Comparative Study of Surface Functionalization of Hydroxyapatite by One‐pot Grafting of Organophosphonates Species

The ability to graft apatite surface by specific ligand fields creates powerful new technology applications. Thus, grafted organophosphonate can provide an effective route to modify the surface properties of apatite materials. The ability to decorate the apatite surface with the desired functionality requires covalent attachment to solid interface; most commonly achieved using organophosphonate self‐assembly. The current study shows that various phosphonates can react with calcium ions and control the formation of the porous apatite with high surface areas as well as the porosity. The structural and surface properties are given some importance in this review.     

Microengineered PEG Hydrogels: 3D Scaffolds for Guided Cell Growth

Designing three‐dimensional (3D) scaffolds for selective manipulation of cell growth is of high relevance for applications in regenerative medicine. Especially, scaffolds with oriented morphologies bear high potential to guide the restoration of specific tissues. The fabrication of hydrogel scaffolds that support long‐term survival, proliferation, and unidirectional growth of embedded cells is presented here. Parallel channel structures are introduced into the bulk hydrogels by uniaxial freezing, providing stable, and uniform porosity suitable for cell invasion (pore diameters of 5–15 µm). In vitro assessment of the scaffolds with murine fibroblasts (NIH L929) shows a remarkable unidirectional movement along the channels, with the cells traveling several millimeters through the hydrogel.

     

亚稳碘化汞(β-HgI2M)晶体生长与相变

采用溶液法,以α-HgI₂为原料,在DMSO和H₂O混合溶剂中生长了β-HgI₂^M晶体。通过XRD检测了晶体的结构特征,利用偏光显微镜研究了晶体生长的动态过程及β-HgI₂^M→α-HgI₂的相变过程。研究表明,生长的晶体为β-HgI₂^M,空间结构为Cmc2₁;晶体生长界面夹角为65.02°,与β-HgI₂^M单胞中(110)和(110)夹角(65.16°)吻合;β-HgI₂^M→α-HgI₂相变为结构重构的一级相变。     

自旋转换-氧化石墨烯纳米复合材料的制备及磁性

利用氧化石墨烯（GO）表面具有丰富含氧基团的特点,采用原位生长法将经典的亚铁三氮唑自旋转换（SCO）配位聚合物[Fe（Htrz）₂（trz）]（BF₄）负载到二维材料GO的表面。利用X射线粉末衍射（PXRD）、红外光谱（FTIR）、SEM、TEM、拉曼等手段对自旋转换-氧化石墨烯（SCO-GO）纳米复合材料进行了表征。通过光谱表征发现,复合材料的FTIR和PXRD特征峰为GO和[Fe（Htrz）₂（trz）]（BF₄）特征峰的叠加,初步证明了自旋转换-氧化石墨烯纳米复合材料已成功制备。SEM和TEM分析直观地显示立方体状的[Fe（Htrz）₂（trz）]（BF₄）纳米颗粒均匀地分散在氧化石墨烯表面,且随着原位生长时间的增加,GO表面的[Fe（Htrz）₂（trz）]（BF₄）的负载量增加、尺寸增大。拉曼图谱表明[Fe（Htrz）₂（trz）]（BF₄）负载到GO表面后,氧化石墨烯特征拉曼峰的强度比（ID/IG）增大,说明氧化石墨烯的缺陷密集程度增大,[Fe（Htrz）₂（trz）]（BF₄）纳米颗粒与石墨烯之间的作用力增强。磁性测试表明不同自组装时间（1、6、12 h）的SCO-GO复合材料的T_1/2↑分别为381.1、381.5和382.4 K,T_1/2↓分别为345.9、345.0和344.8 K,其磁滞回线宽度分别为35.2、36.5和37.6 K,这是由于不同自组装时间的SCO-GO复合材料中[Fe（Htrz）2（trz）]（BF4）的负载量和尺寸的差异导致的。DSC分析结果和磁性结果一致,证实了SCO-GO复合材料自旋转变温度向高温区移动。     

Heterogeneous polycondensation for composition control of poly(p‐mercaptobenzoyl‐co‐p‐benzamide) by shearing

Composition control of aromatic poly(thioester‐amide) was examined by the reaction‐induced phase separation during polymerization of S‐acetyl‐4‐mercaptobenzoic acid (AMBA) and p‐acetylaminobenzoic acid (AABA) in aromatic solvent. The poly(thioester‐amide)s were obtained as precipitates and their yields became lower at the middle range of the content of AMBA in feed (χ_f). The contents of p‐mercaptobenzoyl (MB) moiety (χ_p) in the precipitates prepared without shearing were in good agreement with the χ_f values. In contrast to this, the χ_p values of the precipitates prepared at χ_f of 50–70 mol % under shearing were much lower than the χ_f values. The reaction rate of AMBA increased with shearing, whereas that of AABA was unchanged by shearing. This shearing effect on the reaction rates accelerated to form the homo‐oligomers. The solubility of MB oligomers enhanced by shearing, whereas that of p‐benzamide oligomers did not enhance owing to the strong interaction through hydrogen bonding. The MB oligomers were inhibited to be precipitated, resulting in the lower χ_p values than the χ_f values. The composition could be controlled by the application of the shearing to the heterogeneous polymerization. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 4301–4308     

Novel monofunctionalized electron-deficient anthraquinone-based discotic liquid crystals

A series of electron-deficient 1-hydroxy-2,3,5,6,7-pentaalkoxyanthra-9,10-quinones has been synthesized. All nine members of the series were found to be liquid crystalline, forming columnar mesophases over a broad temperature range. Such supramolecular building blocks can be used for the preparation of novel discotic dimers, oligomers, polymers and metallomesogens.     

Evidence for the Chain‐Growth Synthesis of Statistical π‐Conjugated Donor–Acceptor Copolymers

The synthesis of a series of dithienosilole–benzotriazole donor–acceptor statistical copolymers with various donor–acceptor ratios is reported, prepared by Kumada catalyst‐transfer polymerization. Statistical copolymer structure is verified by ¹H NMR and optical absorption spectroscopy, and supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The copolymers exhibit a single optical absorption band that lies between dithienosilole and benzotriazole homopolymers, which shifts with varying donor–acceptor content. A chain extension experiment using a partially consumed benzotriazole solution as a macroinitiator followed by addition of dithienosilole leads to the synthesis of a statistical dithienosilole–benzotriazole block copolymer from a pure benzotriazole block, demonstrating that both chain extension and simultaneous monomer incorporation are possible using this methodology.

     

Synthesis and Characterization of Titanium-doped Ordered Mesoporous Alumina

Titanium-doped ordered mesoporous alumina with specific structural properties has been prepared by the evaporation induced self-assembly sol-gel method. The results show that the doped titanium helps to stabilize the ordered mesoporous alumina material without influencing the ordered mesoporosity. The textural properties of the obtained sample are related to the amount of doped titanium. When the molar ratio of aluminum to titanium(n(Al)/n(Ti)) is controlled as 10.2, the titanium-doped ordered mesoporous alumina exhibits high surface area(up to 218 m2 g-1), large pore volume(0.42 cm3 g-1) and narrow pore diameter(6.1 nm) after treating at 900 ℃, showing high thermal stability. Moreover, the obtained sample calcined at 900 ℃ still maintains ordered mesoporous structure and exhibits high thermal stability.     

Monitoring the Transition from Spherical to Polymer‐like Surfactant Micelles Using Small‐Angle X‐Ray Scattering

Despite over a century of modern surfactant science, the kinetic pathways of morphological transitions in micellar systems are still not well understood. This is mainly as a result of the lack of sufficiently fast methods that can capture the structural changes of such transitions. Herein, a simple surfactant system consisting of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in aqueous NaCl solutions is investigated. Combining synchrotron radiation small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) with fast stopped‐flow mixing schemes allows monitoring the process where polymer‐like micelles are formed from globular micelles when the salt concentration is suddenly increased. The results show that “worm‐like” micelles are formed by fusion of globular micelles and short cylinders in a fashion that bears similarities to a step‐like polymerization process.     

AgI Microplate Monocrystals with Polar {0001} Facets: Spontaneous Photocarrier Separation and Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

Elucidating the facet‐dependent photocatalytic activity of semiconductor photocatalysts is important in improving the overall efficiency of photocatalysis. Furthermore, combining facet control with selective deposition of oxidation and/or reduction cocatalysts on specific faces of semiconductor photocatalysts is potentially an effective strategy to synergistically optimize the functionality of photocatalysts. In the present study, high‐purity wurtzite‐type β‐AgI platelet microcrystals with polar {0001} facets were prepared by a facile polyvinylpyrrolidone‐assisted precipitation reaction. The polar‐faceted AgI microplates were used as archetypes to demonstrate preferential diametric migration (i.e., effective separation) of photogenerated electrons and holes along the c axis. Such vectorial electron–hole separation stems from the asymmetric surface structures, which give rise to distinct photoexcited reaction behaviors on the ±(0001) polar facets of wurtzite‐type semiconductors. Furthermore, on selective deposition of Ag and MnO_x (1.5<x<2) cocatalysts on the reductive (0001) and oxidative (000$\bar 1$ ) facets, respectively, photocatalytic activity of the AgI microplates in degrading organic pollutants was dramatically enhanced thanks to the broad light‐absorption range, strong dye‐adsorption ability, and effective spatial separation of photocarriers.