Mild and Highly Efficient Stereoselective Synthesis of 2,3‐Unsaturated Glycopyranosides using La(NO3)3 · 6H2O as a Catalyst: Ferrier Rearrangement

A mild and highly efficient stereoselective reaction of 3,4,6‐tri‐O‐acetyl‐d‐glucal with a variety of nucleophiles, viz. alcohols, phenols, thiols, thiophenols, and allyl trimethyl silane (TMS), in the presence of 5 mol% of lanthanum(III) nitrate hexahydrate under solvent‐free conditions yielded the corresponding 2,3‐unsaturated glycopyranosides (pseudoglycals) in excellent yields.     

Lanthanum Trifluoromethane-sulfonate‐Catalyzed Facile Synthesis of Per‐O‐acetylated Sugars and Their One‐Pot Conversion to S‐Aryl and O‐Alkyl/Aryl Glycosides†

Lanthanum trifluoromethanesulfonate‐catalyzed solvent‐free per‐O‐acetylation with stoichiometric acetic anhydride proceeds in high yield (95%–99%) to afford exclusively pyranose products as anomeric mixtures. Subsequent anomeric substitution employing borontrifluoride etherate and thiols or alcohols furnished the corresponding 1,2‐trans‐linked thioglycosides and O‐glycosides, respectively, in good to excellent overall yield (75%–85%). Alternatively, reaction of free sugars in neat alcohol employing the same catalyst at elevated temperature gives the corresponding 1,2‐cis‐linked O‐glycosides (along with 1,2‐trans‐linked glycosides as minor product) in good yield (73%–80%). Anomeric mixtures of compounds thus produced were characterized as their per‐O‐acetylated derivatives.      

Investigation of the doping efficiency of poly(styrene sulfonic acid) in poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrene sulfonic acid) dispersions by capillary electrophoresis

CE can efficiently separate poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT/PSS) complexes and free PSS in dispersions and can be used to estimate the degree of PSS doping. We investigated the doping efficiency of PSS on PEDOT in dispersions using CE and its effect on the conductivity of the resulting PEDOT/PSS films. Results of this study indicate that dispersions containing 1:2.5–3 EDOT:PSS feed ratio (by weight) exhibiting 72–73% PSS doping generate highly processable and highly conductive films. Conductivity can be optimized by limiting the time of reaction to 12 h. At this point of the reaction, the PEDOT/PSS segments, appearing as broad band in the electropherogram, could still exist in an extended coil conformation favoring charge transport resulting in high conductivity. Above a threshold PEDOT length formed at reaction times longer than 12 h, the PEDOT/PSS complex, appearing as spikes in the electropherogram, most likely have undergone a conformational change to coiled core‐shell structure restricting charge transport resulting in low conductivity. The optimal conductivity (5.2 S/cm) of films from dispersions synthesized for 12 h is significantly higher than those from its commercial equivalent Clevios P and other reported values obtained under similar conditions without the addition of codopants.     

(Yb3+, Mn2+) Co-doped CdTe nanocrystals with enhanced quantum yields and red-shift emission

We prepared the nanocrystals (NCs) of CdTe, CdTe:Yb, and CdTe:Yb, Mn vis water phase synthesis and examined their structural, morphological, and optical properties. All NCs have a particle diameter of about 2–4 nm, and the monodispersed, uniform spherical, cubic structure of the CdTe NC remains largely unchanged after the doping with Yb and Mn. According to the X-ray diffraction results, the CdTe, CdTe:Yb, and CdTe:Yb, Mn NCs all have a cubic structure, and the diffraction peak of CdTe:Yb NC is at a lower 2θ angle compared with that of the CdTe NC. With the CdTe NC as the reference, the UV–Vis absorption of the CdTe:Yb and the CdTe:Yb, Mn NCs exhibits a blueshift and a redshift, and the emission of CdTe:Yb and CdTe:Yb, Mn has a blueshift of about 12 nm and a redshift of about 73 nm, respectively. The CdTe:Yb, Mn NCs have higher quantum yields than the CdTe:Yb NC, and the quantum yield is the highest when CdTe is doped with 1:1 Mn²⁺/Yb³⁺. In addition, both the CdTe:Yb and CdTe:Yb, Mn NCs have a shorter fluorescence lifetime than the CdTe NC.     

Effective biosorption of arsenic from water using La(III) loaded carboxyl functionalized watermelon rind

Arsenic is highly toxic and carcinogenic element that mainly enters into our body through drinking water and caused adverse effect even at low concentration. A new type of cation exchanger is developed from waste biomass of watermelon rind after increasing the carboxyl functional groups by saponification. Saponified Watermelon Rind (SWR) was further loaded with La(III) to attenuate the contamination of As(III) from water. Characterization of biosorbent was performed using Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy, Field emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (Fe-SEM,) Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and zeta potential analysis. Arsenic speciation of sorption product through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis revealed that As(III) is partially converted into As(V) during biosorption process. The biosorption tests for As(III) were explored under different operating conditions. La(III)-SWR towards As(III) biosorption was best described by Langmuir biosorption isotherm and pseudo second order kinetic model. At a pH of 12.08, the optimum biosorption capacity was found to be 37.73 ± 0.12, 48.78 ± 0.09, 62.50 ± 0.11 mg/g, respectively at temperatures 298 K, 303 K and 308 K. The existance of chloride and nitrate showed negligible interference whereas sulphate and phosphate significantly inhibits As(III) biosorption. Thermodynamic study showed spontaneous and endothermic nature As(III) biosorption onto La(III)-SWR. The sorbed As(III) was eluted almost completely using 2 M NaOH. The findings of this study insinuated that La(III)-SWR biosorbent investigated in this study can be a low cost, environmentally benign and eco-friendly material for the treatment of aqueous solution polluted with arsenic ions.     

Electronic and magnetic behaviors of graphene with 5d series transition metal atom substitutions: A first-principles study

The electronic structures and magnetic behaviors of graphene with 5d series transition metal atom substitutions are investigated by performing first-principles calculations. All the impurities are tightly bonded to single vacancy in a graphene sheet. The substitutions of La and Ta lead to Fermi level shifting to valence and conduction band, respectively. Both the two substitutions result in metallic properties. Moreover, the Hf, Os and Pt-substituted systems exhibit semiconductor properties, while the Re and Ir-substituted ones exhibit robust half-metallic properties. Interestingly, W-substituted system shows dilute magnetic semiconductor property. On the other hand, the substitution of Ta, W, Re and Ir induce 0.86 μ_B, 2 μ_B, 1 μ_B and 0.99 μ_B magnetic moment, respectively. Our studies demonstrate that the 5d series transition metal substituted graphene have potential applications in nanoelectronics, spintronics and magnetic storage devices.     

Shocks and cold fronts in galaxy clusters

The currently operating X-ray imaging observatories provide us with an exquisitely detailed view of the Megaparsec-scale plasma atmospheres in nearby galaxy clusters. At z<0.05$z<0.05$, the Chandra  's 1^″$1^{″}$ angular resolution corresponds to linear resolution of less than a kiloparsec, which is smaller than some interesting linear scales in the intracluster plasma. This enables us to study the previously unseen hydrodynamic phenomena in clusters: classic bow shocks driven by the infalling subclusters, and the unanticipated “cold fronts,” or sharp contact discontinuities between regions of gas with different entropies. The ubiquitous cold fronts are found in mergers as well as around the central density peaks in “relaxed” clusters. They are caused by motion of cool, dense gas clouds in the ambient higher-entropy gas. These clouds are either remnants of the infalling subclusters, or the displaced gas from the cluster's own cool cores.     

纳米二硫化钼的掺杂及催化电解水产氢的研究进展

电催化水分解制氢是可以形成闭环的生产过程, 起始原料与副产物均为水、 过程清洁无污染, 是极具希望的产氢策略. 目前制约其发展的瓶颈之一是价格昂贵的Pt基贵金属催化剂. 为推动电催化分解水制氢的普及, 亟待开发低成本非贵金属催化剂. 在众多备选非贵金属催化材料中, 纳米层状结构二硫化钼(MoS₂)因催化效果可期、 价格低而获得了广泛关注. 然而, 通常条件下易于获得的层状结构2H相MoS₂大面积的基面部分显示惰性, 仅在片层边缘处存在少量活性位点, 且导电性较差, 因而尚不能替代Pt基催化剂, 而如何增加其活性位点数量和提高其导电性成为亟待解决的问题; 另一方面, 1T相MoS₂虽然活性高、 导电性好, 但却存在制备困难及稳定性差的问题. 鉴于此, 研究者通过对纳米MoS₂进行掺杂改性实现了其活性与稳定性的有效提升. 本文对非贵金属纳米MoS₂催化剂掺杂改性的方法、 机理及其电催化水解制氢性能的相关研究进行了总结与讨论. 作为典型的非贵金属电解水析氢催化剂, MoS₂具有巨大发展潜力, 本文能够对相关非贵金属催化剂的研发提供有益的参考.     

可控表面磷原子修饰提升超细W2C纳米颗粒电解水析氢反应性能

研究高活性和稳定性的非贵金属基析氢催化剂对解决当前能源危机和环境污染问题具有重要意义.碳化钨具有与贵金属Pt类似的d带电子结构,因而成为一类新兴的非贵金属析氢催化剂,受到广泛关注.磷掺杂是提高催化剂析氢活性的有效方法之一,然而目前最常见的构筑磷掺杂方法是使用多金属氧酸盐(POMs,如H3PW12O40),其固定的W/P原子比导致W2C中的掺杂浓度难以调控,并且磷掺杂主要是进入碳载体而不是碳化物本身,从而导致无法明确杂原子对其电催化析氢活性的贡献.本文采用植酸(PA)为磷源设计合成了可控磷掺杂W2C纳米颗粒,并探讨了催化剂组分、杂原子掺杂位置与析氢性能之间的关系.深入研究了磷掺杂碳化钨(WCP)的化学结构和析氢活性.与原始的W2C催化剂相比,WCP具有更高的本征活性、更快的电子转移速率和更多的活性位数量,并且在酸性和碱性条件下均表现出较好的析氢性能.特别是过电位为-200 mV时,WCP催化剂的本征活性在酸性和碱性条件下分别为0.07和0.56 H2 s-1,高出纯W2C(0.01和0.05 H2 S-1)数倍.同时,在电流密度为-10 mA cm-2时,优化后的WCP催化剂在酸性和碱性条件下的析氢过电位分别降低了96和88 mV.XPS及EDS元素分析结果表明,随磷源添加量增加,磷掺杂从碳化钨表面逐渐向内部扩散,进一步说明磷取代位置与析氢活性之间的构效关系,高浓度的表面磷取代可以加速质子捕获过程,从而显著提高其析氢活性,而过量的内部磷取代会破坏W2C结构,降低电子转移速率,从而导致析氢性能下降.利用密度泛函理论计算深入研究了WCP具有较好析氢性能的原因,与内部磷取代相比,表面磷取代会使碳化钨表现出更合适的氢吸附自由能,并且更加有效地降低了氢释放势垒,从而优化了析氢反应动力学.综上,本文为元素掺杂工艺提供了新的思路,同时研究了表面异质原子对析氢活性的关键作用,为该类催化材料的构效关系研究提供了新思路.     

Thickness effect on the band gap of magnetron sputtered Pb45Se45O10 thin films on Si

Oxygen doped PbSe thin films with different thickness were grown on the Si (100) substrates by magnetron sputtering, and characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and physical properties measurement system. As the film thickness increased, the intensity of the (200) PbSe prominent diffraction peak increased, while the (220) peak almost vanished, indicating the primary growth direction. The change rate between the light and dark resistance increased with the film thickness, and the maximum of 64.76% was obtained. According to the density functional theory calculations and the experimental results, the band gap of the PbSe thin films decreased from 0.278 eV to 0.21 eV when doped with oxygen. Doping with oxygen during the deposition process is a viable way to prepare PbSe thin films with a tunable band gap. The band gap increased almost linearly with the lattice constant, confirmed by the calculated and experimental results.