Electrochemically Determining Electronic Structure of ZnO Quantum Dots with Different Surface Ligands

The electronic structure of quantum dots (QDs) including band edges and possible trap states is an important physical property for optoelectronic applications. The reliable determination of the energy levels of QDs remains a big challenge. Herein we employ cyclic voltammetry (CV) to determine the energy levels of three types of ZnO QDs with different surface ligands. Coupled with spectroscopic techniques, it is found that the onset potential of the first reductive wave is likely related to the conduction band edges while the first oxidative wave originates from the trap states. The determined specific energy levels in CV further demonstrates that the ZnO QDs without surface ligands mainly have oxygen interstitial defects whilst the ZnO QDs covered with ligands contain oxygen vacancies. The present electrochemical method offers a powerful and effective way to determine the energy levels of wide bandgap ZnO QDs, which will boost their device performance.     

Hydralazine derivative of aldehyde: A new type of [M − H]+ ion formed in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Hydralazine has been widely employed in the development of drugs, derivatization reagents, and ligands. In the present work, we reported a new type of dehydrogenated ion [M ? H]⁺ that was produced from the hydralazine derivative of hexanal in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS). The formation of [M ? H]⁺ ions in the ESI‐MS was found to be independent on the mobile phase composition of the liquid chromatography and ESI source parameters. A series of hydralazine derivatives of aldehyde were investigated to confirm this phenomenon. The results showed that hydralazine derivatives of aldehydes that contained an sp³ hybridization carbon with a hydrogen at the α‐position of aldehydes could form the unexpected [M ? H]⁺ ions, whereas hydralazine derivative of acetone could only generate [M + H]⁺ ion in the ESI‐MS. We proposed the possible formation mechanism of [M ? H]⁺ ion for the hydralazine derivatives of aldehydes: the [M ? H]⁺ ion was possibly formed by the loss a hydrogen molecule (H₂) from the protonated ion [M + H]⁺. The results obtained from density functional theory (DFT) calculations supported this proposed formation mechanism of [M ? H]⁺ ion.     

Engineering Donor–Acceptor Heterostructure Metal–Organic Framework Crystals for Photonic Logic Computation

Photonic materials use photons as information carriers and offer the potential for unprecedented applications in optical and optoelectronic devices. In this study, we introduce a new strategy for photonic materials using metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) as the host for the rational construction of donor–acceptor (D–A) heterostructure crystals. We have engineered a rich library of heterostructure crystals using the MOF NKU‐111 as a host. NKU‐111 is based upon an electron‐deficient tridentate ligand (acceptor) that can bind to various electron‐rich guests (donors). The resulting heterocrystals exhibit spatially segregated multi‐color emission resulting from the guest‐dependent charge‐transfer (CT) emission. Spatially effective mono‐directional energy transfer results from tuning the energy gradient between adjacent domains through the selection of donor guest molecules, which suggests potential applications in integrated optical circuit devices, for example, photonic diodes, on‐chip signal processing, optical logic gates.     

System-size effect on the friction at liquid-solid interfaces

The friction at the liquid-solid interfaces is widely involved in various phenomena ranging from nanometer to micrometer scales. By the molecular dynamic(MD)simulation, the friction properties of liquid-solid interfaces at the molecular level are calculated via the Green-Kubo relation. It is found that the system size will influence the value of the friction coefficient, especially for the solid surfaces with the larger polar charge. The value of the friction coefficient decreases with the increase in the system size and converges at large system sizes. The large polar charge will lead to a significant friction coefficient. However, the diffusion of water molecules on this surface is almost a constant, indicating that the diffusion coefficient seems to be independent of the system size and polar charge. This work provides insights for the selection of the system size in modeling the frictional properties of hydrophobic/hydrophilic surfaces.     

Deep oxidative desulfurization of benzothiophene and dibenzothiophene with a peroxophosphotungstate–ionic liquid brush assembly

A novel, efficient and reusable heterogeneous catalytic assembly of peroxophosphotungstate held in an ionic liquid brush was synthesized and an extraction and catalytic oxidative desulfurization (ECODS) procedure was developed for a model oil of benzothiophene (BT) and dibenzothiophene (DBT) using 30 wt% hydrogen peroxide as terminal oxidant and methanol as solvent under mild conditions. Several factors that affect sulfur removal were investigated in detail. The highest sulfur removal can reach 100% for BT in 7 h at 70 °C when the molar ratio of H₂O₂, S and catalyst is 10:1:0.025. The sulfur removal for DBT can also reach 100% in 4 h at 50 °C with the same molar ratio of H₂O₂, S and catalyst. The experimental results demonstrate that this ECODS process has no apparent scale‐up effect. The catalyst can be easily recovered (via simple filtration) and recycled five times without a significant decrease in activity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Luminescent Ag6Au6 Heterometallic Ethisterone Cluster and Probe for Estrogen Receptor α

A heterometallic cluster [Ag₆Au₆(ethisterone)₁₂] of an unprecedented topology was synthesized and characterized. A sensitive and specific probe for estrogen receptor α (ERα) has been developed for the first time based on the enhancement of the Ag₆Au₆ luminescence.     

Synthesis of Dibenzo[c,e]oxepin‐5(7H)‐ones from Benzyl Thioethers and Carboxylic Acids: Rhodium‐Catalyzed Double C?H Activation Controlled by Different Directing Groups

A rhodium(III)‐catalyzed cross‐coupling of benzyl thioethers and aryl carboxylic acids through the two directing groups is reported. Useful structures with diverse substituents were efficiently synthesized in one step with the cleavage of four bonds (C H, C S, O H) and the formation of two bonds (C C, C O). The formed structure is the privileged core in natural products and bioactive molecules. This work highlights the power of using two different directing groups to enhance the selectivity of a double C H activation, the first of such examples in cross‐oxidative coupling.     

红外光谱的陆生动物油脂中反刍动物成分鉴别分析

为有效应对违法掺加导致的饲料安全隐患，完善饲用油脂的高效检测手段，满足饲料质量安全的监管需求，以来源可靠的不同种属动物油脂为研究对象，通过在非反刍动物油脂中掺加不同比例（1%，5%，10%，20%，30%和40% W/W）的反刍动物油脂获得试验样品，首次系统应用傅里叶变换红外光谱结合化学计量学方法探讨了陆生动物油脂中掺加反刍成分的鉴别分析方法与模型。研究表明基于掺加比例1%～40%样品集，偏最小二乘判别分析模型正确判别率为100%，无假阳性和假阴性样品；进一步研究发现，基于陆生动物油脂中反刍成分低掺加比例0.1%～40%，0.2%～40%，0.4%～40%，0.6%～40%和0.8%～40%样品集，偏最小二乘判别分析模型的正确判别率均低于100%。且随着最低掺加比例的降低，假阳性与假阴性样品数明显增多，其正确判别率逐步降低。因此，陆生动物油脂中掺加反刍成分判别分析检量限约为1%；进一步通过脂肪酸组成与差异性分析、红外光谱特征波段和特征化学键对比分析探讨其判别分析机理。非反刍动物油脂光谱3 006 cm-1处吸收峰（代表=C-H(cis-)的拉伸振动）和914 cm-1处吸收峰（代表=HC=CH-(cis-)的弯曲振动）明显高于反刍动物油脂样品，主要表征了顺式脂肪酸和不饱和脂肪酸的显著差异。非反刍动物油脂光谱965 cm-1处吸收峰（代表-HC=CH-(trans-)的弯曲振动）明显低于反刍动物油脂样品，主要表征了反式脂肪酸和饱和脂肪酸的显著差异。掺加比例为1%的混合样品中反式C=C键含量显著高于其他低掺加比例的样品，而不同掺加比例样品的顺式C=C键含量和C-H(-CH₂-)键含量均无显著性差异。因此，基于红外光谱的陆生动物油脂中反刍动物成分鉴别分析主要是基于反式C=C键结构的信息表征。综上所述，红外光谱可作为一种兼顾检测效率与检测精度的技术应用于陆生动物油脂中反刍成分的鉴别分析。     

Cationic Poly([R]‐3‐hydroxybutyrate) Copolymers as Antimicrobial Agents

Poly([R]‐3‐hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), a natural biodegradable polyester, has attracted much attention as a new biomaterial because of its sustainability and good biocompatibility. In this study, it is discovered that PHB can be conveniently functionalized to obtain a number of platform chain architectures that may provide a wide range of functional copolymers. In a transesterification reaction, linear (di‐hydroxylated) and star shaped (tri‐ and tetra‐hydroxylated) PHB oligomers are synthesized, followed by copolymerization with 2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate and quaternization with benzyl bromide to afford antimicrobial properties. The antimicrobial activities of the quaternary salts against clinically relevant pathogens on the interactions with outer and cytoplasmic membranes, lethal mechanisms, multipassage resistance, and synergy effect with antibiotics are investigated. Cationic PHB copolymers show effectiveness as antimicrobial agents, with minimum inhibitory concentration values 0.24–0.65 µm (or µmol dm^?3) (or 32–128 µg mL^?1) against Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria. Modifying the copolymer architectures into star shapes results in enhanced effectiveness to disrupt the membrane integrity. Synergistic effects are attained for all the quaternized PHB derivatives when they are used together with tobramycin. Multipassage resistance does not occur in both the linear and star derivatives against Gram‐negative bacteria after 20 passages.