Intensity-tunable micelles and films containing bimetal ions—europium(III) and terbium(III)

Regulating Block Copolymer Assembly Structures in Emulsion Droplets through Metal Ion Coordination

In this report, we demonstrate the metal ion coordination-induced morphological transition of block copolymer assemblies under three-dimensional (3D) confinement. Polystyrene- block-poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (PS- b-P4VP) aggregates with various morphologies can be obtained by emulsion-solvent evaporation in the presence of metal ions (e.g., Pb(II) or Fe(III) ions) in the aqueous phase. Due to the coordination interaction between 4VP units and metal ions, the overall shape, internal structure, and surface composition of the particles can be tailored by varying the type and concentration of the metal ions. For example, when Pb(II) ions were employed, morphological transition of the assemblies occurred due to the formation of P4VP-Pb(II) complexes. More interestingly, when Fe(III) ions were added, hydrolysis of Fe(III) caused the reduction of the pH value of the aqueous phase, leading to the protonation of 4VP units. As a result, interfacial instability took place to trigger the splitting of emulsion droplets and then formation of nanosized micelles. Therefore, metal ion coordination is a facile strategy to tune the structure of assemblies under 3D confinement and offers an alternative approach for the design of organic-inorganic hybrid assemblies with well-tunable structures.

Iron Nanoclusters as Template/Activator for the Synthesis of Nitrogen Doped Porous Carbon and Its CO2 Adsorption Application

We propose a facile synthesis approach for nitrogen doped porous carbon and demonstrate a novel pore-forming method that iron nanoclusters act as a template or activator at different carbonization temperatures based on Fe³⁺-poly(4-vinyipyridine) (P4VP) coordination. P4VP will completely decompose even in an inert atmosphere, but under the coordination and catalysis of Fe³⁺, it can be converted to carbon at a very low temperature (400 °C). The aggregation of iron nanoclusters in the carbonization process showed different pore-forming methods at different temperatures. The as-prepared materials possess high specific surface area (up to 1211 m² g^-1), large pore volume (up to 0.96 cm³ g^-1), narrow microporosity, and high N content (up to 9.9 wt %). Due to these unique features, the materials show high CO₂ uptake capacity and excellent selectivity for CO₂/N₂ separation. The CO₂ uptake capacity of NDPC-2-600 is up to 6.8 and 4.3 mmol g^-1 at 0 and 25 °C; the CO₂/N₂ (0.15/0.85) selectivity at 0 and 25 °C also reaches 18.4 and 15.2, respectively.

Intra- and intermolecular-interaction-controlled reversible core–shell structures and photoluminescent properties of lanthanide ion-doped diblock copolymers

Lanthanide-based nanotechniques continue to attract considerable attention due to their current range of applications and broad potential in optical devices and biomedicine.

Embedding lanthanide-functionalized polymers into hollow mesoporous silica spheres: a ship-in-a-bottle approach to luminescent hybrid materials

Using hollow mesoporous silica spheres (HMSS) as host (“bottle”) and 4-vinylpyridine (4VP), Ln(iii) chlorides (Ln = Eu, Tb), and 1,10-phenanthroline (Phen) as “ship” components gives facile access to luminescent hybrid materials.

N,N-dimethyldodecylamine oxide self-organization in the presence of lanthanide ions in aqueous and aqueous-decanol solutions

The article represents the results of research in self-organization of new lanthanide systems in water-decanol medium. The systems are based on N,N-dimethyldodecylamine oxide, a zwitterionic surfactant. The study covers the complex formation of lanthanide ions with C12DMAO molecules and the influence of Ln(III) ions and medium composition on surfactant association in diluted solutions. The analysis of adsorption isotherms was carried out on the basis of the combination of Gibbs and Langmuir adsorption equations. The results were used to determine physicochemical properties and parameters of a monomolecular adsorption layer. The research objects were various lanthanide ions with identical coordination centers. A number of spectroscopic methods (UV, NMR self-diffusion, EPR, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and fluorescent analysis) were involved in the research for comparative estimations of molecular dynamics, critical micellization concentration, geometry, sizes, and aggregation numbers of micellar aggregates. Micelle structure simulation revealed good agreement between experimental data and quantum chemical calculations.