The highly hydrated ionic liquid tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAH) is an efficient ionic liquid precursor (ILP) for the fabrication of zinc oxide mesocrystals. Upon reaction of TBAH with zinc acetate, individual nanometer‐sized ZnO building blocks assemble into highly correlated ZnO mesocrystals. The mesocrystals are up to ca. 10 µm in length and the larger crystals have a channel running along the long crystal axis.

An advanced non-invasive, field-suitable and inexpensive leaf patch clamp pressure probe for online-monitoring of the water relations of intact leaves is described. The probe measures the attenuated output patch clamp pressure, P(p), of a clamped leaf in response to an externally applied input pressure, P(clamp). P(clamp) is generated magnetically. P(p) is sensed by a pressure sensor integrated into the magnetic clamp. The magnitude of P(p) depends on the transfer function, T(f), of the leaf cells. T(f) consists of a turgor pressure-independent (related to the compression of the cuticle, cell walls and other structural elements) and a turgor pressure-dependent term. T(f) is dimensionless and assumes values between 0 and 1. Theory shows that T(f) is a power function of cell turgor pressure P(c). Concomitant P(p) and P(c) measurements on grapevines confirmed the relationship between T(f) and P(c). P(p) peaked if P(c) approached zero and assumed low values if P(c) reached maximum values. The novel probe was successfully tested on leaves of irrigated and non-irrigated grapevines under field conditions. Data show that slight changes in the microclimate and/or water supply (by irrigation or rain) are reflected very sensitively in P(p).

Transparent, ion-conducting, luminescent, and flexible ionogels based on the room temperature ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide [Bmim][N(Tf) 2 ], a PtEu 2 chromophore, and poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) have been prepared. The thermal stability of the PMMA significantly increases with IL incorporation. In particular, the onset weight loss observed at ca. 229 C for pure PMMA increases to 305 C with IL addition. The ionogel has a high ionic conductivity of 10 À3 S cm À1 at 373 K and exhibits a strong emission in the red with a long average luminescence decay time of s ¼ 890 ms. The resulting material is a new type of soft hybrid material featuring useful thermal, optical, and ion transport properties.

Terbium-exchanged MFI zeolite type materials, i.e., microporous-mesoporous Zeotile-1 with the Si/Al ratio in the range 33-200, Zeogrid with the Si/Al ratio of 75, and nanocrystalline MFI with the Si/Al ratio of 75, were prepared via an ion exchange procedure. All of these zeolites were investigated by means of time-resolved photoluminescence techniques in various hydration states: as-synthesized (hydrated), calcined (heated at 450 degrees C in air), and rehydrated (after a six-month exposure to the atmospheric moisture). The photoluminescence decays and spectra were analyzed by discrete exponential fitting, distribution lifetimes analysis, and area-normalized time-resolved photoluminescence spectra. The results sustained a single average terbium species coordinated to both water molecules and framework oxygens in the hydrated zeolites. The framework contribution increased with the Si/Al ratio in Zeotile-1 and was greatest for the nanocrystalline MFI zeolite. For the calcined Zeotile-1 and Zeogrid, two main terbium species of different environments were found. For the nanocrystalline Tb3+-MFI, a distinct number of species could not be inferred, indicating a more heterogeneous distribution. Rehydration further differentiated among the Tb3+-exchanged zeolites. Photoluminescence line shape and decay of Tb3+-Zeotile-1 were between those of the hydrated and calcined states indicating a slow rehydration rate in contrast with the photoluminescence properties of Tb3+-MFI, which fully recovered the values of the hydrated state. Tb3+-Zeogrid presented an intermediate case: while the PL line shape was fully restored to that measured for the hydrated sample, the decay was still longer than that measured with the hydrated sample. Terbium photoluminescence response related to zeolite texture, Si/Al ratio, and hydration state suggest different sitting and location of terbium in Zeotile-1, Zeogrid, and nanocrystalline MFI materials. In mesoporous Zeotile-1 and Zeogrid, the results sustained two types of terbium sites: one on the internal surface of mesopores, the other inside the pores, while for the nanocrystalline MFI, terbium sites inside the pores predominate.