Building Porous Ni(Salen)-Based Catalysts from Waste Styrofoam via Autocatalytic Coupling Chemistry for Heterogeneous Oxidation with Molecular Oxygen.

The development of robust and industrially viable catalysts from plastic waste is of great significance, and the facile construction of high performance heterogeneous catalyst systems for phenol-quinone conversions remains a grand challenge. Herein, a feasible strategy is demonstrated to reclaim Styrofoam into hierarchically porous nickel-salen-loaded hypercrosslinked polystyrene (PS@Ni-salen) catalysts with high activities through an unusual autocatalytic coupling route. The salen is immobilized onto PS chain by Friedel-Crafts alkylation of benzyl chloride derivatives, and the generated hydrogen chloride coordinately promotes the simultaneous crosslinking and bridge formation between aromatic rings via a Scholl coupling route, leading to hierarchically porous networks. After the metallization with Ni, the resultant networks exhibit high catalytic activity for the oxidation of 2,3,6-trimethylphenol to 2,3,5-trimethyl-1,4-benzoquinone under mild conditions (303 K, 1 bar of O2 ). This catalyst also demonstrates attractive recycling performance without an obvious loss of catalytic efficiency over five consecutive cycles. This methodology might provide a potential sustainable alternative to construct environmentally benign and cost-effective catalysts for specific organic transformation.

Insights into dynamic structural evolution and its sodium storage mechanisms of P2/P3 composite cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries.

Cobalt substitution for manganese sites in Na0.44MnO2 initiates a dynamic structural evolution process, yielding a composite cathode material comprising intergrown P2 and P3 phases. The novel P2/P3 composite cathode exhibits a reversible phase transition process during Na+ extraction/insertion, showcasing its attractive battery performance in sodium-ion batteries.

Modular and Selective Access to Functionalized Alkynes and Allenes via the Intermediacy of Propargylic Acetates.

We report an efficient one-pot, two-step procedure for the modular synthesis of α-difunctionalized alkynes and trisubstituted allenes by sequential cross-coupling of benzal gem-diacetates with organozinc or -copper reagents in the absence of external transition metals. The intermediacy of propargylic acetates enables the divergent and selective synthesis of these valuable products. This method features its readily accessible substrates, relatively mild conditions, wide scope, and scalability in practical synthesis.

Development of a Ratiometric Fluorescent Probe with Zero Cross-Talk for the Detection of SO2 Derivatives in Foods and Live Cells.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) derivatives are extensively utilized as both a preservative for foods and an active gaseous signal molecule in various physiological and pathological processes, but their excessive intake would bring harmful effects on human health; so, the determination of SO2 derivatives is of great importance. Herein, we developed a ratiometric fluorescent probe named 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole-3-ethyl-1,1,2-trimethyl-1H-benzo[e]indolium (HBT-EMBI) by introducing a hemicyanine unit of EMBI to an HBT group for the detection of SO2 derivatives via an excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) and intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) effects. The probe displays some advantages, such as a colorimetric change from purple to colorless, a ratiometric fluorescence with zero cross-talk, and a remarkably large emission shift (Δλ = 164 nm) under a single-wavelength excitation. Accordingly, the probe HBT-EMBI has been successfully employed for the colorimetric and ratiometric determination of SO2 derivatives in real food samples and the quantitative visualization of SO2 derivative variations in HepG2 cells.

A rhodamine-based off-on fluorescent chemosensor for selectively sensing Cu(II) in aqueous solution.

A novel chromogenic and fluorogenic chemosensor RhB-pMOSal comprising a rhodamine fluorophore and a salicylaldehyde receptor being connected by an iminohydrazine link was synthesized and fully characterized. Its sensing behavior toward various metal ions in neutral aqueous solution was investigated by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. RhB-pMOSal exhibited a reversible and sensitive "turn-on" response of absorption and fluorescence toward Cu(2+) in aqueous acetonitrile solution. Approximate 65 and 6-fold enhancement in the absorbance at 556 nm and fluorescence intensity at 573 nm were estimated when equivalent Cu(2+) was added to the RhB-pMOSal solution. Under the same conditions, RhB-pMOSal displayed more sensitive than a reported analogue RhB-Sal to Cu(2+) ion. The competition experiments for Cu(2+) mixed with common metal ions exhibited no obvious change in absorption and emission except Cr(3+) ion that can induce the fluorescence quenching of RhB-pMOSal to some extent.

5-Substituted isatin thiosemicarbazones as inhibitors of tyrosinase: Insights of substituent effects.

Seven isatin-thiosemicarbazone analogues bearing different substituents (R) attached at C-5 of the indoline ring, TSC-ISA-R (R = -H, -CH3, -OCH3, -OCF3, -F, -Cl and -NO2), were synthesized and evaluated as inhibitors of mushroom tyrosinase (TYR). The inhibitory behaviour and performance of TSC-ISA-R were investigated spectroscopically in relation to the substituent modifications through examining their inhibition against the diphenolase activity of TYR using L-DOPA as a substrate. The IC50 values of TSC-ISA-R were determined to be in the range of 81-209 µM. The kinetic analysis showed that TSC-ISA-R were reversible and mixed type inhibitors. Three potential non-covalent interactions rather than complexation including the binding of TSC-ISA-R with free TYR, TYR-L-DOPA complex, and with substrate L-DOPA were found to be involved in the inhibition. The substituent modifications affected these interactions by varying the characters of the resulting TSC-ISA-R in different degrees. The thiosemicarbazido moiety of each TSC-ISA-R contributed predominantly to the inhibition, and the isatin moiety seemed to play a regulatory role in the binding of TSC-ISA-R to the target molecules. The results of theoretical calculations using density functional theory method indicated a different effect of -R on the electron distribution in HOMO of TSC-ISA-R. The LUMO-HOMO energy gap of TSC-ISA-R almost accords with the trend of their experimental inhibition potency.

Synthesis and fluorescence properties of lanthanide(III) complexes of a novel bis(pyrazolyl-carboxyl)pyridine-based ligand.

A novel bis-pyrazolyl-carboxyl ligand, 2,6-bis(5-methyl-3-carboxypyrazol-1-ylmethyl)pyridine (L), was designed and synthesized and its several lanthanide(III) complexes Eu(III), Tb(III), Sm(III) and Gd(III) were successfully prepared and characterized in detail based on elemental analysis, infrared, mass, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and TG-DTA studies. Analysis of the IR spectra suggested that each of the lanthanide metal ions coordinated to the ligand via the carbonyl oxygen atoms and the nitrogen atom of the pyridine ring and pyrazole rings. The fluorescence spectra exhibits that the Tb(III) complex and the Eu(III) complex display characteristic metal-centered fluorescence in solid state while ligand fluorescence is completely quenched. However, the Tb(III) complex displays more effective fluorescence than the other complexes, which is attributed to especial effectivity in transferring energy from the lowest triplet energy level of the ligand (L) onto the excited state ((5)D(4)) of Tb(III).

Synthesis, characterization and fluorescence properties of Eu(III) and Tb(III) complexes with novel mono-substituted beta-diketone ligands and 1,10-phenanthroline.

Two novel pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid derivatives of mono-beta-diketone, methyl 6-benzoylacetyl-2-pyridinecarboxylate (MBAP) and 6-benzoylacetyl-2-pyridinecarboxylic acid (BAPA) and their Eu(III) and Tb(III) complexes were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, (1)H NMR and TG-DTG. Moreover, their Eu(III) and Tb(III) complexes using 1,10-phenanthroline as a secondary ligand were prepared and characterized. The luminescence properties of these complexes in solid state were investigated in detail. The results suggested that Tb(III) complexes exhibit more efficient luminescence than Eu(III) complexes, the fluorescence intensity of Ln(III) complexes with BAPA is about twice as strong as that of Ln(III) complexes with MBAP, the fluorescence of mono-beta-diketone complexes using 1,10-phenanthroline as a secondary ligand was prominently higher than that of complexes without adding 1,10-phenanthroline, and the ligand BAPA is an excellent sensitizer to Eu(III) and Tb(III) ion.

Dinuclear copper(II) complexes of "end-off" bicompartmental ligands: Alteration of the chelating arms on ligands to regulate the reactivity of the complexes towards DNA.

Two phenol-based "end-off" biscompartmental heptadentate ligands were designed by introduction of substituents with different electronic and steric properties to the chelating arms, i.e. 2,6-bis{[(2-pyridylmethyl)(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]methyl}-4-methylphenol (L1) and 2,6-bis{[(2-aminoethyl)(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]methyl}-4-methylphenol (L2). The dinuclear copper(II) complexes (1 and 2) of the ligands were synthesized and evaluated as potential nuclease models. The basicity behavior and coordination property of each ligand towards Cu(II) ion in aqueous solution were investigated by pH potentiometric titrations accompanied by ESI-MS and spectrometry. Both ligands show a strong tendency to chelate Cu(II) generating dinuclear copper(II) complexes in Cu(II)/L molar ratio of 2:1 in the pH range of 3-11, and when pH is 7.40 the cationic OH--bridged dicopper(II) complexes were determined to be the dominant species. Studies on the interactions of 1 and 2 with Calf Thymus DNA relevant to DNA binding exhibit a pronounced impact of the substituents tethered on the chelating arms of the ligands. Assessment by agarose gelelectrophoresis of the plasmid pBR322 DNA cleavage activity in the presence of Vc under aerobic conditions evidence significant cleavage efficiency of the two complexes, displaying a reactivity order of 1 < 2. The mechanistic studies suggest that the cleavage implements via an oxidative pathway, where hydroxyl radical and hydrogen peroxide are responsible for the cleavage reactions. For 2, additional singlet oxygen seems to be involved in the cleavage. The differences between the two complexes in DNA binding and cleavage were discussed in relation to the electronic and steric properties of the substituents on the chelating arms imposed by each phenoxido ligand.

Synthesis of Eu(III) and Tb(III) complexes with novel pyridine dicarboxamide derivatives and their luminescence properties.

A novel ligand, N2,N6-bis[2-(3-methylpyridyl)]pyridine-2,6-dicarboxamide (L2) and the corresponding Eu(III) and Tb(III) hydrochlorate complexes have been synthesized and characterized in detail based on elemental analysis, IR and NMR. The crystal and molecular structure of the complexes was determined by X-ray crystallography. The Eu(III) and Tb(III) ions were found to coordinate to the amido nitrogen atoms and pyridine nitrogen atoms. The luminescence properties of lanthanide complexes in solid state, in different solutions and in different pH value were investigated. The result shows that Tb(III) complexes exhibit more efficient luminescence than Eu(III) complexes, and the ligand (L2) is an excellent sensitizer to Tb(III) ion.

Investigations into the synthesis and fluorescence properties of Tb(III) complexes of a novel bis-beta-diketone-type ligand and a novel bispyrazole ligand.

A novel bis-beta-diketone organic ligand, 1,1'-(2,6-bispyridyl)bis-3-(p-methoxyphenyl)-1,3-propanedione (L1) and its derivatives, a novel bispyrazole ligand, 2,6-bis(5-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine (L2) were designed and synthesized and their complexes with Tb(III) ion were successfully prepared. The ligands and the corresponding metal complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and TG-DTA. Analysis of the IR spectra suggested that the lanthanide metal ion Tb(III) coordinated to the ligands via the nitrogen atom of the pyridine ring and the carbonyl oxygen atoms for ligand L1 and the nitrogen atom of the pyrazole ring for ligand L2. The fluorescence properties of the two complexes in solid state were investigated and it was discovered that the Tb(III) ions could be sensitized by both the ligand (L1) and ligand (L2) to some extent. In particular, the complex of ligand (L2) is a better green luminescent material that could be used as a candidate material in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) since it could be much better sensitized by the ligand (L2), and the fluorescence intensity of Tb(III) complex of L2 are almost as twice strong as L1's.

Synthesis, characterization and fluorescence properties of novel pyridine dicarboxylic acid derivatives and corresponding Tb(III) complexes.

Two novel ligands containing two pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid conjugative units, 4-(2-(2,6-dicarbox-ypyridin-4-yl)vinyl)pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid (L1) and 4-(4-(2-(2,6-dicarboxypyridin-4-yl)vinyl)styryl)pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid (L2) and their complexes with Tb(III) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectra and NMR. The ligand synthetic route was optimized and the yield of ligands reached over 78% as a result of the Wittig-Horner reaction used. The fluorescent intensities of these complexes with corresponding complexes with single pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid unit was compared. The result has shown that the ligands with two pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid units are the excellent sensitizers to lanthanide fluorescence. Also, we investigated the fluorescence properties of these complexes in different solution and in different pH value. Due to their excellent green-emmiter, they would be a potential candidate material for applications in organic light-emitting devices and medical diagnosis.

Investigations into the synthesis and fluorescence properties of Eu(III), Tb(III), Sm(III) and Gd(III) complexes of a novel bis-beta-diketone-type ligand.

A novel bis-beta-diketon ligand, 1,1'-(2,6-bispyridyl)bis-3-phenyl-1,3-propane-dione (L), was designed and synthesized and its complexes with Eu(III), Tb(III), Sm(III) and Gd(III) ions were successfully prepared. The ligand and the corresponding metal complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, and infrared, mass and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Analysis of the IR spectra suggested that each of the lanthanide metal ions coordinated to the ligand via the carbonyl oxygen atoms and the nitrogen atom of the pyridine ring. The fluorescence properties of these complexes in solid state were investigated and it was discovered that all of the lanthanide ions could be sensitized by the ligand (L) to some extent. In particular, the Tb(III) complex was an excellent green-emitter and would be a potential candidate material for applications in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) and medical diagnosis.

A cationic iridium complex meets an electron-transporting counter-anion: enhanced performances of solution-processed phosphorescent light-emitting diodes.

An electron-transporting counter-anion, OXD-7-SO3-, was developed for a blue-green-emitting cationic iridium complex, which showed superior device performance in solution-processed phosphorescent light-emitting diodes over its counterpart complex with a PF6- counter-anion, due to the facilitated electron-injection/transport and more balanced carrier recombination imparted by OXD-7-SO3-.

Toward fluorine-free blue-emitting cationic iridium complexes: to generate emission from the cyclometalating ligands with enhanced triplet energy.

A route toward fluorine-free blue-emitting cationic iridium complexes, to generate emission from the cyclometalating ligands with enhanced triplet energy, has been proposed and demonstrated. Attaching electron-donating groups to the pyridine moieties of the ppy-type cyclometalating ligands (Hppy is 2-phenylpyridine) enhances the triplet ((3)π-π*) energy of the ligand, and the use of electron-rich or non-conjugated ancillary ligands ensures that the emission is generated from the (3)π-π* states of cyclometalating ligands. By this molecular design, [Ir(buoppy)2(pzpy)]PF6 (1) and [Ir(buoppy)2(bim-cb)]PF6 (2) have been developed, with 4-butoxy-2-phenylpyridine (buoppy) as the cyclometalating ligand and electron-rich 2-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine (pzpy) or non-conjugated N-heterocyclic dicarbene (bim-cb) as the ancillary ligands. Complexes 1 and 2 give emission with major emission peaks around 465 nm, which is among the bluest reported for fluorine-free cationic iridium complexes. For both complexes, the emission is generated from the (3)π-π* states centered on buoppy. For complex 1, the charge-transfer (Ir/buoppy → pzpy) state is dominated by non-radiative deactivation and it behaves as a non-radiative deactivation channel for the emissive buoppy-centered (3)π-π* states which lies close to the charge-transfer state in energy. Such a non-radiative deactivation channel is largely suppressed in the rigid matrix, and is eliminated in complex 2 with a non-conjugated dicarbene ancillary ligand.

Investigations into the bovine serum albumin binding and fluorescence properties of Tb (III) complex of a novel 8-hydroxyquinoline ligand.

A novel ligand, 2-methyl-6-(8-quinolinyl)-dicarboxylate pyridine (L), and its corresponding Tb (III) complex, Na4Tb(L)2Cl4·3H2O, were successfully prepared and characterized. The luminescence spectra showed that the ligand L was an efficient sensitizer for Tb (III) luminescence. The interaction of the complex with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated through fluorescence spectroscopy under physiological conditions. The Stern-Volmer analysis indicated that the fluorescence quenching was resulted from static mechanism. The binding sites (n) approximated 1.0 and this meant that interaction of Na4Tb(L)2Cl4·3H2O with BSA had single binding site. The results showed van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonds played major roles in the binding reaction. Furthermore, circular dichroism (CD) spectra indicated that the conformation of BSA was changed.

A novel flavone-based fluorescent probe for relay recognition of HSO3(-) and Al(3+).

In this work, a new flavone-based fluorescent probe 3-hydroxy-3'-formylflavone (3HFF) was designed to achieve highly selective relay recognition of HSO3(-) and Al(3+) in DMSO-H2O (2:8, v/v) solution. 3HFF displayed a highly selective response to HSO3(-) with a green fluorescence appearing at 524 nm. Moreover, the in situ generated 3HFF+HSO3(-) system demonstrated eminent relay recognition capability for Al(3+) with a blue fluorescence appearing at 453 nm by the formation of a 1:1 complex between 3HFF and Al(3+) in DMSO-H2O (2:8, v/v) solution. However, only slight change was observed in emission intensity with addition of Al(3+) to 3HFF, and indicated HSO3(-) was essential for the sensing of Al(3+). This work achieves the detection of HSO3(-) and Al(3+) by only one probe and provides another example for this rare combination (anion/metal).

Blue-green emitting cationic iridium complexes with 1,3,4-oxadiazole cyclometallating ligands: synthesis, photophysical and electrochemical properties, theoretical investigation and electroluminescent devices.

Two cationic iridium complexes, namely [Ir(dph-oxd)2(bpy)]PF6 (1) and [Ir(dph-oxd)2(pzpy)]PF6 (2), using 2,5-diphenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole (dph-oxd) as the cyclometallating ligand and 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) or 2-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine (pzpy) as the ancillary ligands, have been synthesized, and their photophysical and electrochemical properties have been comprehensively investigated. In solution, both complexes emit efficient blue-green light. For complex 1, the light emission in a neat film is remarkably red-shifted; in solid state, it gives an intriguing piezochromic phenomenon. Compared with archetype [Ir(ppy)2(bpy)]PF6 (ppy is 2-phenylpyridine), complex 1 shows a largely stabilized HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital) level, induced by the electron-deficient 1,3,4-oxadiazole (oxd) heterocycle of dph-oxd, which results in an enlarged energy gap and blue-shifted emission. Compared with complex 1, complex 2 shows an enhanced LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) level, caused by the electron-rich pzpy ancillary ligand, but they exhibit similar emission energy in solution. For both complexes, theoretical calculations reveal that their blue-green emission in solution arises primarily from the (3)π-π* states centered on dph-oxd; moreover, complex 1 bears close-lying (3)π-π* and (3)CT (charge-transfer) states, underlying its remarkably red-shifted emission in the neat film and unique piezochromic behavior in the solid state. Solid state light emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) based on complexes 1 and 2 give efficient yellow and green-blue light, with peak current efficiencies of 18.3 and 5.2 cd A(-1), respectively. It is demonstrated that oxd-type cyclometallating ligands are promising as an avenue to stabilize the HOMOs and tune emission properties of cationic iridium complexes to a large extent.

Synthesis, luminescence properties of Eu(III) and Tb(III) complexes with a novel aromatic carboxylic acid and their interactions with bovine serum albumin.

A novel aromatic carboxylic acid ligand (L) was synthesized and its corresponding Eu(III) and Tb(III) complexes, Na(3)EuLCl(3)·2H(2)O (EuL) and Na(3)TbLCl(3)·3H(2)O (TbL), were successfully prepared. L and its corresponding complexes were characterized by means of MS, elemental analysis, IR, (1)H NMR and TG. The luminescence spectra of Eu(III) and Tb(III) complexes were investigated and the results showed that L was an efficient sensitizer for Eu(III) and Tb(III) luminescence. The interactions of L, EuL and TbL with bovine serum albumin (BSA) have been investigated through fluorescence spectroscopy under physiological conditions. The Stern-Volmer analysis indicated that the fluorescence quenching of BSA by L, EuL and TbL was resulted from static mechanism, and the binding constants (K(a)) were 2.22×10(4), 1.33×10(5) and 4.27×10(5) at 300 K, respectively. The binding sites (n) and the corresponding thermodynamic parameters ΔH, ΔS, and ΔG were calculated at different temperatures. According to the theoretical and experimental results, van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonds were found to play major roles in the binding reaction. Furthermore, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and synchronous fluorescence spectra indicated that the conformation of BSA was changed. The results obtained in the work can help understand the action mode between L and its corresponding Eu(III) and Tb(III) complexes with BSA, and they are also expected to provide important information of designs of new inspired drugs based on Eu and Tb.