Ru-catalyzed highly enantioselective hydrogenation of α-keto Weinreb amides

Asymmetric hydrogenation of α-keto Weinreb amides has been realized with [Ru((S)-Sunphos)(benzene)Cl]Cl as the catalyst and CeCl 3·7H2O as the additive.A series of enantiopure α-hydroxy Weinreb amides(up to 97% ee) have been obtained.Catalytic amount of CeCl3·7H2O is essential for the high reactivity and enantioselectivity and the ratio of CeCl3·7H2O to [Ru((S)-Sunphos)(benzene)Cl]Cl plays an important role in the hydrogenation reaction.     

Pyrene-benzothiadiazole-based Polymer/CdS 2D/2D Organic/Inorganic Hybrid S-scheme Heterojunction for Efficient Photocatalytic H2 Evolution

Nowadays, conjugated polymers have garnered numerous attention as a new class of organic photocatalysts due to their tunable electronic properties, low cost, excellent stability and sufficient light-absorption performance. In particular, pyrene-benzothiadiazolebased conjugated polymer（PBBP） has been considered to be a new type of conjugated polymers for photocatalytic H₂ evolution. However, the poor charge separation seriously limits its practical application in H₂ evolutio...     

A Furan-based Phosphaphenanthrene-containing Derivative as a Highly Efficient Flame-retardant Agent for Epoxy Thermosets without Deteriorating Thermomechanical Performances

In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, developing flame retardants from bio-based resources has aroused extensive interest in recent years. In this work, we utilized furfural(biomass) and 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide(DOPO) to synthesize a biobased co-curing agent(FGD) to combine with 4,4'-diaminodiphenyl methane(DDM) for obtaining a low-phosphorus loading flame-retardant epoxy thermosets. The introduction of FGD decreased the activation energy of the curing progress, enhanced the mechanical properties of the epoxy thermosets, and did not affect the glass transition temperature of the epoxy thermosets. EP-5.0 had a lower thermal degradation rate and a doubled char yield compared with EP-0. The phosphorus content of EP-5.0 was only 0.45 wt%, while EP-5.0 reached the UL-94 V-0 rating with a high LOI value of 32%. Compared with EP-0, the PHRR of EP-2.5 and EP-5.0 decreased by 22.3% and 31.3%, respectively. The SEM results showed that the addition of FGD made the char residues more uniform and denser, which could effectively prevent combustible volatiles from escaping from the degradation area to the flame area and isolate the heat transfer so that the epoxy thermosets had an excellent flame-retardant performance.     

A magnetic field strategy to porous Pt-Ni nanoparticles with predominant (111) facets for enhanced electrocatalytic oxygen reduction

For the first time, we developed porous Pt-Ni alloying nanoparticles with predominant(111) facets under intense magnetic fields. Electrochemical analysis revealed that the Pt-Ni alloying nanoparticles obtained at 2 Tesla exhibited a superior catalytic activity and durability for oxygen reduction reaction. This work demonstrated that the imposition of intense magnetic field could be considered as a new approach for developing efficient alloying electrocatalysts with preferential facets.     

Preparation of Low-dielectric Permittivity Polyimide Resins with High Surface Activity from Chemically Bonded Hyperbranched Polysiloxane

Thermosetting resin matrix is the key component of advanced wave-transparent composites,where low dielectric constant,excellent processability,high thermal stability,as well as good bonding ability are required for resins.Herein,we prepared a series of phenylethynyl terminated polyimide(PI)resins by grafting amine-functionalized hyperbranched polysiloxane(HBPSi)to PI chains during the in situ polymerization.The effects of HBPSi on the processability of oligomers,molecular packing,thermal stability,dielectric property and bonding ability to reinforce Kevlar fibers of the cured PI/HBPSi composite resins have been examined in detail.The dielectric constants of the cured composite resins were greatly reduced from 3.29 to 2.19 without compromising its processability and thermal stability.Meanwhile,the 10 wt％HBPSi-containing PI resin demonstrated better bonding ability to reinforce fibers with the interfacial shear strength(IFSS)of 37.64 MPa,compared with that of neat PI-6 matrix(27.34 MPa),and better adhesion to metal with the lap shear strength of 10.48 MPa,50％higher than that of neat resin PI-6(6.98 MPa).These resultant PI/HBPSi composite resins exhibit excellent comprehensive properties,indicating their great potential as low-dielectric constant resin matrix in radar radome.     

Zwitterionic comb-like lipid polymers encapsulating linalool for increasing the fragrance retention time

Fragrances are widely used in cosmetics,apparel and detergents.However,the rapid evaporation of the aro ma shortens the useful life of the aromatic product.Therefore,improving the fragrance retention time of aromatic products and prolonging the service life of aromatic products are the key scientific problems that need to be solved in current aromatic products.In this study,zwitterionic comb-like lipid polymers were synthesized to encapsulate the fragrance molecule linalool.The results showed that the zwitterionic comb lipid molecules were capable of encapsulating more linalool than linear lipid molecules.At the same time,the zwitterionic comb-like lipid molecules also limited the slow release rate of the aroma,thereby increasing the fragrance retention time of the nano-fragrance.     

Cationic and temperature-sensitive liposomes loaded with eugenol for the application to silk

Silk has been widely used in the clothing industry due to their soft and smooth features, good biocompatibility, good heat dissipation, warmth and ultraviolet resistance. The application of fragrance to silk can significantly improve the performance of silk. However, there are two key scientific problems that need to be solved: slowing down the release rate of fragrances and increasing the scent lasting time of silk. In this study, cationic and temperature-sensitive liposomes were designed and prepared to encapsulate eugenol. These fragrance-loaded liposomes significantly slowed down the release rate of the fragrance and controlled the release rate of the fragrance in a thermo-sensitive manner. The liposomes adhered to the silk through electrostatic adsorption interaction. The positive charge on the fragrance-loaded liposomes neutralized much negative charge on silk and thereby increasing the adhesion efficiency.     

Analysis of nitrobenzene compounds in water and soil samples by graphene composite-based solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

In this work, solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was developed to determine trace levels of nitrobenzene compounds in water and soil samples. Graphene was chosen as the extraction material and its composite was coated on a stainless steel wire through sol–gel technique for the solid phase microextraction. The key parameters influencing the extraction efficiency were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the linearity for the compounds was observed in the range of 0.02–15.0 mg/L for water samples, and 0.2–60.0 mg/kg for soil samples, with the correlation coefficients（r） of 0.9966–0.9987. The limits of detection of the method were 0.0025–0.005 mg/L for water samples, and 0.02–0.04 mg/kg for soil samples. The recoveries for the spiked samples were in the range of 72.0%–113.2%, and the precision, expressed as the relative standard deviations, was less than 12.1%.     

Bromodimethylsulfonium bromide: A brominating reagent for the conversion of anthracene into 9,10-dibromoanthracene

Bromodimethylsulfonium bromide(BDMS) was used as an efficient brominating reagent for the synthesis of 9,10-dibromoanthracene in dichloromethane. The desired products were obtained in excellent yields.     

The effects of surface ligands and counter cations on the stability of anionic thiolated M12Ag32 （M=Au,Ag） nanoclusters

The stabilities of [M12Ag32（SR）30]4- （M = Ag, Au and SR = SPhF2, SPhCF3, SPhF） clusters having the same structure but different surface ligands or counter cations were systematically studied. It was clearly revealed that a subtle structural change in the surface ligands or counter cations could significantly alter the overall stability of [M12Ag32（SR）30]4 although they all had an electronic structure of 18-electron superatom shell closure. SPhF2 was found as a better surface ligand than SPhCF3 or SPhF to stabilize [M12Ag32（SR）30]4-. And the use of more bulky [（PPhj）2N]＋ as the counter cations was revealed to be more deleterious to the overall stability of [M12Ag32（SR）30]4- clusters than PPh4＋. [Au12Ag32（SR）30]4- was much more stable than [Ag44（SR）30]4 with the same surface ligands and counter cations. An exceptional stability was observed on （PPh4）4[Au12Ag32（SPhF2）30] which was stable in DMF for more than 8 days in air at 80 ℃. More research efforts are still needed to deeply understand why a small structural change could result in a significant change in the stability of noble metal nanoclusters.