Immobilized palladium on surface-modified Fe3O4/SiO2 nanoparticles: as a magnetically separable and stable recyclable high-performance catalyst for Suzuki and Heck cross-coupling reactions

A palladium-based catalyst (Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/HPG–OPPh₂–PNP) supported on chlorodiphenylphosphine-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles was successfully prepared from Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ with sequential attachment of glycerol and chlorodiphenylphosphine, followed by treatment of an ethanolic solution of palladium chloride with hydrazine. The as-prepared catalyst was characterized by ICP-AES, FTIR, XRD, SEM, and TEM. The Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/HPG–OPPh₂–PNP was found as a magnetically separable and highly active catalyst for Suzuki coupling reactions of aryl iodides, bromides, and chlorides as well as Heck reactions of aryl iodides and bromides. Under appropriate conditions, all reactions afforded the desired products in moderate to excellent yields. Moreover, this catalyst can be easily recovered by using a magnetic field and directly reused for at least six cycles without significant loss of its activity.     

Pattern discrimination and firing behavior of cold receptor model aided with noise

A method for characterizing and identifying firing patterns of neural spike trains is presented. Three characteristic variables defined at sequential moments, including two formal derivatives and the integration of the counting process, are introduced to reflect the temporal patterns of a spike train. This paper also examines how noise interacts with encoding mechanisms of neuronal stimulus in a cold receptor. From ISI series and bifurcation diagrams it is shown that there are considerable differences in interval distributions and impulse patterns caused by purely deterministic simulations and noisy simulations. The ISI-distance can be used as an effective and powerful way to measure the noise effects on spike trains quantitatively. It is found that spike trains observed in cold receptors can be more strongly affected by noise for low temperatures than for high temperatures in some aspects; meanwhile, spike train has greater variability with the noise intensity increasing.     

Vertically Grown Few-Layer MoS2 Nanosheets on Hierarchical Carbon Nanocages for Pseudocapacitive Lithium Storage with Ultrahigh-Rate Capability and Long-Term Recyclability

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) is an intensively studied anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to its high theoretical capacity, but it is still confronted by severe challenges of unsatisfactory rate capability and cycle life. Herein, few-layer MoS₂ nanosheets, vertically grown on hierarchical carbon nanocages (hCNC) by a facile hydrothermal method, introduce pseudocapacitive lithium storage owing to the highly exposed MoS₂ basal planes, enhanced conductivity, and facilitated electrolyte access arising from good hybridization with hCNC. Thus, the optimized MoS₂/hCNC exhibits reversible capacities of 1670 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹ after 50 cycles, 621 mAh g⁻¹ at 5.0 A g⁻¹ after 500 cycles, and 196 mAh g⁻¹ at 50 A g⁻¹ after 2500 cycles, which are among the best for MoS₂-based anode materials. The specific power and specific energy, which can reach 16.1 kW and 252.8 Wh after 3000 cycles, respectively, indicate great potential in high-power and long-life LIBs. These findings suggest a promising strategy for exploring advanced anode materials with high reversible capacity, high-rate capability, and long-term recyclability.     

The Wigner–Yanase information can increase under phase sensitive incoherent operations

We found that the Wigner-Yanase skew information, which has been recently proposed as a measure of coherence in Girolami (2014), can increase under a class of operations which may be interpreted as incoherent following the framework of Baumgratz et al., while being phase sensitive.     

Hydrothermal synthesis and structural characterization of a one-dimensional coordination polymer [Zn(Pydc)(Dppz)] n (H2Pydc = 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid, Dppz = dipyrido[3,2-a:2′,3′-c]phenazine)

A new metal-organic coordination polymer [Zn(Pydc)(Dppz)] _n (I) (H₂Pydc = 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid, Dppz = dipyrido[3,2-a:2′,3′-c]phenazine) was hydrothermally synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR and X-ray single-crystal diffraction. The X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that I crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group P2₁/c. The Pydc^2? ligands adopt O,N,O′-tridentate chelating and monodentate bridging coordination mode to link two adjacent Zn2+ ions to form a one-dimensional (1D) zigzag chain. The adjacent chains are further linked through hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking interactions, forming a three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular framework. The unit cell parameters for I: a = 7.332(3) Å, b = 36.023(9) Å, c = 7.8838(13) Å, β = 105.65(3)^○, V = 2005.1(10) ų, Z = 4.     

Quick estimation of the Dpb for predicting the strength of chemical bond in situ

An approximate method has been established to calculate the depth of the potential acting on an electron in a molecule at the saddle point along a chemical bond, denoted by Dpb. It is a new indicator which can be used for predicting the strength of a chemical bond. In this work, as a practical application for demonstrating thismethod, we calculated the Dpb of deoxyribonucleosides and ribonucleosides along all C-H and N-H chemical bonds using the method. The results are in fair agreement with those results of previously reported experimental and theoretical observations.     

Alginate‐Based Microcapsules with a Molecule Recognition Linker and Photosensitizer for the Combined Cancer Treatment

A reactive template method was used to fabricate alginate‐based hydrogel microcapsules. The uniform and well‐dispersed hydrogel capsules have a high drug loading capacity. After they are coated by a folate‐linked lipid mixture on the surface, the capsules possess higher cell uptake efficiency by the molecule recognition between folate and the folate‐receptor overexpressed by the cancer cells. Moreover, in this bioconjugate, the lipid could remarkably reduce the release rate of hydrophilic doxorubicin from the hydrogel microcapsules and encapsulate the hydrophobic photosensitizer hypocrellin B. The biointerfaced capsules could be used as drug carriers for combined treatment against cancer cell proliferation in vitro; this was much more effective than chemotherapy or photodynamic therapy alone.     

Efficient One-Pot Synthesis of Benzimidazoles Under Solvent-Free Conditions

A green, efficient method for the synthesis of various 2-aryl-benzimidazoles in the presence of hypervalent iodine as the oxidant at room temperature under solvent-free conditions is reported. The salient features of this method include mild conditions, short reaction times (3–5 min), excellent yields, and simple procedure.