Exploring Solid Magnetic Liposomes for Organic Pollutant Removal from Wastewater: The Role of Lipid Composition.

Solid magnetic liposomes (ML, nanocomposites comprising lipid bilayers that incorporate magnetic nanoparticles) may be used in wastewater remediation: the lipid bilayer creates an environment where organic pollutants preferentially partition instead of water and the manipulation of ML with an external magnet enables an easy recovery from water. This study aimed to assess the system's potential for water remediation, focusing on ML ability to remove common pollutants in industrial wastewater. Specifically, alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEO) were used as the archetype for organic pollutants.

Single polyoxometalate-based nanoclusters characterized by infrared absorption nanospectroscopy.

Bottom-up engineering is a very attractive field. However, the periodic organization of molecules on a solid substrate is challenging, particularly in the selection of the appropriate characterization technique which is suitable for both large area and accurate analysis at the nanoscale. Here, this study demonstrates the unambiguous identification of complex molecular layers by infrared absorption microscopy at the nanometric scale.

"On-The-Fly" Synthesis of Self-Supported LDH Hollow Structures Through Controlled Microfluidic Reaction-Diffusion Conditions.

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are a class of functional materials that exhibit exceptional properties for diverse applications in areas such as heterogeneous catalysis, energy storage and conversion, and bio-medical applications, among others. Efforts have been devoted to produce millimeter-scale LDH structures for direct integration into functional devices. However, the controlled synthesis of self-supported continuous LDH materials with hierarchical structuring up to the millimeter scale through a straightforward one-pot reaction method remains unaddressed.

Ready-to-be-addressed oxo-clusters: individualized, periodically organized and separated from the substrate.

Clusters and oxo-clusters are drawing attention for their amazing physical properties, especially at the scale of the single molecule. However, chemical methods to organize them individually on a surface are still lacking. In this study we show that it is possible to periodically organize individual polyoxometalates thanks to their ordering by a new supramolecular assembly.

Filler-Enhanced Piezoelectricity of Poly-L-Lactide and Its Use as a Functional Ultrasound-Activated Biomaterial.

Poly-L-lactide (PLLA) offers a unique possibility for processing into biocompatible, biodegradable, and implantable piezoelectric structures. With such properties, PLLA has potential to be used as an advanced tool for mimicking biophysical processes that naturally occur during the self-repair of wounds and damaged tissues, including electrostimulated regeneration. The piezoelectricity of PLLA strongly depends on the possibility of controlling its crystallinity and molecular orientation.

When Identification of the Reduction Sites in Mixed Molybdenum/Tungsten Keggin-Type Polyoxometalate Hybrids Turns Out Tricky.

The mixed molybdenum/tungsten Keggin-type polyoxometalate (POM) hybrid (TBA)[PWMoO{Sn(CHI)}] (TBA = -butylammonium) has been prepared by the reaction between [α-PWMoO] and [ClSn(CHI)] in dried acetonitrile, in the presence of tetra--butylammonium bromide. A further coupling reaction affords the ferrocenyl derivative (TBA)[PWMoO{Sn(CH)C≡C(CH)Fc}]. The POM hybrids have been thoroughly characterized by NMR and IR spectroscopies.

Spontaneous growth of 2D coordination polymers on functionalized ferromagnetic surfaces.

The spontaneous growth of lamellar metal-alkanethiolates (LMAs) on reactive ferromagnetic surfaces as a result of surface oxidation has been observed. When alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) grown under an inert atmosphere over cobalt or permalloy (NiFe) are exposed to air, oxygen diffuses through the molecular layer. This induces an oxidation of metal atoms at the metal surface and a release of the resulting metal cations that migrate coordinated by the alkanethiol molecules to form lamellar structures over the SAMs.

Bottom-Up Fabrication of Semiconductive Metal-Organic Framework Ultrathin Films.

Though generally considered insulating, recent progress on the discovery of conductive porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offers new opportunities for their integration as electroactive components in electronic devices. Compared to classical semiconductors, these metal-organic hybrids combine the crystallinity of inorganic materials with easier chemical functionalization and processability. Still, future development depends on the ability to produce high-quality films with fine control over their orientation, crystallinity, homogeneity, and thickness.