Zheng-Ping Qiao

Microwave-assisted elemental direct reaction route to nanocrystalline copper chalcogenides CuSe and Cu2TeElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: XPS spectra of the products. See http://www.rsc.org/suppdata/jm/b2/b205558a/

Nanocrystalline copper chalcogenides, CuSe and Cu2Te, have been synthesized by reactions between elemental Cu and Se or Te under microwave irradiation for several minutes. The products have been characterized by XRD, TEM, and XPS.

Synthesis, structures and photoluminescence of three terbium(III) dicarboxylate coordination polymers

Three polymeric terbium(III) complexes of 4,4′-oxybis(benzoic acid) (H2oba) have been hydrothermally synthesised with different metal∶carboxylate ratios or in the presence of an additional chelate ligand 2,2′-bipyridine (2,2′-bpy) and characterised by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In [Tb(oba)(Hoba)(H2O)2)·H2O, 1, the metal atoms are bridged by the oba/Hoba carboxylate groups into one-dimensional covalent chains, which are further interconnected by the oba ligands to produce a two-dimensional brick-wall network. In [Tb2(oba)3(H2O]4], 2, the metal atoms are bridged by the oba/Hoba carboxylate groups into one-dimensional covalent chains different from those in 1, which are further interconnected by the oba ligands to produce a two-dimensional condensed network. In the structure of [Tb2(oba)3(2,2′-bpy)2], 3, there are centrosymmetrical tetrakis(μ-carboxylate)-bridged Tb(III) dimeric structural subunits, which are interlinked by the oba ligands into a three-dimensional framework. The three compounds exhibit interesting photoluminescence at room temperature. The results show that different metal∶carboxylate ratios can influence the polymeric structures and that the presence of 2,2′-bpy ligand alters not only the topology of the framework from two-dimensional to three-dimensional, but also the photoluminescent properties in both intensity and lifetime.

Thermally conductive, insulated polyimide nanocomposites by AlO(OH)-coated MWCNTs

Novel thermally conductive, insulated polyimide nanocomposite films are reported here for microelectronics applications. A thermally conductive, insulated inorganic nanolayer of AlO(OH) was successfully coated onto the surface of MWCNTs, which, on the one hand, can effectively avoid the formation of MWCNT electrically conductive networks in the PI matrix and, on the other, can provide the advantage of excellent thermal conductivity properties of the MWCNTs.

Increased proton conductivity of metal–organic framework micro-film prepared by a facile salt-free approach

An effective, mild, salt-free and in situ substrate growth approach to MOFs was developed using copper foil. Such a simple approach afforded a microfilm with proton-conducting properties under stable conditions. Copper was employed not only to allow for large arrays of MOFs, but also to allow the root of crystals to attach close enough to form a dense film. The thickness of the films was in the order of microns. The proton conductivity was increased from ∼10−6 (disk-shaped pellet of powder) to as high as ∼10−4 S cm−1 (microfilm). The σ value of the microfilm is 6.9 × 10−4 S cm−1 after being kept under 98% relative humidity (RH) for 3 days at room temperature which is one order of magnitude higher than previously reported data for HKUST-1 related materials.

Mild metal-organic-gel route for synthesis of stable sub-5-nm metal-organic framework nanocrystals

Nanoscale metal-organic frameworks (NMOFs) have attracted increased attention in recent years for miniaturized and/or biological applications. However, the synthesis of ultrasmall NMOFs with good stability is a great challenge. In this study, sub-5-nm nano-HKUST-1 was prepared for the first time via a mild metal-organic gel route without surfactants or capping agents. Controlling the gelation process via anion–ligand self-assembly is the key to the formation of NMOFs. The Tyndall effect, zeta potential, and liquid adsorption indicated strong stability of the obtained nano-HKUST-1, even in water. Adsorption experiments were performed using different dyes (crystal violet and methylene blue) to demonstrate the size-dependent adsorption thermodynamics and kinetics of this famous MOF. The results of this study provide new insights regarding the synthesis of NMOFs and their efficient applications.