Latest ArticlesA class of silica anchored Schiff base decorated polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers were synthesized for removing aqueous Cu(Ⅱ) and Ag(Ⅰ). The adsorption performance was investigated synthetically and the adsorption mechanism was revealed. Results indicate the adsorption capacity depends on dendrimer generation, solution pH, contact time, temperature and initial metal ion concentration. The optimum adsorption pH is 6 for both metal ion. Adsorption kinetic suggests the adsorption can achieve equilibrium at 180 and 150 min for Cu(Ⅱ) and Ag(Ⅰ). The kinetic process is found to be in good agreement with pseudo-second-order model and film diffusion is the rate-controlling step. The adsorption isotherm indicates the adsorption is proceeded by monolayer behavior with chemical mechanism. These adsorbents exhibit competitive adsorption capacity as compared with other reported adsorbents. Theoretical calculation demonstrates the participation of hydroxyl, carbonyl, and amide groups during the adsorption of Cu(Ⅱ), while hydroxyl and amide groups are mainly responsible for capturing Ag(Ⅰ).
Three imidazole-modified Ag-polyoxovanadates frameworks (APFs) with a controllable molar ratio of Ag+ to polyoxovanadates (POVs) [Ag(IM)2]2V4O12·2Ag(IM)2 (APF-1), [Ag2(1-eIM)4]2[Ag(1-eIM)2]3·2Ag(1-eIM)2·3(1-HeIM)[V10O28]2 (APF-2) and [Ag(1-pIM)2]3[HV10O28]·2Ag(1-pIM)2·2H2O (APF-3) (IM = imidazole; 1-eIM = 1-ethylimidazole and 1-pIM = 1-propylimidazole) have been successfully achieved by self-assembly of POVs, Ag+ cations, and three different imidazole derivatives. Interestingly, the molar ratios of Ag+ to POVs vary from 4:1, 4.5:1 to 5:1 by changing the vanadium resources and imidazole derivatives. Notably, the coordination environment of Ag+ cations and the structure of POVs in the APFs are also different. Specifically, for APF-1, the four Ag atoms adopt three-coordinated and four-coordinated geometries, respectively, and Ag-imidazole complexes and [V4O12]4− cluster form the one-dimensional polymeric chains. While Ag atoms in APF-2 and APF-3 exhibit two-, four- and five-coordinated geometries for APF-2, four-, five- and six-coordinated geometries for APF-3, respectively. These Ag+ cations and decavanadate clusters are assembled into the 2D supramolecular structure through the Ag-O bonds and Ag…Ag argentophilic interaction. Remarkably, thus-obtained APF-2 can serve as powerful efficient heterogeneous catalyst for construction of CN bond and detoxification of simulant sulfur mustard (yields up to 99%), which enable successful recycling for three cycles with remained catalytic activities and structure stability.
Herein, we report an unprecedented regiospecific oxidative Mizoroki-Heck type reaction for the synthesis of α-difluoromethyl homoallylic alcohols. The reaction shows broad substrate scopes and high functional group tolerance. Late-stage functionalization of complex biologically active molecules demonstrates the synthetic potential of this transformation. Mechanistic study supports the involvement of MnBr2 catalyzed radical 1, 2-silyl transfer.
Lung cancer is the most common malignancy in the world, with a high mortality rate. Nevertheless, therapies to act effectively against lung cancer remain elusive. So far, chemotherapy is still the frontline treatment of lung cancer. Doxorubicin (DOX) is a broad-spectrum anti-tumor drug. However, DOX often has serious side effects and causes multi-drug resistance, which greatly limits its clinical application. In this work, biodegradable methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic acid) (MPEG-PLA) and cyclo(Arg-Gly-Asp-d-Phe-Lys) (cRGD) polypeptide modified PEG-PLA (cRGD-PEG-PLA) copolymers were used for the co-delivery of curcumin (CUR) and DOX (CUR-DOX/cRGD-M). The particle size of the self-assembled drug-loaded nanomicelle approximately was 27.4 nm and the zeta potential was −2.7 mV. Interestingly, CUR can enhance the uptake of DOX by Lewis lung carcinoma (LL/2) cells. The experimental results in vivo and in vitro showed that CUR-DOX/cRGD-M combination therapy could promote apoptosis of lung cancer cells, and conspicuously inhibit the tumor growth. Our data indicate that CUR-DOX/cRGD-M will be biodegradable and sustainable, which may have potential clinical application value in the treatment of lung cancer.
DNA methylation represents a major type of DNA modifications that play key roles in diverse biological processes. With the recent development of highly selective and sensitive bioanalytical techniques, N6-methyladenine (6mA) has been characterized as an important internal DNA modification dynamically occurring in multiple eukaryotes including humans. Increasing evidence has indicated that 6mA may act as a novel epigenetic modification involved in regulation of development, stress response and diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. We review herein the recent advances in the detection and functional studies of 6mA modification, with special emphasis on its biological consequences and human health relevance as well as its dynamic regulation by various types of methyltransferases, demethylases and 6mA-binding proteins. It can be envisaged that further chemical and biological studies of 6mA modification will lead to a better understanding about its potentially important roles in normal and pathological biological processes.
Though Olefin-linked covalent organic frameworks (oCOFs) possess excellent π-electron delocalization, the barely reversible olefin linkage brings challenges for oCOFs' synthesis and functionalization. Here, we synthesize new oCOFs with tertiary amine knots which have twisted configuration and electron-donating nature. Investigation into the structural variation and photoelectric performance shows that the twisted configuration of oCOF-TFPA could favor to the intramolecular charge transfer process and reduce the possibility of aggregation-caused quenching. Photoelectrical measurements and electric band structure calculation both verify the superiority of this oCOFs' structure in photoelectric sensing.
Volatile organic compound (VOC) pollution has a serious impact on human and urgently needs to be controlled through the development of new methods and catalytic materials. Compared with traditional thermal catalytic oxidation, the synergistic photothermocatalysis is regarded as a green and environmentally friendly strategy for organic compound pollutant removal, which can promote spontaneous heating of the surface of catalysts to achieve thermal catalytic reaction conditions via harvesting light irradiation. In this paper, a monolithic photothermocatalyst was synthesized through coating graphene oxide (GO) and MnOx in turn on a commercially available melamine sponge, where the GO mainly acted as a photothermal conversion layer to heat the catalytically active MnOx. This monolithic catalyst presented excellent photo-induced activity for formaldehyde elimination under ambient conditions (~90% degradation ratio in 20 min for ~160 ppm initial concentration formaldehyde), and meanwhile possessed a high catalytic durability for multiple cycles. The kinetic study demonstrated that this photothermocatalytic process followed a pseudo-second-order kinetics. Finally, we proposed a possible formaldehyde degradation pathway based on in situ DRIFTS examination.
Oxygen ligation is envisioned to provide a stable and distinctive coordination environment to the strongly oxophilic rare-earth metals. However, the well-defined dialkyl complexes bearing oxyanion ancillary ligand had been rarely addressed for the instability of the complexes and the shortage of easily available ligands. Herein, we report the synthesis of phosphate ligated dialkyl yttrium complexes (PYR2) featuring a high stability and a tunable ligand. Treated with the borate reagent, the phosphate yttrium complex displays high activity and selectivity in the catalytic cis-1, 4-polymerization of isoprene (up to 96.5%). Furthermore, using AlMe3 as an additive, the stereoselectivity switches to trans-1, 4-polymerization (up to 92.0%).
The properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials are highly dependent on their phase and thickness. Various phases exist in tin disulfide (SnS2), resulting in promising electronic and optical properties. Hence, accurately identifying the phase and thickness of SnS2 nanosheets is prior to their optoelectronic applications. Herein, layered 2H-SnS2 and 4H-SnS2 crystals were grown by chemical vapor transportation and the crystalline phase of SnS2 was characterized by X-ray diffraction, ultralow frequency (ULF) Raman spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscope. As-grown crystals were mechanically exfoliated to single- and few-layer nanosheets, which were investigated by optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy and ULF Raman spectroscopy. Although the 2H-SnS2 and 4H-SnS2 nanosheets have similar optical contrast on SiO2/Si substrates, their ULF Raman spectra obviously show different shear and breathing modes, which are highly dependent on their phases and thicknesses. Interestingly, the SnS2 nanosheets have shown phase-dependent electrical properties. The 4H-SnS2 nanosheet shows a current on/off ratio of 2.58 × 105 and excellent photosensitivity, which are much higher than those of the 2H-SnS2 nanosheet. Our work not only offers an accurate method for identifying single- and few-layer SnS2 nanosheets with different phases, but also paves the way for the application of SnS2 nanosheets in high-performance optoelectronic devices.
An organic-inorganic hybrid FeIII–PrIII-included 2-germano-20-tungstate [Pr(H2O)8]2H2[Fe4(H2O)4 (pca)4Ge2W20O72]•34H2O (Hpca = 2-pyridinecarboxylic acid) (1) was hydrothermally prepared. Its polyoxoanion comprises one tetra-FeIII incorporated [Fe4(H2O)4(pca)4Ge2W20O72]8- hybrid entity and two [Pr(H2O)8]3+ ornamental cations. The [Fe4(H2O)4(pca)4Ge2W20O72]8- 2-germano-20-tungstate entity can be regarded as an infrequent S-type [Ge2W20O72]16- cluster pocketed by four [Fe(H2O)(pca)]2+ cations. The S-type [Ge2W20O72]16- cluster could be imagined as condensation of two divacant Keggin [α-GeW10O37]10- segments by sharing two atoms. It is of interest is that carboxyl O and pyridine N atoms on pca ligands concurrently bind with Fe3+ cations in a five-membered heterocyclic fashion to increase the stability of the whole structure. Furthermore, the electrochemical biosensing properties of 1 as the modified electrode material have been investigated for detecting norepinephrine (NPP), showing a low detection limit of 3.25 µmol/L. This work not only enriches structures of heterometallic germanotungstates (GTs), but also expands applications of polyoxometalates (POMs) in the electrochemical biosensing field.