Silica-Supported MnII Sites as Efficient Catalysts for Carbonyl Hydroboration,Hydrosilylation, and Transesterification

Manganese, the third most abundant transition-metal element after iron and titanium, has recently been demonstrated to be an effective homogeneous catalyst in numerous reactions. Herein, the preparation of silica-supported Mn^II sites is reported using Surface Organometallic Chemistry (SOMC), combined with tailored thermolytic molecular precursors approach based on Mn₂[OSi(OtBu)₃]₄ and Mn{N(SiMe₃)₂}₂⋅THF. These supported Mn^II sites, free of organic ligands, efficiently catalyze numerous reactions: hydroboration and hydrosilylation of ketones and aldehydes as well as the transesterification of industrially relevant substrates.     

Enhanced output voltage of nano energy harvester with diverse textiles

Abstract

We demonstrate the electrical properties of nano energy harvesters (NEHs) with various textiles for smart textiles that can be applied to the next generation wearable electronics. Output voltages and currents of NEHs with various fabrics, such as a cotton, rayon and wool that have different triboelectricity were measured. Cotton, rayon and wool shows the maximum output voltages of 1.250, 3.313 and 4.063 V, respectively. In addition, output currents of those textiles were 0.75, 4.4, 1.063 μA, respectively. Wool, in particular, which has the highest triboelectricity of 350 V exhibits the highest output voltage.     

Self‐emulsion polymerization of amphiphilic monomers—a green route to synthesis of polymeric nanoscaffolds

Self‐emulsion polymerization (SEP), a green route developed by us for the polymerization of amphiphilic monomers, does not require any emulsifier or an organic solvent except that the water‐soluble initiators such as 2,2′‐azobis[2‐(2‐imidazolin‐2‐yl)propane]dihydrochloride (VA‐044) and potassium persulfate (KPS) are only used. We report here the polymer nanoscaffolds from a number of amphiphilic monomers, which can be used for in situ encapsulation of a variety of nanoparticles. As a demonstration of the efficacy of these nanoscaffolds, the synthesis of a biocompatible hybrid nanoparticle (nanohybrid), prepared by encapsulating Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticle (Fe₃O₄ MNPs) in poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) in water, for MRI application is presented. The nanohybrid prepared following the SEP in the form of an emulsion does not involve the use of any stabilizing agent, crosslinker, polymeric emulsifier, or surfactant. This water‐soluble, spherical, and stable nanohybrid containing Fe₃O₄ MNPs of average size 10 ± 2 nm has a zeta potential value of ?41.89 mV under physiological conditions. Magnetic measurement confirmed that the nanohybrid shows typical magnetic behavior having a saturation magnetization (Ms) value of 32.3 emu/g and a transverse relaxivity (r2) value of 29.97 mM^?1 s^?1, which signifies that it can be used as a T2 contrast agent in MRI. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019     

MXene-based composite electrodes for efficient electrochemical sensing of glucose by non-enzymatic method

A recently discovered 2D transition titanium metal carbides also called as MXenes (Ti₃C₂T_x)-based nanocomposite was prepared with Cu₂O through wet precipitation technique, and these materials were further developed as the electrode for sensing glucose by chronoamperometry technique. The prepared MXene-Cu₂O (Ti₃C₂T_x-Cu₂O) nanocomposite was characterized by XRD, FTIR, UV–Vis spectroscopy, FE-SEM, EDAX, and Raman spectroscopy. Morphological studies of the composites revealed that the micro-octahedral shape of Cu₂O is distributed on the surface of MXene with size larger than bare Cu₂O. Further, the prepared composite material was fabricated as a sensing probe, and the electrochemical activities were examined by cyclic voltammetric analysis (CV) and chronoamperometric (CA) methods. From the CV and CA investigation, the current response was higher for the composite than the bare material (Cu₂O & MXene) in the presence of glucose. The amperometric investigation of MXene-Cu₂O composite for the detection of glucose shows a broad linear range (0.01–30 mM) with a sensitivity of 11.061/μAmM cm^?2 and a detection limit of 2.83 μM. Further, the fabricated sensor exhibits good selectivity with interfering species like NaCl, fructose, sucrose, urea, ascorbic acid, lactose, short response time, stability, good reproducibility, and compatibility with human serum sample. From the investigation, the prepared MXene-Cu₂O composite is a good candidate for the direct detection of glucose molecules and is also well suitable for clinical diagnosis.     

Cover Feature: How Many O-Donor Groups in Enterobactin Does It Take to Bind a Metal Cation? (Chem. Eur. J. 28/2019)

The E. coli siderophore enterobactin, the strongest Fe^III chelator known to date, forms hexacoordinate complexes with Si^IV, Ge^IV, and Ti^IV. Synthetic protocols have been developed to prepare non-symmetric enterobactin analogues with varying denticities. Various benzoic acid residues were coupled to the macrocyclic lactone to afford a diverse library of ligands. These enterobactin analogues were bound to Si^IV, Ge^IV, and Ti^IV, and the complexes were investigated through experimental and computational techniques. The binding behavior of the synthesized chelators enabled assessment of the contribution of each of the phenolic hydroxy groups in enterobactin to metal-ion complexation. It was found that at least four O-donors are needed for enterobactin derivatives to act as metal binders. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the strong binding behavior of enterobactin can be ascribed to a diminished translational entropy penalty, a common feature of the chelate effect, coupled with the structural arrangement of the three catechol moieties, which allows the triseryl base to be installed without distorting the preferred local metal-binding geometry of the catecholate ligands.     

Multi-targeted molecular docking,drug-likeness and ADMET studies of derivatives of few quinoline- and acridine-based FDA-approved drugs for anti-breast cancer activity

Structural Chemistry - Quinoline- and acridine-based drugs are widely used as anti-breast cancer agents. These drugs act through various mechanisms of action; for example, neratinib acts on...     

Novel quantum description of time-dependent molecular interactions obeying a generalized non-central potential

Nonlinear Dynamics - Quantum features of time-dependent molecular interactions are investigated by introducing a time-varying Hamiltonian that involves a generalized non-central potential....     

Boron(iii) β-diketonate-based small molecules for functional non-fullerene polymer solar cells and organic resistive memory devices

A class of acceptor–donor–acceptor chromophoric small-molecule non-fullerene acceptors, 1–4, with difluoroboron(iii) β-diketonate (BF₂bdk) as the electron-accepting moiety has been developed. Through the variation of the central donor unit and the modification on the peripheral substituents of the terminal BF₂bdk acceptor unit, their photophysical and electrochemical properties have been systematically studied. Taking advantage of their low-lying lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy levels (from −3.65 to −3.72 eV) and relatively high electron mobility (7.49 × 10⁻⁴ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹), these BF₂bdk-based compounds have been employed as non-fullerene acceptors in organic solar cells with maximum power conversion efficiencies of up to 4.31%. Moreover, bistable resistive memory characteristics with charge-trapping mechanisms have been demonstrated in these BF₂bdk-based compounds. This work not only demonstrates for the first time the use of a boron(iii) β-diketonate unit in constructing non-fullerene acceptors, but also provides more insights into designing organic materials with multi-functional properties.

Boron(iii) β-diketonates have been demonstrated to serve as multi-functional materials in NFA-based OPVs and organic resistive memories.