4D scanning transmission ultrafast electron microscopy: Single-particle imaging and spectroscopy

We report the development of 4D scanning transmission ultrafast electron microscopy (ST-UEM). The method was demonstrated in the imaging of silver nanowires and gold nanoparticles. For the wire, the mechanical motion and shape morphological dynamics were imaged, and from the images we obtained the resonance frequency and the dephasing time of the motion. Moreover, we demonstrate here the simultaneous acquisition of dark-field images and electron energy loss spectra from a single gold nanoparticle, which is not possible with conventional methods. The local probing capabilities of ST-UEM open new avenues for probing dynamic processes, from single isolated to embedded nanostructures, without being affected by the heterogeneous processes of ensemble-averaged dynamics. Such methodology promises to have wide-ranging applications in materials science and in single-particle biological imaging.     

Cloud-point extraction of rhodamine 6G by using Triton X-100 as the non-ionic surfactant

Cloud-point extraction (CPE) using the non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 was used successfully to remove a highly toxic dye, rhodamine 6G (R6G), from water and wastewater. The effects of different analytical parameters such as pH, concentration of Triton X-100 (TX-100) and salts, equilibrium temperature, and incubation time on the efficiency of the extraction of R6G were studied in detail, and optimum conditions for dye extraction were obtained. Thermodynamic parameters including changes in Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, and entropy were also calculated, and these parameters indicated that the CPE of R6G was feasible, spontaneous, and endothermic in the temperature range of 75-95 degrees C. The equilibrium solubilization capacity of TX-100 was found to be 1.10 mmol/mol by using Langmuir isotherm models. No significant interference effects were observed in the presence of phenol and its derivatives, some acidic and basic dyes and most of the anions and cations. It was concluded that the CPE process described in this paper can be an alternative technique for removal of dyes and other pollutants from waters and wastewaters.     

Quantum Fisher Information of Decohered W and GHZ Superposition States with Arbitrary Relative Phase

Quantum Fisher Information (QFI) is a very useful concept for analyzing situations that require phase sensitivity. It become a popular topic especially in Quantum Metrology domain. In this work, we study the changes in quantum Fisher information (QFI) values for one relative arbitrary phased quantum system consisting of a superposition of N Qubits W and GHZ states. In a recent work (Ozaydin et al. Int. J. Theor. Phys. 52, 2977, 2013), QFI values of this mentioned system for N qubits were studied. In this work, we extend this problem for the changes of QFI values in some noisy channels for the studied system. We show the changes in QFI depending on noise parameters. We report interesting results for different type of decoherence channels. We show the general case results for this problem.     

The investigation of K‐shell fluorescence parameters of Zn–Fe alloys with different grain size and microstrain values

It is known that zinc alloys with iron group metals have better corrosion resistance than pure zinc. Owing to the corrosion resistance of these alloys, Zn–Fe coatings are widely used in automotive industry and have excellent mechanical performance. In this work, we investigated the relationship between the changes in the measured X‐ray fluorescence parameters (K_β/K_α, σ_Kα and σ_Kβ) and the changes in the structural parameters such as microstrain or grain size values for Zn–Fe alloys that were prepared with different pH values. To explain these changes, the K_α and K_βX‐ray production cross sections, and the K_β/K_αX‐ray intensity ratio values were calculated by three different ways for the elemental forms of Zn and Fe. The structural parameters, such as microstrain and grain size, were also calculated. We expect that the outer shell electronic distribution affects the structural parameters of the produced Zn–Fe alloys, changing the measured K_α and K_βX‐ray production cross sections, and the K_β/K_αX‐ray intensity ratio values. We also show that Zn–Fe alloy mi nimum microstrain value corresponds to the maximum changes in K_βX‐ray production cross‐section values of Fe and Zn. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Photonic electric field sensor based on polymeric microspheres

The detection of electric field by monitoring the optical whispering gallery mode shifts of polymeric microspheres is demonstrated. Two types of spheres are considered; (i) a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sphere with 60 parts base silicon elastomer-to-1 part polymer curing agent by volume and; (ii) a silica sphere coated with a PDMS (uncured) base. The optical mode shifts are caused by perturbations to the resonator morphology induced by electrostriction effect in the presence of an external electric field. Preliminary experiments show that the latter microsphere yields higher sensitivity (0.027 pm/V m⁻¹) with a measurement precision of ∼1.8 V/m. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2014 , 52, 276–279     

Forward-reflected-backward method with variance reduction

Computational Optimization and Applications - We propose a variance reduced algorithm for solving monotone variational inequalities. Without assuming strong monotonicity, cocoercivity, or...     

Modular photoinduced grafting onto approach by ketene chemistry

A modular approach for the synthesis of graft copolymers by the combination of reversible addition–fragmentation chain‐transfer (RAFT) polymerization and photoinduced acylation processes is described. In the two‐step approach, first the copolymers of benzodioxinone containing monomer, namely, 4‐oxo‐2,2‐diphenyl‐4H‐benzo[d][1,3]dioxin‐7‐yl methacrylate (BDMA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) in different feed ratios were prepared by RAFT polymerization. In the subsequent step, dichloromethane solutions of these copolymers (PMMA‐co‐PBDMA) were irradiated at λ = 300 nm in the presence of independently prepared hydroxyl functional polymers such as poly(ethylene glycol) (MeO‐PEG‐OH) and poly(?‐caprolactone) (PCL‐OH). Side‐chain esterification reaction between photochemically generated ketene groups and hydroxyl functionalities resulted in the formation graft copolymers. The intermediates and final graft copolymers were characterized by ¹H NMR, UV, IR, fluorescence, and GPC measurements. The success of the process was also confirmed by a model reaction using pyrene methanol. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, 274–280     

Reactions of Quino‐Ketenes with C‐Nucleophiles: Syntheses of (2‐Hydroxyphenyl)methanols and 2‐Hydroxyphenyl Ketones

In this study, we have developed a new, efficient, and one‐step protocol for the synthesis of derivatives of 2,4‐dihydroxyphenyl ketones and/or 2,4‐dihydroxyphenyl/naphthalenyl methanols starting from benzodioxinones/naphthodioxinones and organolithium compounds. Reactions have been performed under thermal conditions without catalyst. This work is the first example of the preparation of these products starting from 2‐hydroxy acids.     

Structure formation of integral-asymmetric membranes of polystyrene-block-Poly(ethylene oxide)

For the first time the combination of solution casting and solvent–nonsolvent exchange (phase inversion) has been applied to generate asymmetric membranes with highly ordered hexagonally packed cylinders with perpendicular orientation composed of polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide). The influence of parameters like solvent composition and evaporation time on the membrane formation is presented. The development is based on a study of the solution behavior by dynamic light scattering and the precipitation behavior of the cylinder forming diblock copolymer by turbidity measurements from different solvent and nonsolvent systems. The water flux properties, as an important membrane characteristic, show a time dependent behavior, due to swelling of the polyethylene oxide blocks. The morphologies of the membranes are imaged by scanning electron microscopy. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2013