Acute toxicological impact of nano- and submicro-scaled zinc oxide powder on healthy adult mice

In this work, the acute oral toxicity of 20- and 120-nm ZnO powder at doses of 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-g/kg body weight was evaluated referred to the OECD guidelines for testing of chemicals. As the results, both 20- and 120-nm ZnO belong to non-toxic chemicals according to the Globally Harmonized Classification System (GHS) for the classification of chemicals. The distribution determination showed that Zn was mainly retained in the bone, kidney and pancreas after 20- and 120-nm ZnO administration. However, the results of blood measurement suggest that the increase in blood viscosity could be induced by low and median dose of 20-nm ZnO but high dose of 120-nm ZnO. The pathological examination showed that the 120-nm ZnO treated mice had dose–effect pathological damages in stomach, liver, heart and spleen, whereas, 20-nm ZnO displayed negative dose–effect damages in liver, spleen and pancreas. Therefore, we conclude that the liver, spleen, heart, pancreas and bone are the target organs for 20- and 120-nm ZnO oral exposure. More attention should be paid on the potential toxicity induced by low dose of 20-nm ZnO oral exposure.     

Investigation on high mobility nanocrystalline Si with crystalline Si heterostructure

A heterostructure of n-type hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) film with p-type crystalline silicon, i.e., (n)nc-Si:H/(p)C-Si, was fabricated to investigate carrier characteristics and transport. After electrical experiments, carrier information, such as hole and electron as well as 2-dimension electronic gas in the studied system, was identified respectively. The forward current conduction was analyzed while the reverse current transport was distinguished as different mechanisms within the different range of negative applied voltage. The performed study also leads us to ascribe the main origin of short transient times on the produced structure to a tunneling mechanism.     

Generalized Fourier coefficients of a quasisymmetric homeomorphism and the Fredholm eigenvalue

Recently, Reiner Kühnau gave some new characterizations of the Fredholm eigenvalue by means of generalized Fourier coefficients. In this note we give a fast approach to Kühnau’s results and answer some questions posed by Kühnau as well.     

Dearomatization of (Hetero)arenes through Photodriven Interplay between Polysulfide Anions and Formate**

The facile construction of C(sp³)-rich carbo- and heterocyclic compounds is a pivotal synthetic strategy to foster contemporary drug discovery programs. The downstream dearomatization of readily accessible two-dimensional (2D) planar arenes represents a direct pathway towards accessing three-dimensional (3D) aliphatic scaffolds. Here, we demonstrate that polysulfide anions are capable of catalyzing a dearomatization process of substituted naphthalenes, indoles, and other related heteroaromatic compounds in the presence of potassium formate and methanol under visible light irradiation. The developed protocol exhibits broad functional group tolerance, operational simplicity, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, representing a practical and sustainable synthetic tool for the arene dearomatization.     

Gold nanoparticle-based monitoring of the reduction of oxidized to reduced glutathione

We demonstrate the reduction of oxidized to reduced glutathione in the presence of glutathione reductase enzyme based on the modulation in photoluminescent quenching efficiency between the perylene bisimide chromophore TPPCA and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The TPPCA-AuNPs assembly shows a turn-on fluorescent signal in the presence of reduced glutathione, which provides a new concept to measure the balance of glutathione in a creature.     

Regioselectivity control of graphene functionalization by ripples

Ripples naturally occur in graphene sheets. First-principles calculations reveal that, by altering the pyramidalization angles of the carbon atoms, these ripples can be used to direct the chemical reactivity of graphene towards hydrogenation. A fraction of the carbon atoms of a rippled graphene, located around the crests and troughs, show significantly increased reactivity. The remaining carbon atoms have comparable reactivity to those in a flat graphene. To illustrate the increased reactivity, we show that hydrogenation becomes exothermic when the characteristic ratio between the amplitude and wavelength reaches ~0.55. This finding offers a practical chemical venue for regioselectivity control of graphene functionalization. While the rippling does not directly affect the band gap of the graphene, the rippling-induced hydrogenation does.     

Field emission and electrical bistable properties of CuTCPQ nanostructures

The organic charge-transfer (CT) complex nanostructures of CuTCPQ (copper tetracyanopentacenequinodimethane) were first successfully fabricated by organic solid phase reaction. The morphologies of CuTCPQ nanosrods can be prepared by controlling the reaction temperature. The electron field-emission properties on these nanostructures were investigated. The current density and turn-on field are 3.5 mA cm(-2) and 2.70 V μm(-1) for the nanorods of CuTCPQ. The results demonstrate that the nanorods of CuTCPQ are potential candidates for field emission cathodes. Stable and reproducible current-controlled electrical switch has been observed in amorphous organic nanorods of CuTCPQ films. The current-voltage characteristics reveal an abrupt decrease in impedance form 1.2 MΩ to less than 1.1kΩ. The maximum ON/OFF ratio of CuTCPQ nanorod arrays is up to 1100.     

Construction of heterostructure materials toward functionality

One- and zero-dimensional organic/inorganic heterostructure materials have been attracting considerable attention in materials science because of their outstanding optical and electrical properties and high tailorability in terms of composition, structure, and morphology. Strong interactions between the organic and inorganic units can lead to novel or improved physical or chemical performance relative to that of the individual components, thereby realizing synergistic ("1 + 1 > 2") performance. In this tutorial review, we discuss the synthetic methods available for preparing heterostructures incorporating diverse components; the functionality of the heterostructure materials; and their potential applications in the fields of electronics, optics, biology, and catalysis. The future development of such heterostructure materials will require deeper understanding of organic-inorganic or organic-organic interfaces on the nanoscale, collective phenomena, and interparticle coupling.     

Synthesis of a [2]rotaxane incorporating a "magic sulfur ring" by the thiol-ene click reaction

The mild and highly efficient thiol-ene click reaction has been used to construct a rotaxane incorporating dibenzo-24-crown-8 (DB24C8) and a dibenzylammonium-derived thread in high yield under the irradiation of UV light. A rotaxane containing a disulfide linkage in the macrocycle was also synthesized by the thiol-ene click reaction. It has been demonstrated that the formation of the [2]rotaxane with the disulfide bond in the macrocycle occurs by a mechanism that is different to the threading-followed-by-stoppering process. The successful construction of a rotaxane directly from its constituent components, the macrocycle containing a disulfide linkage and the dibenzylammonium hexafluorophosphate salt, suggests that the space within the macrocycle incorporating the disulfide linkage is smaller than the phenyl unit and a plausible reaction mechanism has been proposed as follows: A small amount of the initiator forms two radicals upon the absorption of UV irradiation; the radicals act as a "key" to "unlock" the disulfide bond in the macrocycle. The resulting crown ether like moiety in the macrocycle is clipped around the ammonium ion center in the dumb-bell-shaped compound. The [2]rotaxane is generated upon recombination of the disulfide linkage.