Multifunctional organic-inorganic multilayer films of tris(2,2 '-bipyridine)ruthenium and decatungstate

A new multifunctional multilayer films consisting of tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) (Rubpy) and sodium decatungstate (W-10) have been prepared by the layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly method on ITO substrate. X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) confirmed the existence of W10 and Rubpy. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and UV-Vis spectroscopy demonstrated the uniform assembly of (W-10/Rubpy) multilayer films. The multilayer films possess electrocatalytic activities on the reduction of iodate and oxidation of oxalate. Moreover, the films exhibited electrochemiluminescence (ECL) with tripropylamine (abbreviated as TPA) as the coreactant and the ECL response was proportional to the number of (W-10/Rubpy) layers. These characteristics of the multilayer films might find potential applications in the field of sensors and materials fields.

Electrochemical behavior of alpha-Keggin-type nanoparticles, Co(en)(3)(PMo12O40), in polyethylene glycol

The electrochemical behavior of alpha-Keggin-type nanoparticles, Co(en)(3)(PMo12O40) (abbreviated as PMo12-Co), have been studied in poly(ethylene glycol) for four different molecular weights (PEG, average MW 400, 600, 1000, and 2000 g mol(-1)) and containing LiClO4 (O/Li=100/1) supporting electrolyte. The diffusion coefficients of the PMo12-Co nanoparticles were determined using a microelectrode by chronoamperometry for PEG of different molecular weights that were used to describe the diffusion behavior of PMo12-Co nanoparticles in different phase states. Moreover, the conductivity of the composite system increases upon addition of PMo12-Co nanoparticles, which was measured by an a.c. impedance technique. FT-IR spectra and DSC were used to follow the interactions of PEG-LiClO4-PMo12-Co, and well described the reason that the PMo12-Co nanoparticles could promote the conductivity of the PEG-LiClO4-PMo12-Co system.

Aggregation-based fabrication and assembly of roughened composite metallic nanoshells: Application in surface-enhanced Raman scattering

This paper reports an aggregation-based method for the fabrication of composite Au/Ag nanoshells with tunable thickness and surface roughness. It is found that the resultant roughened composite Au/Ag nanoshells can attract each other spontaneously to form films at the air-water interface. Importantly, such films can be transferred onto the solid substrates without being destroyed and show excellent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enhancement ability. Their strong enhancement ability may stem from the unique two-dimensional structure itself.

Molecular construction of oriented crystalline NaMnF3 and KMnF3 with perovskite structures at room temperature

In this work. we report the fabrication of high-quality (101)-oriented orthorhombic NaMnF3 and (100)-oriented cubic KMnF3 perovskites via an organic monolayer template at room temperature. The controlled crystallization under the organic monolayer template is explained in terms of the electrostatic interactions and beneficial lattice matching between the organic template and the ions undergoing nucleation. The present study is of great importance in the preparation of oriented perovskite materials as well as in the understanding of the mechanism for organic-template-directed crystallization.

Growth and vibrational spectra of doped KMgF3 single crystal

The different ions doped KMgF3 single crystals are prepared by the vertical Bridgman method. The near-infrared absorption spectra for different parts of all as-growth crystals indicate that there is the best transparency in middle part. The correlation between the vibronic frequencies of Eu2+ and the site displacement of Cu+ co-doped ions is firstly studied, which indicates that Cu+ ions replace the site of the Mg2+ ions. The co-doped Eu2+ counteracts the charge misfit causing by the replacement of Mg2+ with Cu+. The overlapping of the emission spectra of the Eu2+ and the excitation spectra of the Cu+ results in the energy transfer from Eu2+ to Cu+.

Ring-opening polymerization of epsilon-caprolactone and L-lactide using organic amino calcium catalyst

Poly (6-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly (L-lactide) (PLA) were prepared by ring-opening Polymerization catalyzed by organic amino calcium catalysts (Ca/PO and Ca/EO) which were prepared by reacting calcium ammoniate Ca(NH3)(6) with propylene oxide and ethylene oxide, respectively. The catalysts exhibited high activity and the ring-opening polymerization behaved a quasi-living characteristic. Based on the Fr-IR spectra and the calcium contents of the catalysts, and based on the H-1 NMR end-group analysis of the low molecular weight PCL prepared using catalysts Ca/PO and Ca/EO, it was proposed that the catalysts have the structure of NH2-Ca-O-CH(CH3)(2) and NH2-CaO-CH2CH3 for Ca/PO and Ca/EO, respectively. The ring-opening polymerization of CL and LA follows a coordination-insertion mechanism and the active site is the Ca-O bond.

Synthesis and characterization of PCL/PEG/PCL triblock copolymers by using calcium catalyst

Triblock copolymer PCL-PEG-PCL was prepared by ring-opening polymerization of epsilon-caprolactone (CL) in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) catalyzed by calcium ammoniate at 60 degreesC in xylene solution. The copolymer composition and triblock structure were confirmed by H-1 NMR and C-13 WR measurements. The differential scanning calorimetry and wide-angle X-ray diffraction analyses revealed the micro-domain structure in the copolymer. The melting temperature T-c and crystallization temperature T-c of the PEG domain were influenced by the relative length of the PCL blocks. This was caused by the strong covalent interconnection between the two domains. Aqueous micelles were prepared from the triblock copolymer. The critical micelle concentration was determined to be 0.4-1.2 mg/l by fluorescence technique using pyrene as probe, depending on the length of PCL blocks, and lower than that of corresponding PCL-PEG diblock copolymers. The H-1 NMR spectrum of the micelles in D2O demonstrated only the -CH2CH2O- signal and thus confirmed. the PCL-core/PEG-shell structure of the micelles.

Synthesis of poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-b-poly(gamma-benzyl-L-glutamic acid) block copolymer using amino organic calcium catalyst

A biodegradable two block copolymer, poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-b- poly(gamma-benzyl-L-glutamic acid) (PCL-PBLG) was synthesized successfully by ring-opening polymerization of N-carboxyanhydride of gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate (BLG-NCA) with aminophenyl-terminated PCL as a macroinitiator. The aminophenethoxyl-terminated PCL was prepared via hydrogenation of a 4-nitrophenethoxyl-teminated PCL, which was novelly obtained from the polymerization of c-caprolactone (CL) initiated by amino calcium 4-nitrobenzoxide. The structures of the block copolymer and its precursors from the initial step of PCL were confirmed and investigated by H-1 NMR, FT-IR, GPC, and FT-ICRMS analyses and DSC measurements.

Strontium-based initiator system for ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters

An amino isopropoxyl strontium (Sr-PO) initiator, which was prepared by the reaction of propylene oxide with liquid strontium ammoniate solution, was used to carry out the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of cyclic esters to obtain aliphatic polyesters, such as poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(L-lactide) (PLLA). The Sr-PO initiator demonstrated an effective initiating activity for the ROP of epsilon-caprolactone (epsilon-CL) and L-lactide (LLA) under mild conditions and adjusted the molecular weight by the ratio of monomer to Sr-PO initiator. Block copolymer PCL-b-PLLA was prepared by sequential polymerization of epsilon-CL and LLA, which was demonstrated by H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR, and gel permeation chromatography. The chemical structure of Sr-PO initiator was confirmed by elemental analysis of Sr and N, H-1 NMR analysis of the end groups in epsilon-CL oligomer, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The end groups of PCL were hydroxyl and isopropoxycarbonyl, and FTIR spectroscopy showed the coordination between Sr-PO initiator and model monomer gamma-butyrolactone. These experimental facts indicated that the ROP of cyclic esters followed a coordination-insertion mechanism, and cyclic esters exclusively inserted into the Sr-O bond.

Synthesis and structural characterization of organolanthanide complexes with 1,2-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane-1,2-dichalcogenolate ligands

Reactions of anhydrous LnCl(3) (Ln = Nd, Gd, Dy, Er, Yb) with 2 equiv of LiCp' in THF afford the lanthanocene complexes Of CP'(2)Ln(mu-Cl)(2)Li(THF)(2) (CP' = eta(5)-t-BuC5H4, Ln = Nd (1), Gd (2), Dy (3), Er (4), Yb (5); Cp'= 1,3-eta(5)-t-Bu2C5H3, Ln = Nd (6), Gd (7), Dy (8), Er (9), Yb (10)). The molecular structures of 7 and 8 were characterized by X-ray crystallographic analysis. In these complexes, two Cp' ring centroids and two it-bridging chloride atoms around the lanthanide atoms form a distorted tetrahedron. The insertion of elemental chalcogen E (E = S, Se) into Li-C bonds of dilithium o-carborane in THF solution afforded dimers of dilithium. dichalcogenolate carboranes, [(THF)(3)LiE2C2B10H10Li(THF)](2) (E = S (12a), Se (12b)), which were confirmed by a crystal structure analysis. Reactions Of Cp'(2)Ln(mu-Cl)(2)Li(THF)(2) (1-10) with 12a or 12b gave dinuclear complexes of the formula [Li(THF)(4)](2)[Cp'(2)LnE(2)C(2)B(10)H(10)](2) (Cp'= eta(5)-t-BuC5H4, E = S, Ln = Nd (13a), Gd (14a), Dy (15a), Er (16a), Yb (17a); E = Se, Ln = Nd (13b), Gd (14b), Dy (15b), Er (16b), Yb (17b); Cp'= 1,3-eta(5)-t-Bu2C5H3 E = S, Ln = Nd (18a), Gd (19a), Dy (20a), Er (21a), Yb (22a); E = Se, Ln = Nd (18b), Gd (19b), Dy (20b), Er (21b), Yb (22b)). According to the X-ray structure analyses, the dianions of 13a and 13b contain two o-carborane dichalcogenolate bridges, and each CP'2Ln fragment is attached to one terminal and two bridging chalcogen ligands. The central Ln(2)E(2) four-membered ring is not planar, and the direct metal-metal interaction is absent.

Infrared spectrum of 2-octadecyl-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane

Infrared spectrum of 2-octadecyl-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane was dealt with 2nd-derivative and deconvolution methods. It was first discovered that the band near 2849 cm(-1) assigned to the CH2 Symmetric stretching mode splited into two bands and this splitting might result from the coexistence of two kinds of conformations of CH2 in the hydrocarbon chain.

Synthesis and characterization of novel lanthanocene complexes with dichalcogenolate o-carboranyl ligands

Reactions of [ Cp(2)Ln(mu-Cl)](2) (Cp = eta(5)-C5H5, Ln = Nd, Yb, Dy, Gd, Er) with an equivalent of [ (THF)(3)LiE2C2B10H10Li. (TT-IF) (THF)](2) (E = S, Se) in THF afforded the dinuclear sandwich complexes of formula[Cp(2)LnE(2)C(2)B(10)H(10)](2)[Li(THF)(4)](2) [E = S, Ln = Nd (1a), Yb (2a), Dy (3a), Gd (4a), Er (5a); E = Se, Ln = Nd (1b), Yb (2b), Dy (3b), Gd (4b), Er (5b)]. The molecular structures of complexes la, 2a and 2b were determined by the single crystal X-ray structure analyses. Two lanthanide atoms are connected by a pair chalcogen (eta(1), eta(2)-E2C2B10H10) bridging ligands and the central Ln(2)E(2) four membered ring is not planar.