Analysis of trace elements in the fingernails of breast cancer patients using instrumental neutron activation analysis

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The aim of this study was to find trace elements that increase risk of breast cancer based on the deviation of the concentration of trace elements...     

Simultaneous determination of 20 bioactive components in Chuanxiong Rhizoma from different production origins in Sichuan province by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry combined with multivariate statistical analysis

Chuanxiong Rhizoma is a commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. Chuanxiong Rhizoma is widely distributed in Sichuan province, China, including the cities of Dujiangyan, Pengzhou, Meishan, Qionglai, and Shifang. However, reports on the comparisons of quality of Chuanxiong Rhizoma of different production origins are limited. Therefore, an ultra-HPLC with triple quadrupole MS method was developed for the determination of 20 bioactive components (12 aromatic acids and eight phthalides) in 36 samples from different production origins and further assessed its quality. The contents of these 20 constituents of samples were analyzed by hierarchical cluster analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis; the result indicated that Chuanxiong Rhizoma of different production origins had some differences. Thirteen constituents of quality difference markers were acquired by variable importance for the project. Furthermore, the sum of the contents of these quality difference markers was different from various production origins of Chuanxiong Rhizoma. Meanwhile, Z-ligustilide and senkyunolide A as main constituents of quality difference markers, the rate of various production origins of Chuanxiong Rhizoma was different. This study provides a foundation for the quality assessment of Chuanxiong Rhizoma.     

The miracle role of lattice imperfections in benzene alkylation with methanol over mordenite

Mordenite (MOR) has demonstrated potential as a catalyst for alkylation due to high variability, intrinsic porosity, and outstanding stability. However, the contact probability of benzene and methanol has been limited by typical layered structures of MOR and there is no connection between layers. Here, we report the preparedness of H-MOR via a sequential post-treatment method based on a commercial MOR. H-MOR sample had appeared lattice imperfections inferred from characterization means. The samples were tested with benezene methylation reaction. Results show that the high conversion of benzene and the high selectivity of toluene were obtained from the miracle role of lattice imperfections in the H-MOR sample. Sequentially, based on the study of all catalyst structure and physical properties, a plausible reaction mechanism for the selectivity of the desired toluene was proposed.     

Transition-metal-free mono- or dinitration of protected anilines

Abstract

An amide-assisted arene nitration is presented, and both mono- and dinitration of protected anilines could be effected by using NaNO₂ and NaNO₃ as the mono- and bisnitrating agents, respectively. This divergent synthesis is transition-metal- and acid-free, and features a broad substrate scope, low cost, and ortho–para selectivity.     

A Novel d-f Heterometallic CdII-EuIII Metal-organic Framework as a Sensitive Luminescent Sensor for the Dual Detection of Ronidazole and 4-Nitrophenol

A novel three-dimensional (3D) d-f heterometallic metal-organic framework (MOF) formulated as [EuCd_1.5L₂(H₂O)₃] · 2H₂O ( 1 ) [H₃L = 5-(4-(tetrazol-5-yl)phenyl)isophthalic acid] was successfully synthesized and characterized. Structural analysis displays that 1 features a 3D (3, 12)-connected framework constructed by [Eu₂Cd₃(tetrazole)₄(COO)₈] units. The powder X-ray diffraction measurement of 1 immersed in different solvents reveals that 1 possess good solvent stability. It is worth noting that 1 displays highly selective detection for ronidazole (RDZ) and 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) through luminescence quenching. The possible mechanism of luminescent sensing is also well discussed.     

Large-Scale Synthesis of MOF-Derived Superporous Carbon Aerogels with Extraordinary Adsorption Capacity for Organic Solvents

Carbon aerogels (CAs) with 3D interconnected networks hold promise for application in areas such as pollutant treatment, energy storage, and electrocatalysis. In spite of this, it remains challenging to synthesize high-performance CAs on a large scale in a simple and sustainable manner. We report an eco-friendly method for the scalable synthesis of ultralight and superporous CAs by using cheap and widely available agarose (AG) biomass as the carbon precursor. Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) with high porosity is introduced into the AG aerogels to increase the specific surface area and enable heteroatom doping. After pyrolysis under inert atmosphere, the ZIF-8/AG-derived nitrogen-doped CAs show a highly interconnected porous mazelike structure with a low density of 24 mg cm⁻³, a high specific surface area of 516 m² g⁻¹, and a large pore volume of 0.58 cm⁻³ g⁻¹. The resulting CAs exhibit significant potential for application in the adsorption of organic pollutants.     

Self-Assembly of Highly Stable Zirconium(IV) Coordination Cages with Aggregation Induced Emission Molecular Rotors for Live-Cell Imaging

The self-assembly of highly stable zirconium(IV)-based coordination cages with aggregation induced emission (AIE) molecular rotors for in vitro bio-imaging is reported. The two coordination cages, NUS-100 and NUS-101, are assembled from the highly stable trinuclear zirconium vertices and two flexible carboxyl-decorated tetraphenylethylene (TPE) spacers. Extensive experimental and theoretical results show that the emissive intensity of the coordination cages can be controlled by restricting the dynamics of AIE-active molecular rotors though multiple external stimuli. Because the two coordination cages have excellent chemical stability in aqueous solutions (pH stability: 2–10) and impressive AIE characteristics contributed by the molecular rotors, they can be employed as novel biological fluorescent probes for in vitro live-cell imaging.     

Li/Garnet Interface Stabilization by Thermal-Decomposition Vapor Deposition of an Amorphous Carbon Layer

Applying interlayers is the main strategy to address the large area specific resistance (ASR) of Li/garnet interface. However, studies on eliminating the Li₂CO₃ and LiOH interfacial lithiophobic contaminants are still insufficient. Here, thermal-decomposition vapor deposition (TVD) of a carbon modification layer on Li_6.75La₃Zr_1.75Ta_0.25O₁₂ (LLZTO) provides a contaminant-free surface. Owing to the protection of the carbon layer, the air stability of LLZTO is also improved. Moreover, owing to the amorphous structure of the low graphitized carbon (LGC), instant lithiation is achieved, and the ASR of the Li/LLZTO interface is reduced to 9 Ω cm². Lithium volatilization and Zr⁴⁺ reduction are also controllable during TVD. Compared with its high graphitized carbon counterpart (HGC), the LGC-modified Li/LLZTO interface displays a higher critical current density of 1.2 mA cm⁻², as well as moderate Li plating and stripping, which provides enhanced polarization voltage stability.     

炭-/石墨烯量子点在超级电容器中的应用

炭-/石墨烯量子点作为新兴的炭纳米材料,因具有独特的小尺寸效应和丰富的边缘活性位点而在高性能超级电容器电极材料的研发方面展现出巨大潜力。针对目前炭-/石墨烯量子点在超级电容器电极材料方面的应用优势和存在的关键问题,本文以炭-/石墨烯量子点、量子点/导电炭复合材料、量子点/金属氧化物复合材料、量子点/导电聚合物复合材料以及量子点衍生炭这些电极材料为脉络,梳理了近年来该领域的发展状况,尝试阐释炭-/石墨烯量子点在电极材料、复合材料和衍生炭电极材料中所起到的关键作用,最后对炭-/石墨烯量子点电极材料的发展进行了展望。本综述以期为炭-/石墨烯量子点基电极材料的研究提供一定参考和依据。