Amorphous CaCO3 (ACC) is stabilized by the presence of phytic acid, a natural inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6). Micrometer‐sized hollow spheres of ACC have been obtained (see Figure). The spheres are stable for at least three months in solution, which is equivalent to that described for more complex special biopolymers in biomineralization processes, and by far exceeds the previously known stability of ACC prepared in the presence of synthetic molecules.

Three organic dyes incorporating a disubstituted triphenyl-amine unit as the electron donor, a thiophene moiety as the conjugated spacer, and 2-cyanoacrylic acid as the electron acceptor, have been synthesized and applied for the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The conversion efficiencies of the DSSCs range from 4.99 to 6.04%. The influence of the hydrophobic hydrocarbon chain length of the substituent group in these dyes on the device performance in DSSCs has been investigated. It was found that the dyes with longer hydrocarbon chains gave higher photocurrents, open-circuit voltages, and efficiency values, which may derive from the higher molar absorption coefficient of metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT), more appropriate localization of the frontier orbitals and longer electron lifetimes. We attribute the importance of the lengthening of the anchoring groups to the role of the dye as a better absorber for the incoming light and longer blocking layer to avoid charge recombination.b S Supporting Information. Synthesis of compounds 1aÀc, 2aÀc and 3aÀc. Absorption spectra of C1, C6, and C9 in different solvents. The computed absorption spectra of C1, C6, and C9. Selected calculated singlet excited-state transitions for C1, C6, and C9. The charge collection efficiencies of C1, C6, and C9 calculated from IMPS and IMVS. This information is available free of charge via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.

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ContentsS1. TGA curves for compounds 1, 4 and 7. S2. One-dimensional zigzag chain in 2. S3. 2D (4, 4) net linked via carboxylate groups in 3. Uncoordinated water and H atoms were omitted for clarity. S4. 6 6 topology of 3D four-connected grid network in 6. S5. 6 6 topology of 3D four-connected grid network in 7. S6. The emission spectra of three complexes 4, 5 and 6.

It is well known that the service life of contemporary composite restoration is unsatisfactory, and longevity of dentin bonding is one of the major culprits. Bonding is essentially a hybridization process in which dental substrate and adhesive resin interact with each other through an exchange process. Thus, the longevity of dentin bonding can only be improved with enhanced qualities in substrate, adhesive resin, and their interaction within the hybridization zone. This review aims to collect and summarize recent advances in utilizing nonthermal atmospheric plasmas (NTAPs)-a novel technology that delivers highly reactive species in a gaseous medium at or below physiologic temperature-to improve the durability of dentin bonding by addressing these 3 issues simultaneously. Overall, NTAP has demonstrated efficacies in improving a number of critical properties for dentin bonding, including deactivation of oral pathogens, modification of surface chemistry/properties, resin polymerization, improvement in adhesive-dentin interactions, and establishment of auxiliary bonding mechanism. While a few preliminary studies have indicated the benefit of NTAP to bond strength and stability, additional researches are warranted to employ knowledge acquired so far and to evaluate these properties in a systematic way.