A novel hydrophobic metal–organic framework (MOF), namely Cu2L (L=3,3′,5,5′‐tetraethyl‐4,4′‐bipyrazolate), is synthesized through a stepwise method, and exhibits an unprecedented 3,4‐c net. The ...exceptionally thermal, chemical, and air stability of this MOF, especially in water and under acidic or basic conditions, and its selective and fast sorption capacity for hydrocarbons over water warrant its direct use for efficient removal of trace organic wastes (e.g. benzene, toluene, xylene, and mixtures thereof) from contaminated water.
No more fear for water: A water‐stable copper‐based metal–organic framework is synthesized and directly utilized for water purification. The material is effective, efficient, and recyclable for the removal of benzene, toluene, and xylenes from contaminated water (see figure; VOCs=volatile organic compounds).
Chromium(III)‐based metal–organic frameworks (Cr‐MOFs) are very attractive in a wide range of investigations because of their robustness and high porosity. However, reports on Cr‐MOFs are scarce ...owing to the difficulties in their direct synthesis. Recently developed postsynthetic routes to obtain Cr‐MOFs suffered from complicated procedures and a lack of general applicability. Herein, we report a highly efficient and versatile strategy, namely solvent‐assisted metal metathesis, to obtain Cr‐MOFs from a variety of FeIII‐MOFs, including several well‐known MOFs and a newly synthesized one, through judicious selection of a coordinating solvent. The versatility of this strategy was demonstrated by producing Cr‐MIL‐100, Cr‐MIL‐142A/C, Cr‐PCN‐333, and Cr‐PCN‐600 from their FeIII analogues and Cr‐SXU‐1 from a newly synthesized MOF precursor, Fe‐SXU‐1, in acetone as the solvent under very mild conditions. We have thus developed a general approach for the preparation of robust Cr‐MOFs, which are difficult to synthesize by direct methods.
Chromium exchange: An efficient and versatile strategy for the synthesis of chromium(III)‐based metal–organic frameworks (Cr‐MOFs) from a variety of FeIII‐MOFs has been developed based on solvent‐assisted metal metathesis. These transformations proceeded in a judiciously chosen coordinating solvent (acetone) under very mild conditions.
Determining the total structure of metal nanoparticles is vital to understand their properties. In this work, the first all-alkynyl-protected Ag nanocluster, Ag74(CCPh)44, was synthesized and ...structurally characterized by single crystal diffraction. Ag atoms are arranged in a Ag4@Ag22@Ag48 three shell structure and all 44 phenylethynyl ligands coordinated with Ag in a μ3 mode. In spite of being absent in nanocluster, 31P NMR study reveals that bidentate phosphine first reacts with Ag(I) to form a dinuclear complex, from which Ag atoms are then released to phenylethynyl ligands. This phosphine mediated strategy may find general application in synthesis of alkynyl-protected Ag nanoclusters.
Luminescence mechanochromism of the well-known Cu3Pz3-type (Pz = pyrazolate) complexes is reported here, which is unusual for this family. Two types of new Cu3Pz3 complexes, namely Cu3(EBPz)3 (1; ...EBPz = ethyl-4′-benzoate-3,5-dimethylpyrazolate) and Cu3(MBPz)3 (polymorphs 2a–c; MBPz = methyl-4′-benzoate-3,5-dimethylpyrazolate), have been synthesized and characterized. Their crystal structures exhibit a similar chairlike dimer stacking supported by short Cu···Cu contacts, which would facilitate the formation of photoinduced excimers. The dual emission from the organic fluorophore and excimeric copper cluster phosphor is found to undergo mechanically induced intensity switching between their high-energy (HE) and low-energy (LE) bands. Specifically, the relative intensities of crystalline samples are HE > LE, while the ground solid samples show LE > HE, resulting in the overall emission color interchanging between bluish violet and red. This switching can be reversed by application of solvent to the ground samples, presumably due to recrystallization, and also by heating. TD-DFT calculations reveal that the emissive singlet ligand localized state (S1) and triplet cluster centered state (T8) lie close in energy (separated by a gap of 0.1788 eV), suggesting the feasibility of dual emission and the possibility of reverse intersystem crossing, consistent with the long fluorescent lifetimes (102 ns scale) of the HE bands.
The solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) plays crucial roles for the reversible operation of lithium metal batteries. However, fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of SEI formation and evolution ...is still limited. Herein, we develop a depth-sensitive plasmon-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (DS-PERS) method to enable in-situ and nondestructive characterization of the nanostructure and chemistry of SEI, based on synergistic enhancements of localized surface plasmons from nanostructured Cu, shell-isolated Au nanoparticles and Li deposits at different depths. We monitor the sequential formation of SEI in both ether-based and carbonate-based dual-salt electrolytes on a Cu current collector and then on freshly deposited Li, with dramatic chemical reconstruction. The molecular-level insights from the DS-PERS study unravel the profound influences of Li in modifying SEI formation and in turn the roles of SEI in regulating the Li-ion desolvation and the subsequent Li deposition at SEI-coupled interfaces. Last, we develop a cycling protocol that promotes a favorable direct SEI formation route, which significantly enhances the performance of anode-free Li metal batteries.
The sharp depletion of fossil fuel resources and its associated increasingly deteriorated environmental pollution are vital challenging energy issues, which are one of the most crucial research hot ...spots in the twenty-first century.Rechargeable Ni–Zn batteries（RNZBs）, delivering high power density in aqueous electrolytes with stable cycle performance, are expected to be promising candidates to alleviate the current energy and environmental problems,and play an important role in green power sources. Many efforts have been focused on the investigations and improvements of RNZBs in recent decades, and it is necessary to summarize and review the achievements and challenges in this advancing field. In this paper, we review various batteries, compare and highlight the advantages of RNZBs, and introduce the recent advances in the development of electrode materials and electrolytes of RNZBs,especially the applications of novel nanostructured materials for the active electrodes. Some prospective investigation trends of RNZBs are also proposed and discussed.
Abstract
Although there is a low prevalence of parasitological infections in Europe, the diagnosis of intestinal parasites is still difficult and laborious for microbiology laboratories. Currently, ...antigen detection assays and molecular biology allow a more accurate diagnosis, but these techniques have limitations as they cannot detect all the possible parasites present in the samples. The objective of the study was to evaluate the accuracy and the usefulness of automated microscopy SediMAX2 (77 Elektronika, Budapest, Hungary) in the detection of parasitic infections from feces. A total of 197 formol-fixed stool samples were processed in parallel by wet mount examination and by SediMAX2. Sensitivities, specificities and predictive values were analyzed, reaching a sensitivity of 89.51% and a specificity of 98.15% and a very good positive predictive value (99.22%). SediMAX2 is a good tool for a reliable diagnosis of intestinal parasitic infections. The rapid processing and the flexibilty of storage of images analyzed make its incorporation into the day to day laboratory routine recommendable.
A supramolecular dual emissive system incorporating two classical copper(I)-cluster-based luminophores, namely, Cu(4)I(4) and Cu(3)Pz(3) (Pz = pyrazolate), is reported. The targeted luminescent ...coordination polymer exhibits reversible thermochromism spanning from green to orange-red.
Objective
Chronic nonbacterial prostatitis (CNP) has remained one of the most prevalent urological diseases, particularly in older men. Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) has been identified as a ...semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin that exhibits broad protective effects. However, the role of DHA in inhibiting CNP inflammation and prostatic epithelial cell proliferation remains largely unknown.
Materials and methods
CNP animal model was induced by carrageenan in C57BL/6 mouse. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blot were used to examine inflammatory cytokines and proliferation genes expression. Immunofluorescence and immunochemistry staining were used to detect and E2F7 expression. Human prostatic epithelial cells (HPECs) and RWPE-1 was induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to mimic CNP model in vitro. Cell proliferation was determined using MTS assay.
Results
DHA significantly alleviated the rough epithelium and inhibited multilamellar cell formation in the prostatic gland cavity and prostatic index induced by carrageenan. In addition, DHA decreased the expression of TNF-α and IL-6 inflammatory factors in prostatitis tissues and in LPS-induced epithelial cells. Upregulation of transcription factor E2F7, which expression was inhibited by DHA, was found in CNP tissues, human BPH tissues and LPS-induced epithelial cells inflammatory response. Mechanically, we found that depletion of E2F7 by shRNA inhibited epithelial cell proliferation and LPS-induced inflammation while DHA further enhance these effects. Furthermore, HIF1α was transcriptional regulated by E2F7 and involved in E2F7-inhibited CNP and cellular inflammatory response. Interestingly, we found that inhibition of HIF1α blocks E2F7-induced cell inflammatory response but does not obstruct E2F7-promoted cell growth.
Conclusion
The results revealed that DHA inhibits the CNP and inflammation by blocking the E2F7/HIF1α pathway. Our findings provide new evidence for the mechanism of DHA and its key role in CNP, which may provide an alternative solution for the prevention and treatment of CNP.
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