Leveraging a smartphone to perform time-gated luminescence measurements.

Empowered by advanced on-board sensors, high-performance optics packages and ever-increasing computational power, smartphones have democratized data generation, collection, and analysis. Building on this capacity, many platforms have been developed to enable its use as an optical sensing platform for colorimetric and fluorescence measurements. In this paper, we report the ability to enable a smartphone to perform laboratory quality time-resolved analysis of luminescent samples via the exploitation of the rolling shutter mechanism of the native CMOS imager. We achieve this by leveraging the smartphone's standard image capture applications, commercially available image analysis software, and housing the device within a UV-LED containing case. These low-cost modifications enable us to demonstrate the smartphone's analytical potential by performing tasks ranging from authentication and encryption to the interrogation of packaging, compounds, and physical phenomena. This approach underscores the power of repurposing existing technologies to extend the reach and inclusivity of scientific exploration, opening new avenues for data collection and analysis.

Long-Term High-Temperature Stability of Functionalized Graphene Oxide Nanoplatelets in Arab-D and API Brine.

Partially reduced graphene oxide (prGO) was covalently functionalized with a zwitterionic polymer polyzwitterionic polymer to afford a composite material with excellent dispersibility and long-term stability in high salinity brines including standard API and Arab-D found in deep oil reservoirs. When heated at 90 °C, the dispersions remained stable in excess of 140 days. These results suggest the utility of imidazolium-based polymers for brine stabilization as well as the use of diazonium containing polymers for a "grafting-to" approach to nanocarbon functionalization.

Phosphate functionalized graphene with tunable mechanical properties.

The synthesis of a covalently modified graphene oxide derivative with exceptional and tunable compressive strength is reported. Treatment of graphene oxide with triethyl phosphite in the presence of LiBr produces monolithic structures comprised of lithium phosphate oligomers tethered to graphene through covalent phosphonate linkages. Variation of the both phosphate content and associated cation produces materials of various compressive strengths and elasticity.

Crystal structure of a cyclotetramer from a strained cyclic allene.

The low-temperature treatment of 1,1-dibromo-1a,9b-cyclopropa[l]phenanthrene (1) with butyllithium and copper(II) chloride in THF affords a dibenzoannellated 1,2,4,6-cycloheptatetraene which undergoes a rare cyclotetramerization. The crystal structure of this "formal" 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 cyclotetramer (2) reveals a central eight-membered ring folded in a zigzag fashion with hydrogen atoms and exocyclic double bonds occupying axial positions. B3LYP/6-31+G** calculations indicate that the strained cyclic allene is significantly distorted and could be formed by ring expansion of a putative cyclopropylidene intermediate.