Wenqi ‘Vince’ Liu

C3-Symmetric Photoresponsive Chiral Dopants Based on Tribenzotriquinacene Doping cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) with photoresponsive chiral molecules is an effective strategy for devising responsive soft materials, as it allows for the phototuning of the noncovalent interactions in the CLCs, and hence, their helical pitch and optical properties. Here we describe the use of tribenzotriquinacene-based (TBTQ) hydrazone and azobenzene chiral dopants in the modulation of the helical pitch of the LC host, 5CB. The unique C3-symmetry of the TBTQ scaffold enhances the noncovalent interactions with the host and thus the chiral information transfer, resulting in helical twisting power (β) values as high as 147 μm–1. Notably, the TBTQ hydrazone exhibits an unusual deviation from trends observed so far in previous studies, resulting in larger β values for the Z isomer rather than the E one. Moreover, the overall β values for the hydrazone-based dopants are unexpectedly higher than those of the azobenzene dopants. These results indicate that the host/guest interactions are better when the photoswitchable chiral dopant is more rigid, as is the case with the H-bonded Z state of the hydrazone. The large β values and excellent miscibility of the hydrazone-based dopants in 5CB allowed us to design films that reflect visible structural color. The properties of the azobenzene-based dopants precluded their use in such applications. By codoping 5CB with hydrazone and azobenzene derivatives of opposite chirality, we demonstrated reversible handedness inversion upon photoswitching, providing a versatile soft material platform for reconfigurable photonic materials and colorimetric display technologies.

Latest @jacs.acspublications.org a collab with Mastalerz grp @uniheidelberg.bsky.social showing how C3-symmetric TBTQ core affects chiral induction in LCs. Hydrazone > azobenzene with this core. Mixing these two with opposite chirality allows handedness inversion bit.ly/4qAtvYE #openaccess #chemsky

Wow, glad to see our Journal cover last year show up again in this year’s cover’s cover👍

“After all, research supervisors are just as good as their students” — Sir J. Fraser Stoddart.

A wise take-home message from one of the founding fathers of MASC—who sadly passed away almost a year ago—in a 1991 BBC broadcast.

#MASC2025
#RSC_MASC

Excited to share our new paper in @chemistryeurope.bsky.social. We designed shape-shifting tetralactam macrocycles that switch from low- to high-affinity binding upon protonation, delivering >10⁵-fold enhancement for BrIBr⁻ recognition. bit.ly/4qdtGZR

The interplay of antiaromaticity and diradical character in diarenoindacenes and diindenoarenes Over the past ∼15 years our group has performed multiple structure/properties relationship studies to assess how logical structural refinement can affect the antiaromaticity/diradicaloid continuum. Us...

Now out in Chem. Sci., 15 years of chemistry distilled down to 22 pages – my group's magnum opus. Great job by Efrain, Gabby & Josh! Many thanks to
@aromaticist.bsky.social, @judywuchem.bsky.social, Juan Casado, Carlos Gomez-Garcia & myriad other collaborators.
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
#pisky

Should You Really be Writing A(nother) Review Manuscript?
An editorial in the new issue of ACS Energy Articles discusses the relevance of Review Articles in the era of AI.
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Happy to share our work on synthetic lectins for glucuronate featured as cover art! @pubs.acs.org #MyACSCover bit.ly/4o8oA0S

Proud to share our new paper in ACS Central Science! We show that hydrogen bonding—often considered ineffective in water—can enable strong, selective binding of the hydrophilic carbohydrate glucuronate, when combined with [C–H···π] and electrostatic interactions. bit.ly/4o8oA0S

Counterion‐Mediated Luminophore Dimerization Emissive organic salts have long been integral to the discovery of fluorescence phenomena and functional luminescent dyes. Typically, one component of the salt acts as the photoactive unit (luminopho...

Our latest paper shows emissive organic cations can be brought together by certain counterions, giving emission from the monomer, excimer or dimer state

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

First page of Irving Langmuir's laboratory notebook from his time at Göttingen, where he obtained his PhD with Nernst. Dated 6 August 1904. Image was taken at the U.S. Library of Congress (yes it's still open).

In collaboration with Prof. Hongliang Chen, we reported perylene diimide-based molecular wires encapsulated by XCage, which effectively insulates the molecular wire, suppressing charge disturbance and shielding radiation within its interior, making it a molecular-scale Faraday cage. bit.ly/4jnOkmj

Check out our latest work @chemistryeurope.bsky.social
on a dicationic tetralactam macrocycle that binds hydrophilic sulfate in water. Structural and thermodynamic studies highlight the critical roles of H-bonding, electrostatics, and water release in overcoming desolvation barriers. bit.ly/4ky5QFH

Proline-based tripodal cages with guest-adaptive features for capturing hydrophilic and amphiphilic fluoride substances - Nature Communications Proteins dynamically adjust their conformations to interact with their ligands through binding sites that accommodate either amphiphilic or hydrophilic substrates, but most synthetic receptors are des...

Binding hydrophilic molecules is challenging due to high hydration energy. So why not bind them with their water? Our work (the Cai group at USF and us) shows a flexible proline cage capturing fluoride along with its hydration shell with strong affinity. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Photoswitchable Fluorescent Hydrazone for Super-Resolution Cell Membrane Imaging Advancing the field of super-resolution microscopy will require the design and optimization of new molecular probes whose emission can be toggled “ON” and “OFF” using light. Recently, we reported on a...

Big congrats to Qingkay & the Zhang group team (@ncstate.bsky.social) on the new @jacs.acspublications.org article! 🎉🧪 We show how tuning hydrazone emission leads to fluorogenic PALM probes unlocking high-res live-cell plasma membrane imaging. 🔬✨

Check it out 👉 bit.ly/3EKwxHT
#MolSwitch #ChemSky ⚗️💡

“Clicked” Hydrazone Photoswitches The length of the linker connecting a photoswitch to a material significantly influences the latter’s properties, with “zero-length” linkers being ideal for optimal photomodulation. The 1,2,3-triazole...

Click chemistry is a powerful way to stitch molecules together — but in our new @jacs.acspublications.org paper bit.ly/4cNBqMK we find that not all triazoles are equal! When it comes to #photoswitch the 1,5-regioisomer (not from "click") surprisingly outperforms the classic 1,4🧪⚗️ #molswitch #chemsky

Glad to see our work on charge assisted hydrogen bonding for anion recognition in water is selected as the 2024 most polular articles by @chemicalscience.rsc.org. Check it out: rsc.li/4dgwyOI

Excited to see our mini review featured as the front cover of @cp-trendschem.bsky.social . The cover art illustrates hydrogen bonding receptors making a splash in water, highlighting the growing significance and exciting opportunities of this emerging field in supramolecular chemistry.

Partially Sulfated Pillar[5]Arenes: Synthesis and Molecular Recognition Properties A series of pillar[5]arene sulfates P5Sn with different numbers of sulfate ionic groups are synthesized and fully characterized by spectroscopic, crystallographic, and computational methods. Isotherm...

Very pleased that my first post presents these affinity tunable partially sulfated pillar[5]arenes lead by Ayona Goswami. chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

US bets on new lithium extraction technology Department of Energy commits to $1.4 billion loan for small California firm

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has committed to a $1.4 billion loan for a project that will use an emerging technology to separate lithium from geothermal brines in California. cen.acs.org/energy/energ...

Twelve identical helical macrocycles assemble to form this right-handed snub cube supramolecule. The new snub cube supramolecules’ creators say they could be used for chiral separations or asymmetric catalysis: cen.acs.org/materials/na... #chemsky🧪 #scinews

Check out this supramolecular snub cube. Cool chemistry from Huang Wu and the late Fraser Stoddart of the University of Hong Kong along with Wenping Hu and Yu Wang of Tianjin University. My latest in @cenmag.bsky.social cen.acs.org/materials/na...

In his last email to me just before Xmass, Fraser asked me to keep an eye for this @nature.com paper (www.nature.com/articles/s41...). It is "a blockbuster in my humble opinion" eh added. His excitement about the project and pride in the students who work on it for 5 years was palpable. RIP Fraser

Check out our review @cp-trendschem.bsky.social on recent advances in synthetic hydrogen bonding receptors in water—mimicking nature's precision in aqueous molecular recognition. Dedicated to Sir Fraser Stoddart and Dr. Wei Jiang for their unwavering support and enduring inspiration. bit.ly/3C6GBK0

Tributes paid to University of Sheffield Nobel Prize winner Sir James Fraser Stoddart, a former University of Sheffield lecturer, has died at the age of 82.

bbc.com/news/article...

Sir Fraser Stoddart, a pioneer in nanoscience, dies at 82 Stoddart received the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on molecular machines

A more extensive news story from Northwestern about Fraser 👇 #Chemsky

Metalic robotic hands gifting a ref cube in which a blue pyramid is engraved

Our 3D volumetric display is on the front cover of the December issue of Chem! Congrats to all involved including awesome collaborator @alexlippert.bsky.social 🧪⚗️#molswitch #photoswitches bit.ly/4ckn44N

A second paper on tuberculosis vaccines! Here, we present two new transmembrane protein antigens in a proteoliposome. Proteoliposomes are too delicate for a TB vaccine, so, of course, we cover them in MOFs. Shena (probably not on Bsky) showcases her work on that other site:

https://www.pnas.org/doi/epub/10.1073/pnas.2315735121

How to write a grant?
1. The application is for the reviewer, not you, the applicant.
2. Communicate in stories.
3. Make your story cohesive—leave no puzzling gaps.
4. Make your story resonate to keep the reviewer reading.
5. Accept chance and noise in peer-review.
www.pnas.org/doi/epub/10....

Next-generation snakebite therapies could reduce death toll Venomous snakes kill tens of thousands of people each year. Treatments that are simpler to administer and more effective than conventional antivenom could curb this number.

A huge thanks to @natureportfolio.bsky.social for shining a light on the often-overlooked issue of #snakebite #envenoming and our recombinant #antivenom research at the Center for Antibody Technologies at the Technical University of Denmark. Check out the article here: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

#Myfirstpost and looking to reconnect with the #chemsky! My group is interested in organic supramolecular chemistry and stimuli-responsive crystalline solids. Last year we moved to the University of Missouri Department of Chemistry (chemistry.missouri.edu) and MatSci (msei.missouri.edu/)!