Anodic alumina oxide (AAO), a self-ordered hexagonal array, has various applications in nanofabrication such as the fabrication of nanotemplates and other nanostructures. In order to obtain highly ordered porous alumina membranes, a two-step anodization or prepatterning of aluminum are mainly conducted with straight electric field. Electric field is the main driving force for pore growth during anodization. However, impurities in aluminum can disturb the direction of the electric field. To confirm this, we anodized two different aluminum foil samples with high purity (99.999%) and relatively low purity (99.8%), and compared the differences in the surface morphologies of the respective aluminum oxide membranes produced in different electric fields. Branched pores observed in porous alumina surface which was anodized in low-purity aluminum and the size; dimensions of the pores were found to be usually smaller than those obtained from high-purity aluminum. Moreover, anodization at high voltage proceeds to a significant level of conversion because of the high speed of the directional electric field. Consequently, anodic alumina membrane of a specific morphology, i.e., meshed pore, was produced.

We fabricated organic photovoltaic (OPV) based on ZnO ripple structure on indium tin oxide as electron-collecting layers and PTB7-F20 as donor polymer. In addition, atomic layer deposition (ALD) was used for preparing additional ZnO layers on rippled ZnO. Addition of 2 nm-thick ALD-ZnO resulted in enhanced initial OPV performance and stability. Based on photoluminescence results, we suggest that ALD-ZnO layers reduced number of surface defect sites on ZnO, which can act as electron-hole recombination center of OPV, and increased resistance of ZnO towards surface defect formation.

Size controlled, $LiNi_{0.8}Co_{0.15}Al_{0.05}O_2$ cathode powders were prepared by co-precipitation method followed by heat treatment at temperatures between 750 and $850^{\circ}C$. The synthesized samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical performance. The synthesized $LiNi_{0.8}Co_{0.15}Al_{0.05}O_2$ after calcined at $750^{\circ}C$ has a good electrochemical performance with an initial discharge capacity of $190mAhg^{-1}$ and good capacity retention of 100% after 30 cycles at 0.1C ($17mAg^{-1}$). The capacity retention of $LiNi_{0.8}Co_{0.15}Al_{0.05}O_2$ after calcined at $750^{\circ}C$ is better than that at 800 and $850^{\circ}C$ without capacity loss at various high C rates. This is ascribed to the minimized cation disorder, a higher conductivity, and higher lithium ion diffusion coefficient ($D_{Li}$) observed in this material. In the differential scanning calorimetry DSC profile of the charged sample, the generation of heat by exothermic reaction was decreased by calcined at high temperature, and this decrease is especially at $850^{\circ}C$. This behavior implies that the high temperature calcinations of $LiNi_{0.8}Co_{0.15}Al_{0.05}O_2$ prevent phase transitions with the release of oxygen.

For real-time monitoring of colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous media, a light sheet type dark-field microscopy system combined with a microfluidic concentration gradient generator (${\mu}FCGG$-LSDFM) was developed. Various concentrations of colloidal Au NPs were simultaneously generated with the iFCGG and characterized with the LSDFM setup. The number concentrations and hydrodynamic size distributions were measured via particle counting and tracking analysis (PCA and PTA, respectively) approaches. For the 30 nm Au NPs used in this study, the lower detection limit of the LSDFM setup was 3.6 ng/mL, which is about 400 times better than that of optical density measurements under the same ${\mu}FCGG$ system. Additionally, the hydrodynamic diameter distribution of Au NPs was estimated as $39.7{\pm}12.2nm$ with the PTA approach, which agrees well with DLS measurement as well as the manufacturer's specification. We propose this ${\mu}FCGG$-LSDFM setup with features of automatic generation of NP concentration gradient and real-time monitoring of their physicochemical characteristics (e.g., number concentration, and hydrodynamic size distribution) as an important component of future high-throughput screening or high-content analysis platforms of nanotoxicity.

A novel three-phase hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction was developed for the determination of malachite green (MG) in environmental waters, which selected [BMIM][$PF_6$] mixed with 1% trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) as supported phase. Several parameters (accepter phase pH, sample pH, supported phase membrane, volume of accepter phase, salinity, extraction time) that could affect extraction performance were investigated. Under the optimal extraction conditions, the established approach showed excellent characters as: high enrichment factor (212), wide linear range ($0.20-100{\mu}gL^{-1}$), low detection limit ($0.01{\mu}gL^{-1}$), good reproducibility (RSD, 8.9%, n=5) and satisfactory recovery (84.0-106.2%). The method was applied to detect MG at Yangtze River and pond waters in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, and 4 sites among 15 sampling sites were found MG with the concentration of $1.73-11.06{\mu}gL^{-1}$, which confirmed that the proposed environmentally friendly method was simple and effective for monitoring MG in aquatic system.

Micro-/macroporous carbons (MMCs) were prepared using a hollow mesoporous silica capsule (HMSC) as a sacrificial hard template. The carbonization process after the infiltration of furfuryl alcohol into the template-free HMSC material afforded MMC materials in high yield. The hard template HMSC could be removed by HF etching without deteriorating the structure of MMC. The MMC materials were fully characterized by SEM, TEM, PXRD, XPS, and Raman spectroscopy. The replication processes were so successful that MMCs exhibited a hollow capsular structure with multimodal microporosity. Detailed textural properties of MMC materials were investigated by volumetric $N_2$ adsorption-desorption analysis at 77 K. To explore the gas sorption abilities of MMCs for other gases, $H_2$ and $CO_2$ sorption analyses were also performed at various temperatures. The multimodal MMC materials were found to be good sorbents for both $H_2$ and $CO_2$ at low pressure.

Biotin-S-S-Phosphine was designed and synthesized as a potential tool for a proteomic study of O-GlcNAcmodified proteins. This reagent features a disulfide linker between a triarylphosphine moiety, which allows selective conjugation to azide-containing proteins, and a biotin moiety that can allow easy isolation through its strong affinity toward avidin-coated solid beads. The disulfide linkage within this reagent can allow the easy release of the bound molecules of interest, which is difficult to achieve when a biotin:avidin pair is used alone, by reducing the disulfide bond of the reagent with DTT. Preliminary in vitro biological assays with azidelabeled and unlabeled cell lysates and a pure protein Nup62 showed that the Biotin-S-S-Phosphine reagent is highly reactive toward the free thiol groups of proteins. When a molecular tool with a disulfide linker is applied to the enrichment of the molecules of interest from other species, it is important to block the free-thiols of the sample using exhaustive alkylation prior to the Staudinger ligation reactions to restore the bioorthogonal nature of this reaction.

New organic-inorganic composite of 2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone (BP-1) encapsulation into dodecylbenzenesulfonate (DBS) modified layered double hydroxide (LDH) was successfully prepared. The surface, structural, thermal and absorption properties of the BP-1/DBS-LDH nanohybrid was characterized by BET analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and diffuse reflectance UV-Vis absorbance spectra (DRUV-vis). The interlayer configuration of composite and the adsorption mechanism of BP-1 on MgAl-DBS-LDH were discussed. It was suspected that DBS anions located in the form of monolayer arrangement with a $75^{\circ}$ anti parallel angle between dodecylbenzenesulfonate chain axis. The diffuse reflectance UV-Vis absorbance results revealed that the UV absorbing wavelength of BP-1/DBS-LDH evidently extends to about 400 nm, which shows that the BP-1/DBS-LDH has the potential application as a UV absorber.

Size- and shape-controlled monodisperse wurtzite structured CdS nanorods have been successfully synthesized using a facile solution-based colloidal method. Depending on the control of injection/growth temperatures and the variation of Cd-to-S molar ratios, the morphology of the CdS nanocrystals (NCs) can be adjusted into bullet-like, rod-like, and dot-like shapes. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transition electron microscopy (TEM), and absorption spectroscopy were used to characterize the structure, morphology, and optical properties of as-synthesized CdS NCs. It was found that uniform CdS nanorods could be successfully synthesized when the injection and growth temperatures were very high (> $360^{\circ}C$). The aspect ratios of different shaped (bullet-like or rod-like) CdS NCs could be controlled by simply adjusting the molar ratios between Cd and S.

Metal-containing carbon nanocomposites have shown significance promise in the area of energy storage, heterogeneous catalysis and material science because of their morphology and combined properties. Phosphorus-doped carbon nanocomposites with gold nanoparticles were developed by applying a simple impregnation method and metal deposition technique. Gold-phosphorus supported carbon nanocomposites with two sized (25 and 170 nm) were prepared from economical petroleum pitch residue as the carbon source using an advanced silica template method. These nanocomposites will lead to the novel applications in the field of material science with the combined properties of gold, phosphorus and carbon. The newly prepared gold phosphorus supported carbon nanocomposites were fully characterized using a range of different physico-chemical techniques.

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) copolymers with different methyl acrylate (MA) contents were synthesized via solution polymerization and used as precursors for high-performance PAN ultrafine fibrids. The chemical structures of the copolymers were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and $^{13}C$ nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Their particle sizes and aspect ratios increased with increasing viscosity, and the degree of crystallinity increased with decreasing concentration of copolymer solution. In contrast, their peak temperature and heat of exotherm increased with decreasing concentration of the copolymer solution. The aromatization indices (AIs) of the fibrids increased with increasing heat-treatment time; however, the AIs decreased when the heat-treatment temperature was higher than the onset temperature of the copolymers. On the other hand, the crystal sizes of the fibrids decreased with increasing concentration of the copolymer solution when the MA content was held constant.

Phenyltrimethoxysilane (PTMS) was anchored onto the sensitized $TiO_2$ nanoparticles. This insulating molecular layer effectively inhibited the charge recombination at the interface of $TiO_2$/electrolyte in the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) without sacrificing the dye-loading capacity of the nanocrystalline $TiO_2$. DSCs using PTMS-modified $TiO_2$ exhibited a short-circuit current ($J_{SC}$) of $15.9mA/cm^2$, an open-circuit voltage ($V_{OC}$) of 789 mV, and a fill factor (FF) of 68.2%, yielding an overall conversion efficiency (${\eta}$) of 8.55% under $100mW/cm^2$ illumination. The resulting cell efficiency was improved by ~10% as compared with the reference cell.

The pro-apoptotic BCL-2 family protein BID activates BAK and/or BAX, which form oligomeric pores in the mitochondrial outer membrane. This results in the release of cytochrome c into the cytoplasm, initiating the apoptotic cascade. Here, we utilized liposomes encapsulating sulfo-rhodamine at a controlled temperature to improve upon a previously reported assay system with enhanced sensitivity and specificity for measuring membrane permeabilization by BID-dependent BAK activation. BAK activation was inhibited by BCL-$X_L$ protein but not by a mutant protein with impaired anti-apoptotic activity. With the assay system, we screened a chemical library and identified several compounds including trifluoperazine, a mitochondrial apoptosis-induced channel blocker. It inhibited BAK activation by direct binding to BAK and blocking the oligomerization of BAK.

Amyloidogenic proteins often exhibit fibrillar polymorphism through alternative assembly processes, which has been considered to have possible pathological implications. Here, firefly luciferase (LUC) is shown to induce amyloid polymorphism of ${\alpha}$-synuclein, the major constituent of Lewy bodies found in Parkinson's disease, by acting as a novel template. The drastically accelerated fibrillation kinetics of ${\alpha}$-synuclein with LUC required the nucleation center produced by the active enzyme of LUC. Fluorescent dye binding, transmission electron microscopy, and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy revealed the morphologically distinctive amyloid fibrils of ${\alpha}$-synuclein prepared in the absence or presence of LUC. As the altered morphological characteristics became inherent to the mature fibrils, those properties were inherited to next-generations via nucleation-dependent fibrillation process. The seed control, therefore, would be an effective means to modify amyloid fibrils with different biochemical characteristics. In addition, the LUC-directed amyloid fibrillar polymorphism also suggests that other cellular biomolecules including enzymes in general are able to diversify amyloid fibrils, which could be self-propagated with diversified biological activities, if any, inside cells.

Zinc peroxide nanoparticles ($ZnO_2$ NPs) were prepared by reacting zinc(II) isobutylcarbamate, as an organometallic precursor, with hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) at $60^{\circ}C$. Polyethylene glycol and polyvinylpyrrolidone were used as stabilizers, which suppressed aggregation of the $ZnO_2$ NPs. Conditions such as concentrations of $H_2O_2$ and the stabilizer were systemically controlled to determine their effect on the formation of nano-sized $ZnO_2$ NPs. The formation of stable $ZnO_2$ NPs was confirmed by UV-vis, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction. The TEM images revealed that polyvinylpyrrolidone-stabilized $ZnO_2$ NPs (diameter, 10-30 nm) were well dispersed in the organic solvent. Quite pure ZnO NPs were obtained from the peroxide powder by simple heat treatment of $ZnO_2$. The transition temperature of $170^{\circ}C$ was determined by differential scanning calorimetry.

The ${\alpha}$-Effect; Ground state; Transition state; Intramolecular H-bonding; Yukawa-Tsuno plot; Second-order rate constants for aminolysis of 2-chloro-4-nitrophenyl X-substituted-benzoates (1a-h) have been measured spectrophotometrically in 80 mol % $H_2O/20$ mol % DMSO at $25.0^{\circ}C$. The Br${\emptyset}$nsted-type plot for the reactions of 2-chloro-4-nitrophenyl benzoate (1d) with a series of primary amines curves downward, which has been taken as evidence for a stepwise mechanism with a change in rate-determining step (RDS). The Hammett plots for the reactions of 1a-h with hydrazine and glycylglycine are nonlinear while the Yukawa-Tsuno plots exhibit excellent linearity with ${\rho}_X=1.22-1.35$ and ${\gamma}= 0.57-0.59$, indicating that the nonlinear Hammett plots are not due to a change in RDS but are caused by stabilization of substrates possessing an electron-donating group (EDG) through resonance interactions between the EDG and C=O bond of the substrates. The ${\alpha}$-effect exhibited by hydrazine increases as the substituent X changes from a strong EDG to a strong electron-withdrawing group (EWG). It has been concluded that destabilization of hydrazine through the electronic repulsion between the adjacent nonbonding electrons is not solely responsible for the substituent dependent ${\alpha}$-effect but stabilization of the transition state is also a plausible origin of the ${\alpha}$-effect.

$AgI/AgCl/H_2WO_4$ double heterojunctions photocatalyst was prepared via deposition-precipitation followed by ion exchange method. The structure, crystallinity, morphology, chemical content and other physical-chemical properties of the samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectra (EDX), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and photoluminescence (PL). The photocatalytic activity of the $AgI/AgCl/H_2WO_4$ was evaluated by degrading methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation (${\lambda}$ > 400 nm). The double heterojunctions photocatalyst displayed more efficient photocatalytic activity than pure AgI, AgCl, $H_2WO_4$ and AgCl/$H_2WO_4$. Based on the reactive species and energy band structure, the enhanced photocatalytic activity mechanism of $AgI/AgCl/H_2WO_4$ was discussed in detail. The improved photocatalytic performance of $AgI/AgCl/H_2WO_4$ double heterojunctions could be ascribed to the enhanced interfacial charge transfer and the inhibited recombination of electron-hole pairs, which was in close relation with the $AgI/AgCl/H_2WO_4$ heterojunctions formed between AgI, AgCl and $H_2WO_4$.

A series of seven Ru(II) complexes bearing NHC ligands have been synthesized. The electronic structures of these complexes were analysed by spectroscopic and electrochemical methods and further examined by theoretical calculations. Data show that absorption maxima are dependent on the HOMO level rather than the HOMO-LUMO gaps.

Size-controlled lead sulfide (PbS) quantum dots were synthesized by the typical hot injection method using oleic acid (OA) as the stabilizing agent. Subsequently, the ligand exchange reaction between OA and thioacetic acid (TAA) was employed to obtain TAA-capped PbS quantum dots (PbS-TAA QDs). The condensation reaction of the TAA ligands on the surfaces of the QDs enhanced the conductivity of the PbS-TAA QDs thin films by about 2-4 orders of magnitude, as compared with that of the PbS-OA QDs thin films. The electron transport mechanism of the PbS-TAA QDs thin films was investigated by current-voltage (I-V) measurements at different temperatures in the range of 293 K-473 K. We found that the charge transport was due to sequential tunneling of charge carriers via the QDs, resulting in the thermally activated hopping process of Arrhenius behavior.

In this paper, organic solvent electrolytes were prepared by a mixture of propylene carbonate (PC), dimethyl carbonate (DMC), tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate ($TEABF_4$)s to evaluate the ionic properties of propylene carbonate (PC)/dimethyl carbonate (DMC) mixtures as solvents for a capacitor application, in view of improving the electrochemical performances. The bulk resistance and interfacial resistance of the mixture electrolytes were investigated using an AC impedance method. The morphology of carbon-based electrodes which were contained in different electrolytes was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) method. From the experimental results, by increasing the FEC content, capacitance of electrodes was increased, and the interfacial resistance was decreased. In particular, by a content of 2 vol % FEC in 0.2 M $TEABF_4$ PC/DMC solvent, the electrolyte showed the superior capacitance. However, when FEC content exceeds 2 vol %, the capacitance was decreased and the interfacial resistance was increased.

A kinetic study on aminolysis of 2-chloro-4-nitrophenyl X-substituted-benzoates (2a-k) in 80 mol % $H_2O/_20mol%$ DMSO at $25.0^{\circ}C$ is reported. The Br${\emptyset}$nsted-type plot for the reactions of 2-chloro-4-nitrophenyl benzoate (2g) with a series of cyclic secondary amines curves downward (e.g., ${\beta}_1=0.25$, ${\beta}_2=0.85$ and $pK_a^o=10.3$), which is typical of reactions reported to proceed through a stepwise mechanism with a change in ratedetermining step (RDS). The Hammett plot for the reactions of 2a-k with piperidine consists of two intersecting straight lines, while the corresponding Yukawa-Tsuno plot exhibits an excellent linear correlation with ${\rho}_X=1.15$ and r = 0.59. Thus, it has been concluded that the nonlinear Hammett plot is not due to a change in RDS but is caused by stabilization of substrates through resonance interactions between the electron-donating substituent and the C=O bond. Substrates possessing a substituent at the 2-position of the leaving aryloxide deviate negatively from the curved Br${\emptyset}$nsted-type plot for the reactions of Y-substituted-phenyl benzoates (3a-i), implying that the steric hindrance exerted by the substituent at the 2-position is an important factor which governs the reactivity of Y-substituted-phenyl benzoates.

We immobilized Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase to catalyze transesterification reaction in DMF. This lipase was selected after screening among other commercial lipases. We found that prepared immobilized lipase is particularly useful for preparation of 6-O-acylsucrose with higher conversion rate even in 10 g scale. Several solvents were evaluated for selective transesterification reaction. We noticed that the immobilized lipase retained more than 80 % activity after 5 cycles of 96 h reaction. A general method was also developed to purify the products using simple crystallization and precipitation process. Furthermore, 6-O-vinyladipoylsucrose was subjected to synthesis of the corresponding polymer by radical initiator. The sucrose branched polymer can be used further for evaluation of its biodegradability and other biological applications.

The nucleophilic substitution reactions of Y-aryl methyl (8) and Y-aryl propyl (10) chlorothiophosphates with X-pyridines are studied kinetically in acetonitrile at $35.0^{\circ}C$. The Hammett and Bronsted plots with X in the nucleophiles for both substrates exhibit biphasic concave upwards with a break region between X = 3-Me and H. The obtained values of the cross-interaction constants (${\rho}_{XY}$) are negative with 8 while positive with 10 despite the same free energy correlations with X for both substrates. A stepwise mechanism with a rate-limiting bond formation is proposed with 8, whereas a stepwise mechanism with a rate-limiting leaving group departure from the intermediate is proposed with 10 based on the sign of ${\rho}_{XY}$, negative and positive with 8 and 10, respectively. A frontside nucleophilic attack is proposed with strongly basic pyridines based on the considerably great magnitudes of ${\rho}_X$ and ${\beta}_X$ values while a backside attack is proposed with weakly basic pyridines based on the relatively small magnitudes of ${\rho}_X$ and ${\beta}_X$ for both substrates.

A phenylbenzimidazole derivatized sensor (L) that behaves as a ratiometric fluorescent receptor for $Zn^{2+}$ in water has been described. In HEPES buffer at pH 7.4, sensor L displays a weak fluorescence emission band at 367 nm. Upon addition of $Zn^{2+}$, the emission intensity at 367 nm is decreased, concomitantly, a new emission band centered at 426 nm is developed, thus facilitates a ratiometric $Zn^{2+}$ sensing behavior. Sensor L binds $Zn^{2+}$ through a 1:1 binding stoichiometry with high selectivity over other metal cations. Sensor L displays a linear response to $Zn^{2+}$ concentration from 0 to $6.0{\times}10^{-5}M$, sensor L also exhibits high sensitivity to $Zn^{2+}$ with a detection limit of $3.31{\times}10^{-7}M$.

Indium-doped zinc oxide nanocrystals (IZO NCs), capped with stearic acid (SA) of different sizes, were synthesized using a hot injection method in a noncoordinating solvent 1-octadecene (ODE). The ligand exchange process was employed to modify the surface of IZO NCs by replacing the longer-chain ligand of stearic acid with the shorter-chain ligand of butylamine (BA). It should be noted that the ligand-exchange percentage was observed to be 75%. The change of particle size, morphology, and crystal structures were obtained using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction pattern results. In our study, the 5 nm and 10 nm IZO NCs capped with stearic acid (SA-IZO) were ligand-exchanged with butylamine (BA), and were then spin-coated on a thermal oxide ($SiO_2$) gate insulator to fabricate a thin film transistor (TFT) device. The films were then annealed at various temperatures: $350^{\circ}C$, $400^{\circ}C$, $500^{\circ}C$, and $600^{\circ}C$. All samples showed semiconducting behavior and exhibited n-channel TFT. Curing temperature dependent on mobility was observed. Interestingly, mobility decreases with the increasing size of NCs from 5 to 10 nm. Miller-Abrahams hopping formalism was employed to explain the hopping mechanism insight our IZO NC films. By focusing on the effect of size, different curing temperatures, electron coupling, tunneling rate, and inter-NC separation, we found that the decrease in electron mobility for larger NCs was due to smaller electronic coupling.

A thermoresponsive polymer, poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA), was successfully synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Different amounts of 1,3-propanesultone were used as quaternization agent to transit the PDMAEMA into partially modified poly(zwitterions), resulting in p[DMAEMA-co-3-dimethyl(methacryloyloxyethyl)ammonium propanesulfonate] (PDMAEMA-co-PDMAPS). Molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, and degree of quarternization were determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The transmission spectra of the 1.0 wt % aqueous solutions of the resulting polymers at 650 nm were measured as a function of temperature. Results showed that the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) and the upper critical solution temperature (UCST) could be easily controlled by the different composition of dimethylamino and zwitterion groups. The effect of partial quaternization on thermoresponsive properties was also studied by dynamic light scattering (DLS) with the same aqueous concentration (1.0 wt %) as employed for turbidimetry studies. The LCST and UCST values measured by DLS correlated well with those determined by turbidimetry.

A new donor-accepter-donor-accepter-donor (D-A-D-A-D) type 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole-thiophene-based acceptor unit 2,5-di(4-(5-bromo-4-octylthiophen-2-yl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazol-7-yl)thiophene ($DTBTTBr_2$) was synthesized. Copolymerized with fluorene and indeno[1,2-b]fluorene electron-rich moieties, two alternating narrow band gap (NBG) copolymers PF-DTBTT and PIF-DTBTT were prepared. And two copolymers exhibit broad and strong absorption in the range of 300-700 nm with optical band gap of about 1.75 eV. The highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels vary between -5.43 and -5.52 eV and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels range from -3.64 to -3.77 eV. Potential applications of the copolymers as electron donor material and $PC_{71}BM$ ([6,6]-phenyl-$C_{71}$ butyric acid methyl ester) as electron acceptors were investigated for photovoltaic solar cells (PSCs). Photovoltaic performances based on the blend of PF-DTBTT/$PC_{71}BM$ (w:w; 1:2) and PIF-DTBTT/$PC_{71}BM$ (w:w; 1:2) with devices configuration as ITO/PEDOT: PSS/blend/Ca/Al, show an incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 2.34% and 2.56% with the open circuit voltage ($V_{oc}$) of 0.87 V and 0.90 V, short circuit current density ($J_{sc}$) of $6.02mA/cm^2$ and $6.12mA/cm^2$ under an AM1.5 simulator ($100mA/cm^2$). The photocurrent responses exhibit the onset wavelength extending up to 720 nm. These results indicate that the resulted narrow band gap copolymers are viable electron donor materials for polymer solar cells.

Two donor-acceptor-donor monomers such as 3,5-bis(4-bromophenyl)-1,2,4-oxadiazole (BOB) and 3,5-bis(5-bromothiophen-2-yl)-1,2,4-oxadiazole (TOT) incorporating electron transporting and hole blocking 1,2,4-oxadiazloe moiety were copolymerized with light emitting fluorene derivative via Suzuki polycondensation to afford two new polymers, PFBOB and PFTOT, respectively. The optical studies for polymers PFBOB and PFTOT revealed that the band gaps are 3.10 eV and 2.72 eV, respectively, and polymer PFBOB exhibited a deep-blue emission while polymer PFTOT showed blue emission in chloroform and as thin film. The photoluminescence quantum efficiencies (${\Phi}_f$) of polymers PFBOB and PFTOT in chloroform calculated against highly blue emitting 9,10-diphenylanthracene (DPA, ${\Phi}_f=0.90$) were 1.00 and 0.44, respectively.

Hybrids of some natural compounds are promising to obtain new leads with good biological activities for drug discovery. Three quercetin aspirinates were synthesized by esterification of the 3-and 7-hydroxyl groups of quercetin with aspirin. Biological activities of these quercetin aspirinates were initially screened and showed better cytotoxic activities against tumor cell lines HL-60 and HepG2 and less scavenging activity against DPPH than the quercetin respectively.

Pyronaridine tetraphosphate (1) is a well-known antimalarial drug. However, it required a carefully optimized production process for the manufacture of pyronaridine tetraphosphate. Each step of its manufacturing process was reinvestigated. For the cyclization of 4-chloro-2-(6-methoxy-pyridin-3-yl-amino)-benzoic acid 6 to 7,10-dichloro-2-methoxybenzo[b]-1,5-naphthyridine 5, an improved process was developed to eliminated critical process impurity (BIA). By the redesign of the formation of triphosphate salt, the purity as API grade was increased. Thus, a robust manufacturing process with an acceptable process performance has been developed to produce high quality pyronaridine tetraphosphate.

Titanium dioxide nanotube supported ZSM-5 zeolite composite catalyst was fabricated by decorating ZSM-5 zeolite on the hydrothermally synthesized titanium dioxide via hydrothermal process and subsequent annealing. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Nitrogen adsorption-desorption (BET). The surface acidity of the catalyst was measured by means of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrum of pyridine adsorption. And the catalytic activity for ethanol dehydration to ethylene was evaluated in a continuous flow fixed-bed reactor. Attributed to the increase of the effective surface acid sites caused by titanium dioxide nanotube as electron acceptor, titanium dioxide nanotube supported ZSM-5 zeolite composite catalyst exhibits strongly enhanced activity for ethanol dehydration to ethylene.

The quantum mechanical properties of a series of oligo-para-phenylenes (2-11) were characterized using DFT B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) calculations. The global minimum among the various torsional conformers of an oligo-p-phenylene is calculated to be a twist conformation. A less stable planar conformation, in which all the dihedral angles in oligo-p-phenylene are restricted to be planar, has also been calculated. The total electronic energies, normal vibrational modes, Gibbs free energies, and HOMOs and LUMOs of the two different conformations (twisted and planar) of the oligo-p-phenylenes were analyzed. The energy differences between the HOMOs and LUMOs of the substrates are in accord with the maximum absorption peaks of the experimental UV spectra of 2-6. The calculated normal vibrational modes of 2-6 were comparable with their experimental IR spectra.

Styrene-acrylamide co-polymer was immobilized on porous partially sub-$2{\mu}m$ silica monolith particles and inner surface of fused silica capillary ($50{\mu}m$ ID and 28 cm length) to result in ${\mu}LC$ and CEC stationary phases, respectively, for separation of anomeric D-glucose derivatives. Reversed addition-fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerization was incorporated to induce surface polymerization. Acrylamide was employed to incorporate amide-functionality in the stationary phase. The resultant ${\mu}LC$ and CEC stationary phases were able to separate isomers of D-glucose derivatives with high selectivity and efficiency. The mobile phase of 75/25 (v/v) acetonitrile (ACN)/water with 0.1% TFA, was used for HPLC with a packed column (1 mm ID, 300 mm length). The effects of pH and ACN composition on anomeric separation of D-glucose in CEC have been examined. A mobile phase of 85/15 (v/v) ACN/30 mM sodium acetate pH 6.7 was found the optimized mobile phase for CEC. The CEC stationary phase also gave good separation of other saccharides such as maltotriose and Dextran 1500 (MW~1500) with good separation efficiency (number of theoretical plates ~300,000/m).

Relative reactivity of various carbonyl and acid derivatives in MPV-type (Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley) reduction with an DIBAL(F) model has been studied via DFT and MP2 methods. Free energies of initial adduct formation (-Gadd) of DIBAL(F) model and carbonyls are in the order of amide < ester < aldehyde < ketone < acid chloride; in the alan-amide adduct, the developed positive charge at carbonyl carbon is expected to be stabilized by amide resonance, but in the acid chloride adduct it is destabilized by inductive effect of chloride. However the TS barrier energies (${\Delta}G_{TS}$) for the MPV-type hydride reduction of the carbonyl adducts are in the order of aldehyde < ketone < acid chloride << ester < amide; presumably decreasing order of electrophilicity of carbonyl carbon at adducts, which is well correlated with experimental data. It is noted that the relative reactivity of carbonyl derivatives in MPV-type reduction with DIBAL(X) is not governed by the alan-adduct formation energies, but follows the order of electrophilicity of carbonyl carbon of transition states.

The treatment of alkylated nitro derivatives of indazole with 2-(4-chlorophenyl)acetonitrile under basic conditions gave the new 8-chloro-3-alkyl-3H-pyrazolo[4,3-a]acridine-11-carbonitriles via the nucleophilic substitution of hydrogen which proceeds at room temperature with concomitant cyclisation in fairly good yields. The structures of all newly synthesized compounds were confirmed by IR, $^1H$ NMR, $^{13}C$ NMR and mass spectral data. Fluorescence experimental results of all newly synthesized compounds revealed remarkable photoluminescence properties and strong green fluorescence properties. Also, the new compounds exhibited potent antibacterial activity and their antibacterial activity (MIC) against Gram positive (Staphylococcuse aureus methicillin resistant S. aureus and Bacillus subtilis) and negative bacterial (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli) species were determined.

The aim of the present study was to improve dosing of lacosamide, a functionalized amino acid used as an antiepileptic agent, from twice daily to once daily for the convenience of patients. A sustained-release lacosamide tablet was developed and dissolution testing was employed to determine in vitro release behavior using water or buffer solutions at pH 1.2, 4.0, or 6.8. Lacosamide was released for 12 h from the sustainedrelease (SR) tablet, as compared to complete release within 1 h from an immediate-release $Vimpat^{(R)}$ tablet. Each formulation (100 mg) was orally administered to six beagle dogs and six mini-pigs under fasted conditions, and pharmacokinetic parameters such as the area under the concentration time curve ($AUC_t$), the maximum plasma concentration ($C_{max}$), and the time at which this occurred ($T_{max}$) were calculated. These results showed similar values for $AUC_t$, $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$ following oral administration of immediate-release ($Vimpat^{(R)}$) and SR lacosamide tablets.

In this work, synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial activity of series of imidazolines-oxazolines scaffolds 5a-f and 10a-d have been investigated. All the imidazolines-oxazolines derivatives were prepared from acid derivatives 1 and 6a-c, and enantiomerically pure (S)-2-amino-3-methyl-1-butanol in four steps with excellent optical purity. The structures of all newly synthesized compounds have been elucidated by $^1H$, $^{13}C$ NMR, GCMS, and IR spectrometry. Their purity was confirmed using elemental analysis. Some newly synthesized compounds were examined to in-vitro antimicrobial activity. Among the prepared products 10d was found to exhibits the most active against all tested bacteria and fungi with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranged between 21.9 and $42.6{\mu}g/mL$.

Inverted bulk hetero-junction polymer solar cells (iPSC) composed of P3HT/PC61BM blends on the ZnO modified with benzoic acid derivatives-based self-assembled monolayers (SAM) are fabricated. Compared with the device using the pristine ZnO, the devices with ZnO surface modified SAMs derived from benzoic acid such as 4-(diphenylamino)benzoic acid (DPA-BA) and 4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)benzoic acid (Cz-BA) as an electron transporting layer show improved the performances. It is mainly attributed to the favorable interface dipole at the interface between ZnO and the active layer, the eective passivation of the ZnO surface traps, decrease of the work function and facilitating transport of electron from PCBM to ITO electrode. The power conversion eciency (PCE) of iPSCs based on DPA-BA and Cz-BA treated ZnO reaches 2.78 and 2.88%, respectively, while the PCE of the device based on untreated ZnO is 2.49%. The open circuit voltage values ($V_{oc}$) of the devices with bare ZnO and SAM treated ZnO are not much different. Whereas, higher the fill factor (FF) and lower the series resistance ($R_s$) are obtained in the devices with SAMs modification.

We uniformly coated Eu(III)- and Tb(III)-doped yttrium oxide onto the surface of $SiO_2$ spheres and then characterized them by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction crystallography and UV-Visible absorption. 2D and 3D photoluminescence image map profiles were reported for the core-shell type structure. Red emission peaks of Eu(III) were observed between 580 to 730 nm and assigned to $^5D_0{\rightarrow}^7F_J$ (J = 0 - 4) transitions. The green emission peaks of Tb(III) between 450 and 650 nm were attributed to the $^5D_4{\rightarrow}^7F_J$ (J = 6, 5, 4, 3) transitions. For annealed samples, Eu(III) ions were embedded at a $C_2$ symmetry site in $Y_2O_3$, which was accompanied by an increase in luminescence intensity and redness, while Tb(III) was changed to Tb(IV), which resulted in no green emission.

The most stable adsorption structures and their corresponding energies of 4-pyridone, 4-hydroxypyridine, 2-pyridone and 2-hydroxypyridine have been investigated by Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculation and high-resolution photoemission spectroscopy (HRPES). We confirmed that between the two reaction centers of 4- and 2-pyridone, only O atom of carbonyl functional group can act as a Lewis base while both the two reaction centers of 4- and 2-hydroxypyridine (tautomers of 4- and 2-pyridone) can successfully function as a Lewis base. On the other hand, owing to their molecular structures, there is a remarkable difference between the adsorption structures of 4- and 2-hydroxypyridine. Through the analysis of the N 1s and O 1s core level spectra obtained using HRPES, we also could corroborate that two different adducts coexist on the surface at room temperature due to their activation energy investigating the coverage dependent variation of bonding configurations when these molecules are adsorbed on the Ge(100) surface.

A new ${\pi}$-stacked donor-acceptor (D-A) system, [Ru(1-([2,2'-bipyridine]-6-yl-methyl)-3-(2-cyclohexa-2',5'-diene-1,4-dionyl)-1H-imidazole)(2,2':6',2"-terpyridine)]$[PF_6]_2$ (ImQ_T), has been synthesized and characterized. Similar to its precedent, [Ru(6-(2-cyclohexa-2',5'-diene-1,4-dione)-2,2':6',2"-terpyridine)(2,2':6',2"-terpyridine)]$[PF_6]_2$ (TQ_T), this system has a cofacial alignment of terpyridine (tpy) ligand and quinonyl (Q) group, which facilitates an electron transfer through ${\pi}$-stacked manifold. Despite the presence of lowest-energy charge transfer transition from the Ru-based-HOMO-to-Q-based-LUMO (MQCT) predicted by theoretical calculations by using time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT), the experimental steady-state absorption spectrum does not exhibit such a band. The selective excitation to the Ru-based occupied orbitals-to-tpy-based virtual orbital MLCT state was thus possible, from which charge separation (CS) reaction occurred. The photo-induced CS and thermal charge recombination (CR) reactions were probed by using ultrafast visible-pump/mid-IR-probe (TrIR) spectroscopic method. Analysis of decay kinetics of Q and $Q^-$ state CO stretching modes as well as aromatic C=C stretching mode of tpy ligand gave time constants of <1 ps for CS, 1-3 ps for CR, and 10-20 ps for vibrational cooling processes. The electron transfer pathway was revealed to be Ru-tpy-Q rather than Ru-bpy-imidazol-Q.

In this work, the electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI-SE) of carbon nanotube/carbon fiber-reinforced HDPE matrix composites are investigated with various preparation conditions, such as the carbon fiber and carbon nanotube content, the presence of metal additives, as well as mixing speed and time. It was found that the EMI-SE of the composites increased with filler contents and metal additives. These results indicate that the content and length of carbonaceous fillers determine the electric networks in the composites, resulting in the control of the EMI-SE of the composites.

Two classes of morpholino-substitued thioacetate have been successfully synthesized and their electrochemical properties of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Au electrode are measured by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The barrier property of the SAMs-modified surfaces is evaluated by using potassium ferro/ferri cyanide. The results suggest that the arenethioacetate forms higher-quality close-packed blocking monolayers in comparison with alkanethioacetate. Furthermore, it has shown that the barrier properties of these monolayers can be significantly improved by mixed SAMs formation with decanethiol. From our experimental results we find that the electron transfer reaction of $[Fe(CN)_6]^{3/4-}$ redox couple occurs predominantly through the pinholes and defects present in the SAM and both SAMs show a good and fast capacity in recognition for $Ag^+$. The morphological and elementary composition have also been examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS).

Magnetic multi-granule nanoclusters (MGNCs) were investigated as an inexpensive means to effectively remove arsenic from aqueous environment, particularly groundwater sources consumed by humans. Various size MGNCs were examined to determine both their capacity and efficiency for arsenic adsorption for different initial arsenic concentrations. The MGNCs showed highly efficient arsenic adsorption characteristics, thereby meeting the allowable safety limit of $10{\mu}g/L$ (ppb), prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO), and confirming that 0.4 g and 0.6 g of MGNCs were sufficient to remove 0.5 mg/L and 1.0 mg/L of arsenate ($AsO_4{^{3-}}$) from water, respectively. Adsorption isotherm models for the MGNCs were used to estimate the adsorption parameters. They showed similar parameters for both the Langmuir and Sips models, confirming that the adsorption process in this work was active at a region of low arsenic concentration. The actual efficiency of arsenate removal was then tested against 1 L of artificial arsenic-contaminated groundwater with an arsenic concentration of 0.6 mg/L in the presence of competing ions. In this case, only 1.0 g of 100 nm MGNCs was sufficient to reduce the arsenic concentrations to below the WHO permissible safety limit for drinking water, without adjusting the pH or temperature, which is highly advantageous for practical field applications.

The influence of solvent polarity on the absorption spectra of some synthesized azo dye with heterocyclic moieties and ${\beta}$-naphthol (1-3) have been investigated using a UV-Visible spectrophotometer. The spectral characteristics of the azo dyes (1-3) in different solvents at room temperature were analyzed. The solvatochromic empirical variables like ${\pi}^*$, ${\alpha}$, and ${\beta}$ have been used to discuss the solvatochromic behaviour of the dyes and to evaluate their contributions to the solute-solvent interactions. A multi-parameter regression model for quantitative assessment of the solute/solvent interaction and the absorption has been used to explain the solvent effect on azo dyes (1-3).

An efficient and selective method for the synthesis of ethyl 2-amino/aryloxy-3-aryl-4-oxo-5-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-3H-pyrrolo[3,2-d]pyrimidine-7-carboxylate derivatives has been developed. The main process involved the reaction of diethyl 1-phenyl-3-((triphenylphosphoranylidene)amino)-1H-pyrrole-2,4-dicarboxylate and aromatic isocyanates, followed by addition of amines/phenols in the presence of catalytic amount of sodium ethoxide or solid potassium carbonate.