Excellent degradation performance of azo dye by metallic glass/titanium dioxide composite powders

The metallic glass/titanium dioxide powders (MG/TiO₂) with enhanced photocatalytic oxidation activity were synthesized, which exhibit a higher efficiency in decolorizing methylene blue solutions (MB). Compared with the pure TiO₂ and crystalline alloy/TiO₂ (CA/TiO₂) under the same circumstances, its degradation rate was 60 % and 30 % higher, respectively. Furthermore, compared with the CA/TiO₂, the MG/TiO₂ photocatalytic rate was three times faster when decolorizing MB. Considering the excellent intrinsic high-performance photocatalytic degradation under visible light irradiation, these novel powders were proven to have potential applications in water purification industry.     

Preparation of Unconventional Dendrimers that Contain Rigid NH?Triazine Linkages and Peripheral tert‐Butyl Moieties for CO2‐Selective Adsorption

Three unconventional dendrimers that contained rigid NH? triazine linkages and peripheral tert‐butyl moieties were prepared by using a convergent approach and characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. Based on a thermogravimetric analysis study, these dendrimers were observed to display thermal stability at about 300 °C. The NH? triazine moiety, which possessed protonated and proton‐free nitrogen sites (like the imidazole unit), displayed the capture of polarizable CO₂ molecules through hydrogen‐bond and/or dipole–quadrupole interactions. In addition, the adsorption of various amounts of CO₂ and N₂ at different pressures suggests that the dendritic pores, which arise from the stacking of the middle co‐planar and rim protuberant dendrimers, G _n ‐N～N‐G _n (n=1–3), either swell or shrink at high pressure, thus indicating that these dendrimers may have a breathing ability.     

Highly Efficient C?H Oxidative Activation by a Porous MnIII–Porphyrin Metal–Organic Framework under Mild Conditions

A simple strategy to rationally immobilize metalloporphyrin sites into porous mixed‐metal–organic framework (M′MOF) materials by a metalloligand approach has been developed to mimic cytochrome P450 monooxygenases in a biological system. The synthesized porous M′MOF of [Zn₂(MnOH–TCPP)(DPNI)] ? 0.5 DMF ? EtOH ? 5.5 H₂O ( CZJ‐1 ; CZJ=Chemistry Department of Zhejiang University; TCPP=tetrakis(4‐carboxyphenyl)porphyrin); DPNI=N,N′‐di(4‐pyridyl)‐1,4,5,8‐naphthalenetetracarboxydiimide) has the type of doubly interpenetrated cubic α‐Po topology in which the basic Zn₂(COO)₄ paddle‐wheel clusters are bridged by metalloporphyrin to form two‐dimensional sheets that are further bridged by the organic pillar linker DPNI to form a three‐dimensional porous structure. The porosity of CZJ‐1 has been established by both crystallographic studies and gas‐sorption isotherms. CZJ‐1 exhibits significantly high catalytic oxidation of cyclohexane with conversion of 94 % to the mixture of cyclohexanone (K) and cyclohexanol (A) (so‐called K–A oil) at room temperature. We also provided solid experimental evidence to verify the catalytic reaction that occurred in the pores of the M′MOF catalyst.     

Preparation and characterization of ZrCO/C composite aerogels

Zr-containing organic aerogels were synthesized by ligand substitution reaction of polyzirconoxone and 2, 4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, followed by polymerization with formaldehyde, and then supercritical drying using CO₂. After carbonization and carbothermal reduction under an argon atmosphere, ZrCO/C composite aerogels with controllable zirconium content (47.8–78.6 wt%) were obtained. The carbothermal reduction was substantially completed at 1,500 °C, and the obtained ZrCO/C composite aerogels exhibit low oxygen contents (9.4–6.7 wt%) and high surface areas (589–147 m²/g). Pore morphologies of the ZrCO/C composite aerogels were investigated in detail by nitrogen sorption measurements, scanning electron microscopy and its associated energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis measurements. The results show that the aerogels are composed of carbon framework and Zr-conglomerations, and the surface area of aerogel is severely affected by its zirconium content. The presence of reductive ZrC crystals can greatly enhance the oxidation resistance ability of amorphous carbon framework and prevent collapse.     

EXAFS and DFT studies of microscopic structure with different density upon Zn(II) adsorption on anatase TiO2

Microscopic structures of Zn(II) adsorbed on anatase TiO₂ surface with different densities were studied using extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculation. Quantitative analysis of the EXAFS spectra showed that microscopic structures of Zn(II) were fourfold coordinated complexes, and different microscopic structures were present of the solid surface. Three modes of corner–corner/sharing-corner/sharing-edge adsorptions on anatase (101) face cluster were calculated by the DFT method. The results from DFT method were consistent with the EXAFS fittings. The optimized Zn–O average distance of the Zn–O tetrahedron was determined as about 2.00 Å. The Zn–Ti distance was 3.69 Å for the corner–corner adsorption, 3.35 Å for the sharing-corner adsorption, and 3.02 Å for the sharing-edge adsorption. According to the adsorption energies calculated by the DFT method, the microscopic structure of corner–corner adsorption was less stable than those of the other adsorption modes. With the increasing adsorption density, the corner–corner adsorption mode would be enhanced more intensively than the other adsorption modes.     

Copper‐Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidative C?H and C?C Functionalization of 1‐[2‐(Arylamino)aryl]ethanones Leading to Acridone Derivatives

Efficient copper‐catalyzed aerobic oxidative C? H and C? C functionalization of 1‐[2‐(arylamino)aryl]ethanones leading to acridones has been developed. The procedure involves cleavage of aromatic C? H and acetyl C? C bonds with intramolecular formation of a diarylketone bond. The protocol uses inexpensive Cu(O₂CCF₃)₂ as catalyst, pyridine as additive, and economical and environmentally friendly oxygen as the oxidant, and the corresponding acridones with various functional groups were obtained in moderate to good yields.     

Fully Synthetic Self‐Adjuvanting Thioether‐Conjugated Glycopeptide?Lipopeptide Antitumor Vaccines for the Induction of Complement‐Dependent Cytotoxicity against Tumor Cells

Glycopeptides of tumor‐associated mucin MUC1 are promising target structures for the development of antitumor vaccines. Because these endogenous structures were weakly immunogenic, they were coupled to immune‐response‐stimulating T‐cell epitopes and the Pam₃Cys lipopeptide to induce strong immune responses in mice. A new thioether‐ligation method for the synthesis of two‐ and three‐component vaccines that contain MUC1 glycopeptides as the B‐cell epitopes, a T‐cell epitope peptide, and the Pam₃CSK₄ lipopeptide is described. The resulting fully synthetic vaccines were used for the vaccination of mice, either in a liposome with Freund′s adjuvant or in aqueous PBS buffer. The three‐component vaccines that contained the Tetanus Toxoid P2 T‐cell epitope peptide induced strong immune responses, even when administered just in PBS. By activation of the complement‐dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) complex, the antisera induced the killing of tumor cells.     

Dynamic Electrosorption Analysis as an Effective Means to Characterise the Structure of Bulk Graphene Assemblies

Restacking of graphene sheets to a graphite‐like structure is a prevailing problem that is known to compromise the performance of individual graphene sheets in an assembled bulk form. To address this common problem efficiently and monitor the structure and quality of graphene products comprehensively, it is highly desirable to develop reliable metrology techniques for characterising graphene‐based materials on a bulk assembly level and in a quantitative manner. Here, by revisiting the physicochemical principle of electrosorption, we propose a simple electrochemical approach, namely dynamic electrosorption analysis (DEA), as an easily accessible and effective technique for evaluation of the self‐stacking behaviour of graphene. Taking multilayered chemically converted graphene films as a model, we demonstrate that the DEA technique can effectively reveal very subtle variation in accessible surface area and pore size of graphene assemblies in the liquid phase and thus can provide useful insights to the experimental design relating to restacking control. This work also reveals the huge effect some routine processing conditions, such as heat treatment and drying, can have on the structure and performance of graphene‐based bulk materials, providing useful guidance for future manufacturing of this class of materials.     

Enantioselective Total Synthesis of (−)‐Blennolide A

Blennolide A can be synthesized through an enantioselective domino‐Wacker/carbonylation/methoxylation reaction of 7 a with 96 % ee and an enantioselective Wacker oxidation of 7 b with 89 % ee. Further transformations led to the α,β‐unsaturated ester (E)‐ 17 , which was subjected to a highly selective Michael addition, introducing a methyl group to give 18 a . After a threefold oxidation and an intramolecular acylation, the tetrahydroxanthenone 4 was obtained, which could be transformed into (?)‐blennolide A (ent‐ 1 ) in a few steps.     

Mechanistic Insights into Copper‐Catalyzed Sonogashira–Hagihara‐Type Cross‐Coupling Reactions: Sub‐Mol % Catalyst Loadings and Ligand Effects

An efficient catalytic system for Sonogashira–Hagihara‐type reactions displaying ligand acceleration in the copper‐catalyzed formation of C(sp²)? C(sp) bonds is described. The structure of the ligand plays a key role for the coupling efficiency. Various copper sources show excellent catalytic activity, even in sub‐mol % quantities. A wide variety of substituents is tolerated in the substrates. Mechanistic details have been revealed by kinetic measurements and DFT calculations.