A Porous Tricyclooxacalixarene Cage Based on Tetraphenylethylene

A quadrangular prismatic tricyclooxacalixarene cage 1 based on tetraphenylethylene (TPE) was efficiently synthesized by a one‐pot S_NAr condensation reaction. As a result of the porous internal structure in the solid state, cage 1 exhibited a good CO₂ uptake capacity of 12.5 wt % and a high selectivity for CO₂ over N₂ adsorption of 80 (273 K, 1 bar) with a BET surface area of 432 m² g^?1. Formation of cage 1 led to the fluorescence of TPE being switched on in solution. The system was employed as a single‐molecule platform to study the mechanism of aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) by examining the restriction of intramolecular rotation (RIR).     

Cooperative Crystallization of Heterometallic Indium–Chromium Metal–Organic Polyhedra and Their Fast Proton Conductivity

Metal–organic polyhedra (MOPs) or frameworks (MOFs) based on Cr³⁺ are notoriously difficult to synthesize, especially as crystals large enough to be suitable for characterization of the structure or properties. It is now shown that the co‐existence of In³⁺ and Cr³⁺ induces a rapid crystal growth of large single crystals of heterometallic In‐Cr‐MOPs with the [M₈L₁₂] (M=In/Cr, L=dinegative 4,5‐imidazole‐dicarboxylate) cubane‐like structure. With a high concentration of protons from 12 carboxyl groups decorating every edge of the cube and an extensive H‐bonded network between cubes and surrounding H₂O molecules, the newly synthesized In‐Cr‐MOPs exhibit an exceptionally high proton conductivity (up to 5.8×10^?2 S cm^?1 at 22.5 °C and 98 % relative humidity, single crystal).     

Boronic Acid‐Based Carbohydrate Sensing

The covalent boron–diol interaction enables elaborate design of boronic acid‐based saccharide sensors. Over the last decade, this research topic has been well developed thanks to the integration of boronic acid chemistry with a range of techniques, including supramolecular chemistry, materials chemistry, surface modification, and nanotechnology. New sensing strategies and platforms have been introduced and remarkable progress has been achieved to fully utilize the unique property of boron–diol interaction and to improve the binding affinity towards different targets, especially under physiological conditions. In this review, the latest progress over the past 30 months (from late 2012 to early 2015) is highlighted and discussed to shed light on this versatile and promising platform for saccharide sensing.     

Study on preparation and properties of polyether polytriazole elastomers

To explore the application of click chemistry in the field of elastomer materials, propargyl-terminated ethylene oxide-tetrahydrofuran copolymer(PTP(E-co-T)) was prepared from hydroxyl-terminated ethylene oxide-tetrahydrofuran copolymer(P(E-co-T)) by end-etherisation modification. FTIR and 13C-NMR results indicate that P(E-co-T)-terminated hydroxyl was etherified thoroughly, yielding the target product PTP(E-co-T), and the content of terminated alkynyl of PTP(E-co-T) was evaluated to be 0.428 mmol·g-1. Using a polyazide compound as a cross-linker, polytriazole elastomers with various functional molar ratio(R) values were prepared from PTP(E-co-T) by virtue of the Cu AAC reaction. Mechanical property tests indicate that with the increase in R, the modulus E and stress σb of the polytriazole elastomers first increase and subsequently decrease, whereas the strain first decreases and later increases. The mechanical properties of the polytriazole elastomers show a parabolic dependence on the R value. Near the stoichiometric ratio, E and σb show maxima and the strain εb shows a minimum. Swelling tests demonstrate that the apparent molecular weight of polytriazole elastomer strands also first decreases and subsequently increases. At the stoichiometric ratio, the network structure possesses strands with a minimum apparent molecular weight and a maximum apparent density. Dynamic mechanical analysis reveals that the polytriazole elastomers presented damping peaks at approximately-64 °C, corresponding to the glass transition of copolyether strands, and the elastomer exhibited the lowest dissipation factor tanδ at the stoichiometric ratio. Thermal analysis suggests that the weight-loss process of the polytriazole elastomer is characteristic of one-step decomposition, and the elastomer begins to decompose from polyether strands, not triazole groups.