Copper-cobalt-nickel oxide nanowire arrays on copper foams as self-standing anode materials for lithium ion batteries

Numerous scientists are in the pursuit of energy storage materials with high energy and high power density by assembly of electrochemically active materials into conductive scaffolds, owing to the emerging need for next-generation energy storage devices. In this architectures, the active materials bonded to the conductive scaffold can provide a robust and free-standing structure, which is crucial to the fabrication of materials with high gravimetric capacity. Thus, hierarchical copper-cobalt-nickel ternary oxide (CuCoNi-oxide) nanowire arrays grown from copper foam were successfully fabricated as free-standing anode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). CuCoNi-oxide nanowire arrays could provide more active sites owing to the hyperbranched structure, leading to a better specific capacity of 1191 mAh/g, cycle performance of 73% retention in comparison to CuO nanowire structure, which exhibited a specific capacity of 1029 mAh/g and capacity retention of 43%, respectively.     

Selective annulation of benzamides with internal alkynes catalyzed by an electron-deficient rhodium catalyst

An electron-deficient [Cp^ERhCl₂]₂ catalyzed annulation of N-pentafluorophenylbenzamides with internal alkynes was successfully established under mild reaction conditions, with the assistance of Lewis acid silver salt. Particularly, electron-deficient benzamide substrates were smoothly transformed into the desired products in this catalytic system. The catalytic system showed a broad tolerance for different substituents on the aromatic rings or aryl, alkyl-substituted alkynes.     

用于可充电器件的有机电极材料

有机化合物作为可充电器件的电极材料可以通过自身电活性部位电荷状态的变化来实现本征的氧化还原反应。除了锂离子电池外,有机电极材料还可以用于其他离子半径更大的金属离子电池(如Na⁺、K⁺、Mg²⁺、Zn²⁺等)。有机电极材料还具有诸多优势,比如结构多样、成本低廉、资源丰富和可持续性高,易于通过适当的材料设计调整其性能等,已被证明在可充电器件中具有重要的应用潜力。然而,有机电极的实际应用仍需要解决一些关键问题,例如导电性差和在常规有机电解液中溶解等。本文介绍了各种具有不同氧化还原活性中心的有机电极材料及其反应机理,包括有机硫化物、有机自由基、亚胺类化合物、偶氮化合物和羰基化合物;重点总结了有机羰基化合物电极材料在性能改善方面的策略以及近5年在可充电器件中的应用;最后,讨论了有机电极材料需要应对的挑战以及未来的机遇。     

普适的基于能量的分块局域激发态聚类算法

在普适的基于能量的分块(GEBF)方法的框架下, 大体系的局域激发(LE)能可通过一系列活性子体系激发能的线性组合近似得到, 从而有效降低了计算的时间标度. 然而, 在体系的局域激发具有多个激发态的情形下, 如何有效识别所有活性子体系的激发特征并将其组合是一个挑战. 提出了一种基于局域激发态聚类的算法. 该方案基于空穴-电子分析和基于密度的聚类(DBSCAN)机器学习算法, 可以自动地聚合不同子体系中最相似的激发态并组合得到相应的局域激发态能量或激发能. 结合该算法改进的LE-GEBF方法在荧光分子衍生物、 荧光染料-水团簇及绿色荧光蛋白模型体系的计算中均获得了令人满意的结果. 该算法有望大大提升LE-GEBF方法在计算局域激发时的稳定性和准确性, 并可以有效处理吸收光谱具有多重峰的大体系.     

醋酸铜促进的酰胺-噁唑啉化合物与芳基硫醇的C—H键双硫代化反应研究

以酰胺-噁唑啉为辅助基团,在廉价的醋酸铜促进下,实现了酰胺衍生物C(sp2)—H键与芳基硫醇S—H键的脱氢偶联反应;以中等到优秀的产率(最高可达90%)简单高效地合成了一系列双硫化的酰胺衍生物.值得一提的是,底物范围并不局限于各种取代苯基酰胺化合物,吡啶基酰胺化合物也可以兼容.该反应的特点是:金属廉价、底物范围广、反应条件温和、无需外加配体、空气作为氧化剂、区域选择性好(仅酰胺基团邻位的C—H键发生反应,而噁唑啉基团邻位的C—H键不发生反应);此外,克级规模的反应表明了其在合成中的实用性.     

多金属氧酸盐材料在二氧化碳电催化还原领域中的研究进展

随着工业发展和全球人口的持续增长,人类对化石燃料的消耗日益增加,从而导致大气中二氧化碳含量的显著增加以及与之相伴的一系列环境问题.电化学还原二氧化碳制备高附加值的燃料和化学品具有稳定的效率和较高的经济可行性等特点,目前已成为一种有前景的策略来缓解当前全球面临的能源短缺和气候变暖问题.然而,电催化二氧化碳还原过程存在反应能垒高和复杂的多电子/质子耦合过程等不足,因此,合理有效的电催化剂设计成为该领域的关键问题.近年,理解和明确电化学二氧化碳还原反应过程的活性起源、选择性调控机制和催化反应机理已成为高效电催化剂设计过程中的重要指导原则.作为一类独特的纳米尺度的金属氧簇,多金属氧酸盐(多酸)已成为二氧化碳还原领域的热点材料.尤其是,多酸明确的结构、优越的电子/质子存储转移能力和二氧化碳吸附活化能力有助于探究二氧化碳还原反应过程中的活性起源和构效机制.因此,利用多酸阐明电化学二氧化碳还原反应中的这些关键问题对于开发高效、可实用化的电催化剂意义重大.本文综述了近年多酸在电催化二氧化碳还原反应中取得的进展,重点介绍了多酸阴离子均相分子催化剂、多酸基无机-有机杂化材料催化剂、多酸电解质溶液、多酸-纳米复合材料在电催化二氧化碳还原反应中的应用.利用密度泛函理论结合原位实验证据推测了可能的反应机理,探讨了多酸对电催化活性和产物选择性的影响,揭示了电子/质子存储-转移过程和多酸表面修饰工程在电催化二氧化碳还原过程中的重要作用.最后,本文还分析了多酸基材料存在的问题与面临的挑战,并对多酸基材料在二氧化碳还原领域的未来发展进行了展望,这对理解电催化二氧化碳还原反应中的关键步骤和开发新型高效的电催化二氧化碳还原电催化剂具有启发意义.     

具有高稳定性以及光催化产氢活性的奇数环状异金属钛氧纳米团簇

利用太阳能是解决当前能源危机和环境问题的有效途径.二氧化钛是一种稳定性高、环境友好的新型光催化剂.近年来,具有精确结构信息的晶态钛氧团簇(PTCs)作为TiO₂的分子结构模型受到广泛关注.目前大多数PTCs含有烷氧基,在空气中易发生水解.这在很大程度上限制了对其光催化性能的研究.在无机钛氧簇的外围修饰大量的共轭有机配体是一种有效提升PTCs稳定性的方法.此外,异金属的嵌入有助于修饰微观电子结构,从而也将影响光催化性能.铝是地球上最丰富的金属元素,其水解产物也大量存在于地壳表面.因此,Ti和Al的水解和光催化研究引起了我们的兴趣.目前,只有少数几例低核的Al掺杂PTCs晶态材料被报道,且其制备过程都需要多步反应.因此,合成高核的包含Al的PTCs材料是一项有趣且充满挑战的工作.本文利用有机配体的保护和异金属离子的掺杂成功地提高了PTCs晶体材料的稳定性.通过研究Ti和Al离子的水解,制备了一例核-壳型的纳米轮簇[Al₇Ti₁₄(μ2-O)₇(μ3-O)₁₄(L)₃₅]·2CH₃CN(1;L=苯甲酸).该轮簇中包含罕见的奇数环状结构,是目前核数最高的包含Al的PTC.借助单晶X射线衍射可以清晰观察到无机{Al₇Ti₁₄}核与有机保护配体之间的配位模式.此外,利用红外光谱、热重和漫反射光谱对该化合物进行了进一步表征.有机配体层和Al³⁺占据了T_i⁴⁺周围的烷氧基位点,使得该化合物呈现较高的空气、热以及酸碱稳定性.在已报道的PTCs晶态材料中,该化合物也展现出较高的光催化产氢速率(402.88μmol g^-1h^-1).借助催化过程中的光致变色现象、电子顺磁共振谱、荧光光谱以及光电流响应,我们推测了该化合物催化水分解产氢机理.该项工作不仅为制备稳定的PTCs材料提供了基础,也为新型光催化剂的设计提供了新的思路.     

Preparation and physicochemical properties of konjac glucomannan ibuprofen ester as a polysaccharide-drug conjugate

Abstract

A novel drug-polysaccharide conjugate with konjac glucomannan (KGM) as a drug carrier was fabricated through the esterification of ibuprofen (IBU), an anti-inflammatory drug, with KGM. The influences of the reaction conditions, such as the amount of ibuprofen acryl chloride, reaction time, reaction temperature, and the amount of catalyst, on the degree of substitution were investigated. KGM ibuprofen ester (KGM-IBU) was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), solid-state ¹³C NMR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The hydrophobic structure of IBU in KGM-IBU was proven by the fluorescence emission spectra of pyrene. In addition, by using commercially available ibuprofen sustained-release capsules (IBU-SRC) as a control, the in vitro controlled release performance of KGM-IBU was evaluated. The cumulative release of IBU-SRC within 36?h was 94%, while that of KGM-IBU within 36?h was 77%. The results showed that KGM-IBU had better sustained-release performance without a burst release effect. The obtained products could be used as a potential biocompatible sustained-release drug delivery system.     

Chemical Composition of a Novel Distillate from Fermented Mixture of Nine Anti-Inflammatory Herbs and Its UVB-Protective Efficacy in Mouse Dorsal Skin via Attenuating Collagen Disruption and Inflammation

Since ancient times, various herbs have been used in Asia, including Korea, China, and Japan, for wound healing and antiaging of the skin. In this study, we manufactured and chemically analyzed a novel distillate obtained from a fermented mixture of nine anti-inflammatory herbs (Angelica gigas, Lonicera japonica, Dictamnus dasycarpus Turcz., D. opposita Thunb., Ulmus davidiana var. japonica, Hordeum vulgare var. hexastichon Aschers., Xanthium strumarium L., Cnidium officinale, and Houttuynia cordata Thunb.). The fermentation of natural plants possesses beneficial effects in living systems. These activities are attributed to the chemical conversion of the parent plants to functional constituents which show more potent biological activities. In our current study, the distillate has been manufactured after fermenting the nine oriental medical plants with Lactobacillus fermentum, followed by distilling. We analyzed the chemical ingredients involved in the distillate and evaluated the effects of topical application of the distillate on ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced skin damage in Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice. Topical application of the distillate significantly ameliorated the macroscopic and microscopic morphology of the dorsal skin against photodamage induced by UVB radiation. Additionally, our current results showed that topical application of the distillate alleviated collagen disruption and reduced levels of proinflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1 β expressions) in the dorsal skin against UVB radiation. Taken together, our current findings suggest that the distillate has a potential to be used as a material to develop a photoprotective adjuvant.     

Thermal behaviors and kinetic analysis of two natural kaolinite samples selected from Qingshuihe region in Inner Mongolia in China

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The thermal characteristic behaviors of two kaolinite samples selected from Qingshuihe region in Inner Mongolia in China were studied through...