Promoting oxygen electrode reaction kinetics in photo-assisted Li-O batteries through heterostructure design and built-in electric field construction.

Li-O batteries (LOBs) boast an exceptionally high theoretical energy density; however, the slow kinetics of the oxygen electrode reaction have been a significant hurdle in their advancement and practical application. In this study, a composite of bismuth oxyhalide heterojunction incorporated with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) was engineered on carbon cloth (Zr-MOF/BiOIBr/CC) as an efficient bifunctional catalyst to enhance the oxygen electrode reaction in photo-assisted LOBs. Compared to Zr-MOF/CC, Zr-MOF/BiOIBr/CC significantly expands the light absorption spectrum of the catalyst.

Nanoconfined tandem three-phase photocatalysis for highly selective CO reduction to ethanol.

The conversion of CO and HO into ethanol with high selectivity photocatalysis is greatly desired for effective CO resource utilization. However, the sluggish and challenging C-C coupling hinders this goal, with the behavior of *CO holding the key. Here, a nanoconfined and tandem three-phase reaction system is established to simultaneously enhance the *CO concentration and interaction time, achieving an outstanding ethanol selectively of 94.

Photophysics and photochemistry of thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters based on the multiple resonance effect: transient optical and electron paramagnetic resonance studies.

The photochemistry of two representative thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters based on the multiple resonance effect (MRE) (DABNA-1 and DtBuCzB) was studied. No significant TADF was observed in fluid solution, although the compounds have a long-lived triplet state ( 30 μs). We found that these planar boron molecules bind with Lewis bases, , 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) or an -heterocyclic carbene (NHC).

Solar-driven CO-to-ethanol conversion enabled by continuous CO transport a superhydrophobic CuO nano fence.

The overall photocatalytic CO reduction reaction presents an eco-friendly approach for generating high-value products, specifically ethanol. However, ethanol production still faces efficiency issues (typically formation rates <605 μmol g h). One significant challenge arises from the difficulty of continuously transporting CO to the catalyst surface, leading to inadequate gas reactant concentration at reactive sites.

Single-atom engineering of hemicyanine and its amphiphilic derivative for optimized near infrared phototheranostics.

Near-infrared (NIR) dyes are widely used in the field of phototheranostics. Hemicyanine dyes (HDs) have recently received tremendous attention due to their easy synthesis and excellent NIR features. However, HDs can easily form non-fluorescent aggregates and their potential for phototherapy still needs further exploration due to their poor ability to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Lignin-based composites for high-performance supercapacitor electrode materials.

With the rapid development of the global economy, the depletion of fossil fuels and the intensification of environmental pollution, there is an increasingly urgent need for new and green electrochemical energy storage technologies in society. In this thesis, ligninsulfonate/polyaniline nanocomposites were synthesized by chemical oxidation using aniline as the monomer, lignin as the template and dopant, and ammonium persulfate as the oxidant. The results showed that the average diameter of the ligninsulfonate/polyaniline nanocomposite was 85 nm, and the composite electrode exhibited good electron conduction ability and excellent capacitive performance by ligninsulfonate doping.

Recent progresses in the synthesis of MnO nanowire and its application in environmental catalysis.

Nanostructured MnO with various morphologies exhibits excellent performance in environmental catalysis owing to its large specific surface area, low density, and adjustable chemical properties. The one-dimensional MnO nanowire has been proved to be the dominant morphology among various nanostructures, such as nanorods, nanofibers, nanoflowers, . The syntheses and applications of MnO-based nanowires also have become a research hotspot in environmental catalytic materials over the last two decades.

Facile synthesis of Ni(OH) nanoarrays on graphene@carbon fabric as dual-functional electrochemical materials for supercapacitors and capacitive desalination.

A high-performance Ni(OH) nanoarray on graphene (RGO)@carbon fabric nanocomposites with hierarchical nanostructures were facilely synthesized, which involves (i) coating of graphene on a carbon fabric; and (ii) growth of Ni(OH) nanoarray on the graphene surface. It was found that Ni(OH) nanoplates grew evenly on the surface of graphene without stacking. This unique structure of the electrode material favors a higher electrochemical active site, endowing the enhancing capacity performance.

Preparation of antistatic epoxy resin coatings based on double comb-like quaternary ammonium salt polymers.

Two kinds of double comb-like quaternary ammonium salt polymers P(DPA-EPI) and P(DBA-EPI) with lower polarity were designed and synthesized using epichlorohydrin (EPI), di--propylamine (DPA) and di--butylamine (DBA) as raw materials. The transparent antistatic epoxy resin coatings were obtained using the two polymers as antistatic agents, respectively. Because P(DPA-EPI) and P(DBA-EPI) with good hygroscopic performance are easily dissolved in epoxy resin paints and are nearly linearly arranged in the epoxy resin paints, the obtained transparent antistatic epoxy resin coatings achieve good antistatic properties.

Coadsorption behaviors and mechanisms of Pb(ii) and methylene blue onto a biodegradable multi-functional adsorbent with temperature-tunable selectivity.

An entirely bio-degradable adsorbent based on lignin was synthesized by a crosslinking method and the adsorption of methyl blue (MB) and Pb(ii) onto the adsorbent were comparatively investigated, with adsorption behavior and mechanism of the two pollutants on the adsorbent (SLS) being assessed in single and binary systems. According to the results, SLS was capable of effective adsorption using MB and Pb(ii). The adsorption behavior of MB and Pb(ii) followed Langmuir and pseudo-first order models and showed temperature-dependent preferences.

N-Substitution of acridone with electron-donating groups: crystal packing, intramolecular charge transfer and tuneable aggregation induced emission.

Acridone derivatives with electron-rich triphenylamine functionalized at the amino position were synthesized and their properties were experimentally and computationally investigated. The single crystal structure analysis revealed that the π-π interaction of acridone and the formation of hydrogen bonds of carbonyl and the hydrogen atoms of the pending phenyl ring were crucial in the determination of molecular packing in the crystalline state. An intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) process was observed between acridone and triphenylamine even with reduced conjugation by the nitrogen atom of acridone.

Novel camphor-based pyrimidine derivatives induced cancer cell death through a ROS-mediated mitochondrial apoptosis pathway.

A series of novel camphor-based pyrimidine derivatives (3a-3x) have been synthesized; their structures were determined by using conventional methods and compound 3f was further confirmed through single crystal XRD analysis. The cytotoxic activity of the target compounds against a panel of human normal (GES-1) and cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231, RPMI-8226, A549) was evaluated by MTS assay. Here we found that compound 3f exhibited the strongest anti-tumor activity, comparable to that of etoposide, and had much lower cytotoxicity to normal GES-1 cells (IC > 50 μM) than the reference drug (IC = 8.

Density functional theory (DFT) investigation on the structure and photocatalysis properties of double-perovskite Gd Ca BaCoO (0 ≤ ≤ 0.4).

GdBaCoO (GCBC) has been widely used in various applications because of its unique structural characteristics. However, calcium-doped GCBC materials have not been comprehensively studied in terms of their structure and catalytic properties. Based on the first-principles density functional theory, the structure and electronic density of states were revealed by experiments and simulations.

Correction: A highly sensitive and selective fluorescent probe for quantitative detection of Al in food, water, and living cells.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/C9RA00447E.].

Validation of 'lock-and-key' mechanism of a metal-organic framework in selective sensing of triethylamine.

To develop the metal-organic framework (MOF)-based sensing of triethylamine (TEA) in an aqueous phase, Al-MIL-101-NH (MIL: Material Institute Lavoisier) with a tripod-like cavity was utilized based on a lock-and-key model. Al-MIL-101-NH (Al-MOF) was found to be an excellent fluorescent sensor for the TEA molecules in the range of 0.05-0.

Nopinone-based aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active difluoroboron β-diketonate complex: photophysical, electrochemical and electroluminescence properties.

Four difluoroboron (BF) β-diketonate nopinone complexes 3a-3d that exhibited typical aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties were synthesized using the natural renewable β-pinene derivative nopinone as the starting material. The thermal, photophysical, electrochemical and electroluminescent properties as well as the AIE properties of complexes 3a-3d were analyzed systematically. The data of photophysical and electrochemical demonstrated that compound 3b with a methoxy group exhibited the largest bathochromic shift, the highest absolute photoluminescence quantum yields and narrowest optical bandgap among 3a-3d.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of 2-aryl-benzimidazole derivatives of dehydroabietic acid as novel tubulin polymerization inhibitors.

A series of novel 2-aryl-benzimidazole derivatives of dehydroabietic acid were synthesized and characterized by IR, H NMR, C NMR, MS and elemental analyses. All the target compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against SMMC-7721, MDA-MB-231, HeLa and CT-26 cancer cell lines and the normal hepatocyte cell line QSG-7701 through MTT assays. Among them, compound 6j displayed the most potent cytotoxic activity with IC values of 0.