A CuAAC/Ullmann C–C Coupling Tandem Reaction: Copper-Catalyzed Reactions of Organic Azides with <i>N</i>-(2-Iodoaryl)propiolamides or 2-Iodo-<i>N</i>-(prop-2-ynyl)benzenamines

A novel copper-catalyzed tandem reaction was developed by utilizing two famous copper-catalyzed reactions, CuAAC and Ullmann coupling. The trapping of the C–Cu intermediate produced in CuAAC led to further formation of an aryl C–C bond through intramolecular Ullmann C–C coupling

Copper-Catalyzed Desymmetric Intramolecular Ullmann C–N Coupling: An Enantioselective Preparation of Indolines

The first highly enantioselective copper-catalyzed intramolecular Ullmann C–N coupling reaction has been developed. The asymmetric desymmetrization of 1,3-bis­(2-iodoaryl)­propan-2-amines catalyzed by CuI/(R)-BINOL-derived ligands led to the enantioselective formation of indolines in high yields and excellent enantiomeric excesses. This method was also applied to the formation of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines in high yields and excellent enantioselectivity

Synthesis of [1,2,3]Triazolo[1,5-<i>a</i>]quinoxalin-4(5<i>H</i>)-ones through Copper-Catalyzed Tandem Reactions of <i>N</i>-(2-Haloaryl)propiolamides with Sodium Azide

A simple and efficient approach for the synthesis of [1,2,3]triazolo[1,5-<i>a</i>]quinoxalin-4(5<i>H</i>)-ones is described. The methodology is based on a tandem reaction of 1-(2-haloaryl)propiolamides with sodium azide through a [3 + 2] azide–alkyne cycloaddition and intramolecular Ullmann-type C–N coupling process

Copper-Catalyzed Desymmetric Intramolecular Ullmann C–N Coupling: An Enantioselective Preparation of Indolines

The first highly enantioselective copper-catalyzed intramolecular Ullmann C–N coupling reaction has been developed. The asymmetric desymmetrization of 1,3-bis­(2-iodoaryl)­propan-2-amines catalyzed by CuI/(R)-BINOL-derived ligands led to the enantioselective formation of indolines in high yields and excellent enantiomeric excesses. This method was also applied to the formation of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines in high yields and excellent enantioselectivity

Polyethylenimine Insulativity-Dominant Charge-Injection Balance for Highly Efficient Inverted Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diodes

Quantum dot (QD) light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) with an inverted architecture suffer from charge-injection imbalance and severe QD charging, which degrade device performance. Blocking excess electron injection into QDs is crucial for efficient inverted QLEDs. It is observed that polyethylenimine (PEI) has two opposite effects on electron injection: one is blocking electron injection by its intrinsic insulativity and the other one is promoting electron injection by reducing the work function of ZnO/PEI. In this work, the insulating nature of PEI has been dominantly utilized to reduce electron injection and the charge-injection balance is realized when PEI becomes thicker and blocks more excess electrons. Furthermore, PEI contributes to QD charging suppression and results in a smoother surface morphology than that of ZnO nanoparticles, which is beneficial for leakage current reduction and QD deposition. As a result, the optimized QLED with 15 nm PEI shows a 2.5 times improved efficiency compared to that of the QLED without PEI. Also, the QLED possesses the maximum external quantum efficiency and current efficiency of 16.5% and 18.8 cd/A, respectively, accompanied with a low efficiency roll-off of 15% at 1000 cd/m², which is comparable to that of the reported inverted red QLED with the highest efficiency

MoO₃ Nanodots Decorated CdS Nanoribbons for High-Performance, Homojunction Photovoltaic Devices on Flexible Substrates

The p–n homojunctions are essential components for high-efficiency optoelectronic devices. However, the lack of p-type doping in CdS nanostructures hampers the fabrication of efficient photovoltaic (PV) devices from homojunctions. Here we report a facile solution-processed method to achieve efficient p-type doping in CdS nanoribbons (NRs) via a surface charge transfer mechanism by using spin-coated MoO₃ nanodots (NDs). The NDs-decorated CdS NRs exhibited a hole concentration as high as 8.5 × 10¹⁹ cm^–3, with the p-type conductivity tunable in a wide range of 7 orders of magnitude. The surface charge transfer mechanism was characterized in detail by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Kelvin probe force microscopy, and first-principle calculations. CdS NR-homojunction PV devices fabricated on a flexible substrate exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 5.48%, which was significantly better than most of the CdS nanostructure-based heterojunction devices, presumably due to minimal junction defects. Devices made by connecting cells in series or in parallel exhibited enhanced power output, demonstrating the promising potential of the homojunction PV devices for device integration. Given the high efficiency of the surface charge transfer doping and the solution-processing capability of the method, our work opens up unique opportunities for high-performance, low-cost optoelectronic devices based on CdS homojunctions

Crystalline Si/Graphene Quantum Dots Heterojunction Solar Cells

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) possess extraordinary optical and electrical properties and show great potential in energy applications. Here, with combing of crystalline silicon (c-Si) and GQDs, a new type of solar cells based on the c-Si/GQDs heterojunction was developed. Thanks to the unique band structure of GQDs, photogenerated electron–hole pairs could be effectively separated at the junction interface. The GQDs also served as an electron blocking layer to further prevent the carrier recombination at the anode. These characteristics endow the heterojunction solar cells with much enhanced photovoltaic performance compared to the device counterparts without GQDs or with graphene oxide sheets. Eventually, an optimum power conversion efficiency of 6.63% was obtained by tuning the GQDs size and layer thickness. Our results demonstrate the great potential of the c-Si/GQDs heterojunctions in future low-cost and high-efficiency solar cells

Aqueous Manganese-Doped Core/Shell CdTe/ZnS Quantum Dots with Strong Fluorescence and High Relaxivity

Core/shell CdTe/ZnS colloidal quantum dots with varying dopant levels (4.7–9.7%) of paramagnetic manganese ions spatially distributed within the thin ZnS shell are synthesized by the aqueous approach. They exhibit both strong fluorescence originating from the CdTe core (up to 45% room temperature emission quantum yield) and high ionic relaxivity in the range of 10.7–5.4 mM^–1 s^–1, which render them promising dual fluorescent/paramagnetic probes

Additional file 1 of Drug repurposing-based nanoplatform via modulating autophagy to enhance chemo-phototherapy against colorectal cancer

Supplementary Material

1‑Phenyl-4-benzoyl‑1<i>H</i>‑1,2,3-triazoles as Orally Bioavailable Transcriptional Function Suppressors of Estrogen-Related Receptor α

Estrogen-related receptor α is a potential candidate target for therapeutic treatment of breast cancer. We describe the discovery and structure–activity relationship study of a series of 1-phenyl-4-benzoyl-1<i>H</i>-1,2,3-triazoles as novel suppressors of ERRα transcriptional functions. The most promising compound, 2-aminophenyl-(1-(3-isopropylphenyl)-1<i>H</i>-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)­methanone (<b>14n</b>), potently suppressed the transcriptional functions of ERRα with IC₅₀ = 0.021 μM in a cell-based reporter gene assay and also decreased both the mRNA levels and the protein levels of ERRα and the downstream targets. This compound inhibited the proliferation and migration of breast cancer cells with high level of ERRα. Preliminary pharmacokinetic studies suggested that it possessed a good pharmacokinetic profile with an oral bioavailability of 71.8%. The compounds may serve as novel small molecule probes for further validation of ERRα as a molecular target for anticancer drug development