Facile synthesis of Janus "double-concave" tribenzo[a,g,m]coronenes

Hexabutoxytribenzo[a,g,m]coronenes have been prepared in three steps from readily accessible hexabutoxytriphenylene. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that these molecules can adopt an extraordinary "double-concave" conformation that makes them ideal hosts for the binding of different guest molecules at each face.     

Thermal conductivity anisotropy of expanded graphite/ chlorate salt composites for thermal energy storage

ABSTRACT

Expanded graphite (EG)/LiCl-NaCl phase change composites are prepared by aqueous solution method with different EG amount and forming pressure to enhance heat conduction for high-temperature latent heat thermal energy storage application. Their microstructure and thermal conductivity are characterized. Results indicate that the composites are uniform and the LiCl-NaCl eutectic is well dispersed in the graphite flakes. Thermal conductivity of the LiCl-NaCl can increase to as much as 40.51 W/(m·K), which is 46 times higher than that of pure eutectic salt. With forming pressure, the thermal conductivities of the samples show anisotropy because of a flattened irregular honeycomb network of graphite. Within certain limits, the greater the forming pressure is, the more pronounced the anisotropy performs. In addition, the formulas to calculate the thermal conductivity in the axial direction and the radial direction are given based on the average rotation angle φ of EG basal plane, and experimental data show that the formula in the radial direction is especially useful for calculating the thermal conductivity.     

Poly(L‐Glutamic Acid)‐Drug Conjugates for Chemo‐ and Photodynamic Combination Therapy

Despite the polymeric vascular disrupting agent (poly(_L‐glutamic acid)‐graft‐methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)/combretastatin A4) nanoparticles can efficiently inhibit cancer growth, their further application is still a challenge owing to the tumor recurrence and metastasis after treatment. In this study, two poly(_L‐glutamic acid)‐drug conjugates for chemo‐and photodynamic combination therapy are fabricated. PLG‐g‐mPEG‐CA4 nanoparticles are prepared by combretastatin A4 (CA4) and poly(_L‐glutamic acid)‐graft‐methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (PLG‐g‐mPEG) using the Yamaguchi esterification reaction. PLG‐g‐mPEG‐TPP (TPP: 5, 10, 15, 20‐tetraphenylporphyrin) nanoparticles are constructed using PLG‐g‐mPEG and amine porphyrin through condensation reaction between carboxyl group of PLG‐g‐mPEG and amino group of porphyrin. The results showed that PLG‐g‐mPEG‐CA4 nanoparticles have good antitumor ability. PLG‐g‐mPEG‐TPP nanoparticles can produce singlet oxygen under the laser irradiation. Moreover, the combined therapy of PLG‐g‐mPEG‐CA4 and PLG‐g‐mPEG‐TPP nanoparticles has higher antitumor effect than the single chemotherapy or the single photodynamic therapy in vitro. The combination of CA4 nondrug and photodynamic therapy provides a new insight for enhancing the tumor therapeutic effect with vascular disrupting agents and other therapy.     

Photo-induced deep aerobic oxidation of alkyl aromatics

Oxidation is a major chemical process to produce oxygenated chemicals in both nature and the chemical industry. Presently, the industrial manufacture of benzoic acids and benzene polycarboxylic acids(BPCAs) is mainly based on the deep oxidation of polyalkyl benzene, which is somewhat suffering from environmental and economical disadvantage due to the formation of ozone-depleting Me Br and corrosion hazards of production equipment. In this report, photo-induced deep aerobic oxidation of(poly)alkyl benzene to benzene(poly)carboxylic acids was developed. CeCl_3 was proved to be an efficient HAT(hydrogen atom transfer) catalyst in the presence of alcohol as both hydrogen and electron shuttle. Dioxygen(O_2) was found as a sole terminal oxidant. In most cases, pure products were easily isolated by simple filtration, implying large-scale implementation advantages.The reaction provides an ideal protocol to produce valuable fine chemicals from naturally abundant petroleum feedstocks.     

Novel Three-dimensional Sensor for Rapid Detection of Pb(II) and Cd(II) in Edible Mushrooms

A sensing platform was developed based on the molybdenum disulfide-reduced graphene oxide (MoS₂-RGO). The flower-like MoS₂-RGO nanocomposite had a large number of active sites such as oxygen-containing groups and highly reactive sulfur that contributed to the adsorption and preconcentration of heavy metal ions (HMIs). MoS₂-RGO was synthesized by one-step reduction method. Under optimized conditions, the limits of detection (LODs) for Pb(II) and Cd(II) was 0.13 μg/L and 0.59 μg/L with a linear range of 4.1–207.2 μg/L and 2.2–112.4 μg/L, respectively. The modified sensors had been successfully applied to detect Pb(II) and Cd(II) in three kinds of edible mushrooms.     

Obacunone Attenuates Liver Fibrosis with Enhancing Anti-Oxidant Effects of GPx-4 and Inhibition of EMT

Obacunone, a limonin triterpenoid extracted from Phellodendronchinense Schneid or Dictamnus dasycarpusb Turcz plant, elicits a variety of pharmacological effects such as anti-inflammatory, anti-neoplastic, anti-oxidation, and anti-lung-fibrosis ones. However, the anti-fibrotic effect of obacunone and the detailed underlying mechanism in liver fibrosis remain unclear. Liver fibrosis is a debilitating disease threatening human health. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β/P-Smad is a major pathway of fibrosis featured with epithelia mesenchymal transformations (EMT) and collagen depositions, accompanying with excessive oxygen-free radicals. Nrf-2 acts as a key anti-oxidative regulator driving the expressions of various antioxidant-related genes. Glutathionperoxidase-4 (GPx-4) is a member of the glutathione peroxidase family that directly inhibits phospholipid oxidation to alleviate oxidative stress. In the present study, we aimed to explore the role of obacunone in mouse liver fibrosis model induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and in hepatic stellate cells (LX2 cell line) challenging with TGF-β. Obacunone demonstrated potent ameliorative effects on liver fibrosis both in activated LX2 and in mice liver tissues with reduced levels of α-SMA, collagen1, and vimentin. Obacunone also remarkably suppressed the TGF-β/P-Smad signals and EMT process. Meanwhile, obacunone exerted a potent anti-oxidation effect by reducing the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in both models. The antioxidant effect of obacunone was attributed to the activation of GPx-4 and Nrf-2. In addition, the therapeutic effect of obacunone on LX2 cells was significantly removed in vitro plus with GPx-4 antagonist RSL3, in parallel with the re-elevated levels of ROS. Thus, we demonstrate that obacunone is able to attenuate liver fibrosis via enhancing GPx-4 signal and inhibition of the TGF-β/P-Smad pathway and EMT process.     

微球形CdIn2S4/ZnO复合材料的多模式光降解与光解水制氢

本文通过水热辅助水浴法制备了CdIn₂S₄/ZnO复合材料,并采用XRD、XPS、UV-Vis/DRS、SEM、N₂吸附-脱附等测试技术对复合材料的晶形结构和表面物理化学性质进行了表征。结果表明,相比于单体ZnO,微球形复合材料CdIn₂S₄/ZnO晶型结构更加优异,孔径分布更加均匀,比表面积明显增大,其光吸收范围拓展至可见光区。多模式光催化降解染料亚甲基蓝的实验结果显示,微球形复合材料CdIn₂S₄/ZnO的光催化活性优于单体ZnO和CdIn₂S₄,其中CdIn₂S₄与ZnO的比例为1：5时活性最好,其对不同有机污染物均具有光降解能力;另外,光解水制氢实验结果显示,在8 h内产氢量达到310.2 μmol/g,表明该复合材料具有优异的光解水制氢性能。     

Sulfonylamidine-substituted derivatives of avibactam: Synthesis and antibacterial activity

Avibactam is a clinically approved non-β-lactam based β-lactamase inhibitor. Derivatization of this scaffold with improved inhibition profile is the demand of the day to cope with the future challenges. We successfully synthesized new derivatives of avibactam containing sulfonylamidine moieties at C2 position of the diazabicyclooctane ring. We tested in vitro antibacterial activities of newly synthesized compounds against 10 bacterial strains expressing variable β-lactamases. All compounds did not exhibit antimicrobial profile when assayed individually; however, all compounds minimized the MIC value of the imipenem in combination. Compound 5l proved most potent against all 10 bacterial strains, and showed improved inhibition against six bacterial strains as compared with the control inhibitor, relebactam. The compound 5l may be a lead hit for future development.     

Non-gray chemical composition based radiative property model of fly ash particles

Particle radiation has a spectral dependence and is closely related to the chemical composition of the material. Iron oxide, one of the main components of fly ash, observably affects the complex index of refraction of the particles. In this study, following the theory of the spectrum k-distribution based weighted sum of gray particles model (Guo et al. [4,13]), a non-gray fly ash radiative property model involving the chemical composition was developed. First, four typical fly ash particles with different iron oxide contents were selected, and the corresponding particle radiative parameters were obtained using the Mie theory. Then, the absorption efficiency and weighting factors of the non-gray model were directly obtained from the Gaussian integral points of the k-distribution. The scattering efficiency of the particles was obtained from the Planck mean. The accuracy of the newly developed model was evaluated in a one-dimensional plane-parallel slab system through comparison with the line-by-line (LBL) model and two commonly used gray radiative property models. The results show that the new non-gray model agrees well with the LBL solution and becomes more accurate as the iron oxide content increases. When the iron oxide content of the fly ash increased from 5.47% to 30.50%, the maximum relative error of the radiative heat flux and the radiative source term decreased from 12.50% to 5.68% and from 20.97% to 12.62%, respectively. The new model can improve the prediction accuracy of radiative heat transfer in pulverized coal-fired furnaces.     

Computational Modeling of Boundary Layer Flashback in a Swirling Stratified Flame Using a LES-Based Non-Adiabatic Tabulated Chemistry Approach

When operating under lean fuel–air conditions, flame flashback is an operational safety issue in stationary gas turbines. In particular, with the increased use of hydrogen, the propagation of the flame through the boundary layers into the mixing section becomes feasible. Typically, these mixing regions are not designed to hold a high-temperature flame and can lead to catastrophic failure of the gas turbine. Flame flashback along the boundary layers is a competition between chemical reactions in a turbulent flow, where fuel and air are incompletely mixed, and heat loss to the wall that promotes flame quenching. The focus of this work is to develop a comprehensive simulation approach to model boundary layer flashback, accounting for fuel–air stratification and wall heat loss. A large eddy simulation (LES) based framework is used, along with a tabulation-based combustion model. Different approaches to tabulation and the effect of wall heat loss are studied. An experimental flashback configuration is used to understand the predictive accuracy of the models. It is shown that diffusion-flame-based tabulation methods are better suited due to the flashback occurring in relatively low-strain and lean fuel–air mixtures. Further, the flashback is promoted by the formation of features such as flame tongues, which induce negative velocity separated boundary layer flow that promotes upstream flame motion. The wall heat loss alters the strength of these separated flows, which in turn affects the flashback propensity. Comparisons with experimental data for both non-reacting cases that quantify fuel–air mixing and reacting flashback cases are used to demonstrate predictive accuracy.