Ready Access to Anhydrous Anionic Lanthanide Acetates by Using Imidazolium Acetate Ionic Liquids as the Reaction Medium.

Access to lanthanide acetate coordination compounds is challenged by the tendency of lanthanides to coordinate water and the plethora of acetate coordination modes. A straightforward, reproducible synthetic procedure by treating lanthanide chloride hydrates with defined ratios of the ionic liquid (IL) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([C2 mim][OAc]) has been developed. This reaction pathway leads to two isostructural crystalline anhydrous coordination complexes, the polymeric [C2 mim]n [{Ln2 (OAc)7 }n ] and the dimeric [C2 mim]2 [Ln2 (OAc)8 ], based on the ion size and the ratio of IL used. A reaction with an IL : Ln-salt ratio of 5 : 1, where Ln=Nd, Sm, and Gd, led exclusively to the polymer, whilst for the heaviest lanthanides (Dy-Lu) the dimer was observed. Reaction with Eu and Tb resulted in a mixture of both polymeric and dimeric forms. When the amount of IL and/or the size of the cation was increased, the reaction led to only the dimeric compound for all the lanthanide series. Crystallographic analyses of the resulting salts revealed three different types of metal-acetate coordination modes where η2 µκ2 is the most represented in both structure types.

Poly(ionic liquid)/Wood Composite-Derived B/N-Codoped Porous Carbons Possessing Peroxidase-like Catalytic Activity.

The pursuit of efficient and cost-effective metal-free heterogeneous catalytic systems remains a challenging task in materials research. Heteroatom-doped carbonaceous materials are increasingly recognized as powerful metal-free catalysts, often demonstrating catalytic performance comparable to or even surpassing metal-based alternatives. This is attributed to their tunable physicochemical properties, tailorable structural features, and environmentally friendly profile. In a straightforward single-step synthetic approach, we utilized wood as an eco-friendly and renewable carbon source, in conjunction with a poly(ionic liquid) as a heteroatom source and pore-making agent. The combination of both biobased and synthetic polymers in this method yielded sustainable, high-performance catalysts characterized by enhanced stability and reusability. The inclusion of sacrificial pore-inducing templates resulted in the formation of abundant defects serving as catalytically active sites, while codoping with boron and nitrogen further enhanced these sites, significantly impacting catalytic activities, as established by peroxidase-like activity in this study. The optimized codoped porous carbon membrane exhibited excellent peroxidase-type activity and catalyzed the oxidation reaction of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine by hydrogen peroxide. This high activity was largely due to the dual heteroatom codoping effect and the mixed micro/macroporous structure of the membrane. Our work presents a versatile and eco-friendly method for fabricating hierarchically porous B/N codoped carbon membranes, offering a manageable, convenient, and recyclable biomimetic artificial enzyme with superior catalytic capabilities. This work introduces a practical and robust colorimetric method that can be used in healthcare and environmental rehabilitation.