Generating Metallic Amorphous Core–Shell Nanoparticles by a Solid‐State Amorphization Process

Metallic crystalline/amorphous core–shell nanoparticles consisting of a crystalline Pd core (c‐Pd) surrounded by an amorphous Fe₂₅Sc₇₅ shell (a‐FeSc) are prepared by inert‐gas condensation. A phase transformation of the c‐Pd by a solid‐state diffusion process resulting in an amorphous core (a‐PdSc) surrounded by an amorphous FeSc shell is observed if the core–shell structure is irradiated at ambient temperature with 300 keV electrons. The amorphization process seems to involve the diffusion of irradiation‐induced defects and is presumably driven by the large negative heat of mixing of Pd and Sc, as well as by the excess enthalpy of the interfaces between the c‐Pd regions and the surrounding a‐FeSc. The structural transformation reported here opens a new way to producing metallic amorphous core–shell nanoparticles of different chemical compositions and probably novel properties.     

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     

Synthesis and characterization of Al-modified SBA-15 for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) reaction

Research on Chemical Intermediates - In this work, we synthesized a Co-based catalyst supported on modified SBA-15 to obtain the uniform particle size of active metal and selective products with...     

The rigid isomeric 5-(x-pyridyl)-1H-tetrazole ligands-directed various isopolymolybdate-based compounds: assembly,structures, and properties

Two new isopolymolybdate-based metal–organic complexes, [Cu₂(2-ptz)₂(Mo₄O₁₄)_0.5] (1) and [Cu₃(OH)₂(3-ptz)₄(γ-H₄Mo₈O₂₆)(H₂O)₄]·10H₂O (2) (2-ptzH = 5-(2-pyridyl)-1H-tetrazole, 3-ptzH = 5-(3-pyridyl)-1H-tetrazole), constructed from isomeric ligands with different N-donor sites were synthesized under hydrothermal conditions. In 1, each [Mo₄O₁₄]^4? cluster connected with six neighboring [Mo₄O₁₄]^4? clusters through six binuclear [Cu₂(2-ptz)₂]²⁺ subunits to yield a 2-D layer. In 2, bidentate inorganic [Mo₈O₂₆]^4? anions link the trinuclear [Cu₃(OH)₂(3-ptz)₄] clusters to construct a 1-D chain. Adjacent chains connect through Mo–N bonds between the [Mo₈O₂₆]^4? anions and pyridyl groups from the trinuclear clusters to form a 2-D layer. The effect of the N-donor sites of the rigid isomeric ligands on the structures of 1 and 2 was discussed. The electrochemical properties and photocatalytic activities of 1 and 2 have also been studied.     

非金属催化剂在催化环氧化物和CO2合成环状碳酸酯中的研究进展

随着科学技术的进步和工业化的发展,大量化石燃料被消耗,大气中二氧化碳浓度急剧增加,导致温室效应加剧,严重威胁到人类的生存和发展。基于可持续发展的思想,利用储量丰富且廉价的二氧化碳作为 C1资源替代有毒的气体(如一氧化碳和光气等)制备具有广泛应用的环状碳酸酯,不仅满足“绿色化学”的要求,而且符合“原子经济性”的原则。迄今为止,大量用于催化二氧化碳和环氧化物环加成反应合成环状碳酸酯的催化剂,包括均相催化剂(如金属卤化物、有机碱、离子液体和金属配合物),多相催化剂(如金属氧化物、负载型催化剂、有机聚合物、金属有机框架材料和碳材料等)被报道。其中金属催化剂占主导地位,大多表现出优异的催化活性。然而,目前可供开采的金属矿越来越少,大多数金属的回收再利用率较低,重金属污染日趋严重。因此,开发新型、廉价、绿色、高效、循环性和稳定性好的非金属催化剂具有重要意义。
　　本文主要介绍了近3年以来用于催化二氧化碳和环氧化物环加成反应合成环状碳酸酯的非金属催化剂,主要包括有机碱、离子液体、固载型催化剂、有机聚合物和碳材料等。概括了不同种类催化剂的设计思想及其催化反应机理,重点阐述了分子内以及分子间各种功能基团的协同作用对环加成反应的影响。通过比较发现,具有“C–N=C”结构的有机碱活性相对较高,氢键给体和亲核物质都能与有机碱协同作用提高其催化活性;传统离子液体的活性一般不理想,氢键给体如羟基和羧基的引入有利于促进环加成反应,且多阳离子和多氢键给体功能化的离子液体表现出更高的催化活性;负载型催化剂中,载体和活性组分之间的协同作用有利于加速环加成反应的进行,多种功能基团负载和以共价键方式多层固载能更好地提高催化剂稳定性和催化活性;利用非烯烃化合物制得的活性组分位于主链的多孔有机聚合物,催化活性和稳定性大多高于活性组分位于侧链的烯烃聚合物;碳材料催化剂中,引入不饱和的 N物种(如伯胺和吡啶氮),有利于 CO2的吸附和活化,能促进环加成反应。此外,利用密度泛函的方法,计算模拟催化反应过程,能更好地揭示反应机理,并为设计和制备高效的催化剂提供理论指导。
　　该领域目前面临的重要挑战是研发可以同时实现二氧化碳捕获和转化的新型、环保和高效非金属催化剂,终极目标是利用多孔催化材料在常温和常压下直接捕获工业废气中的二氧化碳,并利用捕获的二氧化碳实现环状碳酸酯的连续生产。基于协同催化的设计思想,利用多种基团功能化的策略合成高效吸附和活化二氧化碳以及开环活化环氧化物的非金属催化剂,有望实现上述目标。     

In-situ nanoelectrospray for high-throughput screening of enzymes and real-time monitoring of reactions

The in-situ and high-throughput evaluation of enzymes and real-time monitoring of enzyme catalyzed reactions in liquid phase is quite significant in the catalysis industry. In-situ nanoelectrospray, the direct sampling and ionization method for mass spectrometry, has been applied for high-throughput evaluation of enzymes, as well as the on-line monitoring of reactions. Simply inserting a capillary into a liquid system with high-voltage applied, analytes in liquid reaction system can be directly ionized at the capillary tip with small volume consumption. With no sample pre-treatment or injection procedure, different analytes such as saccharides, amino acids, alkaloids, peptides and proteins can be rapidly and directly extracted from liquid phase and ionized at the capillary tip. Taking irreversible transesterification reaction of vinyl acetate and ethanol as an example, this technique has been used for the high-throughput evaluation of enzymes, fast optimizations, as well as real-time monitoring of reaction catalyzed by different enzymes. In addition, it is even softer than traditional electrospray ionization. The present method can also be used for the monitoring of other homogenous and heterogeneous reactions in liquid phases, which will show potentials in the catalysis industry.     

A novel polymeric ionic liquid-coated magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes for the solid-phase extraction of Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase

A novel magnetic adsorbent, benzyl groups functionalized imidazolium-based polymeric ionic liquid (PIL)-coated magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) (m-MWCNTs@PIL), has been successfully synthesized and applied for the extraction of Cu, Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu, Zn-SOD). The m-MWCNTs@PIL were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and zeta-potential nanoparticles. In this method, the m-MWCNTs@PIL could interact with Cu, Zn-SOD through hydrogen bonding, π-π and electrostatic interactions. The extraction performance of the m-MWCNTs@PIL in the magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) procedure was investigated, coupled with the determination by UV–vis spectrophotometer. Compared with m-MWCNTs@IL and m-MWCNTs, the m-MWCNTs@PIL exhibited the highest extraction capacity of 29.1 mg/g for Cu, Zn-SOD. The adsorbed Cu, Zn-SOD remained high specific activity after being eluted from m-MWCNTs@PIL by 1 moL/L NaCl solution. Besides, the m-MWCNTs@PIL could be easily recycled and successfully employed in the extraction of Cu, Zn-SOD from real samples. Under the optimal conditions, the precision, repeatability and stability of the proposed method were investigated and the RSDs were 0.29%, 1.68% and 0.54%, respectively. Recoveries were in the range of 82.7–102.3%, with the RSD between 3.47% and 5.35%. On the basis of these results, the developed method has great potential in the extraction of Cu, Zn-SOD or other analytes from biological samples.     

Sodium chloride's effect on self‐assembly of diphenylalanine bilayer

Understanding self‐assembling peptides becomes essential in nanotechnology, thereby providing a bottom‐up method for fabrication of nanostructures. Diphenylalanine constitutes an outstanding building block that can be assembled into various nanostructures, including two‐dimensional bilayers or nanotubes, exhibiting superb mechanical properties. It is known that the effect of the ions is critical in conformational and chemical interactions of bilayers or membranes. In this study, we analyzed the effect of sodium chloride on diphenylalanine bilayer using coarse‐grained molecular dynamics simulations, and calculated the bending Young's modulus and the torsional modulus by applying normal modal analysis using an elastic network model. The results showed that sodium chloride dramatically increases the assembling efficiency and stability, thereby promising to allow the precise design and control of the fabrication process and properties of bio‐inspired materials. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.