FT-NIR Spectroscopy of some long-chain fatty acids and alcohols

Fourier-transform (FT) near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has proved to be a powerful technique in investigating structure and thermodynamic properties of long-chain fatty acids and alcohols. In order to extract useful information from the NIR spectra, bands due to the second as well as first overtones of OH-stretching modes of the monomeric forms were employed. It has been also found that two-dimensional (2D) NIR correlation spectroscopy can accentuate useful information often obscured in the complicated NIR spectral data set.     

Selective Host–Guest Interactions of a Transformable Coordination Capsule/Tube with Fullerenes

An M₂L₄ coordination capsule or an M₂L₂ coordination tube was selectively formed by the combination of Hg^II hinges and bent bispyridine ligands. The two structures reversibly interconvert at room temperature in response to modulation of the metal‐to‐ligand ratio and exhibit different host–guest interaction behavior. The capsule alone encapsulates large spherical molecules, fullerenes C₆₀ and C₇₀, and the bound guests are released upon capsule‐to‐tube transformation by the simple addition of metal ions.     

Quiescent hydrothermal synthesis of reduced graphene oxide–periodic mesoporous silica sandwich nanocomposites with perpendicular mesochannel alignments

Quiescent hydrothermal conditions were applied to synthesis of the sandwich nanocomposites of reduced graphite oxide (rGO) and periodic mesoporous silica (PMS) with vertically aligned mesochannels. It was found that the formation of the PMS–rGO–PMS sandwich structure is very sensitive to the surface and synthesis conditions. Although a higher temperature hydrothermal condition promotes reduction of GO and formation of bulky mesoporous nanoparticles, quiescent hydrothermal condition can serve as an alternative approach to obtain the unusual nanocomposites and slightly promote the structural stability of PMS on the surface of rGO.     

Polycationic‐Shelled Capsular and Tubular Nanostructures and Their Anionic–Guest Binding Properties

For the development of novel nanospace with unique electrostatic character, we prepared new capsular and tubular nanostructures by the quantitative assembly of metal ions and bent bisacridinium ligands. The capsule and tube have closed spherical and open cylindrical cavities, respectively, with diameters of around 1 nm surrounded by cationic polyaromatic panels. Thanks to the facile synthetic protocol (three steps), another polycationic capsule with an elliptical nanocavity was also prepared by using an elongated ligand. In spite of the absence of pendant hydrophilic groups, the spherical polyaromatic capsule shows sufficient water solubility due to the polycationic shell. Moreover, the highly cationic cavity (12+) can selectively encapsulate anionic organic compounds in water.     

Solubility Switching of Metallophthalocyanines and Their Larger Derivatives upon Encapsulation

Metallophthalocyanines (MPcs) are very useful pigments but scarcely soluble without appropriate functional groups in common solvents. Herein, we report that bent polyaromatic amphiphiles act as excellent solubilizing reagents for nonfunctionalized MPcs and larger MPc derivatives (e.g., CuPc, perhalogenated CuPcs, Cu‐naphthalocyanine, CuPc polymers, and double‐decker MPcs) in neutral water upon encapsulation. The resultant MPc nanocomposites display high stability towards heat and pH change. More importantly, the encapsulated MPcs can be released by simple protocols under mild conditions both into a bulk solvent and onto glass or polymer plates.