Characterization of copper SERS-active substrates prepared by electrochemical deposition

Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) on copper substrates of various morphologies, prepared by electrochemical deposition on platinum targets, was investigated. The substrate preparation procedures differed by the coating bath compositions, applied current densities and the duration of individual steps. The surface morphology of the substrates was visualized by means of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). SERS spectra of selected organic thiols were measured and the relation between SERS spectral intensity and the surface structure of SERS-active substrates was studied. It has been shown that good Raman surface enhancement can be achieved on the copper substrates prepared by electrochemical deposition from ammoniac baths. Copper substrates fabricated from acidic baths did not show efficient Raman surface enhancement. The results of microscopic measurements demonstrated that the average surface roughness value does not play a substantial role, whereas the shape of the surface nanostructures is a key parameter.     

Generation of Block Structured Grids on Complex Domains for High Performance Simulation

Computational Mathematics and Mathematical Physics - In high performance computing, block structured grids are favored due to their geometric adaptability while supporting computational performance...     

Enhanced Li Adsorption and Diffusion in Single‐Walled Silicon Nanotubes: An ab Initio Study

We report a first‐principles investigation of Li adsorption and diffusion in single‐walled Si nanotubes (SWSiNTs) of interest to Li‐ion battery anodes. We calculate Li insertion characteristics in SWSiNTs and compare them with the respective ones in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and other silicon nanostructures. From our calculations, SWSiNTs show higher reactivity toward the adsorption of Li adatoms than CNTs and Si nanoclusters. Considering the importance of Li kinetics, we demonstrate that the interior of SWSiNTs may serve as a fast Li diffusion channel. The important advantage of SWSiNTs over their carbon analogues is a sevenfold reduction in the energy barrier for the penetration of the Li atoms into the nanotube interior through the sidewalls. This prepossesses easier Li diffusion inside the tube and subsequent utilization of the interior sites, which enhances Li storage capacity of the system. The improvements in both Li uptake and Li mobility over their analogues support the great potential of SWSiNTs as Li‐ion battery anodes.     

Desorption/ionization of biomolecules from aqueous solutions at atmospheric pressure using an infrared laser at 3 μm

A new atmospheric pressure (AP) infrared (IR) matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) ion source was developed and interfaced with a Thermo Finnigan LCQ ion trap mass spectrometer. The source utilized a miniature all-solid-state optical parametric oscillator (OPO)-based IR laser system tunable in the lambda = 1.5-4 microm spectral range and a nitrogen ultraviolet (UV) laser (lambda = 337 nm) for use in comparative studies. The system demonstrated comparable performance at 3 microm and 337 nm wavelengths if UV matrices were used. However, AP IR-MALDI using a 3 microm wavelength showed good performance with a much broader choice of matrices including glycerol and liquid water. AP IR-MALDI mass spectra of peptides in the mass range up to 2000 Da were obtained directly from aqueous solutions at atmospheric conditions for the first time. A potential use of the new AP IR-MALDI ion source includes direct MS analysis of biological cells and tissues in a normal atmospheric environment as well as on-line coupling of mass spectrometers with liquid separation techniques.     

Luminescence characteristics of Cu- and Eu-doped Li2B4O7

Photoluminescence, radioluminescence as well as optical absorption techniques were used to characterize Cu- and Eu-doped lithium tetraborate. The effect of host modification (single crystal and glassy state) and a limited range of dopant content were investigated. Time-resolved measurements were helpful to identify the emitting species.     

Improving the quality of the ion beam exiting a quadrupole ion guide

The effect of fringing fields on the divergence of the ion beam exiting an RF quadrupole ion guide was studied using a computer simulation. It was shown that reducing the strength of the RF field towards the ion guide exit reduces ion beam divergence. Further improvement was demonstrated when creating a DC gradient towards the exit. The results of the numerical simulation were verified experimentally using a time-of-flight (TOF) mass analyzer with orthogonal acceleration. Decreasing the ion beam divergence resulted in considerably improved mass resolution of the instrument.     

2,5,8‐Trihydrazino‐s‐heptazine: A Precursor for Heptazine‐based Iminophosphoranes

The title compound  C₆N₇(NHNH₂)₃ ( 1 ) was obtained from melem C₆N₇(NH₂)₃ or melon [C₆N₇(NH₂)NH]_n and hydrazine by an autoclave synthesis. Upon treatment with a 10 % HCl solution it is transformed into the trihydrochloride  [C₆N₇(NHNH₃)₃]Cl₃ ( 2 ). Compounds 1 and 2 were analysed with ¹³C NMR, ¹⁵N NMR, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, the single‐crystal X‐ray structure of the pentahydrate of 2 is reported (P\bar{1} , a = 674.96(3), b = 1214.17(6), c = 1272.15(6) pm, α = 66.288(2)°, β = 75.153(2)°, γ = 80.420(2)°, V = 920.30(8)·10⁶ pm³, Z = 2, T = 90(2) K). The thermal decomposition of 1 and 2 was investigated with TG/DTA. Reaction of 1 with NaNO₂/HCl yields triazido‐s‐heptazine, C₆N₇(N₃)₃ ( 3 ). Tris(tri‐n‐butylphosphinimino)‐s‐heptazine ( 4 ) was synthesised from 3 and characterised by means of ¹³C, ³¹P, ¹H NMR, FTIR and MALDI‐TOF spectroscopy. Similar to s‐heptazine derivative 3 , compounds 1 and 4 are precursors for graphitic carbon nitrides, which have attracted considerable attention recently, and to various potential applications, such as flame retardants and (photo) catalysis.     

Styryl Dyes as Two-Photon Excited Fluorescent Probes for DNA Detection and Two-Photon Laser Scanning Fluorescence Microscopy of Living Cells

Spectral-fluorescent properties of benzothiazole styryl monomer (Bos-3) and homodimer (DBos-21) dyes in presence of DNA were studied. The dyes enhance their fluorescence intensity in 2–3 orders of magnitude upon interaction with DNA. Studied styrylcyanines in DNA presence demonstrate rather high values of two-photon absorption (TPA) cross-section, which are comparable with the values of TPA cross section of the rhodamine dyes. An applicability of the styrylcyanines as probes for the fluorescence microscopy of living cells was studied. It was shown that both dyes are cell-permeable but homodimer dye DBos-21 produces noticeably brighter staining of HeLa cells comparing with monomer dye Bos-3. Molecules of DBos-21 initially bind to the nucleic acids- containing cell organelles (presumable mitochondria) and are able to penetrate into the cell nucleus. Thus, homodimer styryl DBos-21 dye is viewed as efficient stain for single-photon and two-photon excitation fluorescence imaging of living cells.