A review of polymer electrolytes: fundamental,approaches and applications

In this paper, we review different types of polymer electrolytes, recent approaches and technological applications of polymer electrolytes. The report first discusses the characteristics, advantages and applications for three types of polymer electrolytes: gel polymer electrolytes, solid polymer electrolytes and composite polymer electrolytes. Next, we discuss the features and performance of different polymer hosts based on some important and recently published literature. Recent progress of some approaches used in improving the performance of the polymer electrolytes is highlighted. The last part of the review includes the technological applications of some electrical energy storing/converting devices: electrochemical capacitors, batteries, fuel cells and dye-sensitized solar cells. It is also stressed that the technological advancement in the polymer electrolytes plays a pivotal role in the development of energy storing/converting systems.     

High‐Performance Blue OLEDs Based on Phenanthroimidazole Emitters via Substitutions at the C6‐ and C9‐Positions for Improving Exciton Utilization

Donor–acceptor (D–A) molecular architecture has been shown to be an effective strategy for obtaining high‐performance electroluminescent materials. In this work, two D–A molecules, Ph‐BPA‐BPI and Py‐BPA‐BPI, have been synthesized by attaching highly fluorescent phenanthrene or pyrene groups to the C6‐ and C9‐positions of a locally excited‐state emitting phenylamine–phenanthroimidazole moiety. Equipped with good physical and hybridized local and charge‐transfer properties, both molecules show high performances as blue emitters in nondoped organic light‐emitting devices (OLEDs). An OLED using Ph‐BPA‐BPI as the emitting layer exhibits deep‐blue emission with CIE coordinates of (0.15, 0.08), and a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE), current efficiency (CE), and power efficiency (PE) of 4.56 %, 3.60 cd A^?1, and 3.66 lm W^?1, respectively. On the other hand, a Py‐BPA‐BPI‐based, sky‐blue OLED delivers the best results among nondoped OLEDs with CIE_y values of < 0.3 reported so far, for which a very low turn‐on voltage of 2.15 V, CIE coordinates of (0.17, 0.29), and maximum CE, PE, and EQE values of 10.9 cd A^?1, 10.5 lm W^?1, and 5.64 %, were achieved, respectively. More importantly, both devices show little or even no efficiency roll‐off and high singlet exciton‐utilizing efficiencies of 36.2 % for Ph‐BPA‐BPI and 39.2 % for Py‐BPA‐BPI.     

ZnO nanobelt arrays grown directly from and on zinc substrates: synthesis, characterization, and applications

In situ growth of ZnO nanobelt arrays from and on zinc substrates (foils and microparticles) has been accomplished by controlled thermal oxidation in the presence of oxygen. The nanobelts grow approximately perpendicular to the Zn substrate surface along the 110 direction of ZnO, which has a thickness of approximately 3-4 nm, a width tapering from about 50 to 300 nm, and a length of approximately 10-20 mum. On the basis of the structural analysis and kinetic studies, a tip-growth mechanism is proposed, which underlines the transport of Zn from the substrate to the growing tip. The ratio of UV to green photoluminescent emissions of the as-synthesized ZnO nanobelt arrays could be controlled by varying the reaction conditions. Sharp UV stimulated emission peak is also observed at moderate threshold excitation intensity ( approximately 0.7 mJ/cm(2)) showing the high quality of the ZnO nanobelts. The ZnO nanobelts array has also been tested for sensing NH(3) gas, and high sensitivity, reversibility, and rapid response have been demonstrated.     

Enhanced emission efficiency and excited state lifetime due to restricted intramolecular motion in silole aggregates

The aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties of 1,1,2,3,4,5-hexaphenylsilole (HPS) and poly{11-[(1,2,3,4,5-pentaphenylsilolyl)oxy]-1-phenyl-1-undecyne} (PS9PA) were studied by time-resolved fluorescence technique. The enhanced fluorescence and long fluorescent lifetime were obtained for the sample in an aggregate state as compared to the sample in solution. The time-decay of fluorescence of HPS and PS9PA in high viscosity solvents and low-temperature glasses has also been measured in detail to further investigate the possible mechanism for AIE. Enhanced light emission and long fluorescence lifetime were detected for both HPS and PS9PA in the solution-thickening and -cooling experiments. These results provided direct evidence that the enhanced photoluminescence (PL) efficiency is due to restricted intramolecular motion, which ascribes AIE to the deactivation of nonradiative decay caused by restricted torsional motions of the molecules in the solid state or aggregate form.     

Recent advances in activity-based probes (ABPs) and affinity-based probes (AfBPs) for profiling of enzymes

Activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) is a technique that uses highly selective active-site targeted chemical probes to label and monitor the state of proteins. ABPP integrates the strengths of both chemical and biological disciplines. By utilizing chemically synthesized or modified bioactive molecules, ABPP is able to reveal complex physiological and pathological enzyme–substrate interactions at molecular and cellular levels. It is also able to provide critical information of the catalytic activity changes of enzymes, annotate new functions of enzymes, discover new substrates of enzymes, and allow real-time monitoring of the cellular location of enzymes. Based on the mechanism of probe-enzyme interaction, two types of probes that have been used in ABPP are activity-based probes (ABPs) and affinity-based probes (AfBPs). This review highlights the recent advances in the use of ABPs and AfBPs, and summarizes their design strategies (based on inhibitors and substrates) and detection approaches.

This review highlights the recent advances in the use of activity-based probes (ABPs) and affinity-based probes (AfBPs), and summarizes their design strategies (based on inhibitors and substrates) and detection approaches.     

The interconversion of orthorhombic chromium oxy-hydroxide and chromium dioxide

The thermal behaviour of CrOOH and CrO₂ in different atmospheres has been studied by means of DTA, TG and X-ray diffraction. The easy interconversion between the two substances at one atmosphere pressure is explained on the basis of the results obtained.

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Zusammenfassung Es wurde das thermische Verhalten von CrOOH und CrO₂ in verschiedenen Atmosphären mit Hilfe der Differentialthermoanalyse, Thermogravimetrie und Röntgendiffraktion untersucht und auf Grund der Ergebnisse die leichte Umwandlung wischen den zwei Verbindungen unter 1 Atm. Druck erklärt.

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Résumé Étude du comportement thermique de CrOOH et de CrO₂ dans différentes atmosphères, par ATD, TG et diffraction de rayons X. Interprétation de l'interconversion légère entre les deux substances sous une pression d'une atmosphère.

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lO₂ , -. , .

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Thanks are due to Prof. Dr. S. C. Bevan of Brunei University and to Dr. E. Hockings of RCA (USA) for valuable discussions, and also to the D.G.E.S.I. (Spain) for a grant (to M.A.A.F.).     

New Linear and Star‐Shaped Thermogelling Poly([R]‐3‐hydroxybutyrate) Copolymers

The synthesis of multi‐arm poly([R]‐3‐hydroxybutyrate) (PHB)‐based triblock copolymers (poly([R]‐3‐hydroxybutyrate)‐b‐poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)‐b‐[[poly(methyl ether methacrylate)‐g‐poly(ethylene glycol)]‐co‐[poly(methacrylate)‐g‐poly(propylene glycol)]], PHB‐b‐PNIPAAM‐b‐(PPEGMEMA‐co‐PPPGMA), and their subsequent self‐assembly into thermo‐responsive hydrogels is described. Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAM) followed by poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMEMA) and poly(propylene glycol) methacrylate (PPGMA) was achieved from bromoesterified multi‐arm PHB macroinitiators. The composition of the resulting copolymers was investigated by ¹H and ¹³C J‐MOD NMR spectroscopy as well as size‐exclusion chromatography (SEC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The copolymers featuring different architectures and distinct hydrophilic/hydrophobic contents were found to self‐assemble into thermo‐responsive gels in aqueous solution. Rheological studies indicated that the linear one‐arm PHB‐based copolymer tend to form a micellar solution, whereas the two‐ and four‐arm PHB‐based copolymers afforded gels with enhanced mechanical properties and solid‐like behavior. These investigations are the first to correlate the gelation properties to the arm number of a PHB‐based copolymer. All copolymers revealed a double thermo‐responsive behavior due to the NIPAAM and PPGMA blocks, thus allowing first the copolymer self‐assembly at room temperature, and then the delivery of a drug at body temperature (37 °C). The non‐significant toxic response of the gels, as assessed by the cell viability of the CCD‐112CoN human fibroblast cell line with different concentrations of the triblock copolymers ranging from 0.03 to 1 mg mL^?1, suggest that these PHB‐based thermo‐responsive gels are promising candidate biomaterials for drug‐delivery applications.