Ligand‐Free Palladium‐Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidative Coupling of Carboxylic Anhydrides with Arylboronic Acids

We report a new, effective and environmentally friendly protocol for selective aerobic oxidative coupling of arylboronic acids with carboxylic anhydrides in the presence of ligand‐free palladium catalyst. The aryl benzoates are obtained in good to excellent yields.     

Polypeptide‐b‐Poly(Phenyl Isocyanide) Hybrid Rod‐Rod Copolymers: One‐Pot Synthesis,Self‐Assembly,and Cell Imaging

Hybrid rod‐rod diblock copolymers, poly(γ‐benzyl L‐glutamate)‐poly(4‐cyano‐benzoic acid 2‐isopropyl‐5‐methyl‐cyclohexyl ester) (PBLG‐PPI), with determined chirality are facilely synthesized through sequential copolymerization of γ‐benzyl‐L‐glutamate N‐carboxyanhydride (BLG‐NCA) and phenyl isocyanide monomers bearing chiral menthyl pendants using a Ni(cod)(bpy) complex as the catalyst in one‐pot. Circular dichroism and absorption spectra reveal that each block of the block copolymers possesses a stable helical conformation with controlled helicity in solution due to the induction of chiral pendants. The two diastereomeric polymers self‐assemble into helical nanofibrils with opposite handedness due to the different chiral induction of the L‐ and D‐menthyl pendants, confirmed by transmission electron micro­scopy (TEM). Deprotection of the benzyl groups of the PBLG segment affords biocompatible amphiphilic diblock copolymers, poly(L‐glutamic acid)‐poly(4‐cyano‐benzoic acid 2‐isopropyl‐5‐methyl‐cyclohexyl ester) (PLGA‐PPI), that can self‐assemble into well‐defined micelles by cosolvent induced aggregation. Very interestingly, a chiral rhodamine chromophores RhB(D) can be selectively encapsulated into the chiral polymeric micelles, which is efficiently internalized into living cells when directly monitored with a confocal microscope. This contribution will be useful for developing novel rod‐rod biocompatible hybrid block copolymers with a controlled helicity, and may also provide unique chiral materials for potential bio‐medical applications.

     

Raman spectra of proton order of thin ice Ih film

The polarized Raman spectra of the upper part of a thin ice Ih film were obtained in the range of 150 cm⁻¹ to 3800 cm⁻¹. The spectra showed clear polarization dependence; several new peaks were also observed. The longitudinaloptic–tranverseoptic (LO–TO) splitting of the mode near 220 cm⁻¹ in the translational vibration region was experimentally confirmed at 133 K. The Fermi resonance between the bending overtone (around 3270 cm⁻¹) and symmetry stretching fundamental (around 3350 cm⁻¹) in the stretching vibration region appeared at nearly the same temperature. Results showed that ice XI (i.e. proton‐ordered phase of ice Ih) slowly formed in the upper part of a thin ice Ih film without KOH as the temperature gradually decreased below 133 K. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Monolithically integrated 64‐channel silicon hybrid demultiplexer enabling simultaneous wavelength‐ and mode‐division‐multiplexing

A compact 64‐channel hybrid demultiplexer based on silicon‐on‐insulator nanowires is proposed and demonstrated experimentally to enable wavelength‐division‐multiplexing and mode‐division‐multiplexing simultaneously in order to realize an ultra‐large capacity on‐chip optical‐interconnect link. The present hybrid demultiplexer consists of a 4‐channel mode multiplexer constructed with cascaded asymmetrical directional‐couplers and two bi‐directional 17 × 17 arrayed‐waveguide gratings (AWGs) with 16 channels. Here each bi‐directional AWG is equivalent as two identical 1 × 16 AWGs. The measured excess loss and the crosstalk for the monolithically integrated 64‐channel hybrid demultiplexer are about ‐5 dB and ‐14 dB, respectively. Better performance can be achieved by minimizing the imperfections (particularly in AWGs) during the fabrication processes.

     

二维配位聚合物[Tb(1,4⁃bdc)1.5(phen)(H2O)]n的合成、晶体结构及对Fe3+离子的荧光检测

通过溶剂热反应成功合成出一种新型2D配位聚合物[Tb(1,4-bdc)_1.5(phen)(H₂O)]_n(1)(1,4-H₂bdc=对苯二甲酸;phen=菲咯啉)。对其进行了单晶X射线衍射、粉末X射线衍射、红外光谱、元素分析、荧光光谱表征。X射线衍射晶体学分析表明,配合物1结晶于三斜晶系P1空间群,2个相邻的Tb(Ⅲ)离子与4个1,4-bdc^2-通过—O—C—O—桥联成双核单元,并进一步通过1,4-bdc^2-桥联成二维层状结构。荧光实验证明配合物1可以通过荧光猝灭机制检测Fe₃₊,Ksv=8.39×10³ L·mol-1,检测限为0.017μmol·L^-1。     

Energy Band Alignment and Redox-Active Sites in Metalloporphyrin-Spaced Metal-Catechol Frameworks for Enhanced CO2 Photoreduction

Two new chemically stable metalloporphyrin-bridged metal-catechol frameworks, InTCP-Co and FeTCP-Co, were constructed to achieve artificial photosynthesis without additional sacrificial agents and photosensitizers. The CO₂ photoreduction rate over FeTCP-Co considerably exceeds that obtained over InTCP-Co, and the incorporation of uncoordinated hydroxyl groups, associated with catechol, into the network further promotes the photocatalytic activity. The iron-oxo coordination chain assists energy band alignment and provides a redox-active site, and the uncoordinated hydroxyl group contributes to the visible-light absorptance, charge-carrier transfer, and CO₂-scaffold affinity. With a formic acid selectivity of 97.8 %, FeTCP-OH-Co affords CO₂ photoconversion with a reaction rate 4.3 and 15.7 times higher than those of FeTCP- Co and InTCP-Co, respectively. These findings are also consistent with the spectroscopic study and DFT calculation.     

(Yb3+, Mn2+) Co-doped CdTe nanocrystals with enhanced quantum yields and red-shift emission

We prepared the nanocrystals (NCs) of CdTe, CdTe:Yb, and CdTe:Yb, Mn vis water phase synthesis and examined their structural, morphological, and optical properties. All NCs have a particle diameter of about 2–4 nm, and the monodispersed, uniform spherical, cubic structure of the CdTe NC remains largely unchanged after the doping with Yb and Mn. According to the X-ray diffraction results, the CdTe, CdTe:Yb, and CdTe:Yb, Mn NCs all have a cubic structure, and the diffraction peak of CdTe:Yb NC is at a lower 2θ angle compared with that of the CdTe NC. With the CdTe NC as the reference, the UV–Vis absorption of the CdTe:Yb and the CdTe:Yb, Mn NCs exhibits a blueshift and a redshift, and the emission of CdTe:Yb and CdTe:Yb, Mn has a blueshift of about 12 nm and a redshift of about 73 nm, respectively. The CdTe:Yb, Mn NCs have higher quantum yields than the CdTe:Yb NC, and the quantum yield is the highest when CdTe is doped with 1:1 Mn²⁺/Yb³⁺. In addition, both the CdTe:Yb and CdTe:Yb, Mn NCs have a shorter fluorescence lifetime than the CdTe NC.     

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.

     

ZIF-67/石墨烯复合物衍生的氮掺杂碳限域Co纳米颗粒用于高效电催化氧还原

燃料电池阴极氧还原(ORR)催化剂目前主要以商业Pt/C为主, 其高成本和稀缺性极大地限制了燃料电池的广泛应用. 为了替代Pt/C催化剂, 廉价高效的非贵金属催化剂目前受到了广泛的研究和关注. 利用氧化石墨烯(GO)为诱导模板, 借助表面丰富的含氧官能团, 实现了Co基金属有机框架材料(MOF) (ZIF-67)在GO表面的原位生长, 构筑了ZIF-67/GO层状复合材料. 热解过程中, 石墨烯的存在有效抑制了Co纳米颗粒的团聚, 并且很好地维持了原始的层状结构. 最终获得的Co@N-C/rGO复合催化剂材料实现了活性位的高度分散, 并且具有丰富的孔结构和优异的导电性能. 在电化学性能测试中Co@N-C/rGO表现出优异的ORR性能, 其起始电位为0.96 V, 半波电位0.83 V, 远优于ZIF-67直接热解得到的Co@N-C材料, 且性能与商业Pt/C催化剂相当. 此外, Co@N-C/rGO复合催化剂还表现出良好的催化稳定性和甲醇耐受性, 显示出该材料作为燃料电池氧还原催化剂的重要潜力.