Emerging Concepts in Carbon Nitride Organic Photocatalysis.

Carbon nitrides encompass a class of transition-metal-free materials possessing numerous advantages such as low cost (few Euros per gram), high chemical stability, broad tunability of redox potentials and optical bandgap, recyclability, and a high absorption coefficient (>10  cm ), which make them highly attractive for application in photoredox catalysis. In this Review, we classify carbon nitrides based on their unique properties, structure, and redox potentials. We summarize recently emerging concepts in heterogeneous carbon nitride photocatalysis, with an emphasis on the synthesis of organic compounds: 1) Illumination-Driven Electron Accumulation in Semiconductors and Exploitation (IDEASE); 2) singlet-triplet intersystem crossing in carbon nitride excited states and related energy transfer; 3) architectures of flow photoreactors; and 4) dual metal/carbon nitride photocatalysis.

Solvation in Ionic Liquids with Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles.

Polymer-grafted nanoparticles stabilized in ionic liquid (IL)-solvent mixtures are investigated by using transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The ionic conductivity of IL-solvent mixtures with the polymer-grafted nanoparticles is found to be higher than that of nanoparticles in the IL. These particles offer additional interactions between polymer and IL, which can mitigate solvation in ILs with solvents.

Stability of the zwitterionic liquid butyl-methyl-imidazol-2-ylidene borane.

Modification of the C2 position of the standard 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium cation by a borohydride group leads to a zwitterionic liquid (ZIL). The resulting imidazol-2-ylidene borane ZIL is liquid at room temperature. Dynamic viscosity as well as thermal and electrochemical stability are investigated.

Climate-Dependent Heat-Triggered Opening Mechanism of Seed Pods.

Heat-triggered fruit opening and delayed release of mature seeds are widespread among plants in fire-prone ecosystems. Here, the material characteristics of the seed-containing follicles of (Proteaceae), which open in response to heat frequently caused by fire, are investigated. Material analysis reveals that long-term dimensional stability and opening temperatures of follicles collected across an environmental gradient increase as habitats become drier, hotter, and more fire prone.

Histochemical evidence of β-chitin in parapodial glandular organs and tubes of Spiophanes (Annelida, Sedentaria: Spionidae), and first studies on selected Annelida.

A generic character of the genus Spiophanes (Annelida, Sedentaria: Spionidae) is the presence of parapodial glandular organs. Parapodial glandular organs in Spiophanes species include secretory cells with cup-shaped microvilli, similar to those present in deep-sea inhabiting vestimentiferans and frenulate Siboglinidae. These cells are supposed to secrete β-chitin for tube-building.

25th anniversary article: "Cooking carbon with salt": carbon materials and carbonaceous frameworks from ionic liquids and poly(ionic liquid)s.

This review surveys recent work on the use of ionic liquids (ILs) and polymerized ionic liquids (PILs) as precursors to synthesize functional carbon materials. As solvents or educts with negligible vapour pressure, these systems enable simple processing, composition, and structural control of the resulting carbons under rather simple and green synthesis conditions. Recent applications of the resulting nanocarbons across a multitude of fields, such as fuel cells, energy storage in batteries and supercapacitors, catalysis, separation, and sorption materials are highlighted.

Copper-metallomesogen structures obtained by ionic self-assembly (ISA): molecular electromechanical switching driven by cooperativity.

In a stepwise noncovalent multiple-interaction strategy, copper(II) salts were complexed with the sodium salts of bathophenanthrolinedisulfonic acid (BPS) and bathocuproinedisulfonic acid (BCS), and organized into nanostructured materials by the addition of ammonium surfactants by means of the ionic self-assembly (ISA) route. In the case of the methyl-substituted BCS complexes, a slow color change from green to brick red was observed. UV and EPR investigations showed that the color change was due to a change in oxidation state, the resulting brick red color is typical for Cu(I) species.

Organized nanostructured complexes of inorganic clusters and surfactants that exhibit thermal solid-state transformations.

Facile organization of the inorganic crown-shaped [Ni(3)P(3)S(12)](3-) ion (1) into room-temperature liquid-crystalline materials by complexation with double-tail ammonium surfactants is achieved by the ionic self-assembly (ISA) route. Small-angle X-ray diffraction, UV/Vis spectroscopy, and (31)P NMR analyses reveal that these complexes show an interesting solid-state structure transition. Upon heating, the inorganic crown species polymerizes to the inorganic polyelectrolyte infinity [NiPS(4)](-).