Magnetic field induced Freedericksz transition of a planar aligned liquid crystal doped with metalloporphyrins FeTPPCl,MnTPPCl and ZnTPP

We observed that the planar aligned nematic liquid crystal (5CB) doped with a volume fraction of 1% of FeTPPCl [5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyriniron(III)chloride] or MnTPPCl [5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrinmanganese(III)chloride] dramatically decreased the critical magnetic field for the magnetic field induced Freedericksz transition, while 5CB doped with ZnTPP [5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrinzinc(II)] revealed no such effect, when compared with pure 5CB. In the guest-host (5CB) system, FeTPPCl and MnTPPCl as guests are both strong paramagnetic materials with an interaction through coordination of the -CN group in 5CB onto the metal ion of the porphyrin. As a result, the 5CB molecules are dragged to reorientate under a static magnetic field, while ZnTPP is a diamagnetic material without such a property. This phenomenon concerning magneto-optical components could be useful in liquid crystal displays.     

Magnetically assisted removal and separation of cationic dyes from aqueous solution by magnetic nanocomposite hydrogels

Magnetic poly(acrylic acid‐acrylamide‐butyl methacrylate) (P(AAB)) nanocomposite hydrogels were prepared and used as adsorbents for removal and separation of cationic dyes from aqueous solution. These magnetic P(AAB) nanocomposite hydrogels were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). It was found that these magnetic P(AAB) nanocomposite hydrogels had magnetic responsive characters. The dynamic swelling, removal, and separation of cationic dye, crystal violet (CV), and basic magenta (BM) by these magnetic nanocomposite hydrogels were studied. The adsorption capacity and isotherm studies of cationic dyes onto magnetic P(AAB) nanocomposite hydrogels have been evaluated. The magnetic P(AAB) nanocomposite hydrogels containing Fe₃O₄ particles can be easily manipulated in magnetic field for removal and separation of cationic dyes from aqueous solution. Adsorption process agreed very well with the Langmuir and Freundlich models. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synergistic effects of cerium phosphate and intumescent flame retardant on EPDM/PP composites

An intumescent flame retardant system composed of ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and pentaerythritol (PER) was used for flame retarding ethylene–propylene–diene‐modified elastomer (EPDM)/polypropylene (PP) blends. Cerium phosphate (CeP) was synthesized and the effect on flame retardancy and thermal stability of EPDM/PP composites based on intumescent flame retardant (IFR) were studied by limiting oxygen index (LOI), UL‐94, and thermogravimetic analysis (TGA), respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) were used to analyze the morphological structure and the component of the residue chars formed from the EPDM/PP composites, and the mechanical properties of the materials were also studied. The addition of CeP to the EPDM/PP/APP/PER composites gives better flame retardancy than that of EPDM/PP/APP/PER composites. TGA and RT‐FTIR studies indicated that an interaction occurs among APP, PER, and EPDM/PP. The incorporation of CeP improved the mechanical properties of the materials. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rapid and accurate evaluation of the binding energies and the individual N-H···O=C, N-H···N, C-H···O=C, and C-H···N interaction energies for hydrogen-bonded peptide-base complexes

The binding energies of thirty-six hydrogen-bonded peptide-base complexes, including the peptide backbone-ase complexes and amino acid side chain-base complexes, are evaluated using the analytic potential energy function established in our lab recently and compared with those obtained from MP2, AMBER99, OPLSAA/L, and CHARMM27 calculations. The comparison indicates that the analytic potential energy function yields the binding energies for these complexes as reasonable as MP2 does, much better than the force fields do. The individual N H…O=C, N H…N, C H…O=C, and C H…N attractive interaction energies and C=O…O=C, N H…H N, C H…H N, and C H…H C repulsive interaction energies, which cannot be easily obtained from ab initio calculations, are calculated using the dipole-dipole interaction term of the analytic potential energy function. The individual N H…O=C, C H…O=C, C H…N attractive interactions are about 5.3±1.8, 1.2±0.4, and 0.8 kcal/mol, respectively, the individual N H … N could be as strong as about 8.1 kcal/mol or as weak as 1.0 kcal/mol, while the individual C=O…O=C, N H…H N, C H…H N, and C H…H C repulsive interactions are about 1.8±1.1, 1.7±0.6, 0.6±0.3, and 0.35±0.15 kcal/mol. These data are helpful for the rational design of new strategies for molecular recognition or supramolecular assemblies.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel piperidin-4-ol derivatives

Abstract  

A series of novel piperidin-4-ol derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for potential treatment of HIV. The compounds were obtained via an efficient synthetic route in excellent yields and have been characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, MS, and elemental analysis. The CCR5 antagonistic activities of the compounds have also been evaluated.     

Preparation and characterization of high-rate and long-cycle LiFePO4/C nanocomposite as cathode material for lithium-ion battery

Olivine LiFePO₄/C nanocomposite cathode materials with small-sized particles and a unique electrochemical performance were successfully prepared by a simple solid-state reaction using oxalic acid and citric acid as the chelating reagent and carbon source. The structure and electrochemical properties of the samples were investigated. The results show that LiFePO₄/C nanocomposite with oxalic acid (oxalic acid: Fe²⁺= 0.75:1) and a small quantity of citric acid are single phase and deliver initial discharge capacity of 122.1 mAh/g at 1 C with little capacity loss up to 500 cycles at room temperature. The rate capability and cyclability are also outstanding at elevated temperature. When charged/discharged at 60 °C, this materials present excellent initial discharge capacity of 148.8 mAh/g at 1 C, 128.6 mAh/g at 5 C, and 115.0 mAh/g at 10 C, respectively. The extraordinarily high performance of LiFePO₄/C cathode materials can be exploited suitably for practical lithium-ion batteries.     

对钠离子有选择性的中性载体

合成了十一种中性离子载体,用它们制成钠离子选择性电极,测定了电极的选择性系数并与文献报道的类似电极进行了比较。     

Copper-exchanged LTA zeolite membranes with enhanced water flux for ethanol dehydration

Phase-pure and well-intergrown Cu-LTA membranes are developed through copper ions exchange of sodium ions in Na-LTA framework. For pervaporation of 90.0 wt% ethanol/10.0 wt% water mixtures, the Cu-LTA membrane shows much higher water flux than Na-LTA membranes due to the enhancement of the pore size after ions exchange.     

Non‐3d Metal Modulation of a Cobalt Imidazolate Framework for Excellent Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution in Neutral Media

Cobalt imidazolate frameworks are classical electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) but suffer from the relatively low activity. Here, a non‐3d metal modulation strategy is presented for enhancing the OER activity of cobalt imidazolate frameworks. Two isomorphous frameworks [Co₄(MO₄)(eim)₆] (M=Mo or W, Heim=2‐ethylimidazole) having Co(eim)₃(MO₄) units and high water stabilities were designed and synthesized. In different neutral media, the Mo‐modulated framework coated on a glassy carbon electrode shows the best OER performances (1 mA cm^?2 at an overpotential of 210 mV in CO₂‐saturated 0.5 m KHCO₃ electrolyte and 2/10/22 mA cm^?2 at overpotential of 388/490/570 mV in phosphate buffer solution) among non‐precious metal catalysts and even outperforms RuO₂. Spectroscopic measurements and computational simulations revealed that the non‐3d metals modulate the electronic structure of Co for optimum reactant/product adsorption and tailor the energy of rate‐determining step to a more moderate value.     

Light‐Driven Reversible Intermolecular Proton Transfer at Single‐Molecule Junctions

Photoresponsive molecular systems are essential for molecular optoelectronic devices, but most molecular building blocks are non‐photoresponsive. Employed here is a photoinduced proton transfer (PIPT) strategy to control charge transport through single‐molecule azulene junctions with visible light under ambient conditions, which leads to a reversible and controllable photoresponsive molecular device based on non‐photoresponsive molecules and a photoacid. Also demonstrated is the application of PIPT in two single‐molecule AND gate and OR gate devices with electrical signal as outputs.