Feng Huo

Lanthanide-based nanomaterials have attracted increasing attention as photothermal agents for cancer therapy. However, achieving high photothermal conversion efficiency while maintaining good biocompatibility remains a significant challenge. In this work, lanthanide coordination nanocrystals with a silver ragwort-like architecture were constructed through the coordination of La[Formula: see text] ions with an amino ligand, 1,5-diaminonaphthalene, forming a La–amine coordination platform (LN5). Through crystal phase modulation via ultrasonic treatment and heterometal co-doping with Eu[Formula: see text] and Gd[Formula: see text] ions, two types of coordination nanocrystals, LN5(I) and LN5Eu[Formula: see text]Gd[Formula: see text], were successfully engineered with controlled particle sizes of approximately 15[Formula: see text]±[Formula: see text]5[Formula: see text]nm and 20[Formula: see text]±[Formula: see text]5[Formula: see text]nm, respectively. The heterometal doping strategy not only regulated the crystallographic evolution of the coordination framework but also altered the energy dissipation pathways, leading to distinct optical and photothermal properties. LN5(I) exhibited yellow fluorescence emission centered at approximately 569[Formula: see text]nm, whereas LN5Eu[Formula: see text]Gd[Formula: see text] displayed a purple emission band within the range of 350–450[Formula: see text]nm, enabling potential dual-modal imaging capabilities. Importantly, both coordination nanocrystals demonstrated remarkable photothermal conversion efficiencies under 808[Formula: see text]nm near-infrared (NIR) irradiation, reaching 63.9% for LN5 and 67.1% for LN5Eu[Formula: see text]Gd[Formula: see text]. In vitro photothermal experiments revealed that the temperature of the nanocrystal dispersion increased to above 60[Formula: see text]C within 10[Formula: see text]min of NIR irradiation. In vivo thermal imaging further confirmed that the tumor-site temperature rapidly exceeded 50[Formula: see text]C under the same irradiation conditions, leading to effective thermal ablation of tumor tissues. Comprehensive biosafety assessments indicated low cytotoxicity and minimal immune interference. In vivo antitumor studies demonstrated significant tumor growth suppression, particularly in the LN5Eu[Formula: see text]Gd[Formula: see text] combined with laser irradiation group. Overall, this work establishes amino-ligand-coordinated lanthanide nanocrystals as promising photothermal theranostic platforms, integrating efficient photothermal therapy with fluorescence imaging capabilities for potential applications in cancer nanomedicine.

Herein, 2-mercapto-5-benzimidazolesulfonate acid sodium salt dihydrate (MBZS)-protected gold-silver bimetallic nanoclusters, named MBZS-AuAg NCs, were synthesized. Interestingly, we found that MBZS-AuAg NCs solutions can exhibit different fluorescence color changes under sulfide stimulation. A series of modern analytical testing techniques were used to explore the interaction mechanism between MBZS-AuAg NCs and sulfide. Sulfide ions can not only cause MBZS-AuAg NCs to exhibit rich fluorescence color changes similar to those of a chameleon but also have four linear relationships between the response intensity and sulfide concentration. A wide-range sulfide fluorescence sensing platform was constructed based on four linear segments with different fluorescence color responses. This sensing platform can be directly used for the determination of S^2- with a detection limit as low as 11 nM. The portable test paper based on MBZS-AuAg NCs can realize the visual and rapid detection of gaseous hydrogen sulfide with a detection limit of 100 ppb (v/v). The wide detection range of the proposed method not only allows it to be used as an alternative method for sulfide detection in environmental samples but also has potential applications in the rapid detection and early warning of hydrogen sulfide gas in industrial and mining scenarios.

The misuse of organic pollutants such as nitrofuran antibiotics (NFAs) and 2,6-dichloro-4-nitroaniline (DCN) has become a hot topic of global concern, and developing rapid, efficient, and accurate techniques for detecting NFAs and pesticides in water is a major challenge. Here, we designed a novel lead-based anion 2D metal-organic framework (MOF){[(CH₃)₂NH₂]₂[Pb(TCBPE)(H₂O)₂]}_n (F3) with interlocking structures, in which TCBPE stands for 1,1,2,2-tetra(4-carboxylbiphenyl)ethylene. Powder X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis revealed that F3 has excellent chemical and solvent stability. It is worth noting that F3 has a grinding discoloration effect. The solvent-protected grinding approach achieved F3B with a high quantum yield (QY = 73.77%) and blue fluorescence, while the direct grinding method produced F3Y with a high quantum yield (QY = 37.27%) and yellow-green fluorescence. Importantly, F3B can detect NFAs in water rapidly and sensitively while remaining unaffected by other antibiotics. F3Y can identify DCN in water quickly and selectively while remaining unchanged by other pesticides. F3B demonstrated high selectivity and rapid response to NFAs at a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 0.26 μM, while F3Y indicated high selectivity and responded quickly to DCN in water at an LOD as low as 0.14 μM. The method was successfully applied to detect NFAs in actual water samples of the fish tanks and ponds as well as the pesticide DCN in soil samples. The recovery rates were 97.0-105.15% and 102.2-106.48%, and the relative standard deviations were 0.63-1.45% and 0.29-1.69%, respectively. In addition, F3B and F3Y can be made into fluorescent test papers for the visual detection of NFAs and DCN, respectively. Combined with experiments and density functional theory calculations, the mechanism of fluorescence quenching of MOFs by target analytes was also revealed.

The development of efficient electrochemical seawater splitting catalysts for large-scale hydrogen production is of great importance. In this work, we report an amorphous Co-Mo-B film on Ni foam (Co-Mo-B/NF) via a facile one-step electrodeposition process. Such amorphous Co-Mo-B/NF possesses superior activity with a small overpotential of 199 mV at 100 mA cm⁻² for a hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline seawater. Notably, Co-Mo-B/NF also maintains excellent stability for at least 24 h under alkaline seawater electrolysis.

The incorporation of the cyanato‐chalcogen group (OCN, SCN, and SeCN) has piqued the interest of many researchers in the field of modern organic synthetic chemistry. Methodologies for selenocyanation are far less advanced than those for OCN and SCN chemistry due to the scarcity of SeCN transfer reagents and synthetic approaches. It has also been discovered that the selenocyanate precursor (SeCN) performs significantly better than the thiocyanate (SCN) precursor in terms of pharmacological properties of organic scaffolds. Recent years, new reagents (nucleophilic, electrophilic, radical) and techniques were introduced that allowed the creation of the selenocyanato group uncomplicatedly under gentle reaction conditions, particularly in transition metal catalysis and photo‐/electro‐chemically influenced reactions, which were seemingly unimaginable. In this review, we have categorized a variety of techniques using various types of selenocyanate regents and their applications in the last decades, focusing on multiple catalysts for the preparation of organic selenocyanates and their derivatives.

Techniques utilizing photo- and electrochemically induced reactions have been developed to accelerate organic processes. These techniques use light or electrical energy (electron transfer) as a direct energy source without using an initiator or reagent. Thiocyanates are found in biologically active and pharmacological compounds and can be converted into various functional groups. It is one of the most prominent organic scaffolds. Significant development in photo- and electro-chemically induced thiocyanation procedures has been made in recent years for the conception of carbon-sulfur bonds and synthesis of pharmaceutically important molecules. This review discusses different photo- and electro-chemically driven thiocyanation C(sp³)–SCN, C(sp²)–SCN, and C(sp)–SCN bond conception processes that may be useful to green organothiocyanate synthesis. We focus on the synthetic and mechanistic characteristics of organic photo- and electrochemically accelerated C–SCN bond formation thiocyanation reactions to highlight major advances in this novel green and sustainable research field.