Ligand-modified mesoporous silica SBA-15/silver hybrids for the catalyzed reduction of methylene blue

Mesoporous silica SBA-15 was prepared and functionalized by (3-glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane in order to bind 2-aminothiazole and aminopropyl-triazole ligands.

Functionalization of nanomaterials with aryldiazonium salts

This paper reviews the surface modification strategies of a wide range of nanomaterials using aryldiazonium salts. After a brief history of diazonium salts since their discovery by Peter Griess in 1858, we will tackle the surface chemistry using these compounds since the first trials in the 1950s. We will then focus on the modern surface chemistry of aryldiazonium salts for the modification of materials, particularly metallic, semiconductors, metal oxide nanoparticles, carbon-based nanostructures, diamond and clays. The successful modification of sp(2) carbon materials and metals by aryldiazonium salts paved the way to innovative strategies for the attachment of aryl layers to metal oxide nanoparticles and nanodiamonds, and intercalation of clays. Interestingly, diazotized surfaces can easily trap nanoparticles and nanotubes while diazotized nanoparticles can be (electro)chemically reduced on electrode/materials surfaces as molecular compounds. Both strategies provided organized 2D surface assembled nanoparticles. In this review, aryldiazonium salts are highlighted as efficient coupling agents for many types of molecular, macromolecular and nanoparticulate species, therefore ensuring stability to colloids on the one hand, and the construction of composite materials and hybrid systems with robust and durable interfaces/interphases, on the other hand. The last section is dedicated to a selection of patents and industrial products based on aryldiazonium-modified nanomaterials. After nearly 160 years of organic chemistry, diazonium salts have entered a new, long and thriving era for the benefit of materials, colloids, and surface scientists. This tempts us to introduce the terminology of "diazonics" we define as the science and technology of aryldiazonium salt-derived materials.

Silanized aryl layers through thiol-yne photo-click reaction

Nanometer-scale multilayered coatings were prepared by sequential surface reactions on gold plates. First 4-ethynylphenyl organic layer was electrografted from the parent diazonium tetrafluoroborate salt providing reactive alkynylated gold plate (Au-Y). The latter served for clicking mercaptosilane via a thiol-yne photo-triggered reaction to obtain alkoxysilane-functionalized surface. The trialkoxysilane top groups in turn served as anchor sites for the final sol-gel coating resulting from the surface reaction between aminopropylsilane and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). It is demonstrated that two coupling agents, namely, aryl diazonium salt and silane, can be coupled using photo-triggered thiol-yne click reaction, resulting in robust multilayered coatings. In addition, the process is versatile in that it offers the possibility to design patterned surfaces. The top sol-gel layer can in turn be reacted with aminosilane, therefore providing a reactive and functional surface that can be used for different applications given the reactivity of amine groups. This approach opens new avenues for photo-triggered click reactions of aryl layers from diazonium salts. It shows that the new class of surface modifiers and coupling agents has much to offer and continues to be renewed for achieving tightly bound, reactive top coatings.

Gradient Poly(styrene-co-polyglycidol) Grafts via Silicon Surface-Initiated AGET ATRP

Gradient copolymer grafts of styrene and α-tert-butoxy-ω-vinylbenzyl-poly(glycidol ethoxyethyl ether) (PGLet), a precursor of α-tert-butoxy-ω-vinylbenzyl-polyglycidol macromonomer (PGL), were prepared on silicon wafers via a surface-initiated activator generated by electron transfer radical polymerization (AGET ATRP). Silicon plates with previously attached 2-bromoisobutyrate served as a macroinitiator for the AGET ATRP (activator generated by electron transfer) of styrene and PGLet. The copolymers' gradient P(S-co-PPGL) of composition and thickness was obtained by a simple method where the plates were slowly removed from reaction mixture using a step motor. PGLet was added continuously (dropwise) into the reactor during withdrawal of the plates from solution in order to increase the relative concentration of PGLet in polymerization mixture. A range of strategies of making grafts was tested. The plates with copolymers grafts were analyzed by various techniques, like XPS, ellipsometry, and FTIR spectroscopy. The results indicate that the AGET ATRP process is dependent on the styrene/PGLet macromonomer ratio in the polymerization mixture. Under optimal conditions, the addition of PGLet during polymerization and subsequent deprotection of hydroxyl groups of PGLet permit to obtain plates with a novel copolymer layer with composition, thickness, and wettability gradient. Plates with chemical composition of copolymer grafts gradient served as versatile supports with controlled hydrophilic/hydrophobic area and were suitable for tailored deposition of particles.

In situ diazonium-modified flexible ITO-coated PEN substrates for the deposition of adherent silver-polypyrrole nanocomposite films

In this paper, we report a simple and versatile process of electrografting the aryl multilayers onto indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated flexible poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PEN) substrates using a diazonium salt (4-pyrrolylphenyldiazonium) solution, which was generated in situ from a reaction between the 4-(1H-pyrrol-1-yl)aniline precursor and sodium nitrite in an acidic medium. The first aryl layer bonds with the ITO surface through In-O-C and Sn-O-C bonds which facilitate the formation of a uniform aryl multilayer that is ∼8 nm thick. The presence of the aryl multilayer has been confirmed by impedance spectroscopy as well as by electron-transfer blocking measurements. These in situ diazonium-modified ITO-coated PEN substrates may find applications in flexible organic electronics and sensor industries. Here we demonstrate the application of diazonium-modified flexible substrates for the growth of adherent silver/polpyrrole nanocomposite films using surface-confined UV photopolymerization. These nanocomposite films have platelet morphology owing to the template effect of the pyrrole-terminated aryl multilayers. In addition, the films are highly doped (32%). This work opens new areas in the design of flexible ITO-conductive polymer hybrids.

Electrochemical impedimetric sensor based on molecularly imprinted polymers/sol-gel chemistry for methidathion organophosphorous insecticide recognition

We report here a novel method to detect methidathion organophosphorous insecticides. The sensing platform was architected by the combination of molecularly imprinted polymers and sol-gel technique on inexpensive, portable and disposable screen printed carbon electrodes. Electrochemical impedimetric detection technique was employed to perform the label free detection of the target analyte on the designed MIP/sol-gel integrated platform. The selection of the target specific monomer by electrochemical impedimetric methods was consistent with the results obtained by the computational modelling method. The prepared electrochemical MIP/sol-gel based sensor exhibited a high recognition capability toward methidathion, as well as a broad linear range and a low detection limit under the optimized conditions. Satisfactory results were also obtained for the methidathion determination in waste water samples.

Exfoliated clay/polyaniline nanocomposites through tandem diazonium cation exchange reactions and in situ oxidative polymerization of aniline

Exfoliated, conductive clay/polyaniline nanocomposites were prepared by polymerization of aniline in the presence of diazonium cation exchanged bentonite.

Diazonium cation-exchanged clay: an efficient, unfrequented route for making clay/polymer nanocomposites

We describe a simple, off-the-beaten-path strategy for making clay/polymer nanocomposites through tandem diazonium salt interface chemistry and radical photopolymerization. Prior to photopolymerization, sodium montmorillonite (MMT) was ion exchanged with N,N'-dimethylbenzenediazonium cation (DMA) from the tetrafluoroborate salt precursor. DMA acts as a hydrogen donor for benzophenone in solution; this pair of co-initiators permits us to photopolymerize glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) between the lamellae of the diazonium-modified clay, therefore providing intercalated MMT-PGMA nanocomposites with an onset of exfoliation. This work conclusively provides a new approach for bridging reactive and functional polymers to layered nanomaterials via aryl diazonium salts in a simple, fast, efficient cation-exchange approach.