Speciation analysis of aluminium(III) in natural waters and biological fluids by complexing with various catechols followed by differential pulse voltammetry detection

The biological effects of aluminium have received much attention in recent years. Speciation of Al is of basic relevance as it concerns its reactivity and bioavailability. A differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) procedure is proposed for speciation analysis of Al(III) in natural waters and biological fluids using six catechols (L-dopa, dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, caffeic acid and o-benzenediol) as electroactive ligands. The decrease of the DPV anodic peak current for each catechol ligand is linear with the increase of Al concentration. This speciation analysis idea is based on the measurement of the complexation capacity, namely, different affinities of Al(III) for catechols and organic ligands under two pH conditions. The labile monomeric Al fraction (mainly inorganic aluminium) is determined at pH 4.6, while the total monomeric Al fraction is determined at pH 8.5. The principle for Al(III) speciation analysis by an electrochemical method is discussed. This sensitive and simple fractionation method is successfully applied to the speciation analysis of Al in natural waters and the results agree well with those of Driscoll's method. The speciation analysis of Al in biological fluids is also explored and the results are compared with those obtained by ultrafiltration and dialysis. Compared with other speciation protocols the electrochemical method possesses some remarkable advantages: rapidity, high sensitivity, cheap instrumentation and a simple operation procedure.     

Resolving quantum dots and peptide assembly and disassembly using bending capillary electrophoresis

Despite the numerous techniques developed for the studying nanoparticle and peptide interaction nowadays, sensitive and convenient assay in the process of flow, especially to simulate the self‐assembly of quantum dots (QDs) and peptide inflow in blood vessels, still remains big challenges. Here, we report a novel assay for studying the self‐assembly of QDs and peptide, based on CE using a bending capillary. We demonstrate that the semicircles numbers of the bending capillary affect the self‐assembly kinetics of CdSe/ZnS QDs and ATTO‐D₃LVPRGSGP₉G₂H₆ peptide. Moreover, benefitting from this novel assay, the effect of the position on the self‐assembly has also been realized. More importantly, we also demonstrate that this novel assay can be used for studying the stability of the QDs–peptide complex inflow. We believe that our novel assay proposed in this work could be further used as a general strategy for the studying nanoparticle–biomolecule interaction or biomolecule–biomolecule interaction.     

Solvent‐free ring‐opening polymerization of lactones with hydrogen‐bonding bisurea catalyst

Development of effective organocatalysts for the living ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of lactones is highly desired for the preparation of biocompatible and biodegradable polyesters with controlled microstructures and physical properties. Herein, a new class of hydrogen‐bond donating bisurea catalysts is reported for the ROP of lactones under solvent‐free conditions. ROP of lactones mediated by the bisurea/7‐methyl‐1,5,7‐triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec‐5‐ene (MTBD) catalyst exhibits a living/controlled manner, affording the polymers and copolymers with the well‐defined structure, predictable molecular weight, narrow molecular weight distribution, and high selectivity for monomer at low catalyst loadings at ambient temperature. The possible mechanism of bisurea/MTBD‐catalyzed ROP of lactones is proposed, in which the bisurea activates the carbonyl group of lactones while MTBD facilitates the nucleophilic attack of the initiating/propagating alcohol by hydrogen bonding. Moreover, the poly(ε‐caprolactone‐co‐δ‐valerolactone) [P(CL‐co‐VL)] random copolymers with various compositions were synthesized using the bisurea/MTBD catalyst. The measurements of thermal properties and crystalline structure demonstrate that the CL and VL units are cocrystallized in the crystalline phase of P(CL‐co‐VL) copolymers. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, 90–100     

Electrochemically time-dependent oxidative coupling/coupling-cyclization reaction between heterocycles: tunable synthesis of polycyclic indole derivatives with fluorescence properties

Science China Chemistry - A mild and practical protocol for selectively time-dependent dehydrogenative C-C coupling, as well as tandem coupling-cyclization reaction between indoles or/and other...     

Natural Soft/Rigid Superlattices as Anodes for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries

Volume expansion and poor conductivity are two major obstacles that hinder the pursuit of the lithium-ion batteries with long cycling life and high power density. Herein, we highlight a misfit compound PbNbS₃ with a soft/rigid superlattice structure, confirmed by scanning tunneling microscopy and electrochemical characterization, as a promising anode material for high performance lithium-ion batteries with optimized capacity, stability, and conductivity. The soft PbS sublayers primarily react with lithium, endowing capacity and preventing decomposition of the superlattice structure, while the rigid NbS₂ sublayers support the skeleton and enhance the migration of electrons and lithium ions, as a result leading to a specific capacity of 710 mAh g⁻¹ at 100 mA g⁻¹, which is 1.6 times of NbS₂ and 3.9 times of PbS. Our finding reveals the competitive strategy of soft/rigid structure in lithium-ion batteries and broadens the horizons of single-phase anode material design.     

Theoretical calculation on the substituent effect of strontium para-tetraphenyl porphyrins

Structural Chemistry - A series of strontium para-tetraphenyl porphyrins (SrTRPPs) with different electron property substituents (R?=?-NH2, -OCH3, -H, -F, -COOH, -NO2) on the...     

特殊形貌类雪花状ZSM-5分子筛的合成、表征及甲醇制烯烃催化性能(英文)

美国Mobil公司于1972年首先开发的ZSM-5分子筛是一种高硅三维交叉孔道的沸石分子筛,其孔道结构具有良好的择形作用,因此被广泛应用于芳构化、异构化、烷基化和催化裂化等工业催化过程.ZSM-5分子筛的催化性能与其晶粒尺寸、酸性及形貌等密切相关.改变合成方法和制备参数可以合成出不同形貌的ZSM-5分子筛,但目前关于ZSM-5分子筛形貌对其物理化学性质和催化性能的影响报道较少.本文通过改变模板剂类型,采用水热合成法,制备出了类雪花状、椭圆柱状和夹心糖状三种不同形貌的ZSM-5分子筛.通过X射线荧光光谱(XRF)、N_2物理吸脱附(BET)、扫描电镜(SEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)、固体核磁共振(MAS NMR)、NH_3程序升温脱附(NH_3-TPD)及吸附吡啶的红外光谱(Py-IR)等手段对不同形貌分子筛的物理化学性质、形貌、晶体骨架结构和酸性进行了表征.采用浸渍法制备了Ca/HZSM-5催化剂,以甲醇制烯烃(MTO)为探针反应、着重研究了ZSM-5分子筛形貌和晶体结构特性对其酸性和催化性能的影响.合成的三种不同形貌的ZSM-5分子筛具有相近的SiO_2/Al_2O_3比和比表面积.XRD结果表明,通过改变模板剂类型,可制得结晶度较好的ZSM-5分子筛,其中类雪花状分子筛的(101)晶面比例明显多于其它两种分子筛,而椭圆柱状分子筛则暴露更多的(020)晶面.~(27)Al MAS NMR结果表明,绝大部分Al都以四配位形式存在于三种分子筛骨架中,而类雪花状分子筛的峰强度较低,这是由于Al的配位环境不同(偶极作用弱),说明在类雪花状分子筛的交叉晶面中存在大量扭曲、错位和不对称结构;与其它两种分子筛相比,类雪花状分子筛的~(29)Si MAS NMR谱峰宽化、进一步证明该分子筛骨架结构中存在扭曲、错位和不对称性.NH_3-TPD结果表明,类雪花状HZSM-5分子筛的酸量明显高于其它两种分子筛,在SiO_2/Al_2O_3比相近的情况下、类雪花状HZSM-5分子筛晶体骨架结构的错位、扭曲和不对称性造成了该分子筛中酸量增加;但Py-IR结果表明,类雪花状HZSM-5分子筛的酸量低于其它两种分子筛,这与NH_3-TPD结果有差异,主要是由于类雪花状分子筛几何空间结构和晶界处的扭曲、错位对孔道结构的影响,不利于比NH_3分子大的吡啶分子的扩散,进而影响了吡啶分子在酸性位上的吸附.三种不同形貌的ZSM-5分子筛经Ca改性后比表面积和微孔比表面积均明显下降,其中类雪花状和椭圆柱状催化剂的微孔比表面积下降幅度较大,外比表面积下降幅度较小.这是因为各分子筛的晶体结构和晶面的取向差异,导致Ca离子在分子筛上的扩散行为不同.同时,经Ca改性后,三个催化剂的总酸量均有下降,尤其是类雪花状分子筛酸量下降较为明显,表明其中Ca离子更容易扩散到分子筛孔道内,与更多的酸性位作用,而夹心糖状分子筛表面具有更多的Z字形孔道,不利于Ca离子扩散到分子筛孔道内,因而酸量下降较少.Py-IR结果表明,Ca改性后催化剂的总酸量下降,尤其是B酸明显降低,L酸略有增加,其中类雪花状ZSM-5分子筛催化剂的B酸量最低.甲醇制烯烃反应评价结果表明,随着反应温度升高,三个催化剂的总烯选择性和丙烯选择性均呈先升高后降低的趋势.类雪花状ZSM-5分子筛催化剂在甲醇转化率相近时具有最高的烯烃选择性,在反应温度为460℃时,总烯烃选择性为72%,丙烯选择性达39%.     

大视场星敏感器标定技术研究

大视场星敏感器光学系统,由于畸变量较大,在轨标定过程中,直接采用最小二乘最优估计(LMS)或扩展卡尔曼滤波方法(EKF)无法精确求解其标定参数。在深入分析星敏感器测量误差因素的基础上,对考虑畸变和不考虑畸变两种情况的在轨标定结果进行了仿真对比;指出了标定焦距之前需先标定光学畸变的必要性,并介绍了4种可用于在轨校正光学畸变的方法;提出先标定主点偏差,再标定光学畸变参数,最后标定焦距的标定方法。仿真结果表明,可以采用像面旋转法求取主点偏差,利用高阶多项式方法求取光学畸变参数,畸变校正后,采用LMS和EKF标定算法估计焦距,标定精度达到了3.1μm和2.2μm。对100幅模拟星图处理后,星间角距统计偏差约为传统在轨标定方法的1/10～1/8。     

Capillary electrophoretic studies on quantum dots and histidine appended peptides self‐assembly

Herein, we designed four peptides appended with different numbers of histidine (His_n‐peptide). We launched a systematic investigation on quantum dots (QDs) and His_n‐peptide self‐assembly in solution using fluorescence coupled CE (CE‐FL). The results indicated that CE‐FL was a powerful method to probe how ligands interaction on the surface of nanoparticles. The self‐assembly of QDs and peptide was determined by the numbers of histidine. We also observed that longer polyhistidine tags (n ≤ 6) could improve the self‐assembly efficiency. Furthermore, the formation and separation of QD‐peptide assembly were also studied by CE‐FL inside a capillary. The total time for the mixing, self‐assembly, separation, and detection was less than 10 min. Our method greatly expands the application of CE‐FL in QDs‐based biolabeling and bioanalysis.     

A novel method to prepare microcellular poly(vinyl alcohol) foam based on thermal processing and supercritical fluid

Combining the thermal processing and supercritical fluid technology develops a novel preparation method of microcellular poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). Water, as the plasticizer in system, can form the hydrogen bonding with pendant hydroxyl of PVA and weaken its strong intermolecular and intramolecular forces to realize the thermal processing. Supercritical carbon dioxide (sc‐CO₂) can easily dissolve into water‐plasticized PVA (WPVA) because of the destruction of crystal region caused by water, and the enhanced sc‐CO₂ solubility can greatly improve the foamability of WPVA. The porous structure generates through the saturation of sc‐CO₂ in WPVA sample and followed by pressure drop‐induced phase separation. The foaming behavior of WPVA was studied as a function of saturation pressure, foaming temperature, and saturation time. The cell density, cell size, and distribution of the obtained foam can be controlled by tuning processing conditions. The results revealed that the cell size decreased, and its distribution narrowed with saturation pressure increasing, or decrease of foaming temperature. But excessively increasing the saturation time generated a negative effect on the foaming behavior owing to the deteriorated plasticization effect resulted from the loss of water. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.