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A series of host–guest MOF materials were successfully fabricated by virtue of donor–acceptor interactions, which exhibit color-tunable emissions in a wide wavelength range by rational selection of guest molecules.

A highly chemoselective route to aryl methyl sulfones via an unexpected C–S bond formation between sulfonylhydrazides and dimethyl phosphite catalyzed by NaI under mild conditions has been established. This transformation provides an alternative and metal-free pathway to acquire various aryl methyl sulfones in good to excellent yields. Notably, dimethyl phosphite was employed as a stable and readily available alkyl source.

The incorporation of photochromic units into metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is of particular interest due to their ability to endow the MOFs with extra functions such as photomodulated fluorescence, photomagnetism, and photomodulated electrical conductivity. In this work, a π-conjugated electron-deficient viologen ligand was assembled with La3+, resulting in a stable cationic MOF with one-dimensional channels, namely [La(bdpbpy)(H2O)2]·NO3·5H2O (1-NO3) (H4bdpbpy·2Cl = 1,1′-bis(3,5-dicarboxyphenyl)-4,4′-bipyridinium dichloride). As expected, 1-NO3 exhibits photochromism accompanied by an obvious color change from yellow to brown under UV-vis light irradiation. Remarkably, the water stable cationic framework of 1-NO3 acts as an efficient and selective trap for toxic dichromate through ion-exchange. The π-conjugated electron-deficient viologen ligand in the framework can provide extra affinity for iodine adsorption, and thus 1-NO3 exhibits sorption behaviours for iodine molecules. More importantly, the iodine adsorption capacity of 1-NO3 was significantly reduced when it was irradiated by UV-vis light. This is attributed to the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) changing the original charge distribution of the bipyridinium moieties on the channel and weakening the affinity for the N+⋯I–I interaction. This work breaks through the traditional design strategy to construct MOF adsorbent materials with controllable adsorption capacity.

Mechanoresponsive luminescent materials refer to materials exhibiting luminescence intensity and/or color change in the solid-state induced by external mechanical stimulation and are attracting considerable attention for their potential applications in many fields. For organic molecular materials, the mechanoresponsive luminescence phenomenon can significantly depend on the molecular packing modes and orientations of individual fluorophores, enabling the development of molecular materials with mechanoresponsive luminescence characteristics. Naphthalene diimides (NDIs) are well-known organic dyes with an electron-deficient plane, making them excellent candidates for exploring mechanoresponsive luminescence properties owing to their photophysical and photochemical properties that depend on the packing modes and are very sensitive to the micro-environment. In this work, a new binary charge transfer cocrystal complex with sensitive mechanoresponsive luminescence, IsoNDI·anisole (C1) (IsoNDI = N,N-di(4-pyridylacylamino)-1,4,5,8-naphthalene diimide), was designed and prepared. C1 shows interesting enhanced emission characteristics and reversible mechanochromic luminescence properties with a prominent color change from orange to bright green-yellow by mechanical grinding. This study demonstrates that the development of new mechanoresponsive luminescent materials through donor–acceptor interactions is an effective avenue.

Organic electrode materials are desirable for green and sustainable Li-ion batteries (LIBs) due to their light-weight, low cost, abundance and multi-electron transfer reactions during battery operation. However, the successful utilization of organic electrodes is hindered by their poor electrical conductivity and low cyclic stability. Herein, a facile synthesis of π-conjugated N-containing heteroaromatic hexacarboxylate (Li6-HAT) compound and its electrochemical performance as an anode material in LIBs is reported. The as-synthesized Li6-HAT electrode renders an ultrahigh initial capacity of 1126.3 mAh g−1 at the current density of 100 mA g−1. Moreover, π-conjugated N-containing heteroaromatic center provide excellent reversibility of (de)lithiation process, resulting in excellent capacity retention. Furthermore, a combination of density functional theory (DFT) calculations, in-situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ex-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterization reveal that the π-conjugated nitrogen and carboxyl oxygen act as electrochemically active sites during the charge/discharge process. The current work provides novel insights into the charge storage mechanism of organic electrodes and opens up avenues for further development and utilization of organic electrodes in Li-ion batteries.

Zwitterionic poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSBMA) was successfully loaded onto a polyacrylonitrile membrane surface by thiol–ene click chemistry. The chemical composition and structure of zwitte...

The side reaction between the active material and liquid-electrolyte cause structural damage and particle pulverization is one of the important factors leading to the capacity decay of LiNi0.80Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA) materials in Li ion batteries (LIBs). Surface modification is an effective strategy for NCA cathodes, which could alleviate the degradation associated with surface processes. Herein, a surface structure rearrangement of NCA cathode secondary particles was reported by in-situ forming a solid electrolyte LiBO2. The LiBO2 is beneficial for alleviating the stress during charge/discharge process, thereby slowing down the rate of cracks formation in the secondary particles, which facilitates the Li+ de-intercalation as well as prevents penetration of the liquid-electrolyte into the interior of the particles. As a result, the surface structure rearrangement NCA (RS-NCA) delivers a high discharge capacity of 202.5 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C, and exhibits excellent cycle stability with discharge capacity retaining 148 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 2 C. This surface structure rearrangement approach provides a new viewpoint in designing high-performance high-voltage LIBs.

To promote catalytic activity toward oxygen-reduction reaction in the intermediate temperature solid-oxide fuel cells, we prepared a dual-phase composite cathode material 75 mol%La0.5Sr0.5CoO3-δ-LaSrCoO4±δ with a fibrous structure via one-pot electrospinning of a polymer containing solution. We then investigated the micro-structure and electrochemical performance of this fibrous composite. The results confirm that the fibrous composite is composed of intimately mixed nano-crystalline grains and that the compositional phases are compatible with each other. Compared with the corresponding single-phase fibers, the nano-crystalline size of the composite is more stable, and the fine nano-crystalline grains are more resistant to growth and coarsening, indicating the mutual dispersion and suppression between the constituent phases. Furthermore, compared with the corresponding single-phase fibers, the electrochemical performance of this fibrous composite cathode is more favorable. At 800 °C, its area specific resistance (ASR) is as low as 0.03 Ω cm2, and maximum output power density is as high as 960 mW cm−2, which is achieved from an electrolyte-supported single cell that was developed using this cathode. After aging this cathode for a long time, ASR is less worsened and the output power density decreases only slightly, indicating that the prolonged electrochemical performance in the running cells is more stable.

The 3-D backbones with ionic conductivity are first built by sintering Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 silks, then Ca3Co2O6 nanoparticles as electrocatalyst are filled in by infiltrating ionic solution, as a result, a hybrid electrode with hierarchical structure is constructed as the cathode of solid oxide fuel cells. Compared with the single-phase Ca3Co2O6 bulk cathode and common Ca3Co2O6-Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 composite one, this hybrid electrode is very active for oxygen reduction reaction. At 800?C, area specific resistance with this cathode is reduced to 0.062 ?cm2, and power density peak with the electrolyte-supported single-cell is promoted to 760 mW/cm2. The superior catalytical activity is attributed to the enlarged area for surface oxygen exchange kinetics and enhanced ionic transport behaviour.

An alternative metal-free, efficient and practical approach for the preparation of phosphinothioates is established via the aerobic oxidative cross-dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) of sulfonyl hydrazides with secondary phosphine oxides catalyzed by tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI) in the presence of atmospheric oxygen. The strategy provides an array of diverse phosphinothioates in good to excellent yields. Furthermore, two representative bioactive molecules are synthesized on up to gram scale by utilizing this method.

A lanthanide-based coordination polymer Tb2(H2dobdc)3(DMF)4 (Tb-MOF), was prepared by the solvothermal reaction. Benefitting from the large amount and uniform distribution of oxygen atom, conjugated aromatic nucleus as active electrochemical reaction sites, Tb-MOF anode exhibits good specific capacity and excellent cycle performance. The initial discharge specific capacity reached 627.5 mAh g−1 and –87.4% capacity retention after 100 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g−1. At the same time, Tb-MOF electrode has an extremely high structural stability, and the capacity retention is maintained at 99.1% even if it is cycled 3000 times at a current density of 0.8 Ag−1. The research results show that this novel rare earth complex electrode has important research value and application potential compared with traditional anode materials.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can be applied as LIBs electrode materials with novel structure and potential for development, due to their ability to provide metal ions and organic ligands with redox activity and porosity/channel for the diffusion of electrolyte ions. Here, a Ti-based MOF (Ti-MOF) with stable Ti-skeleton and hexagonal nut shape is synthesized and selected for LIBs. The Ti-MOF exhibits a specific capacity of the maximum initial discharge capacity of 1590.24 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1, and it displayed excellent structural reversibility even over 8000 cycles. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate the carboxyl groups act as an electrochemically active site to reversibly bond with Li+, and the Ti octahedron functions as stable skeleton. The porous structure provides channels for the deintercalation of Li+, enhancing the contribution of the pseudocapacitive process, but the overall electrochemical rate determining step is still controlled by Li+ diffusion.

Metal-organic frameworks that contain photoactive organic ligands or photoactive inorganic components are an emerging class of multifunctional hybrid materials that in recent years has gradually become an ideal platform for building photochromic complexes. In this paper, a metal-organic framework based on naphthalene diimide (NDI) ligand with Lindqvist-type W6O192– polyanions, [Ce2(BINDI) (DMF)8]•[W6O19] (1), (H4BINDI = N, N'-bis(5-isophthalic acid)-1,4,5,8-naphthalene diimide) was synthesized and systematically characterized. It displays a cationic two-dimensional grid coordination network, featuring anion–π interactions between W6O192– and expanded π–electron deficient naphthalene diimide (NDI) moieties. Moreover, because of the presence of electron-deficient NDI moieties and photoactive W6O192–, this complex exhibits fast responsive reversible photochromism and photoresponsive tunable luminescence. UV-Vis, IR, PXRD, EPR, and XPS spectral studies indicate that the obviously photochromic phenomenon of complex 1 is derived from photoinduced electron-transfer form NDI radicals and W5+ species.

Mechanoresponsive luminescent materials coupled with other functionalities are of particular interest due to their multiple external stimuli responsive properties. In this paper, a new sensitive mechanoresponsive luminescent coordination polymer, [Cd(INI)(DMF)2·DMF] (1) (H2INI = N-(5-isophthalic acid)-1,8-naphthalimide), has been successfully designed and synthesized. Complex 1 exhibits interesting mechanoresponsive and grinding-enhanced luminescence properties, and its luminescence colour changed from weak blue-green to bright blue upon grinding owing to the external pressure-induced destruction of π⋯π stacked arrangements in local defective areas. Moreover, the luminescence properties and uncoordinated carbonyl groups of well-ground g-1 endow it with excellent sensing ability for Cr3+ ions. This work will provide a new perspective to rationally design multifunctional coordination polymers that can serve as practical multi-responsive sensors to pressure and chemicals.

Correction for ‘Naphthalimide-containing coordination polymer with mechanoresponsive luminescence and excellent metal ion sensing properties’ by Jian-Jun Liu et al., Dalton Trans., 2020, 49, 3174–3180, DOI: 10.1039/C9DT04928B.

Correction for ‘A photochromic zinc-based coordination polymer for a Li-ion battery anode with high capacity and stable cycling stability’ by Shu-Biao Xia et al., Dalton Trans., 2018, 47, 13222–13228, DOI: 10.1039/C8DT02930J.

An alternative approach with eco-friendliness and high efficiency for the preparation of unsymmetrical diaryl sulfones has been developed. The strategy takes advantage of the reaction of sulfonyl hydrazides with quinone imine ketals catalyzed by DABCO (triethylenediamine) in ethanol. This transformation proceeds via a Lewis base promoted, direct 1,4-conjugate addition/sulfonylation/alcohol elimination reaction sequence. The protocol provides an efficient approach to access an array of diverse unsymmetrical diaryl and heterodiaryl sulfones, aryl alkyl sulfones and aryl vinyl sulfones in good to excellent yields.

The LiNi 0.80 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 (NCA) cathode is endowed with a high energy density and excellent cycling performance. However, the preparation conditions for this material are quite harsh. Therefore, it is rather significant to obtain well-qualified NCA by simple solid-phase synthesis. In this study, the solid-phase synthesis of NCA cathode material is carried out by mixing two types of raw materials via stirring or sand milling. The effects of different particle sizes on the structure and morphology of NCA materials are analyzed. Owing to the different particle sizes of the raw materials, the diffusion path of Li + between the solid phases differs greatly. The XRD results show that the samples mixed by stirring have a worse cation mixture than those mixed by sand milling due to the larger particle size, smaller sintering surface energy, and insufficient sintering strength. The electrochemical results show that the sample mixed by sand milling has a higher specific capacity at a low rate, the initial discharge capacity is 199.22 mAh g −1 , and the capacity retention rate is 86.9% after 50 cycles. In contrast, the initial discharge capacity of the sample mixed by stirring is 184.86 mAh g −1 , and the capacity is 171.93 mAh g −1 after 50 cycles with a 93.0% capacity retention rate.

An efficient, catalyst-free strategy to construct diarylmethyl sulfones via 1,6-conjugate addition/aromatization/sulfonylation reaction of para-quinone methides with sulfonyl hydrazides under mild and environmentally benign conditions has been developed. The established protocol provided a highly chemo- and regioselectivity synthesis of a diverse array of novel diarylmethyl sulfones with excellent yields, and the reaction could be scaled up.

Naphthalene diimides are attracting considerable interest because of their tunable luminescent properties, which are generally achieved by the incorporation of electron-donating moieties into naphthalene diimides core to form donor-acceptor compounds through covalent bond. However, this method is an elaborate strategy because the separation of byproduct is tedious. Here we report that the luminescent properties of naphthalene diimides can be finely modulated by supramolecular cocrystal formation. Through the donor-acceptor interactions between the electron-deficient N,N′-di-(4-pyridyl)-1,4,5,8-naphthalene diimide (DPNDI) molecules and electron-rich naphthalene derivatives (guest), a series of cocrystal complexes are successfully fabricated. These cocrystal complexes show guest-dependent color-tunable emissions, which originate from the excited state charge transfer interactions between the DPNDI and naphthalene derivatives in the solid state. The present study anticipates providing a new method for the design of various new types of organic luminescent materials.

Rechargeable Li-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently the dominant power source for electric vehicles and portable electronic devices, and for small-scale stationary energy storage. However, one bottleneck of the anode materials for LIBs is the poor cycling performance caused by the fact that the anodes cannot maintain their integrity over several charge-discharge cycles. In this article, a zinc-based two-dimensional coordination polymer [Zn(bcbpy)0.5(PTA)(H2O)] (Zn-BCP) has been synthesized (H2bcbpy·2Cl = 1,1'-bis(3-carboxylatobenzyl)-(4,4'-bipyridinium) dichloride, PTA = terephthalic acid), which was characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Because of the presence of electron-deficient bipyridinium moieties, Zn-BCP can easily undergo photoinduced electron transfer and eye-detectable photochromic behavior. Moreover, its luminescence can be switched by UV-Vis light irradiation. When Zn-BCP acts as an anode material for lithium ion batteries, it can deliver a high reversible capacity of 386.2 mA h g-1 at 100 mA g-1 after 100 cycles and a high capacity retention of 93.1% after 1000 cycles at a high rate of 200 mA g-1, which is supposed to be due to the flexible structure characteristic of the proposed anode. The high capacity may be mainly ascribed to rich insertion sites arising from the aromatic ligands and all of the aromatic ligands are taking part in lithium storage.

Herein, an excellent anode was achieved for a lithium-ion battery based on a polyoxometalate-organic framework [Ni5(OH)3(trzS)3(en)(H2O)(B-α-PW9O34)] for the first time. It can deliver a capacity of 710 mA h g-1 at 100 mA g-1 after 50 cycles and a high capacity retention of 82.2% after 500 cycles at a high rate of 800 mA g-1, which is supposed to be due to the unique porous characteristic and high chemical stability of the proposed anode. The higher capacity was ascribed to Ni and W of the building unit taking part in lithium storage.

Three new coordination polymers with the formulas of {[Co(nip)(bibp)]·0.5(H2O)}n (1), [Co(nip)(bimh)]n (2), {[Co(nip)(titb)]·H2O}n (3) (H2nip = 5-nitro-isophthalic acid, bibp = 4,4′-bis(imidazol-1-yl)biphenyl, bimh = 1,6-bis(imidazol-1-yl)-hexane, titb = 1,3,5-Tris(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)-2,4,6-trimethylbenzene) were synthesized and structurally characyerized. Compound 1 has 2D (36)-hxl layer topology structure. Compound 2 shows a two-fold interpenetrating 2D 44 square-grid planar network (44-sql) in which 1D [Co(nip)]n chains are interconnected by bimh ligand. Compound 3 possesses a 3D (3,5)-connected topological structure with a (63)(69·8) Schlafli symbol. Furthermore, the heterogeneous catalytic oxidation activity of 1 toward methylene blue in the presence and abserence of H2O2 are investigated in aqueous solution. And both compounds 1 and 3 exhibit selective sensing toward Fe3+ through the luminescent quenching experiments.

Transition metal phosphides (TMPs) have the advantages of large theoretical capacity, good thermal stability and low cost, are widely concerned as potential electrode materials for lithium ion battery (LIBs). Herein, a mild method was used to load CoP on graphene oxide to prepare porous CoP@RGO materials. The CoP@RGO exhibits an excellent electrochemical performance due to its good porosity and excellent electronic conductivity. The initial discharge specific capacity of the CoP@RGO electrode reaches 1210 mAh g−1, and after 50 cycles, the discharge specific capacity still reaches 745 mAh g−1. The outstanding performance of the CoP@RGO provides not only a novel insight into the modulated volume expansion of anode but also one of the most effective strategies for large-scale production of graphene-loaded new phosphide electrodes. The pseudocapacitance-controlled charge storage contributions of 80.2% at 0.8 mV s−1 sweep rates, which shows it exhibits higher pseudocapacitance -controlled charge storage contributions.

The reaction of CdCl2·2.5H2O with 1,1′-bis(3-carboxybenzyl)-4,4′-bipyridinium dichloride (H2L1·Cl2) or 4,4′-bis[(3-carboxypyridino)methyl]-biphenyl dichloride (H2L2·Cl2) in a dimethylformamide/methanol mixed-solvent system at room temperature, affording the complexes [(CdCl2)3(L1)3]n (1) and {[CdCl2(L2)(H2O)2]·2H2O}n (2). They were characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Both 1 and 2 exhibit 1D coordination networks, which further stack into a 3D supramolecular structure by hydrogen bonding and π–π interactions. Furthermore, these two complexes exhibit different photochromic behavior in the solid state, which may originate from different charge-distributions of H2L1·Cl2 and H2L2·Cl2 ligands.

Manganese(II) and nickel(II) coordination polymers, [Mn(L)(H2O)2] n (1) and [Ni(L)·14H2O] n (2), have been synthesized from a rigid viologen-based tetracarboxylic acid ligand, 1,1′-bis(3,5-dicarboxyphenyl)-4,4′-bipyridinium dichloride (H4L·2Cl) and the Mn(II)/Ni(II) chlorides. The compounds have been characterized by infrared spectra, elemental analyses, single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analyses and thermogravimetric analyses. Compound 1 has a 2D coordination network with uncoordinated carboxyl groups, which further stack into a 3D supramolecular structure by hydrogen-bonding interactions. Compound 2 shows a 3D supramolecular framework with 1D channels along the crystallographic b-axis, formed from zigzag chains through hydrogen-bonding interactions. Both compounds display prominent photochromic and photomagnetic behavior upon light irradiation, suggesting that they may be potential photomagnetic materials.

The MnII-based porous metal-organic framework, [Mn3(btca)2(HCOO)(μ3-OH)(H2O)2]·2DMF (1) (H2btca = benzotriazole-5-carboxylate acid), was prepared by the solvothermal reaction of Mn(CH3COO)2·4H2O and H2btca, which was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analyses, and X-ray crystallographic study. 1 exhibits 3D framework with 1D rectangle channels constructed by the strip-shaped chains containing [Mn5(μ3-OH)2(btca)4]– pentaclusters subunits. Furthermore, the magnetic measures show that 1 exhibits weak ferromagnetic behavior at low temperature.

2,4,6-Tris(pyridin-4-yl)-1,3,5-triazine (tpt), as an organic molecule with an electron-deficient nature, has attracted considerable interest because of its photoinduced electron transfer from neutral organic molecules to form stable anionic radicals. This makes it an excellent candidate as an organic linker in the construction of photochromic complexes. Such a photochromic three-dimensional (3D) metal–organic framework (MOF) has been prepared using this ligand. Crystallization of tpt with Cd(NO3)2·4H2O in an N,N-dimethylacetamide–methanol mixed-solvent system under solvothermal conditions afforded the 3D MOF poly[[bis(nitrato-κ2 O,O′)cadmium(II)]-μ3-2,4,6-tris(pyridin-4-yl)-1,3,5-triazine-κ3 N 2:N 4:N 6], [Cd(NO3)2(C18H12N6)] n , which was characterized by IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The X-ray diffraction crystal structure analysis reveals that the asymmetric unit contains one independent CdII cation, one tpt ligand and two coordinated NO3 − anions. The CdII cations are connected by tpt ligands to generate a 3D framework. The single framework leaves voids that are filled by mutual interpenetration of three independent equivalent frameworks in a fourfold interpenetrating architecture. The compound shows a good thermal stability and exhibits a reversible photochromic behaviour, which may originate from the photoinduced electron-transfer generation of radicals in the tpt ligand.

A new cycloaddition reaction of quinone imine ketals (QIKs), which could be utilized to the construction of functionalized azaspirocyclics under mild conditions, is described. This transformation involved a [2+2] cycloaddition reaction between QIKs and allenoates catalyzed by DABCO, and then treatment with 1 N HCl in one-pot. The strategy could provide a practical route to access azetidine-fused spirohexadienones in good to excellent yields and with high E-selectivity.

Metal−organic frameworks (MOF) are promising precursors to obtain novel electrode materials for Li-ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, we report a convenient and straightforward one-pot pyrolysis strategy to prepare MOF-derived Ni/CoFe2O4@C nanocomposite by using tri-metal FeCoNi-MOF-74 as a precursor. The Ni/CoFe2O4@C anode exhibits excellent electrochemical performance with a reversible capacity of 962 mAh g−1, after 50 charge/discharge cycles, at the current density of 100 mA g−1. Moreover, the Ni/CoFe2O4@C electrode renders excellent cyclic performance and superior rate capability due to its novel structure. The superior electrochemical performance can be ascribed to the synergistic influence of Ni and CoFe2O4 as well as the unique porous structure of multiple complex. The analysis of intercalation kinetics reveals that the pseudocapacitance dominates the charge storage behavior of Ni/CoFe2O4@C anode, which can be attributed to excellent porous structure. These results demonstrate that the as-synthesized Ni/CoFe2O4@C nanocomposite is a promising anode material for LIBs.

Because of their low hydrophilic properties, the polymeric membranes are always subjected to fouling problems, which have become a major obstruction in the path of the practical application of membrane technology in oil–water separation. The present work describes a highly hydrophilic polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membrane successfully developed via thiol-ene click chemistry. To fabricate the membrane, the pristine PAN membrane was first hydrolyzed and then reacted with cysteamine hydrochloride to create a thiolated surface. Afterward, poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA) was covalently grafted onto the thiolated surface to obtain the PEGylated membrane. The effects of the number-average molecular weight (Mn) of PEGMA monomers on the structure, surface wettability, anti-fouling abilities and separation performances of the PEGylated membrane were investigated systematically. The grafting density of PEGMA chains increases with the increase in PEGMA concentration in the reaction solution, whereas it diminishes with the increasing Mn of PEGMA monomers as a result of the steric hindrance. The PEGylated PAN membrane has the superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic characteristics when it is grafted with the low-Mn PEGMA monomers. It is observed that the surface grafting of PEGMA chains results in the reduction of membrane pore size, which endows the PEGylated PAN membrane with a low flux. The separation efficiency of PEGylated membrane for several kinds of oil-in-water emulsions is as high as 99.9%, indicative of an excellent separation performance. The cycle filtrations of oil-in-water emulsions demonstrate that the flux decline of PEGylated membrane caused by both the irreversible and reversible fouling is suppressed effectively, as compared with the pure PAN membrane. Even after the three-cycle filtration of the oil-in-water emulsion, the recovery ratio of pure water flux of PEGylated membrane remains greater than 95%, suggesting a high fouling-resistant ability in the permeation process of emulsions.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as a new type of hybrid material assembled with metallic ions and organic ligands, is useful precursors or templates for the construction of various materials. MOFs derivatives show excellent performance as Li ion batteries (LIBs) electrodes or catalytic materials. Herein, we report a convenient, straightforward one-pot preparation of tin oxides nanoparticles confined in porous carbon matrices by carbonizing Sn-based MOFs. The as-prepared SnO2/SnO@C electrode show excellent cycling electrochemical and rate properties. It delivers an initial specific capacity of 1567.1 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1 current density as well as a remarkably enhanced cycle performance. Density functional theory (DFT) theoretical calculations, ex-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) further reveal the lithium storage mechanism of SnO2/SnO@C electrodes. These results demonstrate that as-synthesized SnO2/SnO@C composite is a promising anode material for LIBs.

Naphthalene diimides (NDIs), a class of organic dyes with high photochemical activity and high redox activity, have attracted considerable interest attributing to their photoinduced electron transfer to form stable radical anions upon irradiation in the presence of electron donors. In this study, a naphthalenediimide-based ligand and different aromatic carboxylic acids self-assembled in the presence of zinc ions, forming three novel coordination polymers, [Zn2 (DPMNI) (TPDC)2] (1), [Zn (DPMNI) (BPC)] (2), Zn (DPMNI) (HBTC) (3) (DPMNI = N,N′-bis(4-pyridylmethyl)-1,4,5,8-naphthalene diimide, H2TPDC = thiophene-2,5-dicarboxylic acid, H2BPC = 4,4′-biphenyldicarboxylic acid, H3BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid). These coordination polymers characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analyses, IR spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and theromgravimetric analysis. Because of the presence of electron-deficient NDI moieties, they exhibit reversible photochromic properties. Furthermore, due to the different π–π interactions between the NDI moieties and aromatic carboxylic acid, compounds 1–3 exhibit different photosensitive properties. Moreover, the solvatochromic behaviour of compound 1 was also investigated.

First, functional backbones of LaSrCoO4±δ were built on a dense electrolyte substrate, and then a surface layer of the backbones was converted into La0.5Sr0.5CoO3−δ shell by in-situ reaction with the infiltrated Con+ ions, thus constructing a hybrid electrode of LaSrCoO4±δ@La0.5Sr0.5CoO3−δ with a core-shell structure. This was evaluated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Compared with single-phase La0.5Sr0.5CoO3−δ, this hybrid electrode shows lessened thermal mismatch with electrolyte because of a low thermal expansion coefficient of LaSrCoO4±δ backbones. Further comparison with single-phase LaSrCoO4±δ shows that it has a lower charge transfer resistance instead owing to the excellent electrical conductivity of La0.5Sr0.5CoO3−δ shell. As the cathode material of solid-oxide fuel cells, the area specific resistance (ASR) of LaSrCoO4±δ is 0.095 Ω cm2 at 800 °C, showing a fast kinetics towards oxygen reduction reaction. At this level, the electrochemical activity of hybrid electrode increased, and the ASR decreased to 0.03 Ω cm2. The maximum power density as high as 870 mW cm−2 at 800 °C was achieved from the electrolyte-supported single cell fabricated with this hybrid cathode. It is quite favorable to use this hybrid electrode in a single cell; its prolonged electrochemical performance only slightly decreases.

A novel heterobimetallic coordination polymer, [Cd8Na(ntc)6(H2O)8] (1), (H3ntc = 5-nitrobenzene-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid) has been prepared under hydrothermal conditions and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. By topology analysis, the complicated architecture of 1 is simplified to be the 6-connected α-Po (pcu) net, which is built on the unprecedented heterobimetallic Cd2Na(CO2)6 MBB. Further, a 3D Cd/Na–O framework with diamond topology was obtained on condition that all the carbon atoms were neglected. In addition, the thermal stabilities and fluorescent properties were also studied.

Tin (Sn)-based materials are potential alternatives to the commercial graphite anode for next-generation Li-ion batteries (LIBs) due to their high theoretical capacity. However, the poor cyclic stability, originating from the large volumetric changes during charge/discharge process, hinder their practical utilization. Herein, we have successfully prepared a Sn-based metal-organic framework (MOF, Sn-PMA), and explored as potential anode materials in LIBs. Benefiting from its layered structure and efficient electron transport channels, Sn-PMA electrodes deliver a high initial capacity of 1567 mAh g−1, at 100 mA g−1, and maintained a reversible capacity of 707 mAh g−1, at 800 mA g−1, after 400 cycles. Furthermore, the detailed post-electrochemical structural, morphological and compositional analysis is carried out to unveil the structural changes and Li-ion storage mechanism of electrodes. Ex-situ XRD and XPS results revealed that, in Sn-PMA electrode, O atom, coordinated to the Sn atom, exhibited higher electronegativity, served as major Li-ion storage site and rendered excellent cyclic stability due to a stable structure. Kinetic analyses reveal that the excellent performance of the Sn-PMA is typical attributed to the pseudocapacitive contribution induced by the special porous structure.

Solvothermal reactions of 3,3′,5,5′-biphenyltetracarboxylic acid (H4BPTC) and cobalt(ii) ions in the presence of two different flexible N-donor ancillary ligands afford two novel coordination polymers, {[Co(BPTC)0.5(bix)]·H2O}n (1), {[Co(BPTC)0.5(bpp)]·3H2O}n (2) (bix=1,4-bis(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene; bpp=1,3-bis(4-pyridyl)propane). Their structures have been determined by elemental analyses, IR spectra, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses, and powder X-ray diffraction. The pillared layered framework of 1 can be simplified to a (4,6)-connected net with a Schläfli symbol of (44·62)(44·69·82). Complex 2 manifests a bilayered structure, and can be simplified to a (4,4)-connected net with a Schläfli symbol of (55·8)(54·62). The thermal stabilities of both complexes and the magnetic behaviours of 1 are also discussed.