Size-selected negatively-charged boron clusters (Bn−) have been found to be planar or quasi-planar in a wide size range. Even though cage structures emerged as the global minimum at B39−, the...

The first triazole-containing fluorescent probe with excellent water-solubility for Pd(2+) was presented. The results indicated that an amide-triazole-amide binding sequence was responsible for the unique affinity of PS-1 toward Pd(2+). Among the tested metal ions, only Pd(2+) could selectively quench the fluorescence of PS-1 under physiological conditions, while other common interference ions like Pt(2+) and Ru(3+) caused little changes. The successful fluorescence imaging of Pd(2+) in HeLa cells implied the potential applications of PS-1 in biological Pd(2+)-analysis.

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A novel BINOL-based ratiometric fluorescent sensor (R2) is presented, which can selectively respond to Zn(2+) over Cd(2+) and other metal ions with fluorescence enhancement in aqueous solution. The R2 was successfully applied in the imaging of Zn(2+) in living cells. Additionally, the in situ generated R2-Zn(II) ensemble could further serve as a probe to distinguish histidine from other amino acids via a displacement mode.

Perfect cubic clusters Oh La6&[La@B24]+/0 are predicted at first-principles levels to be the embryos of 1D La10B32, 2D La3B10, and 3D LaB6 lanthanide boride nanomaterials in a bottom-up approach.

It is well-known that transition-metal-doping induces dramatic changes in the structures and bonding of small boron clusters, as demonstrated by the newly observed perfect inverse sandwich D8h [La(η8‒B8)La] and D9h...

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Recent discovery of the lanthanide-metal-decorated metallo-borospherenes LM3B18‒ (LM = La, Tb) marks the onset of a new class of boron-metal binary nanomaterials. Using the experimentlaly observed or theoretically predicted borospherenes...