Effects of C3-aromatic heterocycles on 1,3,5-triaryl-2-pyrazoline sulfonium salt photoacid generators as light-emitting diode-sensitive cationic photoinitiators

Four 1,5-diphenyl-3-aromatic heterocyclyl-2-pyrazoline-based sulfonium salt photoacid generators (PAGs) with different aromatic heterocycles substituted on C3 atom and dimethyl sulfonium group on C5 atom were synthesized. These PAGs were highly photosensitive in the 365–425 nm light-emitting diode region, and the intramolecular charge transfer from the pyrazoline ring to sulfonium salts induced efficient photolysis and high Φ_H⁺. The heterocycles as well as their substituted positions significantly influenced the energy of the S₂ orbital, which was determined by the electrochemical and absorption properties of the PAGs. The raising of the S₂ orbital energy enlarged the energy gap of S₀–S₂ and S₁–S₂, resulting in blue shift of the absorption spectra and increase in the quantum yield of photoacid generation (Φ_H⁺), respectively. When the energy of excited electrons was higher than that of the S₂ orbital, the transition from S₀ to S₂ (π–π*) occurred before the C-S cleavage on S₁ and the PAGs showed high Φ_H⁺ values (0.52–0.72). The transition from S₀ to S₁ (π–σ*) occurred when the energy of electrons is lower than that of the S₂ orbital, and the PAGs showed low Φ_H⁺ value. The photopolymerization kinetics demonstrated that these PAGs were highly efficient cationic photoinitiators.     

Large Nonlinear Optical Activity of a Near-infrared-absorbing Bithiophene-based Polymer with a Head-to-head Linkage

Although the production of near-infrared (NIR)-absorbing organic polymers with an excellent nonlinear optical (NLO) response is vital for various optoelectronic devices and photodynamic therapy, the molecular design and relevant photophysical investigation still remain challenging. In this work, large NLO activity is observed for an NIR-absorbing bithiophene-based polymer with a unique head-to-head linkage in the NIR region. The saturable absorption coefficient and modulation depth of the polymer are determined as ∼−3.5×10⁵ cm GW⁻¹ and ∼32.43%, respectively. Notably, the polymer exhibits an intrinsic nonlinear refraction index up to ∼−9.36 cm² GW⁻¹, which is six orders of magnitude larger than that of CS₂. The maximum molar-mass normalized two-photon absorption cross-section (σ₂/M) of this polymer can be up to ∼14 GM at 1200 nm. Femtosecond transient absorption measurements reveal significant spectral overlap between the 2PA and excited state absorption in the 1000–1400 nm wavelength range and an efficient triplet quantum yield of ∼36.7%. The results of this study imply that this NIR-absorbing polymer is promising for relevant applications.     

Robust nickel silicate catalysts with high Ni loading for CO2 methanation

CO₂ is the main component of greenhouse gases and also an important carbon source. The hydrogenation of CO₂ to methane using Ni-based catalysts can not only alleviate CO₂ emissions but also obtain useful fuels. However, Ni-based catalysts face one major problem of the sintering of Ni nanoparticles in the process of CO₂ methanation. Thus, this work has synthesized a series of efficient and robust nickel silicate catalysts (NiPS−X) with different nickel content derived from nickel phyllosilicate by the hydrothermal method. It was found that the Ni loading plays a critical role in the structure and catalytic performance of the NiPS−X catalysts. The catalytic performance gradually increases with the increase of Ni loading. In particular, the highly dispersed NiPS-1.6 catalyst with a high Ni loading of 34.3 wt% could obtain the CO₂ conversion greater than 80%, and the methane selectivity was close to 100% for 48 h at 330 °C and the GHSV of 40,000 mL g⁻¹ h⁻¹. The excellent catalytic property can be assigned to the high dispersion of Ni nanoparticles and the strong interaction between the active component and the carrier, which is derived from a unique layered silicate structure with lots of nickel phyllosilicate and a large number of Lewis acid sites.     

Structurally Modelling the 2-His-1-Carboxylate Facial Triad with a Bulky N,N,O Phenolate Ligand

We present the synthesis and coordination chemistry of a bulky, tripodal N,N,O ligand, Im^Ph2NNO ^{t Bu} ( L ), designed to model the 2-His-1-carboxylate facial triad (2H1C) by means of two imidazole groups and an anionic 2,4-di-tert-butyl-subtituted phenolate. Reacting K-L with MCl₂ (M = Fe, Zn) affords the isostructural, tetrahedral non-heme complexes [Fe(L)(Cl)] ( 1 ) and [Zn(L)(Cl)] ( 2 ) in high yield. The tridentate N,N,O ligand coordination observed in their X-ray crystal structures remains intact and well-defined in MeCN and CH₂Cl₂ solution. Reacting 2 with NaSPh affords a tetrahedral zinc thiolate complex, [Zn(L)(SPh)] ( 4 ), that is relevant to isopenicillin N synthase (IPNS) biomimicry. Cyclic voltammetry studies demonstrate the ligand's redox non-innocence, where phenolate oxidation is the first electrochemical response observed in K-L , 2 and 4 . However, the first electrochemical oxidation in 1 is iron-centred, the assignment of which is supported by DFT calculations. Overall, Im^Ph2NNO ^{t Bu} provides access to well-defined mononuclear, monoligated, N,N,O-bound metal complexes, enabling more accurate structural modelling of the 2H1C to be achieved.     

The Efficient K Ion Storage of M2P2O7/C (M=Fe,Co, Ni) Anode Derived from Organic-Inorganic Phosphate Precursors

Metal phosphates have been widely explored in lithium ion batteries and sodium ion batteries owing to high theoretical capacities, mild toxicity and low cost. However, their potassium ion battery applications are less reported due to the limited conductivity and the slow diffusion kinetics. Considering these drawbacks, novel structured M₂P₂O₇/C (M=Fe, Co, Ni) nanoflake composites are prepared through an organic-phosphors precursor-assisted solvothermal method and a subsequent high temperature annealing process. The designed Co₂P₂O₇/C composite exhibits the highest rate capacity with 502 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹ and good cyclability for 900 cycles at 1 A g⁻¹ and 2 A g⁻¹ when compared with Ni and Fe based composites. The superior electrochemical performance can be attributed to their unique nanoparticle-assembled nanoflake structure, which can afford enough active sites for K⁺ intercalation. In addition, the robust pyrophosphate crystal structure and the in situ formed carbon composition also have positive effects on enhancing the long-term cycling performance and the electrode's conductivity. Finally, this organic-phosphors precursor induced simple approach can be applied for easy fabrication of other pyrophosphate/carbon hybrids as advanced electrodes.     

Phase separation dynamics of a poly(vinyl methyl ether)/polystyrene (PVME/PS) blend studied by ultrafast differential scanning calorimetry

In this work, ultrafast differential scanning calorimetry (UFDSC) is used to study the dynamics of phase separation. Taking poly(vinyl methyl ether)/polystyrene (PVME/PS) blend as the example, we firstly obtained the phase diagram that has lower critical solution temperature (LCST), together with the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the homogeneous blend with different composition. Then, the dynamics of the phase separation of the PVME/PS blend with a mass ratio of 7:3 was studied in the time range from milliseconds to hours, by the virtue of small time and spatial resolution that UFDSC offers. The time dependence of the glass transition temperature (T_g) of PVME‐rich phase, shows a distinct change when the annealing temperature (T_a) changes from below to above 385 K. This corresponds to the transition from the nucleation and growth (NG) mechanism to the spinodal decomposition (SD) mechanism, as was verified by morphological and rheometric investigations. For the SD mechanism, the temperature‐dependent composition evolution in PVME‐rich domain was found to follow the Williams–Landel–Ferry (WLF) laws. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 1357–1364     

Thioether‐derived Macrocycle for Peptide Secondary Structure Fixation

Recently, we developed methods to stabilize peptides into various secondary structures, including α‐helix, type III turn and β‐hairpin via proper thioether based macrocyclization. These conformationally constrained peptidomimetics confer enhanced biophysical properties and provide a valuable avenue towards clinically‐relevant therapeutic molecules. In this personal account, thioether‐derived macrocyclization methods developed by our group for stabilization of α‐helix, type‐III β turn and β‐hairpin conformations are discussed.     

无粘结剂ZSM-11催化剂上异丁烯直接胺化生成叔丁胺

叔丁胺是一种重要的化工原料和中间体,广泛应用于制备橡胶促进剂、医药、农药和着色剂等下游产品.异丁烯在分子筛催化剂上直接胺化生产叔丁胺是一个经济环保过程,其中ZSM-5和BEA分子筛的催化性能优于其它系列分子筛.ZSM-11与ZSM-5分子筛具有相似的孔道结构,我们以前的实验结果表明,与ZSM-5相比,ZSM-11表现出更优越的芳构化反应性能,在干气中乙烯低温芳构化方面也有明显优势.在此基础上,我们进行无粘结剂ZSM-11分子筛催化剂合成,并应用于异丁烯直接胺化生产叔丁胺反应.传统水热技术合成的分子筛通常为粉末,机械强度不能达到实际应用的要求,在工业化过程中分子筛粉末一般需要加入粘结剂成型使其具备一定的机械强度和形状,但是粘结剂会降低分子筛催化剂的活性和选择性,有可能会引发一些副反应,因此无粘结剂分子筛催化剂引起人们广泛关注.无粘结剂分子筛是指分子筛颗粒中不含惰性粘结剂或只含有少量粘结剂,主要依靠分子筛晶粒间的相互作用支撑存在,具有一定形状、尺寸和机械强度的催化材料.无粘结剂分子筛催化剂中分子筛含量较高,可利用的有效表面积较大,在离子交换及工业催化等方面具有明显优势.本文采用水热合成的ZSM-11分子筛原粉与二氧化硅机械混合(ZSM-11/SiO2=70/30)挤条后,通过气固相合成法制备了无粘结剂ZSM-11分子筛催化剂(Cat-C).作为对比,还分别制备了ZSM-11和SiO2机械混合(ZSM-11/SiO2=70/30)样品HZSM-11+SiO2及ZSM-11和氧化铝机械混合(ZSM-11/Al2O3=70/30)样品HZSM-11+Al2O3.利用X射线衍射、透射电镜、NH3程序升温脱附和吸附吡啶红外光谱等对分子筛催化剂的物理化学性能进行了表征.同时,以这些分子筛样品为催化剂,在固定床反应装置上进行了异丁烯胺化反应评价,反应条件为270℃,5.0 MPa,氨烯比为4和异丁烯空速0.5 h?1.结果表明,与HZSM-11+SiO2和HZSM-11+Al2O3相比,Cat-C上叔丁胺生成速率最高.关联催化剂物化性能和反应性能发现,催化剂孔道结构与叔丁胺生成并不存在明显的关联性,而较多的Br?nsted酸和较少的Lewis酸才是Cat-C具有良好反应性能的主要原因.具有一定机械强度的无粘结剂ZSM-11分子筛催化剂制备简单,在异丁烯直接胺化过程中叔丁胺生成速率高,具有很好的工业化应用前景.     

Hydrogen evolution assisted deposition of a three-dimensional porous nickel film for the electrocatalytic oxidation of histamine

Microchimica Acta - The authors describe an electrochemical sensor for ultrasensitive voltammetric of histamine (HA) by using a gold electrode that was modified with a film consisting of...     

二氧化碳直接高选择性合成液体燃料

正作为主要温室气体的CO_2,也是一种自然界大量存在的碳资源,若能借助太阳能和风能等可再生能源获取电能分解水制得的氢气,将CO_2转化为化学品或燃料,不仅能实现温室气体的减排,而且有助于解决对化石燃料的过度依赖以及可再生能源的存储问题~1。作为一类高碳烃类