Bio-Based Solid Electrolytes Bearing Cyclic Carbonates for Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries.

Green resources for lithium-based batteries excite many researchers due to their eco-friendly nature. In this work, a sustainable bio-based solid-state electrolyte was developed based on carbonated soybean oil (CSBO), obtained by organocatalyzed coupling of CO2 to epoxidized soybean oil. CSBO coupled with lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide salt on a bio-based cellulose separator resulted in free-standing membranes. Those membranes on electrochemical measurements exhibited ionic conductivity of around 10-3  S cm-1 at 100 °C and around 10-6  S cm-1 at room temperature with wide electrochemical stability window (up to 4.6 V vs. Li/Li+ ) and transference number up to 0.39 at RT. Further investigations on the galvanostatic charge-discharge of LiFePO4 cathodes with CSBO-based electrolyte membranes and lithium metal anodes delivered the gravimetric capacity of 112 and 157 mAh g-1 at RT and 60 °C, respectively, providing a promising direction to further develop bio-based solid electrolytes for sustainable solid-state lithium batteries.

Gold nanorods coated with mesoporous silica shell as drug delivery system for remote near infrared light-activated release and potential phototherapy.

In this study, we report the synthesis of a nanoscaled drug delivery system, which is composed of a gold nanorod-like core and a mesoporous silica shell (GNR@MSNP) and partially uploaded with phase-changing molecules (1-tetradecanol, TD, T(m) 39 °C) as gatekeepers, as well as its ability to regulate the release of doxorubicin (DOX). Indeed, a nearly zero premature release is evidenced at physiological temperature (37 °C), whereas the DOX release is efficiently achieved at higher temperature not only upon external heating, but also via internal heating generated by the GNR core under near infrared irradiation. When tagged with folate moieties, GNR@MSNPs target specifically to KB cells, which are known to overexpress the folate receptors. Such a precise control over drug release, combining with the photothermal effect of GNR cores, provides promising opportunity for localized synergistic photothermal ablation and chemotherapy. Moreover, the performance in killing the targeted cancer cells is more efficient compared with the single phototherapeutic modality of GNR@MSNPs. This versatile combination of local heating, phototherapeutics, chemotherapeutics and gating components opens up the possibilities for designing multifunctional drug delivery systems.

Photochemical properties and activity of water-soluble polymer/c(60) nanohybrids for photodynamic therapy.

Water-soluble star-like poly(vinyl alcohol)/C(60) and poly{[poly(ethylene glycol) acrylate]-co-(vinyl acetate)}/C(60) nanohybrids are prepared by grafting macroradicals onto C(60) and are assessed as photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy. The photophysical and biological properties of both nanohybrids highlight key characteristics influencing their overall efficiency. The macromolecular structure (linear/graft) and nature (presence/absence of hydroxyl groups) of the polymeric arms respectively impact the photodynamic activity and the stealthiness of the nanohybrids. The advantages of both nanohybrids are encountered in a third one, poly[(N-vinylpyrrolidone)-co-(vinyl acetate)]/C(60) , which has linear grafts without hydroxyl groups, and shows a better photodynamic activity.

Combination of electrografting and layer-by-layer deposition: an efficient way to tailor polymer coatings of (semi)-conductors.

This communication reports on a novel, simple and highly versatile concept, which consists in combining the advantages of two complementary and relevant techniques (i) electrografting and (ii) layer-by-layer deposition process with the goal to tailor strongly adhering coatings to (semi)-conducting surfaces imparting them with tunable specific properties.