Engineering the Mesopores of Fe3O4@Mesosilica Core–Shell Nanospheres through a Solvothermal Post‐Treatment Method

A solvothermal post‐treatment method was developed to synthesize Fe₃O₄@mesosilica core–shell nanospheres (CSNs) with a well‐preserved morphology, mesoporous structure, and tunable large pore diameters (2.5–17.6 nm) for the first time. N,N‐Dimethylhexadecylamine (DMHA), which was generated in situ during the heat‐treatment process, was mainly responsible for this pore‐size enlargement, as characterized by NMR spectroscopy. This pore‐size expansion can be strengthened with the aid of hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS), whilst the nature of the surface of the Fe₃O₄@mesosilica CSNs can be easily modified with trimethylsilyl groups during the pore‐size‐expansion process. The hydrophobicity of the Fe₃O₄@mesosilica CSNs increased for the enlarged mesopores and the adsorption capacity of these CSNs for benzene (up to 1.5 g g^?1) is the highest ever reported for Fe₃O₄@mesosilica CSNs. The resultant Fe₃O₄@mesosilica CSNs (pore size: 10 nm) showed a 3.6‐times higher adsorption capacity of lysozyme than those without the pore expansion (pore size: 2.5 nm), thus making them a good candidate for loading large molecules.     

Two Lanthanide(III)?Copper(II) Organic Frameworks Based on {OLn6} Clusters that Exhibited a Large Magnetocaloric Effect and Slow Relaxation of the Magnetization

Two new 3D lanthanide(III)? copper(II) organic frameworks based on unusual {OLn₆} clusters have been successfully synthesized and fully characterized. Crystallographic studies showed that the {OLn₆} clusters acted as 12‐connected nodes that were linked together by [CuL₂] (H₂L=3‐hydroxypyrazine‐2‐carboxylic acid) moieties to construct an interesting 4,12‐c net with the point symbol {4³⁶.6³⁰}{4⁴.6²}₃. Magnetic studies revealed that these two isostructural heterometallic frameworks exhibited different magnetic properties, depending on the different anisotropies of the lanthanide spin carriers: Gd‐Cu showed a large magnetocaloric effect, with an entropy change (?ΔS_m) of 35.76 J kg^?1 K^?1, which is one of the largest values in high‐dimensional complexes, whilst Dy‐Cu exhibited slow relaxation of the magnetization at low temperatures.     

Trigonal‐Bipyramidal and Square‐Pyramidal Chromium?Manganese Chalcogenide Clusters, [E2CrMn2(CO)n]2− (E=S,Se, Te; n=9, 10): Synthesis,Electrochemistry, UV/Vis Absorption,and Computational Studies

The reactions of E powder (E=S, Se) with a mixture of Cr(CO)₆ and Mn₂(CO)₁₀ in concentrated solutions of KOH/MeOH produced two new mixed Cr? Mn? carbonyl clusters, [E₂CrMn₂(CO)₉]^2? (E=S, 1 ; Se, 2 ). Clusters 1 and 2 were isostructural with one another and each displayed a trigonal‐bipyramidal structure, with the CrMn₂ triangle axially capped by two μ₃‐E atoms. The analogous telluride cluster, [Te₂CrMn₂(CO)₉]^2? ( 3 ), was obtained from the ring‐closure of Te₂Mn₂ ring complex [Te₂Mn₂Cr₂(CO)₁₈]^2? ( 4 ). Upon bubbling with CO, clusters 2 and 3 were readily converted into square‐pyramidal clusters, [E₂CrMn₂(CO)₁₀]^2? (E=Se, 5 ; Te, 6 ), accompanied with the cleavage of one Cr? Mn bond. According to SQUID analysis, cluster 6 was paramagnetic, with S=1 at room temperature; however, the Se analogue ( 5 ) was spectroscopically proposed to be diamagnetic, as verified by TD‐DFT calculations. Cluster 6 could be further carbonylated, with cleavage of the Mn? Mn bond to produce a new arachno‐cluster, [Te₂CrMn₂(CO)₁₁]^2? ( 7 ). The formation and structural isomers, as well as electrochemistry and UV/Vis absorption, of these clusters were also elucidated by DFT calculations.     

Stacking‐Induced Diamagnetic/Paramagnetic Conversion of Imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridin‐2(3 H)‐one Derivatives: Near‐Infrared Absorption and Magnetic Properties in the Solid State

Herein, we present three imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridin‐2(3 H)‐one derivatives that are diamagnetic in solution, but paramagnetic in the solid state, possibly owing to a stacking‐induced formation of phenoxide‐type radicals. Notably, a larger bathochromic shift of the absorption (even up to the near‐ infrared region) of these three compounds was observed in the solid state than in solution, which was attributable to the ordered columnar stacking arrangements or their single‐electron character as radicals in the solid state. Interestingly, compared to that in solution, (E)‐3‐(pyridin‐4′‐ylmethylene)imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine 2(3 H)‐one displayed a largely red‐shifted emission (centered at 660 nm, with tailing above 800 nm) in the solid state. A larger bathochromic shift (260 nm) of the emission is an indication of better order and tight stacking in the solid state, which is brought about by the rigid and polar acceptor. These three compounds also reveal different magnetic susceptibilities at 300 K, thus implying that they possess various columnar stacking structures. Most interestingly, these three radicals exhibit unusual ferromagnetic‐to‐antiferromagnetic phase transitions, which can be attributed to anisotropic contraction and non‐uniform slippage of the columnar stacking chains.     

Graphene‐Based Composite with γ‐Fe2O3 Nanoparticle for the High‐Performance Removal of Endocrine‐Disrupting Compounds from Water

Graphene is a 2D sp²‐hybridized carbon sheet and an ideal material for the adsorption‐based separation of organic pollutants. However, such potential applications of graphene are largely limited, owing to their poor solubility and extensive aggregation properties through graphene? graphene interactions. Herein, we report the synthesis of graphene‐based composites with γ‐Fe₂O₃ nanoparticle for the high‐performance removal of endocrine‐disrupting compounds (EDC) from water. The γ‐Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles partially inhibit these graphene? graphene interactions and offer water dispersibility of the composite without compromising much of the high surface area of graphene. In their dispersed form, the graphene component offers the efficient adsorption of EDC, whilst the magnetic iron‐oxide component offers easier magnetic separation of adsorbed EDC.     

Natural deep eutectic solvents as new potential media for green technology

Developing new green solvents is one of the key subjects in Green Chemistry. Ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents, thus, have been paid great attention to replace current harsh organic solvents and have been applied to many chemical processing such as extraction and synthesis. However, current ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents have still limitations to be applied to a real chemical industry due to toxicity against human and environment and high cost of ILs and solid state of most deep eutectic solvents at room temperature. Recently we discovered that many plant abundant primary metabolites changed their state from solid to liquid when they were mixed in proper ratio. This finding made us hypothesize that natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) play a role as alternative media to water in living organisms and tested a wide range of natural products, which resulted in discovery of over 100 NADES from nature. In order to prove deep eutectic feature the interaction between the molecules was investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. All the tested NADES show clear hydrogen bonding between components. As next step physical properties of NADES such as water activity, density, viscosity, polarity and thermal properties were measured as well as the effect of water on the physical properties. In the last stage the novel NADES were applied to the solubilization of wide range of biomolecules such as non-water soluble bioactive natural products, gluten, starch, and DNA. In most cases the solubility of the biomolecules evaluated in this study was greatly higher than water. Based on the results the novel NADES may be expected as potential green solvents at room temperature in diverse fields of chemistry.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Iron Nanowires

The iron nanowires can be fabricated via the process in which sodium borohydride reduces iron salts in external magnetic field. The iron nanowires are found to be covered by passivated layers of iron oxide which prevent the oxidation of iron nanowires. In this process, the boron will include in iron nanowires. The average length and diameter of iron nanowires is around 1.2 micrometers and 60 nanometers, respectively. According to ICP results, the contents of B and Fe are about 1.98 wt% and 87.04 wt%, respectively, in iron nanowires. A wide variety of equipment is used to investigate the morphological, microchemical, and structural characteristics of the newly synthesized iron nanowires ––– e.g., XRD, FE‐SEM, HR‐TEM, VSM and XANES. XANES analysis indicates the boron in iron nanowires exists in the form of B₂O₃. The saturation magnetization and the coercive force of iron nanowires are 157.93 emu/g and 9.74 Oe, respectively. In‐situ images of synthesized iron nanowires during reduction process in magnetic field are observed by NSRRC transmission X‐ray microscope. Thus, this study develop a novel process to produce iron nanowires with large quantitates and can control its length and diameter by various the concentration of precursors for various applications.     

Synthesis,Characterization and Properties of a Novel Environmentally Friendly Mono Azo Disperse Dye and Its Application on Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)

The aim of this research is to achieve the synthesis of a novel mono azo disperse dye containing both a β‐naphthyl acetate group and carboxylic acid ester group and application on PET fabric. In this study the dyeing properties have also been investigated. The synthesized dye was characterized using UV‐Vis, FTIR, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopic techniques. To investigate alkali‐clearability, both alkali‐hydrolysis behavior and the effect of its fastness properties with regard to PET fabric were examined. This dye showed a reasonable level of hydrolysis under relatively mild alkaline conditions. The application of the dye to PET fabric showed good leveling and building up properties. Estimating fastness properties of the dyed fabric showed excellent wash, rubbing fastness, good light and sublimation fastness. The results furthermore displayed that the synthesized dye offers the option of alkali‐clearing process over that of a conventional reduction‐clearing process. Therefore, the value of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and water pollution as well as the expenditure of production were decreased.     

Tailoring the morphology and properties of waterborne polyurethanes by the procedure of cellulose nanocrystal incorporation

Polyurethane waterborne synthesis was performed using a two-step method, commonly referred to as a prepolymer method. Nanocomposites based on waterborne polyurethane and cellulose nanocrystals were prepared by the prepolymer method by altering the mode and step in which the nanofillers were incorporated during the polyurethane formation. The morphology, structural, thermal, and mechanical properties of the resulting nanocomposite films were evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and tensile tests. FTIR results indicated that the degree of interaction between the nanofillers and the WPU through hydrogen bonds could be controlled by the method of cellulose nanocrystal incorporation. Data obtained from SAXS experiments showed that the cellulose nanocrystals as well as the step of the reaction in which they are added influenced the morphology of the polyurethane. The reinforcing effect of CNCs on the nanocomposites depends on their morphology.     

Thermo-mechanical behavior of electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane nanofibers

Analysis of the thermo-mechanical behavior of electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) block co-polymer nanofibers (glass transition temperature ∼−50 °C) is presented. Upon heating, nanofibers began to massively contract, at ∼70 °C, whereas TPU cast films started to expand. Radial wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) profiles of the nanofibers and the films showed no diffraction peaks related to crystals, whereas their amorphous halo had an asymmetric shape, which can be approximated by two components, associated with hard and soft segments. During heating, noticeable changes in the contribution of these components were only observed in nanofibers. These changes, which were accompanied with an endothermic DSC peak, coinciding with the start of the nanofibers contraction, can be attributed to relaxation of an oriented stretched amorphous phase created during electrospinning. Such structure relaxation becomes possible when a portion of the hard segment clusters, forming an effective physical network, is destroyed upon heating.