Rh-catalyzed intramolecular aromatic C–H insertion of α-diazo β-ketoesters: synthesis of 4-carbonyl chroman derivatives

A Rh-catalyzed intramolecular aromatic C–H insertion of α-diazo β-ketoesters was developed. This protocol offers a practical strategy for the synthesis of 4-carbonyl chroman derivatives with high yield and is compatible with a wide variety of substituents. Synthetic applications of the 4-carbonyl chroman were also demonstrated.     

Structural modification of BODIPY: Improve its applicability

BODIPY has been considered a potential scaffold because of their neutral total charge, sharp absorption,and emission with high fluorescence quantum yield. However, the drawback of emission wavelength at less than 600 nm and hydrophobicity limit its application. One of the extremely interesting properties of BODIPY is that small modifications to their structures could be able to tune their properties, mainly including the absorption/emission wavelength and the hydrophilicity. This review focuses on the modification at different positions of BODIPY to improve the water-solubility and emission wavelength that describe their spectral, photophysical properties and applicability, which is helpful for the researchers to rationally design BODIPY dyes to adapt a wide range of applications.     

Enhanced enantioselectivity in the heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation of acetoacetate esters into the corresponding 3-hydroxybutyrates using commercial nickel powder

Heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation of acetoacetic acid esters over tartaric acid/NaBr-modified Ni powder was determined to be a critical function of the steric bulk of the ester moiety to afford quantitatively 3-hydroxybutyrate in 94% enantiomeric excess when ethyl and i-butyl esters are used, providing a facile route to optically active 3-hydroxybutyrates.     

Exploration of silver decoration concentration to enhance photocatalytic efficiency of titanium dioxide photocatalysts

Ag decoration on TiO₂ is favorable to absorption of visible light and wider absorption range. Ag nanoparticles playing the role of electron receivers on TiO₂ surface enhance photodegradation. However, excess Ag nanoparticles caused reduced specific surface area of photocatalysts and increased probability of charge recombination, resulting in lower photocatalytic efficiency. In this study, the influence of various Ag decoration concentrations on photocatalytic activity was investigated. Surface treatment by nitric acid after Ag decoration was performed to avoid excessive Ag deposition. The extent of Ag elimination and its impacts on photocatalytic activity were also explored. An optimum Ag content in the photocatalyst was achieved and photocatalytic efficiency was obviously improved. It was found that the number of calcination times affected the crystallinity and stability of photocatalysts. Better photocatalytic efficiency could be obtained after twice calcinations.     

The inverse phase sequence SmA-SmC in symmetric dimeric liquid crystals

Seven homologous symmetric dimeric liquid crystals are presented where two three-ring mesogenic units are connected by a bis(carbonyloxy)alkylene spacer. For homologues with terminal heptyloxy, octyloxy and nonyloxy chains, the unusual phase sequence SmA-SmC with increasing temperature was detected by the study of the optical textures and by X-ray diffraction measurements. This unusual behaviour is discussed on the basis of the molecular structure of these compounds.     

Optimizing the optical field distribution of near-field SIL optical storage system using five-zone binary phase filters

Five-zone binary phase filters (FBPFs) are proposed for decreasing the spot size and/or increasing the focal depth of the near-field optical storage system with a hemisphere solid immersion lens (SIL). The design of filters is based on the vector diffraction theory and the MATLAB optimizing toolbox. Three FBPFs with rotationally symmetrical pupil function have been designed, where the one FBPF is for increasing the focal depth as big as possible, the second FBPF is for improving the resolution as high as possible, and the third FBPF integrate the increase of focal depth with the improvement of resolution. Numerical results show that compared with the three-zone amplitude filter, the designed five-zone binary phase-only filters have more prominent performances in improving the focal depth and the resolution of the near-field SIL optical storage system.     

Additive assisted hydrothermal synthesis,characterization and optical properties of one dimensional DyPO4:Ce3+ nanostructures

One dimensional nanostructures of cerium doped dysprosium phosphate (DyPO₄:Ce³⁺) were synthesized via hydrothermal route in the presence of different surfactants [sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), dodecyl sulfosuccinate (DSS), polyvinyl pyrollidone (PVP)] and solvent [ethylene glycol and water]. The prepared nanostructures were characterized by Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), UV-VIS-NIR absorption spectrophotometer and photoluminescence (PL) studies. The PXRD and FTIR results indicate purity, good crystallinity and effective doping of Ce³⁺ in nanostructures. SEM and TEM micrographs display nanorods, nanowires and nanobundles like morphology of DyPO₄:Ce³⁺. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectra (EDS) of DyPO₄:Ce³⁺nanostructures confirm the presence of dopant. UV-VIS-NIR absorption spectra of prepared compounds are used to calculate band gap and explore their optical properties. Luminescent properties of DyPO₄:Ce³⁺ was studied by using PL emission spectra. The effect of additives and solvents on the uniformity, morphology and optical properties of the nanostructures were studied in detail.     

High-accuracy three-dimensional aspheric mirror measurement with nanoprofiler based on normal vector tracing method

The demand for high-accuracy aspheric optical elements has increased significantly in recent years. The surface shapes of such optical elements must be measured with 1 nm Peak-to-Valley(PV) accuracy; however, it is difficult to achieve 1 nm PV accuracy with conventional methods. In this research, we developed a nanoprofiler based on the normal vector tracing method that can achieve the required accuracy. An aspheric mirror was measured by using the nanoprofiler, and repeatable, sub-nanometer measurements were achieved. Furthermore, we compared our nanoprofiler results with those of a Fizeau interferometer and found that the difference was within the systematic error.