Latest ArticlesWhen zero-valent iron (ZVI) is prepared and applied under neutral conditions, it is easy to form oxides or hydroxides on its surface, which hinders the electron release of ZVI. To this end, a nucleophile was introduced into the ZVI system to inhibit the precipitation of iron ions, improve the conductivity of the solution, and promote the removal efficiency of electrophilic functional groups in organic compounds. In this study, the addition of nucleophiles such as ethylenediamine, methylamine and dimethylamine to the ZVI/H2O2 system resulted in an enhanced removal efficiency of tetracycline (TC) under neutral condition, while electrophiles such as EDTA-2Na and oxalic acid dihydrate impeded the removal of TC. Experimental results demonstrated that the presence of nucleophiles could effectively promote the release of iron ions and increase the proportion of ferrous in both aqueous solution and solid surface of ZVI. Experimental and theoretical calculation results revealed that the electrophilic functional group was eliminated in the TC molecule, and the toxicity of the treated solution was reduced significantly. Overall, this work provides a selection of the conditions and pollutants applicable to ZVI under neutral pH conditions.
Sequential C-H bond addition with two different coupling partners is a powerful method for the rapid and modular construction of complex molecules based on simple starting materials. Herein, an efficient ruthenium-catalysed multicomponent long-range C-H functionalization of 2H-imidazoles was developed. This protocol showed good substrate suitability and yielded alkyl arylation products with potential biological activity.
The first example of metal Sn-fused perylene diimides (PDI) derivative (Sn-PDI) was designed, synthesized, and investigated. To obtain this type compound, a simple one-pot synthesis, named stannylative cycloaddition reaction, has been successfully developed via a palladium-based catalyst system. The novel mechanism exhibits that the reaction experiences oxidative addition, Pd-cyclization, stannylation, Pd-Sn-cyclization, and reductive elimination processes successively. This stannylative cycloaddition does realize unique σ-π hyperconjugation effect and therefore significantly influencing on the photophysical, electrochemical and excited state properties. Compared with those of PDI, both of the absorption and fluorescence spectra of Sn-PDI display large red-shifts over 20 nm. The electron energy levels of Sn-PDI have changed with an uncommon regulation. And Sn-PDI gives a considerably raised highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level of -6.00 eV More importantly, the singlet excitons of Sn-PDI could efficiently intersystem cross (ISC) into triplet state with a long lifetime of 17.8 µs, which is far longer than that (4.4 ns) of PDI.
Directed self-assembly has been used to create micro-nano scale patterns, including chiral periodic structures of organic molecules, for potential applications in optics, photonics, metamaterials, and medical and sensing technologies. This study presents a straightforward approach for fabricating large-scale chiral grating porphyrin assemblies through template-assisted techniques. The solution of tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (TPPS) was induced by chiral amino acids (L/D-arginine and L/D-serine) to self-assemble into highly ordered chiral grating structures with the assistance of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The structures show precise line widths (5.5 µm) and gaps (18 µm). Using in situ optical microscopy and second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy, the chiral characteristics and dynamic evolution of the template-assisted self-assembly are investigated. It is found that the chirality of amino acids induced TPPS self-assembled into chiral structures and the liquid contraction interface significantly enhanced the chirality of the assemblies. This study is significant for understanding the mechanism of chiral evolution and designing novel micro-nano materials with predetermined chiral properties.
Understanding the role of perovskite surface passivators in hot carriers transfer dynamics is important to develop highly efficient perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In this work, we have designed and synthesized a naphthalimide-based organic small molecule (NCN) for perovskite surface defect passivator. We reveal that the introduction of NCN not only reduces the density of perovskite defect-state, but also promotes hot carriers (HCs) cooling in perovskite through the transient absorption spectroscopy measurements. Fast HCs cooling permits HCs transfer from perovskite layer into NCN layer, thus resulting in the decreased charge-carrier recombination in NCN-treated device. As expected, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of PSCs with NCN is enhanced to 22.02% from 19.95% for the control device. The findings are relevant for developing highly efficient PSCs.
As a promising imaging technology, the low sensitivity of fluorine-19 magnetic resonance imaging (19F MRI) severely hinders its biomedical applications. Herein, we have developed an unprecedented rotaxane-based strategy to improve the sensitivity of 19F MRI agents. By threading the fluorinated macrocycle into 2-blade pinwheel [2]rotaxanes, the 19F longitudinal relaxation rate R1 was dramatically increased, resulting in a significant 19F MRI signal intensity enhancement of up to 79%. Through comparative molecular dynamics studies using a series of solution and solid-state 1H/19F nuclear magnetic resonance (1H/19F NMR) and molecular dynamics simulations, it was found that the formation of mechanical bonds dramatically restricts the motion of the wheel fluorines and thus increasing the R1 for higher 19F MRI sensitivity. Besides a novel strategy for improving 19F MRI sensitivity, this study has established 19F NMR/MRI as a valuable technology for monitoring the molecular dynamics of rotaxanes, which may shed new light on high-performance 19F MRI agents and molecular devices.
Histone H3K79 modifications are essential to regulate chromatin structure and gene transcription, but understanding of the molecular mechanisms is limited. Because H3K79 is at globular domain, short histone peptide cannot mimic H3K79 in chromatin. Instead, reconstituted nucleosome-based chemical tools are ideally used to investigate H3K79 modifications. In consequence, H3K79-modified histone H3 with additional chemical handles are required, but such synthesis is challenging and laborious. Here we report a facile semisynthesis method that enables multifunctional histone H3 readily available. H3K79-containing fragment is short for straight peptide synthesis that was later ligated to recombinant expressed H3 fragments for full-length product in large scale. As a result, nucleosomes with H3K79 modifications as well as photo-reactive group and affinity tag were obtained to investigate potential binding proteins. We believe this method that enhances synthetic accessibility of nucleosome probes will accelerate understanding of the underexplored H3K79 modifications.
In core-shell silver nanoclusters, the control of core structure presents a more formidable challenge compared to that of the shell structure. Here, we report the successful synthesis and characterization of four distinct silver thiolate nanoclusters [MS4@Ag12@Ag46S24(dppb)12] (M = Mo or W), each incorporating a cup-like [MS4@Ag12]2+ kernel. These nanoclusters were meticulously prepared using (NH4)2MoS4 or (NH4)2WS4 as both a template and a controlled source of S2− ions. Remarkably, we have observed a unique configuration within these eight-electron superatomic Ag58 nanoclusters, where the zero-valent Ag atoms reside exclusively within the inner [MS4@Ag12]2+ kernel. This stands in contrast to other superatomic clusters possessing an Ag(0) core. Notably, the introduction of phenyl-containing compounds during the synthesis process induced a transformation in the space group symmetry from C2/c to I4. This transformative effect was found to originate from the interplay between adjacent 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane (dppb) ligands, which facilitated enhanced emission through aggregation-induced intermolecular interactions, specifically C−H···π interactions. Collectively, our findings contribute substantively to the understanding of the intricate relationship between nanocluster structures and their corresponding properties, shedding light on the crucial roles played by templates and diphosphine ligands in this context.
Natural hydrogels have emerged as a pivotal innovation in wound care, offering a unique combination of high absorbency, biocompatibility, and versatility. However, due to the complexity of wound healing, the physiological state of the wound varies dynamically, and the mechanism of natural hydrogels that boost wound healing is still unclear. In this review, we firstly provide a comprehensive introduction to the biological process of wound healing, emphasizing the critical stages and factors affecting healing. This work concludes the composition and properties of natural hydrogels, including collagen, gelatin, hyaluronic acid, chitosan, alginates, cellulose, and fibroin, highlighting their biocompatibility and biodegradability. The focus shifts to the various crosslinking strategies employed to enhance the structural integrity and functionality of natural hydrogels. This review further investigates the biological effects of natural hydrogels in wound healing, detailing their antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, adhesive, and hemostatic functions. Furthermore, we propose the challenges and future perspectives of natural hydrogels in practical applications. This review offers a comprehensive overview of the current state and potential future advancements in natural hydrogel dressings for wound care, highlighting their critical role in addressing complex and hard-to-heal wounds.
Metronidazole (MNZ) is a type of antibiotic that can help people and animals cure bacterial infections, however, abuse of MNZ has posed a threat to human health. Hence, portable and visual detection of MNZ is meaningful for food safety and rational administration of drugs, but full of challenges. Hence, a porous three-dimensional Tb-based metal-organic framework (MOF) {(CH3)2NH2·[Tb5(TDA)8(H2O)2]·6DMF·2C2H5OH}n (TDA-Tb) with good solvent and pH stabilities was prepared, and the framework possesses one-dimensional channels with a diameter of 12 Å along the c-axis. Experiment results suggest that the synthesized TDA-Tb can selectively and sensitively detect MNZ in water, and the limit of detection (LOD) is as low as 4.1 × 10−7 mol/L. Moreover, a flexible sensor TDA-Tb-M was also constructed by incorporating TDA-Tb into membrane materials for convenient usage. And the TDA-Tb-M firstly realized portable and visual detection of MNZ through smartphone scanning, which may inspire more probes with wide application ranges.
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