A growing antimicrobial crisis has increased demand for antimicrobial materials. It has become increasingly popular to convert polymeric macromolecules into polymeric carbon particles (PCP) in order to achieve highly biocompatible materials with unique properties as a result of the ability to synthesize nanomaterials of the right size and add value to existing stable polymers. This work presents the tuning of PCP for antibacterial application by combining a biocidal polymer with one-pot solvothermal synthesis. PCP displayed broad-spectrum antibacterial activity via various mechanisms, including inhibition of bacterial cell walls, ROS generation, and antibiotic resistance. Furthermore, these biocidal PCP were observed to show excitation-independent near-white light emission which on the other hand is generally possible due to mixed sizes, doping, and surface effects. As opposed to the parent biocidal polymer, PCP added ROS-mediated bactericidal activity, increased cytocompatibility, and nanofibers with anti-adhesive effects and potential of imaging bacterial cells.

A metal-free one-pot cascade method involving NaBH4 and microwave (MW)-heating efficiently synthesized lactones, including the industrially significant γ-valerolactone at 90% yield. The process directly converts methyl levulinate, succinic acid and a wide range of aliphatic and aromatic ketoacids, in H2O or THF, proceeding via reduction, COOH proton exchange, cyclization, and dehydration, showing promise for biomass conversion.

Producing high fructose syrup (HFS) is essential for both the platform chemicals and food industries. While enzyme-based methods are commonly used, their limited availability has led to growing interest in alkali metal catalysts. However, a complete understanding of these catalysts' mechanism is still needed. Traditional alkaline earth metal oxides suffer stability issues due to metal leaching from solid surfaces. While Ba3MgSi2O8 (BMS) is well-studied for its phosphor nature, its use as a Lewis base catalyst has not been explored. We present a novel method for the synthesis of BMS nanoparticles and demonstrate its application as a Lewis base for glucose to fructose (GLU-FRU) isomerization. In contrast to the conventional high-temperature solid-state grinding (1225 degrees C) of BaCO3, MgO, and SiO2, we synthesized crystalline single-phase BMS nanoparticles from BaCl2 and hydrous magnesium silicates encapsulated in sporopollenin (BMS-ES2), utilizing a coprecipitation method at 400 degrees C. We attained a remarkable 62% glucose conversion rate, resulting in 56% fructose yield with 90.3% selectivity at 90 degrees C in 60 min at 25% glucose loading in H2O, marking the highest reported values among catalysts containing alkaline earth metals in water. Further investigation using NMR and DFT revealed a proton exchange mechanism favoring Ba(OH)(2) due to water dissociation at Ba sites over Mg sites. The catalyst displayed excellent reusability, with a minimal 2-4% yield decrease per cycle over five cycles. These results not only provide insights into sustainable synthesis methods for Ba3MgSi2O8 but also illuminate its catalytic properties for base-catalyzed reactions and the proton exchange mechanism involved in GLU-FRU isomerization. Ba3MgSi2O8 nanoparticles are sustainably synthesized from biomass waste and catalyze gram scale GLU-FRU conversion in water with excellent selectivity and reusability.

Two-in-one: This review discusses a recent development in the area of functional nanomaterials that are capable of detecting and removing fluoride through the use of agglomeration, electrostatic, H-bonding, ion exchange, coordination and π-π stacking interactions. This unique approach provides an effective way to detect and remove fluoride from water in the environment. More information can be found in the Review by Govindasamy Jayamurugan et al.

Fluoride (F–) is a unique analyte because when in small quantities, it is beneficial and harmful when in larger or negligible quantities, leaving it essential for dual-purpose detection and removal from a water sample to prevent fluoride-caused health risks. F– detection and removal using organic molecules and hybrid materials are extensively reported in the literature, but very few reports discuss dual-purpose detection and removal. Functional nanomaterials (FNM) based on nanoparticles, metal-organic frameworks, and carbon dots conjugated with fluorophore moiety are largely used for these purposes. Functional groups on nanomaterial surfaces exhibited various interactions such as agglomeration, electrostatic, hydrogen bonding, ion exchange, coordination and π-π stacking interactions, enabling dual-purpose detection and removal of F–. These materials offer unique properties such as tunable pore structure, size, and morphology coupled with large surface area and high thermal/chemical stability. Further, this perspective review discusses prospects for sustainable technologies and describes the advantages and disadvantages of using FNM based on its optical properties for detection and removal efficiency. We believe this is the first account that summarizes the single FNM that can be used for simultaneously the selective detection of F– in aqueous media and its efficient removal.

Organic solvents limit [2+2] cycloaddition-retroelectrocyclization (CA–RE) in biological fields. We examined the formation of 1,1,4,4-tetracyanobuta-1,3-dienes (TCBDs) through CA–RE reactions and their unusual reactivity to produce N-heterocyclic compounds when surfactant nature and concentrations were varied in the aqueous phase. An environment in which transient self-assembly (vesicles) was induced by substrate and surfactant molecules initiated new reactivity through H2O addition on the TCBD generating enol form of the intermediate which results in the formation of the 6,6-dicyano-heteropentafulvene (amidofulvene) compound while lamellar sheets at higher concentrations favored TCBD generation. Interestingly, the amidofulvene underwent a clean transformation to 6-membered-heterocycles via keto-enol tautomerism mediated by a polar aprotic solvent which resembles cardiotonic drugs (milrinone, amrinone), opening up a new avenue for drug discovery. Unlike organic solvent-mediated CA–RE reactions, the present nanoreactor-mediated approach enabled the selective production of TCBDs as well as new heterocycles using H2O as a green solvent. Besides the widely explored organic electronics/materials, we believe that this study would help overcome the long-standing limitation of CA–RE reaction applicability in biological fields.