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Three non-fullerene acceptors with benzonitrile groups were synthesized, which could reduce the non-radiative recombination energy loss and enhance the efficiency in organic solar devices.

The application of a coordination container in biomedicine is hindered by single binding domains and unsatisfactory biostability and biocompatibility. Herein, we designed a sulfonylcalix[4]arene-based decahexanuclear zinc(II) coordination container employing a flexible tetracarboxylate ligand as a linker and utilized it as a novel drug delivery system. The coordination container consisting of one endo and four exo cavities provides multiple binding domains for efficient encapsulation of drug molecules as clearly revealed by systematic host-guest studies using NMR techniques of 1H NMR titration experiments and 2D NOESY and diffusion-ordered NMR spectroscopy studies. Incorporation of a flexible p-phenylene-bis(methanamino) spacer into the container via the carboxylate linker allowed a stepwise drug loading process through sequential binding at endo and exo cavities, as well as enabling pH-responsive stepwise drug release. The drug-loaded coordination container not only exhibits excellent biostability and biocompatibility but also provides encouraging therapeutic efficiency toward inflammatory macrophages as revealed by in vitro studies. The novel strategy for engineering the endo cavity of a coordination container provides a new approach to achieving controlled drug delivery and opens up new opportunities for designing novel functional supramolecular materials.

Four new sulfonylcalix[4]arene-supported coordination containers have been designed and synthesized through the self-assembly of Co(II)/Ni(II), p-tert-butylsulfonylcalix[4]arene, and ortho-dicarbox...

We demonstrate a proof-of-concept design of a new platform for proton recognition and modulation. The new proton receptors are derived from a unique class of synthetic supercontainers that exhibit exceptional proton binding capacity (over 50 equiv.) and intriguing proton-dependent fluorescent switching behavior. Experimental and computational studies suggest that the proton-responsive event involves a two-step mechanism pertaining to proton binding by both amino and pyrenyl moieties of the supercontainer constructs. The high proton binding capacity of the supercontainers can be further modulated via small-molecule "regulators" that compete for the proton-binding sites, opening exiting new opportunities for proton manipulation in both chemistry and biology.

A new sulfonylcalix[4]arene-based dinuclear terbium molecular container (1) was conveniently synthesized and utilized as a fluorescence probe for the detection of a well-known biomarker 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP), which is used for the evaluation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The sulfonylcalix[4]arene ligand could not only serve as an efficient antenna ligand to promote the ligand-to-metal energy transfer but also provide a suitable cavity to accommodate 1-OHP. Promising fluorescence quenching effects were well established during the titration of the compound 1 with 1-OHP, and these effects were due to the enhancement in the host–guest intermolecular charge transfer and the decrease in the ligand-to-metal energy transfer after the formation of the stable host–guest complex. The fluorescence sensing mechanism was clearly understood through the titration experiments, and the data could be fit with the Benesi–Hildebrand and Stern–Volmer models. The TbIII-TBSC-based luminescent sensor exhibited quick response, high sensitivity, and specific selectivity to 1-OHP, even in the presence of other constituents in urine, thus providing a new sensing platform for the clinical diagnosis of human exposure to PAHs.

Color tunable electroluminescence is obtained from devices having a spin-coated single emitting layer with a novel EuIII-tetrakis-β-diketonate complex NBu4[EuL4] (L− = 4-(4′-carbazol-9-yl-biphenyl-4-yl)-1,1,1-trifluoro-4-oxo-but-2-en-2-ol anion) doped with CBP (4,4′-N,N′-dicarbazolebiphenyl)–OXD7 (1,3-bis[2-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazo-5-yl]benzene) blend. An external quantum efficiency (EQE) as high as 2.8%, maximum brightness (L) of 1547 cd m−2, current efficiency (ηc) of 5.14 cd A−1 and power efficiency (ηp) of 2.53 lm W−1 were shown by a device having the structure ITO/PEDOT:PSS (50 nm)/CBP (56%):OXD7 (24%):NBu4[EuL4] (20%) (50 nm)/TPBI (50 nm)/LiF (1.5 nm)/Al (120 nm). The newly designed β-diketonate ligand containing hole-transporting carbazole group and π-spacer extends the excitation window of the EuIII-complex to 450 nm and also improves the carrier transport properties. The modification in the ligands results in a low turn-on voltage of the devices (

Highly phosphorescent (Ph4 P)2 [MnBr4 ] as a low-cost and environmentally benign emitting material achieves peak current efficiency of 25.4 cd A-1 and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 7.2% for nondoped organic light-emitting diodes, and peak current efficiency of 32.0 cd A-1 and EQE of 9.6% for doped devices with 20% (Ph4 P)2 [MnBr4 ]:27% TCTA:53% 6DCZPPY as a doping emitting layer.