Porous structure and thermal properties of carbon adsorbents from pitch–polymer compositions

The study results of porous structure and thermal properties of carbon adsorbents (AC) obtained from pitch–polymer compositions were presented. The compositions were carbonized and activated with steam, potassium hydroxide, and magnesium and potassium carbonates. For the obtained AC, the thermal analysis and the determination of adsorption value of iodine and porous structure by adsorption/desorption of nitrogen at 77 K were carried out. The possibility of obtained activated carbons from pitch–polymer compositions was demonstrated. The use of untypical feedstock, as an effect of combination of bituminous substance with polymeric waste and improvement of the methods of production, creates the potential possibility to produce carbon adsorbents of interesting properties and porous structure.     

Cold atmospheric Plasma Jet-Generated Oxidized Derivatives of Tryptophan and Their Selective Effects on Murine Melanoma and Fibroblast Cells

Cold atmospheric pressure plasma is widely used in research for biomedical applications and is a promising therapy to selectively eradicate cancer cells. However, fundamental information related to the plasma modification of biomolecules in aqueous solution remains elusive. In this work, we studied the chemical basis of tryptophan (Trp) oxidation using an Ar plasma jet and investigated the effects of plasma-treated tryptophan (PTT) on cell viability. The results show that the main product of the Trp of plasma induced oxidation is a mixture of hydroxyl derivatives and hydroperoxides in aqueous form. The products result primarily from the hydroxyl radical (·OH) attacking the Trp, which can be explained by the interaction with both the aromatic and the pyrrole rings. We observed that the PTT has a different proliferation effect between the growth of the B16 melanoma cells and the L929 fibroblast cells. The experimental results indicated that the effect of the PTT is dose-dependent in the B16 cells, ranging from cell proliferation to cytotoxic damage with apoptosis. Furthermore, we examined the intracellular changes in hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and superoxide radicals (\({\text{O}}_{2}^{{\bar{ \cdot }}}\)) following the Trp-derived treatment using the fluorescence probe method. Rigorous identification of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by PTT in cells as \({\text{O}}_{2}^{{\bar{ \cdot }}}\) and H₂O₂ helped establish the cellular source of ROS. It is shown that the intracellular H₂O₂ might originate from the activation of NADPH. These results suggested that the amino acid and protein hydroperoxides may play a crucial role in the action of plasma on the biologic target.     

Fly ash supported NiO as an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of xanthene and its molecular docking study against plasmodium glutathione reductase

A novel fly ash supported NiO (FA–NiO) nanocomposite solid heterogeneous catalyst has been prepared by impregnation of Ni(NO₃)₂ · 6H₂O on thermally activated fly ash (FA) support. FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, TEM and BET techniques were employed to characterize the catalyst. The catalytic adeptness of FA–NiO was tested and optimized in xanthene formation. Catalyst gave very high yield and good purity. Stability of the catalyst could be promising as it easily recovered and reused giving a similar yield up to four cycles. FA–NiO is an efficient catalyst providing an environmentally clean process for xanthene formation and for developing a revolutionary way to use the majority of waste fly ash. Further, we have also performed docking simulation between 1ONF and a xanthene molecule to evaluate binding orientation and affinity of the ligand.     

Ion-pair recognition based on halogen bonding: a case of the crown-ether receptor with iodo-trizole moiety

The development of halogen-bond-based ditopic receptors capable of binding simultaneously both a cation and an anion has attracted recent research interest. In this work, the crown-ether receptor 1, which consists of an iodo-trizole moiety for anion recognition through halogen bonding and a Lewis-basic center for cation binding, was investigated using density functional theory calculations. The structural and energetic features for the complexes of 1 with single cations, single halide anions, and ion pairs were explored. Intermolecular interactions in these complexes were systematically analyzed by the atoms in molecules and noncovalent interaction index methods. The presence of the coordinated cation significantly increases the anion-binding affinity, while the binding of halide anions has a slight influence on the cation-binding affinity. Anti-cooperative effects were found in the ion-pair recognition of 1, due to the strong attraction between the two counterions in the complexes. The solvent weakens the interaction strength considerably, and anti-cooperativity becomes very small in solvent. The results reported in this work are of fundamental importance in the design of ion-pair receptors based on halogen bonding.     

Computational study of the thermal decomposition and the thermochemistry of allyl ethers and allyl sulfides

In spite of the several experimental and computational studies on the thermal decomposition of allyl ethers and allyl sulfides, there are still disagreements on aspects of the reaction mechanism, such as the true nature of the transition states and the grade of synchronicity of the reactions. This work presents a computational study of the gas-phase thermolysis reaction of allyl ethers and allyl sulfides substituted at α-carbon, at the M05-2X/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory and a temperature range from 586.15 to 673.15 K. The substituent groups were methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, i-propyl, allyl, benzyl and acetonyl. It was found that the sulfides react faster than the homologous ethers and that the substituent groups with the capacity of delocalize charge increase the reaction rate. Through natural bond orbital calculations, the transition states were characterized. The synchronicities and atomic charges of the studied reactions were determined. A computational study at the G3 level of theory on the thermochemistry of allyl ethers and sulfides was also carried out.     

Four supramolecular transition metal(II) complexes based on triazole-benzoic acid derivatives: crystal structure,Hirshfeld surface analysis,and spectroscopic and thermal properties

Four new complexes [M(3-tba)₂(H₂O)₄] (1–3) and [Co(4-tba)₂(H₂O)₄] (4) {M = Zn (1), Ni (2), Co (3), 3-Htba = 3-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)benzoic acid, 4-Htba = 4-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)benzoic acid} have been synthesized under solvothermal conditions and structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Complexes 1–4 are also determined by elemental analysis, X-ray powder diffraction, IR and electronic spectroscopy. Single crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that complexes 1–3 are isostructural and they crystallize in the orthorhombic space group of Pbca, while complex 4 belongs to triclinic system with Pī space group. Based on different intermolecular hydrogen bonding and π···π stacking interactions, complexes 1–4 further assembled into 3D supramolecular frameworks. Hirshfeld surface analysis was used to further study the intermolecular interactions of the complexes. The thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) reveal that these complexes possess good thermal stability, and the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses show intense exothermic phenomena in the decomposition processes of triazole groups. Besides, the photoluminescence property of complex 1 in the solid state is also determined.     

3D metal-organic frameworks based on lanthanide-seamed dimeric pyrogallol[4]arene nanocapsules

Two novel 3D metal-organic frameworks(MOFs)with cds network,{[Me NH_3]_7[Ln_8(Pg C_2)_2(H_2O)_y(HCOO)_7]}_n·x(Solvent)(FJI-Y4,FJI=Fujian Institute,Ln=Gd,y=12;FJI-Y5,Ln=Dy,y=11;Pg C_2=C-ethylpyrogallol[4]arene),based on unprecedented dimeric pyrogallol[4]arene-based Ln_8metal-organic nanocapsule(MONC)supramolecular building blocks and formate linkers,have been prepared under solvothermal conditions.To our best of knowledge,they present not only the first two examples of 3D hierarchical structures constructed from MONCs in metal-pyrogallol[4]arene system,but also the first two examples of MOFs based on lanthanide MONCs.Remarkably,the inner cavity volume of the Ln_8capsule in FJI-Y4 and FJI-Y5 is approximately151?~3,which is larger than those found in previous transition metal-seamed dimeric Pg C_n-based MONCs.Magnetic investigation on FJI-Y4 suggests a significant magnetocaloric effect(23.97 J kg~(-1)K~(-1),ΔH=7 T,2.5 K),while FJI-Y5 exhibits slow relaxation of the magnetization.     

High electro-catalytic graphite felt/MnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> composite electrodes for vanadium redox flow batteries

A mild and simple synthesis process for large-scale vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) energy storage systems is desirable. A graphite felt/MnO₂ (GF-MNO) composite electrode with excellent electrocatalytic activity towards VO²⁺/VO₂⁺ redox couples in a VRFB was synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal process. The resulting GF-MNO electrodes possess improved electrochemical kinetic reversibility of the vanadium redox reactions compared to pristine GF electrodes, and the corresponding energy efficiency and discharge capacity at 150 mA cm^?2 are increased by 12.5% and 40%, respectively. The discharge capacity is maintained at 4.8 A h L^?1 at the ultrahigh current density of 250 mA cm^?2. Above all, 80% of the energy efficiency of the GFMNO composite electrodes is retained after 120 charge-discharge cycles at 150 mA cm^?2. Furthermore, these electrodes demonstrated that more evenly distributed catalytic active sites were obtained from the MnO₂ particles under acidic conditions. The proposed synthetic route is facile, and the raw materials are low cost and environmentally friendly. Therefore, these novel GFMNO electrodes hold great promise in large-scale vanadium redox flow battery energy storage systems.     

Supersaturation controlled growth of MAFAPbI<Subscript>3</Subscript> perovskite film for high efficiency solar cells

Controlling the nucleation and growth of organic-inorganic hybrids perovskite is of key importance to improve the morphology and crystallinity of perovskite films. However, the growth mechanism of perovskite films based on classical crystallization theory is not fully understood. Here, we develop a supersaturation controlled strategy (SCS) to balance the nucleation and crystal growth speeds. By this strategy, we are able to find an ideal supersaturation region to realize a balance of nucleation and crystal growth, which yields highly crystallized perovskite films with micrometer-scale grains. Besides, we provide a thoughtful analysis of nucleation and growth based on the fabrication of the perovskite films. As a result, the highest photovoltaic power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of 19.70% and 20.31% are obtained for the planar and the meso-superstructured devices, respectively. This strategy sheds some light for understanding the film growth mechanism of high quality perovskite film, and it provides a facile strategy to fabricate high efficiency perovskite solar cells.     

Aggregation-induced emission and thermally activated delayed fluorescence of 2,6-diaminobenzophenones

Exploration of novel organic luminophores that exhibit thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) in the aggregated state is very crucial for advance of delayed luminescence-based applications such as time-gated bio-sensing and temperature sensing. We report herein that synthesis, photophysical properties, molecular and crystal structures, and theoretical calculations of 2,6-bis (diarylamino)benzophenones. Absorption spectra in solution and calculations using density functional theory (DFT) method revealed that the optical excitation took place through intramolecular charge-transfer from one diarylamino moiety to an aroyl group. While the benzophenones did not luminesce in solution, the solids of the benzophenones emitted green light with moderate-to-good quantum yields. Thus, the benzophenones exhibit aggregation-induced emission. Based on the lifetime measurement, the green emission of the solids was found to include TADF. The emergence of the TADF is supported by the small energy gap between the excited singlet and triplet states, which was estimated by time-dependent DFT calculations. Thin films of poly(methyl methacrylate) doped by the benzophenones also showed green prompt and delayed fluorescence whose lifetimes were in the order of microseconds. Linear correlation between logarithm value of TADF lifetime and temperature was observed with the benzophenone in powder, suggesting that the benzophenones can serve as molecular thermometers workable under aqueous conditions.