Oxygen- and Nitrogen-Embedded Zigzag Hydrocarbon Belts

Despite the aesthetically appealing structures and tantalizing physical and chemical properties, zigzag hydrocarbon belts and their heteroatom-embedded analogues remain challenging synthetic targets. We report herein the synthesis of diverse O/N-doped zigzag hydrocarbon belts based on selective bridging of the fjords of resorcin[4]arene derivatives through intramolecular S_NAr and palladium-catalyzed intermolecular C−N bond formation reactions. Preorganized conformations of mono-macrocyclic, half-belt and quasi-belt compounds were revealed to facilitate cyclization reactions to construct heteroatom-linked octahydrobelt[8]arenes. The acquired products had strained square-prism-shaped belt structures in which all six-membered heterocyclic rings adopted an unusual boat conformation with equatorially configured alkyl groups. The unprecedented heteroatom-bearing belts also exhibited different photophysical and redox properties to those of octahydrobelt[8]arene analogues.     

An Aptamer-Nanotrain Assembled from Six-Letter DNA Delivers Doxorubicin Selectively to Liver Cancer Cells

Expanding the number of nucleotides in DNA increases the information density of functional DNA molecules, creating nanoassemblies that cannot be invaded by natural DNA/RNA in complex biological systems. Here, we show how six-letter GACTZP DNA contributes this property in two parts of a nanoassembly: 1) in an aptamer evolved from a six-letter DNA library to selectively bind liver cancer cells; and 2) in a six-letter self-assembling GACTZP nanotrain that carries the drug doxorubicin. The aptamer-nanotrain assembly, charged with doxorubicin, selectively kills liver cancer cells in culture, as the selectivity of the aptamer binding directs doxorubicin into the aptamer-targeted cells. The assembly does not kill untransformed cells that the aptamer does not bind. This architecture, built with an expanded genetic alphabet, is reminiscent of antibodies conjugated to drugs, which presumably act by this mechanism as well, but with the antibody replaced by an aptamer.     

烷基链工程对两亲有机半导体热力学性能影响的研究

Due to their special polar structure, amphiphilic molecules are simple to process, low in cost and excellent in material properties. Thus, they can be widely applied in the preparation of functional film materials and bionics related to cell membranes. Therefore, amphiphilic organic semiconductor materials are receiving increasing attention in research and industrial fields. The structure of organic amphiphilic semiconductor molecules usually consists of three functional parts: a hydrophilic group, a hydrophobic group, and a linking group between them. The adjustment of their correlation to achieve the target performance is particularly important and needs experimental discussion regarding synthetic methodologies. In this work, we focused on the engineering of a substituent alkyl-chain, and an amphiphilic functional molecule (benzo[b]benzo[4, 5] thieno[2, 3-d]thiophene, named C_nPA-BTBT, n = 3–11) was proposed and synthesized. This molecule links the hydrophobic semiconductor backbone and hydrophilic polar group through alkyl chains of different lengths. Fundamental properties were investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) to conform the structure and the band gap properties of the designed organic semiconductor. Thermodynamic features were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and corresponding differential thermal gravity (DTG), which indicate that the functional molecule C_nPA-BTBT (n = 3–11) has a great stability in ambient conditions. Moreover, the results show that the binding ability of the amphiphilic molecule to water molecules was regulated by the odd-even alternating effect of the alkyl chain and the intramolecular coupling with BTBT. Furthermore, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscopy (POM) were used to study the material properties in detail. As the length of the alkyl chain increased, the functional molecule C_nPA-BTBT (n = 3–11) gradually changed from "hard" species with no thermodynamic changes to a transition one with a pair of thermodynamic peaks, and eventually to a "soft" one as a typical liquid crystal with clear observation of Maltese-cross spherulites. The cooling and freezing points were further studied, and the values and trends of their enthalpy and corresponding temperature fluctuated and alternated due to the volume effect, odd-even alternating effect, flexibility, and other functions of the alkyl chain. Three molecular models were proposed according to the thermodynamic study results, namely the brick-like model, transition model, and liquid crystal model. This work presents in-depth discussion on material structure and corresponding thermodynamic properties, and it is an experimental basis for the design, synthesis, optimization, and screening of target performance materials.     

Effects of a Constant Magnetic Field on the Electrochemical Reactions of Quercetin

The paper presents a study of the effect of a constant magnetic field (CMF) on the basic processes of quercetin electrochemical reactions. According to the observation made in previous studies, the presence of a double bond in the C-ring of quercetin enhances the antioxidant properties of that compound, whereas the presence of −OH groups also affects the antioxidant properties. Using cyclic voltammetry it was found that the constant magnetic field improves the efficiency of quercetin electrooxidation, especially of the third stage of the process, i. e. the stage in which the oxidation of the OH groups in the A-ring is the most difficult. The use of HPLC confirmed the electrochemical measurements and the results of cyclic voltammetry studies. The beneficial effect of the magnetic field on the efficiency of quercetin oxidation was confirmed by the results of impedance spectroscopy measurements.     

Human skin thermal properties determination using a calorimetric sensor

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The purpose of the calorimetric sensor developed is to measure the heat flux transmitted by conduction between the human body surface and a thermostat...     

Photo‐excited Oxygen Reduction and Oxygen Evolution Reactions Enable a High‐Performance Zn–Air Battery

The storage of solar energy in battery systems is pivotal for a sustainable society, which faces many challenges. Herein, a Zn–air battery is constructed with two cathodes of poly(1,4‐di(2‐thienyl))benzene (PDTB) and TiO₂ grown on carbon papers to sandwich a Zn anode. The PDTB cathode is illuminated in a discharging process, in which photoelectrons are excited into the conduction band of PDTB to promote oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and raise the output voltage. In a reverse process, holes in the valence band of the illuminated TiO₂ cathode are driven for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) by an applied voltage. A record‐high discharge voltage of 1.90 V and an unprecedented low charge voltage of 0.59 V are achieved in the photo‐involved Zn–air battery, regardless of the equilibrium voltage. This work offers an innovative pathway for photo‐energy utilization in rechargeable batteries.     

Crystallization Mechanism of 9,9-Diphenyl-dibenzosilole from Solids

Organic semiconductor (OSC) crystals have great potential to be applied in many fields, as they can be flexibly designed according to the demands and show an outstanding device performance. However, OSCs with the capacity of solid-state crystallization (SSC) are developing too slowly to meet demands in productions and applications, due to their difficulties in molecular design and synthesis, unclear mechanism and high dependence on experimental conditions. In this work, in order to solve the problems, we synthesized an organic semiconductor capable of SSC at room temperature by adjusting the relationship between conjugated groups and functional groups. The thermodynamic and kinetic properties have been studied to discover the model of film SSC. Moreover, it can be purposefully controlled to prepare the high-quality crystals, and their corresponding organic electronic devices were further fabricated and discussed.     

Preparation of magnetic attapulgite/polypyrrole nanocomposites for magnetic effervescence‐assisted dispersive solid‐phase extraction of pyrethroids from honey samples

In this work, a novel extraction technique based on the effervescence‐assisted dispersion and magnetic recovery of attapulgite/polypyrrole sorbents was developed for determining the concentrations of five pyrethroids in honey samples. The magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized by a one‐pot method. Several experimental parameters that affected the extraction efficiency, including the dispersion conditions, pH, ionic strength, and desorption conditions, were investigated. Under optimal conditions, the calibration curves for the five pyrethroids in honey samples exhibited good linearity, with r² values ranging from 0.9979 to 0.9990. The limits of detection varied between 0.21 and 0.34 µg/L. Satisfactory recoveries of 81.42–106.73% with intra‐ and interday relative standard deviations of less than 6.94 and 10.89%, respectively, were obtained. Moreover, the sorbents exhibited acceptable batch‐to‐batch repeatability in the range of 5.06–15.01%, and each sorbent could be reused for up to four extraction cycles without a significant loss in the extraction recovery.     

A novel heterogeneous Co(II)-Fenton-like catalyst for efficient photodegradation by visible light over extended pH

Science China Chemistry - A novel CoII-Fenton-like heterogeneous catalyst, (H3O)2[CoII(phen)(H2O)2]2[MoVI5O15(PO4)2]·4H2O (phen=1,10-phenanthroline, C12N2H8) (1), is synthesized and utilized...     

Investigation of Structural Evolution of SnO2 Nanosheets towards Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction

In‐depth understanding of the catalytic active sites is of paramount importance for the design of efficient electrocatalysts for CO₂ conversion. Here we highlight the structural evolution of SnO₂ nanosheets for electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction. The transformation of SnO₂ into metallic Sn would occur on the surface of catalyst during the catalytic process, followed by enhanced selectivity and activity for the conversion of CO₂ to HCOOH. Electrocatalytic characterization and structural analysis demonstrate that the metallic Sn derived from structural evolution plays a dominant role in the CO₂ reduction to HCOOH. This work deepens the understanding of the catalytic mechanism and provides a new pathway for the rational design of advanced electrocatalysts for CO₂ reduction.