Synthesis and properties of 1,3,5-benzene periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO): novel aromatic PMO with three point attachments and unique thermal transformations

A new aromatic periodic mesoporous organosilica material containing benzene functional groups that are symmetrically integrated with three silicon atoms in an organosilica mesoporous framework is reported. The material has a high surface area, well-ordered mesoporous structure and thermally stable framework aromatic groups. The functional aromatic moieties were observed to undergo sequential thermal transformation from a three to two and then to a one point attachment within the framework upon continuous thermolysis under air before eventually being converted to periodic mesoporous silica devoid of aromatic groups at high temperatures and longer pyrolysis times. The mesoporosity of the material was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and nitrogen porosimetry, whereas the presence and transformation of the aromatic groups in the walls of the materials were characterized by solid-state NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and thermogravimetric analysis. The attachment of a benzene ring symmetrically onto three siloxanes of the framework was used advantageously as a cross-linker to enhance the thermal stability of the organic group. Some of these properties are investigated in comparison with other aromatic PMOs that have only two point attachments and an amorphous phenylsilica gel that has only one point attachment. The successful synthesis of the first aromatic PMO with its organic group attached within the framework through more than two points is an important step toward the synthesis of PMOs having organic groups with more complex and multiple attachments within the framework.     

Metamorphosis of ordered mesopores to micropores: periodic silica with unprecedented loading of pendant reactive organic groups transforms to periodic microporous silica with tailorable pore size

Ordered porous silicas with unprecedented loadings of pendant vinyl groups have been synthesized via co-condensation of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and triethoxyvinylsilane (TEVS) under basic conditions in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium surfactant. The resulting organosilicate-surfactant composites exhibited at least one low-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) peak up to the TEVS:TEOS molar ratio of 7:3 (70% TEVS loading) in the synthesis gel. The surfactant was removed from these composites without any structural collapse. Nitrogen adsorption provided strong evidence of the presence of uniformly sized pores and the lack of phase separation up to TEVS:TEOS ratios as high as 13:7 (65% TEVS loading), whereas (29)Si MAS NMR and high-resolution thermogravimetry showed essentially quantitative incorporation of the organosilane. Thus, a hitherto unachieved loading level for pendant groups, considered by many to be impossible to achieve for stable organosilicas because of the expected framework connectivity constraints, has been obtained. The resulting vinyl-functionalized silicas exhibited gradually decreasing pore diameter (from 2.8 to 1.7 nm for TEVS loadings of 25-65%) and pore volume as the loading of pendant groups increased, but the specific surface area was relatively constant. Because of the reactivity of vinyl groups, ordered silicas with very high loadings of these groups are expected to be robust starting materials for the synthesis of other organic-functionalized ordered microporous materials. Herein, we demonstrate that these starting materials can also be transformed via calcination into ordered microporous silicas with pore diameters tailorable from 2.5 to as little as 1.4 nm simply by using an appropriate loading of the vinyl-functionalized precursor. This ease of the micropore size adjustment and the attained degree of structural ordering (as judged from XRD) have not been reported before. The novel ordered microporous materials reported herein are promising as adsorbents and catalyst supports.     

A Blinking Mesoporous TiO2−x Composed of Nanosized Anatase with Unusually Long‐Lived Trapped Charge Carriers

A mesoporous TiO_2?x material comprised of small, crystalline, vacancy‐rich anatase nanoparticles (NPs) shows unique optical, thermal, and electronic properties. It is synthesized using polymer‐derived mesoporous carbon (PDMC) as a template. The PDMC pores serve as physical barriers during the condensation and pyrolysis of a titania precursor, preventing the titania NPs from growing beyond 10 nm in size. Unlike most titania nanomaterials, during pyrolysis the NPs undergo no transition from the anatase to rutile phase and they become catalytically active reduced TiO_2?x. When exposed to a slow electron beam, the NPs exhibit a charge/discharge behavior, lighting up and fading away for an average period of 15 s for an extended period of time. The NPs also show a 50 nm red‐shift in their UV/Vis absorption and long‐lived charge carriers (electrons and holes) at room temperature in the dark, even long after UV irradiation. The NPs as photocatalysts show a good activity for CO₂ reduction.     

Cobalt‐Embedded Nitrogen‐Rich Carbon Nanotubes Efficiently Catalyze Hydrogen Evolution Reaction at All pH Values

Despite being technically possible, splitting water to generate hydrogen is still practically unfeasible due mainly to the lack of sustainable and efficient catalysts for the half reactions involved. Herein we report the synthesis of cobalt‐embedded nitrogen‐rich carbon nanotubes (NRCNTs) that 1) can efficiently electrocatalyze the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with activities close to that of Pt and 2) function well under acidic, neutral or basic media alike, allowing them to be coupled with the best available oxygen‐evolving catalysts—which also play crucial roles in the overall water‐splitting reaction. The materials are synthesized by a simple, easily scalable synthetic route involving thermal treatment of Co²⁺‐embedded graphitic carbon nitride derived from inexpensive starting materials (dicyandiamide and CoCl₂). The materials’ efficient catalytic activity is mainly attributed to their nitrogen dopants and concomitant structural defects.     

Gorenstein-Projective Modules over Morita Rings

Let △(φ,ψ) =(A BMA ANBB) be a Morita ring which is an Artin algebra.In this paper we investigate the relations between the Gorenstein-projective modules over a Morita ring △(φ,ψ) and the algebras A and B.We prove that if △(φ,ψ) is a Gorenstein algebra and both MA and AN (resp.,both NB and BM) have finite projective dimension,then A (resp.,B) is a Gorenstein algebra.We also discuss when the CM-freeness and the CM-finiteness of a Morita ring △(φ,ψ) is inherited by the algebras A and B.     

Fluorescence emission enhancement in substituted 3-styrylindoles in the solid state

Fluorescence emission properties of substituted 3-styrylindoles viz 3-(2-phenylethenyl-E)-NH-indole (1), 3-[2-(4-cyanophenyl)ethenyl-E]-NH-indole (2), and 3-(2-cyano-2-phenylethenyl-Z]-NH-indole (3) in n-hexane, THF–H₂O binary mixtures and solid state are reported. In general, fluorescence efficiency in solid state is found to be much higher than in n-hexane solution. The fluorescence enhancement in solid state is attributed to restricted intramolecular motions. Interestingly, the molecules of 3 in solid state are also bound together through intermolecular hydrogen bonds yielding polymer like structure, leading to further enhancement of fluorescence emission. In THF–H₂O binary mixtures, drastic enhancement of fluorescence efficiency is observed due to aggregate formation.     

Optimization of Active Sites via Crystal Phase,Composition, and Morphology for Efficient Low-Iridium Oxygen Evolution Catalysts

Reducing the amount of iridium in oxygen evolution electrocatalysts without compromising their catalytic performances is one of the major requirements in proton-exchange-membrane water electrolyzers. Herein, with the help of theoretical studies, we show that anatase-type TiO₂-IrO₂ solid solutions possess more active iridium catalytic sites for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) than IrO₂, the benchmark OER catalyst. Note that the same is not observed for their rutile-type counterparts. However, owing to their thermodynamic metastability, anatase-type TiO₂-IrO₂ solid solutions are generally hard to synthesize. Our theoretical studies demonstrate that such catalytically active anatase-type solid-solution phases can be created in situ on the surfaces of readily available SrTiO₃-SrIrO₃ solid solutions during electrocatalysis in acidic solution as the solution can etch away Sr atoms. We experimentally show this with porous SrTiO₃-SrIrO₃ solid-solution nanotubes synthesized by a facile synthetic route that contain 56 % less iridium than IrO₂ yet show an order of magnitude higher apparent catalytic activity for OER in acidic solution.     

On the Möbius Function of a Pointed Graded Lattice

In this paper, we compute the Möbius function of pointed integer partition and pointed ordered set partition using topological and analytic methods. We show that the associated order complex is a wedge of spheres and compute the associated reduced homology group for each subposet. In addition, we compute the Möbius function of pointed graded lattice and use our method to compute the Möbius function of pointed direct sum decomposition of vector spaces.     

Edge-plane-rich nitrogen-doped carbon nanoneedles and efficient metal-free electrocatalysts

CNN news: N-doped carbon nanoneedles (CNNs) are synthesized by self-assembling core-shell nanostructures and nanoreactors around cellulose nanoneedles, and subsequent graphitization. The resulting graphitic nanoneedles (see picture) have well-organized graphitic multi-layers and large proportions of N-doped edge planes. The materials serve as efficient metal-free electrocatalysts for hydrazine oxidation.