Forensic discrimination of sheet glass by a refractive-index measurement and elemental analysis with synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence spectrometry.

Measurements of the refractive index (RI) and elemental analysis using synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (SR-XRF) were applied to the forensic discrimination of sheet-glass samples from different origins. The refractive index was calculated from the matching temperature at which the glass fragments became invisible in silicone oil. Fragments smaller than 1 mm in maximum diameter were taken from each of 11 sheet glasses and subjected to analysis by SR-XRF. The XRF spectrum of these samples indicated that a comparison of 6 elements (Ca, Fe, Sr, Zr, Ba and Ce) was useful for the discrimination of sheet glasses. Cluster analysis was performed using 33 sets of SR-XRF data obtained by triplicate measurements for the 11 glasses. Comparing 528 pairs among 33 samples, 515 pairs could be correctly discriminated. The number of indistinguishable pairs could be reduced from 36 to 4 by comparing the SR-XRF data. Elemental analysis by SR-XRF could provide small glass fragments with a more evidential value than the solely measurement of only RI, through a significant improvement of the discrimination capability.     

Structures and properties of dendrimers having peripheral 2,3-difluorobiphenyl mesogenic units: effects of dendrimer generation

1st-5th generation poly(propyleneimine) dendrimers having peripheral 2,3-difluorobiphenyl mesogenic groups have been synthesized. They exhibited smectic liquid crystalline behaviour. All the liquid crystalline dendrimers exhibited a smectic A (SmA) phase and a crystal E (E) phase. The SmA-isotropic phase transition temperature increased with increasing generation. In addition, a homeotropic structure was spontaneously formed on a glass plate in the SmA phase for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation dendrimers. The hometropic structure remained unchanged in the phase.     

Negative‐working photoresist based on a first‐generation dendrimer consisting of 4,4‐diphenylpentyloxy units

A first‐generation dendrimer ( 2 ), containing phenol groups in the exterior for solubilization in aqueous alkaline solutions, was evaluated as a new negative‐working, alkaline‐developable photoresist material. A negative‐working photoresist based on 2 , 4,4′‐methylenebis[2,6‐bis(hydroxymethyl)phenol] as a crosslinker, and diphenyliodonium 9,10‐dimethoxyanthracene‐2‐sulfonate as a photoacid generator was demonstrated. This resist gave a clear negative pattern through postbaking at 90 °C after exposure to UV light, which was followed by development with a 2.38% aqueous tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide solution at room temperature. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 1210–1215, 2005     

Structural fluctuation of dimers on Ge(0 0 1) surface near transition temperature

The structural fluctuation of the orientational arrangement of buckled dimers on a Ge(0 0 1) surface near the transition temperature of the order-disorder phase transition is investigated by time-resolving dynamical Monte Carlo simulations. STM images averaged in a finite period are derived from the simulation. The coexistence of the c(4 × 2) and the apparent (2 × 1) domains in the STM images observed by experiments is reproduced in the simulated STM images. We show that the coexistence on the Ge(0 0 1) surface can be attributed to the critical slowing down near the transition temperature.     

Diamond-to-graphite conversion in nanodiamond and the electronic properties of nanodiamond-derived carbon system

Heat-treatment-induced conversion of nanodiamond to nanographite is investigated. Graphitization starts at the surface region around a heat-treatment temperature of 900°C, then it proceeds inward in the particle, and finally it is completed around 1600°C, where nanographite particles form a polyhedron with a hollow inside. The change in the electronic feature is subjected to the structural change induced by the heat treatment. In the intermediate stage of graphitization, where graphene sheets are small and defective, charge transfer takes place from graphitic π-band to nonbonding edge states. Electrophoretic deposition of nanodiamond particles provides a technique for fabricating isolated single nanodiamond particles on a substrate. Successive heat treatment at 1600°C converts a nanodiamond particle to a single nanographene sheet laying flat on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite substrate. Weak interaction between the nanographene sheet and the substrate is expected to give a model system of nanographene, for which theory predicts the presence of nonbonding \gv-electron states of the edge origin and its related unconventional nanomagnetism.     

Colloidal titration of aqueous zirconium solutions with poly(vinyl sulfate) by potentiometric endpoint detection using a toluidine blue selective electrode.

Zirconium oxy-salts were hydrolyzed to form positively charged polymer or cluster species in acidic solutions. The zirconium hydrolyzed polymer was found to react with a negatively charged polyelectrolyte, such as poly(vinyl sulfate), and to form a stoichiometric polyion complex. Thus, colloidal titration with poly(vinyl sulfate) was applied to measure the zirconium concentration in an acidic solution by using a Toluidine Blue selective plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) membrane electrode as a potentiometric end-point detecting device. The determination could be performed with 1% of the relative standard deviation. The colloidal titration stoichiometry at pH < or = 2 was one mol of zirconium per equivalent mol of poly(vinyl sulfate).     

Combustion of partially premixed spray jets

Gas turbines, liquid rocket motors, and oil-fired furnaces utilize the spray combustion of continuously injected liquid fuels. In most cases, the liquid spray is mixed with an oxidizer prior to combustion, and further oxidizer is supplied from the outside of the spray to complete diffusion combustion. This rich premixed spray is called “partially premixed spray.” Partially premixed sprays have not been studied systematically although they are of practical importance. In the present study, the burning behavior of partially premixed sprays was experimentally studied with a newly developed spray burner. A fuel spray and an oxidizer, diluted with nitrogen, was injected into the air. The overall equivalence ratio of the spray jet was set larger than unity to establish partially premixed spray combustion. In the present burner, the mean droplet diameter of the atomized liquid fuel could be varied without varying the overall equivalence ratio of the spray jet. Two combustion modes with and without an internal flame were observed. As the mean droplet diameter was increased or the overall equivalence ratio of the spray jet was decreased, the transition from spray combustion only with an external group flame to that with the internal premixed flame occurred. The results suggest that the internal flame was supported by flammable mixture through the vaporization of fine droplets, and the passage of droplet clusters deformed the internal flame and caused internal flame oscillation. The existence of the internal premixed flame enhanced the vaporization of droplets in the post-premixed-flame zone within the external diffusion flame.     

A micropatterned carbohydrate display for tissue engineering by self-assembly of heparin

A novel strategy to construct a fibroblast scaffold on substrates has been demonstrated via top-down photolithography and the subsequent bottom-up processes of molecular self-assembly and molecular recognition. 3-Aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APS) self-assembled monolayer was micropatterned by photolithography. An anionic polysaccharide heparin was adsorbed selectively on the cationic APS region of the micropatterned substrate. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) was selectively bound to the displayed heparin region and then micropatterned cultivation of fibroblast cells was successful on the bFGF-heparin-APS substrate.     

Absorption and fluorescence spectra of 9-anthrol and its chemical species in solution

The absorption, fluorescence, and fluorescence-excitation spectra of 9-anthrol (and/or anthrone) have been observed in various solvents, one of which includes a silicon-aluminium ester (diisobutoxyaluminium triethyl silane[(OBu)₂−Al−O−Si−(OEt)₃ SAE]). The fluorescence spectra of 9-anthrol shows peak wavelengths at 442 nm in benzene, 454 nm in methanol, 539 nm in triethylamine, and 550 nm in basic solution, which can be assigned to a neutral, a hydrogen-bonded neutral, an ion pair, and an anionic species of 9-anthrol, respectively. In ethanol solution including SAE, on the other hand, a new fluorescence peak appears at 473 nm. This new band originates from a complex formed between 9-anthrol and SAE. The excited-state ion pair is formed through the hydrogen-bonded form in water and the complex form in triethylamine. CNDO/S calculations support the experimental results.