Synthesis of Allyl-Type Selenides and α-Selenoesters in Aqueous Media Promoted by Cadmium

Promoted by metallic cadmium which was produced by reduction of CdCl₂ H₂O with samarium in situ, allyl bromide and α-bromocarboxylates react with diorgano diselenides in aqueous solutions to give allylic-type selenides and α-selenocarboxylates in moderate to good yields.     

Direct electrochemistry of glucose oxidase immobilized on porous carbon nanofiber/room temperature ionic liquid/chitosan composite film and its biosensing application

The direct electron transfer of glucose oxidase (GOD) immobilized on a composite matrix based on porous carbon nanofibers (PCNFs), room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL), and chitosan (CHIT) underlying on a glassy carbon electrode was achieved. The combination of the PCNFs, RTIL, and CHIT provided a suitable microenvironment for GOD to transfer electron directly. In deaerated buffer solutions (pH 7.0), the cyclic voltammetry of the GOD/PCNFs/RTIL/CHIT composite films showed a pair of well-defined redox peaks with the formal potential of −0.45 V (vs. SCE). The synergistic effort of the PCNFs, RTIL, and CHIT also promoted the stability of GOD in the composite film and retained its bioactivity.     

Novel WS2/Fe0.95S1.05 Hierarchical Nanosphere as a Highly Efficient Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Fe_0.95S_1.05 with high reactivity and stability was incorporated into WS₂ nanosheets via a one-step solvothermal method for the first time. The resulted hybrid catalyst has much higher catalytic activity than WS₂ and Fe_0.95S_1.05 alone, and the optimal WS₂/Fe_0.95S_1.05 hybrid catalyst was found by adjusting the feed ratio. The addition of Fe_0.95S_1.05 was proven to be able to enhance the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity of WS₂, and vice versa. At the same time, it was found that the catalytic effect of the hybrid catalyst was the best when the feed ratio was W : Fe=2 : 1. In other words, we confirmed that there is a synergistic effect between W- and Fe-based sulfide hybrid catalysts, and validated that the reason for the improved HER performance is the strong interaction between the two in the middle sulfur. WS₂/Fe_0.95S_1.05-2 hybrid catalyst leads to enhanced HER activity, which shows a low overpotential of ∼0.172 V at 10 mA cm⁻², low Tafel slope of ∼53.47 mV/decade. This study supplies innovative synthesis of a highly active WS₂/Fe_0.95S_1.05 hybrid catalyst for HER.     

Isomers of B←N-Fused Dibenzo-azaacenes: How B←N Affects Opto-electronic Properties and Device Behaviors?

The B←N unit has a large dipole and it is isoelectronic to C−C moiety with no dipole. Incorporating B←N units into π-conjugated system is a powerful strategy to design organic small molecules and polymers with intriguing opto-electronic properties and excellent opto-electronic device performance. However, it is unclear how the B←N unit affects electronic structures and opto-electronic properties of large π-conjugated molecules. In this work, to address this question, we developed three dibenzo-azaacene molecules in which two B←N units were introduced at different positions. Although the dibenzo-azaacene skeleton is fully π-conjugated, the effect of B←N unit on the electronic structures of the adjacent rings is much stronger than that of the distant rings. As a result, the three molecules with isomerized B←N incorporation patterns possess different electronic structures and exhibit tunable opto-electronic properties. Among the three molecules, the centrosymmetrical molecule exhibits higher LUMO/HOMO energy levels than those of the two axisymmetrical molecules. When used as the active layer in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), while the two axisymmetrical molecules show unipolar electron transporting property, the centrosymmetrical molecule exhibits ambipolar hole and electron transporting behavior. This work not only deepens our understanding on organoboron π-conjugated molecules, but also indicates a new strategy to tune opto-electronic properties of organic semiconductors for excellent device performance.     

Synthesis of Cationic Dumbbell-shaped Fullerene Nanostructures as Potential Photodynamic Sensitizers

A design of novel hydrophilic tetracationic dumbbell-shaped [60]fullerene nanostructures was made by balancing the hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity characteristics of the fullerene adduct for their potential application as photodynamic sensitizers in the PDT treatment. A sequential protection-deprotection reaction pathway was applied for the functional differentiation between primary and secondary amine moieties of pentaethylene hexamine. Synthesis of the target molecule involves two key steps of unsymmetrical esterification and amidation of malonic acid and subsequent fullerenation. The synthetic strategy was accomplished using mild reaction conditions in the intermediate molecule preparation and led a moderate overall product yield.     

Solid-Liquid Phase Transfer Catalytic Method for the Preparation of Acyclic and Cylic and Cyclic Ketene Acetals

Solid-liquid phase transfer catalytic elimination reaction for the preparation of acyclic and cyclic ketene acetals has been developed.