Dielectric properties and frequency response of self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiols

This paper presents dielectric properties of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) under an ac electric field. Using a Hg-SAM/SAM-Hg junction, we measured the ac impedance of alkanethiol SAMs using a sinusoidal perturbation of 30 mV (peak-to-peak) with frequency ranging from 1 Hz to 1 MHz at zero bias. Semicircles at higher frequencies and at middle frequencies along with Warburg lines at lower frequencies were observed in complex plane impedance plots, that is, Nyquist plots. The frequency response of SAMs was analyzed by modeling the junction using an equivalent circuit and fitting the Nyquist plots. The semicircles at higher frequencies are attributed to the effect of the SAM/SAM interfaces, and the ones at middle frequencies are attributed to the effect of alkanethiol SAMs. The comparison in the plots of the imaginary part of the impedance Z against frequency for the bare Hg electrodes (in pure ethanal) and the SAM-covered Hg electrodes (in alkanethiol solution) supports the analysis. The Warburg lines are attributed to a certain ionic impurity. The dielectric loss spectra are further analyzed. Chain-length-dependent peaks, which correspond to different relaxation mechanisms, at higher frequencies and middle frequencies were observed in the spectra of the dissipation factor (tan delta vs frequency). The peaks move to small frequency with the increase of chain length of alkanethiols. Using a correlation of peak position with the chain length, we then derived active energies of 39-99 meV for alkanethiol SAMs of C7-C18 under an ac electric field.     

Low-temperature orientationally ordered structures of two-dimensional C60

Orientationally ordered structures of two-dimensional (2D) C(60) at low temperature have been investigated theoretically and experimentally. Using total energy optimization with a phenomenological potential, we find the ground state is a close packed hexagonal lattice in which all the molecules have the same orientation. Several local minima of the potential energy surface are found to be associated with other 1 x 1 lattices as well as 2 x 2 lattices. The energies of the orientational domain boundaries of the 1x1 lattices are also computed, and two kinds of which yield negative values. A majority of these theoretical findings are confirmed by our low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy study of a 2D C(60) array supported on a self-assembled monolayer.     

Radiation-assisted synthesis of Prussian blue nanoparticles using sugar as stabilizer

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The present paper, for the first time, reports the application of Ba2TiSi2O8 (BTS) for management of trivalent actinides present in radioactive...     

Radiation-sensitive nanogel-incorporated Fricke hydrogel dosimeters with reduced diffusion rates

Fricke gel dosimeters have great potential for three-dimensional (3D) dose verification in radiation therapy; however, they suffer from time-dependent ion diffusion after irradiation, severely affecting their stability and reliability. In this work, a pullulan-based amphiphilic molecule was synthesized, characterized, and self-assembled into nanogels. Nanogel structures were embedded into gel dosimeters to reduce the diffusion rates, and radiation-sensitive nanogel-incorporated Fricke hydrogel nanocomposites were prepared successfully. The results demonstrated that the diffusion coefficient of improved dosimeters was reduced to 0.125 ± 0.001 mm² h⁻¹, while maintaining the high optical dose sensitivity (0.0410 ± 0.0004 Gy⁻¹ cm⁻¹). It provides a powerful tool toward the practical application of 3D dosimeters.     

掺锂硼酸盐复合凝胶的制备与表征

 以硼酸三正丁酯、甲醇锂为主要原料,甲醇和四氢呋喃为溶剂,利用溶胶-凝胶法通过优化工艺制备了掺锂硼酸盐凝胶。分别采用粘度分析、热分析、X射线衍射、扫描电镜、透射电镜及红外光谱,对凝胶形成过程、物相、成分、微观形貌等进行表征。结果表明：对凝胶在150 ℃条件下处理4 h获得干凝胶,干凝胶在450 ℃左右产生结晶的倾向,492 ℃干凝胶已经完全从非晶态转变为晶态,在808 ℃左右晶体熔解;干凝胶是多孔网络结构材料;干凝胶网络结构的基本组成单元是以≡B—O—B=键的方式连接的,其中一个硼原子是四配位,另一个是三配位的。     

四核钴羰基簇合物CO_4(CO)_8(μ-CO)_2(μ_4-PSR)_2的合成和晶体结构

通过Co_2（CO）_8与二气烧流基酸RSPCI_2［R＝－CH_3－C_2H_5，－C（CH_3）_3，－（CH_2）_4H_3］反应，得到4个新簇合物．除用元素分析、IR、~1HNMR和MS表征其结构外，还用X光衍射法测定了侯会物CO_4（CO）_8（μ-CO）_2（μ_4－PSR）_2小的单品结构该簇合物用单斜晶系，P21／C空间群．晶胞参数为α＝8．445（3），b＝8．562（3），c＝17．125（6），β＝104．26（3）°；V＝1200．1A3；Dc＝1．9379cm~3μ＝3．058mm~(－1)；F（000）＝688．结构分析表明，四个Co原子形成平面矩形，两个PSR四重桥基分别在四钻平面上下盖帽构成Co_4P_2类人面体骨架，骨架为D_(2h)点群对称性．PSR配体为4e供体，与四个钴原子成键．     

Direct electrochemistry and electroanalysis of hemoglobin adsorbed in self-assembled films of gold nanoshells

Gold nanoshells (GNSs), consisting of a silica core and a thin gold shell, were self-assembled on the surface of 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTES) modified indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode. The resulting novel GNSs-coated ITO (GNSs/APTES/ITO) electrode could provide a biocompatible surface for the adsorption of hemoglobin (Hb). The UV-visible (UV-vis) spectra indicated that Hb adsorbed on the GNSs interface retained the native structure. Electrochemical impedance spectra and cyclic voltammetric techniques were employed to evaluate the electrochemical behaviors of Hb, the results demonstrated that GNSs could act as electron tunnels to facilitate electron transfer between Hb and the electrode. Based on the activity of Hb adsorbed on the GNSs/APTES/ITO electrode toward the reduction of hydrogen peroxide, a mediator-free H₂O₂ biosensor was constructed, which showed a broad linear range from 5 μM to 1 mM with a detection limit of 3.4 μM (S/N = 3). The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant was calculated to be 180 μM, suggesting a high affinity.     

Preparation of YSZ films by magnetron sputtering for anode-supported SOFC

YSZ films for anode-supported SOFCs were prepared by reactive sputtering method. It was found that the surface morphology of anode substrate has a very important effect on the quality of sputtered films. By applying an anode functional layer and making the anode surface smooth, dense and uniform YSZ films of 10 µm in thickness were successfully fabricated. The sintering behaviors of the sputtered YSZ films were also discussed. It is suggested that the optimized densification condition for the deposited YSZ films is sintering at 1250 °C for 4 h. Single cells with sputtered YSZ film as electrolyte and LSM-YSZ as active cathode materials were tested. 1.08 V open circuit voltage and a 700 mW/cm² maximum power density were achieved at 750 °C by using humidified H₂ as fuel and air as oxidant.     

Quasi chiral phase separation in a two-dimensional orientationally disordered system: 6-nitrospiropyran on Au(111)

The adsorption and chiral expression of 6-nitrospiropyran (SP6) molecules on a Au(111) surface are studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in combination with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Both the chirality and the adsorption orientation of each adsorbed SP6 molecule are determined. The racemic mixture of SP6 enantiomers forms two-dimensional (2D) domains with same close packed positional orders but different internal orientational structures due to the random distribution of two adsorption orientations in each domain. However, all these orientationally disordered 2D domains undergo spontaneous quasi chiral phase separation; the 2D SP6 domains separate into 1D homochiral chains in which the SP6 molecules adopt two orientations randomly. This novel phenomenon is attributed to the preferential formation of the energetic favorable configurations with both the C-H...O weak hydrogen bonds and the pi-stacking of the two moieties of each SP6 molecule.