Inorganic Core Research Articles

Electrochemically Initiated Synthesis of Polyacrylamide Microgels and Core-shell Particles.

Herein, we developed a simple procedure for synthesizing micrometer-sized microgel particles as a suspension in an aqueous solution and thin films deposited as shells on different inorganic cores. A sufficiently high constant potential was applied to the working electrode to commence the initiator decomposition that resulted in gelation. Under hydrodynamic conditions, this initiation allowed preparing different morphology microgels at room temperature. Importantly, neither heating nor UV-light illumination was needed to initiate the polymerization. Moreover, thin films of the cross-linked gel were anchored on different core substrates, including silica and magnetic nanoparticles. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy imaging confirmed the microgel particles’ and films’ irregular shape and porous structure. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy indicated that the core coating with the microgel film was successful. Dynamic light scattering measured the micrometer size of gel particles with different combinations of acrylic monomers. Thermogravimetric analysis and the first-derivative thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the microgels’ thermal stability of different compositions was different. Fourier-transform infrared and 13C NMR spectroscopy showed successful copolymerization of the main, functional, and cross-linking monomers.

Fate and biological impact of persistent luminescence nanoparticles after injection in mice: a one-year follow-up.

Persistent luminescence nanoparticles (PLNPs) are attracting growing interest for non-invasive optical imaging of tissues with a high signal to noise ratio. PLNPs can emit a persistent luminescence signal through the tissue transparency window for several minutes, after UV light excitation before systemic administration or directly in vivo through visible irradiation, allowing us to get rid of the autofluorescence signal of tissues. PLNPs constitute a promising alternative to the commercially available optical near infrared probes thanks to their versatile functionalization capabilities for improvement of the circulation time in the blood stream. Nevertheless, while biodistribution for a short time is well known, the long-term fate and toxicity of the PLNP's inorganic core after injection have not been dealt with in depth. Here we extend the current knowledge on ZnGa1.995O4Cr0.005 NPs (or ZGO) with a one-year follow-up of their fate after a single systemic administration in mice. We investigated the organ tissue uptake of ZGO with two different coatings and determined their intracellular processing up to one year after injection. The biopersistence of ZGO was assessed, with a long-term retention, quantified by ICP-MS, mostly in the liver and spleen, parallel with a loss of their luminescence properties. The analysis of the toxicity related to combining an animal's weight, key hematological and metabolic markers, histological observations of liver tissues and quantification of the expression of 31 genes linked to different metabolic reactions did not reveal any signs of noxiousness, from the macro scale to the molecular level. Therefore, the ZGO imaging probe has been proven to be a safe and relevant candidate for preclinical studies, allowing its long term use without any in vivo disturbance of the general metabolism.

New type of RNA virus replication inhibitor based on decahydro-closo-decaborate anion containing amino acid ester pendant group.

In this work, a synthetic approach to prepare an example of new class of the derivatives of the closo-decaborate anion with amino acids detached from the boron cluster by pendant group has been proposed and implemented. Compound Na2[B10H9–O(CH2)4C(O)–His–OMe] was isolated and characterized. This compound has an inorganic hydrophobic core which is the 10-vertex boron cage and the –O(CH2)4C(O)–His–OMe organic substituent. It has been shown to possess strong antiviral activity in vitro against modern strains of A/H1N1 virus at 10 and 5 µg/mL. The compound has been found to be non-cytotoxic up to 160 µg/mL. At the same time, the compound has been found to be inactive against SARS-CoV-2, indicating specific activity against RNA virus replication. Molecular docking of the target derivative of the closo-decaborate anion with a model of the transmembrane region of the M2 protein has been performed and the mechanism of its antiviral action is discussed.Graphical Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00775-022-01937-4.

Negligible contribution of inter-dot coherent modes to heat conduction in quantum-dot superlattice

Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) superlattice, which is made of inorganic cores and can self-assemble into various types of lattice structures, finds promising applications in optical, electrical, and optoelectronic devices. Recent inelastic neutron scattering measurement [NAT. COMMUN. 10:4236 (2019)] showed that the inter-quantum-dot vibrational frequencies can be tuned by varying the QDs shapes and ligand types, suggesting that the QDs superlattices can be a platform for phonon engineering. In this work, we quantify the impact of the second periodicity on thermal transport through full-scale molecular dynamics simulations of PbS QDs superlattice with realistic QD size and ligand morphology. The vibrational pattern analysis reveals that the vibrations can be classified into the inter-QDs coherent modes and the spatially localized modes arising from the geometry confinement. The spectral analysis indicates that spatially localized modes in the frequency range of 0.8–5 THz dominate the thermal transport and lead to an amorphous-like temperature dependence between 200 and 400 K. On the other hand, the inter-QDs coherent modes, albeit have an averaged relaxation of 10 ps, have a limited thermal conductivity value of 0.01 W/mK at room temperature due to the scarce of the vibrational states. We demonstrate that controlling the ligand morphology is more efficient than tuning the second periodicity in engineering the thermal conductivity of QDs superlattice.

New Copper Bromide Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Molecular Compounds with Anionic Inorganic Core and Cationic Organic Ligands

Here, organic-inorganic hybrid molecular compounds based on copper(I) bromide have been synthesized by slow-diffusion method. The inorganic modules of these two structures are Cu2Br42− anion, and the inorganic modules are coordinated to cationic organic ligands via Cu-N coordinative bonds. Both of these compounds are luminescent, emitting green emissions under UV excitation.

Organic Coating Reduces Hygroscopic Growth of Phase-Separated Aerosol Particles

A large fraction of secondary aerosol particles are liquid-liquid phase-separated with an organic shell and an inorganic core. This has the potential to regulate the hygroscopicity of such particles, with significant implications for their optical properties, reactivity, and lifetime. However, it is unclear how this phase separation affects the hygroscopic growth of the particles. Here, we showed a large variation in hygroscopic growth (e.g., 1.14-1.32 under a relative humidity (RH) of 90%) of particles from the forest and urban atmosphere, which had different average core-shell ratios. For this reason, a controlled laboratory experiment further quantifies the impact of the organic shell on particle growth with different RH values. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that (NH4)2SO4 particles with thicker secondary organic shells have a lower growth factor at an RH below 94%. Organic shells started to deliquesce first (RH > 50%) and the phase changes of sulfate cores from solid to liquid took place at an RH higher than 80% as deliquescence relative humidity of pure (NH4)2SO4. Our study provides the first direct evidence on an individual particle basis that hygroscopic growth behavior of phase-separated particles is dependent on the thickness of organic shells, highlighting the importance of organic coating in water uptake and possible heterogeneous reactions of the phase-separated particles.

Lead sulfide quantum dot assembly with biocompatible mechanical property and tunable hydrophilicity

The outstanding optical and electronic properties of lead sulfide (PbS) colloidal quantum dots have broad applications in nanotechnology. They are composed of an inorganic semiconductor core and organic ligands. Here, using 2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) as a reactant, we synthesized PbS nanoparticles and assembled them on a pigeon feather substrate through a self-assembled monolayer process. This assembly process results in a significantly higher increase in the modulus and hardness of the synthesized PbS material compared to that of the PbS materials reported previously. Particularly, there is only a slight increase in the mechanical properties of the PbS layer compared with the bio-template, indicating the compatibility between the coating and base material, demonstrating its potential for biological applications, such as wearable flexible electronic devices. In addition, the DMSA of the rich carboxylic groups as a passivator promoted the tunability of the PbS surface from hydrophilic to superhydrophilic. The influence of the surface roughness of the PbS layer on the wetting behavior conforms to the Cassie–Baxter model.

Formation of Self-organized Structures of Hybrid Amorphous Materials Based on Polyhedral Silsesquioxanes

The formation of self-organized structures of organic-inorganic hybrid amorphous molecules based on polyhedral silsesquioxanes (POSS) is reported. The hybrid materials were synthesized using POSS as the inorganic core and cyanobiphenyl (CBP) as the organic substituent. The type of structure formed depends on the length of the alkyl spacer used to connect the POSS and CBP groups. The hybrid amorphous material with an alkyl spacer consisting of eleven methylene units resulted in Voronoi-like dot patterns, the size of which are easily controlled by varying the thickness of the initial films.

Facile purification protocol of CsPbBr3 nanocrystals for light-emitting diodes with improved performance

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on CsPbBr3 nanocrystals (NCs) show excellent performance in terms of external quantum efficiency (EQE) and brightness. Removal of impurities after NC synthesis is a necessary and critical step to achieve such high performance. In fact, the optical and electronics properties of CsPbBr3 NCs are greatly affected by how the NCs are purified from the synthetic by-products, unreacted reagents, and organic ligand excess. Perovskite NC purification protocols must consider the ionic nature of the inorganic core, the labile nature of the ligand to surface bond, and the dynamic equilibrium between the surface-interacting and free form organic ligands to prevent NC damaging with subsequent loss of photoluminescence. Nowadays, the most employed purification protocol involves NC precipitation based on a diminished non-polar environment achieved by adding a low-dielectric constant miscible solvent to the NC solution (i.e., ethyl acetate to toluene), followed by redispersion of the precipitate in a storage solvent. Here, we explored the possibility to precipitate impurities left in the NC solution exploiting variations in solubility at decreasing temperature: by taking NC solutions at −20 °C overnight and by collecting the respective supernatant we obtain CsPbBr3 NC solutions which leads to LEDs with improved EQE. The freezing process at −20 °C gives rise to NC solutions that retain the pristine optical and electronic properties while the LED performances display a 3 times increase in terms of EQE (EQEmax = 8.9%) with respect to NCs treated with anti-solvent only. Finally, we show that our purification protocol can be applied to CsPbBr3 NCs obtained via different synthetic methods, thus demonstrating the versatility of our facile purification protocol.

Contactless and synergic heat generation using AMF and laser radiation within 1st and 2nd optical biological window on PMMA covered cobalt-manganese ferrite hybrid particles

Hybrid materials composed of inorganic magnetic cobalt-manganese mixed nanoferrites and PMMA polymeric shell have been fabricated by applying an in-situ polymerization process using pre-prepared inorganic core particles (8–9 nm). The ability of the hybrid heating under action of alternating magnetic field and laser radiation (in a separate and synergy mode) was evaluated and compared with stock nanoparticles. It was found that hybrid materials show a high response to both stimulants and the highest temperature was achieved by using both AMF and laser exposure under synergic mode (twice the value for the AMF alone). The specific absorption rate of composite material was around 30 W/g for the optimized field parameters and both laser wavelengths (808 and 1122 nm). The great response of the hybrid material for contactless action of AMF and NIR radiation makes the proposed material very interesting for future biomedical and EMI shielding applications.

Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles (PGNs) with Adjustable Graft-Density and Interparticle Hydrogen Bonding Interaction.

Polymer-grafted nanoparticles (PGNs) receive great attention because they possess the advantages of both the grafted polymer and inorganic cores, and thus demonstrate superior optical, electronic, and mechanical properties. Thus, PGNs with tailorable interparticle interactions are indispensable for the formation of a superlattice with a defined and ordered structure. In this work, the synthesis of PGNs is reported which can form interparticle hydrogen-bonding to enhance the formation of well-defined 2D nanoparticle arrays. Various polymers, including poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP), poly(dimethyl aminoethyl acrylate) (PDMAEMA), and poly(4-acetoxy styrene) (PAcS), are attached to silica cores by a "grafting from" in a mini emulsion-like synthesis approach. SiO2 -PAcS brushes are deprotected by hydrazinolysis and converted into poly(4-vinyl phenol) (PVP), containing hydroxyl groups as potential hydrogen-bonding donor sites. Understanding and controlling interparticle interactions by varying grafting density in the range of 10-2 -10-3 chain nm-2 , and the formation of interparticle hydrogen bonding relevant for self-assembly of PGNs and potential formation of PGN superlattice structures are the motivations for this study.

Crosslinked Polymer‐Brush Electrolytes: An Approach to Safe All‐Solid‐State Lithium Metal Batteries at Room Temperature

AbstractElectric vehicles, intelligent machines, and portable electronics in our daily lives are placing insatiable demand on safe and powerful battery materials that can function at room temperature. Herein, we report an ultrathin and robust solid‐state electrolyte with crosslinked polymer‐brush architecture. On one hand, the highly mobile polymer brushes with a moderate side chain length enable efficient cation solvation and fast ion transport, offering room‐temperature ionic conductivity as high as 0.23 mS cm−1. On the other hand, incorporation of the inorganic core crosslinker endows the material with enhanced mechanical strength, thermal stability, and fire resistance. As a result, the crosslinked polymer‐brush electrolyte films demonstrate stable lithium electrodeposition and great electrochemical performance in Li/LiFePO4 cells at 30 °C, providing a promising pathway to next‐generation safe and high‐energy lithium metal batteries.

Luminescence and Stability Enhancement of Inorganic Perovskite Nanocrystals via Selective Surface Ligand Binding.

Colloidal lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) have recently emerged as one of the most promising light-emitting materials for optoelectronic devices with outstanding performance. However, the facile detachment of surface capping organic ligands from these NCs leads to very poor colloidal stability and durability. This is mainly due to the weak interfacial interactions between the inorganic perovskite core and ligands, high density of surface defect states, and aggregation of NCs. Here, using a combination of time-resolved laser spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we explored the major impact of surface orientations and terminations for both CsPbBr3 and Cs4PbBr6 NCs not only on the interfacial binding affinities with organic ligands but also on surface defect formation and NC aggregation. By rationalizing that surface trap states are responsible for the decrease in photoluminescence (PL) upon fabrication and purification, we propose a powerful ligand-engineering strategy for eliminating these trap states and preventing the aggregation of CsPbBr3 and Cs4PbBr6 NCs. Interestingly, we find that the surface orientation and dimensionality determine the degree of interfacial interactions between the inorganic perovskite core and ligands and subsequently control the overall PL intensity and NC stability. Our results demonstrate that a treatment of as-synthesized CsPbBr3 NCs consisting of the addition of extra oleylammonium bromide (OAmBr) as a capping ligand, allows the CsPbBr3 NCs to retain their green emission with increased PL intensity and quantum yields and improves colloidal durability. On the other hand, the ultraviolet emissions of Cs4PbBr6 NCs are effectively increased upon addition of extra cesium oleate (CsOL) as the trap states induced by surface cesium ions are largely reduced by the formation of Cs-O bonds. Our work provides a robust and adequate ligand engineering approach to significantly enhance the optical behavior of perovskite NCs with different dimensionalities and various compositions and to achieve more efficient and stable light-harvesting devices.

Snail slime-based gold nanoparticles: An interesting potential ingredient in cosmetics as an antioxidant, sunscreen, and tyrosinase inhibitor

Due to their properties, snail slime-based products have been appreciated and used worldwide. So, as an alternative and innovative use of snail slime, it was adopted to induce gold nanoparticles' formation, conferring them interesting properties. By a simple, one-pot, and eco-friendly approach, 14±6nm wide hybrid gold nanoparticles, having an inorganic metallic core decorated by the slime's main components, were obtained. Among their several properties, their antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibition activity were investigated through the DPPH and ABTS and the tyrosinase assays, respectively. After assessing their non-cytotoxicity in our previous work, the results revealed positive responses, enabling their use as a potential novel multifunctional ingredient in cosmetics. Interestingly, the gold nanoparticle photostability, investigated by means of a solar simulator lamp, suggests using them in commercial cosmetic sunscreen products as a potential alternative to the commonly used inorganic sunscreen ingredients. The theoretical Sun Protection Factor was evaluated, obtaining values in the range 0-12. The proposed environmentally friendly and cost-effective protocol for nanoparticle synthesis, following the principles of Green Chemistry, opens a hugely attractive space toward the study of snail slime-based gold nanoparticles as a potential multipurpose platform in cosmetics.

Influence of Coating and Size of Magnetic Nanoparticles on Cellular Uptake for In Vitro MRI.

Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) are suitable materials for contrast enhancement in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Their potential clinical applications range from diagnosis to therapy and follow-up treatments. However, a deeper understanding of the interaction between IONPs, culture media and cells is necessary for expanding the application of this technology to different types of cancer therapies. To achieve new insights of these interactions, a set of IONPs were prepared with the same inorganic core and five distinct coatings, to study their aggregation and interactions in different physiological media, as well as their cell labelling efficiency. Then, a second set of IONPs, with six different core sizes and the same coating, were used to study how the core size affects cell labelling and MRI in vitro. Here, IONPs suspended in biological media experience a partial removal of the coating and adhesion of molecules. The FBS concentration alters the labelling of all types of IONPs and hydrodynamic sizes ≥ 300 nm provide the greatest labelling using the centrifugation-mediated internalization (CMI). The best contrast for MRI results requires a core size range between 12–14 nm coated with dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) producing R2* values of 393.7 s−1 and 428.3 s−1, respectively. These findings will help to bring IONPs as negative contrast agents into clinical settings.

Inorganic-organic nanocomposite networks: Structure, curing reaction, properties, and hard coating performance

This study reports the first structure and morphology details of octakis(acryloyloxypropyl)-octasilsesquioxane (POSS-Acryl8), a reactive inorganic-organic hybrid molecule, before and after photochemically crosslinked. POSS-Acryl8 was confirmed as an oblate ellipsoidal nanoparticle consisting of inorganic cage core (0.774 nm diameter) and chemically-bonded organic shell (1.447 nm thickness). The core volume fraction is only 0.95% in a single molecule, but drastically increases up to 18.8% in the neat bulk state and 31.9% in the photocured film state; the individual inorganic cores are eventually encapsulated with the networked shells (0.176 nm thickness) chemically interconnected with the neighbors. Based on such the highly networked structure and inorganic core reinforcement, the photocured POSS-Acryl8 exhibited exceptionally high optical transparency, glass transition temperature, surface hardness, and abrasion resistances. Due to the superior properties, clear hard POSS-Acryl8 coatings solved completely inherently poor surface hardness and abrasion resistances of conventional polymer window substrates and, furthermore, serious drawbacks in the eraser and steel wool abrasion resistances of glass window substrate. In addition, POSS-Acryl8 was found miscible with pentaerythritolylethyl tetraacrylate (PEEO-Acryl4) and thereby enhanced substantially the surface hardness and abrasion resistances of PEEO-Acryl4 through nanocomposite network formations. It turns out that the photocurable inorganic-organic POSS-Acryl8 hybrid and its composites with fully organic PEEO-Acryl4 are so suitable for optically clear hard top coating applications in advanced telecommunication, defense, automobile, and smart home appliance (smart and foldable phones, display devices, sensor windows, etc.).

Engineering of inorganic nanostructures with hierarchy of chiral geometries at multiple scales

Engineering of inorganic nanostructures with hierarchy of chiral geometries at multiple scales

Design and fabrication of hybrid triple-responsive κ-carrageenan-based nanospheres for controlled drug delivery

In the last two decades, the utilization of magnetic nanospheres in intelligent polymeric structures have received increased attention of researchers in numerous biomedical applications. Here, hybrid nanostructured triple-responsive magnetic nanospheres (κ-Car-g-P(AA/DMA)@Fe3O4) containing inorganic iron oxide core (Fe3O4) and organic graft copolymeric shell based on κ-carrageenan (κ-Car) and poly(acrylic acid/dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (P(AA/DMA)) were synthesized by microwave induced co-precipitation technique. The structure, size, surface morphology, magnetic property and stability of synthesized κ-Car-g-P(AA/DMA)@Fe3O4 magnetic nanospheres were characterized using FTIR, UV, XRD, TEM, Zeta-sizer, and VSM. κ-Car-g-P(AA/DMA)@Fe3O4 nanospheres were loaded with 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) as an antineoplastic drug, and their 5-FU release behavior was explored in diverse graft yields, pH values, temperatures and in the existence of an alternating magnetic field. The κ-Car-g-P(AA/DMA)@Fe3O4 nanospheres demonstrated pH-, thermo-, and magnetic field-responsive 5-FU release with good biocompatibility and excellent anticancer activity. In addition, 5-FU release under 50 mT magnetic field reached to 100% within 4 h. This work exhibits that hybrid nanospheres have a triple stimuli-responsive influence, which is of principal importance for the future design and application of multi-functional responsive platforms to develop externally stimulated release of active agents and their healthcare capability.

Gradient SEI layer induced by liquid alloy electrolyte additive for high rate lithium metal battery

Current energy storage device has fallen short behind from the fast growing requirement for (hybrid) electric vehicles and portable devices including mobile phones, which drives the lithium metal anode to be a research hot topic. However, the large volume change of lithium metal anode induces instable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer, which prevents its further development. A stable SEI layer required flexible surface to accommodate the large volume variation and inorganic core with low Li + partial molar volume for dendrite suppression. Herein, we achieved a gradient SEI which is composed of flexible surface-rich polycarbonate moieties and low Li + partial molar volume inorganic LiF-rich core by applying liquid alloy GaSnIn as electrolyte additive. Initially, the calculation verified that liquid alloy GaSnIn as electrolyte additive would facilitate the initial decomposition of LiPF 6 , and lead to the formation of the gradient SEI layer. In the Li||Li half‐cell test, we successfully achieved dense deposition of Li metal and in this way, the cycling performance with liquid alloy GaSnIn as electrolyte additive is greatly improved especially at high rate (10 mA cm −2 ). Voltage polarization was greatly reduced and Coulombic efficiency was effectively improved due to the gradient SEI layer achieved in the interface of Li anode and electrolyte. In the Li||LFP cell, high average coulombic efficiency (99.06%) at long cycle life (＞2500 cycles) is achieved for the liquid alloy GaSnIn‐protected Li metal anode at high areal capacity (3 mAh/cm 2 ). These results deepen our understanding on liquid alloy as a promising electrolyte additive for efficient dendrite suppressing, enabling the practical lithium metal batteries (LMBs). • We successfully achieved a gradient SEI layer through liquid alloy for lithium dendrite suppression. • Gradient SEI layer is composed of flexible surface-rich polycarbonate moieties and inorganic LiF-rich inside. • Liquid alloy GaSnIn as electrolyte additive facilitates the initial decomposition of LiPF6, facilitating the gradient SEI layer.

Synthesis, Structural and Physicochemical Characterization of a Titanium(IV) Compound with the Hydroxamate Ligand N,2-Dihydroxybenzamide.

The siderophore organic ligand N,2-dihydroxybenzamide (H2dihybe) incorporates the hydroxamate group, in addition to the phenoxy group in the ortho-position and reveals a very rich coordination chemistry with potential applications in medicine, materials, and physical sciences. The reaction of H2dihybe with TiCl4 in methyl alcohol and KOH yielded the tetranuclear titanium oxo-cluster (TOC) [TiIV4(μ-O)2(HOCH3)4(μ-Hdihybe)4(Hdihybe)4]Cl4∙10H2O∙12CH3OH (1). The titanium compound was characterized by single-crystal X-ray structure analysis, ESI-MS, 13C, and 1H NMR spectroscopy, solid-state and solution UV–Vis, IR vibrational, and luminescence spectroscopies and molecular orbital calculations. The inorganic core Ti4(μ-O)2 of 1 constitutes a rare structural motif for discrete TiIV4 oxo-clusters. High-resolution ESI-MS studies of 1 in methyl alcohol revealed the presence of isotopic distribution patterns which can be attributed to the tetranuclear clusters containing the inorganic core {Ti4(μ-O)2}. Solid-state IR spectroscopy of 1 showed the presence of an intense band at ~800 cm−1 which is absent in the spectrum of the H2dihybe and was attributed to the high-energy ν(Ti2–μ-O) stretching mode. The ν(C=O) in 1 is red-shifted by ~10 cm−1, while the ν(N-O) is blue-shifted by ~20 cm−1 in comparison to H2dihybe. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations reveal that in the experimental and theoretically predicted IR absorbance spectra of the ligand and Ti-complex, the main bands observed in the experimental spectra are also present in the calculated spectra supporting the proposed structural model. 1H and 13C NMR solution (CD3OD) studies of 1 reveal that it retains its integrity in CD3OD. The observed NMR changes upon addition of base to a CD3OD solution of 1, are due to an acid–base equilibrium and not a change in the TiIV coordination environment while the decrease in the complex’s lability is due to the improved electron-donating properties which arise from the ligand deprotonation. Luminescence spectroscopic studies of 1 in solution reveal a dual narrow luminescence at different excitation wavelengths. The TOC 1 exhibits a band-gap of 1.98 eV which renders it a promising candidate for photocatalytic investigations.