Positively Charged Nanoaggregates Based on Zwitterionic Pillar[5]arene that Combat Planktonic Bacteria and Disrupt Biofilms

Bacterial biofilms are difficult to eradicate because they are less susceptible to antibiotics and more easily develop resistance. Therefore, there is an urgent need for new materials that can combat planktonic bacteria and disrupt established biofilms. To tackle this challenge, we design a multifunctional zwitterionic pillar[5]arene, which can self‐assemble into weakly positively charged nanoaggregates that exhibit antibacterial activity against Gram‐negative Escherichia coli (DH5α) and Gram‐positive Staphylococcus aureus (SH1000) bacterial strains in solution. In addition, the zwitterionic pillar[5]arene can efficiently disrupt pre‐existing Escherichia coli (DH5α) biofilms and kill the biofilm‐enclosed bacteria without rapid generation of resistance.     

Template assisted synthesis of silica-coated molecular crystal nanorods: From hydrophobic to hydrophilic nanorods

We report a method for the preparation of silica-coated molecular crystal nanorods. A sol-gel method was used to make silica nanotubes inside anodized alumina templates. The nanotubes were then loaded with 9-anthracene carboxylic acid (9-AC) and solvent annealed to produce silica-coated organic nanorods. The core-shell structure was confirmed using electron microscopy, and the highly crystalline organic core was characterized using powder X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The silica-coated 9-AC rods had much improved dispersal properties in aqueous solution, and were also able to undergo reversible bending under UV illumination, as observed previously for uncoated 9-AC rods. This work demonstrates that it is possible to make surface-coated molecular crystal nanorods that retain their useful functionalities.     

Molecular Engineering of Chalcogen-Embedded Anthanthrenes via peri-Selective C−H Activation: Fine-Tuning of Crystal Packing for Organic Field-Effect Transistors

Disclosed herein is a RhCl₃-catalyzed peri-selective C−H/C−H oxidative homo-coupling of 1-substituted naphthalenes, which provides a highly efficient and streamlined approach to chalcogen-embedded anthanthrenes from readily available starting materials. Introducing O, S, and Se into the anthanthrene skeleton leads to gradually increased π–π stacking distances but significantly enhanced π–π overlaps with the growth of the hetero-atom radius. Moderate π–π distance, overlap area, and intermolecular S−S interactions endow S-embedded anthanthrene ( PTT ) with excellent 2D charge-transport properties. Moreover, the transformation of p-type to n-type S-embedded anthanthrenes is realized for the first time via the S-atom oxidation from PTT to PTT-O4 . In organic field-effect transistor devices, PTT derivatives exhibit hole transport with mobilities up to 1.1 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, while PTT-O4 shows electron transport with a mobility of 0.022 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹.     

Photoinduced Ratchet‐Like Rotational Motion of Branched Molecular Crystals

Photomechanical molecular crystals can undergo a variety of light‐induced motions, including expansion, bending, twisting, and jumping. The use of more complex crystal shapes may provide ways to turn these motions into useful work. To generate such shapes, pH‐driven reprecipitation has been used to grow branched microcrystals of the anthracene derivative 4‐fluoroanthracenecarboxylic acid. When these microcrystals are illuminated with light of λ=405 nm, an intermolecular [4+4] photodimerization reaction drives twisting and bending of the individual branches. These deformations drive a rotation of the overall crystal that can be repeated over multiple exposures to light. The magnitude and direction of this rotation vary because of differences in the crystal shape, but a typical branched crystal undergoes a 50° net rotation after 25 consecutive irradiations for 1 s. The ability of these crystals to undergo ratchet‐like rotation is attributed to their chiral shape.     

二氧化碳膨胀乙醇体系中碳基金属复合物的合成及其催化和电化学性能(英文)

与块体材料相比,功能复合材料表现了更加优异的性能,而且比其中任何单一组分的性能都好,因此在催化、锂离子电池等领域得以广泛研究.通常情况下,在复合材料的制备中金属或金属氧化物粒子要求能够以足够小的粒径在基底上均匀分散,并实现活性组分负载量的可控.据报道,很多方法可以将金属(或氧化物)活性组分引入到载体之中,比如水热/溶剂热、水解、热分解、化学气相沉积等,但这些方法均存在如下缺点.第一,为了获得满意的负载量和可控包覆,碳基底需要预氧化处理使其表面含有丰富的含氧官能团.例如,由于碳纳米管自身的相容性和加工性较差,需要硝酸预氧化处理;石墨烯也需要预处理为石墨烯氧化物然后再进行第二组分的负载.但是,剧烈的氧化处理条件不可避免地造成对碳sp~2结构和电子特性的破坏,并且增加了繁杂的后续处理过程.第二,金属组分前驱体在基底上负载不完全,易形成自由粒子聚集在溶液中,从而降低活性组分的有效利用.第三,传统方法中由于使用水、乙醇等表面张力大的极性溶剂,导致粒子结晶再生长,形成的颗粒尺寸大,对催化剂会降低活性表面积及催化效率;对于电池材料会增加电极/电解液的接触面积,增加锂离子的扩散距离及电池充电过程的内部应力.而且,有机溶剂由于粘度大,不利于金属纳米粒子在基底上的均匀分散及合成过程的绿色化.因此,我们利用资源丰富,廉价的二氧化碳作为绿色溶剂,研究了二氧化碳膨胀的乙醇体系中金属(氧化物)纳米粒子在碳基底上均匀负载的方法.由于超临界二氧化碳具有独特的低粘度、"零"表面张力、高扩散能力、以及物性参数随温度和压力可调等特点,可以使金属(氧化物)前驱体不受液体毛细作用的限制在孔道中快速、均一地分散,保证孔结构稳定,对多孔复合材料的加工和制备表现了巨大的优势.同时,超临界二氧化碳的抗溶剂能力也能够有效降低乙醇和水引起的溶剂效应,从而降低纳米粒子之间的聚集.此外,通过改变前驱体的浓度可以精确调控表面组分的负载量.更重要的是,碳基底可以直接利用制备碳基复合材料,无需任何预处理及表面活性剂参与,避免了前处理对基底的形貌和电子特性的破坏.本综述首先介绍了超临界二氧化碳膨胀乙醇体系的属性,讨论了碳基复合材料在该体系中的形成机理.然后分别介绍了零维碳球、一维碳纳米管、二维石墨烯、三维多孔碳材料作为基底形成的一系列金属(氧化物)复合材料,及这些材料在催化和锂离子电池领域中的应用.最后,对超临界二氧化碳沉积方法的应用进行了总结和展望.     

High-Dimensional Bell State Analysis for Photon-Atoms Hybrid System

High-dimensional Bell state analysis (HDBSA) has great application potential in the high-capacity quantum communication and quantum information processing. In this paper, we propose a scheme to completely distinguish the 2^N-dimensional Bell states of a hybrid system with the help of the nonlinear interaction between the Λ-type atoms and a photon system. We use the unit-probability quantum teleportation with non-maximum entanglement as an example to show the application of HDBSA. Finally, we discuss its possible realization with current experimental techniques. Our HDBSA protocol may pave a new way for high-capacity long-distance quantum communication.

     

Influence of interface roughness on reflectivity of tungsten/boron-carbide multilayers with variable hi-layer number by X-ray reflection and diffuse scattering

from layer to layer during multilayer growing. The variation of the reflectivity and interface roughness with bi-layer number is accurately explained by the presented real-structure model.     

水窗波段反射式偏振光学元件的设计和制作

水窗波段是软X射线进行生物活细胞显微成像的最佳波段,因此对于水窗波段偏振光学元件的研究有着非常重要的意义。用菲涅耳公式计算出在水窗波段内不同材料组合对应不同波长的最大反射率,模拟分析了多层膜周期和表界面粗糙度对多层膜偏振光学元件性能的影响。用超高真空磁控溅射镀膜设备,制作出2．40nm、3．00nm和4．30nm波长处W／B4C多层膜偏振元件,并用X射线衍射仪对元件的周期厚度进行了测量,得到的测量结果与设计值偏差很小,可以进行实际应用。为水窗波段反射式偏振光学元件的研究提供了理论依据,同时也为相应偏振光学元件的制备确定了合适的工艺参量。