A density functional computational investigation on electronic properties of the stable irregular boron fullerenes with 20–56 atoms

The various irregular B_n (n=20‐56) cages are optimized at the B3LYP/6‐311G level. The geometries and electronic properties are systemically discussed. New B₂₄ and B₂₈ geometries are revealed. The calculated results show that the number of polygonal vacancies is apparently increased as the size of irregular cages being increased and that the irregular cage configurations with uneven distribution of different sized holes enhances the stabilities of the fullerenelike cages. The magic numbers of stabilities are predicted to be B₄₈. HOMO and LUMO gaps are discussed. Furthermore, the delocalized π orbitals are mainly distributed around the polygonal vacancies of irregular cages and enhance the stabilities of the irregular boron cages. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

高分散Fe-N-C氧还原反应电催化剂及其在直接甲醇燃料电池中的应用

氧还原反应(ORR)是燃料电池和金属空气电池等洁净发电装置中阴极的主要反应,该反应动力学过程慢,电化学极化严重. Pt基电催化剂具有较好的ORR活性,然而Pt资源有限、价格昂贵,研制高活性、低成本的代Pt电催化剂意义重大.经过几十年的探索,研究者发现将含有C, N和Fe等元素的前体进行高温热处理得到的Fe-N-C电催化剂对ORR具有良好的活性,然而在高温热解过程中Fe容易发生聚集而形成大块颗粒,导致Fe的利用率不高,影响了电催化剂的ORR活性.
　　本文分别以聚吡咯和乙二胺四乙酸二钠(EDTA-2Na)为C和N的前驱体,利用高温热解形成的富含微孔的碳材料对铁前体的吸附及锚定作用,获得了一种Fe高度分散的Fe-N-C电催化剂.采用物理吸脱附技术、高分辨透射电镜(HRTEM)和扫描电镜对Fe-N-C及其制备过程中相关电催化剂的孔结构及表面形貌进行了表征.结果表明,在第一步热解过程中, EDTA-2Na的Na对碳材料起到了活化作用,形成富含微孔的N掺杂碳材料(N-C-1),其BET比表面积达到1227 m2/g,孔径约1.1 nm.在第二步热解过程中, N-C-1有效地抑制了Fe的聚集,产物Fe-N-C中的Fe元素均匀地分布在碳材料中,其比表面积高达1501 m2/g.
　　电化学测试结果表明,在碱性介质(0.1 mol/L NaOH)中, Fe-N-C电催化剂对ORR具有良好的催化活性, ORR起始电位(Eo)为1.08 V (vs. RHE),半波电位(E1/2)0.88 V,电子转移数n接近4, H2O2产率<3%,与商品20%Pt/C(Johnson Matthey)接近.电化学加速老化测试结果表明, Fe-N-C的E1/2未发生明显变化,而Pt的负移45 mV,表明Fe-N-C具有很好的稳定性;在酸性介质(0.1 mol/L HClO4)中, Fe-N-C的Eo为0.85 V, E1/2为0.75 V,其E1/2比Pt/C负移约0.15 V,表明在酸性介质中Fe-N-C对ORR的催化活性还有待提高.采用TEM、X射线衍射、X射线光电子能谱以及穆斯堡尔谱等方法研究了电催化剂构效关系.结果表明, Fe-N-C较好的ORR活性主要来自于高分散的Fe-N4结构,此外, N(吡啶N和石墨N)掺杂的C也对反应具有一定的催化活性.
　　与Pt/C相比, Fe-N-C电催化剂具有很好的耐甲醇性能.本文对比了Fe-N-C和Pt/C作为阴极催化剂的直接醇类燃料电池(DMFC)性能,采用质子交换膜的DMFC最大功率密度分别为47(Fe-N-C)和79 mW/cm2(Pt/C),而采用碱性电解质膜的则分别为33(Fe-N-C)和8 mW/cm2(Pt/C).结合半电池结果表明, Fe-N-C电催化剂在碱性介质中具有比Pt更为优秀的催化活性和稳定性,有望用作DMFC阴极代Pt催化剂.     

含1,4-二酮吡咯并吡咯和铂的共轭聚合物的场效应性质研究

本文介绍了一种含有1,4-二酮吡咯并吡咯和铂的金属有机共轭聚合物。通过紫外-可见吸收光谱及电化学测得该聚合物的LUMO和HOMO分别为-3.4e V和-5.3e V。通过旋涂方法制备了该材料的底栅底接触场效应器件,并在退火至160℃之后测得其最高性能为:空穴迁移率1.0×10-3cm2·V-1·s-1,开关比105,阈值电压-15V。同时,通过原子力显微镜和X射线衍射对材料薄膜的退火过程进行了研究。     

The influence of chitin nanocrystals on structural evolution of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene/chitin nanocrystal fibers in hot-drawing process

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)/chitin nanocrystal (CNC) fibers were prepared. Compared with the pure UHMWPE fibers, the ultimate tensile strength and Young’s modulus of UHMWPE/CNC fibers are improved by 15.7% and 49.6%, respectively, with the addition of chitin nanocrystals (CNCs) of 1 wt%. The melting temperature (T _m) of UHMWPE/CNC fibers was higher than that of pure UHMWPE fibers. Pure UHMWPE fibers and UHMWPE/CNC fibers were characterized with respect to crystallinity, orientation and kebab structure by wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It is found that the CNCs act as the shish structure in UHMWPE/CNC fibers and the kebab crystals are grown around the CNCs. There was almost no difference between pure UHMWPE fibers and UHMWPE/CNC fibers in orientation. But the degree of crystallinity of various stages of UHMWPE/CNC fibers was respectively higher than the corresponding stage of pure UHMWPE fibers. Moreover, the addition of 1 wt% CNCs improved the thickness of kebab crystals and accelerated the transformation of kebab to shish.     

Biodegradable shape memory polyurethanes with controllable trigger temperature

A series of random copolymers(PCLAs) were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of D,L-lactide(LA)and ε-caprolactone(CL) with different molar ratios. PCLA based polyurethanes(PCLAUs) were obtained by chain-extending of PCLA and polytetramethylene ether(PTMEG) with hexamethylene diisocyanate(HDI). All the PCLAUs exhibit good shape memory properties with high shape fixity ratios above 98% and shape recovery ratios above 82% in the first cycle and 91% in the second cycle. PCLAUs with less CL content show faster recovery speed and PCLAUs with more CL content show higher shape recovery ratio. The trigger temperature can be tuned or controlled around body temperature by adjusting the molar ratio of LA to CL. The PCLAUs have potential applications in implant biomedical devices, especially for minimally invasive deployable devices.     

High performance bio-based polyurethane elastomers: Effect of different soft and hard segments

In this work, a series of high performance bio-based polyurethanes(bio-PUs) were synthesized from polylactide(PLA)-based diols, different diisocyanates(TDI, MDI, HDI, IPDI) and chain extender 1,4-butanediol, in which different soft and hard segments are used to adjust their transition temperatures and mechanical properties. Poly(lactide-co-caprolactone)copolymer diols(co-PLAols) instead of PLA diols as the soft segment improved the thermal stability and mechanical properties of the synthesized bio-PUs. Among them, MDI-based bio-PUs have the highest T_g(43.8 °C), tensile strength(23.5 MPa) and modulus(380.8 MPa), while HDI-based bio-PUs have the lowest T_g(21.4 °C) and highest elongation at break(580%). Especially, the bio-PUs synthesized from co-PLAols and MDI demonstrate better mechanical properties,closed to petroleum-based commodities. Furthermore, the obtained bio-PUs display good shape memory properties at body temperature and cytocompatibility. Therefore, these bio-PUs are promising for applications in biomedical fields.     

Separation efficiency of free‐solution conjugated electrophoresis with drag‐tags incorporating a synthetic amino acid

DNA sequencing or separation by conventional capillary electrophoresis with a polymer matrix has some inherent drawbacks, such as the expense of polymer matrix and limitations in sequencing read length. As DNA fragments have a linear charge‐to‐friction ratio in free solution, DNA fragments cannot be separated by size. However, size‐based separation of DNA is possible in free‐solution conjugate electrophoresis (FSCE) if a “drag‐tag” is attached to DNA fragments because the tag breaks the linear charge‐to‐friction scaling. Although several previous studies have demonstrated the feasibility of DNA separation by free‐solution conjugated electrophoresis, generation of a monodisperse drag‐tag and identification of a strong, site‐specific conjugation method between a DNA fragment and a drag‐tag are challenges that still remain. In this study, we demonstrate an efficient FSCE method by conjugating a biologically synthesized elastin‐like polypeptide (ELP) and green fluorescent protein (GFP) to DNA fragments. In addition, to produce strong and site‐specific conjugation, a methionine residue in drag‐tags is replaced with homopropargylglycine (Hpg), which can be conjugated specifically to a DNA fragment with an azide site.     

Synthesis of a small library of oximes and phenylhydrazones of phenyl ketone C-glycosides

An efficient and convenient route was developed for the synthesis of oximes, the corresponding O-methylated oximes, and phenylhydrazones from phenyl ketone C-glycosides in medium to high yields. The broad substrate and reagent scope of this method expands the potential of applying phenyl ketone C-glycosides to the synthesis of important bioactive molecules.     

Amphiphilic β‐cyclodextrin‐based star‐like block copolymer unimolecular micelles for facile in situ preparation of gold nanoparticles

Multifunctional polymer unimolecular micelles, which are used as templates to fabricate stable gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in one‐step without external reductant, have been designed and prepared. Amphiphilic 21‐arm star‐like block copolymers β‐cyclodextrin‐{poly(lactide)‐poly(2‐(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate)‐poly[oligo(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline)methacrylate]}₂₁ [β‐CD‐(PLA‐PDMAEMA‐PEtOxMA)₂₁] and the precursors are synthesized by the combination of ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) and activators regenerated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (ARGET ATRP). The tertiary amine groups of PDMAEMA block reduce the counterion to zerovalent gold in situ, and these gold atoms combine mutually to form final GNPs. GNPs with relatively small size and narrow size distribution can be obtained in longer DMAEMA block copolymer, larger molar ratio of DMAEMA to HAuCl₄ and smaller absolute concentrations of both polymer and HAuCl₄. These results showed that the unimolecular micelles can be used as templates for preparing and stabilizing GNPs in situ without any external reducing agents and organic solvents, suggesting that the nanocomposite systems are latent nanocarriers for further biomedical application. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 186–196