Fungi-based porous carbons for CO2 adsorption and separation
Physisorption using solid adsorbents is a promising method for the separation and capture of CO2. It uses much less energy than the conventional chemical absorption process but requires materials with very high specific surface areas. In this hot article Stefan Kaskel and co-workers from Dresden University of Technology, Germany, have prepared a set of porous carbons with very high specific surface areas (up to 2264 m2 g−1) by KOH activation of sustainable, environmentally friendly, fungi-based carbon sources. (J. Mater. Chem., 2012, 22, 13911-13913)
Effective solvothermal deoxidization of graphene oxide using solid sulphur as a reducing agent
Chemical reduction of graphene oxide offers a plausible route to prepare graphene-style materials on a large scale. Hydrazine has been used as one reducing agent; however, it’s highly toxic and explosive and can cause nitrogen incorporation into the carbon structure. In this hot paper Liangxu Lin and Shaowei Zhang report a simple process to prepare highly electrically conductive solid reduced graphene oxide and its dispersions using solid S as a reducing agent and NMP or DMF as a surfactant. The team say that their method allows a wide range of water soluble organic solvents and surfactants, along with a safe and moderate reducing agent, to be combined to produce high quality graphene products. (J. Mater. Chem., 2012, 22, 14385-14393)
Flying-seed-like liquid crystals 2: unprecedented guidelines to obtain liquid crystalline compounds
Most liquid crystals can be broadly categorized into two groups. “Calamitic liquid crystals” that resemble rod-like molecules, and “discotic liquid crystals” formed from disk-like molecules; however, there is another class of liquid crystals that resemble “flying-seeds” that haven’t been studied as extensively. In this hot paper a team of Japanese scientists led by Kazuchika Ohta have prepared flying-seed-like liquid crystals using a series of bulky group-substituted phthalocyanine derivatives without any long alkyl chains. The mesomorphism of these molecules originates from thermal fluctuation due to the free rotation of the bulky substituents. The team have systematically demonstrated for the first time that liquid crystals can be also obtained by a series of novel bulky substituents instead of conventional long alkyl chains. (J. Mater. Chem., 2012, 22, 14418-14425)
Phototriggered micromanufacturing using photoresponsive amorphous spirooxazine films
Photo-transformation of a molecular structure change can be amplified to the motion at mesoscopic or macroscopic scales. In this hot paper phototriggered surface relief gratings are formed from photoresponsive amorphous films of spirooxazine molecules using patterned ultra-violet light. Led by Takashi Ubukata the team from Yokohama National University, Japan, propose a mechanism for surface relief grating formation based on the diffusion of the spiro form. (J. Mater. Chem., 2012, 22, 14410-14417)
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