Waveform-controlled near-single-cycle milli-joule laser pulses generate sub-10 nm extreme ultraviolet continua

We demonstrate the generation of waveform-controlled laser pulses with 1?mJ pulse energy and a full-width-half-maximum duration of ～4 fs, therefore lasting less than two cycles of the electric field oscillating at their carrier frequency. The laser source is carrier-envelope-phase stabilized and used as the backbone of a kHz repetition rate source of high-harmonic continua with unprecedented flux at photon energies between 100 and 200?eV (corresponding to a wavelength range between 12-6?nm respectively). In combination we use these tools for the complete temporal characterization of the laser pulses via attosecond streaking spectroscopy.     

Versatile Visible-Light-Driven Synthesis of Asymmetrical Phosphines and Phosphonium Salts

Asymmetrically substituted tertiary phosphines and quaternary phosphonium salts are used extensively in applications throughout industry and academia. Despite their significance, classical methods to synthesize such compounds often demand either harsh reaction conditions, prefunctionalization of starting materials, highly sensitive organometallic reagents, or expensive transition-metal catalysts. Mild, practical methods thus remain elusive, despite being of great current interest. Herein, we describe a visible-light-driven method to form these products from secondary and primary phosphines. Using an inexpensive organic photocatalyst and blue-light irradiation, arylphosphines can be both alkylated and arylated using commercially available organohalides. In addition, the same organocatalyst can be used to transform white phosphorus (P₄) directly into symmetrical aryl phosphines and phosphonium salts in a single reaction step, which has previously only been possible using precious metal catalysis.     

Combining Electron‐Accepting Phthalocyanines and Nanorod‐like CuO Electrodes for p‐Type Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

A route is reported for the synthesis of two electron‐accepting phthalocyanines featuring linkers with different lengths as sensitizers for p‐type dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Importantly, our devices based on novel nanorod‐like CuO photocathodes showed high efficiencies of up to 0.191 %: the highest value reported to date for CuO‐based DSSCs.