Electrochemical advanced oxidation combined to electro-Fenton for effective treatment of perfluoroalkyl substances "PFAS" in water using a Magnéli phase-based anode.

Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as "forever chemicals", are posing a considerable threat to human health and the environment, that conventional treatment methods are unable to treat. In recent years, electrochemical advanced oxidation emerged as a promising technology for the degradation of recalcitrant pollutants such as PFAS. This work reports the degradation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), using a Magnéli phase-based anode type TiO by electro-oxidation and electro-oxidation combined with electro-Fenton.

Methane biohydroxylation into methanol by OB3b: possible limitations and formate use during reaction.

Methane (CH) hydroxylation into methanol (MeOH) by methanotrophic bacteria is an attractive and sustainable approach to producing MeOH. The model strain OB3b has been reported to be an efficient hydroxylating biocatalyst. Previous works have shown that regardless of the bioreactor design or operation mode, MeOH concentration reaches a threshold after a few hours, but there are no investigations into the reasons behind this phenomenon.

Grain-Boundary Engineering Boosted Undercoordinated Active Sites for Scalable Conversion of CO to Ethylene.

The development of highly selective and energy efficient technologies for electrochemical CO reduction combined with renewable energy sources holds great promise for advancing the field of sustainable chemistry. The engineering of copper-based electrodes facilitates the conversion of CO into high-value multicarbon products (C). However, the ambiguous determination of the intrinsic CO activity and the maximization of the density of exposed active sites have severely limited the use of Cu for the realization of practical electrocatalytic devices.

A facile approach to modify cellulose nanocrystal for the adsorption of perfluorooctanoic acid.

Cellulose-based materials are a sustainable alternative to polymers derived from petroleum. Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) is a biopolymer belonging to this family; it is commonly known for its important physical and chemical properties and ability to form a film. Modifying CNC via electrostatic interaction provided by cationic polymers is a facile and promising technique to enlarge the application of CNC.

Synthesis: Molecular Structure, Thermal-Calorimetric and Computational Analyses, of Three New Amine Borane Adducts.

Cyclopropylamine borane CHNHBH (C3AB), 2-ethyl-1-hexylamine borane CH(CH)CH(CH)CHNHBH (C2C6AB) and didodecylamine borane (CH)NHBH ((C12)2AB) are three new amine borane adducts (ABAs). They are synthesized by reaction of the corresponding amines with a borane complex, the reaction being exothermic as shown by Calvet calorimetry. The successful synthesis of each has been demonstrated by FTIR, Raman and NMR.

Efficient removal of persistent and emerging organic pollutants by biosorption using abundant biomass wastes.

Persistent and emerging organic pollutants represent a serious and global threat to human health and ecosystems. We describe here a simple, efficient and affordable technology for removing such organic pollutants from aquatic systems. Biosorption process was chosen, meeting these three criteria, and so that biosorbents should be biomass wastes combining the following characteristics: natural, cheap and abundant.

Growth-Induced Wrinkles and Dotlike Patterns of a Swollen Fluoroalkylated Thin Film by the Reaction of Surface-Attached Polymethylhydrosiloxane.

The design of hydrophobic surfaces requires a material which has a low solid surface tension and a simple fabrication process for anchoring and controlling the surface morphology. A generic method for the spontaneous formation of robust instability patterns is proposed through the hydrosilylation of a fluoroalkene bearing dangling chains, R = CF(CH)-, with a soft polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS) spin-coated gel polymer (0.8 μm thick) using Karstedt catalyst.

Hydrolysis of the Borohydride Anion BH: A B NMR Study Showing the Formation of Short-Living Reaction Intermediates including BHOH.

In hydrolysis and electro-oxidation of the borohydride anion BH, key reactions in the field of energy, one critical short-living intermediate is BHOH. When water was used as both solvent and reactant, only BHOH is detected by B NMR. By moving away from such conditions and using DMF as solvent and water as reactant in excess, four B NMR quartets were observed.

Tunable TiO-BN-Pd nanofibers by combining electrospinning and atomic layer deposition to enhance photodegradation of acetaminophen.

The demand for fresh and clean water sources is increasing globally, and there is a need to develop novel routes to eliminate micropollutants and other harmful species from water. Photocatalysis is a promising alternative green technology that has shown great performance in the degradation of persistent pollutants. Titanium dioxide is the most used catalyst owing to its attractive physico-chemical properties, but this semiconductor presents limitations in the photocatalysis process due to the high band gap and the fast recombination of the photogenerated carriers.

Manganese distribution in the Mn-hyperaccumulator Grevillea meisneri from New Caledonia.

New Caledonian endemic Mn-hyperaccumulator Grevillea meisneri is useful species for the preparation of ecocatalysts, which contain Mn-Ca oxides that are very difficult to synthesize under laboratory conditions. Mechanisms leading to their formation in the ecocatalysts are unknown. Comparing tissue-level microdistribution of these two elements could provide clues.

Improved electrochemical conversion of CO to multicarbon products by using molecular doping.

The conversion of CO into desirable multicarbon products via the electrochemical reduction reaction holds promise to achieve a circular carbon economy. Here, we report a strategy in which we modify the surface of bimetallic silver-copper catalyst with aromatic heterocycles such as thiadiazole and triazole derivatives to increase the conversion of CO into hydrocarbon molecules. By combining operando Raman and X-ray absorption spectroscopy with electrocatalytic measurements and analysis of the reaction products, we identified that the electron withdrawing nature of functional groups orients the reaction pathway towards the production of C species (ethanol and ethylene) and enhances the reaction rate on the surface of the catalyst by adjusting the electronic state of surface copper atoms.

New Sustainable Synthetic Routes to Cyclic Oxyterpenes Using the Ecocatalyst Toolbox.

Cyclic oxyterpenes are natural products that are mostly used as fragrances, flavours and drugs by the cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical industries. However, only a few cyclic oxyterpenes are accessible via chemical syntheses, which are far from being ecofriendly. We report here the synthesis of six cyclic oxyterpenes derived from ß-pinene while respecting the principles of green and sustainable chemistry.

Biobased dynamic hydrogels by reversible imine bonding for controlled release of thymopentin.

Thymopentin (TP5) is widely used in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, but the short in vivo half-life of TP5 strongly restricts its clinical applications. A series of blank and TP5 loaded hydrogels were synthesized via reversible dual imine bonding by mixing water soluble O-carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) with a dynamer (Dy) prepared from Jeffamine and benzene-1,3,5-tricarbaldehyde. TP5 release from hydrogels was studied at 37 °C under in vitro conditions.

Eco-Friendly Methodology for the Formation of Aromatic Carbon-Heteroatom Bonds by Using Green Ionic Liquids.

A new sustainable method is reported for the formation of aromatic carbon-heteroatom bonds under solvent-free and mild conditions (no co-oxidant, no strong acid and no toxic reagents) by using a new type of green ionic liquid. The bromination of methoxy arenes was chosen as a model reaction. The reaction methodology is based on only using natural sodium bromine, which is transformed into an electrophilic brominating reagent within an ionic liquid, easily prepared from the melted salt FeCl hexahydrate.

Dynamic Hydrogels Based on Double Imine Connections and Application for Delivery of Fluorouracil.

Dynamic hydrogels have been prepared by cross-linking of -carboxymethyl chitosan (-CMCS) with reversibly connected imino-PEGylated dynamers. The double imine chitosan/dynamer and dynamer bonds and were used to provide tighter structures and adaptive drug release behaviors of the hydrogels. The structural and physical properties of the resulted hydrogels were examined, showing good thermal stability and higher swelling behaviors (up to 3,000%).

Self-assembled micelles prepared from bio-based hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose and polylactide amphiphilic block copolymers for anti-tumor drug release.

Fully bio-based amphiphilic diblock copolymers were synthesized from hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) and amino-terminated poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) or poly(l-lactide-co-dl-lactide) (PLA) by reductive amination. The resulting HPMC-PLLA and HPMC-PLA copolymers with various hydrophobic block lengths were characterized by NMR, DOSY-NMR and FT-IR. Micelles were obtained by self-assembly of copolymers in aqueous medium.

Partial depolymerization of hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose for production of low molar mass polymer chains.

Low molar mass (LMM) biopolymers are highly required to design functional nanomaterials, which mainly find application in biomedical fields. However, the synthesis of LMM polymer is a challenging task. In this work, we report a partial enzymatic depolymerization process which allows to produce a series of LMM hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC) polymer, with a weight average molar mass (M) under and over 10,000 g mol and low dispersity (Ɖ < 1.

Assessing the Potential of Sodium 1-Oxa--dodecaborate NaBHO for Energy Storage.

In the recent years, polyborate anions have been considered as possible candidates for energy. In aqueous solutions, they have been studied as either hydrogen carriers or anodic fuels. In the solid state (as an alkali salt), they have been seen as solid electrolytes.

Enhanced sieving from exfoliated MoS membranes via covalent functionalization.

Nanolaminate membranes made of two-dimensional materials such as graphene oxide are promising candidates for molecular sieving via size-limited diffusion in the two-dimensional capillaries, but high hydrophilicity makes these membranes unstable in water. Here, we report a nanolaminate membrane based on covalently functionalized molybdenum disulfide (MoS) nanosheets. The functionalized MoS membranes demonstrate >90% and ~87% rejection for micropollutants and NaCl, respectively, when operating under reverse osmotic conditions.

Novel thermo-responsive micelles prepared from amphiphilic hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose-block-JEFFAMINE copolymers.

A series of amphiphilic and thermo-responsive block copolymers were synthesized by reductive amination between the aldehyde endgroup of hydrophilic HPMC and the amine group of monoamine, diamine, or triamine JEFFAMINE as hydrophobic block. The resulting diblock, triblock and three-armed copolymers with different hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratios and block lengths were characterized by NMR, FT-IR, DOSY-NMR and SEC. The cloud point (CP) of copolymers was determined by UV-visible spectrometer.

Eichhornia crassipes: a Powerful Bio-indicator for Water Pollution by Emerging Pollutants.

Eichhornia crassipes is well known as an invasive aquatic plant. It is also used very effectively in phytoremediation, particularly for the rhizofiltration of effluents contaminated by heavy metals. In this article, we show that it is also an excellent bioindicator of water polluted by worrying organic pollutants such as endocrine disruptors and neonicotinoids.

Depollution of mining effluents: innovative mobilization of plant resources.

Based on the ability of some specific aquatic plants to concentrate metals in their roots, we propose an innovative biosorption system to clean up mining effluents. The system we propose represents an interesting solution to an important environmental problem, the decontamination of metal-polluted water and prevention of dispersal of metals into the environment. The solution presented is a form of ecological recycling of Zn, an essential primary metal in many industrial applications.

Multivalent Dendrimers and their Differential Recognition of Short Single-Stranded DNAs of Various Length and Sequence.

Polycationic dendrimers were generated through simple and versatile reversible amine/aldehyde-imine chemistry. The inherent CD spectroscopic signal arising from the helical structures of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) undergoes a dramatic amplification in the presence of the synthesised polycationic dendrimers. Compared to the first-generation core molecule, the second-generation dendrimer shows high spectroscopic responses upon chiral recognition of short ssDNA, owing to the combination of self-assembly and multivalency effects.