Precursor synthesis strategy for polycyclic aromatic conjugated polymers on the application of supercapacitors

Polycyclic aromatics (PCAs) possess excellent photoelectric properties, but the construction of such compounds has been a quite challenging subject of study, mainly due to very low solubility. Herein we report a precursor synthesis strategy for polycyclic aromatic conjugated polymers. A soluble precursor polymer, that containing fusible "double U-shaped aromatic"(DUA) and perylenetetracarboxydiimide (PDI) units, was firstly synthesized by Suzuki coupling. The stereo aromatic units in polymer backbone were found to be converted into polycyclic aromatic units, i.e. hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene (HBC), by chemical or electrochemical oxidation, which resulted in a formation of insoluble polycyclic aromatic conjugated polymers. The electrochemical oxidations that occurred at the interface of electrode and solution exhibited higher cyclization reactivity and leads to the formation of high quality films on the electrode surface. Characterization by Raman and UV-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy validated the successful formation of this HBC structure. Some potential applications of such thin films are being explored, and here we focus on the characteristics of supercapacitors based on their excellent electrochemical properties.

Porous boronate affinity monolith for on-line extraction coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography for sensitive analysis of heterocyclic aromatic amines in food samples

A novel on-line solid-phase microextraction–high-performance liquid chromatography（SPME–HPLC）system was developed for the determination of heterocyclic aromatic amines（HAAs） in food samples. A poly（vinylphenylboronic acid-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate） polymer monolith was prepared for on-line efficient extraction and large-volume injection was used to increase the sensitivity of detection.The polymermonolith, based on a ternary porogen, was prepared by in situ polymerization of vinylphenylboronic acid（VPBA） and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate（EGDMA） in a fused-silica capillary column. It showed good permeability, high extraction capacity, and high selectivity. The column-tocolumn reproducibility was satisfactory, and the enrichment factors for HAAs were 3746–7414.Conditions influencing the on-line extraction efficiency, including p H of sample solutions, flow rate of extraction and desorption, and desorption volume, were investigated. The proposed method had low limit of detection（0.10–0.15 ng/L） and good linearity. Trace HAAs in roast beef and lamb samples were determined, and the amounts of 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline, 2-amino-3,4-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline, 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline, 2-amino-3,4,8-trimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline, and 2-amino-3,4,7,8-tetramethyl-3H-imidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline in these samples were 0.235–2.08 ng/g. The recoveries for the five HAAs ranged from74.3% to 119%, and the relative standard deviation（RSDs） were less than 8.2%. The results showed that the proposed on-line method was highly sensitive for monitoring HAAs in different food samples.