Generation and Identification of the Linear OCBNO and OBNCO Molecules with 24 Valence Electrons

Two structural isomers containing five second-row element atoms with 24 valence electrons were generated and identified by matrix-isolation IR spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations. The OCBNO complex, which is produced by the reaction of boron atoms with mixtures of carbon monoxide and nitric oxide in solid neon, rearranges to the more stable OBNCO isomer on UV excitation. Bonding analysis indicates that the OCBNO complex is best described by the bonding interactions between a triplet-state boron cation with an electron configuration of (2s)⁰(2p_σ)⁰(2p_π)² and the CO/NO⁻ ligands in the triplet state forming two degenerate electron-sharing π bonds and two ligand-to-boron dative σ bonds.     

Comparison of performance characterization of asphalt mastic prepared by foamed and unfoamed asphalt binders

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Applying foamed warm-mix asphalt in pavement has attracted great attention, but its effects on asphalt mastic are not clear. This research investigated...     

Kinetics of glass transition,crystallization and soft magnetic properties of the Fe76.5Nb3B20Cu0.5 glassy alloys

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Differential scanning calorimetry was used to investigate the non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of the Fe76.5Nb3B20Cu0.5 glassy alloys. The...     

Triplet excitation dynamics of β-carotene studied in three solvents by ns flash photolysis spectroscopy

Upon anthracene-sensitizing, triplet excitation dynamics of β-carotene(β-Car) were studied in nhexane, in methanol, and in acetonitrile, respectively, by ns flash photolysis spectroscopy. In n-hexane,only the bleaching of the ground state absorption(GSB) and the excitation triplet(~3Car*) absorption were observed, and there were no cationic species detected. In both methanol and acetonitrile, similar excitation dynamics were observed, i.e.,~3Car* having a similar lifetime to that in n-hexane, and the immediate generation of the cation dehydrodimer(~#[Car]2~+) upon excitation following transformation into the radical cation Car*~+, since Car*~+ has much longer lifetime in acetonitrile than in methanol. The results prove that both solvent and carotenoid structure determine the triplet excitation mechanism.     

The First Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Compound Based on Polyoxotungstates and Alkali-tris(imidazolyl) Segments with Electrocatalytic Activity

The first organic–inorganic hybrid compound based on the Keggin polyoxometalate and alkali-N-heterocycle ligand [Na₄(tib)₂(H₂O)₂(α-HBW₁₂O₄₀)]·2H₂O (1) (tib = 1,3,5-tris(1-imidazoly)benzene) was hydrothermally synthesized by utilizing a pH-dependent approach in the POM/Cu/tib reaction systems. X-ray structural analyses reveal that compound 1, formed in pH 5.2, possesses a (3,4,6)-connected 2D net with the (4²·5)(4⁶)(3³·4⁶·5²·6⁴) topology. In addition, electrochemical and electrocatalytic properties of compound 1 were studied by cyclic voltammograms. Compound 1 displayed electrocatalytic activities toward reduction of nitrite.     

Kinetically Controlled Layer-by-Layer Stacking of Metal Oxide 2D Nanosheets

An efficient chemical way to finely control the layer-by-layer stacking of inorganic nanosheets (NS) is developed by tuning the type and composition of intercalant ion, and the reaction temperature for restacking process. The finely controlled stacking of NS relies on a kinetic control of the self-assembly of NS in the presence of coordinating organic cations. A critical role of organic cations in this assembly highlights the importance of the appropriate activation energy. Of prime importance is that a fine-control of the interstratification of 2D NS is highly effective not only in tailoring its pore structure but also in enhancing its electrode activity. The present study clearly demonstrates that the kinetically controlled restacking of NS provides a facile and powerful method to tailor their stacking number and functionality.     

A multi-detector integrated automation system of routine INAA

An integrated automation system of routine instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) with three HPGe detectors has been built at China Institute of Atomic Energy. This system is mainly composed of sample counting system, pneumatic transfer system, software control and analysis systems, etc. The characteristics include more than 200 samples can be controlled for a batch of INAA with three detectors simultaneously, sample counting position can be optimized automatically according to the counting dead time, the real-time tracking and the high consistency between the spectrum and counting sample are possible to be realized through radio frequency identification tag.

     

The effects of counter anions on the dynamic mechanical response in polymer networks crosslinked by metal–ligand coordination

Metal–ligand coordination has been proven to be an attractive strategy to tune a polymer network's dynamic mechanical properties, such as self-healing ability. Nonetheless, the role of counter anions is often overlooked. To address this, a series of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films crosslinked through lanthanide metal cations (Eu³⁺, Tb³⁺)–bipyridine interactions have been prepared and studied. Neutral 2,2'-bipyridine ligands were embedded into the linear polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chain through polycondensation. With nitrate ( ) as the coordinating anions, metal salts Eu(NO₃)₃ and Tb(NO₃)₃ were found to be ineffective crosslinkers. With noncoordinating anions, such as triflate (OTf^-: CF₃ ), metal salts Eu(OTf)₃ and Tb(OTf)₃ showed improved interaction strength with bipyridine ligands. Surprisingly, the addition of Eu(OTf)₃ and Tb(OTf)₃ salts also increased the d-spacing distances of the phase-segregated domains between metal–ligand complexes and the PDMS polymer backbone. For the Eu(OTf)₃-, Tb(OTf)₃-PDMS films, the much-improved self-healing abilities are attributed to the crosslinker dynamics and the enhanced chain mobility. This work underlines the importance of counter anions on the mechanical properties, and provides further guidance on the future design of self-healing metal−ligand crosslinked polymers.) © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 3110–3116     

Heterogeneity in optimized solid-state synthesis of metavanadate AVO3 (A = Rb,Cs)

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Methanol was used to optimize the solid-state synthesizing method of alkali metavanadates AVO3 (A = Rb, Cs) for the first time and the...     

Ag@AgCl embedded on cellulose film: a stable,highly efficient and easily recyclable photocatalyst

In this work, cellulose–Ag@AgCl composite films have been fabricated directly through a one-step coagulation of a cellulose/1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BmimCl) solution with AgNO₃ and PVP. The AgCl was formed upon the addition of AgNO₃ to a cellulose/BmimCl solution, and underwent further reaction with excess Cl^?, leading to the complete dissolution of AgCl. The AgCl crystals were regenerated on the cellulose matrix during the coagulation process. The AgCl was partial decomposed to Ag⁰ and formed Ag@AgCl under visible light irradiation. The morphology of Ag@AgCl in the cellulose matrix was controlled by varying the concentration of PVP. The addition of PVP enabled the formation of stable cellulose films embedded with Ag@AgCl. The composite film demonstrated efficient photodegradation of methyl orange, which was retained upon recycling. This work thus provides a simple pathway for the preparation of Ag@AgCl embedded on a polymer support via one-step coagulation.