Synthesis of amine-modified mesoporous materials for CO2 capture by a one-pot template-free method

A one-pot template-free route was developed for the synthesis of novel tetraethylenepentamine modified porous silica as CO₂ adsorbents, the obtained materials were characterized by N₂ adsorption/desorption, thermogravimetry, elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry,scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the amine species were inserted into the silica skeleton, which considerably enhanced their dispersion. Compared with similar materials derived from impregnation, the porous structure of the silica can be better reserved, leading to a promising CO₂ adsorption capacity of 3.98 mmol CO₂/g-adsorbent and a fast adsorption kinetic in simulated flue gas at 348 K. The resulted adsorbents could also be easily regenerated and showed a good durability in multiple adsorption–desorption cycles. All these features make this method a promising option for the preparation of CO₂ adsorbents.     

A p‐Quinodimethane‐Bridged Porphyrin Dimer

A p‐quinodimethane (p‐QDM)‐bridged porphyrin dimer 1 has been prepared for the first time. An unexpected Michael addition reaction took place when we attempted to synthesize compound 1 by reaction of the cross‐conjugated keto‐linked porphyrin dimers 8 a and 8 b with alkynyl/aryl Grignard reagents. Alternatively, compound 1 could be successfully prepared by intramolecular Friedel–Crafts alkylation of the diol‐linked porphyrin dimer 14 with concomitant oxidation in air. Compound 1 shows intense one‐photon absorption (OPA, λ_max=955 nm, ε=45400 M ^?1 cm^?1) and a large two‐photon absorption (TPA) cross‐section (σ⁽²⁾_max=2080 GM at 1800 nm) in the near‐infrared (NIR) region due to its extended π‐conjugation and quinoidal character. It also exhibits a short singlet excited‐state lifetime of 25 ps. The cyclic voltammogram of 1 displays multiple redox waves with a small electrochemical energy gap of 0.86 eV. The ground‐state geometry, electronic structure, and optical properties of 1 have been further studied by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and compared with those of the keto‐linked dimer 8 b . This research has revealed that incorporation of a p‐QDM unit into the porphyrin framework had a significant impact on its optical and electronic properties, leading to a novel NIR OPA and TPA chromophore.     

Synthesis of Imides by Palladium‐Catalyzed C?H Functionalization of Aldehydes with Secondary Amides

An efficient palladium‐catalyzed C? H functionalization of aldehydes with various N‐substituted N‐heteroarene‐2‐carboxamides has been developed for the synthesis of secondary imides. The reaction tolerates various functionalities, such as methoxy, fluoro, chloro, and bromo groups. A tentative radical mechanism for a Pd^II/Pd^IV catalytic cycle is proposed.     

Unusual Inherent Electrochemistry of Graphene Oxides Prepared Using Permanganate Oxidants

Graphene and graphene oxides are materials of significant interest in electrochemical devices such as supercapacitors, batteries, fuel cells, and sensors. Graphene oxides and reduced graphenes are typically prepared by oxidizing graphite in strong mineral acid mixtures with chlorate (Staudenmaier, Hofmann) or permanganate (Hummers, Tour) oxidants. Herein, we reveal that graphene oxides pose inherent electrochemistry, that is, they can be oxidized or reduced at relatively mild potentials (within the range ±1 V) that are lower than typical battery potentials. This inherent electrochemistry of graphene differs dramatically from that of the used oxidants. Graphene oxides prepared using chlorate exhibit chemically irreversible reductions, whereas graphene oxides prepared through permanganate‐based methods exhibit very unusual inherent chemically reversible electrochemistry of oxygen‐containing groups. Insight into the electrochemical behaviour was obtained through cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy experiments. Our findings are of extreme importance for the electrochemistry community as they reveal that electrode materials undergo cyclic changes in charge/discharge cycles, which has strong implications for energy‐storage and sensing devices.     

Cellulose polymorphism study with sum-frequency-generation (SFG) vibration spectroscopy: identification of exocyclic CH2OH conformation and chain orientation

Sum-frequency-generation (SFG) vibration spectroscopy is a technique only sensitive to functional groups arranged without centrosymmetry. For crystalline cellulose, SFG can detect the C6H₂ and intra-chain hydrogen-bonded OH groups in the crystal. The geometries of these groups are sensitive to the hydrogen bonding network that stabilizes each cellulose polymorph. Therefore, SFG can distinguish cellulose polymorphs (I_β, II, III_I and III_II) which have different conformations of the exocyclic hydroxymethylene group or directionalities of glucan chains. The C6H₂ asymmetric stretching peaks at 2,944 cm^?1 for cellulose I_β and 2,960 cm^?1 for cellulose II, III_I and III_II corresponds to the trans-gauche (tg) and gauche-trans (gt) conformation, respectively. The SFG intensity of the stretch peak of intra-chain hydrogen-bonded O–H group implies that the chain arrangement in cellulose crystal is parallel in I_β and III_I, and antiparallel in II and III_II.     

N3/Al2O3/N749交替组装结构拓宽准固态染料敏化太阳能电池光响应范围和界面修饰效果

研究了染料敏化太阳能电池(DSCs)中N3/Al₂O₃/N749交替组装结构的作用. 该结构使用Al₂O₃作为介质层吸附第二层染料, 可以有效拓宽DSCs的光响应范围, 提高电池的光电转化效率. UV-Vis 吸收光谱和单色光转换效率(IPCE)谱测试结果表明, 相对于单一染料, 使用交替组装结构的电池光响应范围变宽. 电流-电压(I-V)曲线结果表明, 该结构有效增加了DSCs 电池的光电转化效率, 从单一N3 和N749 染料的4.22%和3.09%增加到了5.75%, 分别增加了36%和86%. 为了研究该结构的作用机理, 本文对其界面修饰作用及界面电子过程进行了讨论. 暗电流测试结果表明交替组装结构可以有效阻止电荷复合过程; 电化学阻抗谱(EIS)结果表明在黑暗条件下, N3/Al₂O₃/N749结构可以提高界面电阻, 从而抑制电荷复合过程; 本文建立了等效电路模型, 并使用该模型讨论了交替组装结构的界面电子过程; 调制强度光电流谱(IMPS)和调制强度光电压谱(IMVS)的结果表明该结构可以提高电子寿命和改善电子扩散.     

Approximation properties for solutions to non‐Lipschitz stochastic differential equations with Lévy noise

In this paper, we consider the non‐Lipschitz stochastic differential equations and stochastic functional differential equations with delays driven by Lévy noise, and the approximation theorems for the solutions to these two kinds of equations will be proposed respectively. Non‐Lipschitz condition is much weaker condition than the Lipschitz one. The simplified equations will be defined to make its solutions converge to that of the corresponding original equations both in the sense of mean square and probability, which constitute the approximation theorems. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Water-soluble pillar[6]arene stabilized silver nanoparticles: preparation and application in amino acid detection

In the presence of a water-soluble pillar[6]arene WP6 containing 12 imidazolium groups, silver nanoparticles were successfully prepared and investigated in detail by ultraviolet visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. Excitingly, these pillar[6]arene stabilized silver nanoparticles were demonstrated to function as a colorimetric sensor to selectively probe glutamic acid in water.     

Topography and field effects in the inner side of microvia hole using ToF‐SIMS

We have developed a simple and powerful method, which is called ‘angled sample holder method’, to characterize a topographic structured sample such as microsized via hole of ball grid array using time‐of‐flight SIMS. The diameter of via holes was 100 µm and the depth was 70 µm. To remove the shaded area by incidence primary ion beam and to extract secondary ions from the bottom of a via hole, several types of angled sample holders with compensation steering plate were applied on the basis of simulation results using SIMION code. And the analyses using angled sample holder method enabled us to characterize the bottom and side wall of a via hole in clear. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.