Syntheses, crystal structures and properties of two nickel(II) coordination polymers constructed from 5-(isonicotinamido)isophthalic acid

Two Ni(II) metal–organic frameworks, [Ni(INAIP)(DMF)]·0.5DMF and [Ni(INAIP)(H₂O)]·2H₂O, have been synthesized by the reaction of 5-(isonicotinamido)isophthalic acid (H₂INAIP) with NiSO₄·6H₂O using different reaction solvents. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that [Ni(INAIP)(DMF)]·0.5DMF has a twofold interpenetrated three-dimensional (3D) framework with sra topology, while [Ni(INAIP)(H₂O)]·2H₂O has a two-dimensional (2D) network structure with a 4-connected (4³·6³) topology. In addition, the magnetic and adsorption properties of the complexes were explored.     

Encapsulating Sulfur into Hierarchically Ordered Porous Carbon as a High‐Performance Cathode for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

A three‐dimensional (3D) hierarchical carbon–sulfur nanocomposite that is useful as a high‐performance cathode for rechargeable lithium–sulfur batteries is reported. The 3D hierarchically ordered porous carbon (HOPC) with mesoporous walls and interconnected macropores was prepared by in situ self‐assembly of colloidal polymer and silica spheres with sucrose as the carbon source. The obtained porous carbon possesses a large specific surface area and pore volume with narrow mesopore size distribution, and acts as a host and conducting framework to contain highly dispersed elemental sulfur. Electrochemical tests reveal that the HOPC/S nanocomposite with well‐defined nanostructure delivers a high initial specific capacity up to 1193 mAh g^?1 and a stable capacity of 884 mAh g^?1 after 50 cycles at 0.1 C. In addition, the HOPC/S nanocomposite exhibits high reversible capacity at high rates. The excellent electrochemical performance is attributed exclusively to the beneficial integration of the mesopores for the electrochemical reaction and macropores for ion transport. The mesoporous walls of the HOPC act as solvent‐restricted reactors for the redox reaction of sulfur and aid in suppressing the diffusion of polysulfide species into the electrolyte. The “open” ordered interconnected macropores and windows facilitate transportation of electrolyte and solvated lithium ions during the charge/discharge process. These results show that nanostructured carbon with hierarchical pore distribution could be a promising scaffold for encapsulating sulfur to approach high specific capacity and energy density with long cycling performance.     

Electrochemical behavior of uranyl in ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride mixture with water

Electrochemical behaviors of U(VI) in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (C₄MimCl) with various water contents investigated by chronopotentiometry and cyclic voltammetry. The electrochemical reduction of U(VI) was identified to follow two processes: a lower valence intermediate U(V) was initially formed at the potential of ca. ?0.2 V(vs. Ag wire). Then, further deposition of UO₂ was followed at around ?0.8 V. Little amount of water (1–4 wt%) in C₄MimCl, however, has an effect on the U(VI) reduction by changing the current density of the redox reaction and the diffusion coefficient of U(VI) in C₄MimCl. The deposited product by potentiostatic electrolysis on the surface of stainless steel electrode was characterized by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. Although the electrodeposited black film was amorphous, the electrochemical reduced product of U(VI) can be still confirmed to be UO₂ by XRD after the crystallization of the amorphous deposits at 1,073 K in nitrogen atmosphere.     

Bimetallic amine-bridged bis(phenolate) lanthanide aryloxides and alkoxides: synthesis,characterization, and application in the ring-opening polymerization of rac-lactide and rac-β-butyrolactone

A series of neutral bimetallic lanthanide aryloxides p-C6H4[OLnL(THF)n]2 [Ln = Y(1), Yb(2), Sm(3)(n = 1) and La(4)(n = 2), L = Me2NCH2CH2N{CH2-(2-O–C6H2–tBu2-3,5)}2] and alkoxides p-C6H4CH2[OLnL(THF)]2 [Ln = Y(5), Yb(6)] supported by an amine-bridged bis(phenolate) ligand have been synthesized through one-pot reactions of Ln(C5H5)3(THF), LH2 with p-benzenediol and 1,4-benzenedimethanol, respectively. All complexes have been fully characterized by elemental analyses, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, and IR and multi-nuclear NMR spectroscopy(in the cases of 1, 4 and 5). Study of their catalytic behavior revealed that, in general, all complexes are efficient initiators for the polymerization of rac-lactide(LA) and rac-β-butyrolactone(BBL), except for 3 and 4 in the case of BBL. The influence imposed by lanthanides of different ionic radii and initiating groups of different structures on the activity, controllability, and stereoselectivity of polymerization were systematically studied and compared. Highly heterotactic PLA(Pr up to 0.99) and syndiotactic PHB(Pr ≈ 0.81) with high molecular weight and narrow polydispersity formed and were automatically capped with hydroxyl functionality at both ends.     

Self-assembly of bis-[1]rotaxanes based on diverse thiourea-bridged mono-functionalized dipillar[5]arenes

Journal of Inclusion Phenomena and Macrocyclic Chemistry - The condensation reaction of mono-amido-functionalized pillar[5]arenes with tere- and iso-phthaloyl diisothiocyanates in acetone under...     

Effect of coral powder and ground-granulated blast‑furnace slag on the hydration behavior of cement paste

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Coral wastes are produced during the construction of island. The use of coral wastes in concrete is beneficial to economy and environment. Coral waste...     

Amide Moieties Modulate the Antimicrobial Activities of Conjugated Oligoelectrolytes against Gram-negative Bacteria

Cationic conjugated oligoelectrolytes (COEs) are a class of compounds that can be tailored to achieve relevant in vitro antimicrobial properties with relatively low cytotoxicity against mammalian cells. Three distyrylbenzene-based COEs were designed containing amide functional groups on the side chains. Their properties were compared to two representative COEs with only quaternary ammonium groups. The optimal compound, COE2−3C−C3-Apropyl , has an antimicrobial efficacy against Escherichia coli with an MIC=2 μg mL⁻¹, even in the presence of human serum albumin low cytotoxicity (IC₅₀=740 μg mL⁻¹) and minimal hemolytic activity. Moreover, we find that amide groups increase interactions between COEs and a bacterial lipid mimic based on calcein leakage assay and allow COEs to readily permeabilize the cytoplasmic membrane of E. coli. These findings suggest that hydrogen bond forming moieties can be further applied in the molecular design of antimicrobial COEs to further improve their selectivity towards bacteria.     

Coumarin Sulfonamides and Amides Derivatives: Design,Synthesis, and Antitumor Activity In Vitro

Coumarins possesses immeasurable antitumor potential with minimum side effects depending on the substitutions on the basic nucleus, which exhibits great prospects for antitumor drug development. In an attempt to develop novel antitumor candidates, a series of coumarin sulfonamides and amides derivatives were designed and synthetized. The majority of these derivatives showed good cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231 and KB cell lines, among which compound 9c was the most potent against MDA-MB-231 cells, with IC₅₀ value of 9.33 μM, comparable to 5-fluorouracil. Further investigation revealed that compound 9c had versatile properties against tumors, including inhibition of cell migration and invasion as well as inducing apoptosis. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay and western blotting analysis suggested that compound 9c promoted cancer cell apoptosis by increasing ROS levels and upregulating the expression of caspase-3 in MDA-MB-231 cells. These results indicated that compound 9c could be promising lead compound for further antitumor drug research.     

Natural killer cell-derived extracellular vesicle significantly enhanced adoptive T cell therapy against solid tumors via versatilely immunomodulatory coordination

Science China Chemistry - Insufficient tumor tropism, MHC class I molecules (MHC-I) defects of tumor cells, and immunosuppressive tumor micro-environment (TME) seriously imperil the efficacy of...