Synthesis, structure analysis and cytotoxicity studies of novel unsymmetrically n,n'-substituted ureas from dehydroabietic Acid

A series of novel unsymmetrically N,N'-substituted ureas were synthesized from dehydroabietic acid and their structures were characterized by IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray diffraction. Three six-membered rings of urea 4c exhibited plane, half-chair and chair configurations, respectively. Their cytotoxicity activities against SMMC7721 liver cancer cells were evaluated by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) method. The results showed that the title compounds exhibited highly effective cytotoxicity activities against SMMC7721 cells. Their IC50 values are between 8.8 and 14.2 micromol/l. The change of N' substituted groups resulted little difference to the cytotoxicity activities of ureas, which indicated that the cytotoxicity of this kind of ureas depend strongly on the tricyclic hydrophenanthrene structure.     

Bottom-contact poly(3,3'-didodecylquaterthiophene) thin-film transistors with gold source-drain electrodes modified by alkanethiol monolayers

A series of alkanethiol monolayers (CH 3(CH 2) n-1 SH, n = 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16) were used to modify gold source-drain electrode surfaces for bottom-contact poly(3,3'-didodecylquaterthiophene) (PQT-12) thin-film transistors (TFTs). The device mobilities of TFTs were significantly increased from approximately 0.015 cm (2) V (-1) s (-1) for bare electrode TFTs to a maximum of approximately 0.1 cm (2) V (-1) s (-1) for the n = 8 monolayer devices. The mobilities of devices with alkanethiol-modified Au electrodes varied parabolically with alkyl length with values of 0.06, 0.1, and 0.04 cm (2) V (-1) s (-1) at n = 4, 8, and 16, respectively. Atomic force microscopy investigations reveal that alkanethiol electrode surface modifications promote polycrystalline PQT-12 morphologies at electrode/PQT-12 contacts, which probably increase the density of states of the PQT-12 semiconductor at the interfaces. The contact resistance of TFTs is strongly modulated by the surface modification and strongly varies with the alkanethiol chain length. The surface modifications of electrodes appear to significantly improve the charge injection, with consequent substantial improvement in device performance.     

Syntheses and structures of half-sandwich iridium(III) and rhodium(III) complexes with organochalcogen (S, Se) ligands bearing N-methylimidazole and their use as catalysts for norbornene polymerization

The organochalcogen ligands derived from 3-methyl-imidazole-2-thione/selone groups, Mbit, Mbis, Ebit and Ebis [Mbit = 1,1'-methylenebis(3-methyl-imidazole-2-thione); Mbis = 1,1'-methylenebis(3-methyl-imidazole-2-selone), Ebit = 1,1'-(1,2-ethanediyl)bis(3-methyl-imidazole-2-thione), Ebis = 1,1'-(1,2-ethanediyl)bis(3-methyl-imidazole-2-selone)] have been synthesized and characterized. Reactions of [Cp*Ir(micro-Cl)Cl]2 and [Cp*Rh(micro-Cl)Cl]2 (Cp* = eta5-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) with Mbit, Mbis, Ebit and Ebis result in the formation of the complexes [Cp*Ir(Mbit)Cl]Cl 1a x Cl), [Cp*Ir(Mbis)Cl]Cl (3a x Cl), [Cp*Ir(Ebit)Cl]Cl (1b x Cl), [Cp*Ir(Ebis)Cl]Cl (2a x Cl), [Cp*Rh(Mbit)Cl]Cl (2b x Cl), Cp*Rh(Mbis)Cl][Cp*RhCl(3)] (3b x[Cp*RhCl(3)]), [Cp*Rh(Ebit)Cl]Cl (4a x Cl) and [Cp*Rh(Ebis)Cl]Cl (4b x Cl), respectively. All compounds have been characterized by elemental analysis, NMR and IR spectra. The molecular structures of 1b, 2b, 3a, 3b and 4a have been determined by X-ray crystallography. After activation with methylaluminoxane (MAO), the iridium complexes exhibit moderate activities for the vinyl polymerization of norbornene.     

A Mixed Solvothermal Route to Synthesis of Dice‐Like PbS

The authors developed a simple solvothermal route to synthesis of PbS nanocrystals in the mild binary mixed solvent made of diethylenetriamine (DETA) and water. Two kinds of PbS nanostructures (dice‐like and cubic) have been successfully synthesized in the binary mixed solvothermal system at 150 °C by changing the sulfur source. The products were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results show that the as‐prepared dice‐like PbS crystals have a hole on each of their faces. To elucidate the relationship between reaction systems and the morphologies of the final products, the authors also investigated the crystal growth by using different sulfur source. Based on the experimental results, the possible growth mechanism of the dice‐like PbS crystals was proposed.     

MAA修饰ZnO量子点及其发光特性

以ZnAc2·2H2O为原料,在乙醇中通过70℃回流4h,得到ZnO前驱物,与LiOH·H2O反应,制备出ZnO.采用巯基乙酸(mercaptoacetic acid,MAA)对所合成的ZnO进行表面修饰,修饰后的产物经SEM和XRD表征,证明获得了物相单一、近似球状、粒径为4.6nm的ZnO量子点.借助紫外-可见和荧光分析,研究了MAA对该量子点的修饰效果,探讨了设置条件下ZnO的发光机理和性质.发现该实验体系之所以产生荧光表面缺陷发射峰消失和激子发射峰明显增加的光学现象,是因为MAA有效地覆盖了ZnO的表面缺陷,并稳定包裹住ZnO粒子.同时还研究了MAA加量、温度、电解质对修饰产物发光性能的影响,发现经MAA修饰后的ZnO量子点具有较强的荧光发光性能、良好的长期陈放稳定性,以及一定的抗电解质影响能力.研究结果对ZnO量子点应用于生物分析具有重要参考价值.     

One-step synthesis of Fe-Ni hydroxide nanosheets derived from bimetallic foam for efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution and overall water splitting

For the first time, the Fe-Ni LDH nanosheets were prepared through simple one-step hydrothermal treatment of Fe-Ni bimetallic foam both as the substrate and Fe/Ni sources. The ratio of Ni/Fe elements played the important role in realizing the optimal catalytic activities for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). An alkaline water electrolyzer was constructed with the Fe-Ni hydroxide nanosheets/Fe-Ni alloy foam-60% Fe as anode and Ni(OH)₂/Fe-Ni alloy foam-25% Fe as cathode, which displays superior electrolytic performance (affording 10 mA/cm² at 1.62 V) and lasting durability.     

Experimental and numerical studies of noise-induced coherent patterns in a subexcitable system

A subexcitable medium of Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction subjected to external Gaussian white noise is studied in experiments and numerical simulations. We observe that at an optimal level of noise the wave sources of excited traveling waves become synchronous, as though there exists a long distance spatial correlation. The synchronous behavior fades if the noise level becomes larger or smaller. Numerical simulations confirm the experimental findings, and point out that the best synchronous behavior takes place when the signal-to-noise ratio of waves becomes largest.     

Ab initio investigation of hydrogenation of (BN)12

Ab initio molecular orbital theory was used to examine the hydrogenation of a B₁₂N₁₂ molecule. The 1,2 addition of the 4,6 bond is an energetically favorable adsorption site in one-hydrogen-molecule adsorption. We found that the averaged bind energy of hydrogen molecule is maximized in B₁₂N₁₂H₁₂. The largest energy gaps of B₁₂N₁₂H₁₂ and B₁₂N₁₂H₂₄ suggest they have special stability. Moreover, calculation of the Gibbs free energy of the B₁₂N₁₂ + 12H₂ → B₁₂N₁₂H₂₄ reaction showed that this reaction becomes endothermic above 320 K.     

Fabrication and properties of PLT/PLZT/PLT structures obtained by RF magnetron sputtering

Ferroelectric Pb_0.84La_0.16Ti_0.96O₃/Pb_0.96La_0.04(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)_0.99O₃/Pb_0.84La_0.16Ti_0.96O₃ (PLT/PLZT/PLT) structures were fabricated on platinum-coated silicon wafers by RF magnetron sputtering. A Pb_0.84La_0.16Ti_0.96O₃ layer was used as a seed layer to improve the crystallization and enhance the ferroelectric properties of the PLZT film. With the PLT seed layers, the films showed excellent ferroelectric properties in terms of large remnant polarization (2P_r) of 52.7 μC/cm², lower coercive field (2E_c) of 130 kV/cm for an applied field of 500 kV/cm. Moreover, the PLT/PLZT/PLT structures exhibited good fatigue endurance after 10¹⁰ switching cycles, which was attributed to the double-sided PLT layers. They improved the electrical fatigue by eliminating the pyrochlore phase, reduced the strong (111) orientation, and assimilated the oxygen vacancies from the PLZT layer.     

Effects of different sintering temperature and Nb2O5 content on structural and magnetic properties of Z-type hexaferrites

Nb-doped Z-type hexaferrites (Ba₃(Co_0.4Zn_0.6)₂Fe₂₄O₄₁) with composition of Ba₃(Co_0.4Zn_0.6)₂Fe₂₄O₄₁+x Nb₂O₅ (where x=0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.2, 1.6 and 2.0 wt%) were prepared by a solid-state reaction method. The effects of different sintering temperature (T_s) and Nb₂O₅ content on the sintering behaviors, phase composing, microstructure, and magnetic properties of the samples were investigated. The results from X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy show that as the amount of Nb₂O₅ additive increases, the major phase changes to Z-phase, Simultaneously, M-phase and a small amount of niobate phase appear. The Nb₂O₅ additive promotes the grain growth as reaction center at lower sintering temperature (1220 °C), but at higher temperature (1260 °C), niobate phase separated out in grain boundaries as secondary phase will restrain abnormal grain growth, so closed pores in grains are not formed. The Nb₂O₅ additive can enhance densification, improve initial permeability of hexaferrites by increasing the grain growth of hexaferrite and the displacement of ions in the sintering process due to the aberration and activation of crystal lattice, which is accompanied by the solubility of Nb⁵⁺ in the hexaferrites. A relative density of 96%, maximum initial permeability (32–33), minimum coercivity (454–455 A/m) and resonance frequency above 400 MHz were obtained for the sample with 0.8 wt% Nb₂O₅ sintered at 1260 °C for 6 h.