Assemblies of semiconductor quantum dots and light-harvesting-complex II

A novel hybrid system composed of fluorescent core/shell semiconductor quantum dots and the light harvesting complex II (LHCIIb), a membrane protein of higher plants, has been assembled. Experiments with different mutants show that hybrid formation can be mediated by a C-terminal His₆ tag attached to the protein as well as by positive charges of the first N-terminal amino acids of LHCIIb. Quenching of the quantum dot fluorescence upon binding of LHCIIb was partially attributed to energy transfer from the quantum dots to LHCIIb.     

Nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of biodegradable poly(butylene succinate‐co‐propylene succinate)s

Poly(butylene succinate) (PBSu) and two poly(butylene succinate‐co‐propylene succinate)s were synthesized via the direct polycondensation reaction. The copolyesters were characterized as having 7.0.and 11.5 mol % propylene succinate (PS) units, respectively, by ¹H NMR. A differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and a polarized light microscope (PLM) adopted to study the nonisothermal crystallization of these polyesters at a cooling rate of 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 10 °C/min. Morphology and the isothermal growth rates of spherulites under PLM experiments were monitored and obtained by curve‐fitting. These continuous rate data were analyzed with the Lauritzen?Hoffman equation. A transition of regime II → III was found at 95.6, 84.4, and 77.3 °C for PBSu, PBPSu 95/5, and PBPSu 90/10, respectively. DSC exothermic curves show that all of the nonisothermal crystallization occurred in regime III. DSC data were analyzed using modified Avrami, Ozawa, Mo, Friedman, and Vyazovkin equations. All the results of PLM and DSC measurements indicate that incorporation of minor PS units into PBSu markedly inhibits the crystallization of the resulting polymer. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 1299–1308, 2010     

Reversible Single Molecular Switch Operating at 300 K on a Surface

A single 4‐pyridylazobenzene molecule is observed at room temperature on a Si(111)‐B surface by using scanning tunnel microscopy. The reversible conformational switching of this molecule is induced by tunneling electrons and observed at room temperature. This process is based on an intramolecular rotation of a single phenyl group without isomerization of the N?N double bond.     

Crystallization kinetics study of poly(L‐lactic acid)/carbon nanotubes nanocomposites

Effects of carbon nanotubes (CNT) on the isothermal crystallization kinetics of poly(L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) were quantitatively investigated using the Avrami equation and the secondary nucleation theory of Lauritzen and Hoffman. CNT via grafting modification with PLLA could well disperse in the PLLA matrix and give significantly enhanced crystallization rate and crystallinity of PLLA as analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry and polarized optical microscopy. Analysis of isothermal crystallization kinetics using the Avrami equation demonstrated that CNT significantly enhanced the bulk crystallization of PLLA. Analysis of spherulite growth kinetics using the secondary nucleation theory of Lauritzen and Hoffman found that CNT could expand the temperature range of the crystallization regime III of PLLA. Values of the nucleation constant (K_g) in crystallization regimes III and II of PLLA both increased with increasing CNT contents. The K_g III/K_g II ratios were found to be close to the theoretical value 2 but were not clearly found to depend on the CNT contents. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 983–989, 2010     

A new room‐temperature liquid,high‐performance tricyanate ester

A new tricyanate ester monomer of a tris(4‐hydroxyphenyl)benzene derivative was synthesized in 6‐steps with a 63% overall yield. The geminal substitution of phenyl rings on ethane, in addition to the creation of a racemic/diastereomeric mixture, resulted in a liquid monomer whereas compounds with similar structure and symmetry have melting points typically over 100 °C. Key properties of the polycyanurate, such as the glass transition temperature and moisture resistance, were positively influenced by the higher crosslink density provided by the monomer. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

基于MEMS传感器的姿态测量系统设计

为解决单目三维扫描装置摄像机标定完成后姿态不能改变的问题,针对单目三维扫描装置使用过程中的运动方式与特点,设计了一款基于 MEMS 传感器的姿态测量系统。采用四元数对姿态进行解算,通过三轴姿态确定(TRAID)算法构建量测模型,以无迹卡尔曼滤波(UKF)算法进行数据融合,能有效抑制姿态解算过程中陀螺仪的漂移问题。实验结果表明,利用该系统进行姿态测量时静态误差低于±0.2°,动态误差低于±1°,系统实时性好、适用于动态三维扫描系统。     

Case studies on the application of high-resolution electron channelling contrast imaging – investigation of defects and defect arrangements in metallic materials

In 1967, Coates discovered the electron channelling contrast of backscattered electrons (BSEs) in scanning electron microscopy, and by this the possibility to investigate arrangements of lattice defects in deformed microstructures of materials. Since that time, a straightforward development of the scanning electron microscopes as well as of the electron channelling contrast technique took place. Nowadays, the performance of scanning electron microscopes is high enough that the resolution of electron channelling contrast imaging (ECCI) micrographs is comparable with conventional bright field transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs. In the first part of the present paper, a historical review on the development of the ECCI technique starting from its discovery more than 45 years ago up to the combination with other advanced methods of scanning electron microscopy like electron backscatter diffraction or high-resolution selected area channelling patterning in the last few years is given. Major important investigations using this technique for the visualization of individual lattice defects like stacking faults (SFs) and dislocations or dislocation arrangements are chronologically summarized. The second part demonstrates that nowadays, ECCI micrographs taken in high-resolution scanning electron microscopes can be called high-resolution ECCI (HR-ECCI). It is shown that the resolution of individual SFs and dislocations in the HR-ECCI micrographs is comparable to that of conventional TEM (about 15 nm defect image width). Furthermore, the paper is demonstrating that HR-ECCI micrographs can be obtained for various types of materials after different mechanical loadings and different grain sizes ranging from large grain size of 500 μm (cast steel) down to less than 2 μm (γ-TiAl).