We report a new class of Zn anodes modified by a three-dimensional nanoporous ZnO architecture (Zn@ZnO-3D), which can accelerate the kinetics of Zn2+ transfer and deposition, inhibit dendrite growth, and reduce the side-reactions.

Free‐standing poly(5,7‐bis(2‐(3,4‐ethylenedioxy)thienyl)‐indole) (PETI) was electrochemically obtained from 5,7‐bis(2‐(3,4‐ethylenedioxy)thienyl)‐indole (ETI) prepared by Stille coupling reaction of 5,7‐dibromoindole and 3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene. For comparison, poly(5,7‐bis(2‐thiophene)‐indole) was also electrosynthesized from 5,7‐bis(2‐thiophene)‐indole (BTI) which was prepared from the 5,7‐dibromoindole and thiophene. Characterizations of ETI and BTI were performed by cyclic voltammetry, scanning electron microscopy, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR spectroscopy. Spectroelectrochemical studies showed PETI had better electrochromic properties and showed two different colors (brown and blue‐violet) under various potentials with better maximum contrast (ΔT%) and coloration efficiency (CE). An electrochromic device (ECD) based on PETI and poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) was also constructed and characterized. This ECD had fast response time, high CE, better optical memory, and long‐term stability. These results indicated that PETI had potential applications for ECD. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017, 55, 2356–2364

In this paper, Au/TiO2 nanocomposite was synthesized and utilized as highly efficient and green photocatalyst for organic reactions. A sheet‐like anatase titanium dioxide material with a highly active (001) crystal plane was prepared via a solvothermal method. Gold nanoparticles were then loaded on the surface of TiO2 by a liquid‐phase reduction method to give an Au/TiO2 material with good photocatalytic activity. The Au/TiO2 nanocomposite was utilized as a photocatalyst to develop a light‐promoted Minisci oxidative coupling reaction of ether and aza aromatics by using oxygen as green oxidant and only catalytic amount of acid as additive. The protocol shows a good functional group tolerance as well as good to excellent yields for various substrates. With mechanistic studies, Au/TiO2 nanocomposite proved to be an efficient photocatalyst to activate C−H bond via a SEO approach of heteroatoms. Moreover, the solid semiconductor photocatalyst shows good recycling performance, could be easily recovered and reused without significant decrease in yield.

The chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (CRET)-based method is free of autofluorescence interference, which can achieve an extremely high signal-to-background ratio for detection. Nevertheless, this method is still hindered by the inner filter effect, quenching effect, and nonspecific absorption of reported nanoparticles. Herein, mesoporous silica nanomaterials (MSNs) acted as carriers to load both the donor (horseradish peroxidase, HRP) and the acceptor (a functional DNA duplex). This approach realized the construction of a new CRET-based nanosensor for the sensitive detection of miRNA. By controlling the energy-transfer distance with the designed DNAs, the donor emission at 430 nm could be quenched by the adsorption of the dye labeled on the acceptor DNA. The CRET system could be destroyed by releasing acceptor DNA from linker DNA via the competitive hybridization of target miRNA, resulting in emission recovery for quantification. With the cancer biomarker miR-155 as the model, the sensitive and selective detection of miR-155 was achieved, which showed high energy-transfer efficiency, good specificity, favorable biodegradability, and low toxicity. This work provides a potential pathway for biological detection and clinical diagnosis.

A selective electrochemical direct para-C–H-thiocyanation reaction of aromatic amines under metal-, oxidant- and exogenous-electrolyte-free conditions was achieved in the presence of NH4SCN.