The design and synthesis of novel cyanopropyl polysilsesquioxane hollow spheres lead to production of a highly active and stable catalyst in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol catalyzed by Au nanoparticles.

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Fluorescence spectroscopy, one of the most informative analytical techniques, has played and continues to play a key role in modern research due to its high sensitivity, rapid response rate, and relatively low cost. Herein we report its application to the detection of the proteins bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human serum albumin (HSA) as well as a protease (trypsin). The detection is based on a fluorescent molecule: c-oxo-1-pyrenebutyric acid (OPBA), which exhibits a quenched fluorescent change at 455 nm toward serum albumins (SAs). OPBA interacted with SAs with a 1 : 1 stoichiometry and a strong affinity due to p-stacking, hydrophobic interactions, and hydrogen bonding interactions. The microenvironment created by HSA and BSA played an important role in their respective interactions with OPBA. In addition, OPBA can be used for monitoring trypsin by the cleavage of HSA or BSA in the presence of copper ions, and the successful cleavage of SAs was demonstrated by the SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) results. This indirect detection of trypsin might be developed as a strategy for sensors without substrate selection. All of these tests do not require sophisticated instrumentation and should be applicable to standard fluorescence assays.

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Polynorbornene/sepiolite hybrid nanocomposite films were prepared using polynorbornene dicarboximide and modified sepiolite with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (3-APTES). Exo-N-(3,5-dichlorophenylnorbornene)-5,6-dicarboxyimide (monomer) and their copolymers were synthesized via ring-opening polymerization using ruthenium catalysts. Subsequently, the surface-modified sepiolite by 3-APTES was mixed with the polynorbornene copolymers to prepare hybrid nanocomposite films. The modified sepiolite particles were well dispersed in N,N-dimethylacetamide and distributed randomly throughout the polynorbornene matrix in the hybrid films, which enhanced the dimensional stability and mechanical and oxygen barrier properties of the polynorbornene/sepiolite hybrid nanocomposite films.

In this study, we synthesized polynorbornene (PNB) dicarboximides substituted by monochlorophenyl group (PMCPhNDI) and dichlorophenyl group (PDCPhNDI) via ring‐opening polymerization using a ruthenium catalyst and investigated their thermal, mechanical, and optical properties. We also discussed the performance and application of the functionalized PNB dicarboximide films as flexible substrates for organic light‐emitting devices (OLEDs). The polymer films exhibited good optical transparency with an average transmittance of around 97% in the visible light region and good thermal stability with a 5% degradation temperature of >440°C. The polymers were applied for flexible displays, which were coated on indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films using a radio‐frequency planar magnetron sputtering system with changing the deposition substrate temperatures. A flexible OLED that was fabricated on the ITO‐grown polymer substrates exhibited a performance as comparable to the corresponding ITO‐grown glass substrates. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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