Current Issue : October-December Volume : 2026 Issue Number : 4 Articles : 6 Articles
Artesunate (ARU), a key derivative of artemisinin (ART), exhibits excellent water solubility and antimalarial activity due to its incorporation of a succinic acid group. However, the synthesis process of ARU often leaves behind ART with a highly similar structure and properties, making traditional separation methods ineffective for efficient separation. Developing selective separation technologies holds significant importance. Based on previous studies, in work involving the preparation of bidentate MOFs with different ligands, bidentate MOFs containing thiol/amino groups have been found to exhibit outstanding adsorption capacity and selectivity for ARU molecules. Among these, -NH2 forms hydrogen bonds with -COOH in ARU, while -SH interacts non-specifically with Aru, significantly enhancing the adsorption effect. This study employed a delayed inversion method to prepare a sulfhydryl-amino UiO-66/PVDF hybrid membrane (UiO-66-SH/NH2/PVDF) by adjusting the composition of the coagulation bath, which was used for efficient separation of ART/ARU. The effects of ethanol ratio in the coagulation bath on membrane structure and performance were systematically investigated. Results showed that increasing the ethanol ratio delays phase transition, promotes MOF material enrichment on membrane pore surfaces, and forms more abundant pore structures. When the ethanol-to-water volume ratio was 1:1, the UiO-66-SH/NH2/PVDF membrane exhibited optimal pore structure and highest water flux. Static permeation experiments demonstrated that the membrane achieved effective separation of ARU and ART for 8 h, maintaining stable selective adsorption performance after five cycles. This study reveals the critical role of morphology regulation in separating structural analogs, providing new materials and theoretical foundations for efficient separation of artemisinin-based compounds....
Photocycloaddition reactions provide an efficient strategy for converting alkenes into structurally complex and high-value molecules that are often difficult to access under conventional thermal conditions. Herein, two readily accessible triarylamine-based imine molecular cages possessing distinct cavity environments were investigated as supramolecular photocatalysts for reactions of pyridinium-masked enol (PME) substrates with unactivated alkenes. Spectroscopic studies are consistent with the formation of electron donor–acceptor (EDA) interactions between the electron-rich cage frameworks and electron-deficient PME substrates. Upon blue-light irradiation (450 nm), these charge-transfer assemblies undergo photoinduced activation, likely involving single-electron transfer, N–O bond cleavage, and subsequent radical generation. The resulting radical intermediates participate in formal [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions to afford tetralone derivatives under metal-free conditions. Comparative studies revealed that the two cages produce distinct product distributions and selectivities, suggesting that subtle variations in cage architecture and confined supramolecular environments influence the fate of reactive radical intermediates and the balance between productive cyclization and competing side pathways. While the detailed mechanistic origin of these effects remains unresolved, this work demonstrates the potential of covalent organic cages as structurally tunable platforms for modulating EDA-mediated photochemical reactivity and radical selectivity....
This study evaluated the degradation of 1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocane (HMX) in simulated wastewater using an iron-carbon (Fe-C) micro-electrolysis system. The treatment efficiency was systematically evaluated under varying initial pH, Fe dosage, and Fe/C mass ratios. Under the optimized operating conditions (initial pH of 4, Fe dosage of 70 g/L, and an Fe/C mass rat of 1:1), the system achieved a maximum HMX removal efficiency of 98.4%. Kinetic analysis indicated that the degradation process conformed to pseudofirst- order kinetics. Mechanistically, HMX removal was attributed to interfacial adsorption and co-precipitation via in situ generated Fe2+ and Fe3+ hydroxides, alongside reductive transformation mediated by Fe, Fe2+, and nascent hydrogen ([H]) evolved during the microelectrolysis process. To assess the molecular toxicity evolution of the treated wastewater, a toxicogenomic assay was deployed to evaluate the molecular toxicity evolution of the treated wastewater matrix. The transcriptomic profiling revealed that DNA damage and oxidative stress were the predominant cellular stress responses induced by the wastewater. While the total toxic effect transcript index (TELItotal) exhibited a transient initial increase before steadily declining, the overall toxic potency remained within a relatively stable range throughout the treatment cycle. Ultimately, this study provides critical insights into process optimization and pathway elucidation, demonstrating that Fe-C micro-electrolysis is a promising and scalable pretreatment technology for the remediation of energetic compound-laden industrial effluents....
This study investigates the elastic anisotropy and thermodynamic properties of the L12- type ScAl3 phase under extreme conditions (0–1500 K and 0–50 GPa) using first-principles calculations. The elastic constants were determined using a precise stress–strain method, with polycrystalline moduli derived via the Voigt–Reuss–Hill (VRH) approximation. A systematic analysis was conducted to characterize the elastic anisotropy of Young’s modulus, shear modulus, and Poisson’s ratio. Results demonstrate that ScAl3 is mechanically stable and exhibits near-perfect elastic isotropy (AU = 0.0001). Thermodynamic analysis via the quasi-harmonic Debye–Grüneisen model reveals that the phase maintains its structural integrity and significant heat resistance up to 1500 K, despite thermal softening. These findings provide theoretical insights into the physical nature of ScAl3 intermetallics and offer quantitative guidance for the design and thermal treatment of Sc-reinforced aluminum alloys in high-temperature aerospace applications due to their superior combination of strength and toughness....
The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) offers a promising route to mitigate excessive CO2 emissions while enabling the production of value-added chemicals. However, achieving high catalytic selectivity and activity toward specific products remains a critical challenge. Here, we engineer a confined interfacial environment formed between adjacent copper nanoparticles and systematically investigate its impact on CO2RR performance toward CO production. Our theoretical calculations reveal that the confined space effectively stabilizes the *COOH intermediate, a key species governing the CO2-to-CO conversion pathway. In contrast, this geometric confinement exerts a negligible influence on the adsorption energetics of *H, which is associated with the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). As a consequence, the catalyst exhibits a markedly reduced onset potential for CO2RR, accompanied by enhanced selectivity and catalytic activity toward CO formation. These findings highlight the critical role of nanoscale confinement in modulating reaction energetics and provide a viable strategy for the rational design of highly efficient and selective catalysts for CO2RR....
Controlling sodium nucleation at the current collector|solid electrolyte interface remains a key challenge for realizing “reservoirfree” sodium all-solid-state batteries (RF-ASSBs), particularly under low stack pressure. While metals have been explored as sodium hosts or current collectors, the use of ultrathin metallic interlayers capable of regulating sodium nucleation with minimal sodium inventory penalty remains largely unexplored. Here, we present a comparative interfacial study of 50 nm sputtered Sn and In interlayers deposited on NaSICON electrolytes. By combining electrochemical characterization, microelectrode experiments, and operando and ex situ time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, we directly probe early-stage sodium nucleation, interfacial chemistry, and reversibility. Sn undergoes electrochemically driven Na–Sn alloy formation independent of current rate and with high sodium diffusivity, enabling homogeneous nucleation and stable plating/stripping through a persistent alloy interphase while incurring only minimal irreversible sodium loss (∼0.031 mAh cm−2). In contrast, In fails to sustain stable interfacial sodium transport, leading to subfilm sodium deposition, mechanical disruption of the interlayer, sodium trapping, and rapid interfacial failure. These results demonstrate that, for ultrathin interlayers operated under low stack pressure, alloy-assisted fast sodium transport within a stabilized interlayer, rather than generic sodiophilicity, governs interfacial stability, providing mechanistic design guidelines for RF-ASSBs....
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