Atomistic Insight Into the Host–Guest Interaction of a Photoresponsive Metal–Organic Framework

Photoresponsive functional materials have gained increasing attention due to their externally tunable properties. Molecular switches embedded in these materials enable the control of phenomena at the atomic level by light. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) provide a versatile platform to immobilize these photoresponsive units within defined molecular environments to optimize the intended functionality. For the application of these photoresponsive MOFs (pho-MOFs), it is crucial to understand the influence of the switching state on the host–guest interaction. Therefore, we present a detailed insight into the impact of molecular switching on the intermolecular interactions. By performing atomistic simulations, we revealed that due to different interactions of the guest molecules with the two isomeric states of an azobenzene-functionalized MOF, both the adsorption sites and the orientation of the molecules within the pores are modulated. By shedding light on the host–guest interaction, our study highlights the unique potential of pho-MOFs to tailor molecular interaction by light.     

活性炭/有机质复合相变材料的热-电性能

用活性炭(AC)作为支撑材料,石蜡(PW)、十六酸(PA)和硬脂酸(SA)作为相变主材,通过熔融共混法制备AC/PW、AC/PA和AC/SA复合相变材料,并考察了其热-电性能。结果表明,添加活性炭时有机质均不会泄漏;复合材料充-放热过程中温度场分布都比较均匀,热循环会使材料导热性能略有下降;此外,三种复合材料的电阻率均随压力增加而减小。     

磷酸锂原位包覆富锂锰基锂离子电池正极材料

本工作通过“碳酸盐共沉淀-沉淀转化-固相反应”方法,实现磷酸锂原位包覆和改性富锂锰基锂离子电池正极材料Li_1.2Mn_0.54Co_0.13Ni_0.13O₂,研究了磷酸锂包覆层的形成过程及其对电化学性能的影响.结果显示,碳酸盐前驱体经沉淀转化反应原位形成磷酸镍包覆层,与锂源混合煅烧,最终转化为厚度小于30 nm的磷酸锂包覆层.该材料组装的半电池在125 mAh·g^-1电流密度下循环175圈后容量达191.1 mAh·g^-1,容量保持率为81.8%,平均每圈电压衰减仅为1.09 mV.磷酸锂包覆层缓解了材料表面与电解液之间的副反应,抑制了不可逆相变和过渡金属溶出,同时磷酸锂作为锂离子导体促进锂离子传输.本工作表明沉淀转化法原位包覆磷酸锂是提升富锂锰基正极材料性能的有效途径.     

pH Tuning of Water-Soluble Arylazopyrazole Photoswitches

Arylazopyrazoles are an emerging class of photoswitches with redshifted switching wavelength, high photostationary states, long thermal half-lives and facile synthetic access. Understanding pathways for a simple modulation of the thermal half-lives, while keeping other parameters of interest constant, is an important aspect for out-of-equilibrium systems design and applications. Here, it is demonstrated that the thermal half-life of a water-soluble PEG-tethered arylazo-bis(o-methylated)pyrazole (AAP) can be tuned by more than five orders of magnitude using simple pH adjustment, which is beyond the tunability of azobenzenes. The mechanism of thermal relaxation is investigated by thorough spectroscopic analyses and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Finally, the concepts of a tunable half-life are transferred from the molecular scale to the material scale. Based on the photochromic characteristics of E- and Z-AAP, transient information storage is showcased in form of light-written patterns inside films cast from different pH, which in turn leads to different times of storage. With respect to prospective precisely tunable materials and time-programmed out-of-equilibrium systems, an externally tunable half-life is likely advantageous over changing the entire system by the replacement of the photoswitch.     

Optically Triggered Control of the Charge Carrier Density in Chemically Functionalized Graphene Field Effect Transistors

Field effect transistors (FETs) based on 2D materials are of great interest for applications in ultrathin electronic and sensing devices. Here we demonstrate the possibility to add optical switchability to graphene FETs (GFET) by functionalizing the graphene channel with optically switchable azobenzene molecules. The azobenzene molecules were incorporated to the GFET channel by building a van der Waals heterostructure with a carbon nanomembrane (CNM), which is used as a molecular interposer to attach the azobenzene molecules. Under exposure with 365 nm and 455 nm light, azobenzene molecules transition between cis and trans molecular conformations, respectively, resulting in a switching of the molecular dipole moment. Thus, the effective electric field acting on the GFET channel is tuned by optical stimulation and the carrier density is modulated.     

香菇生物质基氮掺杂微孔碳材料的制备及其在超级电容器中的应用

采用简易浸泡法和一步碳化/活化法制备香菇生物质基氮掺杂微孔碳材料(NMCs),利用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、透射电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)和X射线光电子能谱(XPS)对材料的结构形貌进行表征,并研究了其超级电容特性。测试结果表明,NMCs的微孔比表面积高达1 594 m~2·g~(-1),且拥有更高数量的含氮官能团,其吡啶型含氮官能团比例也有所提高,展现出优异的超级电容特性。在0.5 A·g~(-1)的电流密度下,其比容量高达325 F·g~(-1),当电流密度上升到20 A·g~(-1)时,其比电容仍然高达180 F·g~(-1),表现出优异的倍率性能;同时,在5 A·g~(-1)的电流密度下,电极经历5 000次充放电循环后具有97.7%的比容量保持率,展现出优异的循环稳定性。这主要归因于NMCs超高的微孔比表面积和丰富的含氮官能团。     

三维复合材料CdS@DMSA-GO的原位合成及其光催化性能

通过在石墨烯中引入内消旋-2,3-二巯基琥珀酸(DMSA)构建三维立体结构,原位合成了CdS@DMSA-GO复合材料。实验表明,反应温度对所得材料的结构和性能具有重要的影响。CdS@DMSA-GO-100℃对罗丹明B和刚果红具有最佳的吸附和光催化降解性能,降解效率可达96%以上。自由基捕获实验表明,·O2在催化过程中是主要的活性氧物质。     

Water permeability in MXene membranes: Process matters

Recent studies have shown impressive transport behaviors of water and ions within lamellar MXene membranes,which endows great promise in developing advanced separation application based high performance MXene membranes.However,most of the researches focused on modification of MXene nanoflakes and optimizing interlayer distance,leaving the impact of membrane fabrication process marginal.In this work,we studied the water flux of membranes made by vacuum filtration using delaminated MXene nanoflakes as the building-blocks.Our results show that the water permeability is extremely sensitive to the process,especially at the drying process,loading and deposit rate of nanoflakes(the feeding concentration).We find that the voids from less ordered stack rather than in-plane defects and interlayer galleries contribute to the large water permeability.The voids can be effectively avoided via deposition of MXene nanoflakes at a slow rate.Manipulating the stack of MXene nanoflakes during vacuum filtration and drying are critical for development of MXene membranes with desired performance for water permeation.     

Viologen derivatives with extended π-conjugation structures: From supra-/molecular building blocks to organic porous materials

Recently, increasing attention has been paid on extending the π-conjugation structures of viologens (1,1′-disubstituted-4,4′-bipyridylium salts) by incorporating planar aromatic units into the bipyridinium backbones. Various viologen derivatives with extended π-conjugation structures have been synthesized, including the N-termini aromatic substituted viologens, the extended π-conjugated viologens (denoted as ECVs) as well as the π-conjugated oligomeric viologens (denoted as COVs). These compounds typically exhibit interesting properties distinguished from those of an isolated viologen unit, which make them as new class of electron deficient supra-/molecular building blocks in supramolecular chemistry and materials science. In this review, we would like to highlight the recent advances of viologen derivatives with extended π-conjugation structures in versatile applications ranging from electrochromic and energy storage materials, the ECV/COV-based supramolecular self-assembly systems including the linear supramolecular polymers and 2D/3D supramolecular organic frameworks (SOFs), to the viologen-based covalent organic frameworks (COFs)/networks. We hope this review will serve as an in-time summary worthy of referring, more importantly, to provide inspiration in the rational design of novel molecules with unexplored properties and functions.     

Solution-phase synthesis of ordered mesoporous carbon as resonant-gravimetric sensing material for room-temperature H_2S detection

H_2S can cause multiple diseases and poses a great threat to human health.However,the precise detection of extremely toxic H_2S at room temperature is still a great challenge.Here,a facile solvent evaporation induced aggregating assembly(EIAA) method has been applied for the production of ordered mesoporous carbon(OMCs) in an acidic THF/H_2 O solution with high-molecular-weight poly(ethylene oxide)-b-polystyrene(PEO-b-PS) copolymers as the structure-directing agent,formaldehyde and resorcinol as carbon precursors.Along with the continuous evaporation of THF from the mixed solution,cylindrical micelles are formed in the solution and further assemble into highly ordered mesostructure.The obtained OMCs possesses a two-dimensional(2 D) hexagonal mesostructure with uniform and large pore diameter(～19.2 nm),high surface area(599 m~2/g),and large pore volume(0.92 cm~3/g).When being used as the resonant cantilever gas sensor for room-temperature H_2S detection,the OMCs has delivered not only a superior gas sensing performance with ultrafast re s ponse(14 s) and recovery(21 s) even at low concentration(2 ppm) but also an excellent selectivity toward H_2S among various common interfering gases.Moreover,the limit of detection is better than 0.2 ppm,indicating its potential application in environmental monitoring and health protection.