RSC Advances Blog

Our referees have selected the below ‘HOT’ articles for this month. Please have a read and let us know your thoughts below!

Utilization of the photophysical and photochemical properties of phosphorescent transition metal complexes in the development of photofunctional cellular sensors, imaging reagents, and cytotoxic agents
Kenneth Kam-Wing Lo, Steve Po-Yam Lia
RSC Adv., 2014, 4, 10560-10585
DOI: 10.1039/C3RA47611A

Carbon-based quantum dots for fluorescence imaging of cells and tissues
Pengju G. Luo, Fan Yang, Sheng-Tao Yang, Sumit K. Sonkar, Liju Yang, Jessica J. Broglie, Yun Liu and Ya-Ping Sun
RSC Adv., 2014, 4, 10791-10807
DOI: 10.1039/C3RA47683A 

Automated system for extraction and instantaneous analysis of millimeter-sized samples
Jie-Bi Hu, Ssu-Ying Chen, June-Tai Wu, Yu-Chie Chen and Pawel L. Urban
RSC Adv., 2014, 4, 10693-10701
DOI: 10.1039/C3RA48023B 

These articles are free to access for 4 weeks!

Here are the latest HOT papers published in RSC Advances:

Biobutanol: An outlook of an academist and industrialist
 Sandip B. Bankar, Shrikant A. Survase, Heikki Ojamo and Tom Granström, 
RSC Adv., 2013, 3, 24734-24757, DOI: 10.1039/C3RA43011A

A cationic water-soluble pillar[6]arene: synthesis, host–guest properties, and self-assembly with amphiphilic guests in water
Yingjie Ma, Jie Yang, Jinying Li, Xiaodong Chi and Min Xue,
RSC Adv., 2013, 3, 23953-23956, DOI: 10.1039/C3RA44727H

Multifunctional graphene quantum dots-conjugated titanate nanoflowers for fluorescence-trackable targeted drug delivery
Xin Ting Zheng, Hui Ling He and Chang Ming Li,
RSC Adv., 2013, 3, 24853-24857, DOI: 10.1039/C3RA44125C

All the papers listed above are free to access for the next 4 weeks!

Here are the latest HOT papers published in RSC Advances, as recommended by the referees:

Electrochemiluminescence sensor using quantum dots based on a G-quadruplex aptamer for the detection of Pb2+
Hong Hai, Feng Yang and Jianping Li  
RSC Adv., 2013, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3RA41616J

Dual active luminescence centers from a single-solid composite SnO2:Eu3+/Al-MCM-41: defect chemistry mediated color tuning for white light emission
Chunfang Du and Huaming Yang  
RSC Adv., 2013, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3RA41323C

Unique 3D CoII/ZnII-coordination polymers with (3,4,5)-connected self-penetrating topology: Syntheses, topological structures, luminescent and magnetic properties
Wen-Wen Dong, Dong-Sheng Li, Jun Zhao, Ya-Ping Duan, Liang Bai and Jing-Jing Yang  
RSC Adv., 2012,2, 11219-11222, DOI: 10.1039/C2RA21474A

All the papers listed above are free to access for the next 4 weeks!

Here are the latest HOT papers published in RSC Advances, as recommended by the referees:

Synthesis of amine-tagged metal–organic frameworks isostructural to MIL-101(Cr)
Ricardo B. Ferreira, Perry M. Scheetz and André L. B. Formiga  
RSC Adv., 2013, 3, 10181-10184, DOI: 10.1039/C3RA23443F

The gradient distribution of Ni ions in cation-disordered Li[Ni_1/2Mn_3/2]O₄ clarified by muon-spin rotation and relaxation (μSR)
Kazuhiko Mukai, Yutaka Ikedo, Kazuya Kamazawa, Jess H. Brewer, Eduardo J. Ansaldo, Kim H. Chow, Martin Månsson and Jun Sugiyama
RSC Adv., 2013, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3RA40878G

Molecular templates and nano-reactors: two-dimensional hydrogen bonded supramolecular networks on solid/liquid interfaces
Xuemei Zhang, Qingdao Zeng and Chen Wang  
RSC Adv., 2013, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3RA40473K

All the papers listed above are free to access for the next 4 weeks!

Steven P. Nolan’s group at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, UK, have reported a new solvent-free protocol for carrying out Buchwald-Hartwig aminations, an important class of reactions, for unactivated aryl chlorides using a palladium pre-catalyst. The reaction proceeds to complete conversion in around five minutes when initiated at room temperature, compared to zero conversion when using a solvent (DME). The secret to their success appears to be the use of a bulky yet flexible ligand, IPr*, in the pre-catalyst.

The reaction requires 1 mol% of the [Pd(NHC)] pre-catalyst – halving the amount of catalyst halved the conversion rate. An exotherm was observed in many cases: the reaction self-heated to 80ºC for a few seconds, therefore the group concludes that the protocol could be dangerous if carried out at a large scale. Interestingly the coupling could also be carried out with a solid substrate, leading to conversion of 73% after 24h, with no observed exotherm but a longer reaction time.

To learn more about this intriguing class of reactions, read the original article in RSC Advances:

Solvent-free aryl amination catalysed by [Pd(NHC)] Complexes, Anthony Chartoire, Arnaud Boreux, Anthony R. Martin and Steven P. Nolan, RSC Adv., 2013, 3, 3840–3843