Ultraviolet-Laser-Induced Crystallization of Sol-Gel Derived Indium Oxide Films

Modification of sol-gel derived indium oxide thin films using ultraviolet lasers was investigated. Irradiation by an ArF excimer (6.4 eV) and the fourth harmonic generation of a Nd : YAG laser (4.7 eV) was found to be effective in crystallization with a loss of hydroxyl groups and a decrease in the sheet resistance of the sol-gel films. Transparent crystalline indium oxide films were successfully obtained by 6.4 eV laser irradiation at fluences below 20 mJ/(cm2·shot), whereas degradation of the films was induced by a relatively high-fluence beam.     

Discotic liquid crystals stabilized by interionic interactions: imidazolium ion-anchored paraffinic triphenylene

Incorporation of imidazolium ion functionalities into the paraffinic side-chain termini of a triphenylene derivative resulted in stabilization of a columnar mesophase of its liquid crystalline assembly, which was retained over a wider temperature range down to 4 degrees C by an externally added imidazolium-based ionic liquid.     

Simultaneous determination of In(III) and Cd(II) by differential pulse polarography in the presence of poly β-cyclodextrin

The difference in the peak potentials of In(III) and Cd(II), whose reduction potentials are very close to each other, becomes large in the presence of poly beta-cyclodextrin in sodium perchlorate medium. The relationships between the peak currents for these two ions and their concentrations are linear, suggesting that the simultaneous determination of the ions is possible in the presence of this reagent.     

Determination of antihyperglycemic biguanides in serum and urine using an ion-pair solid-phase extraction technique followed by HPLC-UV on a pentafluorophenylpropyl column and on an octadecyl column

An HPLC-UV method was established for the determination of metformin and buformin in biological fluids. Metformin was not retained on particles packed in conventional solid-phase extraction cartridges; in contrast, buformin was retained too firmly and not eluted with a solvent for recovery. However, both drugs were retained on particles that had been treated with an ion-pair reagent of heptanesulfonate or dodecylsulfate and recovered almost completely. The recovered fraction was subjected to HPLC on a pentafluorophenylpropyl column which was suitable for the determination of both biguanides in serum and in urine. Limits of quantitation were low enough for clinical use, and reproducibility was high with an RSD of 0.9-2.3%. HPLC on a conventional octadecyl column was suitable only for the determination of buformin in serum since interfering peaks appeared on the chromatograms of urine samples. The method was applied to analysis of some clinical specimens.     

Photochemical stitching of a tubularly assembled hexabenzocoronene amphiphile by dimerization of coumarin pendants

A coumarin-appended amphiphilic hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene (1) self-assembled to form graphitic nanotubes. Upon irradiation of lambda > 300 nm, the nanotubes in the solid state and suspension both underwent dimerization of the coumarin pendants, affording covalently stitched nanotubes, which were hardly soluble in CHCl3, a good solvent of 1. In contrast, a thin film cast from a homogeneous solution of 1 was intact to photoirradiation. Owing to the reversible nature of the photochemical stitching, both negative and positive patterns of the graphitic nanotubes were developed on a silicon substrate by a lithographic post processing.     

Structure and photochemical properties of (mu-alkoxo)bis(mu-carboxylato)diruthenium complexes with naphthylacetate ligands

Two new dinuclear Ru(III) complexes containing naphthalene moieties, K[Ru2(dhpta)(mu-O2CCH2-1-naph)2] (1) and K[Ru2(dhpta)(mu-O2CCH2-2-naph)2] (2) (H5dhpta = 1,3-diamino-2-hydroxypropane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid, naph-1-CH2CO2H = 1-naphthylacetic acid, naph-2-CH2CO2H = 2-naphthylacetic acid), were synthesized. Complex 2 crystallized as an orthorhombic system having a space group of Pbca with unit cell parameters a = 10.6200(5) A, b = 20.270(1) A, c = 35.530(2) A, and Z = 8. EXAFS analysis of 1 and 2 in the solid states and in solution clarified that the dinuclear structures of 1 and 2 were kept in DMSO solutions. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility data indicated that the two Ru(III) centers are strongly antiferromagnetically coupled as shown by the large coupling constants, J = -581 cm(-1) (1) and -378 cm(-1) (2). In the cyclic voltammograms of 1 and 2, one oxidation peak and two reduction peaks which were assigned to the redox reaction of the ruthenium moieties were observed in DMF. The large conproportionation constants estimated from the reduction potentials of Ru(III)Ru(III) and Ru(III)Ru(II) indicated the great stability of the mixed-valent state. The mixed-valent species [Ru(III)Ru(II)(dhpta)(mu-O2CCH2-R)2](2-) (R = 1-naph (6) and R = 2-naph (7)) were prepared by controlled potential electrolysis of 1 and 2 in DMF. The electronic absorption spectra of 6 and 7 were similar to that of [Ru(III)Ru(II) (dhpta)(mu-O2CCH3)2](2-) which is a typical Class II type mixed-valent complex. The fluorescence decay of 1 and 2 indicated that there are two quenching processes which come from the excimer and monomer states. The short excimer lifetimes of 1 and 2 were ascribed to the energy transfer from the naphthyl moieties to the Ru centers. The different excimer ratio between 1 and 2 suggested that the excimer formation is affected by the conformation of the naphthyl moieties in the diruthenium(III) complexes.     

Construction of segregated arrays of multiple donor and acceptor units using a dendritic scaffold: remarkable dendrimer effects on photoinduced charge separation

Dendritic molecules appended with multiple zinc porphyrin units (DPm, m [number of zinc porphyrin units] = 6, 12, and 24) trap bipyridine compounds carrying multiple fullerene units (Py2Fn, n [number of C60 units] = 1-3), affording coordination complexes DPm superset Py2Fn having a photoactive layer consisting of spatially segregated donor and acceptor arrays on their surface. Complexes DPm superset Py2Fn are stable enough (K [average binding affinity] = 1.1 x 10(6)-4.4 x 10(6) M(-1) in CHCl3 at 25 degrees C) to be isolated by gel permeation chromatography. UHV-STM microscopy enables clear visualization of a petal-like structure of DP12 superset Py2F3. Photoexcitation of the zinc porphyrin units in DPm superset Py2Fn results in a zinc porphyrin-to-fullerene electron transfer to generate a charge separation. The charge-separation rate constant (kCS) in CH2Cl2 at 20 degrees C increases from 0.26 x 10(10) to 2.3 x 10(10) s(-1) upon increment of m and n, whereas the charge-recombination rate constant (kCR) remains almost unchanged at 4.5 x 10(6)-6.7 x 10(6) s(-1). Consequently, DP24 supersetPy2F3 furnishes the largest ratio of kCS/kCR (3400) among the family.