Flexible conducting polymer transistors with supercapacitor function

Planar organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) using PEDOT:PSS as the channel material and nanostructured carbon (nsC) as the gate electrode material and poly(sodium 4‐styrenesulfonate (PSSNa) gel as the electrolyte were fabricated on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (Mylar^®) substrates. The nsC was deposited at room‐temperature by supersonic cluster beam deposition (SCBD). Interestingly, the OECT acts as a hybrid supercapacitor (to give a device that we indicate as transcap). The energy storage ability of transcaps has been studied with two cell configurations: one featuring PEDOT:PSS as the positive electrode and nsC as the negative electrode and another configuration with reversed electrode polarity. Potentiostatic charge/discharge studies show that both supercapacitors show good performance in terms of voltage retention, in particular, when PEDOT:PSS is used as the positive electrode. Galvanostatic charge–discharge characteristics show typical symmetric triangular shape, indicating a nearly ideal capacitive behavior with a high columbic efficiency (close to 100%). © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 96–103     

New insights into the seleniranium ion promoted cyclization of prenyl and propenylbenzene aryl ethers

The chromane core is widely represented in nature being part of a wide array of secondary metabolites of plant, fungal, and bacterial origin. In this paper an improved method for the chemical synthesis of differently substituted chromanes is described. Substituted 2H-1-benzopyrans have been synthesized in good to excellent yields (52–81%) by treatment of 3,3-dimethylallyl and propenylbenzene ethers of differently substituted phenols with phenylselenyl chloride.     

Isopropenyl acetate: A cheap and general acylating agent of alcohols under metal-free conditions

Functionalized primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols are efficiently acetylated by isopropenyl acetate and catalytic p-TsOH.     

Exploring the Phase-Selective,Green, Hydrothermal Synthesis of Upconverting Doped Sodium Yttrium Fluoride: Effects of Temperature,Time, and Precursors

The aim of this work was i) to develop a hydrothermal, low-temperature synthesis protocol affording the upconverting hexagonal phase NaYF₄ with suitable dopants while adhering to the “green chemistry” standards and ii) to explore the effect that different parameters have on the products. In optimizing the synthesis protocol, short reaction times and low temperatures (below 150 °C) were considered. Yb³⁺ and Er³⁺ ions were chosen as dopants for the NaYF₄ material. Within the context of the second goal, parameters including nature of the precursors, treatment temperature, and treatment time were investigated to afford a pure hexagonal crystalline phase, both in the doped and undoped materials. To fully explore the synthesis results, the prepared materials were characterized from a structural (XRD), compositional (XPS, ICP-MS), and morphological (SEM) point of view. The upconverting properties of the compounds were confirmed by photoluminescence measurements.     

Synthesis and Chemical and Electrochemical Characterization of Fe-S Carbonyl Clusters. X-ray Crystal Structures of [N(PPh(3))(2)](2)[Fe(5)S(2)(CO)(14)] and [N(PPh(3))(2)](2)[Fe(6)S(6)(CO)(12)

A reinvestigation of the redox behavior of the [Fe(3)(&mgr;(3)-S)(CO)(9)](2)(-) dianion led to the isolation and characterization of the new [Fe(5)S(2)(CO)(14)](2)(-), as well as the known [Fe(6)S(6)(CO)(12)](2)(-) dianion. As a corollary, new syntheses of the [Fe(3)S(CO)(9)](2)(-) dianion are also reported. The [Fe(5)S(2)(CO)(14)](2)(-) dianion has been obtained by oxidative condensation of [Fe(3)S(CO)(9)](2)(-) induced by tropylium and Ag(I) salts or SCl(2), or more straightforwardly through the reaction of [Fe(4)(CO)(13)](2)(-) with SCl(2). The [Fe(6)S(6)(CO)(12)](2)(-) dianion has been isolated as a byproduct of the synthesis of [Fe(3)S(CO)(9)](2)(-) and [Fe(5)S(2)(CO)(14)](2)(-) or by reaction of [Fe(4)(CO)(13)](2)(-) with elemental sulfur. The structures of [N(PPh(3))(2)](2)[Fe(5)S(2)(CO)(14)] and [N(PPh(3))(2)](2)[Fe(6)S(6)(CO)(12)] were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. Crystal data: for [N(PPh(3))(2)](2)[Fe(5)S(2)(CO)(14)], monoclinic, space group P2(1)/c (No. 14), a = 24.060(5), b = 14.355(6), c = 23.898(13) ?, beta = 90.42(3) degrees, Z = 4; for [N(PPh(3))(2)](2)[Fe(6)S(6)(CO)(12)], monoclinic, space group C2/c (No. 15), a = 34.424(4), b = 14.081(2), c = 19.674(2) ?, beta = 115.72(1) degrees, Z = 4. The new [Fe(5)S(2)(CO)(14)](2)(-) dianion shows a "bow tie" arrangement of the five metal atoms. The two Fe(3) triangles sharing the central Fe atom are not coplanar and show a dihedral angle of 55.08(3) degrees. Each Fe(3) moiety is capped by a triply bridging sulfide ligand. The 14 carbonyl groups are all terminal; two are bonded to the unique central atom and three to each peripheral iron atom. Protonation of the [Fe(5)S(2)(CO)(14)](2)(-) dianion gives reversibly rise to the corresponding [HFe(5)S(2)(CO)(14)](-) monohydride derivative, which shows an (1)H-NMR signal at delta -21.7 ppm. Its further protonation results in decomposition to mixtures of Fe(2)S(2)(CO)(6) and Fe(3)S(2)(CO)(9), rather than formation of the expected H(2)Fe(5)S(2)(CO)(14) dihydride. Exhaustive reduction of [Fe(5)S(2)(CO)(14)](2)(-) with sodium diphenyl ketyl progressively leads to fragmentation into [Fe(3)S(CO)(9)](2)(-) and [Fe(CO)(4)](2)(-), whereas electrochemical, as well as chemical oxidation with silver or tropylium tetrafluoroborate, in dichloromethane, generates the corresponding [Fe(5)S(2)(CO)(14)](-) radical anion which exhibits an ESR signal at g = 2.067 at 200 K. The electrochemical studies also indicated the existence of a subsequent one-electron anodic oxidation which possesses features of chemical reversibility in dichloromethane but not in acetonitrile solution. A reexamination of the electrochemical behavior of the [Fe(3)S(CO)(9)](2)(-) dianion coupled with ESR monitoring enabled the spectroscopic characterization of the [Fe(3)S(CO)(9)](-) radical monoanion and demonstrated its direct involvement in the generation of the [Fe(5)S(2)(CO)(14)](n)()(-) (n = 0, 1, 2) system.     

Synthesis of spherical nanoparticles of Cu2L2O5 (L=Ho, Er) from W/O microemulsions

Nanoparticles of Cu₂L₂O₅ (L=Ho, Er) (15–25 nm in size) were synthesised by the intermediate use of W/O microemulsions. In this process the aqueous cores of water/cetyltrimethylammonium bromide/n-octane/1-butanol microemulsions were used as microreactors for the precipitation of Cu₂Ho₂(CO₃)₄(OH)₂ (25–30 nm) and Cu₂Er₂(CO₃)₄(OH)₂ (10–40 nm) as precursors. These mixed salts were separated and further decomposed to the corresponding mixed oxides at 900°C for 16 h. All solids were characterised by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, IR, XRPD, ICP-OES, TGA, XPS measurements and elemental analyses.     

Physicochemical characterization of chemical hydrogels based on PVA

In this paper, we report on the physicochemical characterization of hydrogels recently obtained by crosslinking poly (vinylalcohol), PVA, with telechelic PVA (telPVA, bearing terminal aldehydic groups) via acetalization in aqueous solution. These gels were studied by equilibrium swelling, compression modulus measurements, and proton relaxometry experiments. Swelling and compression modulus data allow to estimate the average molecular weight of PVA chain between crosslinks, the average mesh size of the networks, and the polymer–solvent interaction parameter χ₁. The average mesh size of PVA‐telPVA compares well with domain dimensions of diffusionally confined water as detected by NMR relaxometry. Proton relaxometry also showed different network domains in which water is compartmentalized, indicating a complex heterogeneity. The study of the temperature behavior of the nuclear spin–spin relaxation times of the confined water was also considered. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 1225–1233, 1999     

Lignans and secoiridoid glycosides from the stem barks of Jasminum tortuosum

This paper reports on the first phytochemical analysis ever performed on Jasminum tortuosum Willd. This analysis, mainly carried out by means of column chromatography separation, NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, led to the isolation and the identification of four compounds, namely the lignans ginkgool (1) and olivil-4′-O-β-glucopyranoside (2) and the secoiridoids oleoside dimethyl ester (3) and oleoside 11-methyl ester (4). The presence of these compounds is significant from a chemotaxonomic point of view, confirming the correct botanical classification of the species and, from a phytochemical standpoint, may suggest its possible use in the ethno-medicinal field.     

Asymmetric synthesis and structure-activity studies of the fungal metabolites colletorin A,colletochlorin A and their halogenates analogues

The first asymmetric total synthesis of both enantiomers of the natural products colletorin A and colletochlorin A is presented. The proposed methodology is based on the coupling reaction between highly substituted aromatic Gilman cuprates and optically active allyl bromides, in turn obtained by Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation. The latter ensured a high degree of regio- and stereocontrol in the enantioselective step of the synthesis. The same synthetic strategy has been also applied for the preparation of differently halogenated synthetic analogues of colletochlorin A in high enantiomeric purity. The enantioselective synthesis of colletorin A and colletochlorin A allows to reliably assign their absolute configuration. Preliminary assessment of their herbicidal and insecticidal properties evidence the possibility to modulate the bioactivity of these compounds, highlighting its dependence on both the absolute stereochemistry and the halogen nature.     

Ruthenium‐Containing Linear Helicates and Mesocates with Tuneable p53‐Selective Cytotoxicity in Colorectal Cancer Cells

The ligands L¹ and L² both form separable dinuclear double‐stranded helicate and mesocate complexes with Ru^II. In contrast to clinically approved platinates, the helicate isomer of [Ru₂( L¹ )₂]⁴⁺ was preferentially cytotoxic to isogenic cells (HCT116 p53^?/?), which lack the critical tumour suppressor gene. The mesocate isomer shows the reverse selectivity, with the achiral isomer being preferentially cytotoxic towards HCT116 p53^+/+. Other structurally similar Ru^II‐containing dinuclear complexes showed very little cytotoxic activity. This study demonstrates that alterations in ligand or isomer can have profound effects on cytotoxicity towards cancer cells of different p53 status and suggests that selectivity can be “tuned” to either genotype. In the search for compounds that can target difficult‐to‐treat tumours that lack the p53 tumour suppressor gene, [Ru₂( L¹ )₂]⁴⁺ is a promising compound for further development.