Journal of The Chinese Chemical Society最新文献

In this study, a facile chemical bath deposition was employed to deposit nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH)₂) thin films onto the networks of stainless steel (SS) mesh as the catalytic layer for growing the vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) via thermal chemical vapor deposition. The VACNTs/SS mesh has a water contact angle as high as 161° and an almost unmeasurable oil contact angle. The superhydrophobic and superoleophilic filtering membrane made by VACNTs/SS mesh demonstrated its excellent selectivity for continuous oil–water separation. This innovative filtering membrane not only enhances the efficiency of oil–water separation processes but also holds promise for various applications in environmental remediation and industrial wastewater treatment. Its unique properties enable it to selectively filter out harmful substances while allowing clean water to pass through, making it a valuable asset in efforts to combat pollution.

As an oxygen-rich and nitrogen-rich chemical unit, oxadiazolone is employed to design a series of nitrogen-rich energetic compounds and their properties, such as frontier molecular orbital, heats of formation, energetic performance, and impact sensitivity, are fully calculated and investigated. The calculated results show that the NN bridge and N₃ are the most beneficial combinations to increase the heats of formation of the designed compounds, while the combination of CH₂CH₂ bridge and CH(NO₂)₂ are on the opposite side. However, the addition of CH₂NH bridge and C(NO₂)₃ is the most beneficial combination to increase the values of D and P. Finally, compounds E8 and F8 are screened as potential high-energy-density materials since these compounds possess excellent detonation performance and higher values of impact sensitivity than those of RDX. The distribution of frontier molecular orbital and electrostatic potential on the surface of compounds E8 and F8 are simulated to reveal the relationship between the physicochemical properties and electronic structures.

Biphenyl derivatives that are substituted at the 2,2',4,4',6,6'-positions exhibit axial chirality due to restricted rotation around the central bond, rendering them crucial chiral sources for various functional materials. The present study reports the optical resolution and crystal structure determination of the brucine complexes (R)-1•brucine and (S)-1•brucine, and the spectroscopic characterization of (R)-1•brucine, (S)-1•brucine, (R)-1, and (S)-1. The optical resolution was achieved through the diastereomeric complexation of rac-1 with brucine, and the absolute configurations of (R)-1•brucine and (S)-1•brucine were confirmed via single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. In the complexes, the brucine molecule was tightly bonded to (R)-1 and (S)-1 by the ionic intermolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions. The additional intermolecular CH–π interaction is exclusive to be present between the brucine CH and the aromatic ring of (R)-1, which most likely facilitates the crystallization of (R)-1•brucine over (S)-1•brucine, leading to the efficient optical resolution. The use of UV–vis absorption, fluorescence, and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy resulted in distinct spectral signatures arising from a difference in the structures of the intermolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions in these complexes. Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations employing chloroform solvation models (CPCM) successfully reproduced experimental absorption spectroscopies, thereby demonstrating a charge-transfer HOMO-LUMO electron transition from the brucine unit to the biphenyl unit.

As an important transitional alumina phase, θ-Al₂O₃, its structural stability directly impacts the thermodynamic properties and potential applications. In this study, the unit cell structure of θ-Al₂O₃ was determined through Rietveld XRD refinement, and it was found that the occupancies of both two types of Al sites and two of three types of O sites were less than 1. A 1 × 5 × 2 supercell (Al₈₀O₁₂₀) was constructed, and the effect of each type of defect on the stability of the structure was determined by molecular dynamics simulations and the calculations of the probability distribution function of the distance to mass center (P(r)) during heating. It was found that defects at the Al1 sites are more likely to cause structural instability than those at the Al2 sites; the O3 defect brings poor thermal stability to the structure due to its low occupancy.

Focus of the figure: Copper exhibits significantly higher electrocatalytic activity for nitrate reduction than for nitrite, its major reduction intermediate; however, depositing palladium or platinum onto copper via galvanic displacement in an ionic liquid creates a porous bimetallic structure that dramatically enhances activity toward both species. More details about this figure will be discussed by Dr. Po-Yu Chen and his co-workers on pages 1011–1018 in this issue.

This study investigates the morphological-dependent photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of WO₃/BiVO₄ composite photoanodes with nanoparticle (NP), nanosheet (NS), and nanorod (NR) structures. Structural characterization revealed that NS and NR WO₃ exhibit well-defined morphologies and high crystallinity, while NP WO₃ appears irregular. PEC measurements showed that the NS WO₃/BiVO₄ photoanode achieved the highest photocurrent density and charge transfer efficiency, attributed to enhanced light absorption, efficient charge separation, and improved charge transport. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy confirmed the lowest interfacial resistance and longest charge carrier lifetime of 4.26 ms for the NS structure. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy revealed a Type-II band alignment in WO₃/BiVO₄ heterojunctions, facilitating charge transfer. The superior performance of NS WO₃/BiVO₄ highlights the importance of morphology engineering in optimizing PEC water oxidation efficiency, making it a promising candidate for sustainable hydrogen production.

In the paper, black phosphorene (BP) was stabilized with poly-lysine (PLL) to form a composite material, which was then utilized to modify a carbon ionic liquid electrode (CILE). The morphology and structure of PLL-BP was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). A novel electrochemical method for sodium nitrite (NaNO₂) analysis was established by further immobilizing horseradish peroxidase (HRP) on the modified CILE. The electrochemical behavior of the Nafion/HRP/PLL-BP/CILE system was characterized by cyclic voltammetry, exhibiting a pair of distinct and well-defined redox peaks. Excellent electrocatalytic performance for NaNO₂ reduction was observed with the developed electrochemical HRP biosensor, covering a concentration range from 0.2 to 14.7 mmol/L and a detection limit of 0.067 mmol/L (3σ). The detection results of the actual samples were satisfactory, which demonstrated the potential application of this electrochemical HRP biosensor.

Rhodamine-functionalized polyethylene glycol (RhoPEG) was synthesized as a hydrophilic micellar chemosensor for selective detection of heavy metal ions, especially Au³⁺. PEG improved the water solubility of hydrophobic rhodamine, enabling efficient function in aqueous media. Characterization by TGA, NMR, IR, SEM, and XRD confirmed structural integrity. Fluorescence spectroscopy demonstrated that the RhoPEG sensors, particularly RhoPEG400, exhibited exceptional sensitivity and selectivity toward Au³⁺ ions. Upon interaction with Au³⁺, there was a significant increase in fluorescence intensity, along with a visible color change to pink, signaling successful detection. These results highlighted the potential of RhoPEG micellar sensors for biological and environmental heavy metal detection.