Dendrite‐Free Sodium Metal Anodes Enabled by a Sodium Benzenedithiolate‐Rich Protection Layer

Sodium metal is an ideal anode material for metal rechargeable batteries, owing to its high theoretical capacity (1166 mAh g^?1), low cost, and earth‐abundance. However, the dendritic growth upon Na plating, stemming from unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film, is a major and most notable problem. Here, a sodium benzenedithiolate (PhS₂Na₂)‐rich protection layer is synthesized in situ on sodium by a facile method that effectively prevents dendrite growth in the carbonate electrolyte, leading to stabilized sodium metal electrodeposition for 400 cycles (800 h) of repeated plating/stripping at a current density of 1 mA cm^?2. The organic salt, PhS₂Na₂, is found to be a critical component in the protection layer. This finding opens up a new and promising avenue, based on organic sodium slats, to stabilize sodium metals with a protection layer.     

Enantioselective Catalytic Aldehyde α‐Alkylation/Semipinacol Rearrangement: Construction of α‐Quaternary‐δ‐Carbonyl Cycloketones and Total Synthesis of (+)‐Cerapicol

An enantioselective aldehyde α‐alkylation/semipinacol rearrangement was achieved through organo‐SOMO catalysis. The catalytically generated enamine radical cation serves as a carbon radical electrophile that can stereoselectively add to the alkene of an allylic alcohol and initiate ensuing ring‐expansion of cyclopropanol or cyclobutanol. This tandem reaction enables the production of a wide range of nonracemic functionalizable α‐quaternary‐δ‐carbonyl cycloketones in high yields and excellent enantioselectivity from simple aldehydes and allylic alcohols. As a key step, the intramolecular reaction was also successfully applied in the asymmetric total synthesis of (+)‐cerapicol.     

Divergent Biomimetic Total Syntheses of Ganocins A–C,Ganocochlearins C and D,and Cochlearol T

A divergent synthetic approach to six Ganoderma meroterpenoids, namely ganocins A–C, ganocochlearins C and D, and cochlearol T, has been developed for the first time. This synthetic route features a two‐phase strategy which includes early‐stage rapid construction of a common planar tricyclic intermediate followed by highly selective late‐stage transformations into various Ganoderma meroterpenoids. Key to the strategy are a bioinspired intramolecular hetero‐Diels–Alder reaction and Stahl‐type oxidative aromatization, allowing efficient formation of the common tricyclic phenol intermediate. A nucleophilic dearomatization of the phenol unit, combined with a regioselective 1,4‐reduction of the resulting dienone, enabled rapid access to ganocins B and C. Additionally, site‐selective Mukaiyama hydration, followed by an intramolecular oxa‐Michael addition/triflation cascade, served as a key strategic element in the chemical synthesis of ganocin A.     

Structure Determination of Alkynyl‐Protected Gold Nanocluster Au22(tBuC≡C)18 and Its Thermochromic Luminescence

An alkynyl‐protected gold nanocluster, Au₂₂(^tBuC≡C)₁₈ ( 1 ), has been synthesized and its structure has been determined by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. The molecular structure consists of a Au₁₃ cuboctahedron kernel and three [Au₃(^tBuC≡C)₄] trimeric staples. The cluster 1 has strong luminescence in the solid state with a 15 % quantum yield, and it displays interesting thermochromic luminescence as revealed by temperature‐dependent emission spectra. The enhanced room‐temperature emission is characterized as thermally activated delayed fluorescence.     

Separation of Xe from Kr with Record Selectivity and Productivity in Anion‐Pillared Ultramicroporous Materials by Inverse Size‐Sieving

The separation of xenon/krypton (Xe/Kr) mixture is of great importance to industry, but the available porous materials allow the adsorption of both, Xe and Kr only with limited selectivity. Herein we report an anion‐pillared ultramicroporous material NbOFFIVE‐2‐Cu‐i (ZU‐62) with finely tuned pore aperture size and structure flexibility, which for the first time enables an inverse size‐sieving effect in separation along with record Xe/Kr selectivity and ultrahigh Xe capacity. Evidenced by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, the rotation of anions and pyridine rings upon contact of larger‐size Xe atoms adapts cavities to the shape/size of Xe and allows strong host‐Xe interaction, while the smaller‐size Kr is excluded. Breakthrough experiments confirmed that ZU‐62 has a real practical potential for producing high‐purity Kr and Xe from air‐separation byproducts, showing record Kr productivity (206 mL g^?1) and Xe productivity (42 mL g^?1, in desorption) as well as good recyclability.     

Electrochemical Difunctionalization of Alkenes by a Four‐Component Reaction Cascade Mumm Rearrangement: Rapid Access to Functionalized Imides

An electrochemical four‐component reaction cascade Mumm rearrangement was developed. It is a rare example of in situ generation of O‐acyl isoamides for 1,3‐(O→N) acyl transfer. Inexpensive, commercially available arylethylenes, aryl or heterocyclic acids, acetonitrile, and alcohols were used as substrates. A wide range of aryl acids and alcohols were tolerated and provided imides in satisfactory yields. Subsequent hydrolysis of imides could be utilized to synthesize valuable amides and β‐amino alcohol derivatives.     

Study on structure and performance of surface‐metallized carbon fibers reinforced rigid polyurethane composites

The simultaneous promotion in mechanical and electrical properties of rigid polyurethane (RPU) is an important task for expanding potential application. In this work, carbon fibers (CFs) reinforced RPU composites were prepared with the goal of improving mechanical and electrical properties. Metallized CFs meet our performance requirements and can be easily achieved via electrodeposition. However, the weak bonding strength in fiber‐metal‐RPU interface restricts their application. Inspired by the reducibility and wonderful adhesion of dopamine (DA), we proposed a new and efficient electrochemical method to fabricate metallized CFs, where DA polymerization was simultaneously integrated coupled with the reduction of metal ions (Ni²⁺). The characterization results helped us to gain insight about the reaction mechanism, which was never reported as far as we know. Compared with pure RPU, the tensile, interlaminar shear and impact strength of polydopamine (PDA)‐nickel (Ni) modified CFs/RPU composites were improved by 11.2%, 21.0%, and 78.0%, respectively, which attributed to the strong interfacial adhesion, including mechanical interlocking and chemical crosslinking between treated CFs and RPU. In addition, the PDA‐Ni surface treatment method also affected the dispersion of short CFs in the RPU, which increased the possibility of conductor contact and reduced insulator between fibers networks, resulting in higher electrical conductivity.     

In situ Growth of a Cobalt‐based Metal‐organic Framework on Multi‐walled Carbon Nanotubes for Simultaneously Detection of Hydroquinone and Catechol.

In the present study, we report a facile method for preparing a porous MWCNTs/ZIF‐67 nanocomposite with the help of a morphology‐maintained ZIF‐67 in situ growth on multi‐walled carbon nanotubes. Interesting, the MWCNTs/ZIF‐67 nanocomposite demonstrated excellent electrochemical activity for hydroquinone (HQ) and catechol (CC) attribute to the effective interconnections ZIF‐67 crystals and MWCNTs. The analytical curves for HQ and CC obtained by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) were linear in the range from 0.5 to 100 μM. Benefitting from the excellent conductivity of MWCNTs as well as the high surface area and porosity of ZIF‐67, the advanced nanocomposite displayed good reproducibility, high selectivity and excellent stability, and was successfully employed to assay the content of dihydroxybenzene isomers in the lake water samples.     

Synthesis of Zinc Tetraaminophthalocyanine Functionalized Graphene Nanosheets as an Enhanced Material for Sensitive Electrochemical Determination of Uric Acid

A new electrochemical sensor material has been fabricated via the non‐covalent functionalization of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and soluble tetramino zincphthalocyanines (ZnPc‐NH₂). Immobilization of uricase onto the synthesized nanohybrids can evidently improve the electrocatalytic activity and selectivity. The obtained composite membrane possesses a great enhancement of electron transfer rate and excellent synergistic electrocatalytic effect toward uric acid (UA) oxidation under the working potential at 0.620 V vs. Ag/AgCl with a scan rate of 0.125 V/s. The effects of the experimental parameters on the electrochemical oxidation responses of UA were investigated and optimized in detail. Under the optimized conditions, the peak currents were proportional to the UA concentration in a range from 0.5 to 100 μmol/L with detection limit of 0.15 μmol/L. Moreover, the developed sensor was applied for UA determination in human urine samples with high accuracy and satisfactory recovery, which is envisioned to have promising applications in monitoring UA in clinical research.     

Astaxanthin and its Effects in Inflammatory Responses and Inflammation-Associated Diseases: Recent Advances and Future Directions

Astaxanthin is a natural lipid-soluble and red-orange carotenoid. Due to its strong antioxidant property, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and immune modulation, astaxanthin has gained growing interest as a multi-target pharmacological agent against various diseases. In the current review, the anti-inflammation mechanisms of astaxanthin involved in targeting for inflammatory biomarkers and multiple signaling pathways, including PI3K/AKT, Nrf2, NF-κB, ERK1/2, JNK, p38 MAPK, and JAK-2/STAT-3, have been described. Furthermore, the applications of anti-inflammatory effects of astaxanthin in neurological diseases, diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases, hepatic and renal diseases, eye and skin disorders, are highlighted. In addition to the protective effects of astaxanthin in various chronic and acute diseases, we also summarize recent advances for the inconsistent roles of astaxanthin in infectious diseases, and give our view that the exact function of astaxanthin in response to different pathogen infection and the potential protective effects of astaxanthin in viral infectious diseases should be important research directions in the future.