RSC Advances Blog

Shobhana Menon and colleagues from Gujarat University, India, have designed a new series of lower rim azocalix[4]arene basket-type mesogens.  Along with their rigid core, calix[4]arenes are easy to functionalize with various linkages and flexible aliphatic chains at the hydrophilic hydroxyl groups.  They are therefore promising candidates for liquid crystal applications.

The new basket-shaped scaffolds were fully characterised, and the proposed supramolecular organisation displays needle shaped, focal conic, rod like and schlieren textures (see image). 

Read the full article for free until the 25th March 2013!

Synthesis, mesomorphism and dielectric behaviour of novel basket shaped scaffolds constructed on lower rim azocalix[4]arenes, Pinkesh G. Sutariya, Nishith R. Modi, Alok Pandya, V. A. Rana and Shobhana K. Menon, RSC Adv., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3RA22422H

If asked to name a promising element to contribute to highly efficient, clean energy, few chemists would immediately think of lead.

Nevertheless Xiao Zhao and colleagues at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Changchun, Jilin, China, have used an alloy of this metal with platinum, which is much better known  for its catalytic properties, to create a more efficient catalyst for the direct electrooxidaton of formic acid, useful for direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFC). These have the potential to provide clean, efficient energy conversion devices. The group used a self-sacrifice templating method to tune the structure and composition of Pt-Pb catalysts, which show enhanced kinetics due to reduced poisoning by carbon monoxide.

Meanwhile Yuan-Yuan Feng and colleagues, at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, have worked with a more conventional catalyst combination in the form of palladium and gold for the same reaction. They found that controlled deposition of Pd on Au nanoparticles could tune the Pd dispersion and produce higher catalytic activity for the electrooxidation of formic acid. They have also characterised in detail the interaction of Pd with the reactive species.

To find out more, read about the work in RSC Advances for free until the 14th March 2013:

Pt–Pb hollow sphere networks: self-sacrifice-templating method and enhanced activity for formic acid electrooxidation, Xiao Zhao, Jianbing Zhu, Weiwei Cai, Meiling Xiao, Liang Liang, Changpeng Liu and Wei Xing, RSC Adv., 2013, 3, 1763–1767

Catalytic Pd-on-Au nanostructures with improved Pd activity for formic acid electro-oxidation, Yuan-Yuan Feng, Gui-Rong Zhang and Bo-Qing Xu, RSC Adv., 2013, 3, 1748–1752

By Sara Coles

Ice recrystallization inhibitors (IRIs) are very important when it comes to preventing cell damage which can occur during cryopreservation.  This is particularly crucial for the cryopreservation of progenitor cells (such as certain types of stem cells) where the clinical outcome in regenerative therapies to treat acute injuries, is directly linked to an increased supply and quality of cells.  Therefore there has been considerable interest in designing effective IRIs.

In this work, Robert Ben and colleagues from the University of Ottawa, Canada, investigated whether lysine-based surfactants/gelators and anti-ice nucleating agents could also possess IRI activity.  The authors found that long alkyl chains were very important for potent IRI activity and that the position of these chains is critical.  Although the exact mechanisms which would explain the role of these long alkyl chains in this process are still unclear, the results from this study will facilitate the design of IRIs for medical, commercial and industrial uses.

Read the full article for free until the 7th March 2013!

The importance of hydrophobic moieties in ice recrystallization inhibitors, Anna K. Balcerzak, Michela Febbraro and Robert N. Ben, RSC Adv., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3RA23220D

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One goal of nanoparticle synthesis is to produce the lowest possible polydispersity – in other words, the best possible average size distribution. ‘Greener’ routes to achieve this without harmful solvents and capping agents often come from the natural world. In this case Graham Hutchings at Cardiff University, UK, plus collaborators in Bristol, UK, and Niigata, Japan, have used chitosan, a derivative of natural chitin found in crab and shrimp shells, to template the formation of supported gold-palladium nanoparticles.

These precious alloys are used as catalysts in the solventless aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde, an important class of reactions in the fine chemicals industry.

Hutchings and co-workers have previously found supported gold-palladium catalysts to be most active and stable for a range of other reactions including direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide from H₂ and O₂, and for the oxidation of polyols such as glycerol. It is to be hoped that the new chitosan-templated synthesis will pave the way for new, greener routes to commercial scale production of fine chemical intermediates, for example allowing the replacement of traditional oxygen donors like chromate or permanganate.

To find out more, read about the work in RSC Advances for free:

Biotemplated synthesis of catalytic Au–Pd nanoparticles, Simon R. Hall, Andrew M. Collins, Natalie J. Wood, Wataru Ogasawara, Moataz Morad, Peter J. Miedziak, Meenakshisundaram Sankar, David W. Knight and Graham J. Hutchings, RSC Adv., 2012, 2, 2217–2220

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By Sara Coles

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are at the forefront of cutting edge research in a variety of fields.  In recent years, they have attracted the attention of plant biologists as potential molecular transporters, due to their intrinsic ability to cross the cell membrane of different types of mammalian cells as drug and gene delivery vehicles. 

In this review, Maged Serag and collaborators from Saudi Arabia, Japan and France discuss the ability of single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs), multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs) and cup-stacked CNTs (CSCNTs) to penetrate through plant cell walls, target specific organelles, probe protein-carrier activity and induce organelle recycling in plant cells.  For example, they show that subcellular localisation of CNTs is strongly dependent on the length of the CNTs and the nature of the functional tag adsorbed onto the outer surface.  The property is particularly important for plant biotechnology and agricultural scenarios where payloads could potentially be delivered to specific subcellular organelles. 

The potential of CNTs to cross plant cell walls for various, specific purposes could open up an enormous array of applications in the fields of plant biotechnology and agricultural biology from the entire plant level down to the cellular and molecular level.

Read this article for free until the 21st February 2013!

Nanobiotechnology meets plant cell biology: carbon nanotubes as organelle targeting nanocarriers, Maged F. Serag, Noritada Kaji, Satoshi Habuchi, Alberto Bianco and Yoshinobu Baba, RSC Adv., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2RA22766E

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During January, many people will be attempting to ‘de-tox’ – to get rid of the feeling of all those unpleasant residues lingering in the body from the holiday season’s excesses.

Back in the world of chemistry, it is just as important (and considerably simpler!) to ‘de-tox’. You don’t need a diet guru – you just need some clever catalysts. Waste water treatment is one example of an area where chemists are applying their skills to remove organic contaminants (such as light-stable dyes used in the textile industry) from effluent that will be released into the environment.

For example, a project by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, along with collaborators at Texas A&M University and The University of Texas at Dallas, both in the USA, has been working on a new approach to create gold, palladium and platinum nanocrystals decorated on biodegradable cellulose polymer coated with polypyrrole. Their Pd-decorated fibre materials could catalyse the degradation/reduction of methylene blue (a waste water simulator) to leucomethylene blue at room temperature in aqueous media.

The authors claim that their technique can reduce the amount of nondegradable polymer (polypyrrole) by at least 80%, and that the same type of particles may be suitable for application in sensors, fuel cells, medical devices and other technologies.

To find out more, read about the work in RSC Advances – access this article for free!

Novel Pd based catalyst for the removal of organic and emerging contaminants, Mallikarjuna N. Nadagouda, Ishan Desai, Carlo Cruz and Duck J. Yang, RSC Adv., 2012, 2, 7540–7548

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By Sara Coles