Pd nanoparticles supported on amphiphilic porous organic polymer as an efficient catalyst for aqueous hydrodechlorination and Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions

Developing efficient and recyclable heterogeneous catalysts for organic reactions in water is important for the sustainable development of chemical industry. In this work, Pd nanoparticles supported on DABCO-functionalized porous organic polymer was successfully prepared through an easy copolymerization and successive immobilization method. Characterization results indicated that the prepared catalyst featured big surface area, hierarchical porous structure, and excellent surface amphiphilicity. We demonstrated the use of this amphiphilic catalyst in two case reactions, i.e. the aqueous hydrodechlorination and Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions. Under mild reaction conditions, the catalyst showed high catalytic activities for the two reactions. In addition, the catalyst could be easily recovered and reused for several times. Also, no obvious Pd leaching and aggregation of Pd nanoparticles occurred up during the consecutive reactions.     

Anticancer activity of lanthanum (III) and europium (III) 5-fluorouracil complexes on Caco-2 cell line

Lanthanide complexes are of increasing importance in cancer diagnosis and therapy. In the present study 1:1 and 1:3 solid complexes of La (III)–5-FU (5-fluorouracil) were prepared and characterized. In solution, the formation of 1:1 La (III) and Eu (III) complexes enabled the enhancement of 5-FU's effectiveness. Binding constants of the 1:1 complexes of both metals were estimated using spectrophotometry and HPLC with fluorescence detection methods. The thermodynamic parameters ΔG ^° , ΔH ^° and ΔS ^° were calculated using differential scanning calorimetry. Evaluation of the cytotoxic activity of the 1:1 La (III)- and Eu (III)–5-FU complexes was performed through two methodologies, trypan blue for cell viability where La (III)- and Eu (III)–5-FU complexes were found to have 52,000 and 80,000 dead cells, respectively, and via flow cytometric analysis to measure the apoptotic values, which were found to be 59.87 and 86.86% respectively.     

Synthesis of 4-oxo-6-styryl-4H-pyran-2-carbonitriles and their application for the construction of new 4-pyrone derivatives

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Synthesis of 2-cyano-6-styryl-4-pyrones has been developed on the basis of 6-metylcomanic acid via modifications of the methyl and carboxyl groups. Reactions of...     

Synthesis of 9-Arylhexahydroacridine-1,8-diones Using Phosphate Fertilizers as Heterogeneous Catalysts

Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry - A new strategy has been proposed for the synthesis of 9-arylhexahydroacridine-1,8-diones by three-component condensation of aromatic aldehydes with...     

In-Vivo Soft Tissues Mechanical Characterization: Volume-Based Aspiration Method Validated on Silicones

Experimental Mechanics - Simulating the deformations of soft tissues has gained importance in recent years due to the development of 3D patient-specific biomechanical models in the context of...     

Extension/Compression-Controlled Complete Band Gaps in 2D Chiral Square-Lattice-Like Structures

Achieving tunable band gaps in a structure by external stimuli is of great importance in acoustic applications. This paper aims to investigate the tunability of band gaps in square-lattice-like elastic periodic structures that are usually not featured with notable band gaps.Endowed with chirality, the periodic structures here are able to undergo imperfection-insensitive large deformation under extension or compression. The influences of geometric parameters on band gaps are discussed via the nonlinear finite element method. It is shown that the band gaps in such structures with curved beams can be very rich and, more importantly, can be efficiently and robustly tuned by applying appropriate mechanical loadings without inducing buckling. As expected, geometry plays a more significant role than material nonlinearity does in the evolution of band gaps. The dynamic tunability of band gaps through mechanical loading is further studied. Results show that closing, opening, and shifting of band gaps can be realized by exerting real-time global extension or compression on the structure. The proposed periodic structure with well-designed chiral symmetry can be useful in the design of particular acoustic devices.     

Self-supported metal sulphide nanocrystals-assembled nanosheets on carbon paper as efficient counter electrodes for quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells

Developing efficient counter electrodes (CEs) and quantum dots made of earth-abundant and non-toxic elements is essential but still challenging for quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). Here, we report a facile strategy to prepare self-supported and robust CoS₂ and NiS nanocrystals-assembled nanosheets directly grown on carbon paper (MSx NS@CP) as efficient counter electrodes for QDSSCs. Such CEs integrate the merits of fast electron transfer from interconnected conductive scaffold, efficient mass transfer from hierarchically vertical nanosheet on 3D open substrate, as well as abundant highly active catalytic sites from metal sulphide nanocrystal units. As a result, QDDSCs based on such CoS₂ NS@CP and NiS NS@CP CEs achieve a PCE of 8.88% and 7.53%, respectively. The detailed analyses suggest that CoS₂ NS@CP has the highest catalytic activity and shows the lowest charger transfer resistance, leading to the highest PCE. These findings may inspire the design and exploration of other self-supported efficient CEs by integrating highly active catalysts onto 3D conductive networks for efficient QDSSCs.