Selective Oxidation of Aldehyde over Hydroxymethyl Group Catalyzed by Gold Nanoparticles in Aqueous Phase

A protocol for selectively oxidizing aldehyde over hydroxymethyl group is developed, using biomass starch protected gold nanoparticles (NPs) as catalyst. The Au NPs show high selectivity that aldehyde is oxidized into carboxylic acid while alcoholic hydroxyl group stays intact in selective oxidation of 4-(hydroxymethyl)-benzaldehyde. The heterogeneous catalysis system is composed of soluble catalysts and insoluble substrate. The gold catalyst is prepared, preserved and applied for catalytic oxidation all in water. After reaction conditions are optimized, H\begin{document}$_2$\end{document}O\begin{document}$_2$\end{document} is found to be the best oxidizing agent with complete conversion. Besides, the gold catalyst displays good versitility for aldehyde derivatives. After reaction completes, organic components are extracted by organic solvent and gold NPs in water are separated and recycled.     

一步制备高比表面积介孔Co3O4-CeO2及其表征

以有序介孔二氧化硅KIT-6为硬模板,硝酸钴、硝酸铈为金属源,分别在真空辅助条件和普通搅拌条件下制备了介孔CoCeOx复合氧化物。采用XRD、SEM、TEM、N2吸脱附等技术表征了复合氧化物的物化性质,并评价其氧化甲苯的性能。结果表明,在真空辅助和搅拌条件下制备的CoCeOx氧化物是由Co3O4和CeO2组成的介孔Co3O4-CeO2复合氧化物,其比表面积分别为141和89 m^2·g^-1,平均孔径分别为8.7和9.6 nm。真空辅助纳米复制过程有利于金属盐的前驱体充分填充到模板的孔隙中,去除模板后,可以得到有序的介孔复合金属氧化物。所制备介孔钴铈复合氧化物具有孔道有序性好、比表面积大的特点,在挥发性有机化合物的氧化去除方面具有一定的应用前景。     

Rationally Designed Three‐Layered Cu2S@Carbon@MoS2 Hierarchical Nanoboxes for Efficient Sodium Storage

Hybrid materials, integrating the merits of individual components, are ideal structures for efficient sodium storage. However, the construction of hybrid structures with decent physical/electrochemical properties is still challenging. Now, the elaborate design and synthesis of hierarchical nanoboxes composed of three‐layered Cu₂S@carbon@MoS₂ as anode materials for sodium‐ion batteries is reported. Through a facile multistep template‐engaged strategy, ultrathin MoS₂ nanosheets are grown on nitrogen‐doped carbon‐coated Cu₂S nanoboxes to realize the Cu₂S@carbon@MoS₂ configuration. The design shortens the diffusion path of electrons/Na⁺ ions, accommodates the volume change of electrodes during cycling, enhances the electric conductivity of the hybrids, and offers abundant active sites for sodium uptake. By virtue of these advantages, these three‐layered Cu₂S@carbon@MoS₂ hierarchical nanoboxes show excellent electrochemical properties in terms of decent rate capability and stable cycle life.     

Electrochemical Oxidation of Nitrogen towards Direct Nitrate Production on Spinel Oxides

Nitrates are widely used as fertilizer and oxidizing agents. Commercial nitrate production from nitrogen involves high‐temperature‐high‐pressure multi‐step processes. Therefore, an alternative nitrate production method under ambient environment is of importance. Herein, an electrochemical nitrogen oxidation reaction (NOR) approach is developed to produce nitrate catalyzed by ZnFe_xCo_2?xO₄ spinel oxides. Theoretical and experimental results show Fe aids the formation of the first N?O bond on the *N site, while high oxidation state Co assists in stabilizing the absorbed OH^? for the generation of the second and third N?O bonds. Owing to the concerted catalysis, the ZnFe_0.4Co_1.6O₄ oxide demonstrates the highest nitrate production rate of 130±12 μmol h^?1 g_MO^?1 at an applied potential of 1.6 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE).     

Metal–Organic Framework Membrane Nanopores as Biomimetic Photoresponsive Ion Channels and Photodriven Ion Pumps

Biological ion channels and ion pumps with sub‐nanometer sizes modulate ion transport in response to external stimuli. Realizing such functions with sub‐nanometer solid‐state nanopores has been an important topic with wide practical applications. Herein, we demonstrate a biomimetic photoresponsive ion channel and photodriven ion pump using a porphyrin‐based metal–organic framework membrane with pore sizes comparable to hydrated ions. We show that the molecular‐size pores enable precise and robust optoelectronic ion transport modulation in a broad range of concentrations, unparalleled with conventional solid‐state nanopores. Upon decoration with platinum nanoparticles to form a Schottky barrier photodiode, photovoltage across the membrane is generated with “uphill” ion transport from low concentration to high concentration. These results may spark applications in energy conversion, ion sieving, and artificial photosynthesis.     

水系锌离子电池钒基氧化物正极材料研究进展

近年来,钒基氧化物因为种类众多、理论比容量高和倍率性能优异等优点,被认为是一类具有潜在应用价值的水系锌离子电池正极材料。本文综述了V2O5、VO2等钒基氧化物材料的结构特点及其作为水系锌离子电池正极材料的最近研究进展。重点概述了当前钒基氧化物在锌离子电池中所面临的关键问题以及应对策略;最后,对钒基氧化物储锌材料的发展方向进行了展望。     

手性配体在钯催化不对称碳氢键活化反应中的应用

目前,手性配体辅助钯催化的区域和对映选择性碳氢键活化是过渡金属催化的前沿领域.在过去的十年中,它作为一种越来越重要的合成工具,用于合成含有各种不对称元素(中心手性、轴手性和平面手性)的手性分子,也是快速构建各种碳碳键和碳杂原子键的最有效方法之一.本文介绍了一些典型手性配体在钯催化不对称sp2和sp3碳氢键活化/官能团化...     

ZIF-8衍生的具有可控氧空位的ZnO对光催化去除NO的增强及毒性NO2形成的抑制

氧化锌作为一种半导体材料,具有合适的能带结构位置,高催化效率,低成本和环境可持续性,因而广泛用于光催化领域.然而,由于氧化锌的宽带隙,可见光吸收能力差以及光生电子-空穴对的快速复合,极大地影响了其光催化效率.通过引入氧空位调控光催化剂的结构被证明是一种可以改善光生载流子的分离,从而提高光催化性能的有效方法.本文以ZIF-8为前驱体,采用两步煅烧法合成了具有不同浓度氧空位分布的ZnO纳米光催化剂,通过X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)、透射电镜(TEM)、紫外-可见漫反射光谱(UV-Vis DRS)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、电子顺磁共振(EPR)、荧光光谱仪(PL)等手段系统地分析了合成的光催化剂的理化性质,并评价了它们在可见光下光催化氧化去除NO反应性能.EPR结果表明,样品中氧空位的浓度取决于温度处理的过程.通过两步煅烧法得到氧化锌中氧空位的含量高于一步直接煅烧法所得的样品.此外,随着煅烧温度升高,合成的氧化锌晶格越完好,其氧空位含量越少.UV-Vis DRS结果表明,两步煅烧法合成的ZnO与商业的ZnO及一步法直接煅烧合成的ZnO相比,其吸光范围从紫外光拓展到了可见光,表现出了更加优异的吸光性能.光催化反应结果表明,与商业氧化锌和一步直接煅烧法所得样品相比,两步煅烧法合成的样品表现出了更优异的光催化去除NO性能,并抑制了中间产物毒性NO2的产生,促进了NO的深度氧化.具体反应路径为:在光照过程中,光生电子很容易被氧空位俘获,与O2反应产生更多的超氧自由基(·O2^-),从而将NO氧化成最终的产物硝酸盐.尤其有趣的是,先在350 ℃煅烧2小时再400℃煅烧1小时的两步法样品Z 350-400的NO去除效率分别比一步法样品Z 400(400℃煅烧)和商用ZnO高出1.5和4.6倍.这表明以MOF材料衍生的具有适当量氧空位的金属氧化物为一种高效去除NO的光催化剂具有很好的应用前景.     

软机器人的运动行为研究进展

软机器人的出现不仅弥补了传统机器人的缺点,并逐渐成为机器人领域的热点和前沿之一,近年来该领域研究进展十分迅速。本文总结了典型软机器人的运动行为的研究进展,介绍了软机器人按材质类型的分类(包括液晶软机器人、生物分子软机器人、PDMS软机器人、液体软机器人和自振荡凝胶软机器人)及其功能和潜在应用,讨论了当前不同类别软机器人运动的特点和存在的问题,在此基础上展望了软机器人领域面临的机遇、挑战和未来发展方向。     

Monodentate AIEgen Anchored on Metal‐Organic Framework for Fast Fluorescence Sensing of Phosphate

Herein, a novel sensor (TPE‐UiO‐66) was designed via anchoring monodentate tetraphenylethylene (TPE) onto UiO‐66 framework. The combination of the distinct aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) of TPE and the easy replacement of monodentate linker by guest phosphate, makes TPE‐UiO‐66 an ideal platform for sensing HPO₄^2–. Experimental results indicate that TPE‐UiO‐66 can selectively sense HPO₄^2– from other common anions. The limit of detection (LOD) can reach to 5.56 μmol·L^–1 and more importantly, TPE‐UiO‐66 also exhibits an ultra‐fast equilibrium response of 2 min, far faster than those of other sensors especially for UiO‐66‐NH₂. The combination of experimental analysis and density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrates that the high selectivity, high sensitivity and fast response of HPO₄^2– detection by TPE‐UiO‐66 can be attributed to the stronger coordination interactions of HPO₄^2– with Zr‐O cluster of UiO‐66 than that of TPE molecule. This study not only provides a potential probe for phosphate, but also represents a novel strategy to design stimuli‐responsive fluorescent MOF‐based sensors via using monodentate AIEgens.