A TICT-AIE activated dual-channel fluorescence-on probe to reveal the dynamics mechanosensing of lipid droplets during ferroptosis.

Mechanical forces play a crucial role in cellular processes, including ferroptosis, a form of regulated cell death associated with various diseases. However, the mechanical aspects of organelle lipid droplets (LDs) during ferroptosis are poorly understood. In this study, we designed and synthesized a fluorescent probe, TPE-V1, to enable real-time monitoring of LDs' viscosity using a dual-channel fluorescence-on model (red channel at 617 nm and NIR channel at 710 nm).

Multifunctional fluorescent probe for simultaneous revealing Cys and ONOO dynamic correlation in the ferroptosis.

Ferroptosis is a type of lipid peroxidation-induced apoptosis brought on by imbalances in iron metabolism and redox. It involves both the thiol-associated anti-ferroptosis pathway and the excessive buildup of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which stimulates the ferroptosis pathway. Determining the precise control mechanism of ferroptosis requires examining the dynamic connection between reactive sulfur species (RSS) and ROS.

Regulating Au coverage for the direct oxidation of methane to methanol.

The direct oxidation of methane to methanol under mild conditions is challenging owing to its inadequate activity and low selectivity. A key objective is improving the selective oxidation of the first carbon-hydrogen bond of methane, while inhibiting the oxidation of the remaining carbon-hydrogen bonds to ensure high yield and selectivity of methanol. Here we design ultrathin PdAu nanosheets and revealed a volcano-type relationship between the binding strength of hydroxyl radical on the catalyst surface and catalytic performance using experimental and density functional theory results.

A Calcination-Free Sol-Gel Method to Prepare TiO -Based Hybrid Semiconductors for Enhanced Visible Light-Driven Hydrogen Production.

Invited for this month's cover are the collaborating groups of Dr. Jianwei Li at the University of Turku and Prof. Chunman Jia, Kang Yang and Dan Wei at Hainan University.

Multimetallic Single-Atom Catalysts for Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalysis.

Multimetallic alloys have demonstrated promising performance for the application of metal-air batteries, while it remains a challenge to design multimetallic single-atom catalysts (MM-SACs). Herein, metal-CN and nitrogen-doped carbon are employed as cornerstones to synthesize MM-SACs by a general two-step method, and the inherent features of atomic dispersion and the strong electronic reciprocity between the multimetallic sites have been verified. The trimetallic FeCoZn-SACs and quatermetallic FeCoCuZn-SACs are both found to deliver superior oxygen evolution reaction and oxygen reduction reaction activity, respectively, as well as outstanding bifunctional durability.

Visible light-driven highly-efficient hydrogen production by a naphthalene imide derivative-sensitized TiO photocatalyst.

Sensitizing titanium dioxide (TiO) with dye molecules offers a cost-effective and environmentally friendly strategy for creating powerful photocatalysts for hydrogen production by reducing the band gap and enhancing sunlight absorption. Despite the challenges of identifying a stable dye with high light harvesting efficiency and effective charge recombination, we present a 1,8-naphthalimide derivative-sensitized TiO that achieves ultra-efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production (10.615 mmol g h) and maintains activity after 30 hours of cycling.

Ultrathin Pd Pt Rh Nanorings with Strong C-C Bond Breaking Ability for the Ethanol Oxidation Reaction.

Ethanol as a fuel for direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) has the advantages of being highly energetic, environmentally friendly, and low-cost, while the slow anodic ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR), intermediate poisoning effect, and incomplete oxidation of ethanol became obstacles to the development of DEFCs. Herein, a 2D ternary cyclic Pd Pt Rh nanorings (NRs) catalyst with efficient EOR performance is prepared via a facile one-pot solvothermal approach, and systematic studies are carried out to reveal the mechanisms of the enhanced performance and C-C bond selectivity. In particular, the optimized catalyst exhibits impressive mass activity, stability, toxicity resistance, and C-C bond cleavage ability.

Small-Molecule-based Supramolecular Plastics Mediated by Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation.

Plastics are one of the most widely used polymeric materials. However, they are often undegradable and non-recyclable due to the very stable covalent bonds of macromolecules, causing environmental pollution and health problems. Here, we report that liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) could drive the formation of robust, stable, and sustainable plastics using small molecules.

A curcumin-based AIEE-active fluorescent probe for Cu detection in aqueous solution.

Curcuminoids have been extensively investigated as metal ion probes, but the intrinsic aggregation-caused-quenching (ACQ) characteristic of curcumin would hinder their applications in aqueous solution. Fortunately, tetraphenylethylene (TPE) could endow the compounds with aggregation-induced emission (AIE)/aggregation-induced enhanced emission (AIEE) characteristics to eliminate the ACQ effect. According to this strategy, a series of TPE-modified curcumin derivatives L1-4 were prepared and studied for their AIEE properties.

Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production Activity by Constructing a Robust Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Material Based Fulvalene and TiO.

A novel redox-active organic-inorganic hybrid material (denoted as HTTFTB-TiO) based on tetrathiafulvalene derivatives and titanium dioxide with a micro/mesoporous nanomaterial structure has been synthesized via a facile sol-gel method. In this study, tetrathiafulvalene-3,4,5,6-tetrakis(4-benzoic acid) (HTTFTB) is an ideal electron-rich organic material and has been introduced into TiO for promoting photocatalytic H production under visible light irradiation. Notably, the optimized composites demonstrate remarkably enhanced photocatalytic H evolution performance with a maximum H evolution rate of 1452 μmol g h, which is much higher than the prototypical counterparts, the common dye-sensitized sample (denoted as HTTFTB-5.

General Method for Synthesizing Effective and Durable Electrocatalysts Derived from Cellulose for Microbial Fuel Cells.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can be capable of both wastewater treatment and electricity generation, which necessarily depends on the increasing cathodic performances and stability at low cost to realize industrialization. Herein, cellulose, a commercially available and sustainable material, was oxidized as a carbon precursor to produce the oxygen species synergizing the nitrogen-doped carbon (CON-900) catalyst by a facile in situ nitrogen doping method. The incorporation of nitrogen and oxygen with a high content creates more active centers.

Synthesis and Design of a Highly Stable Platinum Nickel Electrocatalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Exploring effective, stable, and affordable oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts is very significant for the practical application of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. In this work, a facile and expandable method is developed to prepare ultrathin PtNi nanowires (NWs) with various Pt/Ni contents, and the ORR performance of the synthesized samples is thoroughly investigated. PtNi NWs show the best ORR performance among the studied samples and, notably, exhibit much better ORR activity and stability than those of the Pt/C catalyst even after a 300,000-continuous cycling test.

Progress in the development of heteroatom-doped nickel phosphates for electrocatalytic water splitting.

Hydrogen energy is expected to replace fossil fuels as a mainstream energy source in the future. Currently, hydrogen production via water electrolysis yields high hydrogen purity with easy operation and without producing polluting side products. Presently, platinum group metals and their oxides are the most effective catalysts for water splitting; however, their low abundance and high cost hinder large-scale hydrogen production, especially in alkaline and neutral media.

Engineering Ruthenium-Based Electrocatalysts for Effective Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

The investigation of highly effective, durable, and cost-effective electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a prerequisite for the upcoming hydrogen energy society. To establish a new hydrogen energy system and gradually replace the traditional fossil-based energy, electrochemical water-splitting is considered the most promising, environmentally friendly, and efficient way to produce pure hydrogen. Compared with the commonly used platinum (Pt)-based catalysts, ruthenium (Ru) is expected to be a good alternative because of its similar hydrogen bonding energy, lower water decomposition barrier, and considerably lower price.

Potassium Acetate-Catalyzed Double Decarboxylative Transannulation To Access Highly Functionalized Pyrroles.

The development of new synthetic strategies for the efficient construction of versatile pyrrole pharmacores, especially in an operationally simple and environmentally benign fashion, still remains a momentous yet challenging goal. Here, we report a KOAc-catalyzed double decarboxylative transannulation between readily accessible oxazolones and isoxazolidinediones. This transformation represents a new way for skeletal remodeling by utilizing CO moiety as traceless activating and directing groups in both reaction partners.

Self-Synthesizing Nanorods from Dynamic Combinatorial Libraries against Drug Resistant Cancer.

Molecular self-assembly has been widely used to develop nanocarriers for drug delivery. However, most of them have unsatisfactory drug loading capacity (DLC) and the dilemma between stimuli-responsiveness and stability, stagnating their translational process. Herein, we overcame these drawbacks using dynamic combinatorial chemistry.

Gadolinium-doped carbon quantum dots loaded magnetite nanoparticles as a bimodal nanoprobe for both fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging.

Nowadays, it is highly desired to develop dual-modal fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging (FI/MRI) probes in medical imaging because it unites the respective advantages of each imaging modality: high sensitivity of FI and superior spatial resolution of MRI. In this study, a facile strategy to fabricate a new bimodal imaging nanoprobe (Gd-CQDs@N-FeO) was reported by integrating the fluorescence ability of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) and T and T contrast-enhancing functionality of Gd(III) ions and FeO nanoparticles into a single hybrid nanostructure. The hybrid composites were investigated by FT-IR, XRD, TEM, XPS, VSM, and so on, which confirmed that Gd-CQDs@N-FeO nanoparticles were successfully obtained and exhibited superparamagnetic property at room temperature.

A novel fluorophore based on the coupling of AIE and ESIPT mechanisms and its application in biothiol imaging.

A novel fluorophore TPE-HBT was designed based on the intersection of tetraphenylethene (TPE) and 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole (HBT). Owing to the synergistic effect of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) mechanisms, this fluorophore exhibits excellent performance with a high solid-state fluorescence quantum yield (Φ = 0.97) and a large Stokes shift (>200 nm).

A NIR fluorescent probe for the detection of fluoride ions and its application in in vivo bioimaging.

A novel near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe for the detection of fluoride ions has been developed, which is based on the F-triggered cleavage reaction of the Si-O bond. This probe exhibits excellent selectivity and sensitivity towards fluoride ions. The results of bioimaging experiments with HepG2 cells and mice show that the fluoride probe is available for visualizing exogenous fluoride ions in vitro and in vivo.

Catalytic Asymmetric Decarboxylative Mannich Reaction of Malonic Acid Half Esters with Cyclic Aldimines: Access to Chiral β-Amino Esters and Chroman-4-amines.

An enantioselective decarboxylative Mannich reaction of malonic acid half esters (MAHEs) with cyclic aldimines has been accomplished by employing the copper(I)/(R,R)-Ph-Box complex as chiral catalyst. The desired β-amino esters were obtained in good to high yields with excellent enantioselectivities. Furthermore, one of the corresponding Mannich products could be readily transformed into chiral chroman-4-amines without loss of enantioselectivity, which is a key intermediate of the human Bradykinin B1 receptor antagonist.

[Synthesis and Spectroscopic Study of a Chemosensor for Naked Eye Recognition of Cu2+ and Hg2+].

Compound L, as the procedural sensor for the detection of Cu2+ and Hg2+, was designed and synthesized based on the coumarin-modified rhodamine derivative. The structure of compound L was characterized by NMR, high resolution mass spectrometry and infrared method. Its sensing behavior toward various metal ions was investigated with absorbance methods.

4-[(2-Carb-oxy-eth-yl)amino]-benzoic acid monohydrate.

In the title compound, C(10)H(11)NO(4)·H(2)O, the carboxyl group is twisted at a dihedral angle of 6.1 (3)° with respect to the benzene ring. In the crystal, the organic mol-ecules are linked by pairs of O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving both carboxyl groups, forming zigzag chains propagating along the b-axis direction.

[Synthesis, characterization and interaction with ct-DNA of four novel secondary amine complexes].

A novel ligand(L), (N, N'-bis (4-methylbenzyl) ethane-1, 2-diamine), and its transition metal(II) complex, [ML2 (H2O)2]2+ x 2NO3- (M = Cu(II), Co(II, Ni(II), Zn(II)), have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR and 1H NMR. The crystal structure of the Cu-L complex was characterized by X-ray single crystal diffraction, and the results showed a regular octahedral structure in which each metal ion is six--coordinated with four nitrogen atoms from two ligands and two oxygen atoms from two water molecules. The interaction of the complex with calf thymus DNA was investigated by UV spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy, and the results suggest that the complex binds to DNA by electrostatic interaction mode.

Bis(μ-N-benzyl-N-tetra-decyl-dithio-carbamato-κS:S')bis-[(N-benzyl-N-tetra-decyl-dithio-carbamato-κS,S')zinc(II)].

In the title compound, [Zn(2)(C(22)H(36)NS(2))(4)], two bidentate dithio-carbamate groups chelate directly to the Zn(II) atoms, whereas the two remaining dithio-carbamate ligands bridge the Zn atoms via a crystallographic inversion centre. The Zn atoms show a strongly distorted tetra-hedral geometry. Adding the long S⋯S distance with the inversion centre being in the middle, the resulting five-coordinate geometry around the Zn atoms can be considered to be between distorted recta-ngular pyramidal and trigonal bipyramidal, with a calculated τ value of 0.