Balancing the Rate of Cluster Growth and Etching for Gram‐Scale Synthesis of Thiolate‐Protected Au25 Nanoclusters with Atomic Precision

We report a NaOH‐mediated NaBH₄ reduction method for the synthesis of mono‐, bi‐, and tri‐thiolate‐protected Au₂₅ nanoclusters (NCs) with precise control of both the Au core and thiolate ligand surface. The key strategy is to use NaOH to tune the formation kinetics of Au NCs, i.e., reduce the reduction ability of NaBH₄ and accelerate the etching ability of free thiolate ligands, leading to a well‐balanced reversible reaction for rapid formation of thermodynamically favorable Au₂₅ NCs. This protocol is facile, rapid (≤3 h), versatile (applicable for various thiolate ligands), and highly scalable (>1 g Au NCs). In addition, bi‐ and tri‐thiolate‐protected Au₂₅ NCs with adjustable ratios of hetero‐thiolate ligands were easily obtained. Such ligand precision in molecular ratios, spatial distribution and uniformity resulted in richly diverse surface landscapes on the Au NCs consisting of multiple functional groups such as carboxyl, amine, and hydroxy. Analysis based on NMR spectroscopy revealed that the hetero‐ligands on the NCs are well distributed with no ligand segregation. The unprecedented synthesis of multi‐thiolate‐protected Au₂₅ NCs may further promote the practical applications of functional metal NCs.     

Reactivity of Oxygen Radical Anions Bound to Scandia Nanoparticles in the Gas Phase: CH Bond Activation

The activation of C?H bonds in alkanes is currently a hot research topic in chemistry. The atomic oxygen radical anion (O^?.) is an important species in C?H activation. The mechanistic details of C?H activation by O^?. radicals can be well understood by studying the reactions between O^?. containing transition metal oxide clusters and alkanes. Here the reactivity of scandium oxide cluster anions toward n‐butane was studied by using a high‐resolution time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer coupled with a fast flow reactor. Hydrogen atom abstraction (HAA) from n‐butane by (Sc₂O₃)_NO^? (N=1–18) clusters was observed. The reactivity of (Sc₂O₃)_NO^? (N=1–18) clusters is significantly sizedependent and the highest reactivity was observed for N=4 (Sc₈O₁₃^?) and 12 (Sc₂₄O₃₇^?). Larger (Sc₂O₃)_NO^? clusters generally have higher reactivity than the smaller ones. Density functional theory calculations were performed to interpret the reactivity of (Sc₂O₃)_NO^? (N=1–5) clusters, which were found to contain the O^?. radicals as the active sites. The local charge environment around the O^?. radicals was demonstrated to control the experimentally observed size‐dependent reactivity. This work is among the first to report HAA reactivity of cluster anions with dimensions up to nanosize toward alkane molecules. The anionic O^?. containing scandium oxide clusters are found to be more reactive than the corresponding cationic ones in the C?H bond activation.     

ATRP法制备侧链型聚醚醚酮阴离子交换膜

以二氟二苯甲酮、双酚A和邻甲基氢醌单体缩聚合成聚醚醚酮(PEEK)作为基膜材料.PEEK经修饰改性合成带有异丙基溴端基PEEK,以此为原子转移自由基聚合(ATRP)大分子引发剂,通过ATRP法在PEEK主链上接枝引入聚甲基丙烯酸二甲基胺基乙酯(DMAEMA)侧链,得到梳状PEEK接枝聚合物(PEEK-gDMAEMA).用傅里叶变换红外(FTIR)光谱、核磁共振氢谱(1H-NMR)、热重分析(TG)和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)等方法对PEEK-g-DMAEMA的结构进行表征.实验结果表明,甲基丙烯酸二甲基胺基乙酯被成功地接枝在聚醚醚酮主链上,PEEK-g-DMAEMA膜具有明显的亲水疏水微相分离形貌,叔胺基团相互聚集成形成离子通道.接枝聚合反应10 h,PEEK-g-DMAEMA膜的离子交换容量为2.07 mmol·g-1,以此膜为电解槽隔膜,2 h的OH-离子透过率达0.15 mol·L-1,说明PEEK-g-DMAEMA膜具有良好的离子交换能力.     

The Relationship of Freeze Tolerance with Intracellular Compounds in Baker’s Yeasts

Freeze-tolerant baker’s yeasts are required for the processing of frozen doughs. The present study was carried out to investigate the cell survival rate after frozen storage and the change of fermentability in dough due to frozen storage, and to discuss quantitatively the relationship of freeze tolerance with intracellular trehalose, amino acids, and glycerol, using six types of baker’s yeasts as the test materials. The experimental results showed that the fermentability of yeast cells in frozen dough was strongly correlated with the cell survival rate. The baker’s yeast with a higher level of cell survival rate had a larger increase in the total intracellular compound content after frozen storage, and the cell survival rate increased linearly with increasing total intracellular compound content in frozen yeast cells. Trehalose was a primary compound affecting freeze tolerance, followed by glutamic acid, arginine, proline, asparagic acid, and glycerol. The basic information provided by the present study is useful for exploring the freeze-tolerance mechanisms of baker’s yeast cells, breeding better freeze-tolerant baker’s yeast strains, and developing more effective cryoprotectants.     

POM-Incorporated CoO Nanowires for Enhanced Photocatalytic Syngas Production from CO2

Utilizing sustainable energy for chemical activation of small molecules, such as CO₂, to produce important chemical feedstocks is highly desirable. The simultaneous production of CO/H₂ mixture (syngas) from photoreduction of CO₂ and H₂O is highly promising. However, the relationships between structure, composition, crystallinity, and photocatalytic performance are still indistinct. Here, amorphous ultrathin CoO nanowires and polyoxometalate incorporated nanowires with even lower crystallinity were synthesized. The POM-incorporated ultrathin nanowires exhibit high photocatalytic syngas production activity, reaching H₂ and CO evolution rates of 11555 and 4165 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ respectively. Further experiments indicate that the ultrathin morphology and incorporation of POM both contribute to the superior performance. Multiple characterizations reveal the enhanced charge–hole separation efficiency of the catalyst would facilitate the photocatalysis.     

Cross-Linked Polyphosphazene Hollow Nanosphere-Derived N/P-Doped Porous Carbon with Single Nonprecious Metal Atoms for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Heteroatom-doped polymers or carbon nanospheres have attracted broad research interest. However, rational synthesis of these nanospheres with controllable properties is still a great challenge. Herein, we develop a template-free approach to construct cross-linked polyphosphazene nanospheres with tunable hollow structures. As comonomers, hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene provides N and P atoms, tannic acid can coordinate with metal ions, and the replaceable third comonomer can endow the materials with various properties. After carbonization, N/P-doped mesoporous carbon nanospheres were obtained with small particle size (≈50 nm) and high surface area (411.60 m² g⁻¹). Structural characterization confirmed uniform dispersion of the single atom transition metal sites (i.e., Co-N₂P₂) with N and P dual coordination. Electrochemical measurements and theoretical simulations revealed the oxygen reduction reaction performance. This work provides a solution for fabricating diverse heteroatom-containing polymer nanospheres and their derived single metal atom doped carbon catalysts.     

Spatially Responsive Multicolor Lanthanide-MOF Heterostructures for Covert Photonic Barcodes

Micro/nanoscale photonic barcodes based on multicolor luminescent segmented heterojunctions hold potential for applications in information security. However, such multicolor heterojunctions reported thus far are exclusively based on static luminescent signals, thus restricting their application in advanced confidential information protection. Reported here is a strategy to design responsive photonic barcodes with heterobimetallic (Tb³⁺/Eu³⁺) metal—organic framework multicolor heterostructures. The spatial colors could be precisely controlled by thermally manipulating the energy-transfer process between the two lanthanides, thus achieving responsive covert photonic barcodes. Also demonstrated is that spatially resolved responsive barcodes with multi-responsive features could be created in a single heterostructure. These findings offer unique opportunities to purposely design highly integrated responsive microstructures and smart devices toward advanced anti-counterfeiting applications.     

Detection of caffeine and its main metabolites for early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease using micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

Caffeine (CA) is a common xanthine alkaloid found in tea leaves, coffee beans, and other natural plants, and is the most widely used psychotropic substance in the world. Accumulating evidence suggests that low plasma levels of CA and its metabolites may serve as reliable diagnostic markers for early Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. In this study, we demonstrated a new MEKC method for determining CA and its three main downstream metabolites, paraxanthine (PX), theobromine (TB), and theophylline (TP), in human plasma. Plasma samples were collected, and analyzed using MEKC, after SPE. The running buffer was composed of 35 mM phosphate, pH of 10.5, and 25 mM SDS. The separation voltage was 15 kV and the detection wavelength was at 210 nm. Under the optimum conditions, four distinct analytes were completely separated and detected in less than 12 min. Method limits of detection were as low as 7.5 ng/mL for CA, 5.0 ng/mL for TB, and 4.0 ng/mL for both PX and TP. The recoveries were between 88.0% and 105.9%. This method was successfully applied to 27 human plasma samples. The results indicate that the plasma concentrations of the four analytes are significantly lower in patients with early PD than in control subjects (p < 0.05). The area under curve was improved to 0.839 when CA and its three main metabolites were included, suggesting that MEKC testing of CA, TP, TB, and PX may serve as a potential method for early diagnosis of PD.     

Thermoelectric Properties of Nano-grained Mooihoekite Cu9Fe9S16

Cu-Fe-S-based compounds gain the interest from thermoelectric community because all the consisting elements, Cu, Fe, and S, are non-toxic and earth-abundant. Comparing with CuFeS₂ and Cu₅FeS₄, the investigation on Cu₉Fe₉S₁₆ is very rare. In this work, a series of Cu_9–xFe_9+xS₁₆ samples were fabricated by means of melting-annealing process. Their phase composition, microstructure, electrical and thermal transport properties were systematically investigated. X-ray measurement confirms that all samples are phase pure. Transmission electron microscopy characterization indicates that the fabricated Cu₉Fe₉S₁₆ has a natural nanostructure. Cu₉Fe₉S₁₆ shows semiconducting-like electrical transport behavior and intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivity. Beyond the numerous boundaries between nanosized grains, the existence of low-frequency optical phonons is also responsible for the intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivity. Doping Fe at the Cu-sites in Cu₉Fe₉S₁₆ significantly alters the electrical transport properties by introducing extra carriers. A peak dimensionless figure of merit zT value of 0.21 is obtained at 800 K for pure Cu₉Fe₉S₁₆, which is comparable with that for CuFeS₂.     

介孔SBA-15棒负载的Pd3Cl催化剂催化Sonogashira偶联反应（英文）

通过静电吸引策略将具有高度分散性的原子精确纳米团簇[Pd3Cl(PPh2)2(PPh3)3]+(Pd3Cl)负载在介孔SBA-15棒上。结构明确的Pd3Cl/SBA-15催化剂在以水作为溶剂以及温和的反应条件下对催化Sonogashira碳-碳偶联反应展现了较好的催化性能以及循环性。在此基础上,我们研究了Pd3Cl团簇结构与性能之间的关系,并证实内核的Pdδ+(0<δ<2)与配体之间的协同效应是催化反应的关键。