A Luminescent Hypercrosslinked Conjugated Microporous Polymer for Efficient Removal and Detection of Mercury Ions

A hypercrosslinked conjugated microporous polymer (HCMP‐1) with a robustly efficient absorption and highly specific sensitivity to mercury ions (Hg²⁺) is synthesized in a one‐step Friedel–Crafts alkylation of cost‐effective 2,4,6‐trichloro‐1,3,5‐triazine and dibenzofuran in 1,2‐dichloroethane. HCMP‐1 has a moderate Brunauer–Emmett–Teller specific surface (432 m² g⁻¹), but it displays a high adsorption affinity (604 mg g⁻¹) and excellent trace efficiency for Hg²⁺. The π–π* electronic transition among the aromatic heterocyclic rings endows HCMP‐1 a strong fluorescent property and the fluorescence is obviously weakened after Hg²⁺ uptake, which makes the hypercrosslinked conjugated microporous polymer a promising fluorescent probe for Hg²⁺ detection, owning a super‐high sensitivity (detection limit 5 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹).

     

Fingerprinting pre-historical symbolic artefacts by a non-destructive methodological approach

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - A contribution to the discussion about Vila Nova de São Pedro (VNSP) as a production centre of symbolic lithic artefacts, the origin of raw...     

The Shackling Effect in Cyclic Azobenzene Liquid Crystal

We demonstrate here a novel method for the design of liquid crystals (LCs) via the cyclization of mesogens by flexible chains. For two azobenzene-4,4′-dicarboxylate derivatives, the cyclic dimer, cyclic bis(tetraethylene glycol azobenzene-4,4′-dicarboxylate) (CBTAD), shows LC properties with smectic A phase, while its linear counterpart, bis(2-(2′-hydroxyethyloxy)ethyl azobenzene-4,4′-dicarboxylate (BHAD), has no LC phase. The difference is ascribed to the shackling effect from the cyclic topology, which leads to the much smaller entropy change during phase transitions and increases the isotropic temperature greatly for cyclics. In addition, the trans-to-cis isomerization of azobenzene groups under UV-light is also limited in CBTAD. With the reversible isomerization of azobenzene groups, CBTAD showed interesting isothermal phase transition behaviors, where the LC phase disappeared upon photoirradiation of 365 nm UV-light, and recovered when the UV-light was off. Combined with the smectic LC nature, a novel UV-light tuned visible light regulator was designed, by simply placing CBTAD in two glass plates. The scattered phase of smectic LC was utilized as the “OFF” state for light passage, while the UV-light induced isotropic phase was utilized as the “ON” state. The shackling effect outlined here should be applicable for the design of cyclic LC oligomers/polymers with special properties.

     

Self-assembly of bis-[1]rotaxanes based on diverse thiourea-bridged mono-functionalized dipillar[5]arenes

Journal of Inclusion Phenomena and Macrocyclic Chemistry - The condensation reaction of mono-amido-functionalized pillar[5]arenes with tere- and iso-phthaloyl diisothiocyanates in acetone under...     

Activation of Au–Ag Plasmonic Bimetallic Nanocatalysts with Cold Plasma: The Role of Loading Sequence of Plasmonic Metals and Discharge Atmosphere

The activation of Au–Ag plasmonic bimetallic nanocatalyst can make the nanocatalyst exhibit superior visible-light (VL) photocatalytic activity. An efficient activation of Au–Ag nanocatalyst by cold plasma requires the restructuring of Au and Ag species over catalyst surface to form Au–Ag alloy nanoparticles while suppressing agglomeration of the nanoparticles. We here report that the loading sequence of Au and Ag components on titanium dioxide (TiO₂) support during catalyst preparation and discharge atmosphere play important roles in the plasma activation. Preparation of AuAg/TiO₂ nanocatalyst by depositing Ag and Au in sequence could avoid the undesired loss of Ag component, and ensure an effective restructuring of Au and Ag species in O₂ plasma activation. Compared with the reductive (H₂) and inert (Ar and N₂) plasmas, discharge in oxidative O₂ establishes Coulomb field with the negatively charged species over catalyst surface and enable the restructuring and intimate interaction of Au and Ag species. The catalyst characterization and density functional theory calculations suggest that O₂ plasma endows AuAg/TiO₂ nanocatalyst with large numbers of Au–Ag alloy nanoparticles, small size of plasmonic nanoparticles, high density of coordinatively unsaturated sites, and high content of surface oxygen species in the activation, which facilitates the adsorption and activation of O₂, and thus CO oxidation reaction under VL irradiation.

     

纳米孔缺陷导致单层黑磷电荷局域极大抑制非辐射电子-空穴复合的时域模拟

通常认为缺陷加速黑磷的非辐射电子-空穴复合,阻碍器件性能的持续提高。实验打破了这一认识。采用含时密度泛函理论结合非绝热分子动力学,我们发现P-P伸缩振动驱动非辐射电子-空穴复合,使纳米孔修饰的单层黑磷的激发态寿命比完美体系延长了约5.5倍。这主要归因于三个因素。一,纳米孔结构不但没有在禁带中引入深能级缺陷,而且由于价带顶下移使带隙增加了0.22 eV。二,除了带隙增加,纳米孔减小了电子和空穴波函数重叠,并抑制了原子核热运动,从而使非绝热耦合降低至完美体系的约1/2。三,退相干时间比完美体系延长了1.5倍。前两个因素战胜了第三个因素,使纳米孔结构激发态寿命延长至2.74 ns,而其在完美体系中约为480 ps。我们的研究表明可以制造合理数量和形貌的缺陷,如纳米孔,降低黑磷非辐射电子-空穴复合,提高光电器件效率。这一研究对于理解和调控黑磷和其它二维材料的激发态性质有重要意义。     

紫外光辐照下CH3NH3PbI3基钙钛矿太阳能电池失效机制

随着光伏产业的不断发展,有机无机杂化钙钛矿太阳能电池的研发成为科学与工业界广泛关注的焦点。到目前为止,其光电转换效率已经提高到了25.2%,成为替代硅基太阳能电池的核心方案之一。然而,钙钛矿太阳能电池的稳定性较差,容易受到环境中氧气、水分、温度甚至光照的影响,这严重制约了其大规模推广与应用。大量科学研究表明,如何避免紫外辐照下有机无机杂化钙钛矿太阳能电池的性能衰减,对于提高钙钛矿太阳能电池的光照稳定性至关重要。然而到目前为止,仍然没有系统的工作来对紫外辐照下钙钛矿太阳能电池性能以及微结构演化过程进行详细的表征与分析。本文中,我们利用聚焦离子束-扫描电子显微分析(FIB-SEM)以及球差校正透射电子显微分析(TEM)等技术,全面地研究了紫外辐照过程中有机无机杂化钙钛矿太阳能电池性能变化规律以及电池微结构演化特征。实验结果表明,紫外辐照过程中太阳能电池内部会形成0.5–0.6 V的内建电场,钙钛矿中的I^-离子在电场的驱动下向金属Au电极和空穴传输层2, 2’, 7, 7’-四[N, N-二(4-甲氧基苯基)氨基]-9, 9'-螺二芴(Spiro-OMeTAD)一侧迁移;随后,空穴传输层与金电极的界面处,碘离子与光生空穴一起与金电极发生反应,将金属态Au氧化成离子态Au⁺。而Au⁺离子则在内建电场的驱动下反向迁移穿过钙钛矿MAPbI₃层,直接被SnO₂和MAPbI₃界面处的电子还原形成金属Au纳米团簇。除此之外,紫外辐照过程中钙钛矿太阳能电池性能降低的同时,往往伴随着Spiro-OMeTAD与钙钛矿界面处物质迁移、钙钛矿薄膜内晶界展宽以及Au纳米颗粒周围MAPbI₃物相分解等现象。以上各种因素的协同作用,共同导致了紫外光照下有机无机杂化钙钛矿太阳能电池光电转换性能(PCE)、开路电压(V_oc)以及短路电流(J_sc)等性能参数的急剧下降。     

Surfactant-free cellulose filaments stabilized oil in water emulsions

Cellulose - There has been significant interest over recent years in the production and application of sustainable and green materials. Among these, nanocellulose has incurred great interest...     

Solar Driven Gas Phase Advanced Oxidation Processes for Methane Removal - Challenges and Perspectives

Methane (CH₄) is a potent greenhouse gas and the second highest contributor to global warming. CH₄ emissions are still growing at an alarmingly high pace. To limit global warming to 1.5 °C, one of the most effective strategies is to reduce rapidly the CH₄ emissions by developing large-scale methane removal methods. The purpose of this perspective paper is threefold. (1) To highlight the technology gap dealing with low concentration CH₄ (at many emission sources and in the atmosphere). (2) To analyze the challenges and prospects of solar-driven gas phase advanced oxidation processes for CH₄ removal. And (3) to propose some ideas, which may help to develop solar-driven gas phase advanced oxidation processes and make them deployable at a climate significant scale.