Latest ArticlesUnderstanding the regulatory mechanism of self-assembly processes is a necessity to modulate nanostructures and their properties. Herein, we have studied the mechanism of self-assembly in the C3 symmetric 1, 3, 5-benzentricarboxylic amino acid methyl ester enantiomers (TPE) in a mixed solvent system consisting of methanol and water. The resultant chiral structure was used for chiral recognition. The formation of chiral structures from the synergistic effect of multiple noncovalent interaction forces was confirmed by various techniques. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to characterize the time evolution of TPE structure and properties in solution. The theoretical results were consistent with the experimental results. Furthermore, the chiral structure assembled by the building blocks of TPE molecules was highly stereoselective for diamine compounds.
As important emerging contaminants, antibiotics have caused potential hazards to the ecological environment and human health due to their extensive production and consumption. Among various techniques for removing antibiotics from wastewater, H2O2-based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have received increasing attention due to their fast reaction rate and strong oxidation capability. Hence this review critically discusses: (ⅰ) Recent research progress of AOPs with the addition of H2O2 for antibiotics removal through different methods of H2O2 activation; (ⅱ) recent advances in AOPs that can in-situ generate and activate H2O2 for antibiotics removal; (ⅲ) H2O2-based AOPs as a combination with other techniques for the degradation and mineralization of antibiotics in wastewater. Future perspectives about H2O2-based AOPs are also presented to grasp the future research trend in the area.
As PFOS, PFOA and their derivatives were banned according to the Stockholm Convention for their potential bioaccumulation and toxicity, people attempted to substitute the legacy fluorosurfactants with short-chain ones. Although short-chain alternatives can alleviate bioaccumulation, surface activity was compromised. Fluorine industry kept seeking for effective solution. In this work, we prepared and investigated a series of fluoroether betaine surfactants for their surface activity and spreading property. The role of oxygen on surface activity was discussed. We found that insertion of oxygen atoms into fluorinated chain could increase hydrophobicity and thus enhance surface activity. The contribution of one oxygen is approximately half of that of a difluoromethylene group by experience. Moreover, introducing oxygen diversified the structure to fill in the gap of surface activity between short and long fluorosurfactants. In summary, this work provided basic knowledge for molecular design.
In this work, a liquid-gas heterogeneous microreactor was developed for investigating continuous crystallization of dolutegravir sodium (DTG), as well as revealing reaction kinetics and mixing mechanism with 3-min data acquisition. The reaction kinetics models were established by visually recording the concentration variation of reactants over time in the microchannel via adding pH-sensitive fluorescent dye. The mixing intensification mechanism of liquid-gas flow was quantified through the fluorescent signal to indicate mixing process, demonstrating an outstanding mixing performance with a mixing time less than 0.1 s. Compared with batch crystallization, continuous synthesis of dolutegravir sodium using liquid-gas heterogenous microreactor optimizes crystal distribution size, and successfully modifies the crystal morphology in needle-like habit instead of rod-like habit. The microreactor continuous crystallization can run for 5 h without crystal blockage and achieve D90 of DTG less than 30 µm. This work provides a feasible approach for continuously synthesizing dolutegravir sodium, and can optimize the existing pharmaceutical crystallization.
Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assay is not only significant to the clinical diagnosis of some related disease, but also momentous to the construction of ALP-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Herein, for the first time, we have discovered that ascorbic acid (AA) can specially react with N-methylethylenediamine (N-MEDA) to generate fluorescent non-conjugated polymer dots (NCPDs) under mild conditions. On the basis of the AA-responsive emission and ALP-catalyzed hydrolysis of ascorbic acid 2-phosphate (AA2P) to AA, we have exploited a fluorometric ALP activity assay with high sensitivity and selectivity. Furthermore, by means of conventional ALP-based ELISA platform, a conceptual fluorescent ELISA has been constructed and applied in the potential clinical diagnosis, during which cardiac troponin I (cTnI), a well-established biomarker of acute myocardial infarction, has been chosen as the model target. We envision that such original fluorescent NCPDs generation-enabled ELISA could become a versatile tool in biochemical sensing and medical diagnosis in the future.
Assembling MnO2 nanowires into macroscopic membrane is a promising engineered technology for catalyst separation and enhancement of Fenton-like reaction activity, yet its development is limited by the deficiencies in preparation and property modulation of the MnO2 nanowires. In this work, we developed a facile method using C2H5OH and CH3COOK as reductive and vital control reagents to react with KMnO4 by hydrothermal reaction at 140 ℃ for 12 h, to prepare the ultralong α-MnO2 nanowires up to tens of micrometers with high purity and aspect ratio. Such strategy not only had the advantages of being mild, easily controlled and environmental pollution-free, but also endowed α-MnO2 nanowires with excellent ability as a Fenton catalyst when assembled into free-standing membrane for degrading phenolic compounds (kobs = 0.0738 ~ 0.1695 min−1) in a continuous flow reaction. The reactive oxygen species (i.e., •OH) from Fenton-like reaction were enriched within this α-MnO2 nanowire membrane via nanoconfinement effect, which further enhanced the mass transportation of •OH available for phenolic contaminants. MnO2 nanowire membrane using our method possessed the high practical potential for water purify due to its easy-preparation and enhanced catalytic performances.
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with large specific surface area, considerable pore volume, controllable structure, and high concentration of active metal sites have been applied widely in researches like catalysis and sensing. However, potential applications of MOFs in both photocatalysis and luminescence sensors are facing major challenges arising from their severe charge recombination, low utilization of solar energy, low quantum yield, limited charge transfer between the metal ions/clusters and the ligand. Recent studies revealed that rational introduction of carbon dots (CDs) with excellent optical properties, unique quantum confinement and high conductivity can greatly enhance the functions of MOFs. In this paper, typical synthesis methods of these CD-MOF composites as well as their potential applications in photocatalysis and sensing are reviewed with emphasis. Representative examples of these CD-MOF composites are discussed, and key features and advantages of CD-MOF composites that will facilitate future applications are highlighted.
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