Improving Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation via Polycitric Acid-based Carbon Nanodots.

Bottom-up syntheses of carbon nanodots (CND) using solvothermal treatment of citric acid are known to afford nanometer-sized, amorphous polycitric acid-based materials. The addition of suitable co-reactants in the form of in-situ synthesized N-hetero-π-conjugated chromophores facilitates hereby the overall functionalization. Our incentive was to design a CND model that features phenazine (P-CND) - a well-known N-hetero-π-conjugated chromophore - to investigate the influence of the CND matrix on its redox chemistry as well as photochemistry.

Novel multifibrillar carbon and oxidation-stable carbon/ceramic hybrid fibers consisting of thousands of individual nanofibers with high tensile strength.

In this study, multifibrillar carbon and carbon/ceramic (C/SiCON) fibers consisting of thousands of single nanofibers are continuously manufactured. The process starts with electrospinning of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and PAN/oligosilazane precursors resulting in poorly aligned polymer fibers. Subsequent stretching leads to parallel aligned multifibrillar fibers, which are continuously stabilized and pyrolyzed to C or C/SiCON hybrid fibers.

Reversible Optical Switching of Polyoxovanadates and Their Communication via Photoexcited States.

The 2-bit Lindqvist-type polyoxometalate (POM) [VO((OCH)CCHN)] with a diamagnetic {VO} core and azide termini shows six fully oxidized V centers in solution as well as the solid state, according to V NMR spectroscopy. Under UV irradiation, it exhibits reversible switching between its ground S state and the energetically higher lying states in acetonitrile and water solutions. TD-DFT calculations demonstrate that this process is mainly initialized by excitation from the S to S state.

Synthesis and Photo/Radiation Chemical Characterization of a New Redox-Stable Pyridine-Triazole Ligand.

Photocatalysis using transition-metal complexes is widely considered the future of effective and affordable clean-air technology. In particular, redox-stable, easily accessible ligands are decisive. Here, we report a straightforward and facile synthesis of a new highly stable 2,6-bis(triazolyl)pyridine ligand, containing a nitrile moiety as a masked anchoring group, using copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) click reaction.

The role of human 5-Lipoxygenase (5-LO) in carcinogenesis - a question of canonical and non-canonical functions.

5-Lipoxygenase (5-LO), a fatty acid oxygenase, is the central enzyme in leukotriene (LT) biosynthesis, potent arachidonic acid-derived lipid mediators released by innate immune cells, that control inflammatory and allergic responses. In addition, through interaction with 12- and 15-lipoxgenases, the enzyme is involved in the formation of omega-3 fatty acid-based oxylipins, which are thought to be involved in the resolution of inflammation. The expression of 5-LO is frequently deregulated in solid and liquid tumors, and there is strong evidence that the enzyme plays an important role in carcinogenesis.