Solution redox chemistry of carbon nanotubes

UV/vis/NIR absorbance spectra were used to monitor electron transfer between small-molecule redox reagents and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The oxidation of (6, 5)-enriched nanotubes in water with K(2)Ir(Cl)(6) reveals a valence electron density of 0.2-0.4 e(-)/100 carbon atoms and a reduction potential of approximately 800 mV versus NHE. The reduction potential of CNTs is found to increase with increasing band gap and to decrease with the introduction of an anionic dispersant. In light of this newly revealed redox chemistry of CNTs, we propose that the previously observed bleaching of the CNT absorbance spectrum at low pH is most likely a consequence of the oxidation of the nanotubes by oxygen. These results demonstrate facile oxidation and reduction of CNTs, provide a way to quantify the population of valence electrons, and point to possible applications of CNT in the catalysis of redox reactions.     

Highly enantioselective 1,4-conjugate addition of diethylzinc to acyclic enones with chiral phosphite–pyridine ligands derived from H8-NOBIN

A series of new phosphite–pyridine ligands, based on the H₈-binaphthyl backbone, were synthesized and employed in the copper-catalyzed enantioselective 1,4-conjugate addition of diethylzinc to acyclic enones. Ligands derived from (S)-H₈-NOBIN provided better results than their parent ligands in the reaction. Ligand L1 provided excellent ees for trans-4-aryl-3-buten-2-ones (up to 97.8% ee) as substrates. Ligand L2 was very efficient for various para-chalcones, and up to 97.2% ee was achieved.     

A molecular docking model of SARS-CoV S1 protein in complex with its receptor, human ACE2

The exact residues within severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) S1 protein and its receptor, human ACE2, involved in their interaction still remain largely undetermined. Identification of exact amino acid residues that are crucial for the interaction of S1 with ACE2 could provide working hypotheses for experimental studies and might be helpful for the development of antiviral inhibitor. In this paper, a molecular docking model of SARS-CoV S1 protein in complex with human ACE2 was constructed. The interacting residue pairs within this complex model and their contact types were also identified. Our model, supported by significant biochemical evidence, suggested receptor-binding residues were concentrated in two segments of S1 protein. In contrast, the interfacial residues in ACE2, though close to each other in tertiary structure, were found to be widely scattered in the primary sequence. In particular, the S1 residue ARG453 and ACE2 residue LYS341 might be the key residues in the complex formation.     

Correction: Direct synthesis of the organic and Ge free Al containing BOG zeolite (ITQ-47) and its application for transformation of biomass derived molecules

Aluminosilicate boggsite (Si/Al-BOG) has been hydrothermally synthesized without adding organic structure-directing agents (OSDAs) in the synthesis gel using the borosilicogermanium ITQ-47 (Si/B-ITQ-47) zeolite as seeds. The introduction of the costly and environmentally less benign phosphazene organic structure-directing agent is not required to grow the zeolite. Physicochemical characterization experiments show that Si/Al-BOG has good crystallinity, high surface area, tetrahedral Al³⁺ species, and acid sites. In order to test the catalytic performance of the zeolite, the synthesis of l,l-lactide from l-lactic acid was performed. Si/Al-BOG exhibits 88.2% conversion of l-lactic acid and 83.8% l,l-lactide selectivity, which are better than those of other zeolites studied up to now.

Aluminosilicate boggsite (Si/Al-BOG) has been hydrothermally synthesized without adding organic structure-directing agents (OSDAs) in the synthesis gel using the borosilicogermanium ITQ-47 (Si/B-ITQ-47) zeolite as seeds.     

氧化锶催化性质：Ⅱ.SrO,MgO上异丙醇的分解反应

ＳｒＯ，ＭｓＯ对异丙醇的分解反应有各自的作用形式，因而产物分布也有明显差别．ＭｇＯ上异丙醇分解，在较低温度时，主要产物为丙酮和丙烯；随温度升高，生成丙烯的量增加，而丙酮的量减少，直至消失，在ＳｒＯ上，异丙醇在较高温度时反应，产物几乎为丙酮，丙烯的生成量极少。认为：产物中丙烯来源于异丙醇在催化剂表面强酸中心上的脱水；丙酮在ＭｇＯ上来源于强碱中心和酸中心协同作用异丙醇的脱氢，而在ＳｒＯ上则是ＳｒＯ表面极强的碱中心作用异丙醇而脱氢制得。     

纳米镍-铁合金/膨胀石墨复合材料的制备、表征及其电磁屏蔽性能

The composites with nano-particles of Ni-Fe alloys dispersed on the nano-layers of expanded graphite (EG) were prepared by the impregnation of EG with ethanol solutions of nickel and iron acetates， followed by drying and reduction in H₂. The square nano-particles of Ni-Fe alloys with particle sizes of mainly 20～40 nm were found to be well spread on the layers of EG. The alloy nano-particles exhibited high shielding effectiveness (SE) for electromagnetic radiations at low frequencies due to their high magnetic conductivity. Since EG is electronically conductive and displayed high SE at high frequencies， the composites exhibited good SE at wide range of frequencies. The electric and magnetic conductivities of the composites could be monitored through regulating the loadings of alloy nano-particles on EG， and it was found that the composites with 20%～40% of the alloys exhibited good SE. Specifically， the composite 27%Ni-3%Fe-EG showed the excellent SE from 66 to 110 dB at the frequencies from 300 kHz to 1.5 GHz.     

Layer by layer buildup of polysaccharide films: physical chemistry and cellular adhesion aspects

The formation ofpolysaccharide films based on the alternate deposition of chitosan (CHI) and hyaluronan (HA) was investigated by several techniques. The multilayer buildup takes place in two stages: during the first stage, the surface is covered by isolated islets that grow and coalesce as the construction goes on. After several deposition steps, a continuous film is formed and the second stage of the buildup process takes place. The whole process is characterized by an exponential increase of the mass and thickness of the film with the number of deposition steps. This exponential growth mechanism is related to the ability of the polycation to diffuse "in" and "out" of the whole film at each deposition step. Using confocal laser microscopy and fluorescently labeled CHI, we show that such a diffusion behavior, already observed with poly(L-lysine) as a polycation, is also found with CHI, a polycation presenting a large persistence length. We also analyze the effect of the molecular weight (MW) of the diffusing polyelectrolyte (CHI) on the buildup process and observe a faster growth for low MW chitosan. The influence of the salt concentration during buildup is also investigated. Whereas the CHI/HA films grow rapidly at high salt concentration (0.15 M NaCl) with the formation of a uniform film after only a few deposition steps, it is very difficult to build the film at 10(-4) M NaCl. In this latter case, the deposited mass increases linearly with the number of deposition steps and the first deposition stage, where the surface is covered by islets, lasts at least up to 50 bilayer deposition steps. However, even at these low salt concentrations and in the islet configuration, CHI chains seem to diffuse in and out of the CHI/HA complexes. The linear mass increase of the film with the number of deposition steps despite the CHI diffusion is explained by a partial redissolution of the CHI/HA complexes forming the film during different steps of the buildup process. Finally, the uniform films built at high salt concentrations were also found to be chondrocyte resistant and, more interestingly, bacterial resistant. Therefore, the (CHI/HA) films may be used as an antimicrobial coating.     

配位-沉淀法制备Ni(OH)2和NiO超微粉

本工作采用配位 -沉淀法成功的制备了薄片形氢氧化镍和氧化镍超微粉末 ,通过 XRD、TG-DTA、IR及 TEM等实验手段对超微粉的组成结构进行分析表征。