Recent advances in single atom catalysts for the electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction

The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂RR) offers a promising solution to mitigate carbon emission and at the same time generate valuable carbonaceous chemicals/fuels. Single atom catalysts (SACs) are encouraging to catalyze the electrochemical CO₂RR due to the tunable electronic structure of the central metal atoms, which can regulate the adsorption energy of reactants and reaction intermediates. Moreover, SACs form a bridge between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, providing an ideal platform to explore the reaction mechanism of electrochemical reactions. In this review, we first discuss the strategies for promoting the CO₂RR performance, including suppression of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), generation of C₁ products and formation of C₂₊ products. Then, we summarize the recent developments in regulating the structure of SACs toward the CO₂RR based on the above aspects. Finally, several issues regarding the development of SACs for the CO₂RR are raised and possible solutions are provided.

The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂RR) offers a promising solution to mitigate carbon emission and at the same time generate valuable carbonaceous chemicals/fuels.     

Remote substituent effects on bond dissociation energies of para-substituted aromatic silanes

UB3LYP/6-31G(d) and ROMP2/6-311++G(d,2p) methods were used to calculate the Si-X bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of a number of para-substituted aromatic silanes (4-Y-C(6)H(4)-SiH(2)X, where X = H, F, Cl, or Li). It was found that the substituent effect on the Si-H BDE of 4-Y-C(6)H(4)-SiH(3) was small, as the slope (rho(+)()) of the BDE- regression was only 0.09 kJ/mol. In comparison, the substituent effect on the Si-F BDE of 4-Y-C(6)H(4)-SiH(2)F was much stronger, whose rho(+ )()value was -2.34 kJ/mol. The substituent effect on the Si-Cl BDE of 4-Y-C(6)H(4)-SiH(2)Cl was also found to be strong with a rho(+)() value of -1.70 kJ/mol. However, the substituent effect on the Si-Li BDE of 4-Y-C(6)H(4)-SiH(2)Li was found to have a large and positive slope (+9.12 kJ/mol) against. The origin of the above remarkably different substituent effects on the Si-X BDEs was found to be associated with the ability of the substituent to stabilize or destabilize the starting material (4-Y-C(6)H(4)-SiH(2)X) as well as the product (4-Y-C(6)H(4)-SiH(2)* radical) of the homolysis. Therefore, the direction and magnitude of the effects of Y-substituents on the Z-X BDEs in compounds such as 4-YC(6)H(4)Z-X should have some important dependence on the polarity of the Z-X bond undergoing homolysis. This conclusion was in agreement with that from earlier studies (for example, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1991, 113, 9363). However, it indicated that the proposal from a recent work (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 5518) was unfortunately not justified.     

Polyoxometalate Derivatives with Multiple Organic Groups. 2. Synthesis and Structures of Tris(organotin) alpha, beta-Keggin Tungstosilicates

Eight tris(organotin)-substituted Keggin tungstosilicate heteropolyanions have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, infrared and M?ssbauer spectroscopy, multinuclear NMR, and X-ray crystallography. The new anions contain alpha- or beta-SiW(9)O(34)(10)(-) moieties and are of two structural types, [(RSn)(3)(SiW(9)O(37))](7)(-) (R, isomer: Ph, alpha-, 1; n-Bu, alpha-, 2; Ph, beta-, 3; n-Bu, beta-, 4) and [(RSnOH)(3)(SiW(9)O(34))(2)](14)(-) (Ph, alpha-, 5; n-Bu, alpha-, 6; Ph, beta-, 7; n-Bu, beta-, 8). Crystals of Cs(4)H(3)[(PhSn)(3)(SiW(9)O(37))].8H(2)O (anion 3) are monoclinic, space group C2/c, with lattice constants a = 48.91(2) ?, b = 12.111(3) ?, c = 20.334(9) ?, beta = 102.30 degrees, and Z = 8. The anion has nominal C(3)(v)() symmetry and has a structure with three corner-shared WO(6) octahedra of the beta-Keggin anion replaced by three PhSnO(5) groups. Crystals of Cs(9)H(5)[(BuSnOH)(3)(SiW(9)O(34))(2)].36H(2)O (anion 6) are tetragonal, space group P&fourmacr;2(1)m, with lattice constants a = b = 29.005(4) ?, c = 13.412(4) ?, and Z = 4. The anion has the anticipated D(3)(h)() symmetry and contains three BuSnOH groups sandwiched between A,alpha-SiW(9)O(34)(10)(-) anions.     

Rapid determination of underivatized pyroglutamic acid, glutamic acid, glutamine and other relevant amino acids in fermentation media by LC-MS-MS

Determination of amino acids in a complex matrix without derivatization is advantageous, however, difficulties are found in both the detection and the separation of those compounds. In this study, a rapid and reliable LC-MS-MS method for the quantitation of underivatized amino acids in exocellular media was established. Injections were made directly after centrifugation of the samples, without further preparation. The separation of seven underivatized amino acids was achieved on a reversed-phase C18 column with pentadecafluorooctanoic acid as a volatile ion-pair reagent, and the specific detection of most amino acids was achieved by MS-MS of the specific transitions [M + H]+-->[M + H - 46]+. The calibration curves of all analytes were linear over the range of 1.0-1000 microg ml(-1) and the detection limits ranged from 0.1 to 5 ng ml(-1), with an injection volume of 20 microl. The inter-day and intra-day precisions ranged from 2.6 to 5.7% and 4.8 to 8.2%, respectively; the mean recoveries of the seven analytes were 81-104%, 91-107% and 93-101% respectively at the spiked level of 10, 40 and 200 microg ml(-1). A large number of fermentation samples were analysed using this method. The technique is simple, rapid, selective and sensitive, and shows potential for the high-throughput quantitation of amino acids from other biological matrices.     

Potent and selective structure-based dibenzofuran inhibitors of transthyretin amyloidogenesis: kinetic stabilization of the native state

Transthyretin (TTR) amyloidogenesis requires rate-limiting tetramer dissociation and partial monomer denaturation to produce a misassembly competent species. This process has been followed by turbidity to identify transthyretin amyloidogenesis inhibitors including dibenzofuran-4,6-dicarboxylic acid (1). An X-ray cocrystal structure of TTR.1(2) reveals that it only utilizes the outer portion of the two thyroxine binding pockets to bind to and inhibit TTR amyloidogenesis. Herein, structure-based design was employed to append aryl substituents at C1 of the dibenzofuran ring to complement the unused inner portion of the thyroxine binding pockets. Twenty-eight amyloidogenesis inhibitors of increased potency and dramatically increased plasma TTR binding selectivity resulted. These function by imposing kinetic stabilization on the native tetrameric structure of TTR, creating a barrier that is insurmountable under physiological conditions. Since kinetic stabilization of the TTR native state by interallelic trans suppression is known to ameliorate disease, there is reason to be optimistic that the dibenzofuran-based inhibitors will do the same. Preventing the onset of amyloidogenesis is the most conservative strategy to intervene clinically, as it remains unclear which of the TTR misassembly intermediates results in toxicity. The exceptional binding selectivity enables these inhibitors to occupy the thyroxine binding site(s) in a complex biological fluid such as blood plasma, required for inhibition of amyloidogenesis in humans. It is now established that the dibenzofuran-based amyloidogenesis inhibitors have high selectivity, affinity, and efficacy and are thus excellent candidates for further pharmacologic evaluation.     

Organic functionalization of the sidewalls of carbon nanotubes by diels-alder reactions: a theoretical prediction

[structure: see text] The viability of the Diels-Alder (DA) cycloaddition of conjugated dienes onto the sidewalls of single-wall carbon nanotubes is assessed by means of a two-layered ONIOM(B3LYP/6-31G:AM1) approach. Whereas the DA reaction of 1,3-butadiene on the sidewall of an armchair (5,5) nanotube is found to be unfavorable, the cycloaddition of quinodimethane is predicted to be viable due to the aromaticity stabilization at the corresponding transition states and products.     

Effects of simultaneously doped and deposited Ag on the photocatalytic activity and surface states of TiO2

Ag-TiO2 catalysts with different Ag contents were prepared via a sol-gel method in the absence of light. Based on the characterizations of XRD, photoluminescence (PL), surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPS), field-induced surface photovoltage spectroscopy (FISPS), and XPS as well as the evaluation of the photocatalytic activity for degrading rhodamine B(RhB) solutions, it was found that the Ag dopant promoted the phase transformation as well as had an inhibition effect on the growth of anatase crystallite. The PL and SPS intensities were decreased with increasing Ag content, indicating that the Ag dopant could effectively inhibit the recombination of the photoinduced electrons and holes. However, the active sites capturing the photoinduced electrons reduced, while the Ag content exceeded 5 mol %. At rather low Ag dopant concentrations, the migration and diffusion of Ag+ ions were predominant, while at rather high Ag dopant concentrations, the migration, diffusion, and reduction of Ag ions simultaneously occurred. The Ag-TiO2 photocatalysts with appropriate content of Ag (Ag species concentration is from about 3 to 5 mol %) possessed abundant electron traps so as to be favorable for the separation of the photoinduced electron-hole pairs, which could greatly enhance the activity of the photocatalysts. From the results of FISPS measurements, it could be found that the impurity bands and abundant surface states were introduced into the interfacial layer of TiO2 because of Ag simultaneously doping and depositing, which could improve the absorption capability for visible light of the photocatalysts.     

Polyoxometalate Derivatives with Multiple Organic Groups. 3. Synthesis and Structure of Bis(phenyltin) Bis(decatungstosilicate), [(PhSnOH(2))(2)(gamma-SiW(10)O(36))(2)](10)(-)

A new phenyltin tungstosilicate derivative, [(PhSnOH(2))(2)(gamma-SiW(10)O(36))(2)](10)(-) (1), has been prepared by reaction of phenyltin trichloride with K(8)[gamma-SiW(10)O(36)].xH(2)O. The new heteropolyanion was characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, multinuclear NMR, and X-ray crystallography. The crystals of Cs(9)H[(PhSnOH(2))(2)(gamma-SiW(10)O(36))(2)].16H(2)O (Cs salt of 1) are triclinic, space group P&onemacr;, with lattice constants a = 12.401(3) ?, b = 13.832(3) ?, c = 16.313(3) ?, alpha = 96.17(2) degrees, beta = 109.73(2) degrees, gamma = 97.13(2) degrees, V = 2579.9(10) ?, and Z = 1. Anion 1 has a structure of virtual C(2)(h)() symmetry with two phenyltin groups sandwiched between two gamma-SiW(10) groups. Such a structure is different from all previously reported polytungstates derived from [gamma-SiW(10)O(36)](8)(-) lacunary anions.     

金属组学在急性心肌梗死早期诊断的应用

为探讨急性心肌梗死(AMI)患者血清中K⁺、Na⁺、Ca²⁺、Fe²⁺、Mg²⁺含量变化,并研究其与心肌梗死患者之间的关系。选取2022年5月至2023年2月收治的AMI患者37例,同时选取健康体检者35例作为对照组。依据入院时或体检时收集的抽血样本进行临床生化分析,比较两组间血清K⁺、Na⁺、Ca²⁺、Fe²⁺、Mg²⁺含量,采用判别方程、主成分分析法(PCA),判断分析哪种金属离子对于心肌梗死的诊断价值大。结果表明,AMI患者的血清中Ca²⁺和Fe²⁺含量低于健康对照组,差异具有统计学意义。基于血钙、铁水平两组具有显著性差异,以它们为基础进行判别分析,获得判别函数式。将血清中K⁺、Na⁺、Ca²⁺、Fe²⁺、Mg²⁺     

A general electron donor–acceptor complex for photoactivation of arenes via thianthrenation

General photoactivation of electron donor–acceptor (EDA) complexes between arylsulfonium salts and 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane with visible light or natural sunlight was discovered. This practical and efficient mode enables the production of aryl radicals under mild conditions, providing an unrealized opportunity for two-step para-selective C–H functionalization of complex arenes. The novel mode for generating aryl radicals via an EDA complex was well supported by UV-vis absorbance measurements, nuclear magnetic resonance titration experiments, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The method was applied to the regio- and stereo-selective arylation of various N-heterocycles under mild conditions, yielding an assembly of challengingly linked heteroaryl–(hetero)aryl products. Remarkably, the meaningful couplings of bioactive molecules with structurally complex drugs or agricultural pharmaceuticals were achieved to display favorable in vitro antitumor activities, which will be of great value in academia or industry.

General photoactivation of EDA complexes between arylsulfonium salts and 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane was discovered. This practical mode enables the generation of aryl radicals for C–H functionalization of arenes.