Structural phase transition of vanadium at 69 GPa

A phase transition was observed at 63-69 GPa and room temperature in vanadium with synchrotron x-ray diffraction. The transition is characterized as a rhombohedral lattice distortion of the body-centered-cubic vanadium without a discontinuity in the pressure-volume data, thus representing a novel type of transition that has never been observed in elements. Instead of driven by the conventional s-d electronic transition mechanism, the phase transition could be associated with the softening of C44 trigonal elasticity tensor that originates from the combination of Fermi surface nesting, band Jahn-Teller distortion, and electronic topological transition.     

Using cone calorimeter to study thermal degradation of flexible PVC filled with zinc ferrite and Mg(OH)2

Flame-retarded poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) materials have been prepared by using zinc ferrite (ZnFe₂O₄ (ZFO)) combined with magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)₂ (MH)). The effects of these additives on the combustion and thermal degradation of PVC samples were studied using the limiting oxygen index test, the smoke density rating test, thermogravimetric–differential thermogravimetry, and the cone calorimeter test. The results showed that ZFO and MH were good synergists for improving the flame retardancy and smoke-suppressing of PVC/MH/ZFO blends. ZFO can significantly improve the maximum mass loss velocity in the first stage, and reduce the initial decomposition temperature and the decomposition range in the PVC/MH/ZFO blends. The char yield at 700 °C of flame-retarded PVC clearly decreased below theoretical values due to the cationic cracking reactions in the presence of ZFO. Furthermore, the PVC/10MH/10ZFO showed strong flame-retarding synergism since the decreased average heat release rate value. And the PVC/19MH/1ZFO presented a significant smoke-suppressing effect by the least average specific extinction area, peak smoke production rate, and total smoke produce. Moreover, the CO and CO₂ production was increased because of a large amount of fragment of char residue in contact air in the presence of ZFO.     

DNA Nanoflowers for Multiplexed Cellular Imaging and Traceable Targeted Drug Delivery

We present a facile approach to make aptamer‐conjugated FRET (fluorescent resonance energy transfer) nanoflowers (NFs) through rolling circle replication for multiplexed cellular imaging and traceable targeted drug delivery. The NFs can exhibit multi‐fluorescence emissions by a single‐wavelength excitation as a result of the DNA matrix covalently incorporated with three dye molecules able to perform FRET. Compared with the conventional DNA nanostructure assembly, NF assembly is independent of template sequences, avoiding the otherwise complicated design of DNA building blocks assembled into nanostructures by base‐pairing. The NFs were uniform and exhibited high fluorescence intensity and excellent photostability. Combined with the ability of traceable targeted drug delivery, these colorful DNA NFs provide a novel system for applications in multiplex fluorescent cellular imaging, effective screening of drugs, and therapeutic protocol development.     

Efficient Solar Cells Sensitized by Porphyrins with an Extended Conjugation Framework and a Carbazole Donor: From Molecular Design to Cosensitization

Porphyrin dyes containing the carbazole electron donor have been designed and optimized by wrapping the porphyrin framework, introducing an additional ethynylene bridge to extend the wavelength range of light absorption, and further suppression of the dye aggregation by introducing additional alkoxy chains. Application of a cosensitization approach results in improved current density (J_sc) and open‐circuit voltage (V_oc) values, thus achieving the highest cell efficiency of 10.45 %. This work provides an effective combined strategy of molecular design and cosensitization for developing efficient dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In addition, carbazole has been demonstrated to be a promising donor for porphyrin sensitizers.     

Impact of Magnesium(II) on Beryllium Fluorides in Solutions Studied by 19F NMR Spectroscopy

Beryllium fluorides are widely used in protein phosphorylation studies to get stable transition state analogs or near attack conformers, which has attracted much attention. BeF₃^? is one of the optimal phosphoryl (PO₃^?) analogs for its identical geometry and charge, and Mg²⁺ naturally participates in the phosphoryl binding in biological systems. In solutions, BeF₃^? coexists with other beryllium fluorides (BeF₄^2?, BeF₂ and BeF⁺) and magnesium fluorides, and there are equilibriums between these species. In this article, ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy was applied to the investigation of the impact of magnesium(II) on beryllium fluorides. It has been found that when Mg²⁺ was introduced into the solutions, the chemical shifts, the intensities and the line widths of ¹⁹F signals of various beryllium fluoride complexes were changed. After ionic strength correction, these effects were remarkable only for BeF₄^2? and BeF₃^?, especially BeF₄^2?, when the concentration of the fluoride ion is relatively low. Mechanism of the effects is proposed which involves ion pair formation between Mg²⁺ and beryllium fluorides.     

Zwitterionic Polydopamine Engineered Interface for In Vivo Sensing with High Biocompatibility

Electrochemical sensing performance is often compromised by electrode biofouling (e.g., proteins nonspecific binding) in complex biological fluids; however, the design and construction of a robust biointerface remains a great challenge. Herein, inspired by nature, we demonstrate a robust polydopamine-engineered biointerfacing, to tailing zwitterionic molecules (i.e., sulfobetaine methacrylate, SBMA) through Michael Addition. The SBMA-PDA biointerface can resist proteins nonspecific binding in complex biological fluids while enhancing interfacial electron transfer and electrochemical stability of the electrode. In addition, this sensing interface can be integrated with tissue-implantable electrode for in vivo analysis with improved sensing performance, preserving ca. 92.0% of the initial sensitivity after 2 h of implantation in brain tissue, showing low acute neuroinflammatory responses and good stability both in normal and in Parkinson′s disease (PD) rat brain tissue.     

Single-Carbon-Fiber-Powered Microsensor for In Vivo Neurochemical Sensing with High Neuronal Compatibility

The development of new principles and techniques with high neuronal compatibility for quantitatively monitoring the dynamics of neurochemicals is essential for deciphering brain chemistry and function but remains a great challenge. We herein report a neuron-compatible method for in vivo neurochemical sensing by powering a single carbon fiber through spontaneous bipolar electrochemistry as a new sensing platform. By using ascorbic acid as a model target to prove the concept, we found that the single-carbon-fiber-powered microsensor exhibited a good response, high stability and, more importantly, excellent neuronal compatibility. The microsensor was also highly compatible with electrophysiological recording, thus enabling the synchronous recording of both chemical and electrical signals. The sensing principle could be developed for in vivo monitoring of various neurochemicals in the future by rationally designing and tuning the electrochemical reactions at the two poles of the carbon fiber.     

A Green and Wide-Scope Approach for Chiroptical Sensing of Organic Molecules through Biomimetic Recognition in Water

Optical chirality sensing has attracted a lot of interest due to its potential in high-throughput screening in chirality analysis. A molecular sensor is required to convert the chirality of analytes into optical signals. Although many molecular sensors have been reported, sensors with wide substrate scope remain to be developed. Herein, we report that the amide naphthotube-based chirality sensors have an unprecedented wide scope for chiroptical sensing of organic molecules. The substrates include, but are not limited to common organic products in asymmetric catalysis, chiral molecules with inert groups or remote functional groups from their chiral centers, natural products and their derivatives, and chiral drugs. The effective chirality sensing is based on biomimetic recognition in water and on effective chirality transfer through guest-induced formation of a chiral conformation of the sensors. Furthermore, the sensors can be used in real-time monitoring on reaction kinetics in water and in determining absolute configurations and ee values of the products in asymmetric catalysis.