Ag(I)-Catalyzed/Acid-Mediated Cascade Cyclization of ortho-Alkynylaryl-1,3-dicarbonyls to Access Arylnaphthalenelactones and Furanonaphthol Libraries via Aryl-Disengagement

ortho-Alkynylarylketone derivatives were employed as key precursors for a one-pot synthesis of arylnaphthalenelactone and furanonaphthol libraries. In this work, we discovered a cost-effective protocol to prepare arylnaphthalenelactones in one-pot using inexpensive starting material, malonate ester, which was conveniently functionalized leading to a variety of structures. Moreover, we also found an unexpected oxy-dearylation reaction which could be used to synthesize furanonaphthol analogs. These novel methods could be applied to a broad range of substrates to give the corresponding products in up to 83% yield. Notably, these classes of compounds exhibited more significant inhibition against protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) enzyme than a standard compound, ursolic acid.     

Multivariate optimization and comparison between conventional extraction (CE) and ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) of carotenoid extraction from cashew apple

Carotenoids are an essential component of cashew and can be used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, natural pigment, food additives, among other applications. The present work focuses on optimizing and comparing conventional and ultrasound-assisted extraction methods. Every optimization step took place with a 1:1 (w:w) mixture of yellow and red cashew apples lyophilized and ground in a cryogenic mill. A Simplex-centroid design was applied for both methods, and the solvents acetone, methanol, ethanol, and petroleum ether were evaluated. After choosing the extractor solvent, a central composite design was applied to optimize the sample mass (59–201 mg) and extraction time (6–34 min). The optimum conditions for the extractor solvent were 38% acetone, 30% ethanol, and 32% petroleum ether for CE and a mixture of 44% acetone and 56% methanol for UAE. The best experimental conditions for UAE were a sonication time of 19 min and a sample mass of 153 mg, while the CE was 23 min and 136 mg. Comparing red and yellow cashews, red cashews showed a higher carotenoid content in both methodologies. The UAE methodology was ca. 21% faster, presented a more straightforward composition of extracting solution, showed an average yield of superior carotenoid content in all samples compared to CE. Therefore, UAE has demonstrated a simple, efficient, fast, low-cost adjustment methodology and a reliable alternative for other applications involving these bioactive compounds in the studied or similar matrix.     

Chelating Metal Ions in a Metal-Organic Framework for Constructing a Biomimetic Catalyst Through Post-modification

Crystal engineering, as a burgeoning technology, has been widely used to construct metalloporphyrins biomimetic catalysts. Herein, a bimetallic metal-organic framework (MOF) was constructed by 4-(4-carboxyphenyl)-1,2,4-triazole ligand, Co²⁺ and Zr⁴⁺ metal ions by solvothermal reaction(named PFC-88). A N,N-chelation site was found between the two adjacent ligands in PFC-88, consequently a porphyrin-like structure was obtained through chelating Fe³⁺ in this site by post-modification, named PFC-88-Fe. The result of a single crystal X-ray technology verified that Fe ions were successfully metalated in the N,N-chelation site of PFC-88, which is assisted by the X-ray absorption near-edge structure(XANES) spectra. An o-phenylenediamine oxidation reaction was applied to assessing the catalytic activity of PFC-88-Fe, in which the absorbance increases of phenazine-2,3-diamine at λ=418 nm were recorded by absorption spectroscopy in kinetic mode, exhibiting the application potential as a biomimetic catalyst.     

Optimization of biodiesel production via transesterification of soybean oil using α-MoO3 catalyst obtained by the combustion method

A catalyst based on MoO₃ was synthesized by a simple and fast pilot-scale combustion reaction method and applied to the conversion of soybean oil to biodiesel via transesterification. For that, the statistical analysis of the catalyst amount and temperature, factors that influence the process, was evaluated by means of central composite design 2². MoO₃ was characterized in terms of structure by X-ray diffraction (XRD), textural characterization Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), density by helium pycnometry (DE), particle size analysis (DG) and acidity tests by temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (NH₃-TPD), chemical analysis by X-ray fluorescence (EDX), morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and catalytic properties. The transesterification products were characterized by gas chromatography (GC), acidity index (AI) and kinematic viscosity (KV). The results indicate the catalyst formation with a surface area of 1.36 m²g^?1, and density of 4.5 g/cm³ which consists of a single crystalline phase of orthorhombic configuration, with total NH₃ acidity of 33.61 μ.mol/g. Morphological characterization revealed that the catalyst is formed by irregular plates of various sizes and shapes, with a wide sizes range of agglomerated particles. In the soybean oil transesterification reactions, the catalyst was active showing 96.9% conversion to ethyl esters. The experimental design was meaningful and predictive, with a reliability level of 95%. The statistical analysis identified temperature as a significant variable for the adopted planning. To conclude, a new single-phase catalyst (α-MoO₃) has been developed and successfully applied to the biodiesel Synthesis from soybean oil. These results have a positive and promising impact for biodiesel production by transesterification of soybean oil against ethanol.     

Green synthesis and characterization of Tb-Fe-O-Cu ceramic nanocomposite and its application in simultaneous electrochemical sensing of zinc,cadmium and lead

In this work, a green technique for preparing TbFeO₃/CuO was reported by employing Crataegus and Lantana Camara leaves as fuel and alkalizing agents, respectively. The new sensor based on the perovskite-type nanocomposite was employed as a sensitive and selective platform to detect Pb(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) simultaneously. TbFeO₃/CuO/Carbon paste electrode (CPE) exhibited a large specific surface area and great electrical conductivity, which enhanced electron transport in the electrochemical process considerably. Moreover, square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) was used for the investigation of some factors influencing the sensor sensitivity like pH, modifier concentration, as well as accumulation time and potential. Therefore, the low detection limit (LOD) and a wide linear range were obtained at optimum conditions. In this study, a linear range between 0.9 and 110 µg/L for three ions and LOD of 0.48, 0.29 and 0.12 for zinc, cadmium and lead were achieved, respectively. Moreover, TbFeO₃/CuO/CPE was employed to detect zinc, cadmium and lead ions simultaneously in the real samples so that the results have shown consistency with a standard inductively coupled plasma (ICP).     

一种通过梯形PPMgLN波导倍频实现带宽可调谐光源的理论研究

本文设计了一种梯形的周期极化掺镁铌酸锂(PPMgLN)波导,并通过在传播方向上引入温度梯度来拓宽其倍频(SHG)过程的泵浦光源可接收带宽。通过有限差分的光束传输法,计算波导的有效折射率,并进行波导尺寸的设计。结果表明,通过改变梯形波导不同位置的温度,使其形成一个温度梯度,可拓宽泵浦光源的波长可接收带宽。本文所设计的PPMgLN波导最大泵浦光源可接收带宽为C波段,即1 530~1 565 nm,该波导可倍频C波段,得到输出波段带宽为765~782.5 nm,温度调谐范围为30~150 ℃。     

以磷化铁为添加剂沿(111)面生长磷掺杂金刚石大单晶

掺杂是调控金刚石性能的一种重要手段。本文采用温度梯度法,在5.6 GPa、1 312 ℃的条件下,选用Fe₃P作为磷源进行磷掺杂金刚石大单晶的合成。金刚石样品的显微光学照片表明,随着Fe₃P添加比例的增加,金刚石晶体的颜色逐渐变深,包裹体数量逐渐增加,晶形由板状转变为塔状直至骸晶。金刚石晶形的变化表明Fe₃P的添加使生长金刚石的V形区向右偏移,这是Fe₃P改变触媒特性的缘故。红外光谱分析表明,Fe₃P的添加使金刚石晶体中氮含量上升,这说明磷的进入诱使氮原子更容易进入金刚石晶格中。激光拉曼光谱测试表明,随着Fe₃P添加比例的增加,所合成的掺磷金刚石的拉曼峰位变化不大,其半峰全宽(FWHM)值变大,这说明磷的进入使得金刚石晶格畸变增加。XPS测试结果显示,随着Fe₃P添加比例的增加,金刚石晶体中磷相对碳的原子百分含量也会增加,这意味着添加Fe₃P所合成的金刚石晶体中有磷存在。     

Theoretical study on the improvement of the doping efficiency of Al in 4H-SiC by co-doping group-IVB elements

The p-type doping efficiency of 4H silicon carbide (4H-SiC) is rather low due to the large ionization energies of p-type dopants. Such an issue impedes the exploration of the full advantage of 4H-SiC for semiconductor devices. In this study, we show that co-doping group-IVB elements effectively decreases the ionization energy of the most widely used p-type dopant, i.e., aluminum (Al), through the defect-level repulsion between the energy levels of group-IVB elements and that of Al in 4H-SiC. Among group-IVB elements Ti has the most prominent effectiveness. Ti decreases the ionization energy of Al by nearly 50%, leading to a value as low as ~0.13 eV. As a result, the ionization rate of Al with Ti co-doping is up to ~5 times larger than that without co-doping at room temperature when the doping concentration is up to 10¹⁸ cm^-3. This work may encourage the experimental co-doping of group-IVB elements such as Ti and Al to significantly improve the p-type doping efficiency of 4H-SiC.     

Terahertz generation in quantum cascade structures by two-color deriving fields: An approach to reach inversion population via optical pumping

In this paper, a quantum cascade laser (QCL) design is proposed based on GaAs/AlGaAs material system, which simultaneously operates at three widely separated wavelengths (${\lambda }_1=11.1\mu m,{\lambda }_2=14.1\mu m$ and ${\lambda }_{THz}=60\mu m$). In the design, all the wavelength radiations are achieved by the engineering of the electronic spectrum via the quantum-well widths and the applied electric field in a single active region within a same waveguide. The mid-infrared (mid-IR) wavelengths are obtained by adoption a dual-upper-state active region, and the proposed design aims to use both the mid-IR radiations as the coherent deriving fields to populate the upper THz lasing state to aid the THz-laser population inversion via optical pumping instead of direct electrical injection. A detailed analysis of electronic transport in the structure is carried out using a multi-level rate-equation model. The results show that the proposed structure offers an alternative approach to room temperature THz generation in QCLs.     

材料表征方法理论与实践课程的改革与建设*

通过与超星专业慕课制作团队合作搭建网络教学平台,将线上慕课教学与线下实验教学相结合,对材料表征方法理论与实践课程进行了全方位的改革。与传统实验教学相比,改革后的课程不仅能够激发学生的学习兴趣,实现时间空间的相对自由,还可以完善考核机制,提升教学质量,从而为高校化学研究生实验课程的改革提供一定的借鉴意义。