Intermetallic Compounds: Liquid-Phase Synthesis and Electrocatalytic Applications

Characterized by long-range atomic ordering, well-defined stoichiometry, and controlled crystal structure, intermetallics have attracted increasing attention in the area of chemical synthesis and catalytic applications. Liquid-phase synthesis of intermetallics has arisen as the promising methodology due to its precise control over size, shape, and resistance toward sintering compared with the traditional metallurgy. This short review tends to provide perspectives on the liquid-phase synthesis of intermetallics in terms of both thermodynamics and methodology, as well as its applications in various catalytic reactions. Specifically, basic thermodynamics and kinetics in the synthesis of intermetallics will be first discussed, followed by discussing the main factors that will affect the formation of intermetallics during synthesis. The application of intermetallics in electrocatalysis will be demonstrated case by case at last. We conclude the review with perspectives on the future developments with respect to both synthesis and catalytic applications.     

Fabrication of ZnSe/C Hollow Polyhedrons for Lithium Storage

ZnSe has got extensive attention for high-performance LIBs anode due to its remarkable theoretical capacity and environmental friendliness. Nevertheless, the large volume variation for the ZnSe in the discharge/charge processes brings about rapid capacity fading and poor rate performance. Herein, ZnSe/C hollow polyhedrons are successfully synthesized by selenization of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) with resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) coating. The protection of C layer derived from RF coating layer and Ostwald ripening during the process of selenization play important roles in promoting formation of ZnSe/C hollow polyhedrons. The ZnSe/C hollow polyhedrons exhibit good rate performance and long-term cycle stability (345 mAh g⁻¹ up to 1000 cycles at 1 A g⁻¹) for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) anode. The improved electrochemical performance is benefit from the unique ZnSe/C hollow structure, in which the hollow structure can effectively avoid terrible volume expansion, and the thin ZnSe/C shell can not only provide adequate diffusion paths of lithium ions and but also enhance the electronic conductivity.     

Facile Synthesis and Size Control of 2D Cyclodextrin-Based Metal–Organic Frameworks Nanosheet for Topical Drug Delivery

In this work, a 2D nanosheet (NS) of γ-cyclodextrin (CD)-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is synthesized through a facile green chemistry approach. NS-MOF carrier is constructed using a water system in a simple one-pot reaction involving CD and potassium carbonate. Particle size optimization is achieved by adjusting the reaction temperature and the introduction of crystal growth suppressor (appropriate proportion of acetone). The NS-MOF stability in aqueous medium is improved by polymerization reaction of crosslinked CD-MOF (CL-CD-MOF) without blocking its cavity for drug loading. The effects of particle geometry and size of nanoporous materials on their pharmacokinetics during drug delivery are compared between the sheet-like DXM@CL-NS-MOF and 3D-cubic-shaped DXM@CL-CD-MOF loaded with the same quantity of dexamethasone (DXM). The bioefficiency of these carriers in tear fluids and aqueous humors to deliver DXM is investigated in vivo. The results demonstrate that the 2D-nanosheet particles significantly improve precorneal residence time and intraocular bioavailability over the commercial Maxidex (0.1% dexamethasone) and its 3D-cubes counterpart of similar chemical composition. It suggests that the geometry of a carrier play a significant role in the biodistribution, and the carrier of CL-NS-MOF is a good candidate for ocular drug delivery.     

Donor–Acceptor Type Pendant Conjugated Molecules Based on a Triazine Center with Depressed Intramolecular Charge Transfer Characteristics as Gain Media for Organic Semiconductor Lasers

A set of fluorene-capped pendant conjugated molecules ( T-m and T-p ), which consist of a triazine center with three carbazole substituents as the donor–acceptor (D-A) type pendant structure, were designed, synthesized, and investigated as gain media for organic semiconductor lasers (OSLs). In particular, varying the capping positions of the fluorene units on the pendant core structures results in significantly different intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) properties, where T-m manifested depressed ICT characteristic and high fluorescence quantum yield. The lowest amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) threshold in neat films was recorded as 1.9 μJ cm⁻² for T-m and 83.8 μJ cm⁻² for T-p , which indicated that the depressed ICT characteristics in the case of T-m help to enhance the ASE properties. Remarkably, the ASE threshold remained almost unchanged and the ASE spectra showed very small shifts (within 1 nm) for T-m with film samples annealed up to 180 °C in open air. In contrast, its linear counterpart 2FEtCz-m showed a clearly increased ASE threshold upon annealing above 100 °C. The results suggest that the selective construction of conjugated pendant molecules with depressed ICT characteristics is beneficial for finely modulating the optical and electrical properties as well as improving the thermostability and photostability, which manifests the great potential as a robust gain media for OSLs.     

Multiple 3D- and 2D-quantitative structure–activity relationship models (QSAR), theoretical study and molecular modeling to identify structural requirements of imidazopyridine analogues as anti-infective agents against tuberculosis

Structural Chemistry - Tuberculosis (TB), an infectious remains a global health burden till date. Considering immense importance of theoretical tools in computer aided-drug designing, the current...     

Temporal variability of rare earth elements in Ultisol soil under citrus plants

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The objective of this study was to evaluate temporal variability of rare earth elements (REE) in soils of citrus agroecosystems. Instrumental...     

Liquid crystalline oligomers derived from cholesterol: synthesis and columnar mesomorphism

The novel columnar liquid crystals based on symmetric hairpin-shaped cholesterol tetramers bridged by rigid or hydrogen-bonding Schiff-base spacers were prepared by reacting cholesterol dimer with phenylenediamines or dihydrazides in yields of 70–85%. Structural characterisation of these new compounds had been achieved by infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. Their mesomorphic properties were investigated by polarising optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. They exhibited good hexagonal columnar mesophase with three molecules in a disc of the columnar hexagonal state. This study implied that the symmetric cholesterol tetramers with rigid cores or hydrogen-bonding cores prefer to columnar mesophase.     

GaN薄膜的蓝光和红光发射机理研究

由于生长工艺的不完善，非掺杂GaN薄膜中通常存在未知的杂质和缺陷，产生与这些未知杂质和缺陷能级相关的发光。报道了非掺杂GaN薄膜的692nm红色发光．并研究了非掺杂GaN薄膜的蓝、红色发光的发射机理；利用作者提出的吸收归一化光致发光激发光谱，直接测量出了非掺杂GaN薄膜的蓝、红色发光的初始态能级，确定蓝色发光为施主-价带跃迁复合，而红色发光为施主-受主跃迁复合；给出了黄、蓝、红光的发射模型。所取得的结果对于确定未知杂质和缺陷的种类具有重要的参考价值。     

对相干态与级联三能级原子相互作用过程中原子与场的动力学特性

研究对相干态与级联三能原子相互作用的动力学特性。结果表明，无论场模与原子的中间能级是否失谐，拉比振荡和互关联函数的时间演化都呈现崩溃与回复现象，但崩溃的持续时间随失谐量的增加而迅速延长，且两模之间随时间的演化即出现关联也出现反关联。