Synthesis and adsorption properties of gold nanoparticles within pores of surface‐functional porous polymer microspheres

Mesoporous polymer microspheres with gold (Au) nanoparticles inside their pores were prepared considering their surface functionality and porosity. The Au/polymer composite microspheres prepared were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) techniques. The results showed that the adsorption of Au nanoparticles could be increased by imparting the pore structure and surface‐functional groups into the supporting polymer microspheres (in this study, poly (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate‐co‐acrylonitrile) and poly (EGDMA‐co‐AN) system). Above all, from this study, it was established that the porosity of the polymer microspheres is the most important factor that determines the distribution and adsorption amount of face‐centered cubic (fcc) Au nanoparticles in the final products. Our study showed that the continuous adsorption of Au nanoparticles with the aid of the large surface area and surface interaction sites formed more favorably the Au/polymer composite microspheres. The BET measurements of Au/poly(EGDMA‐co‐AN) composite microspheres reveals that the adsorption of Au nanoparticles into the pores kept the pore structure intact and made it more porous. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 5627–5635, 2004     

20-relative neighborhood graphs are hamiltonian

For any two points p and q in the Euclidean plane, define LUN_pq = { v | v ∈ R², d_pv < d_pq and d_qv < d_pq}, where d_uv is the Euclidean distance between two points u and v . Given a set of points V in the plane, let LUN_pq(V) = V ∩ LUN_pq. Toussaint defined the relative neighborhood graph of V, denoted by RNG(V) or simply RNG, to be the undirected graph with vertices V such that for each pair p,q ∈ V, (p,q) is an edge of RNG(V) if and only if LUN_pq (V) = ?. The relative neighborhood graph has several applications in pattern recognition that have been studied by Toussaint. We shall generalize the idea of RNG to define the k-relative neighborhood graph of V, denoted by kRNG(V) or simply kRNG, to be the undirected graph with vertices V such that for each pair p,q ∈ V, (p,q) is an edge of kRNG(V) if and only if | LUN_pq(V) | < k, for some fixed positive number k. It can be shown that the number of edges of a kRNG is less than O(kn). Also, a kRNG can be constructed in O(kn₂) time. Let E_c = {e_pq| p ∈ V and q ∈ V}. Then G_c = (V,E_c) is a complete graph. For any subset F of E_c, define the maximum distance of F as max_epq∈Fd_pq. A Euclidean bottleneck Hamiltonian cycle is a Hamiltonian cycle in graph G_c whose maximum distance is the minimum among all Hamiltonian cycles in graph G_c. We shall prove that there exists a Euclidean bottleneck Hamiltonian cycle which is a subgraph of 20RNG(V). Hence, 20RNGs are Hamiltonian.     

Rankin-Cohen brackets on pseudodifferential operators

Pseudodifferential operators that are invariant under the action of a discrete subgroup Γ of SL(2,R) correspond to certain sequences of modular forms for Γ. Rankin-Cohen brackets are noncommutative products of modular forms expressed in terms of derivatives of modular forms. We introduce an analog of the heat operator on the space of pseudodifferential operators and use this to construct bilinear operators on that space which may be considered as Rankin-Cohen brackets. We also discuss generalized Rankin-Cohen brackets on modular forms and use these to construct certain types of modular forms.     

Identification of dislocations and their influence on the recombination of charge carriers in gallium nitride

The relation between the density of etch pits revealed in GaN by etching in a KOH/NaOH eutectic and the density of dislocations determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is studied along with the relation between the density of dislocations and the density of dark spot defects observed in GaN by microcathodoluminescence (MCL) and electron-beam-induced current (EBIC). It is demonstrated that selective etching is a reliable rapid method for the determination of the type and density of dislocations in GaN in the range 10⁶–10⁸ cm^?2, while MCL and EBIC can be used for the rapid nondestructive determination of the density of dislocations in the range 10⁶–10⁸ cm^?2. It is also found that some deep electron and hole traps are related to dislocations.     

The effect of olefinic terminal chains on the mesomorphic properties of 4,4'-disubstituted diphenyldiacetylenes

New diphenyldiacetylenes of the type with A, B = H and/or F; m = 0, 1; n = 1-4; and X = C n H 2n + 1 , F, CF 3 or CN were synthesized and their mesomorphic properties determined by hot stage polarizing microscopy and DSC. When m = 0, all of these compounds showed only a nematic phase except when X = CF 3 when both nematic and smectic A phases were seen. Both clearing and melting temperatures were higher than those reported for substitution with the corresponding alkyl chains but the much larger increase in clearing temperatures produced considerably wider nematic phases. Eutectic mixtures of a few of these olefins yielded nematic materials also having much wider temperature ranges and higher clearing temperatures than the eutectic mixtures of the alkyl compounds, while retaining their high birefringence and low viscosities. Such materials are of interest for beam-steering devices.

Four of the diacetylenes with m = 1 ( A, B = H) were also prepared ( X = C 6 H 13 , F, n = 2, 3). When X was C 6 H 13 ( n = 2), the nematic range was smaller in the 2- than in the 1-olefin but wider than in the alkyl series. When X = F, either no nematic phase or a monotropic one was observed, whereas the 1-olefins gave a much wider nematic phase. Both transition temperatures were lower than those for the corresponding 1-olefin and alkyl analogues. The compound with X = C 6 H 13 and n = 2 had a melting temperature below room temperature.     

Emission and sputtering characteristics of Ne-Ar mixed gas glow discharge plasmas.

The emission characteristics of several Cu lines emitted from a Ne-Ar mixed gas glow discharge plasma were investigated. The addition of small amounts of Ar to a Ne plasma increases the sputtering rate of a Cu sample because Ar ions, which work as the impinging ions for cathode sputtering, are predominantly produced through Penning ionization collisions between Ne metastables and Ar atoms. Ar addition also elevates the number density of electrons in the plasma. These changes occurring in the Ne-Ar mixed gas plasma result in enhanced emission intensities of the Cu lines. The Cu II 270.10-nm and the Cu II 224.70-nm lines yield different intensity dependence on the Ar partial pressure added. This phenomenon is because these Cu II lines are excited principally through different charge transfer processes: collisions with Ne ions for the Cu II 270.10-nm line and collisions with Ar ions for the Cu II 224.70-nm line. The shape of sputtered craters in the Ne-Ar glow discharge plasma was measured. The depth resolution was improved when Ar was added to a Ne plasma because the crater bottoms were flatter with larger Ar partial pressures.     

Continuity of the Solution Map in Parametric Affine Variational Inequalities

A systematic study of the upper semicontinuity and the lower semicontinuity of the solution map in parametric affine variational inequalities is given in this paper. Several examples are constructed to analyze the results. This work was supported by Korea Research Foundation Grant (KRF 2001-015-DP0049), the APEC Postdoctoral Fellowships Program, and the KOSEF Brain Pool Program.     

Positive Schatten(-Herz) Class Toeplitz Operators on the Half-space

On the harmonic Bergman space of the half-space, we give characterizations for an arbitrary positive Toeplitz operator to be a Schatten (or Schatten-Herz) class operator in terms of averaging functions and Berezin transforms. Examples are provided to show that various results are sharp. This research was supported by KOSEF(R01-2003-000-10243-0).     

Broadband Light Source for Wavelength-Division Multiple Access Passive Optical Network

We demonstrated a unified two-band broadband light source based on erbium-doped fiber. The proposed scheme generates high output power at both bands and saves doped-fiber and pump lasers.