CO oxidation of bare and TiO2-coated NiO-Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles

CO oxidation reactivity of bare and TiO₂-coated nanoparticles consisting of both NiO and Ni(OH)₂ surfaces was studied. For the deposition of TiO₂, atomic layer deposition was used, and formation of three-dimensional domains of TiO₂ on NiO-Ni(OH)₂ could be identified. Based on the data of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, we suggest that upon TiO₂ deposition only Ni(OH)₂ was remained on the surface, whereas NiO surface disappeared. Both CO adsorption and CO oxidation took place on NiO-Ni(OH)₂ surfaces under our experimental conditions. CO adsorption was almost completely suppressed after TiO₂ deposition, whereas CO oxidation activity was maintained to large extent. It is proposed that bare NiO cannot be active for CO oxidation, and can only uptake CO under our experimental condition, whereas hydroxylated surface of NiO can be active for CO oxidation.     

Simultaneous strain and temperature measurement based on a photonic crystal fiber modal-interference interacting with a long period fiber grating

An alternative all-fiber sensor for simultaneous strain and temperature measurement based on a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) spliced between single-mode fibers cascaded with a long period grating (LPG) is proposed. By collapsing the air holes at two splicing regions along the PCF, a simple but effective modal-interference (MI) is occurred between the core and cladding modes of the PCF. Due to the different responses on the changes of strain and temperature on the MI and the cascaded LPG, the strain and temperature can be measured simultaneously. Experimental results show that the sensing resolution of 9.1 με in strain measurement is experimentally achieved over a range of 2640 με, while the temperature sensing resolution is 0.27 °C within a range of 30-100 °C.     

Roughness measurement of metals using a modified binary speckle image and adaptive optics

This paper proposes an integrated roughness measurement system that is based on adaptive optics (AO) and binary analysis of speckle pattern images. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the necessity for AO compensation in regions containing both heat and fluid flow turbulences. A speckle image was obtained by projecting a laser beam onto the specimen surface, and the laser pattern image reflected from the surface was binarized to experimentally correlate the intensity with the surface roughness. In the absence of the AO correction scheme, induced turbulences can severely increase the residual rms error from 0.14 to 1.4 μm. After a real-time closed-loop AO correction, we can reduce the wavefront root mean square (rms) error to 0.12 μm, which not only compensates for the aberration error from induced disturbances but also improves the overall performance of the optical system. In addition, an AO system having different gains was investigated, and a threshold gain value was found to be able to steadily compensate for the wavefront errors in less than 2 s. Measurement results of five steel samples having roughness ranging from 0.2 to 3.125 μm (0.3λ and 5λ, where λ is the diode laser wavelength) demonstrate an excellent correlation between the intensity distribution of binary images and average roughness with a correlation coefficient of 0.9982. Furthermore, the proposed AO-assisted system is in good agreement with the stylus method and less than 9.73% error values can be consistently obtained.     

Compact optical function generator

We demonstrate the use of a nonlinear photonic crystal to generate a harmonic comb and an ultrabroad-band acousto-optic modulator for the field amplitudes and phases of the comb to succeed in synthesizing femtosecond and subfemtosecond optical field waveforms. Nonsinusoidal fields of various shapes are synthesized and verified using shaper-assisted linear cross-correlation. The compact all-solid-state system could lead to the realization of a portable arbitrary optical waveform synthesizer that is analogous in many aspects to an RF function generator.     

Role of photon statistics of light source in ghost imaging

The theory of ghost imaging is examined by taking into account the quantum state of the light source explicitly. It is proved that ghost images can be obtained by any light source that is non-Poissonian. It is also shown that ghost images with unity visibility can be achieved with either quantum or classical correlation.     

Phenylethanoid glycosides isolated from Paraboea paniculata

Phytochemical studies of the leaves and rhizomes of Paraboea pa niculata (Gesneriaceae) are reported for the first time. Three phenylethanoid glycosides were isolated and characterized as 3,4-dihydroxyphenethyl-(3"-O-beta-D-apiofuranosyl)-beta-D-glucopyranoside, calceoralarioside E, and acteoside. These isolates exhibited weak cytotoxic activity against the K-562 cell line with a 50% of cell killing rate of 40.18 microM, 27.05 microM, and 27.24 microM, respectively. In the DPPH free radical scavenging assay, their IC50 values were determined as 75.89 microM, 25.00 microM, and 26.04 microM, respectively.     

A compact and highly fluorescent orange-emitting polymer dot for specific subcellular imaging

We demonstrate a new compact CN-PPV dot, which emits in the orange wavelength range with high brightness. The small particle size, high brightness, and the ability to highly specifically target subcellular structures make the CN-PPV dots promising probes for biological imaging and bioanalytical applications.     

A new way to increase performance of oxide electrode for oxygen reduction using grain growth inhibitor

Nickel oxide was introduced as a grain growth inhibitor into Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_3 − δ (BSCF) electrode to increase its activity for oxygen reduction reaction. Small amount of NiO can effectively suppress the grain growth of BSCF by spinning the grain boundary and thus increase the electrode surface area, while the particle connection is not obviously affected. Electrochemical impedance spectra of symmetric cells indicate that the electrode activity for oxygen reduction is indeed effectively improved by introducing NiO additive. At 600 °C, area specific resistance of BSCF+5wt.% NiO is about 36.5% lower than that of pure BSCF electrode. Single cell tests also demonstrate an improved cell power output by introducing NiO additive. It implies that the adoption of a sintering inhibitor may be a facile and practical way to increase electrode activity for oxygen reduction.     

Scalar coupling across [C-H···F-C] interactions in (σ-aryl)-chelating post-metallocenes

The nature and importance of C-H···F-C interactions is a topical yet controversial issue, and the development of spectroscopic methods to probe such contacts is therefore warranted. A series of Group 4 bis(benzyl) complexes supported by (σ-aryl)-2-phenolate-6-pyridyl [O,C,N-R(1)] ligands bearing a fluorinated R(1) group (CF(3) or F) in the vicinity of the metal has been prepared. The X-ray crystal structure of the CF(3)-substituted Hf derivative features intramolecular C-H···F-C and Hf···F-C contacts. All complexes have been characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. The (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra of [M(O,C,N-CF(3))(CH(2)Ph)(2)] derivatives display coupling (assigned to (1h)J(HF) and (2h)J(CF) for Ti; (3)J(HF) and (2)J(CF) (through M···F) for Hf and Zr) between the benzyl CH(2) and CF(3) moieties. [(1)H,(19)F]-HMBC NMR experiments have been performed for the M-[O,C,N-R(1)] complexes and their [O,N,C] counterparts, revealing significant scalar coupling across the C-H···F-C interactions for Ti-[O,C,N] and [O,N,C] species.