Time-Resolved EPR Spectra of Photoexcited Copper Porphyrin

Photoinduced spin-polarized transient electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of copper 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(3-pyridyl)porphyrin (3PyNCu) in the frozen solution have been observed in the X-band. The time evolution and the temperature dependence of the spectra have been studied. The effect of molecular oxygen in the frozen solution on the polarization pattern has also been examined. The magnetic resonance parameters of the ground state of 3PyNCu have been obtained by comparing the experimental continuous-wave and echo-detected EPR spectra with the numerical computations. The magnetic resonance parameters of the excited states and the photoinduced polarizations have been investigated by time-resolved EPR (TREPR) spectroscopy and numerical analysis. The experimental spectra have been considered as a sum of the polarized spectra of the ground and excited states. Our analysis confirmed that the TREPR spectra consisted of two main patterns: the enhanced signal from the ground state and the multiplet contribution belonging to the excited quartet state.     

Impact of High-Dielectric-Loss Materials on the Microwave Field in EPR Experiments

A dielectric material distorts the microwave field inside an EPR resonator, which results in distortion of the EPR signal from spins inside the material. In this paper, the effects of a spherical bulb filled with a dielectric liquid such as water or a water–ethanol mixture were examined. EPR spectra were recorded for small samples inside and outside of the sphere. The studies include CW and ESE experiments at two microwave frequencies, X band (9.2 GHz) and L band (1.03 GHz). The double integral (area) of an EPR signal depends on[formula]at the position of the sample, causing a large difference in EPR signal intensities between samples in regions of different dielectrics. The phase of the EPR signal also is affected by the presence of the dielectric. These results were compared with three methods of calculating electromagnetic fields (quasi-static method, plane-wave-superposition method, and numerical analysis). Good agreement was found between experimental and calculated results.     

Use of the Frank sequence in pulsed EPR

The Frank polyphase sequence has been applied to pulsed EPR of triarylmethyl radicals at 25 6 MHz (9.1 mT magnetic field), using 256 phase pulses. In EPR, as in NMR, use of a Frank sequence of phase steps permits pulsed FID signal acquisition with very low power microwave/RF pulses (ca. 1.5 mW in the application reported here) relative to standard pulsed EPR. A 0.2 mM aqueous solution of a triarylmethyl radical was studied using a 16 mm diameter cross-loop resonator to isolate the EPR signal detection system from the incident pulses.     

Shifts of g Values in the Excited Triplet States of Metal Complexes Studied by Time-Resolved W-band EPR

A highly time-resolved high-frequency/high-field W-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) (ν ~ 94 GHz) is a powerful technique to determine small g anisotropies of transient paramagnetic species. We applied this method to studies of the lowest excited triplet (T₁)³ ππ* states in metal complexes such as a platinum (Pt) diimine complex and metal (Zn and Mg) porphines in rigid glasses. From the analyses of time-resolved EPR spectra, g anisotropies were obtained as g _z  = 2.0048, g _x  = g _y  = 2.0035 for Pt(b-iq)(CN)₂ (b-iq = 3,3′bi-isoquinoline) and g _z  = 1.9968, g _x  = g _y  = 2.0022 for zinc tetraphenylporphine (ZnTPP). No measurable anisotropies were found for magnesium (Mg) TPP. The g values of the Pt complex are larger than g _e (=2.0023, g value of free electron) and that g _z of ZnTPP is smaller than g _e. These results were interpreted in terms of the nature of the perturbed states: the higher triplet ππ′* state mixes with T₁(ππ*) via spin–orbit coupling in ZnTPP. In contrast, the higher triplet dπ* state is involved in this coupling for the Pt complex. Thus, the nature of the perturbed state can be distinguished from the anisotropic g values of the T₁(ππ*) state.     

Influence of C60 Aggregation on Pseudorotation in the Excited Triplet State Probed by Multifrequency Time-Resolved EPR

The influence of C₆₀ aggregation on time-resolved (TR) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of C₆₀ in the excited triplet state was investigated by multifrequency EPR techniques. Temperature-independent X-band (9.7 GHz) TR-EPR spectra were observed in a fresh toluene solution, while temperature-dependent ones were reported in literatures. The experimental spectra in this study indicated that the pseudorotation of pristine C₆₀ in frozen toluene solution is not frozen out even at lower temperatures. Careful investigations of TR-EPR and its decay kinetics demonstrated that the pseudorotation can be affected by C₆₀ aggregation. A comparison between X- and W-band (94.9 GHz) results indicated that the aggregation can be accelerated by a capillary effect. Three decay constants were extracted from the analysis of the decay kinetics. The fastest component was ascribed to the pseudorotation, which was independent of temperature in the range of 10–40 K. The temperature dependences of the decay kinetics showed that the pseudorotation is not affected by C₆₀ aggregation at higher temperatures.     

The Mechanisms of Oxygen Accelerated Low-Temperature Bonding by Ag Nanoparticles

Low-temperature bonding (≤300 ^o C) using Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) is considered to be the new generation of bonding technology in power electronics. The oxygen-accelerated sintering has been observed by many researchers which is attributed to the decomposition of organics covered on Ag NPs. In this work, organic-free Ag NPs are fabricated to eliminate the influence of organics, and it is found that the accelerated bonding process by oxygen is strongly correlated to the self-confined amorphous Ag-O compound shell on the surface of Ag NPs. In experiments, the sintering process is apparently accelerated by the elevating oxygen content, and the amorphous shell is observed after sintering, which do not grow thicker even in pure oxygen ambient for a long time while performing active chemical evolutions. In simulations, the results match well with the experiments and indicate that the amorphous shell performed the dynamic oxidation and decomposition process. This dynamic equilibrium is caused by the instability of silver oxides, which would enable the amorphous shell to activate the mobility of the surface mass flow and promote the surface diffusion. The shear strength of SiC chip increased by 354% when bonding in pure oxygen, targeting a broad variety of applications in electronic packaging.     

Periodically Self-Excited Moving Striations in a Low-Temperature Gas Plasma

A new nonlinear effect in a low temperature gas plasma has been found and investigated experimentally. At a critical value of the discharge current in a special glow discharge system the positive column constricts and striations evolve spontaneously. On a large time scale the pattern seems to consist of standing striations. At higher temporal resolution the striations turn out to be moving ones which are modulated by high amplitude oscillations of the total electric current and of the voltage observed at the device. In addition phenomena like period doubling and irregular behaviour occur.     

On the Use of a H2–O2 Gas Target in Muonic Hydrogen Atom Hyperfine Splitting Experiments

We propose a substantial improvement of the experimental method for the measurement of the hyperfine splitting of the ground state of muonic hydrogen described in earlier papers [1,2]. By further developing the idea to use the diffusion of the muon hydrogen atoms as a signature of laser-induced hyperfine transitions, we suggest a technique based on the energy dependence of the rate of muon transfer to oxygen in the thermal region, and demonstrate its efficiency and significant practical advantages. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Low-Temperature Molecular Motions in Phospholipid Bilayers in Presence of Glycerol as Studied by Spin-Echo EPR of Spin Labels

Glycerol is used as a cryoprotective agent to protect biological systems under freezing conditions. Electron spin echo (ESE) spectroscopy, a pulsed version of EPR, is capable of studying low-temperature molecular motions of nitroxide spin labels. ESE technique was applied to study molecular motions in phospholipid bilayers prepared from 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) with added spin-labeled lipids 1-palmitoyl-2-stearoyl-(n-DOXYL)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (n-PCSL, n was optionally 5 or 16). Bilayers were hydrated (solvated) either in pure water or in a 1:1 v/v water–glycerol mixture. In the used ESE approach, there were studied stochastic (or diffusive) orientational vibrations of the molecule as a whole (i.e., stochastic molecular librations). The anisotropic contribution to the echo decay rate, W _anis, was measured, which is proportional, according to theory, to the product of the mean-squared angular amplitude \(\langle \alpha^{ 2} \rangle\) and the correlation time τ _c. W _anis was found to be small below and to sharply increase above 200 K, for the both types of solvents and the both label positions. As compared with hydration by pure water, in presence of glycerol W _anis was larger for the 5th label position while for the 16th one it did not change. Also, for the 5th label position W _anis values were found to be nearly the same as those for a polar spin probe 3,4-dicarboxy-PROXYL which was separately added to the bilayer as a reference and which is assumed to be partitioned only into the solvating shell. These results indicate that motions at the surface of bilayer are governed by the motion of solvating shell while motions in the bilayer interior occur independently. The relation of the obtained data with the dynamical transition phenomenon that is known for biological substances near 200 K from neutron scattering and Mössbauer absorption is discussed.     

Use of polyphase continuous excitation based on the Frank sequence in EPR

Polyphase continuous excitation based on the Frank sequence is suggested as an alternative to single pulse excitation in EPR. The method allows reduction of the source power, while preserving the excitation bandwidth of a single pulse. For practical EPR implementation the use of a cross-loop resonator is essential to provide isolation between the spin system and the resonator responses to the excitation. Provided that a line broadening of about 5% is acceptable, the cumulative turning angle of the magnetization vector generated by the excitation sequence can be quite large and can produce signal amplitudes that are comparable to that achieved with a higher power 90° pulse.     

Experiments on Arc Perturbation in Turbulent Gas Flow

Electric arcs burning in a strong, turbulent, axial nitrogen gas flow are studied. Time-resolving (framing) picture series of the arc and its deformations are taken through the quartz tube channel wall. Individual perturbations like kinks exist under strong, turbulent flow conditions. They move with constant acceleration in the direction of the cold gas flow. The temperature of the arc core is disturbed at the position of these disturbances, too. This shows up most distinctly, if the decay of the arc after short-circuiting is studied, as has been done additionally.     

Spectroscopic Detection of Oxygen in Nitrogeneous Gas Mixtures

A pulsed high-frequency discharge was used to excite a non-LTE (local thermal equilibrium) plasma with a high specific power density sufficiently high to dissociate oxygen and gaseous oxides. If traces of hydrocarbons were present in the gas mixture, in the spectrum the Violet system of CN appeared with a long radiation decay time. The CN bands are excited preferentially by inelastic collisions with metastable nitrogen molecules (A³σ). These levels can be efficiently depopulated by competing impact with atomic oxygen. By measuring the radiation signal during the radiation decay a dynamic range of 6 was achieved for a variation of the oxygen content between 1 and 100 ppm. The measured radiation decay of the violet CN 0–0-bands at 388 nm was simulated by a simple model of rate equations valid in the time region where diffusion processes may be neglected.     

Use of electron irradiation in studying thermal donors in silicon by the EPR method

The bistable thermal donors in Czochralski-grown silicon crystals were investigated by EPR spectroscopy and IR-absorption techniques. It is shown that using heat treatment at a temperature ≤400°C and appropriate conductivity compensation by irradiation with 3.5 MeV electrons, one can select from the total signal the EPR-signal associated with only one type, namely TDD2, of the thermal donors. Based on the model of a two-center core structure of the given complexes, an explanation of the EPR-spectroscopy data on the oxygen thermal donors in silicon is suggested. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 67, No. 2, pp. 188–191, March–April, 2000.     

Use of Time-Resolved Fluorescence Analysis to Assess Molecular Mobility and Ionic Conductivity in Nanocomposite Organic-Inorganic Gels

This work is a short review of studies on nanocomposite organic-inorganic gels by stretched-exponential analysis of fluorescence decay profiles. Emphasis is given to the conditions which allow maximum probe mobility and minimum confinement conditions with the aim to assess ionic conductivity in these materials and with the purpose to employ them with dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical solar cells and other analogous systems.     

一种可用于轻气炮加载实验中的光散射测试技术

本文报道了一种用于气炮动态加载实验中的在线光散射测试技术。该实验技术具有技术简单、激发光源工作电压低、光源响应时间短、光源输出功率稳定的优点。利用该实验技术研究了水在多次冲击压缩过程中的相变行为,发现当水被冲击压缩到约2GPa以上时,其透明性开始下降。经分析认为水的透明性下降是由水的液-固相变引起的。