Influence of Side‐Chain Composition on Polythiophene Properties and Supramolecular Assembly of Anionic Polythiophene Derivatives

A series of 10 polythiophene derivatives is reported, in which each polymer has a different percentage of carboxylic acid‐bearing repeat units. The properties of these polymers are explored under acidic conditions, where the carboxylic acid moieties remain neutral, and under basic conditions, where the carboxylic acid units become anionic carboxylates. The properties that are examined for both solutions and films include UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and red‐edge optical band gaps. All the properties studied are strongly dependent both on protonation state and percentage of carboxylic acid/carboxylate side chains along the polymer backbone. The anionic form of each polythiophene derivative was also used in layer‐by‐layer film deposition with a cationic phosphonium polyelectrolyte. The film growth process was studied by spectroscopic techniques to assess the influence of side‐chain composition on the film growth and optical properties. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019     

Strategies for Synthesis of Imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine Derivatives: Carbene Transformations or C−H Functionalizations

The imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridines are an important target in organic synthetic chemistry and have attracted critical attention of chemists mainly due to the discovery of the interesting properties exhibited by a great number of imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine derivatives. Although lots of synthetic methods of imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridines have been developed in the past years, the chemistry community faces continuing challenges to use green reagents, maximize atom economy and enrich the functional group diversity of product. Undoubtedly, with its low cost and lack of environmentally hazardous byproducts, cascade reactions and C?H functionalizations are ideal strategies for this field. In this record we highlight some of our progress toward the goal to synthesis of imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine derivatives through carbene transformations or C?H functionalizations.     

Lewis Base/Brønsted Acid Co‐catalyzed Enantioselective Sulfenylation/Semipinacol Rearrangement of Di‐ and Trisubstituted Allylic Alcohols

An enantioselective sulfenylation/semipinacol rearrangement of 1,1‐disubstituted and trisubstituted allylic alcohols was accomplished with a chiral Lewis base and a chiral Brønsted acid as cocatalysts, generating various β‐arylthio ketones bearing an all‐carbon quaternary center in moderate to excellent yields and excellent enantioselectivities. These chiral arylthio ketone products are common intermediates with many applications, for example, in the design of new chiral catalysts/ligands and the total synthesis of natural products. Computational studies (DFT calculations) were carried out to explain the enantioselectivity and the role of the chiral Brønsted acid. Additionally, the synthetic utility of this method was exemplified by an enantioselective total synthesis of (?)‐herbertene and a one‐pot synthesis of a chiral sulfoxide and sulfone.     

Fabrication of Nano Flower‐shaped Platinum on Glassy Carbon Electrode as a Sensitive Sensor for Lead Electrochemical Analysis

Platinum nanoflowers modified glassy carbon electrodes (PtNFs/GCE) was fabricated simply for lead determination in water samples. The modified electrodes were prepared by electrodeposition in hexachloroplatinic acid solution at constant potential. The influence of deposition time and potential on surface morphology, chemical composition, electrochemical properties of electrode were investigated. At ?0.2 V of potential and 150 s of deposition duration, platinum developed as nanoflower shape and scattered densely all over the glassy carbon surface, producing the largest electrochemically active surface areas. The highest differential pulse stripping voltammetry (DPSV) signal of lead was obtained by using the prepared electrode. Under optimized experimental condition of electrolyte, accumulation potential and time, the peak current was found to be linear proportion to lead concentration in range of 1 to 100 μg L^?1 (slope=0.371) with a limit of detection of 0.398 μg L^?1. The method has good repeatability and reproducibility with relative standard deviations of 1.47 % and 4.83 %, respectively. The modified PtNFs/GCE also demonstrated an excellent long‐term stability with only 9 % decrease in Pb peak current over 30 days. Moreover, the performance of the modified PtNFs/GCE in determination of Pb(II) in two industrial wastewaters was good agreement with data obtained by a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) method.     

Metal–Organic Framework (MOF) Template Based Efficient Pt/ZrO2@C Catalysts for Selective Catalytic Reduction of H2 Below 90 °C

Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO_x with H₂ as a reductant is the most promising denitration technology at low temperature. Achieving the conversion of NO_x into N₂ at ambient temperature not only prolongs the service life of the catalyst, but also provides more freedom for the arrangement of denitration units throughout the flue gas treatment equipment. However, the development of highly efficient, stable, and environmentally benign supported platinum‐based catalysts for H₂‐SCR at ambient temperature is still a major challenge. Herein, a 0.5 wt % Pt/ZrO₂@C catalyst, which was composed of carbon‐coated octahedral ZrO₂ with highly dispersed Pt particles, was prepared by using a new stabilization strategy based on UiO‐66‐NH₂ (a zirconium metal–organic framework) as a template. The catalytic performance of this Pt/ZrO₂@C in H₂‐SCR was tested and confirmed to achieve near 100 % NO_x conversion at 90 °C. Also, 70 % N₂ selectivity of the catalyst was achieved. The morphology, structure, and porous properties of the as‐synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by using data obtained from field‐emission SEM, TEM, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherms. The results show that residual carbon formed by pyrolysis treatment is coated on octahedral ZrO₂, and effectively prevents the agglomeration of platinum particles on the surface.     

Thermal and thermo-oxidative degradation of high density polyethylene/fullerene composites

Fullerene (C₆₀)/high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites were studied in order to understand for their behaviors on thermal and thermo-oxidative degradation. Under different atmosphere, the influences of C₆₀ on the thermal stability of HDPE are different. Thermogravimetric analysis coupled to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) demonstrate that in N₂ the addition of C₆₀ increases the onset decomposition temperature by about 10 °C with more heavy compounds (more than 34 carbon). Also the thermal stability of HDPE in air is remarkably improved with the addition of C₆₀. When the content of C₆₀ is 2.5 wt% the onset decomposition temperature increases by about 91 °C. The results of viscoelastic behavior and gel content reveal that C₆₀ can trap the alkyl radicals and alkyl peroxide radicals to inhibit hydrogen abstraction to suppress the chain scission and preserve the long chain structure. However, in the absence of C₆₀ or with low C₆₀ concentration, hydrogen abstraction occurs, resulting in the formation of a series of alkyl radicals and alkyl peroxide radicals, which accelerates the chain scission and plays a leading role in the thermal oxidative degradation.     

Synthesis of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode material by a modified sol–gel method for lithium-ion battery

LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ was prepared by a modified sol–gel method, selecting ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid and citric acid as the co-chelating agent. The mole ratios of ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) to metal ion (Mⁿ⁺) were 0:1, 1:1 and 2:1. The obtained samples were characterized by XRD, BET and SEM. The XRD showed that LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ had good crystallinity and well-ordered layered structure. After calcined at 850 °C, the LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ particles exhibited a three-dimensional space network structure, which was greatly correlated with the ratio of EDTA to metal ion. The LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ obtained from a mole ratio of 1:1 (EDTA:Mⁿ⁺) had the best electrochemical performance. The reversible capacities were reached 168 and 100 mAh/g at 1C and 10C discharge rate, respectively. The result of the cycling performance showed a high capacity maintenance ratio of 89.3 % at 1C and 25 °C after 50 cycles. The further electrochemical performance was evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry.     

Electrochemical assay of the relationship between the inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway and estrogen receptor expression in breast cancer

Breast cancer has become one of the most threatening diseases to women throughout the world. Emerging evidence implies that estrogen receptor (ER) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathways play central roles in both breast cancer progression and response to therapy. In this work, we have probed into ER expression related to the PI3K pathway at the protein level with an electrochemical technique based on the detection of ER proteins in nuclear extracts with an Exonuclease III protection-based strategy. Experimental results show that an increased number of ER proteins can be detected upon PI3K inhibition, demonstrating the reversal effect of the PI3K inhibitor on ER expression. Moreover, treatment with different concentrations of the PI3K inhibitor NVP-BEZ235 can result in a dose-dependent alteration of ER protein levels, implying an intimate link between ER and PI3K pathways. This work may be a great help to understand the mysteries underlying PI3K-related endocrine resistance and to evaluate the effect of therapeutic interventions in the future.     

Determination of ecgonine and seven other cocaine metabolites in human urine and whole blood by ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Ecgonine is suggested to be a promising marker of cocaine (COC) ingestion. A combined mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem MS (MS/MS) method was developed to simultaneously determine ecgonine and seven other metabolites of cocaine in human urine and whole blood with ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The compounds were extracted from as little as 100 μL of sample by solid-phase extraction with a 96-well μElution solid-phase extraction plate. The protonated molecules or fragment ions at accurate mass acquired in MS mode were used to quantify specific analytes, following by dedicated MS/MS identification. The assay was linear in the range from 5 to 50-100 ng/mL for urine samples, except for ecgonine methyl ester (10-200 ng/mL) and ecgonine (40-400 ng/mL), and was linear from 1-2 to 50 ng/mL for whole blood samples, except for ecgonine methyl ester (20-1,000 ng/mL) and ecgonine (40-2,000 ng/mL). The correlation coefficients were all greater than 0.99. The limits of detection ranged from 0.2 to 16 ng/mL, and the lower limits of quantification ranged from 1 to 40 ng/mL. The repeatability and intermediate precision were 18.1 % or less. The accuracy was in the range from 80.0 to 122.9 %, process efficiencies were in the range from 8.6 to 177.4 %, matrix effects were in the range from 28.7 to 171.0 %, and extraction recoveries were in the range from 41.0 to 114.3 %, except for ecgonine (12.8 % and 9.3 % at low and high concentrations, respectively). This method was highly sensitive in comparison with previously published methods. The validated method was successfully applied to the analysis of real samples derived from forensic cases, and the results verified that, on the basis of data from four positive samples, ecgonine is a promising marker of cocaine ingestion.

The preparation of a novel polydopamine-graft-poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) protein-resistant coating and its applications in protein separation

A novel polydopamine-graft-poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline)(PDA-g-PMOXA) coating was prepared by immobilizing poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline)(PMOXA) onto material surfaces through polydopamine (PDA) anchored coating for the first time.And then,the chemical composition,hydrophilicity,and protein-resistant properties of the PDA-g-PMOXA coating were studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),contact angel(CA) test,surface plasmon resonance(SPR),and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation(QCM-D) measurement.Finally,the coating was applied to the capillary inner surface for protein separation by capillary electrophoresis(CE).