Graphene oxide (GO) catalyzed transamidation of aliphatic amides: An efficient metal-free procedure

Transamidation involves direct interconversion of an amide with amine, and represents an alternative to the common method of amide formation from the reaction of carboxylic acid with an amine. While the carboxamides have huge potential in biological systems and polymer industries, their formation from carboxylic acids requires activation by a suitable catalyst. A metal-free transamidation of aliphatic amide with aromatic amine catalyzed by graphene oxide (GO) has been developed and established as a general, synthetically useful and selective procedure. Graphene oxide bearing several carboxylic acids on the edges and having large surface area acts as an efficient and recyclable catalyst for transamidation.     

Thermal properties enhancement of epoxy resins by incorporating polybenzimidazole nanofibers filled with graphene and carbon nanotubes as reinforcing material

Enhancement of thermal properties of epoxy resins was achieved by incorporation of polybenzimidazole (PBI) fibermats filled with carbon nanomaterials, prepared by the solution electrospinning technique. Different type of carbon nanostructures (carbon nanotubes, graphite flakes, graphene nanoplatelets and carbon black) were compared as fillers in polybenzimidazole fibers. The carbon-PBI-fibermats showed remarkable thermal transport properties and therefore, they were studied as thermal reinforcement material for epoxy composites. Mechanical and thermal properties of produced composites were evaluated and the effectiveness of different types of carbon fillers examined. Results showed that the produced carbon filled fibermats can be used effectively as a thermal reinforcing material in epoxy resins, offering several advantages.     

Aptamer functionalized magnetic graphene oxide nanocomposites for highly selective capture of histones

The binding coverage of aptamer was an important restricted factor for aptamer‐based affinity enrichment strategy for capturing target molecules. Herein, we designed and prepared aptamer functionalized graphene oxide based nanocomposites (GO/NH₂‐NTA/Fe₃O₄/PEI/Au), and the coverage density of aptamer was high to 33.1 nmol/mg. The high aptamer coverage density was contributed to the large surface area of graphene oxide. The successive modification of Nα,Nα‐Bis(carboxymethyl)‐L‐lysine, magnetic nanoparticles, polyethylenimine, and Au nanoparticles ensured the histone purification with fast speed and high purity. Histones could be captured rapidly and specifically from nucleoproteins by our aptamer based purification strategy, while traditional acid‐extraction could not specifically enrich histones. Compared with traditional acid‐extraction method, rapid and efficient discovery of histones and their post‐translational modifications, such as several kinds of methylation at H3.1K9 and H3.1K27, were achieved confidently. It demonstrated that our aptamer functionalized magnetic graphene oxide nanocomposites have a great potential for histone analysis.     

Label-Free Fluorescent Aptasensor Based on a Graphene Oxide Self-Assembled Probe for the Determination of Adenosine Triphosphate

A sensitive and selective fluorescent aptasensor for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) was fabricated, composed of unbound SYBR Green I, graphene oxide, and a label-free detection probe. When ATP and complementary DNA of a signal probe were introduced, π-stacking interactions repelled the probe from the graphene oxide and formed a DNA-SYBR Green I duplex structure, triggering an increase in the fluorescence. ATP was determined over a linear range of 10 to 700 nM with a detection limit of 1 nM. The method displayed good selectivity, and is currently the most sensitive ATP fluorescence method. Furthermore, prominent fluorescence signals were also obtained in cellular assays. Consequently, the biosensor may have significant applications in protein, pathogenic microorganisms, and small molecule detection.     

Mechanically Strong Janus Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/Graphene Oxide Hydrogels as Thermo-responsive Soft Robots

Simple preparation of stimuli-responsive hydrogels with good mechanical properties and mild stimuliresponsiveness is essential for their applications as smart soft robots.Mechanically strong Janus poly(Nisopropylacrylamide)/graphene oxide (PNIPAM/GO) nanocomposite hydrogels with stimuli-responsive bending behaviors are prepared through a simple one-step method by using molds made of a Teflon plate and a glass plate.Residual oxygen in the air bubbles on the Teflon plate surface affects the polymerization and hence the cross-linking density,leading to the different swelling/deswelling rates of the two sides of the gels.Therefore,the hydrogels exhibit bending/unbending behaviors upon heating/cooling in water.The incorporation of GO nanosheets dramatically enhances the mechanical properties of Janus hydrogels.Meanwhile,the photo-responsive property of the GO nanosheets also imparts the hydrogels with remotecontrollable deformation under IR irradiation.The application of the Janus PNIPAM/GO hydrogels as thermo-responsive grippers is demonstrated.     

Plasmonic biosensing based on non-noble-metal materials

This review focuses on the research progress of non-noble-metal materials with nanostructures for plasmonic biosensing. Firstly, the physical and sensing principles of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensors are briefly introduced; then non-noble-metal materials, such as copper, aluminum, semiconductor, graphene and other materials, for plasmonic sensing are categorized and presented. Finally, a rational discussion about the future prospective of novel materials for plasmonic sensing is given.     

Enrichment of neonicotinoid insecticides from lemon juice sample with magnetic three‐dimensional graphene as the adsorbent followed by determination with high‐performance liquid chromatography

A novel 3D‐graphene (3D‐G) magnetic nanomaterial was prepared and used as an adsorbent for the extraction of four neonicotinoid insecticides (acetamiprid, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, and thiamethoxam) from lemon juice sample. Then, HPLC with UV detection was applied for the determination of the neonicotinoid insecticides desorbed from the 3D‐G magnetic nanomaterial. The main experimental parameters that affect the extraction efficiencies such as the amount of 3D‐G magnetic nanomaterial, sample solution pH, extraction time, salting‐out effect, and desorption conditions were studied and optimized. As a result, the linear concentration range of the method was from 0.3 to 100.0 ng/mL for thiacloprid, from 0.5 to 100.0 ng/mL for imidacloprid and acetamiprid, and from 1.0 to 100.0 ng/mL for thiamethoxam, with correlation coefficients of 0.9965–0.9985, respectively. The LODs of the method based on an S/N of 3 were between 0.08 and 0.2 ng/mL. The enrichment factors obtained were between 67 and 427, and the RSDs (n = 6) were in the range from 4.6 to 7.1%, and the recoveries of the method fell in the range of 88.75 to 111.60%.     

Optimization of Electrical Conductivity of SA-graphene Nanocomposites Using Response Surface Methodology

Synthesis and characterization of 4-{(E)-[(5-bromo-2-hydroxyphenyl)methylidene]amino}-N-carbamimidoylbenzene-1-sulfonamide(SA) and its composites with graphene(SA-GF) were performed. Compound SA and SA-GF were characterized by FTIR and ¹H NMR. The GF dispersion in the composites was analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy(SEM) for morphology. Thermal properties of SA and nanocomposites were investigated using differential thermal analysis(DTA) and thermogravimetric analysis(TGA). The optimum electrical conductivity of the new sulfonamide-based Schiff base was determined to be 1.78×10^–5 S/cm at a frequency of 9923 Hz, an applied voltage of –19 V, a mass fraction of 9.38% for graphene loading using a central composite design in the response surface methodology. The significance of the selected parameters(frequency, voltage and GF amount) in the model was determined by the analysis of variance(ANOVA). The results showed that frequency and graphene loading represent important model terms and have considerable effects on the conductivity of SA.     

基于柠檬酸的石墨烯量子点的制备及其应用

石墨烯量子点（GQDs）是一种新型碳基准零维材料,不但具有石墨烯的独特平面结构,同时具备碳点的量子限制效应和边界效应。GQDs具有独特的光学性质、低毒性、高荧光稳定性和高生物相容性,被广泛应用于检测、传感、催化、细胞成像、药物递送和污染治理等领域。GQDs的合成分为自上而下法和自下而上法,前者将大尺寸的石墨烯、石墨、碳材料切割成纳米级的量子点,后者使用不同的前驱体,通过水热法、热裂解法等方法合成石墨烯量子点。柠檬酸（CA）是一种重要的有机酸,室温下是白色结晶状粉末,是自下而上法合成GQDs的一种常用前驱体,近年来有许多关于以CA为前驱体合成不同GQDs的研究,以CA为前驱体合成的GQDs（CA-GQDs）在生物医药、荧光检测、成像等领域均有应用,具有较好的应用前景。对近年来基于CA的合成方法和具体应用进行了总结和回顾,旨在将现有CA-GQDs的相关成果尽可能汇总和展现,以对相关领域研究工作者提供一定参考,并对未来CA-GQDs较有前景的研究方向进行了展望。     

石墨烯嵌锂的拉曼成像

锂离子电池由于具有高能量密度,高循环寿命,低自放电率的优势,成为当前使用最为广泛的储能器件。层状材料是极为常用的负极材料,其微观嵌锂行为的研究对提高电池的能量密度和循环寿命有重要意义。本工作发展了一种新的平板微电池结构,可用于研究锂离子在各类二维层状纳米材料中的嵌锂行为。我们用机械剥离的单片少层石墨烯为正极,热蒸镀的锂金属为负极,构成石墨烯电池,用恒电压放电的方法进行嵌锂测试。采用拉曼成像技术收集石墨烯G峰信号的空间分布,实现对锂的嵌入过程的显微观测。发现了锂在石墨烯中沿层间扩散迁移,以及石墨烯断层对锂扩散的阻碍作用。这些结果有助于理解放电时锂在石墨烯电极中扩散过程,并且这项研究开发的平板微电池结构可用于多种材料的电化学过程中的微观过程表征,同时可实现与光学、电学、电子显微学等多种表征手段的兼容,具有较好的应用前景。