation of Core–Shell Beads with Dense Metal–Organic Framework Coatings for the Enhanced Extraction of Organic Pollutants

Dense and homogeneous metal–organic framework (MOF) coatings on functional bead surfaces are easily prepared by using intermediate sacrificial metal oxide coatings containing the metal precursor of the MOF. Polystyrene (PS) beads are coated with a ZnO layer to give ZnO@PS core–shell beads. The ZnO@PS beads are reactive in the presence of 2‐methylimidazole to transform part of the ZnO coating into a porous zeolitic imidazolate framework‐8 (ZIF‐8) external shell positioned above the internal ZnO precursor shell. The obtained ZIF‐8@ZnO@PS beads can be easily packed in column format for flow‐through applications, such as the solid‐phase extraction of trace priority‐listed environmental pollutants. The prepared material shows an excellent permeance to flow when packed as a column to give high enrichment factors, facile regeneration, and excellent reusability for the extraction of the pollutant bisphenol A. It also shows an outstanding performance for the simultaneous enrichment of mixtures of endocrine disrupting chemicals (bisphenol A, 4‐tert‐octylphenol and 4‐n‐nonylphenol), facilitating their analysis when present at very low levels (<1 μg L^?1) in drinking waters. For the extraction of the pollutant bisphenol A, the prepared ZIF‐8@ZnO@PS beads also show a superior extraction and preconcentration capacity to that of the PS beads used as precursors and the composite materials obtained by the direct growth of ZIF‐8 on the surface of the PS beads in the absence of metal oxide intermediate coatings.     

Ba3V2S4O3: A Mott Insulating Frustrated Quasi‐One‐Dimensional S=1 Magnet

Through a solid‐state reaction, a practically phase pure powder of Ba₃V₂S₄O₃ was obtained. The crystal structure was confirmed by X‐ray single‐crystal and synchrotron X‐ray powder diffraction (P6₃, a=10.1620(2), c=5.93212(1) Å). X‐ray absorption spectroscopy, in conjunction with multiplet calculations, clearly describes the vanadium in charge‐disproportionated V^IIIS₆ and V^VSO₃ coordinations. The compound is shown to be a strongly correlated Mott insulator, which contradicts previous predictions. Magnetic and specific heat measurements suggest dominant antiferromagnetic spin interactions concomitant with a weak residual ferromagnetic component, and that intrinsic geometric frustration prevents long‐range order from evolving.     

New soft porous frameworks based on lambda-zirconium phosphate and aliphatic dicarboxylates: Synthesis and structural characterization

New dicarboxylate-functionalized pillared materials with a general formula of λ-ZrPO₄(OH)_1-x(OOC(CH₂)_nCOO)_x/2(dmso) (n=6, 8 and 10) have been prepared by post-synthesis modification of the inorganic layers of λ-zirconium phosphate (λ-ZrP), where the superficial Chloride monovalent anionic ligands of λ-layer are partially exchanged with the divalent anionic ligands of a series of long-chain aliphatic dicarboxylic acids, namely octanedioic acid, decanedioic acid and dodecanedioic acid. The synthesized materials are characterized by X-ray diffractometry, FT-IR spectrophotometry, elemental and thermogravimetric analyses. The X-ray diffraction patterns show that the obtained solid phases are pure. Furthermore, the interlayer distance of λ-ZrP systematically increases from 1.02 to 1.59 nm as a result of the incorporation of the mentioned acids inside the interlayer gallery.     

Miscible blends of poly(ethylene oxide) with brush copolymers of poly(vinyl alcohol)‐graft‐poly(l‐lactide)

Even though poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) is immiscible with both poly(l ‐lactide) (PLLA) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), this article shows a working route to obtain miscible blends based on these polymers. The miscibility of these polymers has been analyzed using the solubility parameter approach to choose the proper ratios of the constituents of the blend. Then, PVA has been grafted with l ‐lactide (LLA) through ring‐opening polymerization to obtain a poly(vinyl alcohol)‐graft‐poly(l ‐lactide) (PVA‐g‐PLLA) brush copolymer with 82 mol % LLA according to ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopies. PEO has been blended with the PVA‐g‐PLLA brush copolymer and the miscibility of the system has been analyzed by DSC, FTIR, OM, and SEM. The particular architecture of the blends results in DSC traces lacking clearly distinguishable glass transitions that have been explained considering self‐concentration effects (Lodge and McLeish) and the associated concentration fluctuations. Fortunately, the FTIR analysis is conclusive regarding the miscibility and the specific interactions in these systems. Melting point depression analysis suggests that interactions of intermediate strength and PLOM and SEM reveal homogeneous morphologies for the PEO/PVA‐g‐PLLA blends. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 1217–1226