Syntheses and structures of two novel fluorescent metal–organic frameworks generated from a tridentate donor–acceptor motif ligand

The tridentate organic ligand 4,4′,4′′‐(4,4,8,8,12,12‐hexamethyl‐8,12‐dihydro‐4H‐benzo[9,1]quinolizino[3,4,5,6,7‐defg]acridine‐2,6,10‐triyl)tribenzoic acid ( H₃L ) has been synthesized (as the methanol 1.25‐solvate, C₄₈H₃₉NO₆·1.25CH₃OH). As a donor–acceptor motif molecule, H₃L possess strong intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) fluorescence. Through hydrogen bonds, H₃L molecules construct a two‐dimensional (2D) network, which pack together into three‐dimensional (3D) networks with an ABC stacking pattern in the crystalline state. Based on H₃L and M(NO₃)₂ salts (M = Cd and Zn) under solvothermal conditions, two metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), namely, catena‐poly[[triaquacadmium(II)]‐μ‐10‐(4‐carboxyphenyl)‐4,4′‐(4,4,8,8,12,12‐hexamethyl‐8,12‐dihydro‐4H‐benzo[9,1]quinolizino[3,4,5,6,7‐defg]acridine‐2,6‐diyl)dibenzoato], [Cd(C₄₈H₃₇NO₆)(H₂O)₃]_n, I , and poly[[μ₃‐4,4′,4′′‐(4,4,8,8,12,12‐hexamethyl‐8,12‐dihydro‐4H‐benzo[9,1]quinolizino[3,4,5,6,7‐defg]acridine‐2,6,10‐triyl)tribenzoato](μ₃‐hydroxido)zinc(II)], [Zn₂(C₄₈H₃₆NO₆)(OH)]_n, II , were synthesized. Single‐crystal analysis revealed that both MOFs adopt a 3D structure. In I , partly deprotonated HL ^2? behaves as a bidentate ligand to link a Cd^II ion to form a one‐dimensional chain. In the solid state of I , the existence of weak interactions, such as O—H…O hydrogen bonds and π–π interactions, plays an essential role in aligning 2D nets and 3D networks with AB packing patterns for I . The deprotonated ligand L ^3? in II is utilized as a tridentate building block to bind Zn^II ions to construct 3D networks, where unusual Zn₄O₁₄ clusters act as connection nodes. As a donor–acceptor molecule, H₃L exhibits fluorescence with a photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 70% in the solid state. In comparison, the PL of both MOFs is red‐shifted with even higher PLQYs of 79 and 85% for I and II , respectively.     

A solvent-governed surface state strategy for rational synthesis of N and S co-doped carbon dots with multicolour fluorescence

ABSTRACT

Multicolour emissive carbon dots (CDs) are widely investigated by virtue of their merits on fluorescent properties. Method on heteroatom doping assisted with various solvents has been proved efficient in achieving multiple-colour-emissive CDs, especially long-wavelength emission. Herein, a synthesis of multicolour-emissive CDs by controlled surface function is reported. By tuning the thermal-pyrolysis temperature and molar ratio of reactants, optimal emission of the resulted CDs gradually shifts from blue to yellow light with the assistance of different solvents. According to the emissive relationship dependent on excitation, fluorescence lifetimes, and FT-IR of these CDs, the different surface states participated with S and N elements on the surface of carbogenic core govern fluorescent colours of the CDs. In terms of the applications, blue CDs (B-CDs) exhibits high sensitivity for ion detections of Ag⁺ and Fe³⁺, which is further illustrated to have different quenching mechanisms each other because that these ions have the affinity interaction with different surface groups of the CDs. Moreover, blue and yellow CDs solutions are mixed with PVP water solution to fabricate white-light CDs/PVP film, which exhibits stable fluorescence with a CIE coordinate of (0.32, 0.33) and endows these CDs as potentially fluorescent nanomaterial in the solid state lighting field.     

Sonochemical approach for synthesis of zinc oxide-poly methyl methacrylate hybrid nanoparticles and its application in corrosion inhibition

Hybrid nanoparticles (HNPs) with zinc oxide and polymethyl metha acrylate (inorganic/ polymer) were synthesized through the exploitation of ultrasound approach. The synthesized HNPs were further characterized employing transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. ZnO-PMMA based HNPs exhibit excellent protection properties to mild steel from corrosion when gets exposed to acidic condition. Electrochemical impendence spectroscopy (EIS) analysis was accomplished to evaluate the corrosion inhibition performance of MS panel coated with 2 wt% or 4 wt% of HNPs and its comparison with bare panel and that of loaded with only standard epoxy coating., Tafel plot and Nyquist plot analysis depicted that the corrosion current density (I_corr) decreases from 16.7 A/m² for bare material to 0.103 A/m² for 4% coating of HNPs. Applied potential (E_corr) values shifted from negative to positive side. These results were further supported by qualitative analysis. The images taken over a period of time indicated the increase in lifetime of MS panel from 2 to 3 days for bare panel to 10 days for HNPs coated panel, showing that ZnO-PMMA HNPs have potential application in metal protection from corrosion by forming a passive layer.     

Ultrasound-assisted immersion freezing reduces the structure and gel property deterioration of myofibrillar protein from chicken breast

The effects of air freezing (AF), immersion freezing (IF) and ultrasound-assisted immersion freezing (UF) at different power levels (125, 165, 205 and 245 W) on the structure and gel properties of the myofibrillar protein (MP) of chicken breast were investigated. UF at 165 W (UF-165) had no obvious negative impact on the primary structure of the MP and effectively reduced the change in the secondary and tertiary structure. In addition, UF-165 significantly reduced the losses in the elastic modulus (G′), gel strength, and gel water holding capacity (P < 0.05). According to low field nuclear magnetic resonance analysis, the T₂₁ and T₂₂ of the UF-165 MP gels were shorter than those of the AF and IF samples, which meant that the UF-165 reduced the mobility of the immobilized water and free water in MP gel. A scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that the appropriate ultrasonic power promoted the formation of a compact and homogeneous protein gel network. These results suggested that the appropriate ultrasonic power maintained the MP structure and reduced the loss of gel quality.     

Insights into the Structure and Energy of DNA Nanoassemblies

Since the pioneering work of Ned Seeman in the early 1980s, the use of the DNA molecule as a construction material experienced a rapid growth and led to the establishment of a new field of science, nowadays called structural DNA nanotechnology. Here, the self-recognition properties of DNA are employed to build micrometer-large molecular objects with nanometer-sized features, thus bridging the nano- to the microscopic world in a programmable fashion. Distinct design strategies and experimental procedures have been developed over the years, enabling the realization of extremely sophisticated structures with a level of control that approaches that of natural macromolecular assemblies. Nevertheless, our understanding of the building process, i.e., what defines the route that goes from the initial mixture of DNA strands to the final intertwined superstructure, is, in some cases, still limited. In this review, we describe the main structural and energetic features of DNA nanoconstructs, from the simple Holliday junction to more complicated DNA architectures, and present the theoretical frameworks that have been formulated until now to explain their self-assembly. Deeper insights into the underlying principles of DNA self-assembly may certainly help us to overcome current experimental challenges and foster the development of original strategies inspired to dissipative and evolutive assembly processes occurring in nature.     

新型非对称二苯并[b,f][1,5]二氮杂环辛四烯的合成

以两种不同取代的2-氨基二苯甲酮为原料,氯苯为溶剂,BF3-Et2O为脱水剂,通过分子间脱水一步环化缩合制备非对称二苯并[b,f][1,5]二氮杂环辛四烯衍生物。运用HPLC监控反应过程,优化合成工艺,得到最佳反应条件为:等物质的量的两种不同取代2-氨基二苯甲酮和BF3-Et2O,在氯苯中回流反应12 h。化合物4a^4c为新化合物,其结构经1H NMR,13C NMR和MS(ESI)表征。     

Dynamical Analysis of a New Chaotic Fractional Discrete-Time System and Its Control

This article proposes a new fractional-order discrete-time chaotic system, without equilibria, included two quadratic nonlinearities terms. The dynamics of this system were experimentally investigated via bifurcation diagrams and largest Lyapunov exponent. Besides, some chaotic tests such as the 0–1 test and approximate entropy (ApEn) were included to detect the performance of our numerical results. Furthermore, a valid control method of stabilization is introduced to regulate the proposed system in such a way as to force all its states to adaptively tend toward the equilibrium point at zero. All theoretical findings in this work have been verified numerically using MATLAB software package.     

Application of ultrasound-assisted physical mixing treatment improves in vitro protein digestibility of rapeseed napin

The in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) of napin was studied using different pretreatment methods, including ultrasound, mixing napin with lactalbumin, and ultrasound-assisted protein mixing. The relationships between IVPD, molecular structure, and disulfide bonds were explored, showing that the IVPD of napin was the highest compared with the control when treated with 40% ultrasound power. When the proportion of napin to lactalbumin was 5:5, a synergistic influence between the two proteins was observed. Further investigation showed that the IVPD of napin was clearly improved by treatment with ultrasound-assisted protein mixing. Compared with the single protein in the control, the β-sheet content in the secondary structure of the mixed protein after sonication was reduced from 45.02% to 37.16%. The ordered protein structure was also disrupted by ultrasound, as supported by fluorescence intensity and surface hydrophobicity analyses. The decreased number of disulfide bonds and conformational changes indicated that the IVPD of rapeseed napin was closely related to the disulfide bond content. This study provides a theoretical basis for improving protein digestibility by combining ultrasound with physical mixing.     

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.