Designed Synthesis of Well‐Defined Pd@Pt Core–Shell Nanoparticles with Controlled Shell Thickness as Efficient Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts

Improving the electrocatalytic activity and durability of Pt‐based catalysts with low Pt content toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is one of the main challenges in advancing the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Herein, a designed synthesis of well‐defined Pd@Pt core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) with a controlled Pt shell thickness of 0.4–1.2 nm by a facile wet chemical method and their electrocatalytic performances for ORR as a function of shell thickness are reported. Pd@Pt NPs with predetermined structural parameters were prepared by in situ heteroepitaxial growth of Pt on as‐synthesized 6 nm Pd NPs without any sacrificial layers and intermediate workup processes, and thus the synthetic procedure for the production of Pd@Pt NPs with well‐defined sizes and shell thicknesses is greatly simplified. The Pt shell thickness could be precisely controlled by adjusting the molar ratio of Pt to Pd. The ORR performance of the Pd@Pt NPs strongly depended on the thickness of their Pt shells. The Pd@Pt NPs with 0.94 nm Pt shells exhibited enhanced specific activity and higher durability compared to other Pd@Pt NPs and commercial Pt/C catalysts. Testing Pd@Pt NPs with 0.94 nm Pt shells in a membrane electrode assembly revealed a single‐cell performance comparable with that of the Pt/C catalyst despite their lower Pt content, that is the present NP catalysts can facilitate low‐cost and high‐efficient applications of PEMFCs.     

Tetrahedral atom ordering in a zeolite framework: a key factor affecting its physicochemical properties

Three gallosilicate natrolites with closely similar chemical composition but differing in the distribution of Si and Ga over crystallographically different tetrahedral sites (T-sites) show striking differences in their cation exchange performance. The ability to exchange Na(+) by the larger alkali metal cations decreases upon increasing the size of the cation, as expected, but also with the degree of T-atom ordering. To seek an insight into this phenomenon, the crystal structures of 11 different zeolites, which show variations in degree of T-atom ordering, nature of countercation, and hydration state, have been refined using synchrotron diffraction data. While the three as-made sodium materials were characterized to have a low, medium, and high degree of ordering, respectively, their pore sizes are close to the size of the bare Na(+) cation and much smaller than that of the larger alkali cations, which are nonetheless exchanged into the materials, each one at a different level. Interestingly, large differences are also manifested when the Na(+) back-exchange is performed on the dehydrated K(+) forms, with crystallographic pore sizes too small even to allow the passage of Na(+). Although the thermodynamic data point to small differences in the enthalpy of the Na(+)/K(+) exchange in the three materials, comparison of the "static" crystallographic pore sizes and the diameter of the exchanged cations lead us to conclude that during the exchange process these zeolites undergo significant deformations that dynamically open the pores, allowing cation traffic even for Cs(+) in the case of the most disordered material. In addition to the very large topological flexibility typical of the natrolite framework, we propose as a hypothesis that there is an additional flexibility mechanism that decreases the rigidity of the natrolite chain itself and is dependent on preferential siting of Si or Ga on crystallographically different T-sites.     

Dimesogenic liquid crystal consisting of cholesterol and Schiff base moieties: dependence of LC properties on the spacer length and fluorination of the alkoxy tails

The liquid crystalline properties of two series of non‐symmetric liquid crystal dimers consisting of cholesterol and Schiff base moieties interconnected by ω‐oxyalkanoyl spacers of varying length are compared: one series (SBOC‐ n ) carry the octyloxy tail on the Schiff base mesogen, and the other (SBOF‐ n ) a perfluoroheptylmethyloxy tail. In general, compounds with the fluorinated alkoxy tail exhibited mesophases over a much wider temperature range than those with the alkoxy tail. The latter series favoured the formation of more diverse mesophases than the former. SBOC‐4, ‐5 and ‐7, and SBOF‐4, ‐5 and ‐10 formed the chiral smectic C phase.     

Effects of thioamide substitutions on the conformation and stability of alpha- and 3(10)-helices

Thiopeptides, formed by replacing the amide oxygen atom with a sp(2) sulfur atom, are useful in protein engineering and drug design because they confer resistance to enzymatic degradation and are predicted to be more rigid. This report describes our free molecular dynamics simulations with explicit water and free energy calculations on the effects of thio substitutions on the conformation of alpha-helices, 3(10)-helices, and their relative stability. The most prominent structural effect of thio substitution is the increase in the hydrogen bond distance from 2.1 A for normal peptides to 2.7 A for thiopeptides. To accommodate for the longer C[double bond]S...H-N hydrogen bond, the (phi, psi) dihedral angles of the alpha-helix changed from (-66 degrees, -42 degrees) to (-68 degrees, -38 degrees), and the rise per turn increased from 5.5 to 6.3 A. For 3(10)-helices, the (phi, psi) dihedral angles (-60 degrees, -20 degrees) and rise per turn (6.0 A) changed to (-66 degrees, -12 degrees) and 6.8 A, respectively. In terms of relative stability, the most prominent change upon thio substitution is the decrease in the free energy difference, Delta A(alpha --> 3(10)), from 14 to 3.5 kcal/mol. Therefore, normal peptides are less likely to form 3(10)-helix than are thiopeptides. Component analysis of the Delta A(alpha --> 3(10)) reviews that the entropy advantage of the 3(10)-helix for both Ac-Ala(10)-NHMe and Act-Alat(10)-NHMe is attributed to the 3(10)-helix being more flexible than the alpha-helix. Interestingly, upon thio substitution, this differential flexibility is even more apparent because the alpha-helix conformation of Act-Alat(10)-NHMe becomes more rigid due to the bulkier sulfur atom.     

The Reaction of Ninhydrin with Trimethylbenzenes under Friedel-Crafts Reaction Conditions

The reaction of ninhydrin with 1,2,3- and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene in the presence of H₂SO₄ or AlCl₃ afforded 2-monoaryl and 2,2-diaryl-1,3-indanedione derivatives as the major products. With 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene as the arene nucleophile, either a reduction product or an indenoindanone derivative was obtained depending upon the catalyst employed in the reaction.     

Double Yielding in a Styrene/Butadiene Star Block Copolymer

Summary: The morphology and tensile deformation behaviour of a highly asymmetric styrene/butadiene star block copolymer (polystyrene (PS) content = 74%) containing random PS‐co‐PB (polybutadiene) copolymer as a rubbery phase were investigated. The existence of double yielding, similar to that observed in some semicrystalline polymers, was detected in this nanostructured amorphous polymer. The observed phenomenon may be correlated with two different micromechanical processes taking place at the initial stage of deformation.

The stress‐strain curve of the star block copolymer prepared here (each curve represents a different method). The two yield points are clearly visible (labelled I and II).     

Studies on the Complexes of N,N′-Bis[o-(diphenylphosphino)benzylidene]ethylenediamine with Transition Metal Ions

The thermodynamic parameters for the interaction of Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Co²⁺, Cd²⁺, andAg⁺ with the new title ligand have been determined by titration calorimetry in 50% THF–methanol (V/V) at 25 °C.Ag⁺ exhibited remarkably higher complexation selectivity.Ag⁺ and several transition metal ions have been transportedusing this ligand as carrier in a bulk liquid membrane. CompetitiveAg⁺–M²⁺ transport studies have also beencarried out for the same system. In this membrane transport study, high transport of Ag⁺ was observed in both single and competitiveAg⁺–M²⁺ transport studies. The complexformation of N,N-bis[o-(diphenylphosphino)benzylidene]ethylenediamine (P₂N₂) with silver,[Ag(P₂N₂)] (NO₃), (1) is reported. Complex 1 has been characterized by X-ray crystallography. 1 ismonoclinic, space group P2_1/n (No. 14), with cell dimensionsa = 13.398(4) , b=12.577(5) , c = 21.521(4) , =100.14(2) , V = 3570(2) ³ and Z = 4.     

Swelling behavior of amphiphilic hydrogels of copolymers of the vinyl ether of ethylene glycol and vinyl isobutyl ether,and their interaction with cationic surfactant

Amphiphilic hydrogels of copolymers of the vinyl ether of ethylene glycol and vinyl isobutyl ether were synthesized by -radiation-induced free radical polymerization. Hydrogels with certain copolymer compositions showed thermo-sensitive behavior in aqueous solutions. The swelling behavior of the hydrogels in cetylpyridinium bromide aqueous solution was studied. Increased swelling of the hydrogels was observed in the surfactant solutions. The increased swelling was more prominent for the hydrogels with a higher content of hydrophobic moiety in the copolymer composition, and with higher surfactant concentration. The reason for this phenomenon is discussed. Treatment of some hydrogels in the surfactant solutions resulted in higher swelling ability in distilled water with distinct thermo-induced contraction over a narrow temperature interval.