Ultrafast energy migration in chromophore shell-metal nanoparticle assemblies

A multifunctional ligand-coated nanoparticle system containing approximately 2000 highly two-photon absorptive chromophores has been investigated by means of steady-state and femtosecond time-resolved spectroscopy. This system with a high local concentration of chromophores showed remarkably low self-quenching and a high fluorescence quantum yield, which is important for a variety of two-photon sensing and imaging applications. We have observed evidence for ultrafast energy migration in these chromophore shell-metal nanoparticle systems. Time-resolved experiments also showed non-zero residual anisotropy after the initial fast decay, which can be interpreted as due to the formation of the specific domains on the metal surfaces. This investigation opens new avenues toward the development of multi-chromophoric efficient TPA fluorescence sensing/imaging systems with large numbers of chromophores per one metal particle nanoparticle.     

Analytical application of Cherenkov radiation

The application of Cherenkov photometry gives a new possibility in isotope dilution analysis for determination of specific activity in a simple way. If the compound of the isotope is coloured or it can be converted into a coloured compound, it is possible to measure the activity and the concentration of the compound in one sample in one series of measurement. Methods were worked out for the determination of³²P specific activity by measuring the³²P efficiency, activity and the phosphorus content of the same sample. It is possible to measure the specific activity in an automatic mode with some modification of the liquid scintillation spectrometer.     

Analytical application of Cherenkov radiation

Data are reported on the development of a Cherenkov photometric producere, applying the basic principle of the method of LOWRY et al. At various amplifications and channel settings, linear correlations may be obtained between the logarithm of the protein content and the external standard activity or the channel ratio. The values obtained by Cherenkov spectrophotometry based on the Filin method display a linear correlation with each other with a good correlation coefficient.     

Analytical application of Cherenkov radiation

Studies were made to establish the possibilities and limitations of the photometric application of Cherenkov radiation. The colour quenching brought about by various coloured substances can be utilized for Cherenkov photometric measurements. The colour quenching is the strongest in the case of yellow, and the least strong for blue; accordingly, the slope of the linear logarithmic correlation between the efficiency and the concentration is higher for yellow than for blue. Glass and plastic vessels alike can be used for the measurements. The measurements have the greatest sensitivity in the case of the external standard. With the aid of an external standard, measurements of very high sensitivity can be made under isotope-free conditions.     

Analytical investigation of a four-variable model of the BZ reaction

It is proved analytically that the four-variable model reported in the preceding paper [1] has a unique stationary solution for each set of rate constants. An upper and a lower boundary for the stationary concentrations are established.

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Absorption of electromagnetic radiation by a nanoparticle in a nanocomposite: Going beyond the Maxwell-Garnett approximation

A model has been proposed for calculating the polarizability of a metal nanoparticle in a composite consisting of a dielectric matrix and monodisperse nanoparticles with more exact allowance for the influence of neighboring particles going beyond the Maxwell-Garnett approximation. The main attention has been focused on the imaginary component of the polarizability, which determines electromagnetic radiation absorption by a nanoparticle in the dipole approximation. It has been shown that the absorption may be noticeably enhanced or diminished depending on the incident radiation frequency.     

Analytical investigation of plasma-treated carbon fibres

As-grown and heat-treated vapour grown carbon fibres (VGCF) in the as-prepared state, washed in HCl/H(2)O, and treated in O(2) plasma for different periods have been investigated by means of XPS and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The surface energy of the carbon fibres before and after plasma treatment was determined from the wetting contact angle. Washing introduced hydroxyl, carbonyl and carboxyl groups onto the fibre surfaces and oxygen plasma treatment increases the total atomic concentration of oxygen up to 17%. This is in good agreement with the value of the polar component of the surface energy. Plasma treatment also enhanced the fibre surface porosity (by etching).     

Analytical probability distribution function for a one-dimensional anharmonic oscillator in thermal equilibrium

A simple closed formula is proposed for the probability distribution function of a one-dimensional anharmonic oscillator in thermal equilibrium. It is shown that this formula yields a plausible approximation for the distribution function over wide ranges of the parameter θ = hcωelkT and the degree of anharmonicity. A more general formula with extended limits of applicability is also considered.     

Novel method for the investigation of single nanoparticle reactivity

The reactivity of planar surfaces has been well investigated but there are many new unexplored aspects involved in the reactivity of nanoparticle surfaces. Most investigative methods only measure the average properties of the particles present on the surface. In order to investigate the local reactivity of nanoparticles, the STM tip electrode can be used as a local sensor. The feasibility of this approach is demonstrated by detecting some of the hydrogen (through the hydrogen oxidation reaction current at the tip) which is evolved at a single Pd particle on the Au(111) substrate at a constant distance from the tip. In principle, it is thereby possible to determine the reactivities of surfaces on a nanometre scale. To avoid interference from different reactive particles it is essential to use electrodes with a very low particle density. Hence, in this investigation electrodes with single Pd particles which were deposited from the STM tip onto the substrate are used. Results of potential-dependent measurements at single metal nanoparticles will be shown and the possibilities and limitations of the approach will also be discussed.     

Laboratory investigation on the role of organics in atmospheric nanoparticle growth

The uptake of organic vapors by 4-20 nm H(2)SO(4) particles has been investigated to assess the role of organics in atmospheric nanoparticle growth. Sulfuric acid nanoparticles are generated from homogeneous binary nucleation of H(2)SO(4) and H(2)O vapors in a laminar flow chamber. The growth factor of H(2)SO(4) nanoparticles exposed to methyglyoxal, ethanol, 1-butanol, 1-heptanol, and 1-decanol is measured using a nanotandem differential mobility analyzer (nano-TDMA). The measured growth factor is close to unity when nanoparticles are exposed to methylglyoxal, ethanol, 1-butanol, 1-heptanol, and 1-decanol, indicating no apparent growth within the experimental uncertainty. In addition, spectroscopic evolution of functional groups in H(2)SO(4) particles of ～40 nm diameter size, deposited on ZnSe crystal and subsequently exposed to glyoxal and 2,4-hexadienal, is studied using attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FT-IR). The ATR-FT-IR measurements present the first spectroscopic signatures of high molecular weight aldol and oligomer products and show that polymerization and oligomerization reactions are partially reversible. The implications of the present results to nanoparticle growth in the atmosphere are discussed.     

Analytical investigation and numerical modeling of collisions between a droplet and a fiber

The kinetics of the collisions between droplet and the fiber is being studied in both theoretical and numerical way. During theoretical investigations the balances between the various components of total energy of the droplet have been used. As a result, we have obtained the conditions (expressed in terms of non-dimensional parameters characterizing the system) at which the deposition of the droplet on the fiber or the separation of the droplet from the fiber occurs. The results of theoretical computation have been compared with the results of the numerical simulations using the two-color lattice-Boltzmann method.     

Analytical developments in toxicological investigation of drug-facilitated sexual assault

This paper gives a general overview of the drug-facilitated sexual assault phenomenon. Sexual assault perpetrated on both women and men, while incapacitated by so-called date-rape drugs, recently became the focus of many investigations conducted by law enforcement agencies in the US throughout the 1990s; an alarming increase in reports of this crime as well as in the number of scientific publications on drug-facilitated sexual assault has been observed. The list of drugs reportedly associated with sexual assault is long and among others includes flunitrazepam with other benzodiazepines such as diazepam, temazepam, clonazepam, oxazepam, as well as gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), ketamine, and scopolamine. We discuss the most recent analytical developments in the toxicological investigation of drug-facilitated rape designed to reveal drug presence and that may help successfully prosecute perpetrators.     

Unsteady heating and radiation effects of small particles in a thermal plasma

Based on exact solutions for the heat flux to a particle exposed to a thermal plasma given in a previous paper, initial unsteady heating (including heating of the solid phase, melting of the solid phase, heating of the liquid phase, and evaporation) and radiation effects are considered. Closed-form solutions can be obtained for particles with infinite thermal conductivities. The results show that the time periods required for the various steps are all proportional to the square of the particle radius, suggesting that reduced time periods which are independent of the particle radius are appropriate bases for comparison. Results are presented for three materials (alumina, tungsten, and graphite) and three types of plasmas (argon, argon-hydrogen mixture, and nitrogen). It is shown that evaporation (or sublimation) is by the slowest step among all processes in a plasma reactor if complete evaporation (or sublimation) of the particles is desired. Studies of the temperature history of particles with finite thermal conductivities show that temperature gradients within the particles depend on the ratio of the particles' thermal resistance to that of the plasma. In spite of the difference in initial heating, the analytical expressions based on infinite thermal conductivities predict the correct total time spent for both heating and evaporation even for low-conductivity materials such as alumina. The effect of radiation losses from a particle during heating becomes important for large particles, for high-boiling-point materials, and for low enthalpy differences between the plasma and the particle surface.On leave from the Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, P.R.C.     

A comparative study of heat transfer analysis on ethylene glycol or engine oil as base fluid with gold nanoparticle in presence of thermal radiation

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The present work addresses to analyse the heat transfer enhancement of unsteady laminar incompressible MHD flow of couple stress nanofluid through a...     

Analytical techniques for the investigation of coffee aroma

A review is provided on instrumental measurement techniques used in coffee aroma analysis comprising sample preparation and identification techniques. In addition, a brief survey of the complex nature of coffee aroma is given.     

Analytical investigation of two-step adsorption kinetics on surfaces

Analytical equations of two-step adsorption kinetics on surface have been derived. Moreover, computer simulations have been carried out to interpret various experimental adsorption kinetics previously reported. In the first case, molecules are further adsorbed from a solution onto a layer consisting of previously adsorbed molecules. This model was applied to the adsorption kinetics of hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (C16TAC) on a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of 3-mercaptopropionic acid (T. Imae, H. Torii, J. Phys. Chem. B 104 (2000) 9218). The second case is that some of the initially adsorbed molecules are released from the adlayer with further time course. The adsorption of C16TAC on 1-dodecanethiol SAM (T. Imae, T. Takeshita, K. Yahagi, Stud. Surf. Sci. Catal. 132 (2001) 477) agrees with this mechanism. The strict mathematical developments presented in this work are demanded to specify the physical meaning of observed non-Langmuir adsorption kinetics, consisting of the two exponential terms.     

Effect of copper nanoparticle aggregation on the thermal conductivity of nanofluids

The thermal conductivity of water and glycerol is investigated via the transient hot wire method by adding small amounts of copper nanoparticles to solutions. At a 0.2% copper nanoparticle concentration, the thermal conductivity coefficient rises to 25% for the Cu + glycerol system, and to 35% for Cu + water system. A mechanism and mathematical model for describing the nanoparticle aggregation effect on the thermal properties of nanofluids are proposed, based on an analysis of the accumulated experimental data. It is shown that the enhancement of nanofluid thermal conductivity at low nanoparticle concentrations is directly proportional to their volume fraction and thermal conductivity coefficient, and (in accordance with the literature data) is inversely proportional to the radius and the aggregation ratio. The proposed model describes the existing experimental data quite well. The results from this work can be applied to the rapid cooling of electronic components, in the power engineering for ensuring the rapid and effective transfer of thermal energy in a nuclear reactor, and in the oil industry for thermal stimulation.     

Analytical protocol for investigation of zinc speciation in plant tissue

A specific procedure is proposed for investigating the chemical speciation of zinc (Zn) in plant tissues, viz., the extraction of Zn compounds from Plantago lanceolata L. followed by the chromatographic separation and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) identification of these compounds. In order to separate the Zn compounds, both size-exclusion (SEC) and ionexchange liquid chromatography (IC) were used in direct sequential and reverse sequential modes. In the direct sequential mode, the entire extract undergoes SEC separation and then the individual fractions are injected onto the ion-exchange column. The molecular size distribution is evaluated by SEC coupled on-line to the UV detector. In the reverse sequential mode, the entire extract undergoes the ion-exchange chromatographic separation and then the individual fractions are injected onto the size-exclusion column. The identification of Zn incorporated into the compounds is further performed using ICP-MS. This procedure is particularly useful in speciation studies when identification of the individual components of the element is problematic due to the lack of suitable standard substances, as is the case for Zn compounds. The proposed procedure facilitates assignment of the signals to the individual components of the fractions for both types of chromatography, thus rendering the chemical speciation of Zn possible when the lack of suitable standard substances impedes the identification of individual components.     

Analytical investigation of the properties and uses of a new hydrophobic molecular sieve

Distribution coefficients and capacities have been determined for many different organic compounds on a new molecular sieve called silicalite, which does not adsorb water but does adsorb small organic molecules with diameters up to 6 A, from both liquid and gaseous streams. The characteristics of silicalite have been examined closely and new applications for it are briefly described.