Preparation of safe water–lipid mixed electrolytes for application in ion capacitor

Aqueous electrolytes are safe, economic, and environmentally friendly. However, they have a narrow potential window. On the other hand, organic electrolytes exhibit good thermodynamic stability but are inflammable and moisture sensitive. In this study, we prepared water–PEG–lipid ternary electrolytes(TEs). To combine the advantages of water, polyethylene glycol(PEG) and propylene carbonate(PC). The nonflammable mixed electrolytes exhibited a wide potential window of about 2.8 V due to the beneficial effects of PEG and PC. Using these TEs, a lithium manganate–active carbon ion capacitor could be operated at 2.4 V with an energy density of 32 Wh/kg, based on the total active electrode material(current density of 3.3 m A/cm~2). This value was significantly higher than that achieved using an aqueous electrolyte, thereby rationalizing the higher energy density.     

Ag/CNT‐catalyzed hydroamination of activated alkynes with aromatic amines

As a nanoparticle support material, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) provide a certain potential activation of catalysis in heterogeneous catalytic organic reactions. Herein, an efficient Ag/CNT‐catalyzed synthesis of enamines via hydroamination of activated alkynes with aromatic amines has been described. This catalyst still retains catalytic activity after being recycled and reused three times. In addition, it represents a green and environmentally friendly process for preparation of enamines. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Novel hybrids of Cu2+ ternary complexes of salicylidene-amino acid Schiff base with phenanthroline（or bipyridine） intercalated in Mg/Al-NO3-layered double hydroxide

Four Cu²⁺ complexes of salicylidene-amino acid Schiff base with 1,10-phenanthroline（Phen） or 2,2’- bipyridine（Bipy） were successfully intercalated in interlayer galleries of Mg/Al-NO₃-layered double hydroxide（LDH） by the swelling-restored method.The hybrids were characterized by elemental analysis,X-ray diffraction,FT-IR spectra,UV-vis DRS,TG-DTA and SEM observation.Good protection of the complexes by LDH in neutral and weak acidic solutions was revealed by UV spectra,cyclic voltammograms and luminescence spectra.     

Investigation of CO and formaldehyde oxidation over mesoporous Ag/Co3O4 catalysts

CO and formaldehyde(HCHO)oxidation reactions were investigated over mesoporous Ag/Co3O4 catalysts prepared by one-pot(OP)and impregnation(IM)methods.It was found that the one-pot method was superior to the impregnation method for synthesizing Ag/Co3O4 catalysts with high activity for both reactions.It was also found that the catalytic behavior of mesoporous Co3O4 and Ag/Co3O4 catalysts for the both reactions was different.And the addition of silver on mesoporous Co3O4 did not always enhance the catalytic activity of final catalyst for CO oxidation at room temperature(20 C),but could significantly improve the catalytic activity of final catalyst for HCHO oxidation at low temperature(90 C).The high surface area,uniform pore structure and the pretty good dispersion degree of the silver particle should be responsible for the excellent low-temperature CO oxidation activity.However,for HCHO oxidation,the addition of silver played an important role in the activity enhancement.And the silver particle size and the reducibility of Co3O4 should be indispensable for the high activity of HCHO oxidation at low temperature.     

The Al3+ Sensitivity of Chitosan-Silk Fibroin Complex Membrane on Swelling and Its Application on Chemical Valve for the Separation of Isopropanol-Water Mixture

Abstract

A novel natural biopolymer complex membrane, namely, a crosslinked chitosan-silk fibroin complex membrane (semi-IPN membrane) was prepared. The complex membranes manifested a good ion sensitivity when swelled in AlCl₃ aqueous solutions with different concentrations. According to its different swelling values with different Al³⁺ concentrations, the complex membrane could act as a chemical valve to control the flux of isopropanol-water mixture when separated by pervaporation. The pervaporation results indicated that the flux also showed an ion sensitivity when the Al³⁺ content in the feed was changed. In the meantime, the ion sensitivity of the flux expressed the same tendency as that of the swelling ratio. In addition, the flux of isopropanol-water mixture was significantly improved while the high selectivity was maintained when suitable amount of AlCl₃ was added to the feed.     

Assembly of peptide–thiophene conjugates: the influence of peptide content and location

Biomolecule-directed self-assembly of π-conjugated oligomers has attracted great attention in the past decade. In this contribution, two conjugates composed of quaterthiophene and tetrapeptide (Gly-Val-Gly-Val) were synthesised, namely peptide–thiophene–peptide (PTP) and thiophene–peptide–thiophene (TPT), to investigate the influence of peptide content ratio and its location in the molecular structures on the nanostructures and properties of the assemblies. Both conjugates formed organogels consisting of left-handed twisted nanostructures; however, anti-parallel β-sheets were observed in PTP while parallel β-sheets were obtained for TPT, although in both cases oligothiophenes adopted an H-like stacking mode. Obvious solvent-induced supramolecular chirality inversion from the oligothiophene segment was observed for PTP while such phenomenon was not clear for TPT. PTP and TPT gels also showed different stabilities towards temperature increase, as evidenced by variable-temperature circular dichroism study. From the data, it is suggested that the rational design of the location and ratio of peptide plays a key role in constructing materials with determined properties based on peptide–thiophene conjugates.