Publications

A series of scarce N-alkyl-2,5-unsubstituted/monosubstituted fulleropyrrolidines were synthesized in moderate to excellent yields by the simple one-step thermal reaction of [60]fullerene with primary/secondary amines in the presence of paraformaldehyde without the addition of valuable metal salts. Intriguingly, the reaction with primary amines unexpectedly afforded N-alkyl-2,5-unsubstituted fulleropyrrolidines instead of the anticipated 2,5-monosubstituted fulleropyrrolidines. A plausible reaction pathway is proposed to elucidate the above-mentioned reaction process based on the experimental results.

Oxaprozin is a common anti-inflammatory drug in the clinic. Oral medication of oxaprozin potentially induces the GI perforation, which is caused by the local irritation of its carboxylic acid group. Paeonol is an active ingredient of peony, and has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. So oxaprozin-paeonol ester (OPE) was designed to avoid the GI complications and enhence corresponding anti-inflammatory. The topical anti-inflammatory effects of OPE was evaluated in a 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) induced mouse ear edema model. The results showed that topical treatment of OPE could effectively improve the TPA-induced ear edema and its anti-inflammatory effect is 2 times higher than that of oxaprozin and 4 times than that of paeonol. Moreover, OPE treatment could effectively mitigate the expression of IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-, and its effect is better than that of oxaprozin or paeonol. Furthor study demonstrated that topical treatment of OPE could obviously down-regulate the activation of factor kappa-B (NF-B) by blocking IB kinase (IKK) activities. Accordingly, OPE might be used as a promising anti-inflammatory agent for inflammation-associated skin diseases.

In this study, a new category of sulfone-modified chitosan derivatives as surface-selective adsorbents for the extraction of toxic Hg(II) metal has been synthesized in good yield. Sulfone-modified chitosan/5–20 based on variable loading of the corresponding phenacyl bromide (5, 10, 15, and 20% with respect to the original weight of the pure chitosan) was synthesized. The β-ketosulfone derivative, namely 1–(4-bromophenyl)-2-(phenylsulfonyl)ethanone, was first prepared by treatment of the corresponding phenacyl bromide with a sufficient amount of sodium benzene sulfinate; its chemical structure was confirmed by spectral analyses, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, 1 H-NMR, 13 C-NMR, and mass spectrometry. Then, sulfone-modified chitosan/5–20 derivatives were synthesized by the interaction of chitosan with a freshly prepared p-bromo-β-ketosulfone derivative in a mildly acidic aqueous solution using the solution-blending technique. Sulfone-modified chitosan/5–20 derivatives were identified and characterized using common characterization techniques, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscope, powder X-ray diffraction, and thermal behaviour. A strong interaction was displayed between chitosan and its corresponding β-ketosulfones in powder X-ray diffraction, which was confirmed by significant 2θ shifts. Sulfone-modified chitosan/5–20 derivatives were detected as catalysts, which efficiently increased the thermal decomposition of pure chitosan. More particularly, the efficiency of sulfone-modified chitosan/5–20 derivatives for Hg(II), Pb(II), Ni(II), Al(III), Sr(II), Cr(III), Fe(III), Zn(II), and Mn(II) detection and adsorption was also investigated using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. The sulfone-modified chitosan/5 derivative exhibited the highest adsorption efficiency. The most effective quantitative adsorption onto the sulfone-modified chitosan/5 surface was detected at pH = 2. In addition to that, the adsorption isotherm showed that the adsorption capacity of sulfone-modified chitosan/5 for Hg(II) was 122.47 mg g −1 and that its adsorption isotherm was in agreement with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm.

Constructing high-capacitive potassium storage materials can avoid the sluggish and unstable bulk diffusion process via a surface-induced process, which is conducive to swift and frequent potassium storage. Herein, we demonstrated the use of macroporous honeycomb-like carbon nanofibers (MHCNFs) as an excellent anode material for high-capacitive potassium storage. The as-made MHCNFs feature abundant well-controlled macropores, an amorphous structure, and a large specific surface area of around 595.9 m² g^-1. These structural characteristics could significantly reduce the transferring distance of electrons/ions, offer abundant active sites, enable high-capacitive contribution, and thus substantially improve the kinetics and structural stability of MHCNFs. Experimental investigation demonstrated that MHCNFs enable ultrahigh potassium storage ability (329.1 mAh g^-1 at 100 mA g^-1) and competitive rate capability (168.5 mAh g^-1 at 5000 mA g^-1). More impressively, even when cycled at 1000 mA g^-1, the robust structure of MHCNFs can still enable the electrodes a capacity of 252.6 mAh g^-1 over repeating 2500 cycles. This work offers a promising strategy that macropore engineering coupled with amorphous structure can make effectively elevated K⁺ diffusion kinetic performance and promoted K⁺ adsorption/intercalation storage possible.

The proposed work intended to make an intellectual contribution to the domain of green nanotechnology which emphasizes the chemical synthesis of a conducting nanocomposite based on the incorporation of gold nanoparticles (Au) into the redox matrix of polyindole (PIn) along with the subsequent improvement in the overall properties of the composite by the addition of sulfonated graphene oxide (SGO). The bioanode was developed by the deposition of the PIn-Au-SGO nanocomposite with subsequent immobilization of ferritin (Frt) and glucose oxidase (GOx) on the glassy carbon electrode (GC). The successful application of the PIn-Au-SGO nanocomposite toward the development of a ferritin-mediated glucose biofuel cell anode was studied by the electrochemical characterization of the constructed bioanode (GC-PIn-Au-SGO/Frt/GOx) for the bioelectrocatalytic oxidation of glucose. The maximum current density obtained by the modified bioanode was found to be 17.8 mA cm^-2 at the limiting glucose concentration of 50 mM in 0.1 M K₄Fe(CN)₆ at a scan rate of 100 mVs^-1. The lifetime of the concerned bioelectrode when stored at 4 °C was estimated to be 53 days approximately. The appreciable results of the structural and electrochemical characterization of the PIn-Au-SGO based bioelectrode reveal its potential applications exclusively in implantable medical devices.

Electrosynthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), as a sustainable alternative to the anthraquinone oxidation method, provides the feasibility of directly generating H2O2. Here, we report Cu-doped TiO2 as an efficient electrocatalyst which exhibits the excellent two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e− ORR) performance with respect to the pristine TiO2. The Cu doping results in the distortion of TiO2 lattice and further forms a large number of oxygen vacancies and Ti3+. Such Cu-doped TiO2 exhibits a positive onset potential about 0.79 V and high H2O2 selectivity about 91.2%. Moreover, it also shows a larger H2O2 yield and good stability. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that Cu dopant not only improves the electrical conductivity of pristine TiO2 but reduces the *OOH adsorption energy of active sites, which is beneficial to promote subsequently 2e− ORR process.

Herein, the aggregation manners of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB) in alcohols/diols media containing various concentrations and at several temperatures were performed using the conductivity measurement technique. Different physico-chemical parameters, such as critical micelle concentration (CMC), fraction of bound counter ions (β) and thermodynamic properties (ΔGom, ΔHom, ΔSom, and ΔCom) for the TTAB + PVA mixture in aqueous solutions of EtOH (EtOH), 1-propanol (1-PrOH), ethylene glycol (EG), and propylene glycol (PrG), have been determined. The CMC values were found to undergo a decrease in 1-PrOH in comparison to the values obtained in aqueous media, but in EtOH, the CMC value firstly decreases, touches the lowest point, and then exhibits an upsurge with further increase of the percentage of EtOH. The observed greater CMC values in diols media disclose that the micelle formation of TTAB + PVA mixture is delayed in the manifestation of diols. The CMC values of TTAB + PVA mixture have also been observed to vary with the change of study temperature. The negative values of ΔG0m were obtained for all circumstances suggesting a spontaneous aggregation phenomenon of TTAB + PVA system. The values of ΔH0m and ΔS0m dictate that the PVA molecule interacts exclusively with TTAB through the formation of hydrogen bonding, ion-dipole, and hydrophobic interaction. Furthermore, the standard molar heat capacity (ΔC0m), compensation temperature (Tc), intrinsic enthalpy gain (ΔH0,*m), and the thermodynamic properties of transfer (ΔG0m.tr, ΔH0m.tr. and ΔS0m.tr.) for the studied system were assessed and demonstrated with appropriate explanations.

Polyethersulfone (PES) based hybrid adsorbents were used for the removal of different phenols from aqueous solutions, which are categorized as major aquatic organic pollutants.