Carboxylation of alkylboranes by N-heterocyclic carbene copper catalysts: synthesis of carboxylic acids from terminal alkenes and carbon dioxide

Caught in the act: N-Heterocyclic carbene copper(I) complexes (1; IPr=1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene) serve as an excellent catalyst for the carboxylation of alkylboranes (2; R=alkyl) with CO(2) to afford a variety of functionalized carboxylic acids (3) in high yields. A novel copper methoxide/alkylborane adduct (A) and its subsequent CO(2) insertion product (B) have been isolated and shown to be true active catalyst species.     

A tunable single-component warm white-light Sr3Y(PO4)3:Eu2+,Mn2+ phosphor for white-light emitting diodes

The photoluminescence properties and energy transfer of the Eu(2+) and Mn(2+) co-doped Sr(3)Y(PO(4))(3) phosphors are investigated in detail. Two main emission bands attributed to the Eu(2+) and Mn(2+) ions are observed under UV light excitation via an efficient energy transfer process. When the Eu(2+) doping content is fixed, the emission chromaticity can be varied by simply adjusting the content of Mn(2+). The study of the behavior as a function of doping concentration indicates that the warm white-light can be obtained in a single host lattice. Furthermore, the analysis of the fluorescence decay curves based on the Inokuti-Hirayama theoretical model reveals that the dipole-quadrupole interaction is mainly responsible for the energy transfer mechanism from the Eu(2+) to Mn(2+) ions in the Sr(3)Y(PO(4))(3) phosphor. The developed phosphor exhibits a strong absorption in UV spectral region and white-light emission which may find utility as a single-component white-light-emitting UV-convertible phosphor in white LED devices.     

Phosphotungstic acid functionalized silica nanocomposites with tunable bicontinuous mesoporous structure and superior proton conductivity and stability for fuel cells

A novel proton exchange membrane using phosphotungstic acid (HPW) as proton carrier and cubic bicontinuous Ia3d mesoporous silica (meso-silica) as framework material is successfully developed as proton exchange membranes for fuel cells. Meso-silica is functionalized by 80wt% HPW using a vacuum impregnation method. The HPW-functionalized meso-silica (HPW-meso-silica) nanocomposites are characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), N(2) adsorption/desorption isotherms, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), water uptake and four-probe conductivity. The results show that the mesoporous structure of silica hosts can be altered by the hydrothermal temperature. Conductivity measurements indicate that meso-silica host with pore diameter of 5.0 nm has the highest proton conductivity of 0.11 S cm(-1) at 80 °C and 100% relative humidity (RH) with an activation energy of ～14 kJ mol(-1) and better stability as compared to that with large mesopores. The proton conductivity and performance of HPW-meso-silica nanocomposites also increase with the RH, but it is far less sensitive to RH changes as compared to conventional perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) polymers such as Nafion. The maximum power density of the cell with HPW-meso-silcia nanocomposite membranes is 221 mW cm(-2) at 80 °C and 100% RH and decreases to 171 mW cm(-2) when RH is reduced to 20%, a 20% decrease in power output. In the case of a cell with Nafion 115 membranes, the decrease in power density is 95% under identical test conditions. The results demonstrate that the HPW-meso-silica nanocomposite has an exceptionally high water retention capability and is a promising proton exchange membrane material for fuel cells operating at reduced humidity and elevated temperatures.     

Large size, high efficiency fiber-shaped dye-sensitized solar cells

A high-efficiency dye-sensitized solar cell prototype has been designed and fabricated, in which the working electrode and counter electrode are in direct contact and singly twisted. The cell is sealed in a capillary. In this solar cell configuration, the area ratio between the counter and working electrode is extremely low which allows the independent adjustment of electrolyte volume and the distance between counter electrode and photo-anode. Also it is more easily sealed compared to planar solar cell. The effects of TiO(2) film thickness, twisted pitch of counter electrode and length of device have been investigated. Our results indicate that this novel configuration has demonstrated excellent modularization function, three dimensional light harvesting capacities and the relative independence of incident light angles due to the symmetry structure. The power conversion efficiency of one cell of 9.5 cm in length can reach up to 5.41% at standard test condition (100 mW cm(-2)) and the power output may double under intense diffuse illumination. As far as we know, this is the longest and most efficient fiber-shaped dye-sensitized solar cell consisting of liquid electrolyte. The longer the fiber-shaped solar cell is, the more suitable it is for woven solar power textile if it is encapsulated in transparent flexible plastic capillary.     

Tetraaquabis[5‐(3‐pyridyl‐κN)pyrimidine]zinc(II) bis(trifluoromethanesulfonate): a novel cationic complex and three‐dimensional hydrogen‐bonded network

The title compound, [Zn(C₉H₇N₃)₂(H₂O)₄](CF₃O₃S)₂, contains an octahedral [ZnL₂(H₂O)₄]²⁺ cationic complex with trans geometry (Zn site symmetry ), and each 5‐(3‐pyridyl)pyrimidine (L) ligand is coordinated in a monodentate fashion through the pyridine N atom. In the extended structure, these complexes, with both hydrogen‐bond acceptor (pyrimidine) and donor (H₂O) functions, are linked to each other by intermolecular water–pyrimidine O—H...N hydrogen‐bonding interactions, resulting in a double chain along the crystallographic a axis. The trifluoromethanesulfonate anions are integrated into the chains via O—H...O hydrogen bonds between the coordinated water and sulfonate O atoms. These double chains are associated into a novel three‐dimensional network through interchain water–pyrimidine O—H...N hydrogen bonds. The asymmetric ligand plays an important role in constructing this unusual supramolecular structure.     

Adaptive mixed least squares Galerkin/Petrov finite element method for stationary conduction convection problems

An adaptive mixed least squares Galerkin/Petrov finite element method (FEM) is developed for stationary conduction convection problems. The mixed least squares Galerkin/Petrov FEM is consistent and stable for any combination of discrete velocity and pressure spaces without requiring the Babuska-Brezzi stability condition. Using the general theory of Verfürth, the posteriori error estimates of the residual type are derived. Finally, numerical tests are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the method.     

Partial extinction,permanence and global attractivity in nonautonomous <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-species Lotka-Volterra competitive systems with impulses

In this paper, the qualitative properties of general nonautonomous Lotka-Volterra n-species competitive systems with impulsive effects are studied. Some new criteria on the permanence, extinction and global attractivity of partial species are established by used the methods of inequalities estimate and Liapunov functions. As applications, nonautonomous two species Lotka-Volterra systems with impulses are discussed.     

Graphs whose critical groups have larger rank

The critical group C(G) of a graph G is a refinement of the number of spanning trees of the graph and is closely connected with the Laplacian matrix. Let r(G) be the minimum number of generators (i.e., the rank) of the group C(G) and β(G) be the number of independent cycles of G. In this paper, some forbidden induced subgraphs are given for r(G) = n − 3 and all graphs with r(G) = β(G) = n − 3 are characterized.