Latest ArticlesHerein we report a covalent cage TPE-Zn4 based on a tetraphenylethylene molecule via subcomponent self-assembly, which is templated by zinc ions. TPE-Zn4 features a quadrangular prismatic cage structure, which is characterized by NMR, mass spectrum, and single-crystal X-ray diffractions. TPE-Zn4 emitted orange fluorescence (λem = 620 nm) in DMSO solution under the irradiation of UV light (λex = 395 nm) and can be applied as a fluorescence sensor for selectively detecting Pd2+. The fluorescence of TPE-Zn4 was quenched by Pd2+ in DMSO solution, and a very low detection limit of 62.3 nM was achieved. Mechanism studies reveal that the Pd2+ can replace the Zn2+, and the heavy atom effect and chelation-enhanced quenching effect between the Pd2+ and the cage probably cause the fluorescence quenching.
As nanocarriers, nanomicelles play vital roles in the toolbox of drug delivery. The stability of nanomicelles affects the nanomedicines’ bioactivity. Therefore, it is important to understand the stability of nanomicelles for further improvements. Here, we report a strategy to construct new nanomicelles (NM) by introducing aggregation-induced emission (AIE) functional group tetraphenylethylene (TPE) in the component polymer vitamin E (d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate) (TPGS). The stability of doxorubicin (DOX) loaded nanomicelles DOX@NM in different conditions was studied by fluorescence analysis. The fluorescence changes of DOX@NM are ‘seesaw-like’ when they transform between assembled and disassembled forms. In the assembled form, TPE gives emission from AIE effect, while in the disassembled form, the fluorescence of DOX is observed due to the disappearance of ACQ effect.
Lithium-rich manganese-based material shows great potential as the high specific cathode materials due to its low cost, environmental friendliness, high operating voltage and simple preparation process. However, the poor capacity retention and cycling performance caused by its unstable structure during cycling restrict the commercialization. In this work, Li1.2Ni0.16Mn0.56Co0.08O2 was synthesized utilizing a Co-precipitation method and different amount of La(PO3)3 (La(PO3)3 = 2 wt%, 4 wt% and 6 wt%) was selected as the coating layer to resolve the above issues. During the calcination process, La(PO3)3 reacts with impurities such as LiOH and Li2CO3 on the lithium-rich surface to reduce the residual lithium on the surface, thus improving the interfacial stability, slowing down the corrosion of the electrolyte, and finally enhancing its electrochemical performance. The cathode materials coated with 4% of La(PO3)3 showed the best electrochemical performance in terms of capacity retention and cycling performance compared to the pristine NCM. The high initial discharge capacity of 214.21 mAh/g and capacity retention of 94.2% after 100 cycles at 0.1 C can be obtained. This work provides an effective strategy to protect the cathode from corrosion and will promote its further practical applications in high specific Li-ion batteries.
Carbon materials derived from biomass waste are considered as potential electrocatalysts for applications in zinc-air batteries (ZABs) due to their low cost and good catalytic activity. Here, we reported the preparation of gel-based catalysts through utilizing hydrolyzed waste leather powder cross-linked with metallic salt solutions. After calcination, iron-nickel alloy anchored in nitrogen-doped porous carbon catalysts (FeNi@NDC) was achieved. Compared with commercial Pt/C catalyst, FeNi@NDC-800 exhibited lower E1/2 (0.77 V) and better durability. More importantly, the resulting FeNi@NDC-800-based alkaline ZABs achieved power density of 93.01 mW/cm2 and open circuit voltage of 1.45 V, which the FeNi@NDC-800-based neutral ZAB displayed a charge/discharge cycle stability of 275 h. This work opens up the possibility of rational design and preparation of low-cost and high-performance electrocatalysts from recyclable leather waste.
As a high-flux operation mode of thin film composite-forward osmosis (TFC-FO) membrane, active layer facing draw solution (AL-DS) mode suffers from the severe membrane fouling tendency, which is not addressed well. Here, we introduced a photocatalyst (Anatase titanium dioxide, A-TiO2) onto the support layer of TFC-FO membrane via the bonding of polydopamine (PDA) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and prepared two photocatalytic membranes, A-TiO2/PDA@TFC and A-TiO2/PTFE@TFC. Compared with the pristine TFC-FO membrane, both A-TiO2/PDA @TFC and A-TiO2/PTFE@TFC had an improved water permeability (10.5 L m−2h−1 and 9.5 L m−2 h−1, respectively) and reduced reverse NaCl flux salt (0.8 g m−2 h−1 and 0.7 g m−2 h−1, respectively) in the AL-DS mode using 1 mol/L NaCl as draw solution and pure water as feed solution. Moreover, in the 16 h fouling experiment using 200 ppm bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution as a representative pollutant, the flux decline rate of both photocatalytic membranes was dramatically alleviated from 39.7% and 21.7% in the darkness to 8.5% and 9.7% under UV irradiation, respectively, indicating a significant anti-fouling capacity of photocatalytic effect. In all, the presence of A-TiO2 endowed membrane with high permeability, high rejection efficiency and excellent anti-fouling capacity under UV spotlight. As bonding agent, PTFE provided the modified membrane with a high photocatalytic effect and high self-cleaning capacity, while PDA increased the membrane permeability and protected membrane against photocatalytic damage. This work provides a simple and feasible method to improve the anti-fouling capacity of TFC-FO membrane in AL-DS mode.
Defect passivation is one of the important strategies to improve the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells. In this work, 2,6-di–tert–butyl–4-methylphenol (BHT) as antioxidant was introduced into the perovskite precursor solution to improve the quality of the prepared perovskite films, so that these films performed a larger and uniform grain size. Moreover, the −OH functional group in BHT interacts with I−, thus reducing the density of defect states and inhibiting the non-radiative recombination. The presence of hydrophobic groups in BHT protects the film from moisture erosion and improves the long-term stability of PSCs devices. The maximum photoelectric conversion efficiency of the constructed ITO/SnO2/BHT-MAPbI3/Carbon device is 16.88%, and the unpackaged cell maintains the initial efficiency of 99.3% after 698 h of storage under the environmental condition of 30% humidity. This work provides an efficient approach to improve the performance of printable hole transport layer-free carbon electrode perovskite solar cells.
As an attractive C1 synthon, carbon dioxide (CO2) has been extensively used in organic synthesis to produce carboxylic acids. In this research, stereoselective electrochemical carboxylation of α,β-unsaturated sulfones has been developed under transition-metal-free conditions. All the cinnamic acids and the derivatives are obtained selectively in the E-configuration. Besides, arylpropiolates also can be produced from alkynyl sulfones.
As a strong oxidizer, hypochlorite (ClO–) are widely employed as bleaching agents and disinfectants. Determination of ClO– is required to ensure bactericidal effects and avoid hazards caused by excessive residual chlorine. Herein, the derivative bicyclic 2-pyridone, namely DHIP-Py, was prepared successfully to establish a new ClO–-quantitative method. The probe exhibits excellent ClO– selectivity over other ROS and anions/cations, high sensitivity (LOD = 1.32 µmol/L), fast response (<5 s), and wide-pH tolerance (pH 4~10). Benefit from its good water solubility, DHIP-Py is well suited for water sample analysis and has been successfully applied to detect ClO– in real-world food and environmental samples, including tap water, bottled water and river water. The detection results were essentially identical to that of obtained from traditional DPD method. Moreover, visual detection of ClO– via filter paper-based solid sensor and imaging of ClO– in Escherichia coli were also achieved by DHIP-Py. These satisfactory results demonstrate that this bicyclic 2-pyridone-based hypochlorite probe is a promising free chlorine chemosensor with great potential for analytical applications.
Inhibiting the side reactions while promoting hydrogenation are the main target for the production of functional anilines from nitroarenes; consequently, the preparation of an ideal catalyst to improve chemical selectivity is one of the hot issues. In this work, we provided an easy-to-prepare catalyst with N-doped carbon layers, where the FexOy nanoparticles were encapsulated and distributed uniformly. The structural features of catalyst were characterized by several techniques, and the selected catalyst was next applied to the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene under varied conditions, involving temperature, holding period and H2 pressure. Subsequently, we conducted the synthesis of more than 16 substrates for the corresponding anilines with varied functional groups. The hydrogenation protocol to gram-scale synthesis as well as lifecycle performance were also demonstrated in the batch reactor, together with the explanation of its catalytic mechanisms. Overall, the present work provides an available preparation of simple but highly efficient catalysts for the production or aromatic amines, which will be benefit for the sustainable development of this field in near future.
No. 86 Xueyuan South Road, Haidian District, Beijing
010-62199257
qkjq@cast.org.cn
Copyright © 2025 China Association for Science and Technology. All rights reserved. For all open access content, the relevant licensing terms apply.
Sponsored by the Office of the Leading Group for Cybersecurity and Informatization of CAST, and supported by Science and Technology Review Publishing House
