Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chengyi Hu, Ruihao Chen, Nanfeng Zheng
Summary: The interfaces between inorganic functional nanomaterials and their surface modifiers are crucial in determining their properties. Strategies to design model inorganic nanomaterials with well-defined interfaces can simplify the investigation of interfacial effects on performance enhancement. Atomically precise metal nanoclusters and ultrathin low-dimensional nanomaterials modified with organic ligands help understand how interfacial effects influence catalysis.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xinyu Wang, Wangwang Tang, Longbo Jiang, Jing Feng, Jinjuan Yang, Shaoyu Zhou, Wenqin Li, Xingzhong Yuan, Hui Wang, Jiajia Wang, Yuanqing Bu
Summary: This study proposes a novel and efficient photocatalytic activation strategy using crystalline carbon nitride (CCN) and visible light (Vis) to activate PI for pollutant degradation. The CCN/PI/Vis system achieved 100% degradation of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CIP) within 10 minutes, which was much higher than the polymerized carbon nitride (PCN)/PI/Vis system. The CCN/PI/Vis system demonstrated outstanding CIP removal activity in various conditions, including different pH levels, anions, organic matter, and natural water environments.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Umaima S. H. Al-Kindi, Salim H. Al-Harthi, Myo T. Z. Myint, Htet H. Kyaw, Hisham M. Widatallah, Mohamed E. Elzain
Summary: In this study, iron-based nanoclusters were produced on different substrates using vapor phase growth techniques. The nanoclusters grown by inert gas condensation exhibited higher saturation magnetization and negative exchange bias, indicating improved magnetic properties.
MATERIALS RESEARCH BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Pengyuan Shan, Jiangfeng Yang, Zehao Zang, Qingling Zhao, Yahui Cheng, Lanlan Li, Xiaojing Yang, Xiaofei Yu, Zunming Lu, Xinghua Zhang
Summary: This study investigates the energy transfer process between silver nanoclusters (Ag NCs) with different emission wavelengths and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). It shows that FITC can act as an electron donor or acceptor, determining the direction of electron transfer between FITC and Ag NCs with different emissions. Additionally, the interaction with Ag NCs effectively inhibits the photo bleaching of FITC, which has significant implications for the application of FITC.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Veerasikku Gopal Deepagan, Meike N. Leiske, Nicholas L. Fletcher, David Rudd, Terence Tieu, Nicholas Kirkwood, Kristofer J. Thurecht, Kristian Kempe, Nicolas H. Voelcker, Anna Cifuentes-Rius
Summary: Introduction of xanthate-functionalized poly(cyclic imino ethers)s (PCIEs) provides a new method for synthesizing highly monodisperse and fluorescent gold nanoclusters (AuNCs). These PCIE-AuNCs exhibit good colloidal stability, biocompatibility, and antifouling properties, showing potential for various theranostic applications.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Xiaodong Hao, Xishuo Zhang, Yang Xu, Yuhao Zhou, Tingting Wei, Zhuangzhuang Hu, Lei Wu, Xinyi Feng, Jin Zhang, Yi Liu, Deqiang Yin, Shufang Ma, Bingshe Xu
Summary: To investigate the interfacial charge transfer and local chemical state variation in nonprecious-based hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts, the NiO/CeO2 heterostructure model system was studied using advanced electron microscopic characterization and first-principles calculations. The results confirmed interfacial charge transfer from Ni to Ce, leading to a reduction in Ce valence state and increased formation of VO. The optimized AGH* and enhanced hydrogen evolution process in 1 M KOH are attributed to the synergistic coupling interactions and electron redistribution at the interface of NiO and CeO2.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Dongyu Wang, Yixin Nie, Zhenrun Li, Qiang Ma
Summary: This study developed a novel method to prepare Cu NCs assembly as a luminescent probe, and enhanced its luminescence performance and stability by adding cerium ions and SnS2 nanosheets. The application of this method in detecting miRNA-455-3p in triple-negative breast cancer tumor tissues was also successful.
ANALYTICA CHIMICA ACTA
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Mengjun Wang, Linyu Nian, Yaolan Cheng, Biao Yuan, Shujie Cheng, Chongjiang Cao
Summary: This study successfully encapsulated colloidal semiconductor QDs in metal-organic framework ZIF-8, demonstrating excellent photocatalytic antibacterial performance possibly achieved through efficient interfacial electron transfer generating more reactive oxygen species.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Kazuki Murai, Hiroto Isobe, Atsuya Tezuka, Keishi Nishio
Summary: In this study, we investigated the mechanism behind the continuous variation of interfacial peptide secondary structural contents induced by hydrogel fusion. It was found that the continuous pH changes and electrostatic interactions led to the structural changes of interfacial peptides.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Quentin Loague, Niklas D. Keller, Andressa V. Muller, Bruno Martin Aramburu-Troselj, Rachel E. Bangle, Jenny Schneider, Renato N. Sampaio, Andre S. Polo, Gerald J. Meyer
Summary: Molecular dyes with a cis-[Ru(LL)(dcb)(NCS)(2)] structure are optimal for use in dye-sensitized solar cells. This study investigates the impact of the number of dcb ligands on the surface orientation and interfacial electron transfer kinetics of sensitizers anchored to conductive tin-doped indium oxide or semiconducting TiO2 films. The results show that sensitizers bearing two dcb ligands have shorter distance between the oxide surface and the Ru metal center compared to those with one dcb ligand, and they exhibit nonadiabatic electron transfer. The reorganization energies and electron transfer rates are also affected by the sensitizer location and the type of ligands present.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Muhammad A. Abbas, Jin Ho Bang, Raju Thota
Summary: Under specific pH conditions, TiO2 nanostructured photoelectrodes can generate a concentration differential at the electrolyte/electrode interface, producing anomalous photoeffect (APE) where increased cathodic current is identified as the source of the APE.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Huanhuan Tian, Martin Z. Bazant
Summary: In this study, the authors propose a method for resistive-switching (RS) by multiphase polarization (MP) of ion-intercalated thin films. They also develop an electrochemical phase field model to simulate the switching process and successfully reproduce the complex cyclic voltammograms of lithium titanate (LTO) memristors. These findings have important implications for guiding the design of high-performance RS memories.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Elsa Briqueleur, Fatemeh Shoghi, Mickael Dolle, W. G. Skene
Summary: Researchers reported an optimized photo-electrode structure consisting of perylene diimide (PDI) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) for converting solar energy into chemical energy. The outer coating of PDI on LFP efficiently deactivated the emission of PDI and confirmed the oxidation of LFP by photoexcited PDI during periodic illumination.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chenglai Wang, Yuancheng Jing, Liying Chen, Wei Xiong
Summary: Direct charge transfer at wet-processed organic/organic hetero-junction interfaces is observed using femtosecond interfacial sensitive spectroscopy. This discovery provides a physical foundation for the previously reported ground-state charge transfer phenomenon and opens up new opportunities for better controlling charge transfer at organic material interfaces.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yi Yu, Yuxuan Zeng, Qunle Ouyang, Xiangmei Liu, Yufeng Zheng, Shuilin Wu, Lei Tan
Summary: In this study, an ultrasound-activated piezoelectric responsive heterojunction was designed to change the electron transfer path and achieve a rapid and efficient bactericidal effect. The system showed excellent therapeutic effect for the treatment of MRSA-infected osteomyelitis model.
Article
Crystallography
Eric D. Sylvester, Jason B. Benedict
Summary: This study presents the synthesis and crystal structure of a novel ortho-fluoroazobenzene compound, revealing differences in rotation angles of the azo rings between two rotomer molecules. The pure molecule does not exhibit photoactivity due to tight packing, but shows expected characteristics in absorption bands separation in solution. A comparison to related co-crystals of substituted azobenzenes is also provided.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yulong Huang, Yuxuan Chen, Yong Hu, Travis Mitchell, Lu An, Zheng Li, Jason Benedict, Huashan Li, Shenqiang Ren
Summary: A promising design strategy for next-generation molecular magnetoelectrics has been proposed, which integrates molecular magnetism and electric conductivity through an in situ cross-linking strategy. This approach has successfully synthesized flexible molecular-based magnetoelectronics by cross-linking magnetic coordination networks that incorporate conducting chain building blocks, achieving significant improvements.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yong Hu, Dasharath Adhikari, Andrew Tan, Xi Dong, Taishan Zhu, Xiaoyu Wang, Yulong Huang, Travis Mitchell, Ziheng Yao, Nathan Dasenbrock-Gammon, Elliot Snider, Ranga P. Dias, Chuankun Huang, Richard Kim, Ian Neuhart, Ahmed H. Ali, Jiawei Zhang, Hans A. Bechtel, Michael C. Martin, Stephanie N. Gilbert Corder, Feng Hu, Zheng Li, Jason N. Armstrong, Jigang Wang, Mengkun Liu, Jason Benedict, Eva Zurek, Ganapathy Sambandamurthy, Jeffrey C. Grossman, Pengpeng Zhang, Shenqiang Ren
Summary: The study demonstrates that dynamic cooperative phases in potassium-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (K-TCNQ) can be generated and stabilized through pulsed electromagnetic excitation control, resulting in a stable long-lived conducting paramagnetic state. This process requires specific charge-spin-lattice decoupling to activate and stabilize nonequilibrium phases, offering great potential.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Karin J. Young, Laurel G. Habgood, Kristina L. Stensaas, Omar Villanueva, Willis Weigand
Summary: Students evaluated three silver(I) complexes as potential additives for dental adhesives based on bacterial growth inhibition, heat stability, water insolubility, and cost-effectiveness. By sharing laboratory data and comparing observed properties, they determined which derivative is the most suitable. This experiment demonstrates the application of inorganic chemistry to biomedicine through a multi-institutional collaboration and adaptation of general procedures to meet varying course needs.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Devin J. Angevine, Kristine Joy Camacho, Javid Rzayev, Jason B. Benedict
Summary: Nicotine, a commonly used but toxic recreational drug, can rapidly deteriorate into harmful by-products. Crystallization with salt formers can convert the unstable oil into solids with adjustable properties. However, previous salts and co-crystals may not be safe for human consumption. When combined with malic acid, four resulting crystalline solids exhibited high melting points and improved degradation properties. Detailed analysis of crystal packing and thermodynamic properties provides context for the observed properties.
CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN
(2022)
Article
Crystallography
Devin J. Angevine, Jason B. Benedict
Summary: This substance has a chemical formula of C26H24N2O8, and crystallizes in the monoclinic system with the space group P2(1)/c. The cell parameters are a = 6.9170(9) Å, b = 26.012(3) Å, c = 12.7449(17) Å, and β = 91.896(4) degrees. The cell volume is 2291.9(5) Å^3, and the cell contains 4 molecules. The R-value of the crystal is 0.0471, with a weighted reliability factor of 0.1320, at a temperature of 90 K.
ZEITSCHRIFT FUR KRISTALLOGRAPHIE-NEW CRYSTAL STRUCTURES
(2022)
Article
Crystallography
Devin J. Angevine, Jason B. Benedict
Summary: The compound C8H8O4·C10H8N2 has a monoclinic crystal structure with cell parameters of a = 13.427(4) angstrom, b = 10.069(3) angstrom, c = 12.751(4) angstrom, and β = 116.124(7) degrees. The unit cell volume is 1547.7(8) angstrom³, and it contains 4 molecules. The refinement quality indicators R- gt (F) and wR( ref )(F-2) are 0.0426 and 0.1152, respectively, at a temperature of 90 K.
ZEITSCHRIFT FUR KRISTALLOGRAPHIE-NEW CRYSTAL STRUCTURES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Devin J. Angevine, Kristine Joy Camacho, Javid Rzayev, Jason B. Benedict
Summary: The use of crystal engineering effectively converts liquids into crystalline solids, inhibiting undesired degradation pathways. By combining the liquid nicotine, which is sensitive to light and air, with the approved compound gentisic acid, the resulting crystalline solid demonstrates improved photo and thermal stability. With a melting point of 155.9 degrees Celsius, the nicotinium gentisate salt exhibits the highest reported melting point among nicotine-containing crystalline solids.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Leonard T. Demoranville, Jeffrey E. Fieberg, Susan Campbell, Olivia R. Kane, Erin Wachter, Karin J. Young
Summary: Climate change is a crucial scientific and social issue in today's world, but it is not widely discussed or well understood by the general public. One aspect of climate change, the greenhouse effect, is explored in this module which incorporates discussions on greenhouse gases into existing lessons on molecular shape and modeling. The activity, used in various introductory chemistry courses, presents student-generated answers and reported learning gains.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Brandon L. Salazar, Zoe Y. Marr, Jason B. Benedict, Luis A. Colon
Summary: Diarylethene-based photoswitches are widely used in chemistry, materials science, and biotechnology due to their unique physical and chemical properties. In this study, a diarylethene-based photoswitchable compound was separated and characterized using high-performance liquid chromatography, and the isomers were purified for individual study. Supercritical fluid chromatography was explored as an alternative separation method, offering faster analysis times and lower solvent consumption compared to high-performance liquid chromatography. This technique could be upscaled for future purification of diarylethene isomeric compounds, providing a more environmentally-friendly approach.
JOURNAL OF SEPARATION SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Devin J. Angevine, Kristine Joy Camacho, Xiaotong Zhang, Javid Rzayev, Jason B. Benedict
Summary: Crystallization of nicotine can produce nicotine-based materials with tunable thermal properties and improved photo-induced degradation resistance. Both isomers of enantiomerically pure tartaric acid act as effective salt formers when combined with nicotine. The salts exhibit enhanced photostability, and the salt prepared using D(-)-tartaric acid has one of the highest melting points reported for crystalline nicotine solids.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zoe Y. Marr, Rajani Thapa Magar, Bertrand Fournier, Jason B. Benedict, Jeffrey J. Rack
Summary: We report the first observation of phototriggered isomerization of dmso ligands on a bis sulfoxide complex, [Ru(bpy)(2)(dmso)(2)], in the crystalline solid state. The UV-vis spectrum of the crystal shows an increase in optical density around 550 nm after irradiation, consistent with solution isomerization results. Digital images of the crystal before and after irradiation exhibit a noticeable color change (pale orange to red) and cleavage occurs along planes (101) and (100) during irradiation. Single crystal X-ray diffraction data confirms isomerization throughout the lattice, with a structure containing a mix of S,S and O,O/S,O isomers obtained from a crystal irradiated ex situ. In situ irradiation XRD studies show an increase in the percentage of the O-bonded isomer with increasing 405 nm exposure time.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Devin J. Angevine, Travis Mitchell, Xiaotong Zhang, Jason B. Benedict
Summary: The organic salt (S)-nicotinium 2,6-dihydroxybenzoate undergoes reversible single crystal to single crystal phase transition at 104 K. The phase transition was monitored using temperature dependent single crystal X-ray diffraction and was attributed to symmetry breaking translations and rotations of the crystal components.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Devin J. Angevine, Kristine Joy Camacho, Javid Rzayev, Jason B. Benedict
Summary: In this study, we utilized crystal engineering to transform the liquid drug nicotine into a solid state, addressing its instability issue and exploring the stability effects of solid state for liquid pharmaceuticals.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yulong Huang, Travis Mitchell, Yixiong Zheng, Yong Hu, Jason B. Benedict, Jung-Hun Seo, Shenqiang Ren
Summary: This study demonstrates reversible modulation of charge states and a four orders of magnitude switching of electric resistance in an exfoliatable 2D-layered molecular conductor based on bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene molecular dimers through multiple stimuli. The tunable charge transport in 2D molecular conductors reveals promising potential for adding electric functions in molecular circuitry.