Ecofriendly synthesis of a hybrid hydrogel incorporating silver nanoparticles: Biological and photocatalytic activities.

We present the synthesis and characterization of a hybrid material comprising silver nanoparticles embedded within a 3D hydrogel network. The use of an aqueous extract of Acanthus mollis as a natural reducing agent facilitates the synthesis process. Acanthus mollis is a perennial, invasive and leafy plant that is widely distributed across the planet.

Physically Cross-Linked Hydrogel Based on Phenyl-1,3,5-triazine: Soft Scaffold with Aggregation-Induced Emission.

A phenyltriazine compound has been used for the first time as a monomer in the construction of a hydrogel. This physically cross-linked soft material showed blue fluorescence when excited under UV-light. Polymer formation and intermolecular H-bonds arising from triazine moieties operate as aggregation-induced emission (AIE) mechanisms.

Graphene hybrid materials? The role of graphene materials in the final structure of hydrogels.

Graphene (G), graphene oxide (GO) and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have been introduced into a three-dimensional polymeric network based on polyacrylamide in order to ascertain the role of each nanomaterial in hydrogels. The hydrogel structure is not affected by the introduction of GQDs, since these nanoparticles do not form part of the polymeric network. G and GO modify the structure of the hydrogels but in a different way.

Graphene Quantum Dot-Aerogel: From Nanoscopic to Macroscopic Fluorescent Materials. Sensing Polyaromatic Compounds in Water.

Fluorescence based on quantum confinement is a property restricted to the nanoscopic range. The incorporation of nanoparticles in a three-dimensional polymeric network could afford macroscopic scaffolds that show nanoscopic properties. Moreover, if these scaffolds are based on strong bonds, the stability of the resulting materials can be preserved, thus enhancing their final applications.

Synthesis and characterization of metallodendritic palladium-biscarbene complexes derived from 1,1'-methylenebis(1,2,4-triazole).

The syntheses of first generation dendritic compounds bearing 1,1'-alkane-1,1-diylbis(4-butyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5-ylidene)palladium(II) dibromide on the periphery are described. The metallabiscarbene moieties have also been studied separately from the dendrimer. These compounds display a non-symmetric boat-to-boat conformational equilibrium that has axial and equatorial arrangements.

Control of surface functionality in poly(phenylenevinylene) dendritic architectures.

The efficient synthesis of new asymmetric poly(phenylenevinylene) dendritic macromolecules using a stepwise convergent-growth approach is described. By an iterative methodology that made use of the Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons (HWE) reaction, dendrons and dendrimers up to the third generation, with eight different functional groups located at the periphery, were prepared in good yields. Both the number and placement of functionalities can be accurately controlled to afford a large variety of dendritic architectures.

Electron transfer in nonpolar solvents in fullerodendrimers with peripheral ferrocene units.

Two new fullerodendrimers, with two and four ferrocene units on their periphery, have been synthesized by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions between the corresponding azomethine ylides and C(60). These new compounds have been studied by using cyclic voltammetry and UV/Vis spectroscopy. Weak intramolecular interactions between the fullerene cage and the ferrocene groups have been found.

Synthesis and photoluminescent properties of 1,1'-binaphthyl-based chiral phenylenevinylene dendrimers.

New chiral, soluble binaphthyl derivatives that incorporate stilbenoid dendrons at the 6,6'-positions have been prepared. The synthesis of the new enantiopure dendrimers was performed in a convergent manner by Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons (HWE) reaction of the appropriately functionalized 1,1'-binaphthyl derivative (R)-1 and the appropriate dendrons (R)(2n)G(n)-CHO. Different electroactive units were incorporated in the peripheral positions of the dendrons in order to tune both the optical and electrochemical behavior of these systems.

Synthesis of novel cross-conjugated dendritic fluorophores containing both phenylenevinylene and phenyleneethynylene moieties.

New dendrons and dendrimers with dendritic arms composed of alternate phenyleneethynylene and phenylenevinylene moieties have been efficiently synthesized using orthogonal and convergent syntheses that combine Sonogashira and Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reactions. Two different iterative routes have been developed that allow specific control over the placement of double and triple bonds within the interior of the dendrimers. A preliminary study of the UV and photoluminescence (PL) properties of the resulting compounds is also described.