A Carbonate-Templated Decanuclear Mn Nanocage with Two Different Silsesquioxane Ligands.

The mild reaction of the preorganized silsesquioxane precursor with Mn(II) acetate under ambient conditions results in a mixed-valent {MnII6MnIII4} nanocage (SD/Mn10) which is protected by both acyclic trimer [Si3] and cyclic tetramer [Si4]. Serendipitous capture of atmospheric CO2 as a µ5-carbonate anion placed at the center supports the formation of the cluster. The magnetic analysis reveals the strong antiferromagnetic interactions between Mn ions. Moreover, the drop-casting film of SD/Mn10 shows photoelectric activity indicating its great potential as a semiconductor for photoelectric conversion applications.

Facile Preparation of Polysiloxane-Modified Asphalt Binder Exhibiting Enhanced Performance.

The development of polymer-modified asphalt (asphalt = asphalt binder) is significant because the polymer modifier can improve the performance of asphalt mixture and meet the requirements of the modern asphalt pavement. Herein, we present a novel polysiloxane-modified asphalt with enhanced performance, formed by simply mixing hydroxy-terminated polysiloxane (HO-PDMS) into base asphalt at 140 °C. The interaction mechanism of HO-PDMS in base asphalt was characterized by FT-IR, GPC, and DSC. It reveals that HO-PDMS polymers have been chemically bonded into the asphalt, and, thus, the resultant asphalt exhibits optimal compatibility and storage stability. The results based on fluorescence microscopy and a segregation test prove that HO-PDMS has good compatibility with base asphalt. Moreover, by virtue of the intriguing properties of polysiloxane, the present asphalt possesses improved low- and high-temperature properties, higher thermal stability, and enhanced hydrophobicity compared to conventional asphalt when using an appropriate dosage of HO-PDMS. DSC indicated that the Tg of modified asphalt (-12.8 °C) was obviously lower than that of base asphalt (-7.1 °C). DSR shows that the rutting parameter of modified asphalt was obviously higher than that of base asphalt. BBR shows that modified asphalt exhibited the lowest stiffness modulus and the highest creep rate with an HO-PDMS dosage of 6% and 4%, respectively. These results demonstrate that polysiloxane-modified asphalt can be promisingly utilized in realistic asphalt pavement with specific requirements, particularly high-/low-temperature resistance.

Biodegradable Self-Assembled Nanoparticles of Galactose-Containing Amphiphilic Triblock Copolymers for Targeted Delivery of Paclitaxel to HepG2 Cells.

Biodegradable self-assembled polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) composed of poly(6-O-methacryloyl-D-galactopyranose)-b-poly(L-lactide)-b-poly(6-O-methacryloyl-D-galactopyranose) (PMAGP-b-PLA-b-PMAGP) are prepared as carriers for the hydrophobic anticancer drug paclitaxel (PTX), to achieve target delivery to hepatoma cells. PTX can be encapsulated by the NPs with various molar ratios of L-lactide (LA) and 6-O-methacryloyl-D-galactopyranose (MAGP) during the process of self-assembly, and the resulting NPs exhibit high drug loading efficacy and substantial stability in aqueous solution. The size, size distribution, and morphology of the NPs are characterized using a Zetasizer Nano ZS and transmission electron microscopy. The hemolysis assay and cell cytotoxicity assay indicate that the polymeric NPs are biocompatible and non-toxic. The cellular uptake assay demonstrates that the galactose-containing NPs can be selectively recognized and subsequently accumulate in HepG2 cells. All of these results demonstrate that galactose-containing polymeric NPs are potential carriers for hepatoma-targeted drug delivery and liver cancer therapy in clinical medicine.

Ceria Nanotube Formed by Sacrificed Precursors Template through Oswald Ripening.

Controllable preparation of ceria nanotube was realized by hydrothermal treatment of Ce(OH)CO3 precursors. The gradually changing morphologies and microstructures of cerium oxide were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. A top-down path is illuminated to have an insight to the morphological transformation from nanorod to nanotube by adjusting the reaction time. The growth process is investigated by preparing a series of intermediate morphologies during the shape evolution of CeO2 nanostructure based on the scanning electron microscopy image observation. On the basis of the time-dependent experimental observation, the possible formation mechanism related to oriented attachment and Oswald ripening was proposed, which might afford some guidance for the synthesis of other inorganic nanotubes.

SEM-EDS technique employed in evaluating the aggregation behaviors of amphiphilic ABC-type triblock copolymers in mixed solvents with tuned polarities.

In this paper, a scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) technique has been developed for evaluating the aggregation structure of amphiphilic fluorinated ABC-type triblock copolymers MeOPEO(16)-PSt(220)-PFHEA(22) in mixed solvents with different polarities. The polarities of mixed solvents can be tuned by changing volume ratios of toluene, anhydrous ethanol, and distilled water, which leads to the changes in morphology and size of self-assembled colloidal particles of the copolymers in the system. The aggregation behaviors of the copolymers are revealed by SEM, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and corresponding SEM-EDS techniques. The variations in concentrations of O and F elements over the thickness of copolymers particles give direct evidence for a better understanding of the arrangement of each block segment of copolymers in solution. And the technique can also help to explain the aggregation structure of micro- or nanomaterial with shell-core structure. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.