Density Functional Theory Studies on the Hydrolysis of Levoglucosenone to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural.

Selective conversion of lignocellulosic biomass-derived chemicals is of critical significance for sustainable fine and commodity chemical industries. Cellulose-derived levoglucosenone (LGO) has a promising potential for producing 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) with a substantial yield under acid conditions, but the mechanism is unidentified. Herein, we disclose the mechanism of LGO conversion to HMF in the aqueous phase without and with HSO as a catalyst by density functional theory (DFT) calculations for the first time.

Photoluminescent carbon dots synthesized by microwave treatment for selective image of cancer cells.

In this work, a simple, low-cost and one-step microwave approach has been demonstrated for the synthesis of water-soluble carbon dots (C-dots). The average size of the resulting C-dots is about 4 nm. From the photoluminescence (PL) measurements, the C-dots exhibit excellent biocompatibility and intense PL with the high quantum yield (QY) at Ca.

Hydrazine-mediated construction of nanocrystal self-assembly materials.

Self-assembly is the basic feature of supramolecular chemistry, which permits to integrate and enhance the functionalities of nano-objects. However, the conversion of self-assembled structures to practical materials is still laborious. In this work, on the basis of studying one-pot synthesis, spontaneous assembly, and in situ polymerization of aqueous semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs), NC self-assembly materials are produced and applied to design high performance white light-emitting diode (WLED).

Copper sulfide self-assembly architectures with improved photothermal performance.

Copper chalcogenide nanomaterials are promising photothermal materials for establishing novel diagnostic and therapeutic methods owing to the low cost but high photothermal transduction efficiency. Further progresses of the correlated technologies greatly depend on the efforts on design and construction of novel nanostructures. In this paper, we demonstrate a facile one-pot route for constructing CuS nanostructures in aqueous media via a spontaneous assembly process.

Coating urchinlike gold nanoparticles with polypyrrole thin shells to produce photothermal agents with high stability and photothermal transduction efficiency.

Photothermal therapy using inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) is a promising technique for the selective treatment of tumor cells because of their capability to convert the absorbed radiation into heat energy. Although anisotropic gold (Au) NPs present an excellent photothermal effect, the poor structural stability during storage and/or upon laser irradiation still limits their practical application as efficient photothermal agents. With the aim of improving the stability, in this work we adopted biocompatible polypyrrole (PPy) as the shell material for coating urchinlike Au NPs.

Employing aqueous CdTe quantum dots with diversified surface functionalities to discriminate between heme (Fe(II)) and hemin (Fe(III)).

The discrimination of ferrous and ferric states in the human body is one of the basic issues for disease control and prevention because Fe(II) and Fe(III) are a crucial redox pair during the process of material and energy metabolism. Herein, aqueous CdTe quantum dots (QDs) with diversified surface functionalities are applied to discriminate between heme (Fe(II)) and hemin (Fe(III)) by virtue of their difference in quenching QD fluorescence. In aqueous media, the interaction between QDs and heme/hemin mainly involves electrostatic interaction, which is greatly determined by the surface functionalities of the QDs.

A facile two-step etching method to fabricate porous hollow silica particles.

We report here the fabrication of hollow silica particles with mesopores larger than 10nm on their wall via a facile two-step etching method. Different from the conventional template method, the new method uses the silica particles as starting materials, which were synthesized using the well-known Stöber method. In the hollow silica preparation, first, we gently etch the silica particles with a NaOH solution without using template molecules to make them porous.