1H–71Ga internuclear spatial proximity/interaction between Brønsted acid site (BAS) and cationic Ga species (Lewis acid sites) in Ga-modified ZSM-5 zeolites, which leads to a synergic effect in the methanol-to-aromatics (MTA) conversion, was identified with solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The internuclear distance between BAS and Ga species was measured, which is similar to that of a neighboring BAS pair located in the six-membered rings of ZSM-5. The Brønsted acidity of the Ga-modified zeolite was considerably enhanced due to the synergic effect, and the synergic active sites were quantified by 1H–71Ga double-resonance solid-state NMR, which shows a correlation with the aromatics selectivity in the MTA reaction.

The host−guest interaction between adsorbent and adsorbate plays essential roles in the gaseous storage and chemical separation using metal−organic frameworks (MOFs). Solid-state NMR spectroscopy was employed to explore the interactions between light alkanes including methane, ethane, propane and a representative MOF, UiO-67 at room temperature. The existence of host−guest interaction between light alkanes and UiO-67 framework is clearly evidenced from twodimensional 1 H− 1 H spin diffusion homonuclear correlation and 1 H− 13 C HETCOR with spin diffusion experiments. By fitting the spin diffusion buildup curves, it is found that methane is more readily to diffuse to the UiO-67 framework compared to ethane and propane. Moreover, the spin diffusion MAS NMR results reveal that methane is mainly adsorbed neighboring the metal cluster, whereas propane and ethane are preferentially present nearby the site away from the metal cluster due to the steric hindrance effect. The results presented herein would provide a better understanding of the structure−property relationship of MOFs in the alkane storage.

Cell surface engineering is an emerging technology to encapsulate cells in order to enhance their functions. However, methods for reversible encapsulation of cells with abiotic functionalities are rare. Herein, we describe a phenylboronic acid based click reaction for encapsulation of single yeast cells using mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs). This encapsulation does not impact natural growth of the cells and leads to a significant enhancement of cell survival in a variety of hostile environments. Owing to the glucose-responsiveness of the boronate ester bond between cell surface polysaccharides and B(OH) 2 -grafted MSNs, encapsulation was reversible by addition or removal of glucose. This effort offers living cells effective protection under harsh conditions and enables reversible assembling−detaching of abiotic functions.