Co-reporter:Guodong Liang;Feng Ren;Haiyang Gao;Fangming Zhu;Qing Wu;Ben Zhong Tang
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2017 vol. 5(Issue 5) pp:2115-2122
Publication Date(Web):2017/01/31
DOI:10.1039/C6TA08235A
Detection of organic pollutants in aqueous media is crucial for ensuring the quality and safety of water resources. Conventional detection methods suffer from bulky and expensive devices, as well as time-consuming procedures. Herein, we describe a type of sticky nanopad made of crystallizable fluorescent polymers for the facile detection of toxic pollutants in water. The nanopads, with a thickness of approximately 6.3 nm, are comprised of a single layer of crystalline polymers having surfaces coated with chromophores that exhibit aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics. The sticky nanopads are able to absorb organic pollutants in water through different interactions, namely hydrophobic and π–π interactions. The organic pollutants, once absorbed on the surface of the nanopads, quench the fluorescence emission of the chromophores. The sticky nanopads allow the rapid detection of organic pollutants in the order of seconds at concentrations as low as 7 μg L−1, and this material provides more rapid and sensitive results than those given by the existing fluorescent materials reported in literature. The sticky nanopads made of crystallizable fluorescent polymers offer a novel method for the rapid and sensitive detection of organic pollutants in water.
Co-reporter:Guodong Liang, Jialong Wu, Haiyang Gao, Qing Wu, Jiang Lu, Fangming Zhu, and Ben Zhong Tang
ACS Macro Letters 2016 Volume 5(Issue 8) pp:909
Publication Date(Web):July 15, 2016
DOI:10.1021/acsmacrolett.6b00453
Memory polymers capable of remembering their shape or thermal history have attracted increasing interest due to their potential applications in smart and medical devices. Memory polymers established are mechanically based, which suffer from some inherent limitations such as low sensitivity and bulky size. Here, we develop a general platform for sensitive memory polymers. Incorporating crystallizable polymers with solid-state fluorescent dyes results in crystallizable fluorescent polymers. Such polymers show remarkably temperature-dependent fluorescence emission. Interestingly, fluorescence of the polymers shows a hysteresis between heating and subsequent cooling scans, which offers them a valuable thermally stimulated recording function. Both off–on and on–off recording functions can be achieved. Characters recorded on the polymer films can be erased and rewritten. Moreover, thermal history subjected to the polymers can be memorized and retrieved by measuring fluorescence intensity. With the merit of easy synthesis, recording function, remarkably thermoresponsive fluorescence with memory function, superior flexibility, and biocompatibility inherited from polymers, crystallizable fluorescent polymers offer a general platform for memory fluorescent polymers that are potentially useful for biosensing, recording materials, and smart devices.
Co-reporter:Guodong Liang, Feng Ren, Haiyang Gao, Qing Wu, Fangming Zhu, and Ben Zhong Tang
ACS Sensors 2016 Volume 1(Issue 10) pp:1272
Publication Date(Web):September 15, 2016
DOI:10.1021/acssensors.6b00530
Detection of organic pollutants in aqueous media is crucial for guaranteeing water safety. Conventional methods for organic pollutant detection suffer from time-consuming operation procedures (on the order of hours) and expensive devices. Inspired by dog noses, herein, we constructed self-assembled fluorescent nanosheets for rapid and sensitive detection of organic pollutants based on the grasp-report strategy. Tetraphenylethene decorated cyclodextrins (TPE-CDs) self-assembled into nanosheets with hydrophobic TPE layers sandwiched between two hydrophilic cyclodextrin layers. The hydrophobic cavity of the outer cyclodextrin layers grasped and collected organic pollutants, and subsequently transported them to the TPE layers and quenched the fluorescence emission of TPE layers. Such nanosheets allowed rapid detection of xylene (on the order of seconds) at a concentration of 5 μg/L. With the merits of the ease of synthesis, simple operation, and high sensitivity, the fluorescent nanomaterials provide a promising candidate for rapid and sensitive detection of organic pollutants.Keywords: aggregation-induced emission; bioinspired; fluorescence; nanosheets; organic pollutants
Co-reporter:Jialong Wu, Lu-Tao Weng, Wei Qin, Guodong Liang, and Ben Zhong Tang
ACS Macro Letters 2015 Volume 4(Issue 5) pp:593
Publication Date(Web):May 7, 2015
DOI:10.1021/acsmacrolett.5b00180
Polymer/inorganic functional nanostructures are essential for the fabrication of high-performance nanodevices in the future. The synthesis of hybrid nanostructures is hindered by complicated synthetic protocols or harsh conditions. Herein, we report a facile and scalable method for the synthesis of organometallic polymer nanoribbons through crystallization of polymers capped with a ferrate complex. Nanoribbons consisted of a single crystalline polymer lamella coated with a redox-active ferrate complex on both sides. The nanoribbons had a width of approximately 70 nm and a thickness of 10 nm. With the merit of highly ordered crystalline structures of polymers and functional coating layers, as well as a highly anisotropic nature, the nanoribbons are useful in nanodevices and biosensors.
Co-reporter:Guodong Liang, Xiaodong Li, Suping Bao, Haiyang Gao, Fangming Zhu and Qing Wu
Polymer Chemistry 2015 vol. 6(Issue 24) pp:4447-4454
Publication Date(Web):13 May 2015
DOI:10.1039/C5PY00382B
Functional nanostructures are crucial for fabrication of nanodevices in the future. Herein we reported a facile and efficient approach for large-scale synthesis of organometallic polymer flowers. This approach involved crystallization of polyethylene (PE) capped with the cyanoferrate complex in the presence of polymeric dispersants, and subsequent in situ coordination polymerization of the cyanoferrate complex with Fe3+. This afforded polyethylene/Prussian blue (PE–PB) hybrid flowers with ultrathin petals of 7 nm, in which PE lamellae were sandwiched between two PB nanolayers. Morphological analysis revealed that the addition of an appropriate amount of hydrophobic poly(propylene glycol) favoured the formation of hybrid flowers. PE–PB flowers synthesized showed an enhanced surface area and improved electrocatalytic activity towards reduction of hydrogen peroxide. Such crystallization induced flowers of organometallic polymers offer a class of functional nanomaterials, which are useful for biosensing and nanodevices.
Co-reporter:Guodong Liang, Xiaodong Li, Bin Fei, Xiaomei Wang and Fangming Zhu
Polymer Chemistry 2015 vol. 6(Issue 40) pp:7179-7187
Publication Date(Web):26 Aug 2015
DOI:10.1039/C5PY01277E
Hybrid nanostructures are a class of promising functional materials with a broad range of applications. Structural control has been proven to be versatile to optimize the functions and properties of the nanomaterials. Although polymer/inorganic hybrid nanoparticles have been achieved through self-assembly of block copolymers, synthesis of hybrid nanoparticles of small size (≤20 nm) remains challenging. Herein, we developed a conceptually new approach for the efficient and scalable synthesis of polymer/inorganic hybrid nanoparticles with well-defined shape and tiny size through the direct disassembly-assisted synthesis (DDAS) strategy. Incorporating cyanoferrate into polypeptides led to disassembly of large hexagonally-packed structures of polypeptide α-helices into small aggregates. Subsequent coordination polymerization of the cyanoferrate groups with Fe3+ in aqueous media afforded polypeptide/Prussian blue (PB) hybrid nanoparticles with well-defined core–shell structures. Hybrid nanoparticles were thoroughly characterized. Morphological and microstructural analyses showed that the hybrid nanoparticles had a small size of approximately 18 nm and crystalline PB phase. Taking advantage of the tiny size and crystalline PB phase, the hybrid nanoparticles showed excellent electrocatalytic activity toward the reduction of hydrogen peroxide. Such a direct disassembly-assisted synthesis of polymer/inorganic tiny nanoparticles provides a family of functional nanomaterials useful for biosensing and nanodevice applications.
Co-reporter:Guodong Liang, Limin Zheng, Suping Bao, Bin Fei, Haiyang Gao, Fangming Zhu, and Qing Wu
Macromolecules 2015 Volume 48(Issue 12) pp:4115-4121
Publication Date(Web):June 15, 2015
DOI:10.1021/acs.macromol.5b00732
We developed a facile but efficient method to grow tiny flowers of organometallic polymers along carbon nanotubes (CNTs), allowing the combination of synthesis and threading flowers onto CNTs in one step simultaneously. This afforded a catalog of redox-active tiny flower bundles of organometallic polymers with ultrathin petals. Crystallization of polyethylene end-functionalized with cyanoferrate complex (PE-Fe) along CNTs resulted in tiny flowers threaded onto CNTs. Subsequent coordination polymerization of surface-enriched cyanoferrate complex with Fe3+ afforded the formation of polyethylene/Prussian blue/carbon nanotube (PE-PB/CNT) hybrid flower bundles. The flowers were composed of thin petals of 7 nm in thickness, which consisted of a single PE lamellae sandwiched between two PB nanolayers. The hybrid flower bundles fabricated exhibited enhanced thermal stability and electrochemical activity. The intriguing microstructures along with morphology-related properties of hybrid flower bundles made them useful in nanodevices and biosensors.
Co-reporter:Guodong Liang, Huan Ni, Suping Bao, Fangming Zhu, Haiyang Gao, and Qing Wu
The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2014 Volume 118(Issue 23) pp:6339-6345
Publication Date(Web):May 19, 2014
DOI:10.1021/jp503533h
Nanowire coils of organometallic coordination polymers have been synthesized for the first time by using the emulsion periphery polymerization technique. An amphiphilic triblock copolymer terminated with inclusion complex of β-cyclodextrin and 4,4′-bipyridine self-assembles into oil-in-water emulsion in a toluene/water mixture. Subsequent coordination of bipyridine with Ni(II) in periphery of emulsions results in the formation of coordination polymer nanowire coils. The nanowire coils are composed of nanowires with diameter of 2 nm. Nanowire coils exhibit enhanced thermal stability in contrast to their parent triblock copolymer. Interestingly, nanowire coils are capable of encapsulating organic cargoes. Encapsulated cargoes can be selectively extracted from nanowire coils without damaging nanowire coils. Nanowire coils are potential candidates for encapsulating and controlled release of organic cargoes.
Co-reporter:Guodong Liang, Huan Ni, Suping Bao, Fangming Zhu, Haiyang Gao, Qing Wu, and Ben Zhong Tang
Langmuir 2014 Volume 30(Issue 21) pp:6294-6301
Publication Date(Web):2017-2-22
DOI:10.1021/la501442g
A class of new amphiphilic nanocapsules entangled with organometallic coordination polymers has been developed for the first time. Poly(2-(N,N-dimethyl amino)ethyl methacrylate)-b-polystyrene capped with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) (CD-PDMAEMA-b-PS) is first synthesized using sequent RAFT polymerization of styrene and 2-(N,N-dimethyl amino)ethyl methacrylate with xanthate modified β-CD as chain transfer agent. The end group of β-CD is allowed to include 4,4′-bipyridine through host–guest inclusion to yield PDMAEMA-b-PS terminated with an inclusion complex of β-CD and bipyridine (bpy-PDMAEMA-b-PS), which is then used as surfactant to prepare emulsion droplets in toluene/water mixture. Upon addition of Ni(II), bipyridine coordinates with Ni(II) to form coordination polymers in the periphery of emulsion droplets, affording amphiphilic capsules entangled with organometallic coordination polymers, as confirmed by GPC, 1H NMR, SEM, TEM, DLS, and so on. The organometallic coordination polymer capsules are capable of encapsulating organic cargoes. Interestingly, encapsulated cargoes can be extracted from the capsules without damaging the capsules. Such capsules are potential candidates for encapsulating and controlled release of organic cargoes.
Co-reporter:Suping Bao, Huan Ni, Qihua Wu, Haiyang Gao, Guodong Liang, Fangming Zhu, Qing Wu
Polymer 2014 Volume 55(Issue 9) pp:2205-2212
Publication Date(Web):25 April 2014
DOI:10.1016/j.polymer.2014.03.029
Metallopolymers are emerging as a class of promising materials due to versatile properties and functionalities with a broad range of applications in high-performance devices. In this paper, a series of new helix–coil–helix poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate)-b-poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate) triblock copolymers selectively decorated with cyanoferrate complex (BEB-Fe) was successfully synthesized by combining ring-opening polymerization of γ-benzyl-L-glutamate carboxyanhydride using a primary amine terminated poly(ethylene glycol) as macromolecular initiator with a post-functionalization procedure. The polymers were characterized using GPC, NMR, UV–vis, FT-IR, CD, XRD, DLS, TEM, DSC and CV. Microstructural and morphological analysis revealed that incorporation of a proper amount of ferrate complex (≥19 wt%) in BEB led to disassembly of hexagonally packed structures of EBE. This afforded hybrid nanostructures with a size of approximately 18 nm. Glass transition temperature of BEB-Fe increased gradually with increasing ferrate fractions. BEB-Fe hybrid nanomaterials were electrochemically active. The apparent diffusion coefficient of BEB-Fe was increased with increasing ferrate fractions.
Co-reporter:Guodong Liang, Qihua Wu, Suping Bao, Fangming Zhu and Qing Wu
Polymer Chemistry 2013 vol. 4(Issue 23) pp:5671-5678
Publication Date(Web):09 Jul 2013
DOI:10.1039/C3PY00769C
Metallopolymers present a class of promising functional materials. The self-assembly of metallopolymers leads to the formation of metal-enriched nanomaterials that offer a variety of potential applications in nano-devices. In this paper, a series of redox active 4-armed star poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate) decorated with cyanoferrate complex (PBLG-Fe) was synthesized by combining the ring-opening polymerization of γ-benzyl-L-glutamate with a post-modification procedure. We demonstrate that the incorporation of an appropriate amount of ferrate complex induces hexagonally packed PBLG to disassemble into nano-helices, as confirmed by FT-IR, XRD, CD, DLS and TEM. The PBLG-Fe helices were electrochemically active. The apparent diffusion coefficient (Dm) of the nano-helices increased initially and decreased with increasing ferrate fractions. A maximum Dm was achieved for PBLG-Fe containing a moderate amount of ferrate of 16 wt%. Such metal coordination induced disassembly of polypeptides offers a new avenue to highly anisotropic organometallic nanomaterials.
Co-reporter:Guodong Liang, Qihua Wu, Wangping Qin, Suping Bao, Fangming Zhu and Qin Wu
Polymer Chemistry 2013 vol. 4(Issue 13) pp:3821-3828
Publication Date(Web):19 Apr 2013
DOI:10.1039/C3PY00404J
New 4-armed star poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate) decorated with cyanoferrate complex (PBLG-Fe) was successfully synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of γ-benzyl-L-glutamate, followed by a post-functionalization procedure. We demonstrated for the first time that incorporation of metal complex into PBLG induced hexagonally stacked PBLG to disassemble, affording water swelling nano-helices, as confirmed by FT-IR, CD, XRD and TEM. PBLG-Fe nano-helices were electrochemically active. Interestingly, the apparent electron diffusion coefficient (Dm) of PBLG-Fe was dependent on the molecular weight of PBLG-Fe. Maximum Dm was achieved for PBLG-Fe with moderate molecular weight. Such metal coordinated polypeptides offer a new opportunity for the synthesis of highly anisotropic functional nanomaterials with potential applications in nano-devices.
Co-reporter:Suping Bao, Wangping Qin, Qihua Wu, Guodong Liang, Fangming Zhu and Qing Wu
Dalton Transactions 2013 vol. 42(Issue 15) pp:5242-5246
Publication Date(Web):19 Feb 2013
DOI:10.1039/C3DT00060E
Ultrathin metal coordination Prussian blue (PB) nanoribbons with tunable width have been successfully synthesized. The morphology and microstructure of PB nanoribbons are characterized using UV-vis, FT-IR, AFM, TEM and XRD. PB nanoribbons synthesized possess an ultrathin thickness of approximately 1 nm and narrow width. The width of PB ribbons can be tuned by varying the chain length of polymeric precursors. The PB hybrid nanoribbons synthesized exhibit enhanced thermal stability and electrochemical activity. The merit of narrow and tunable width as well as ultrathin thickness of PB hybrid nanoribbons along with enhanced thermal stability and electrochemical activity makes them potentially useful in nano-devices, biosensors and so on.
Co-reporter:Guo-Dong Liang;Wang-Ping Qin;Ting-Ting Liu;Fang-Ming Zhu;Qing Wu
Journal of Applied Polymer Science 2012 Volume 125( Issue S1) pp:E113-E121
Publication Date(Web):
DOI:10.1002/app.36341
Abstract
The nonisothermal crystallization of low-density polyethylene inside percolating network of ZnO nanoparticles (LDPE/60 vol % ZnO) was investigated via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and compared to that of LDPE bulk (pristine LDPE and LDPE/1.15 vol % ZnO). The results revealed that crystallization behavior of LDPE inside ZnO percolating network was quite different from that of LDPE bulk. The former showed ∼ 4°C higher crystallization onset temperatures contrasting to the latter, demonstrating nucleation effect of ZnO on LDPE crystallization. On the other hand, much longer half-crystallization times were observed for the former, illustrating that crystallization of LDPE is retarded by the continuous ZnO network to some extent. Moreover, LDPE embedded inside ZnO network has by far larger crystallization activation energy and smaller specific free energy of the folding surface in contrast to LDPE bulk. Finally, nonisothermal crystallization kinetics study illustrated that both modified Avrami and Liu methods could be used to describe satisfactorily nonisothermal crystallization kinetics for all the samples investigated. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012
Co-reporter:Guo-Dong Liang;Ting-Ting Liu;Wang-Ping Qin;Fang-Ming Zhu;Qing Wu
Polymer Engineering & Science 2012 Volume 52( Issue 6) pp:1250-1257
Publication Date(Web):
DOI:10.1002/pen.23065
Abstract
The crystallization behavior of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) embedded inside zinc oxide (ZnO) percolating network (LDPE/60 vol% ZnO) was investigated via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and compared with those of LDPE bulks (neat LDPE and LDPE/1.15 vol% ZnO). Results revealed that embedded LDPE possessed by far shorter half-crystallization time at elevated crystallization temperatures than LDPE bulks, whereas at lower crystallization temperatures longer half-crystallization time was observed. Isothermal crystallization kinetics study revealed that the Avrami exponent of embedded LDPE varied in range of 1.8–2.0, indicating quasi-two-dimensional crystallization with heterogeneous nucleation, contrasting with about 3 for LDPE bulks. Moreover, crystallization activation energy of embedded LDPE was much larger than that of neat LDPE due to geometric confinement effect of ZnO network. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers
Co-reporter:Dr. Suping Bao;Tingting Liu;Dr. Guodong Liang;Dr. Haiyang Gao; Fangming Zhu ; Qing Wu
Chemistry - A European Journal 2012 Volume 18( Issue 48) pp:15272-15276
Publication Date(Web):
DOI:10.1002/chem.201202395
Co-reporter:Guodong Liang, Feng Ren, Haiyang Gao, Fangming Zhu, Qing Wu and Ben Zhong Tang
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2017 - vol. 5(Issue 5) pp:NaN2122-2122
Publication Date(Web):2016/12/16
DOI:10.1039/C6TA08235A
Detection of organic pollutants in aqueous media is crucial for ensuring the quality and safety of water resources. Conventional detection methods suffer from bulky and expensive devices, as well as time-consuming procedures. Herein, we describe a type of sticky nanopad made of crystallizable fluorescent polymers for the facile detection of toxic pollutants in water. The nanopads, with a thickness of approximately 6.3 nm, are comprised of a single layer of crystalline polymers having surfaces coated with chromophores that exhibit aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics. The sticky nanopads are able to absorb organic pollutants in water through different interactions, namely hydrophobic and π–π interactions. The organic pollutants, once absorbed on the surface of the nanopads, quench the fluorescence emission of the chromophores. The sticky nanopads allow the rapid detection of organic pollutants in the order of seconds at concentrations as low as 7 μg L−1, and this material provides more rapid and sensitive results than those given by the existing fluorescent materials reported in literature. The sticky nanopads made of crystallizable fluorescent polymers offer a novel method for the rapid and sensitive detection of organic pollutants in water.
Co-reporter:Suping Bao, Wangping Qin, Qihua Wu, Guodong Liang, Fangming Zhu and Qing Wu
Dalton Transactions 2013 - vol. 42(Issue 15) pp:NaN5246-5246
Publication Date(Web):2013/02/19
DOI:10.1039/C3DT00060E
Ultrathin metal coordination Prussian blue (PB) nanoribbons with tunable width have been successfully synthesized. The morphology and microstructure of PB nanoribbons are characterized using UV-vis, FT-IR, AFM, TEM and XRD. PB nanoribbons synthesized possess an ultrathin thickness of approximately 1 nm and narrow width. The width of PB ribbons can be tuned by varying the chain length of polymeric precursors. The PB hybrid nanoribbons synthesized exhibit enhanced thermal stability and electrochemical activity. The merit of narrow and tunable width as well as ultrathin thickness of PB hybrid nanoribbons along with enhanced thermal stability and electrochemical activity makes them potentially useful in nano-devices, biosensors and so on.
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