Self-assembly of latex particles is of great importance for fabricating various functional colloidal crystals. In this paper, we review recent research on the self-assembly of latex particles for colloidal crystals, covering the assembly forces and various assembly approaches of latex particles, including self-assembly by gravity sedimentation, vertical deposition, physical confinement, electric field, and magnetic field. Furthermore, some simple methods for assembling latex particles such as spin coating, spray coating, and printing are also summarized.
Two novel isomeric photochromic diarylethenes with an indene bridging unit have been prepared by a simple and efficient one-step synthesis method. Their properties, including photochromic behavior, fluorescent properties and fatigue resistance, have been investigated. These two isomeric compounds showed photochromic back-and-forth reactions with ultraviolet and visible light both in solution and in PMMA film. Their ring-open forms exhibited appreciable fluorescence, which was quenched by the ring-closed forms. All results indicated that diarylethenes derivatives with indene-aryl bridges exhibited rather high fatigue resistance and good thermally irreversible photochromic properties.
The nucleation and growth mechanism and polymorph-property correlations in the molecular cocrystal field are widely sought but currently remain unclear. Herein, a new wire-like morphology of phenazine(Phz)-chloranilic acid(H2ca) cocrystal(PHC) is demonstrated for the first time, and the self-assembly of Phz and H2ca is controlled to selectively prepare kinetically stable wires and thermodynamically stable plates. Specifically, low precursor concentration is beneficial for one-dimensional(1D) self-assembly along the [010] crystallographic direction, while only supersaturation can trigger 2D self-assembly along the [100] and [010] directions, respectively. This is understandable in terms of the(020) face showing the largest attachment energy(Eatt) and the(002) face possessing the smallest surface energy(Esurf). Moreover, anisotropic Raman spectra related to the mode symmetry and atomic displacements in two types of PHCs are revealed, and the same Raman-active vibrational bands of PHC wire and plate show different polarization responses, which is intrinsically ascribed to their different molecular orientations.Overall, this is the first case that morphologies of cocrystal are precisely tuned with comprehensive investigations of their anisotropic vibrational characteristics.
Weigang ZhuYunli WangChengcheng HuangLingyun ZhuYonggang ZhenHuanli DongZhixiang WeiDong GuoWenping Hu
A rigid supramolecular polymer was constructed in aqueous solution via cucurbit[8]uril （CB[8]） host recognition with a rigid monomer containing an azobenzene unit and two 4,4＇-bipyridin-l-ium （BP） moieties in the two ends, which also exhibited photo-responsiveness owing to the photoinduced trans- cis ~somerization of azobenzene group.
Tian-Tian CaoXu-Yang YaoJing ZhangQiao-Chun WangXiang Ma
A new strategy is performed to fabricate conjugated polymer microarray with the assistance of protein in this work.The water-soluble cationic conjugated polymer employed in the present work is capable of absorbing light at 510 nm,which makes it compatible with a variety of commercial microarray scanners.It is demonstrated that the protein-assisted conjugated polymer microarray exhibits higher fluorescence signal and better stability in comparison with the case without protein.The conjugated polymer microarray can be used for sensitive detection of picric acid(PA).A major advantage of our approach is its simplicity and chemical linking is not required between the conjugated polymer and microarray substrate.Considering the simplicity of the preparation of the conjugated polymer microarray,it is anticipated that novel sensing platforms will be constructed by employing this versatile method.
New analogues of green fluorescent protein (GFP) chromophore mGFP-Cn (n = 1, 3, 5, 11) with alkyl chains of different lengths in the imidazolinone rings were synthesized and their crystal structures were determined. These GFP-like chromophores are all emissive in the solid state. And the solid-state emission quantum yields of increase by extending the lengths of alkyl chains, owing to the fact that the intermolecular pi-pi interactions are significantly weakened based on their crystal structures.
Molecular switches that can undergo reversible switching between two or more different states in response to external stimuli have been used in the fabrication of various optoelectronic devices and smart materials for many decades, and also found many applications in sensing, molecular self-assembly and photo-controlled biological systems. Recently, mechanically interlocked molecules, such as rotaxanes and catenanes, and molecular rotary motors based on overcrowded alkenes have emerged as two new kinds of molecular switches. Some novel applications of above-mentioned molecular switches have been discovered. In this mini review, we mainly highlight noticeable achievements over the past decade in this field, and summarize the applications of new types of molecular switches, for instance, controlling the chiral space to regulate catalytic reaction as organocatalysts, controlling molecular motions, synthesizing a peptide in a sequence-specific manner and modulating the wettability of the self-assembled monolayers.
Functional organic dyes have promising prospect in dye-sensitized solar cells as a crucial element, of which sensitizers based on donor-π-acceptor are the most important dyes. On the basis of the structures of the aromatic amine donors such as triphenylamine and indoline, this paper reviews the photoelectric conversion properties of organic sensitizers since 2008, and highlights research work in our laboratory in this area.
