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A novel hydrophobic ionic liquid including an N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(2-methylpyridyl)-1,2-phenylenediamine-4-amido structure ((IL-1,2-tpbd)+NTf2−) was successfully synthesized. (IL-1,2-tpbd)+NTf2− combined one amido (O-hard donor) and four pyridine (N-soft donor) groups. Its Cd2+ and Zn2+ separation behavior in nitric acid solution was investigated as a function of the extraction time, effect of pH etc. by dissolving (IL-1,2-tpbd)+NTf2− in a room temperature ionic liquid, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ((C6mim)+NTf2−). The extraction kinetics were fairly fast and could reach equilibrium within 4 h. When pHeq≥ 1.8, the extraction percentage of Cd2+ and Zn2+ remained constant and the maximum separation factor was calculated as 12.78 at pHeq = 3.1; when pHeq ＜ 1.8, the extraction percentage of Cd2+ and Zn2+ decreased drastically due to the protonation of the pyridine groups. Complete stripping of the extracted Cd2+ and Zn2+ from the ionic liquid phase into an aqueous phase was successfully achieved under highly acidic conditions ([HNO3] = 2 M) without adding any other metal complex forming agents. The extraction mechanism was summarized as a cation exchange due to the independence of nitrate ions in the extraction process. Additionally, the results of the slope analysis and UV-vis titration revealed the formation of a 1 : 2 complex. Furthermore, (IL-1,2-tpbd)+NTf2− showed a higher preference for Cd2+ even under the interference of various co-existing metal ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a TiO2–Cu2O composite catalyst with enhanced efficiency for the gas-phase degradation of toluene was synthesized using the glucose solvothermal method. The TiO2–Cu2O composite catalyst exhibited enhanced stability compared to individual materials (TiO2 or Cu2O). Characterization results revealed the formation of a p–n heterojunction between TiO2 and Cu2O; therefore, the toluene degradation rate is promoted. For the degradation experiments with toluene, the TiO2–Cu2O composite exhibited enhanced efficiency (63%) for toluene degradation compared to TiO2 (40%) under simulated visible-light irradiation. Furthermore, the degradation rate of gas-phase toluene (171.6 mg m−3) by TiO2–Cu2O reached 79% compared to Cu2O (55%) under simulated sunlight irradiation. A mechanistic study indicated that the heterojunction improves the catalytic capability. The conduction band of TiO2 is situated below that of Cu2O; thus, the electron–hole transfer between the heterojunction is thermodynamically permitted. The photogenerated electrons can move from Cu2O to TiO2, while holes migrate from the valence band of TiO2 to Cu2O, thereby preventing the recombination of electrons and holes. hence, the photocatalytic activity is improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel route was developed by doping rare-earth ions (RE3+) with large ionic radii (such as La3+, Ce3+, Sm3+, Eu3+, Tb3+, Dy3+, Yb3+ and Lu3+) for aspect ratio modification of KSc2F7 nanocrystals (NCs). The results revealed that the shape of the nanocrystals could be readily tuned from one-dimensional long nanorods to zero-dimensional ultrasmall nanospheres. The aspect ratio of the NCs could be adjusted over a broad range from 45 to 1 by changing the dopant or doping concentration. Interestingly it was found that doping of a lanthanide with a larger ionic radius was equivalent to increasing the amount of the dopant on the aspect ratio evolution. The NCs doped with different RE3+ also exhibited multifunctionality, including upconversion (UC) and downconversion (DC) emissions as well as paramagnetic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein we present a gravity-driven microdevice furnished with tunable TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNAs) inside as the separation medium for consecutive on-chip enrichment and isotope labeling of serum phosphopeptides. The 3D tubular architectures of TNAs dramatically enhanced the affinity towards phosphate-containing molecules and also provided a spacious microenvironment for isotope dimethyl labeling reactions. To maximize the efficiency and capacity of the phosphopeptide enrichment, nanoscale tailoring and microscale fabrication were employed for adjusting the TNAs’ pore sizes and the channel patterns. The S-shaped microdevice equipped with interior TNAs anodized at 25 V was utilised for consecutive serum processing, and further differential expression analysis of endogenous phosphopeptides between ovarian cancer patients and healthy women. The phosphorylated fibrinogen peptide A (FPA, AD[pS]GEGDFLAEGGGVR) was found to be down-regulated by about 4 times while its isoform (D[pS]GEGDFLAEGGGV) was 2.4-fold up-regulated in the patient specimens. In principle, this nanostructure-embedded model introduced tailor-made bioseparation materials into the microdevice, undoubtedly facilitating the workflow of sample pretreatment and thus assisting the analysis of disease-associated biomolecules in biomedical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based probe, γ-cyclodextrin modified oleic acid–NaYF4:Yb, Ho upconversion nanoparticles functionalized with a rhodamine B derivative (RBD), has been achieved for Fe3+-sensing in aqueous solution with high sensitivity and selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fe3O4–graphene–TiO2ternary composite networks were first synthesized, which exhibited high selectivity and capacity in the capture of phosphopeptides, due to the enhanced contact to phosphopeptides given by the graphene scaffold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interfaces between heavy metals and antiferromagnetic materials have garnered significant attention due to their interesting physical properties. La0.35Sr0.65MnO3 (LSMO), as a typical manganite, exhibits an antiferromagnetic ground state that can be controlled through epitaxial strain and interfacial spin–orbit coupling. In this work, we reported the diverse magnetoresistance, influenced by the interfacial magnetic state, in Pt (3 nm)/LSMO (6–20 nm) heterostructures. The strong spin–orbit coupling of Pt and Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction alter the spin structure and enhance the electron scattering at the Pt/LSMO interface, resulting in positive magnetoresistance. The interfacial angular-dependent magnetoresistance modulated by the interfacial magnetic states was also observed in the Pt/LSMO (20 nm) heterostructures. Our findings contribute to a broader understanding of interfacial properties between heavy metals and antiferromagnetic manganites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrogen bond donor (HBD) glycerol (Gly) and hydrogen bond acceptors (HBA) selected among 1,2,4-triazole (Tri), imidazole (Im), tetrazole (Tz), 1-methyl-triazole (Tri-Me), 3-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole (Tri-SH), 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (Tri-NH2), 3-cyano-1,2,4-triazole (Tri-CN), and 4-formalimidazole (Im-CHO) were paired to construct functional deep eutectic solvents (DESs) that were then utilized as ammonia (NH3) absorbents. The influences of the HBA in DESs, temperature, and partial pressure of NH3 on the NH3 absorption performance were systematically investigated. The results illustrated that all the DESs exhibited efficient and reversible absorption for NH3, and Tri–Gly possessed higher absorption capacity than Im–Gly, with the maximum absorption capacity of 0.115 gram NH3 per gram DES of Tri–Gly (1 : 3) at 313.15 K and 1.0 bar. The NH3-saturated DES could be easily recycled five times with a persistent absorption performance. The absorption mechanism was further deduced by the NMR and FTIR spectroscopy. These DESs acted as potential absorbents for NH3 due to their good absorption performance and reversibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We proposed a π-conjugation enhanced molar absorption coefficient strategy that can effectively improve the sensitivity of the spectrophotometry sensing technique. As a case study, the strategy was demonstrated for sensitive nitrite detection based on the typical nitrite–thiol reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This communication describes an efficient co-catalyst Co3O4 nanoparticle with a tunable two-electron water oxidation reaction pathway in photoelectrochemical H2O2 production. The photoluminescence measurement explains that the promotion effect is due to the accelerated activation of water to ṖOH. The increased Faraday efficiency of H2O2 for the Co3O4/WO3 sample also verifies that the promotion effect to a two-electron water oxidation reaction of Co3O4 is universal to other semiconductor photoanodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction of oxygen vacancies for semiconductor photoanodes is an effective method to accelerate charge carrier transfer and improve the photoelectrochemical performance. However, excessive surface oxygen vacancies are always created in this process and the surface recombination will be aggravated. This paper describes an ozone treatment method that could effectively heal surface oxygen vacancies and suppress the recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs on the surface of two-dimensional WO3 nanoflakes. The ozone treatment method can oxidize the W5+ on the surface of photoanodes to decrease the surface oxygen vacancies, which results in a significant cathodic shift of the onset potential of ∼0.15 V in comparison with the pristine WO3 photoanode. The hydrogen and ozone-treated WO3 sample exhibits a photocurrent of 2.25 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode and excellent stability over 10 hours and its overall faradaic efficiency for the water splitting reaction is ∼90%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The table of contents for the December 1, 2014 issue of the periodical "New Journal of Chemistry," is presented.