Latest ArticlesTi3C2 belongs to MXenes family, which is a new two-dimensional material and has been applied in many fields. With simple method of hydrothermal and high temperature calcination, nanostructured Ni/Ti3C2Tx hybrid was synthesized. The stable layer structure of Ti3C2 MXene providing high surface area as well as excellent electronic conductivity are beneficial for deposition and decomposition of discharge product Li2O2. Furthermore, possessing special catalytic activity, Ni nanoparticles with size of about 20 nm could accelerate Li2O2 breaking down. Taking advantage of two kinds of materials, Ni/Ti3C2Tx hybrid as cathode of Li-O2 battery can achieve a maximal specific capacity of 20, 264 mAh/g in 100 mA/g and 10, 699 mAh/g in 500 mA/g at the first cycle. This work confirms that the prepared Ni/Ti3C2Tx hybrid exhibiting better cycling stability points out a new guideline to improve the electrochemical performance of lithium-oxygen batteries.
Two-dimensional transition-metal carbide materials, or MXenes, have attracted great attention in energy-related fields due to their excellent electrical conductivity, and large interlayer spacing. In this work, a simple method involving combustion synthesis and acid treatment to prepare accordion-like Ti3C2Tx MXene with open structure and high crystallinity, which is employed as anode materials in lithium-ion capacitors. Due to the improved ion diffusion and electron transportation of Ti3C2Tx anode, the mismatched electrode kinetics can be largely alleviated to acquire an enhanced power performance. The assembled Ti3C2Tx-based lithium-ion capacitors provides a maximum energy density of 106 Wh/kg and still exhibits a superior energy density of 79 Wh/kg even at a higher power density of 5.2 kW/kg, which provides a new platform for MXene materials with porous and crystalline features toward both high energy and power densities.
The chiral phosphoric acid catalyzed asymmetric[3 + 2] annulation of substituted 2-vinylindoles with azlactones has been established. This reaction represented a practical approach for the synthesis of structurally diverse pyrrolo[1, 2-a]indoles with two vicinal stereocenters including one tetrasubstituted stereocenter in good yields and good stereoselectivities under mild conditions.
Here we described the design and synthesis of a discrete 3D amphiphilic metallacage 4, in which the tetragonal prismatic frameworks act as the hydrophobic cores and the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chains as the hydrophilic tails. The structure of 4 was characterized by 1H NMR, 31P NMR and electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF-MS). Notably, 4 with its long PEG tails was subsequently ordered into micelles at a low concentration (1.20 ×10-6 mol/L) in water. As the concentration and cultivation time increased, the micelles can further self-assembly into nanofibers and nanoribbons. Considering the dynamic property of the coordination bond, these structures show reversible transformation under external stimuli.
Carbon dots have unique advantages in biological applications owing to their excellent optical properties. However, the biosafety evaluation of carbon dots has limitations owing to cytotoxicity in vitro, and there is little pre-safety evaluation before in vivo and clinical applications. Whether the carbon dots are or not suitable for applications in vivo, evaluation analysis can be made based on hemolysis and changes in erythrocyte morphology. In this work, a green fluorescent N, S-doped carbon dots (N, S-CDs) were obtained by hydrothermal method, tobias acid, and m-phenylenediamine as precursors. N, S-CDs not only possessed excellent dispersibility, uniform particle size, high quantum yield (37.2%) and stable photoluminescence property but also retain their photostability and strong fluorescence intensity in the acid/alkaline solutions, different ionic strengths (NaCl) and under 365 nm UV illumination. Moreover, the N, S-CDs displayed low cytotoxicity and high cellular uptake efficiency in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and excellent blood compatibility to the erythrocyte. It is foreseeable that N, S-CDs could be further studied as a promising biological imaging agent in vivo.
The series of salen-bridged bis-pillar[1]arenes were conveniently prepared by condensation reaction of 5, 5'-methylenebis(2-hydroxybenzaldehyde) or 5, 5'-(propane-2, 2-diyl)bis(2-hydroxybenzaldehyde) with mono-amido-functionalized pillar[5]arenes containing different terminal aminoalkyl groups in refluxing ethanol. The 1H NMR and 2D-NOESY spectra indicated that the salen-bridged bis-pillar[5]arenes with longer alkylene linker (n=3, 4, 6) formed the fascinating bis-[1]rotaxanes, while the salenbridged bis-pillar[5]arenes with short hydrazine and ethylenediamino linker (n=0, 2) predominately existed in free form. The single crystal structure of the bis-pillar[5]arene ambiguously indicated that two propylenediamino linker inserted in to two cavities of pillar[5]arene to form a novel bis-[1]rotaxanes.
Efficient synthetic routs for the direct and rapid construction of [5-6-6] ABC tricyclic systems of daphmanidin A-type and calyciphylline A-type alkaloids have been successfully developed. For the daphmanidin A-type, the synthesis of [5-6-6] tricyclic framework utilize a HCl-mediated intramolecular Aldol reaction to construct the bicyclo[2.2.2]octane core and a thermal condensation to afford the ABC ring system. In addition, for the calyciphylline A-type, an improved synthesis of ABC [5-6-6] tricyclic system was developed, featuring an introduction of methyl ester group at C2 before the Pd-catalyzed intramolecular oxidative alkylation to construct the desired bowl-shape tricyclic core with stereochemical control.
Indoor photovoltaics have attracted increasing attentions owing to their great potential in supplying energy for low power devices under indoor light in our daily life. The third generation thin-film solar cells, including dye-sensitized solar cells, perovskite solar cells and organic solar cells, have made rapid progress from the aspect of materials design to photovoltaic performance. This review provides an overview on the recent advances in the development of indoor photovoltaic technologies based on the third generation solar cells. The design principles of advanced thin-film indoor photovoltaics were also summarized according to the characteristics of indoor light and the advantages of the third generation solar cells. Finally, after summarizing the current research progress, the perspective on this topic is provided.
This research reports a novel heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst which could freely move through the model sediments and easily seize the pollutants in addition to efficiently catalyze H2O2, well suitable for soil and groundwater remediation. Herein, submicron γ-Fe2O3/C spheres were synthesized through a facile one-step aerosol-based process. In a series of column tests, these spheres exhibit better transport ability due to their optimal size, conforming to the prediction by the Tufenkji-Elimelech filtration theory. Meanwhile, γ-Fe2O3/C spheres could act as a strong adsorbent for organic pollutants owing to the presence of carbon, thereby providing a driving force to gather contaminants into their vicinity and facilitating the reaction. In addition, immobilization of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles into carbon spheres protects iron oxides from aggregation, and thus retains the number of active sites for catalytic decomposition of H2O2. Hence, the system containing the as-prepared γ-Fe2O3/C spheres and H2O2 shows the high removal efficiency and degradation efficiency in the remediation of recalcitrant organic contaminants such as methylene blue and sulfamethoxazole.
Two series of sulfur-containing diarylbenzopyrimidines are designed by the fragment combination of a thioacetamide with our previous disclosed DABP 3 and further oxidation. The best compound 6e with a sulfonyl scaffold displayed EC50 values of 0.0356 μmol/L against WT and 0.0228 μmol/L against HIV K103N mutant strain. More pronounced, it had a lower cytotoxicity (CC50=99.6 μmol/L), higher selectivity index (SIWT=2799, SIK103N=4375) and better calculated logarithm of the octanol-water partition coefficient (cLogP) than the lead compound 3. Molecular docking and dynamics provided the binding modes of these compounds with reverse transcriptase, explaining their activity. Collectively, the new compounds could be candidates for anti-HIV drug discovery.