High surface plasmon resonance sensitivity enabled by optical disks

We report a systematic, experimental, and theoretical investigation on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing using optical disks with different track pitches, including Blu-ray disk (BD), digital versatile disk (DVD), and compact disk (CD). Optical reflection measurements indicate that CD and DVD exhibit much higher SPR sensitivity than BD. Both experiments and finite-difference time-domain simulations reveal that the SPR sensitivity is significantly affected by the diffraction order of the SPR peaks and higher diffraction order results in lower sensitivity. Numerical simulations also show that very high sensitivity (～1600 nm per refractive index unit) is achievable by CDs.     

Separate and Concentrate Lactic Acid Using Combination of Nanofiltration and Reverse Osmosis Membranes

The processes of lactic acid production include two key stages, which are (a) fermentation and (b) product recovery. In this study, free cell of Bifidobacterium longum was used to produce lactic acid from cheese whey. The produced lactic acid was then separated and purified from the fermentation broth using combination of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes. Nanofiltration membrane with a molecular weight cutoff of 100–400 Da was used to separate lactic acid from lactose and cells in the cheese whey fermentation broth in the first step. The obtained permeate from the above nanofiltration is mainly composed of lactic acid and water, which was then concentrated with a reverse osmosis membrane in the second step. Among the tested nanofiltration membranes, HL membrane from GE Osmonics has the highest lactose retention (97 ± 1%). In the reverse osmosis process, the ADF membrane could retain 100% of lactic acid to obtain permeate with water only. The effect of membrane and pressure on permeate flux and retention of lactose/lactic acid was also reported in this paper.     

Self-assembled monolayers of CH3COS- terminated surfactant-encapsulated polyoxometalate complexes

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold surfaces based on three kinds of acetylthio-surfactant-encapsulated polyoxometalate clusters (thio-SECs) terminated with multiple CH(3)COS- groups, (NC(26)H(55)S(CO)CH(3))(6)H(2)[Co(H(2)O)CoW(11)O(39)], (NC(26)H(55)S(CO)CH(3))(13)H(3)[Co(4)(H(2)O)(2)(P(2)W(15)O(56))(2)], and (NC(26)H(55)S(CO)CH(3))(13)[Fe(4)(H(2)O)(2)(P(2)W(15)O(56))(2)]Br, have been prepared, which is representative of a general methodology to fabricate polyoxometalate-based SAMs. Thio-SECs self-assembled into monolayers on gold surfaces through the hydrolysis of CH(3)COS- groups and the subsequent formation of S-Au bonds, which was confirmed by grazing angle infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and ellipsometric and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements. Furthermore, the SAMs of the thio-SECs possess closely packed structures, and the local short-range order is clearly observed in the magnified STM image. We have also investigated the electrochemical behavior of SAMs of thio-SECs by cyclic voltammetry in detail, and the redox potential of the original polyoxometalates has been well retained. The electrochemical signals of the SAMs are very weak because of the small moiety of thio-SECs that are electrochemically accessible in the cyclic voltammetry experiments. The polyoxometalate-modified electrodes that we prepared are not only highly ordered in the local short range but also stable in electrochemical cycling because of the multiple S-Au bonds of thio-SECs on the gold substrates that aid in the construction of functional materials such as electrochemical and electrocatalytic devices.     

Reinforced self-assembly of hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronenes by hydrogen bonds: from microscopic aggregates to macroscopic fluorescent organogels

Hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene derivatives (HBCs) that have hydrogen-bonding functionalities (either amido or ureido groups) adjacent to the aromatic cores have been synthesized to study the effects of intracolumnar hydrogen bonds on the self-assembly behavior of HBCs. The hydrogen bonds effectively increased the aggregation tendency of these compounds in solution. In the bulk state, the typical columnar supramolecular arrangement of HBCs was either stabilized substantially (1 a, 1 b, 2 a, and 2 b), or suppressed by dominant hydrogen-bonding interactions (3). For some of the compounds (1 a, 2 a, and 2 b), the supramolecular arrangement adopted in the liquid-crystalline state was even retained after annealing, presumably owing to the reinforcement of the pi-stacking interactions by the hydrogen bonds. Additionally, the combined effect of the hydrogen bonds and pi-stacking of the aromatic moieties led to the formation of fluorescent organogels, whereby some derivatives were further investigated as novel low molecular-mass organic gelators (LMOGs).     

Synthesis and photovoltaic properties of alternating conjugated polymers derived from indolo[3,2-<Emphasis Type="Italic">b</Emphasis>]carbazole and thiophene/thieno[3,2-<Emphasis Type="Italic">b</Emphasis>]thiophene-cored benzoselenadiazole

Two alternating narrow band gap (NBG) copolymers derived from 5,11-di(N-9-heptadecanyl)-indolo[3,2-b]carbazole (ICZ) and 4,7-di(thien-2-yl)-2′,1′,3′-benzoselenadiazole (DSeBT) or 4,7-di(thieno[3,2-b]thien-2-yl)-2′,1′,3′-benzoselenadiazole (DTSeBT), were synthesized and named PICZ-DSeBT and PICZ-DTSeBT, respectively. The PICZ-DSeBT shows good solubility in common organic solvent, and the PICZ-DTSeBT is soluble in hot o-dichlorobenzene (ODCB) and not good soluble in chloroform, toluene etc. The chemical structure, molecular weight and fundamental physical properties of the copolymers were characterized by ¹H NMR, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), cyclic voltammetry (CV), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) etc. Potential application of the copolymers to be employed as electron donor material and PC61BM ([6,6]-phenyl-C₆₁ butyric acid methyl ester) for photovoltaic solar cells (PSCs), were investigated. PSCs based on the blends of PICZ-DSeBT/PC₆₁BM (w: w; 1: 2) or PICZ-DTSeBT/PC₆₁BM (w: w; 1: 2) with devices configuration as ITO/PEDOT: PSS/blend/Al, show the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 1.06% and 1.52%, with the open circuit voltage (V _oc) of 0.75 V and 0.70 V, short circuit current densities (J _sc) of 3.45 mA/cm² and 5.30 mA/cm² under an AM1.5 simulator (100 mW/cm²) and the photocurrent response on-set wavelength extending up to 760 nm and 800 nm, respectively. It indicates that the NBG copolymers are viable electron donor materials for PSCs.     

A new building block with intramolecular D-A character for conjugated polymers: ladder structure based on B←N unit

The general strategy to construct D-A type conjugated polymers is alternating copolymerization of electron-donating(D)monomer and electron-accepting(A) monomer. In this article, we report a new strategy to develop D-A type conjugated polymers, i.e. first fuse the D and A units into a polycyclic structure to produce a building block and then polymerize the building block with another unit. We develop a new building block with ladder structure based on B←N unit, B←N bridged dipyridylbenzene(BNDPB). In the skeleton of BNDPB, one diamine-substituted phenylene ring(D unit) and two B←N-linked pyridyl rings(A unit) are fused together to produce the polycyclic structure. Owning to the presence of intramolecular D-A character, the building block itself exhibits narrow bandgap of 1.74 eV. The conjugated polymers based on BNDPB show unique electronic structures, i.e. localized HOMOs and delocalized LUMOs, which are rarely observed for conventional D-A conjugated polymers. The polymers exhibit smaller bandgap than that of the building block BNDPB and display near-infrared(NIR)light absorption(λabs=ca. 700 nm). This study thus provides not only a new strategy to design D-A conjugated polymers but also a new kind of building block with narrow bandgap.     

Isomers of B←N-Fused Dibenzo-azaacenes: How B←N Affects Opto-electronic Properties and Device Behaviors?

The B←N unit has a large dipole and it is isoelectronic to C−C moiety with no dipole. Incorporating B←N units into π-conjugated system is a powerful strategy to design organic small molecules and polymers with intriguing opto-electronic properties and excellent opto-electronic device performance. However, it is unclear how the B←N unit affects electronic structures and opto-electronic properties of large π-conjugated molecules. In this work, to address this question, we developed three dibenzo-azaacene molecules in which two B←N units were introduced at different positions. Although the dibenzo-azaacene skeleton is fully π-conjugated, the effect of B←N unit on the electronic structures of the adjacent rings is much stronger than that of the distant rings. As a result, the three molecules with isomerized B←N incorporation patterns possess different electronic structures and exhibit tunable opto-electronic properties. Among the three molecules, the centrosymmetrical molecule exhibits higher LUMO/HOMO energy levels than those of the two axisymmetrical molecules. When used as the active layer in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), while the two axisymmetrical molecules show unipolar electron transporting property, the centrosymmetrical molecule exhibits ambipolar hole and electron transporting behavior. This work not only deepens our understanding on organoboron π-conjugated molecules, but also indicates a new strategy to tune opto-electronic properties of organic semiconductors for excellent device performance.     

A multifunctional blue phase liquid crystal lens based on multi-electrode structure

A blue phase liquid crystal (BPLC) lens with multifunction using multi-electrode structure and a dielectric layer with high dielectric constant is proposed. The refractive index of the BPLC can be changed flexibly in different regions. Some functional or technical requirements such as switch between positive and negative lenses can be achieved. The lens reveals a good parabolic refractive index distribution and focus adjustment capacity simultaneously. The applied voltage on the electrodes is regular and computable. To decrease the applied voltage of the proposed lens with a large diameter, a drive-type adopted Fresnel lens is introduced.     

Study on preparation and inclusion behavior of inclusion complexes between β-cyclodextrin derivatives with benzophenone

In the paper, the two chemically modified β-cyclodextrin derivatives of 4,4´-diaminodiphenyl ether-bridged-bis-β-cyclodextrins (ODA-bis-β-CD) and p-aminobenzenesulfonic acid-β-cyclodextrin (ABS-β-CD) were synthesized, and then these two β-cyclodextrin derivatives were respectively formed into inclusion complexes with benzophenone (BP) by co-precipitation method. The structure of the inclusion complexes were characterized by UV/vis spectroscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, ¹H NMR spectroscopy and XRD. Spectral titration was performed to study the inclusion behavior of the inclusion complexes. These experiments indicated that two inclusion complexes were formed at a stoichiometric ratio of 1:1 and the inclusion stability constants at different temperatures were calculated using the Benesi–Hildebrand (B–H) equation. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔG°, ΔH°, ΔS°) were obtained. As a result, it was found that the two chemically modified β-cyclodextrins containing BP were exothermic and spontaneous process (ΔG°?<?0), and the processes of inclusion complexation were mainly enthalpy driven with negative or minor negative entropic contribution.     

Tunable white-light emission of lanthanide(Ⅲ) hybrid material based on hectorite

In this work, we present novel trivalent lanthanide ions(Ln~(3+))-based luminescent hybrid materials, in which the organic ligands are covalently grafted on the hectorite templates and the Ln~(3+) ions can be well immobilized by the ligands through coordination bond. The hybrid materials exhibit tunable emission colors by varying the molar ratio of Eu~(3+) to Tb~(3+), and the one with Eu~(3+):Tb~(3+)=1:1 exhibits excellent coordinate of(0.327, 0.328) located in the "white region" of the CIE 1931 chromaticity diagram(under300 nm UV illumination). These properties make the hybrid composites suitable for fabricating optoelectronic devices such as full-color displays and white LED.