2,3,7,8,12,13-Hexakis[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy]tricycloquinazoline: a discogen which allows enhanced levels of n-doping

A synthesis has been developed for 2,3,7,8,12,13-hexakis[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy]-tricycloquinazoline (TCQ6EO2M) in which the ethylenoxy side chains are introduced before elaboration of the heterocylic core. This discogen gives a hexagonal columnar phase (Col_h) between 77 and 233°C. n-Doping using potassium metal is facilitated firstly by the electron poor/π-deficient nature of the core and secondly by the polyethylenoxy side chains which complex the potassium K⁺ counter-ions. The conductivity of the Col_h phase of TCQ6EO2M doped with 10 mol % potassium (σ _∥ = 1.1 x 10^-3 S m^-1) is substantially higher than that previously reported for 2,3,7,8,12,13-hexa(hexylthio)tricycloquinazoline doped with 6 mol % potassium (σ _∥ = 2.9 x 10^-5 S m^-1). Photoconductivity studies of TCQ6EO2M using a time of flight sample configuration show transient photocurrents for both holes and electrons. From these an upper limit on the mobility for the electrons is estimated as ~10^-4 cm² V^-1 s^-1 at 150°C which is of the same magnitude as that for hole mobilities in other columnar discotic liquid crystals.     

One-Pot Synthesis of 2-Arylthiazolines with 1-Butyl-3-Methylimidazolium Tribromide as a Catalytic Reagent

Abstract

A simple, inexpensive, and efficient one-pot synthesis of 2-arylthiazoline derivatives under solvent-free conditions using a catalytic amount of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tribromide with excellent product yields is reported. This methodology provides easy, quantitative access to various 2-arylthiazoline derivatives, using environmentally benign 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tribromide as a catalyst.     

Morphology Engineering of Fullerene (C60) Microstructures Featuring Surface Cracks with Enhanced Photoluminescence and Microscopic Recognition Properties

Surface cracks could improve the optical and photoelectronic properties of crystalline materials as they increase specific surface area, but the controlled self-assembly of fullerene (C₆₀) molecules into micro-/nanostructures with surface cracks is still challenging. Herein, we report the morphology engineering of novel C₆₀ microstructures bearing surface cracks for the first time, selecting phenetole and propan-1-ol (NPA) as good and poor solvents, respectively. Our systematic investigations reveal that phenetole molecules initially participate in the formation of the ends of the C₆₀ microstructures, and then NPA molecules are involved in the gradual growth of the sidewalls of the microstructures. Therefore, the surface cracks of C₆₀ microstructures can be finely regulated by adjusting the addition of NPA and the crystallization time. Interestingly, the cracked C₆₀ microstructures show superior photoluminescence properties relative to the smooth microstructures due to the increased specific surface area. In addition, C₆₀ microstructures with wide cracks show preferential recognition of silica particles over C₆₀ particles owing to electrostatic interactions between the negatively charged C₆₀ microstructures and the positively charged silica microparticles. These C₆₀ crystals with surface cracks have potential applications from optoelectronics to biology.     

Deterministic Bidirectional Remote State Preparation of a- and Symmetric Quantum States with a Proper Quantum Channel

We present a new scheme for deterministically realizing the mutual interchange of quantum information between two distant parties via selected quantum states as the shared entangled resource. We first show the symmetric bidirectional remote state preparation (BRSP), where two single-qubit quantum states will be simultaneously exchanged in a deterministic manner provided that each of the users performs single-qubit von Neumann measurements with proper measurement bases as well as appropriate unitary operations, depending essentially on the outcomes of the prior measurements. Then we consider to extend the symmetric protocol to an asymmetric case, in which BRSP of a general single-qubit state and an arbitrary two-qubit state is investigated successfully. The necessary quantum operations and the employed quantum resources are feasible according to the present technology, resulting in that this protocol may be realizable in the realm of current physical experiment.     

Global exponential stability for quaternion-valued recurrent neural networks with time-varying delays

Nonlinear Dynamics - In this paper, we employ a novel method for solving the problem of the global exponential stability of quaternion-valued recurrent neural networks (QVNNs) with time-varying...     

Newton-like methods for solving vector optimization problems

In the context of Euclidean spaces, we present an extension of the Newton-like method for solving vector optimization problems, with respect to the partial orders induced by a pointed, closed and convex cone with a nonempty interior. We study both exact and inexact versions of the Newton-like method. Under reasonable hypotheses, we prove stationarity of accumulation points of the sequences produced by Newton-like methods. Moreover, assuming strict cone-convexity of the objective map to the vector optimization problem, we establish convergence of the sequences to an efficient point whenever the initial point is in a compact level set.