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Quinoline core has been shown to possess a promising role in the development of anticancer agents. However, the correlation between its broad spectrum of bioactivity and the underlying mechanism of actions is poorly understood. The present study, with the use of bioinformatics approaches, reported a series of designed molecules which integrated quinoline core and sulfonyl moiety, with the objective of evaluating the substituent and linker effects on anticancer activities and associated mechanistic targets. We identified potent compounds (1h, 2h, 5 and 8) exhibiting significant anticancer effects towards liver cancer cells (Hep3B) with the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) relative values of cytotoxicity below 0.40, a value in the range of doxorubicin positive control with the value of 0.12. Bulky substituents and the presence of bromine atom, as well as the presence of sulfonamide linkage, are likely the favorable structural components for molecules exerting a strong anticancer effect. To the best of our knowledge, our findings obtained from chemical synthesis, in vitro cytotoxicity, bioinformatics-based molecular docking analysis (similarity ensemble approach, SEA),and electrophoretic mobility shift assay provided the first evidence in correlation to the anticancer activities of the selected compound 5 with the modulation on the binding of transcription factor NF-κB to its target DNA. Accordingly, compound 5 represented a lead structure for the development of quinoline-based NF-κB inhibitors and this work added novel information on the understanding of the mechanism of action for bioactive sulfonyl-containing quinoline compounds against hepatocellular carcinoma.

Utilizing renewable electricity for the electrocatalytic conversion of CO2 into alcohols represents a promising avenue for generating value‐added fuels and achieving carbon neutrality. Recently, there has been growing scientific interest in achieving high‐efficiency conversion of CO2 to alcohols, with significant advancements made in mechanism understanding, reactor design, catalyst development, and more. Herein, a thorough examination of the latest advances in electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) to alcohols is provided. General mechanisms and pathways of electrocatalytic conversion of CO2‐to‐alcohols are systematically illustrated. Subsequently, electrolyzer configurations, electrolytes, and electrocatalysts employed in CO2RR are summarized. After that, critical operating parameters (e.g., reaction pressure, temperature, and pH) that would significantly influence the CO2RR process are also analyzed. Finally, the review addresses challenges and offers perspectives in this field to guide future studies aimed at advancing CO2‐to‐alcohols conversion technologies.

Abstract In order to cope with the increasingly serious problem of energy shortage, supercapacitors have been developed as a clean and renewable energy source, and the supercapacitors with excellent energy density and long cycle life are imperative. Here, by employing a facile liquid–liquid (L‐L) interfacial method at room temperature (RT), a set of two‐dimensional (2D) metal complex nanosheets N1‐N3 have been synthesized by the facile coordination between Co2+ ion and 2,3,6,7,10,11‐hexaiminotriphenylene (HITP). Given the layered superstructure with well‐ordered nanopores, the N1‐N3 electrodes displayed excellent capacities of 4751.9, 5770.9 and 6075.2 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, and a good cyclic stability with 92.1% capacity retention after 1000 cycles for the N3 electrode. The asymmetric supercapacitor device with N3 as the positive electrode delivers a maximum energy density of 238.2 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 1610.1 W kg−1 and an excellent cycling stability with a capacitance retention of 109.1% after 5000 cycles. This is the best electroactive bottom‐up metal complex nanosheet reported so far for use in supercapacitor, which greatly expands the applicability of this 2D nanomaterial in energy device applications.

Abstract Conversion of solar energy into H2 by photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is recognized as an ideal way to address the growing energy crisis and environmental issues. In a typical PEC cell, the construction of photoanodes is crucial to guarantee the high efficiency and stability of PEC reactions, which fundamentally rely on rationally designed semiconductors (as the active materials) and substrates (as the current collectors). In this review work, we start with a brief introduction of the roles of substrates in the PEC process. Then, we provide a systematic overview of representative strategies for the controlled fabrication of photoanodes on rationally designed substrates, including conductive glass, metal, sapphire, silicon, silicon carbide, and flexible substrates. Finally, some prospects concerning the challenges and research directions in this area are proposed.

Abstract 2D conjugated metal‐organic frameworks (c‐MOFs) have emerged as promising materials for (opto)electronic applications due to their excellent charge transport properties originating from the unique layered‐stacked structures with extended in‐plane conjugation. The further advancement of MOF‐based (opto)electronics necessitates the development of novel 2D c‐MOF thin films with high quality. Cu‐HHHATN (HHHATN: hexahydroxyl‐hexaazatrinaphthylene) is a recently reported 2D c‐MOF featuring high in‐plane conjugation, strong interlayer π–π stacking, and multiple coordination sites, while the production of its thin‐film form has not yet been reported. Herein, large‐area Cu‐HHHATN thin films with preferential orientation, high uniformity, and smooth surfaces are realized by using a convenient layer‐by‐layer growth method. Flexible photodetectors are fabricated, showing broadband photoresponse ranging from UV to short‐wave infrared (370 to 1450 nm). The relatively long relaxation time of photocurrent, which arises from the trapping of photocarriers, renders the device's synaptic plasticity similar to that of biological synapses, promising its use in neuromorphic visual systems. This work demonstrates the great potential of Cu‐HHHATN thin films in flexible optoelectronic devices for various applications.

Abstract Tetraphenylethylene (TPE)‐conjugated porphyrin TPE‐ZnPF is synthesized in high yield and characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. The propeller‐shaped TPE groups not only enable exceptional aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) in the solid state but also abolish the strong π‐π stacking of porphyrin moieties and thus prohibit aggregation‐caused quenching (ACQ). TPE‐ZnPF aggregates feature long‐lived photoexcited states, which subsequently suppress non‐radiative decay channels and enhance emission intensity. Moreover, its aggregates show more efficient light‐harvesting ability due to the Förster resonance energy transfer from the TPE energy donor to the porphyrin core energy acceptor, well‐defined nanosphere morphology, and more efficient photoinduced charge separation than the porphyrin Ph‐ZnPF, which possesses ACQ and agglomerated morphology. As a result, an excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate (ηH2) of 56.20 mmol g‒1 h‒1 is recorded for TPE‐ZnPF aggregates, which is 94‐fold higher than that of the aggregates of Ph‐ZnPF (0.60 mmol g‒1 h‒1) without the TPE groups.

4D printed photo-triggered liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) microactuators by direct laser writing via two-photon polymerization (DLW-TPP) have attracted increasing attention due to their manipulation flexibility, reversible and rapid actuation capabilities. However, their development is hampered by the lack of room-temperature printable liquid crystal (LC) photoresists. Here, we developed new light-responsive LC photoresists by incorporating novel conjugated polymers (CPs) as photothermal agents for the DLW-TPP technology. The CPs displayed a remarkable photothermal effect and effectively avoided the aggregation problems that always happened for inorganic nanoparticles in photoresists. Moreover, the CPs incorporation lowered the nematic-to-isotropic temperature of the LC photoresists which is beneficial for room-temperature DLW-TPP. The printing parameters, including laser power and scanning speed, were investigated using the developed LC photoresists. It was found the range of printing parameters decreased with the increase of the CPs loading fraction from 0.1 to 0.5 wt%, which was attributed to the high photothermal conversion efficiency (52.7%). A well-defined CPs/LCEs microactuator with CPs as low as 0.3 wt% was printed, which could achieve a large 25.0% actuation strain in 5 s upon near-infrared (NIR) light stimulation. It could be used for thriving soft micro-robotics and micro-membranes with controllable separation capabilities.

Abstract Inspired by the significant advantages of the bottom‐up synthesis whose structures and functionalities can be customized by the selection of molecular components, a 2D metal‐organic framework (MOF) nanosheet Co‐BTB‐LB has been synthesized by a liquid–liquid interface‐assisted method. The as‐prepared Co‐BTB‐LB is identified by scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDX) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the sheet‐like structure is verified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Co‐BTB‐LB electrode exhibits an excellent capacity of 4969.3 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and good cycling stability with 75% capacity retention after 1000 cycles. The asymmetric supercapacitor device with Co‐BTB‐LB as the positive electrode shows a maximum energy density of 150.2 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 1619.2 W kg−1 and good cycling stability with a capacitance retention of 97.1% after 10000 cycles. This represents a state‐of‐the‐art performance reported for asymmetric supercapacitor device using electroactive bottom‐up metal‐complex nanosheet, which will clearly lead to a significant expansion of the applicability of this type of 2D nanomaterials.

Abstract One of the major obstacles of porphyrins is the aggregation‐caused quenching (ACQ) of photoluminescence due to the strong intermolecular π–π interaction of the planar porphyrin core in the solid state. However, ACQ leads to the nonradiative deactivation of the photoexcited states which results in short‐lived charge‐separated states and thus low photoluminescence and singlet quantum yields. This phenomenon would limit the utilization of porphyrins in near‐infrared fluorescent bioimaging, photodynamic therapy, photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, electrochemiluminescence, and chiroptical applications. Hence, to address the ACQ property of porphyrins and enhance the performance of the above applications, a limited number of AIEgen‐decorated porphyrins have been designed, synthesized, and tested for their applications. It has been found that the introduction of AIEgens, such as tetraphenylethylene, diphenylacrylonitrile, (3,6‐bis‐(1‐methyl‐4‐vinylpyridinium)‐carbazole diiodide, and iridium motif into the porphyrin core, transformed the porphyrins from ACQ to aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) in their solid state due to the reduced strong intermolecular π–π stacking of porphyrins. Consequently, such porphyrins containing AIE features are employed as potential candidates in the above‐mentioned applications. In this review, we summarize the AIEgen‐decorated porphyrins which have been published to date, and also discuss the benefits of converting porphyrins from ACQ to AIE for enhanced performance within each application. As far as we know, there is no review that summarizes the structures and applications of AIEgen‐decorated porphyrins to date. Therefore, we presume that this review would be helpful to design more efficient AIEgen‐decorated porphyrins for a wide range of applications in the future.

Aqueous zinc‐ion batteries possess great potential in stationary energy storage devices. Nevertheless, the occurrence of zinc dendrite growth and hydrogen evolution reaction severely hinders the utilization efficiency and service life of zinc‐metal anodes. Herein, an in situ etching strategy is proposed to construct an interfacial layer with porous structure on the surface of zinc foil under the assistance of tartaric acid (denoted as TA@Zn). The optimized anode surface is beneficial to not only achieve uniform Zn deposition behavior due to the low nucleation overpotential, but also enhance the interfacial reaction kinetics due to the reduced activation energy barrier. As expected, the TA@Zn‐based symmetric cell delivers small voltage hysteresis and superior stability for 5000 h at the current density of 1 mA cm−2. Moreover, the TA@Zn|NH4V4O10 cell also exhibits high specific capacity and long‐term cycling stability.

To reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with cancer, new cancer theranostics are in high demand and are an emerging area of research. To achieve this goal, we report the synthesis and characterization of piperazine-linked 1,8-naphthalimide-arylsulfonyl derivatives (SA1–SA7). These compounds were synthesized in good yields following a two-step protocol and characterized using multiple analytical techniques. In vitro cytotoxicity and fluorescent cellular imaging of the compounds were assessed against non-cancerous fibroblast (3T3) and breast cancer (4T1) cell lines. Although the former study indicated the safe nature of the compounds (viability = 82–95% at 1 μg/mL), imaging studies revealed that the designed probes had good membrane permeability and could disperse in the whole cell cytoplasm. In silico studies, including molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, and ADME/Tox results, indicated that the compounds had the ability to target CAIX-expressing cancers. These findings suggest that piperazine-linked 1,8-naphthalimide-arylsulfonyl derivatives are potential candidates for cancer theranostics and a valuable backbone for future research.

Abstract Graphdiyne (GDY), an emerging two‐dimensional all‐carbon allotrope, features the coexistence of sp and sp2 hybridized planar carbon atoms. GDY and GDY‐based materials exhibit unique physical and chemical properties, such as well‐defined molecular skeleton, π‐conjugated structure, high specific surface area with porosity, and good electrical conductivity, which have aroused widespread interest in various disciplines. As an emerging field, in this work, we summarize important synthesis strategies of GDY and GDY‐based materials including classical synthesis, chemical vapor deposition, explosion approach, and interface‐assisted methods. We also elaborate the recent modifications to regulate the structure and properties of GDY from the viewpoint of metal doping, non‐metal doping, and heterostructure construction. Meanwhile, recent achievements and progress in the development of energy and environmental applications in photocatalysis are highlighted. Lastly, the challenges and potential developments of GDY in the catalytic research are given at the end of this article.

Abstract Metal nanoclusters (NCs) are ultrasmall molecular aggregates consisting of dozens to hundreds of metal atoms consolidated by organic ligands, which represent an emerging area of nanoscience. Amide a myriad of metal NCs, copper NCs (CuNCs) comprise a low‐cost, high‐value subclass that has attracted great attention. The variable copper cores and diversity of protecting ligands have rendered CuNCs interesting molecular aggregates featuring structural and compositional versatility, hence showing distinctive properties and potential applications. In the present review, we have summarized the progress on atomically precise CuNCs that exhibit a range of appealing properties and applications in different fields. This review is expected to provide not only an overview of the current development on atomically precise CuNCs, but also possible directions for the future design of novel CuNCs for fundamental studies and practical applications.

Conjugated polymers are commonly used as charge conducting systems in photocatalysts, but the use of nonconjugated polymers is less well understood. Here CdS photocatalysts are coated by non-conjugated polyelectrolyte layers, and the influence of the polymer on charge transfer over CdS is explored.

Abstract Indium phosphide (InP) based quantum dots (QDs) have been known as an ideal alternative to heavy metals including QDs light emitters, such as cadmium selenium (CdSe) QDs, and show great promise in the next‐generation solid‐state lighting and displays. However, the electroluminescence performance of green InP QDs is still inferior to their red counterparts, due to the higher density of surface defects and the wider particle size distribution. Here, a quasi‐shell‐growth strategy for the growth of highly luminescent green InP/ZnSe/ZnS QDs is reported, in which the zinc and selenium monomers are added at the initial nucleation of InP stage to adsorb on the surface of InP cores that create a quasi‐ZnSe shell rather than a bulk ZnSe shell. The quasi‐ZnSe shell reduces the surface defects of InP core by passivating In‐terminated vacancies, and suppresses the Ostwald ripening of InP core at high temperatures, leading to a photoluminescence quantum yield of 91% with a narrow emission linewidth of 36 nm for the synthesized InP/ZnSe/ZnS QDs. Consequently, the light‐emitting diodes based on the green QDs realize a maximum luminance of 15606 cd m−2, a peak external quantum efficiency of 10.6%, and a long half lifetime of > 5000 h.

Abstract A new strategy is developed in which cadmium‐doped zinc sulfide (CdZnS) is used as the outermost shell to synthesize red, green, and blue (RGB) quantum dots (QDs) with the core/shell structures of CdZnSe/ZnSe/ZnS/CdZnS, CdZnSe/ZnSe/ZnSeS/CdZnS, and CdZnSe/ZnSeS/ZnS/CdZnS, respectively. Firstly, the inner ZnS and ZnSe shells confine the excitons inside the cores of QDs and provide a better lattice matching with respect to the outermost shell, which ensures high photoluminescence quantum yields of QDs. Secondly, the CdZnS shell affords its QDs with shallow valence bands (VBs). Therefore, the CdZnS shell could be used as a springboard, which decreases the energy barrier for hole injection from polymers to QDs to be below 1.0 eV. It makes the holes to be easily injected into the QD EMLs and enables a balanced recombination of charge carriers in quantum dot light‐emitting diodes (QLEDs). Thirdly, the RGB QLEDs made by these new QDs exhibit peak external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of 20.2%, 19.2%, and 8.4%, respectively. In addition, the QLEDs exhibit unexpected luminance values at low applied voltages and therefore high power efficiencies. From these results, it is evident that CdZnS could act as an excellent shell and hole injection springboard to afford high performance QLEDs.

Summary: Achieving the high external quantum efficiency (EQE) of near-infrared (NIR) emission in iridium(III) complexes still remains a challenge owing to their unsteady excited states which easily decay to the ground states through the nonradiative pathways. Herein, three Ir(III) phosphors in which the cyclometalated ligand 1-phenylisoquinoline-4-carbonitrile (piq-CN) is functionalized with the cyano, tert-butyl, and dimethyl groups are developed (CN-CNIr, Bu-CNIr, and DM-CNIr, respectively). Three simple synthetic steps can afford this class of deep red to NIR Ir(III) emitters. The organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on Bu-CNIr and DM-CNIr attain the maximum EQEs of 7.1% and 7.2% with the emission peaks at 695 and 714 nm, respectively. This strategy using substituted piq-CN derivatives as the cyclometalated ligands can offer an effective approach to promote the radiative rate of NIR-emitting Ir(III) materials. An insight into how the electron-withdrawing and electron-donating substituents on ligands influence the optoelectronic properties of their Ir(III) complexes is also provided.

Abstract Metal‐organic compounds, including molecular complexes and coordination polymers, have attracted much attention as electrode materials in supercapacitors owing to their large surface area, high porosity, tailorable pore size, controllable structure, good electrochemical reversibility, and abundant active sites. Among the variety of metal‐organic compounds exhibiting desired supercapacitor performances (high specific capacitance, long cycling life, high energy density, and power density), those with metals in the first transition metal series are the most studied due to their rich covalent states, light atom weight, environmental‐friendliness, non‐toxicity, and low cost. In this review, the recent reports on the metal‐organic compounds of the first transition metal series as electrode materials in supercapacitors are summarized and their electrode and device performances are discussed in terms of different metal elements and typical multidentate ligands. Moreover, the current challenges, design strategies, future opportunities and further research directions are also highlighted for metal‐organic compounds in the field of supercapacitors.

Trialkyl and triaryl phosphines are important classes of ligands in the field of catalysis and materials research. The wide usability of these low-valent phosphines has led to the design and development of new synthesis routes for a variety of phosphines. In the present work, we report the synthesis and characterization of some mixed arylalkyl tertiary phosphines via the Grignard approach. A new asymmetric phosphine is characterized extensively by multi-spectroscopic techniques. IR and UV–Vis spectra of some selected compounds are also compared and discussed. Density functional theory (DFT)-calculated results support the formation of the new compounds.

Abstract A metal‐complex‐modified graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C3N4) bulk heterostructure is presented here as a promising alternative to high‐cost noble metals as artificial photocatalysts. Theoretical and experimental studies of the spectral and physicochemical properties of three structurally similar molecules Fo–D, Pt–D, and Pt–P confirm that the Pt(II) acetylide group effectively expands the electron delocalization and adjusts the molecular orbital levels to form a relatively narrow bandgap. Using these molecules, the donor–acceptor assemblies Fo–D@CN, Pt–D@CN, and Pt–P@CN are formed with g‐C3N4. Among these assemblies, the Pt(II) acetylide‐based composite materials Pt–D@CN and Pt–P@CN with bulk heterojunction morphologies and extremely low Pt weight ratios of 0.19% and 0.24%, respectively, exhibit the fastest charge transfer and best light‐harvesting efficiencies. Among the tested assemblies, 10 mg Pt–P@CN without any Pt metal additives exhibits a significantly improved photocatalytic H2 generation rate of 1.38 µmol h−1 under simulated sunlight irradiation (AM1.5G, filter), which is sixfold higher than that of the pristine g‐C3N4.

We prove that any simple planar travelling wave solution to the membrane equation in spatial dimension $d\geqslant 3$ with bounded spatial extent is globally nonlinearly stable under sufficiently small compactly supported perturbations, where the smallness depends on the size of the support of the perturbation as well as on the initial travelling wave profile. The main novelty of the argument is the lack of higher order peeling in our vector-field-based method. In particular, the higher order energies (in fact, all energies at order $2$ or higher) are allowed to grow polynomially (but in a controlled way) in time. This is in contrast with classical global stability arguments, where only the ‘top’ order energies used in the bootstrap argument exhibit growth, and reflects the fact that the background travelling wave solution has ‘infinite energy’ and the coefficients of the perturbation equation are not asymptotically Lorentz invariant. Nonetheless, we can prove that the perturbation converges to zero in $C^{2}$ by carefully analysing the nonlinear interactions and exposing a certain ‘vestigial’ null structure in the equations.

Summary: The design of blue fluorescent materials combining both deep-blue emission (CIEy

Summary: A high-energy-level blue phosphor FIr-p-OC8 has been developed for solution-processed white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) with comparable fluorescent tube efficiency. Benefiting from the electron-donating nature of the introduced alkoxy, FIr-p-OC8 shows not only efficient blue light but also elevated highest occupied molecular orbital/lowest unoccupied molecular orbital levels to well match the dendritic host H2. Consequently, the hole scattering between FIr-p-OC8 and H2 can be prevented to favor the direct exciton formation on the blue phosphor, leading to reduced driving voltage and thus improved power efficiency. By exploiting this approach, a maximum power efficiency of 68.5 lm W−1 is achieved for FIr-p-OC8-based white devices, slightly declining to 47.0 lm W−1 at a practical luminance of 1,000 cd m−2. This efficiency can be further raised to 96.3 lm W−1 @ 1,000 cd m−2 when a half-sphere is applied to increase light out-coupling. We believe that our results can compete with commercial fluorescent tubes, representing an important progress in solution-processed WOLEDs. : Organometallic Chemistry; Inorganic Materials; Optoelectronics Subject Areas: Organometallic Chemistry, Inorganic Materials, Optoelectronics

Square planar organoplatinum(II) complexes have garnered immense interest in the area of materials research. The combination of the Pt(II) fragment with mono-, bi- tri- and tetradentate organic ligands gives rise to a large variety of complexes with intriguing properties, especially cyclometalated Pt(II) complexes in which ligands are connected through covalent bonds demonstrate higher stability, excellent photoluminescence properties, and diverse applications. The properties and applications of the Pt(II)-based materials can be smartly fine-tuned via a judicious selection of the cyclometalating as well as ancillary ligands. In this review, attempts have been made to provide a brief review of the recent developments of neutral Pt(II) organometallic complexes bearing bidentate cyclometalating ligands and β-diketonate ancillary ligands, i.e., (C^N)Pt(O^O) and (C^C)Pt(O^O) derivatives. Both small (monomeric, dimeric) and large (polymeric) materials have been considered. We critically assessed the role of functionalities (ligands) on photophysical properties and their impact on applications.

Although the organic and the conventional inorganic thermoelectric (TE) materials have been extensively developed in recent years, the number of cases involving conducting metallopolymers is still quite limited. In view of the versatile coordination capability of the terpyridine fraction and the electron-rich nature of the 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene moiety, a bis-terpyridine-featured ligand was designed, and a series of metallopolymers were then synthesized. Upon the addition of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT), the TE properties of the resulting metallopolymer-SWCNT composite films were investigated. It was found that metal centres played an important role in affecting the morphology of the thin films, which was a key factor that determined the TE performances of the composites. Additionally, the energy levels of the metallopolymers were feasibly tuned by selecting different metal centres. With the combined effects of a uniform and condensed surface and an optimized band structure, the highest power factor was achieved by the Cu(II)-containing metallopolymer-SWCNT composite at the doping ratio of 75%, which reached 38.3 μW·m−1·K−2.