Nickel metal-organic frameworks for visible-light CO reduction under mild reaction conditions.

Photochemical CO conversion into carbon fuel is a promising route to explore renewable energy and relieve climate change. However, it is still a key challenge to achieve high selectivity to CO and simultaneously achieve high conversion efficiency in photochemical CO reduction. Herein, we demonstrate the effect of Ni metal centers as catalytic active sites for the photocatalytic conversion of CO to CO by designing and constructing Ni metal-organic framework (Ni-MOF) materials.

Surfactant-Modulated a Highly Sensitive Fluorescent Probe of Fully Conjugated Covalent Organic Nanosheets for Detecting Copper Ions in Aqueous Solution.

Efficient detection of aqueous copper ions is of high significance for environmental and human health, since copper is involved in potent redox activity in physiological and pathological processes. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have shown advantages in efficient capturing and detecting of copper ions due to their large surface area, robust chemical stability, and high sensitivity, but most of them are hydrophobic, leading to the limitation in sensing copper ions in aqueous media. Herein, the design and synthesis of an sp -carbon conjugated COF (sp -TPE-COF) are reported with surfactant-assisted water dispersion for detecting traces of copper ions based on the photo-induced electron transfer (PET) mechanism.

Light-Driven Cascade Mitochondria-to-Nucleus Photosensitization in Cancer Cell Ablation.

Nuclei and mitochondria are the only cellular organelles containing genes, which are specific targets for efficient cancer therapy. So far, several photosensitizers have been reported for mitochondria targeting, and another few have been reported for nuclei targeting. However, none have been reported for photosensitization in both mitochondria and nucleus, especially in cascade mode, which can significantly reduce the photosensitizers needed for maximal treatment effect.

Highly Stretchable, Adhesive, Biocompatible, and Antibacterial Hydrogel Dressings for Wound Healing.

Treatment of wounds in special areas is challenging due to inevitable movements and difficult fixation. Common cotton gauze suffers from incomplete joint surface coverage, confinement of joint movement, lack of antibacterial function, and frequent replacements. Hydrogels have been considered as good candidates for wound dressing because of their good flexibility and biocompatibility.

Sulfone "Geländer" Helices: Revealing Unexpected Parameters Controlling the Enantiomerization Process.

The two sulfonyl-bridged Geländer helices and are obtained by oxidation of the corresponding sulfide bridged precursors and . Both Geländer structures are fully characterized by NMR, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and optical spectroscopies. X-ray diffraction with a single crystal of provides its solid-state structure.

Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks as Zn Modulation Layers to Enable Dendrite-Free Zn Anodes.

Zinc (Zn) holds great promise as a desirable anode material for next-generation rechargeable batteries. However, the uncontrollable dendrite growth and low coulombic efficiency of the Zn plating/stripping process severely impede further practical applications of Zn-based batteries. Here, these roadblocks are removed by using in situ grown zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) as the ion modulation layer to tune the diffusion behavior of Zn ions on Zn anodes.

CNT-Assembled Octahedron Carbon-Encapsulated CuP/Cu Heterostructure by In Situ MOF-Derived Engineering for Superior Lithium Storage: Investigations by Experimental Implementation and First-Principles Calculation.

Conspicuously, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) serve as homogenously and periodically atom-dispersed self-sacrificial template for in situ engineering of hierarchical porous carbon-encapsulated micro/nanoheterostructure materials, integrating the merits of micro/nanostructure to high-volumetric energy storage. Copper phosphide represents a promising candidate due to its compact material density compared to commercial graphite. Herein, micro/nanostructured CuP/Cu encapsulated by carbon-nanotube-assembled hierarchical octahedral carbonaceous matrix (CuP/Cu@CNHO) is constructed by an in situ MOF-derived engineering for novel anode material in LIBs, which achieves an extraordinary cycling stability (a well-maintained gravimetric/volumetric capacity of 463.

Alkene-Linked Covalent Organic Frameworks Boosting Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution by Efficient Charge Separation and Transfer in the Presence of Sacrificial Electron Donors.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are potential photocatalysts for artificial photosynthesis but they are much less explored for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (PHE). COFs, while intriguing due to crystallinity, tunability, and porosity, tend to have low apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) and little is explored on atomistic structure-performance correlation. Here, adopting triphenylbenzene knots and phenyl linkers as a proof of concept, three structurally related COFs with different linkages are constructed to achieve a tunable COF platform and probe the effect of the linkage chemistry on PHE.

Next-Generation Cancer-Specific Hybrid Theranostic Nanomaterials: MAGE-A3 NIR Persistent Luminescence Nanoparticles Conjugated to Afatinib for In Situ Suppression of Lung Adenocarcinoma Growth and Metastasis.

The rate of lung cancer has gradually increased in recent years, with an average annual increase of 15%. Afatinib (AFT) plays a key role in preventing non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) growth and spread. To increase the efficiency of drug loading and NSCLC cell tracking, near infrared-persistent luminescence nanomaterials (NIR PLNs), a silica shell-assisted synthetic route for mono-dispersal, are developed and used in the nanovehicle.

A Tailored Multifunctional Anticancer Nanodelivery System for Ruthenium-Based Photosensitizers: Tumor Microenvironment Adaption and Remodeling.

Ruthenium complexes are promising photosensitizers (PSs), but their clinical applications have many limitations. Here, a multifunctional nano-platform formed by platinum-decorated and cyclodextrin ()-modified polydopamine () nanoparticles (NPs) loaded with a ferrocene-appended ruthenium complex () is reported. The NPs can successfully deliver to the tumor sites.

Aggregation-Free Organic Dyes Featuring Spiro[dibenzo[3,4:6,7]cyclohepta[1,2-]quinoxaline-10,9'-fluorene] (SDBQX) for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

Three novel organic dyes coded as , , and featuring spiro[dibenzo[3,4:6,7]cyclohepta[1,2-]quinoxaline-10,9'-fluorene] () moieties are designed to inhibit dye aggregation to improve the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The consistent absorption onsets of , , and in solutions and adsorbed on TiO films indicate that these dyes are aggregation-free dyes. Therefore, coadsorption with chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) of these three dyes reduces the performance of DSSCs because no inhibition effect for dye aggregation is needed, but, on the contrary, the dye loading amount is reduced after addition of CDCA.

Stabilized Molybdenum Trioxide Nanowires as Novel Ultrahigh-Capacity Cathode for Rechargeable Zinc Ion Battery.

Exploration of high-performance cathode materials for rechargeable aqueous Zn ion batteries (ZIBs) is highly desirable. The potential of molybdenum trioxide (MoO) in other electrochemical energy storage devices has been revealed but held understudied in ZIBs. Herein, a demonstration of orthorhombic MoO as an ultrahigh-capacity cathode material in ZIBs is presented.

Isolated Square-Planar Copper Center in Boron Imidazolate Nanocages for Photocatalytic Reduction of CO to CO.

Photocatalytic reduction of CO to value-added fuel has been considered to be a promising strategy to reduce global warming and shortage of energy. Rational design and synthesis of catalysts to maximumly expose the active sites is the key to activate CO molecules and determine the reaction selectivity. Herein, we synthesize a well-defined copper-based boron imidazolate cage (BIF-29) with six exposed mononuclear copper centers for the photocatalytic reduction of CO .

Energy Transfer between Tb and Eu in LaPO: Pulsed versus Switched-off Continuous Wave Excitation.

The energy transfer (ET) between Tb and Eu is investigated experimentally and with available theoretical models in the regime of high Tb concentrations in ≈30 nm LaPO nanoparticles at room temperature. The ET efficiency approaches 100% even for lightly Eu-doped materials. The major conclusion from the use of pulsed laser excitation and switched-off continuous wave laser diode excitation is that the energy migration between Tb ions, situated on La sites with ≈4 Å separation, is not fast.

One-Step Construction of Hydrophobic MOFs@COFs Core-Shell Composites for Heterogeneous Selective Catalysis.

The exploration of novel porous core-shell materials is of great significance because of their prospectively improved performance and extensive applications in separation, energy conversion, and catalysis. Here, mesoporous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) NH-MIL-101(Fe) as a core generate a shell with mesoporous covalent organic frameworks (COFs) NUT-COF-1(NTU) by a covalent linking process, the composite NH-MIL-101(Fe)@NTU keeping retentive crystallinity with hierarchical porosity well. Importantly, the NH-MIL-101(Fe)@NTU composite shows significantly enhanced catalytic conversion and selectivity during styrene oxidation.

High-Efficiency, Matrix Interference-Free, General Applicable Probes for Bile Acids Extraction and Detection.

Although bile acids (BAs) have been suggested as important biomarkers for endocrine diseases, the identification and quantification of different BAs are still challenges due to their enormous species and wide range concentrations. Herein, a copolymer probe based on β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) is fabricated through a simple in-mold photopolymerization for the selective extraction of BAs. Through the unique stereochemical affinity between BAs and the cavity of β-CD, the custom probe shows superior enriching capacities to series BAs.

In Situ Activating Strategy to Significantly Boost Oxygen Electrocatalysis of Commercial Carbon Cloth for Flexible and Rechargeable Zn-Air Batteries.

An in situ strategy to simultaneously boost oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution (ORR/OER) activities of commercial carbon textiles is reported and the direct use of such ubiquitous raw material as low-cost, efficient, robust, self-supporting, and bifunctional air electrodes in rechargeable Zn-air batteries is demonstrated. This strategy not only furnishes carbon textiles with a large surface area and hierarchical meso-microporosity, but also enables efficient dual-doping of N and S into carbon skeletons while retaining high conductivity and stable monolithic structures. Thus, although original carbon textile has rather poor catalytic activity, the activated textiles without loading other active materials yield effective ORR/OER bifunctionality and stability with a much lower reversible overpotential (0.

Fe-CoP Electrocatalyst Derived from a Bimetallic Prussian Blue Analogue for Large-Current-Density Oxygen Evolution and Overall Water Splitting.

Industrial application of overall water splitting requires developing readily available, highly efficient, and stable oxygen evolution electrocatalysts that can efficiently drive large current density. This study reports a facile and practical method to fabricate a non-noble metal catalyst by directly growing a Co-Fe Prussian blue analogue on a 3D porous conductive substrate, which is further phosphorized into a bifunctional Fe-doped CoP (Fe-CoP) electrocatalyst. The Fe-CoP/NF (nickel foam) catalyst shows efficient electrocatalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction, requiring low overpotentials of 190, 295, and 428 mV to achieve 10, 500, and 1000 mA cm current densities in 1.

Delivery of Phosphorescent Anticancer Iridium(III) Complexes by Polydopamine Nanoparticles for Targeted Combined Photothermal-Chemotherapy and Thermal/Photoacoustic/Lifetime Imaging.

Recently, phosphorescent iridium complexes have demonstrated great potential as anticancer and imaging agents. Dopamine is a melanin-like mimic of mussel adhesive protein that can self-polymerize to form polydopamine (PDA) nanoparticles that demonstrate favorable biocompatibility, near-infrared absorption, and photothermal effects. Herein, PDA nanoparticles are functionalized with β-cyclodextrin (CD) substitutions, which are further assembled with adamantane-modified arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (Ad-RGD) tripeptides to target integrin-rich tumor cells.

A General Electrode Design Strategy for Flexible Fiber Micro-Pseudocapacitors Combining Ultrahigh Energy and Power Delivery.

Herein, a general strategy is proposed to boost the energy storage capability of pseudocapacitive materials (i.e., MnO) to their theoretical limits in unconventional 1D fiber configuration by rationally designing bicontinuous porous Ni skeleton@metal wire "sheath-core" metallic scaffold as a versatile host.