Macrocycles consisting of flexible and rigid segments: enforced folding and host-guest inclusion exciplex formation

Macrocycles consisting of two tris(phenylene ethynylene) (or tri-PE) units connected via two flexible linkers adopt an ‘unfolded’ conformation that is converted into a folded conformation upon introducing intramolecular hydrogen bonding interaction. These foldable macrocycles are capable of forming inclusion charge transfer (CT) complex with electron-deficient small aromatics.     

Enhancement inhibition efficiency of PBTCA depending on the inclusion complex with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin

For the first time, hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) has been brought in to include 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid (PBTCA) in order to enhance inhibition efficiency of PBTCA, which leads a new approach to study oil–gas field corrosion inhibition in the process of acid treatment. Based on the host–guest inclusion reaction, the inclusion complex of PBTCA with HP-β-CD has been prepared in the laboratory. UV–Vis absorption spectrum was applied to study the inclusion behavior of PBTCA with HP-β-CD. The results revealed that PBTCA with HP-β-CD can form a 1:1 stoichiometry inclusion complex. The 1:1 inclusion complex synthesized by using lyophilization was further characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Besides, inhibition effect of the inclusion complex on the corrosion inhibition of Q235 carbon steel has been investigated in 0.1 M sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) solution using potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the presence of the inclusion complex better achieved the anti-corrosion property in aggressive medium than was the case with alone PBTCA and the highest inhibition efficiency of the inclusion complex over 90 % was obtained, which are suggestive of the active effect of the inclusion complex for improving inhibition efficiency of PBTCA. Meanwhile, the results obtained from SEM further showed that the inclusion complex acts as a more efficient corrosion inhibitor for Q235 carbon steel in H₂SO₄ medium.     

Protein‐Directed Synthesis of Mn‐Doped ZnS Quantum Dots: A Dual‐Channel Biosensor for Two Proteins

Proteins typically have nanoscale dimensions and multiple binding sites with inorganic ions, which facilitates the templated synthesis of nanoparticles to yield nanoparticle–protein hybrids with tailored functionality, water solubility, and tunable frameworks with well‐defined structure. In this work, we report a protein‐templated synthesis of Mn‐doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs) by exploring bovine serum albumin (BSA) as the template. The obtained Mn‐doped ZnS QDs give phosphorescence emission centered at 590 nm, with a decay time of about 1.9 ms. A dual‐channel sensing system for two different proteins was developed through integration of the optical responses (phosphorescence emission and resonant light scattering (RLS)) of Mn‐doped ZnS QDs and recognition of them by surface BSA phosphorescent sensing of trypsin and RLS sensing of lysozyme. Trypsin can digest BSA and remove BSA from the surface of Mn‐doped ZnS QDs, thus quenching the phosphorescence of QDs, whereas lysozyme can assemble with BSA to lead to aggregation of QDs and enhanced RLS intensity. The detection limits for trypsin and lysozyme were 40 and 3 nM , respectively. The selectivity of the respective channel for trypsin and lysozyme was evaluated with a series of other proteins. Unlike other protein sensors based on nanobioconjugates, the proposed dual‐channel sensor employs only one type of QDs but can detect two different proteins. Further, we found the RLS of QDs can also be useful for studying the BSA–lysozyme binding stoichiometry, which has not been reported in the literature. These successful biosensor applications clearly demonstrate that BSA not only serves as a template for growth of Mn‐doped ZnS QDs, but also impacts the QDs for selective recognition of analyte proteins.     

Well‐Dispersed Pt Cubes on Porous Cu Foam: High‐Performance Catalysts for the Electrochemical Oxidation of Glucose in Neutral Media

The investigation of highly efficient catalysts for the electrochemical oxidation of glucose is the most critical challenge to commercialize nonenzymatic glucose sensors, which display a few attractive superiorities including the sufficient stability of their properties and the desired reproducibility of results over enzyme electrodes. Herein we propose a new and very promising catalyst: Pt cubes well‐dispersed on the porous Cu foam, for the the electrochemical oxidation reaction of glucose in neutral media. The catalyst is fabricated in situ on a homemade screen‐printed carbon electrode (SPCE) substrate through initially synthesizing the three‐dimensional (3D) porous Cu foam using a hydrogen evolution assisted electrodeposition strategy, followed by electrochemically reducing the platinic precursor simply and conveniently. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) proofs demonstrate that Pt cubes, with an average size (the distance of opposite faces) of 185.1 nm, highly dispersed on the macro/nanopore integrated Cu foam support can be reproducibly obtained. The results of electrochemical tests indicate that the cubic Pt‐based catalyst exhibits significant enhancement on the catalytic activity towards the electrooxidation of glucose in the presence of chloride ions, providing a specific activity 6.7 times and a mass activity 5.3 times those of commercial Pt/C catalysts at ?0.4 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). In addition, the proposed catalyst shows excellent stability of performance, with only a 2.8 % loss of electrocatalytic activity after 100 repetitive measurements.     

Novel Tripod Amphiphiles for Membrane Protein Analysis

Integral membrane proteins play central roles in controlling the flow of information and molecules across membranes. Our understanding of membrane protein structures and functions, however, is seriously limited, mainly due to difficulties in handling and analysing these proteins in aqueous solution. The use of a detergent or other amphipathic agents is required to overcome the intrinsic incompatibility between the large lipophilic surfaces displayed by the membrane proteins in their native forms and the polar solvent molecules. Here, we introduce new tripod amphiphiles displaying favourable behaviours toward several membrane protein systems, leading to an enhanced protein solubilisation and stabilisation compared to both conventional detergents and previously described tripod amphiphiles.     

A New Series of C‐6 Unsubstituted Tetrahydropyrimidines: Convenient One‐Pot Chemoselective Synthesis,Aggregation‐Induced and Size‐Independent Emission Characteristics

A new series of C‐6 unsubstituted tetrahydropyrimidines 6 have been directly synthesized via a convenient urea‐catalyzed chemoselective five‐component reaction (5CR) under mild conditions. Compounds 6 show typical aggregation‐induced emission enhancement (AIEE) characteristics because they are practically no emissive in solution but emit blue or green fluorescence in aggregates with fluorescence yield up to 93 %. One of the 5CR products, 6 aa , exhibits blue‐ and green‐fluorescence aggregates (bf‐ and gf‐aggregates). The bf‐ and gf‐aggregates are prepared under different conditions and proved to result from different J‐aggregations by single‐crystal X‐ray analysis. In addition, the bf‐ and gf‐aggregates of 6 aa show unusual size‐independent emission (SIE) characteristics because their maximum emission wavelengths in different sizes (suspension particles, film, powder and crystals) are the same, 434 and 484 nm, respectively. Based on the obtained experimental results, the 5CR mechanism, the origins of AIEE and SIE characteristics are discussed.     

成核剂及其完善剂对聚乳酸结晶行为的影响

通过POM、DSC以及流变测试系统考察了成核剂(PPZn)及其完善剂(E61)对PLA结晶形貌及其结晶能力的影响.POM结果表明PPZn和E61对PLA的结晶形态的影响随两者含量的变化而变化.加入低含量的PPZn可诱导PLA得到一定完善程度的球晶,而较高含量的PPZn能够诱导PLA基体得到针状晶体.通过添加少量E61可使在PPZn较高含量下的PLA针状晶体转变为球晶.但更高含量E61的添加却使PPZn的成核作用受到抑制,再次生成针状晶体,且E61含量越高,抑制作用越明显.DSC和流变测试进一步证明PPZn可显著提高PLA的结晶能力、有效地缩短基体结晶时间,而E61的添加对PLA的结晶速率影响不大.     

一种新的珍珠层厚度测量方法

珍珠层厚度是是珍珠价值最主要的衡量指标之一,目前珍珠层厚度的无损测量方法主要采用光学相干层析成像技术和X射线技术。光学相干层析成像技术在实际测量时精度较低。在研究X射线测量原理的基础上,提出了一种新的珠层厚度测量方法。首先介绍了灰度图像的边缘识别算法和珍珠核、珍珠外圆度拟合算法,其次提出了一种引入对照机制的珍珠层测量算法,最后还对算法的误差进行了分析,算法的误差可以控制在0.02%以内。实际的测量也验证了本测量方法具有很高的精度。