A disulfide-linked pyrene dimer (1), which was constructed with two pyrene derivatives and a cystine-derived disulfide linker, was synthesized as a thiol-reactive ratiometric fluorescence probe. 1 alone showed strong excimer fluorescence at around 490 nm in an aqueous dimethyl sulfoxide solution. Upon addition of thiol-containing biomolecules such as l-cysteine, l-homocysteine, and glutathione, the excimer fluorescence of 1 decreased, while monomeric fluorescence increased, reflecting reduction-responsive cleavage of disulfide bond of 1 to give the corresponding thiol 2.

Herein, a simple hydrothermal treatment method is proposed to separate high-purity montmorillonite from natural clay stone, bentonite, which contains various associated minerals. Specifically, a suspension of bentonite is placed in a closed vessel and heated to temperatures above approximately 100 °C. High-purity montmorillonite is collected by recovering the gel fabricated by heating. Evidently, the purity and collectability of montmorillonite is higher with higher temperatures and longer periods of treatment.

A metal cation-responsive optically active poly(phenylacetylene)-based copolymer containing a small number of hydroxy groups in the pendant was synthesized and immobilized onto silica gel by crosslinking between the hydroxy groups of the copolymer chains using a dicarboxylic acid as the crosslinker. The obtained immobilized copolymer acted as a three-state switchable chiral stationary phase for high-performance liquid chromatography like the corresponding homopolymer coated on silica gel.

The bulky Rind-based thiols, (Rind)SH (1) [Rind = 1,1,7,7-tetra-R¹-3,3,5,5-tetra-R²-s-hydrindacen-4-yl: EMind (a: R¹ = Et, R² = Me), Eind (b: R¹ = R² = Et), and MPhind (c: R¹ = Me, R² = Ph)], reacted with ⁿBuLi in THF to afford a series of lithium arylthiolates, [(Rind)SLi]_n(THF)_m (2), whose structures were confirmed by an X-ray diffraction analysis. In the solid state, while the less bulky EMind-based lithium thiolate exhibited a linear dimer, [(EMind)SLi]₂(THF)₄ (2a), or trimer, [(EMind)SLi]₃(THF)₅ (2a′), the monomeric structures of (Eind)SLi(THF)₃ (2b) and (MPhind)SLi(THF)₂ (2c) were found for the bulky Eind- and the bulkier MPhind-based systems. The salt metathesis reaction between 2a and FeCl₂(THF)_1.5 in THF produced the anionic three-coordinate planar Fe(II) thiolate complex, [Li(THF)₃][{(EMind)S}₃Fe] (3a).

Four palladium(0) complexes bearing diphosphine ligands were prepared and their chiroptical properties were studied. The structures of two new complexes were elucidated by X-ray crystallography. These complexes show photoluminescence in solution, with quantum yields of 0.4–42%, as well as circular dichroism (CD) at the metal–ligand charge transfer transition bands. The three complexes bearing biaryl phosphine ligands exhibit circularly polarized luminescence of moderate intensities; the sign and the dissymmetry factors of which coincide with the CD spectra.

The one-pot synthesis of substituted pyridines from alkyl ketones, Stork enamines, and ammonia is reported. This reaction involves the nickel-catalyzed dehydrogenation of the alkyl ketone and conjugate addition of the enamine, followed by condensation with an ammonium salt to yield the corresponding pyridine. Furthermore, the α-alkylation of δ-amino-γ,δ-unsaturated ketone intermediates leads to the synthesis of tetrasubstituted pyridine in excellent yields by means of a three-step one-pot reaction.

Near-infrared (NIR)-triggered artificial meniscus climbing was realized using a shape memory polymer (SMP) object. The SMP was coated with polypyrrole (PPy) overlayer, which can convert NIR light into heat. The flat PPy-coated SMP became curved upon NIR irradiation owing to the photothermal conversion of PPy. The curved PPy-coated SMP demonstrated meniscus climbing.

Dispersion free energies of pristine, carboxyl-functionalized (oxidized), and methyl-functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are calculated by combining molecular dynamics simulation with the thermodynamic integration method. The results show that the steric effect of the functionalized group on the CNT surface contributes to the dispersion of CNT, regardless of whether the chemical group is hydrophilic or hydrophobic. Moreover, modulating the steric effect degree can be helpful in dispersing CNT bundles not only in water but in any solvent.

Fully conjugated polymers are candidates as rigid polymers for good oxygen permselective membrane materials. In this study, we synthesized a series of such polymers with a rigid backbone consisting of (di)ethynylene and phenylene groups and alkyl side groups by Glaser or Sonogashira coupling polycondensation. Some of these polymers gave self-supporting membranes and their oxygen permselectivities were influenced by the alkyl groups. Oxygen permselectivities of polymers containing diynes in the main chain were determined for the first time.

Donut shaped porous aggregates of a smectite with the size of several tens of micron were obtained by the spray drying of an aqueous suspension of the clay containing a block copolymer, P123. After calcination at 500 °C, the donut shape was retained and the BET surface area of the calcined product was ca. 200 m²/g, which was much higher than the product prepared without using P123. The roles of P123 for the formation of porous aggregate were discussed as the increased viscosity leading to the donut shaped aggregates by the spray drying and the suppression of the collapsing of the layered structure by the calcination.

The solid-state heating of methylammonium monomolybdate, (CH₃NH₃)₂[MoO₄] (prepared by dissolving MoO₃ in an aqueous methylamine solution), in air released methylamine and water to produce (CH₃NH₃)₆[Mo₇O₂₄] and followed by (CH₃NH₃)₈[Mo₁₀O₃₄] before transformation to MoO₃. We report the first single-crystal X-ray structural analysis of (CH₃NH₃)₂[MoO₄] and (CH₃NH₃)₆[Mo₇O₂₄] and demonstrate that the decamolybdate structure is different from that obtained from ammonium molybdates. Furthermore, (CH₃NH₃)₆[Mo₇O₂₄] is a good negative staining reagent for transmission electron microscopy observations of viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus.

Simultaneously self-healable and conductive materials are desirable because of their lightness, long lifetime, and flexibility. Although supramolecular chemistry has been employed to prepare these desired materials, in many cases, additional conductive agents are required. Herein, we incorporated the host-guest complexation between cyclodextrin and adamantane into an intrinsically conductive polymer system. The obtained polymeric materials showed simultaneous self-healing properties and electrical conductivities solely as coatings without addition of any conductive agents.

A stable dibenzo-1,6,2,5-dioxadisilocine was synthesized as a difunctional electrophile for double-silylation reactions. Its molecular structure was fully characterized by spectroscopic means and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The reductive coupling with phenanthrene using a dispersion of sodium afforded an unexpected silylated polycyclic compound via a formal [3+3] dimerization of phenanthrene skeletons.

The highly-strained [4]cycloparaphenylene or [4]CPP can be chemically stabilized upon inclusion of an alkaline-earth metal atom. A topological analysis of the electronic charge densities of M@[4]CPP (M = Ca–Ba) indicates that the encapsulated metal is positively charged while the carbon nanohoop is reduced. The use of such metals represents a possible strategy in the synthesis of [4]CPP.

Aculeine A (ACU-A, 1), a marine sponge-derived peptide toxin with a novel posttranslational modification with long-chain polyamine (LCPA), exerts potent hemolytic and cytotoxic activity against mammalian erythrocytes and cultured cells, respectively. Here we found that toxic actions of 1 were attenuated by negatively charged phospholipids and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) suggesting that 1 interacts primarily with cell surfaces through ionic interactions. In HeLa cells, 1 induced cytotoxicity with characteristic membrane blebbing at 37 °C, while the treatment at 4 °C did not show such adverse phenotype. The immunohistochemical and mass spectral experiments together showed that 1 penetrated cell membrane and localized in the cytosol efficiently at 37 °C but not at 4 °C, suggesting that the intracellular translocation of 1 requires some energy-dependent cellular process. These results together suggested that 1 could act either as a membrane disrupting or a cell penetrating agent depending on cell types.

Valence and local structures of Eu and Dy ions in Sr₂MgSi₂O₇:Eu, Dy long persistent phosphorescence phosphors synthesized by solid state reaction were investigated. Photo-induced valence change was observed for Eu²⁺ ions, but not for Dy³⁺ ions. The local structure of Dy³⁺ ions was different from those of Sr²⁺ and Eu²⁺ ions. Dy³⁺ ions partially aggregated, in contrast with Eu²⁺ ions. These facts provided an explanation to the question why no photo-induced valence change was observed for Dy³⁺ ions.

Nucleophilic aromatic substitution polymerization of perfluoroalkylene-α,ω-bisphenols with aromatic difluorides afforded a series of aromatic poly(ether ketone)s with perfluoroalkylene units in the main chains. The resulting poly(ether ketone)s have good heat-resistance, organosolubility, and water-repellency.

Polysulfide is a candidate for the redox pairs for thermocell devices; however, its aqueous solution has never been investigated. Polysulfides are in complex equilibria in an aqueous system, and the open-circuit potential of the solution is made of their mixed potential; thus, the dominant redox equilibrium determines its thermoelectric property. In this paper, an aqueous polysulfide thermocell was fabricated, and the underlying mechanism of the polysulfide thermocell was investigated by electrochemical studies, UV-vis spectroscopy at various temperatures, and thermodynamic calculations.

The promotion of protein folding is an important subject that can contribute to the efficient production of biological medicines. Here we report the promotion of disulfide bond-coupled protein folding by imidazoyl-conjugated thiol (ImdSH). ImdSH accelerated the disulfide bond formation and folding of reduced ribonuclease A and bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor relative to glutathione as a conventionally used additive.

In this work, the fabrication of a type II heterojunction on ZnIn₂S₄ nanosheets with Prussian blue (PB) nanoparticles is reported. ZnIn₂S₄/PB displays a broad light response region and the heterojunction structure significantly facilitates the separation of electron-hole pairs. The obtained ZnIn₂S₄/PB composite film exhibits excellent photoelectrochemical performance. The modification approach used in this work to improve photoelectrochemical water splitting performance can also be applied to other metal oxides and sulfides, among others.

Here, we report that metal ion substitution in a pentanuclear scaffold provides an efficient catalyst for a photocatalytic HCOOH/CO₂ cycle. A pentanuclear copper complex (Cu5) served as a catalyst that drives both photochemical formic acid production and formic acid dehydrogenation under ambient conditions with high activity and selectivity.

Cationic iridium complex for blue light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) was synthesized from 1-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-3-methyl-5-phenyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole (dphtz) cyclometalating ligand and 2-(1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine (phpzpy) ancillary ligand. The photophysical and electrochemical properties were investigated by UV-vis absorption, photoluminescence spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry, and compared to those of the previously reported [Ir(ppy)₂(phpzpy)]⁺. The LECs emitted blue light peaking around 488 nm and max luminance of 77.35 cd/m² under constant current density of 10 mA/cm².

Aiming to expand the range of applications of 9,10-di(piperazinyl)anthracene (AnP₂) as fluorescent probes for aqueous environments, herein we investigated responsiveness of monodisperse-oligo(ethylene glycol)-modified AnP₂ to micelles and vesicles in buffer solutions. Both the length of the side chains and pH were found to significantly affect the sensitivity of AnP₂ for these aggregates.

Direct photo-activation of quinolinium ion generated in situ enabled its benzylation reaction with tetra-coordinate benzylboron reagents under mild reaction conditions, where the 1,2-addition was preferred to give 2-benzyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline derivatives. Radical trapping experiments with TEMPO showed that a radical coupling process was included, which indicated the probable photo-induced single electron transfer mechanism.

Facile non-solvent induced phase separation and natural drying methods were used to prepare polymer coated micron silver particles. The silver particles coated by the natural drying method showed controlled release rate and simple operation procedure. Compared with uncoated silver particles, the released silver concentration of silver reduced from 10.5(uncoated) mg/L to 0.033 mg/L(polymer-coated). The polymer coated micron silver significantly improves the safety, validity and dispersibility (especially in polymer matrix) of antimicrobial silver.