Mechanical Properties of Polydiacetylene Multilayers Studied by AFM Force Spectroscopy.

The blue-to-red chromatic phase transition of polydiacetylene (PDA) is accompanied by the twist and rearrangement of its side chains, which results in shortening of the conjugation length in the backbone. However, how these morphological changes affect its mechanical properties remains elusive. In this work, force spectroscopy mapping by atomic force microscopy was employed to quantify mechanical parameters of PDA thin films such as breakthrough force and Young's modulus at the monomer, blue, and red phases during the chromatic transition.

A novel near-infrared polymethine dye biosensor for rapid and selective detection of lithocholic acid.

Lithocholic acid (LCA), a secondary bile acid, has emerged as a potential early diagnostic biomarker for various liver diseases. In this study, we introduce a novel near-infrared (NIR) polymethine dye-based biosensor, capable of sensitive and selective detection of LCA in phosphate buffer and artificial urine (AU) solutions. The detection mechanism relies on the formation of J-aggregates resulting from the interplay of 3,3-Diethylthiatricarbocyanine iodide (DiSC(7)) dye molecules and LCA, which induces a distinctive red shift in both absorption and fluorescence spectra.

Dual Friction Force/Fluorescence Microscopy.

Friction force microscopy (FFM) is a mode of atomic force microscopy (AFM) that quantifies both normal and horizontal forces against substrates. Recent improvement in its accuracy at nanonewton ranges and the possibility of combining AFM with fluorescence microscopy enabled the simultaneous characterization by FFM and fluorescence microscopy. This Tutorial describes the operation principle of the dual friction force/fluorescence microscopy setup and highlights its emerging applications in mechanochromic materials.

Dual Nanofriction Force Microscopy/Fluorescence Microscopy Imaging Reveals the Enhanced Force Sensitivity of Polydiacetylene by pH and NaCl.

Polydiacetylene (PDA) is a popular mechanochromic material often used in biosensing. The effect of its headgroup-headgroup interactions on thermochromism such as pH or salt concentration dependency has been extensively studied before; however, their effect on mechanochromism at the nanoscale is left unstudied. In this work, nanofriction force microscopy and fluorescence microscopy were combined to study the effect of pH and ionic strength on the polydiacetylene (PDA) force sensitivity at the nanoscale.

Colorimetric response in polydiacetylene at the single domain level using hyperspectral microscopy.

The structural variance of polydiacetylene (PDA) at the nanoscale level, even under the same fabrication conditions, is one of the origins of its poor reproducibility in chemo/biosensing. In this work, we present a spatial map of such structural distributions within a single crystal by taking advantage of the recent development of hyperspectral microscopy at visible wavelengths. Hyperspectral microscopy provides the distribution of absorption spectra at the spatial resolution of standard optical microscopy.

Recent progress in polydiacetylene mechanochromism.

Polydiacetylenes (PDAs) are a family of mechanochromic polymers that change color from blue to red and emit fluorescence when exposed to external stimuli, making them extremely popular materials in biosensing. Although several informative reviews on PDA biosensing have been reported in the last few years, their mechanochromism, where external forces induce the color transition, has not been reviewed for a long time. This mini review summarizes recent progress in PDA mechanochromism, with a special focus on the quantitative and nanoscopic data that have emerged in recent years.

Effect of NaCO, HF, and CO Treatment on the Regeneration of Exhausted Activated Carbon Used in Sintering Flue Gas.

The method of continuous treatment with NaCO solution, HF solution, and CO was proposed for the regeneration of the exhausted activated carbon (EAC) produced in the sintering flue gas purification process. In order to obtain the optimal operation conditions, the effect of key parameters such as NaCO solution concentration, HF solution concentration, and CO activation temperature on the sulfur conversion rate and regeneration efficiency was analyzed. Also, the N adsorption, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were adopted to investigate the deactivation reason and the change of the physical-chemical properties.

A new quinoline-derived highly-sensitive fluorescent probe for the detection of hydrazine with excellent large-emission-shift ratiometric response.

Hydrazine is an important industrial material yet highly toxic and extremely harmful to people's health when over-exposed in the environment, thus monitoring hydrazine is of great significance. In this work, a novel highly fluorescent fluorophore BQ-OH, based on hydroxyl- and benzo[d]oxazole-substituted quinoline structure, was synthesized and esterified with 4-biomobutyric acid to afford a fluorescent probe BQABr for the selective detection of hydrazine. The probe follows SN2(nucleophilic substitution)-cyclization sensing mechanism with remarkable response, excellent sensitivity and selectivity.

Soft-Templated Synthesis of Lightweight, Elastic, and Conductive Nanotube Aerogels.

Conductive polymer (CP) nanotubes are fascinating nanostructures with high electrical conductivity, fast charge/discharge capability, and high mechanical strength. Despite these attractive physical properties, progress in the synthesis of CP nanotube hydrogels is still limited. Here, we report a facile and effective approach for the synthesis of polypyrrole (PPy) nanotube hydrogels by using the weakly interconnected network of self-assembled nanotubes of lithocholic acid as a soft template.