Optical properties of ZnO and ZnO:In nanorods assembled by sol-gel method

Self-assembled zinc oxide (ZnO) and indium-doping zinc oxide (ZnO:In) nanorod thin films were synthesized on quartz substrates without catalyst in aqueous solution by sol-gel method. The samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Raman-scattering spectroscopy, room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra, and temperature-dependent PL spectra measurements. XRD and Raman spectra illustrated that there were no single In2O3 phase in ZnO lattice after indium doping. The PL spectra of ZnO showed a strong UV emission band located at 394 nm and a very weak visible emission associated with deep-level defects. Indium incorporation induced the shift of optical band gap, quenching of the near-band-edge photoluminescence and enhanced LO mode multiphonon resonant Raman scattering in ZnO crystals at different temperatures. Abnormal temperature dependence of UV emission integrated intensity of ZnO and ZnO:In samples is observed. The local state emission peak of ZnO:In samples at 3.37 eV is observed in low-temperature PL spectra. The near-band-edge emission peak at room temperature was a mixture of excitons and impurity-related transitions for both of two samples.     

Application of Arene-Ruthenium Chemistry to a Formal Total Synthesis of OF 4949 III

A convergent formal total synthesis of OF 4949 III is described. Arene-ruthenium chemistry was used in the construction of the diaryl ether linkage in high yield, and cycloamidation under high dilution conditions (0.005 M) was achieved using DPPA as coupling reagent. SmI(2) was used to reductively remove the 2-iodoethyl ester protecting group in the presence of DMPU or HMPA.     

Preparation and Characterization of a Sol-Gel Prepared Ferroelectric Sandwich Structure

A novel silicon-based PbTiO₃/Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃/PbTiO₃ (PT/PZT/PT) sandwich structure has been prepared using a sol-gel method. The annealing temperature is greatly reduced compared with those structures without PT layers. Capacitance-voltage (C-V), leakage current-voltage (I-V), polarization-field (P-E), dielectric-frequency response and polarization fatigue of the sandwich structure are examined. The relative dielectric constant, the coercive field and the remanent polarization of the PZT films are measured to be about 900, 18 kV/cm and 16 C/cm² respectively. The current density is less than 5 × 10^–9 A/cm² below 200 kV/cm. The dielectric constant of the structure remains constant at low frequency, and decreases to some degree at high frequency. The retained polarization does not change significantly after 8 × 10⁹ read/write cycles. The PZT films are proved to have very good dielectric and ferroelectric properties. The new PT/PZT/PT sandwich structure can be valuable for memory devices and other applications.     

The determination of trace amounts of heavy metals in waters by a flow-injection system including ion-exchange preconcentration and flame atomic absorption spectrometric detection

The flow-injection system combines on-line ion-exchange preconcentration with atomic absorption spectrometry (a.a.s.) for the determination of traces (μg l^?1) of heavy metals in water samples. Miniature columns packed with 60–100 mesh chelating resin (122) with a salicylic acid functional group are used for preconcentration. A multifunctional rotary sampling valve which incorporated two parallel sampling columns allows sampling, exchange, elution and a.a.s. to be achieved sequentially. The increases in sensitivity for nickel, copper, lead and cadmium were 20–28-fold at a sampling rate of 40 h^?1 with 5-ml samples. Relative standard deviations were 1.5–4.1%. The recoveries of these four metals added to tap, sea and polluted waters were generally satisfactory, except for cadmium in polluted water. The effects of column diameter and elution flow rates on sensitivity are discussed. Possible interferences are described.     

Liquid–paper interactions during liquid drop impact and recoil on paper surfaces

The spreading and recoiling of water drops on several flat and macroscopically smooth model surfaces and on sized paper surfaces were studied over a range of drop impaction velocities using a high-speed CCD camera. The water drop spreading and recoiling results on several model hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces were found to be in agreement with observations reported in the literature. The maximum drop spreading diameter for those model surfaces at impact was found to be dependent upon the initial drop kinetic energy and the degree of hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity of the surface. The extent of the maximum drop recoiling was found to be much weaker for hydrophilic substrates than for hydrophobic substrates. Sized papers, however, showed an interesting switch of behaviour in the process of water drop impaction. They behave like a hydrophobic substrate when a water drop impacts on it, but like a hydrophilic substrate when water drop recoils. Although the contact angle between water and hydrophilic or hydrophobic non-porous surfaces changes from advancing to receding as reported in literature, the change of contact angle during water impact on paper surface is unique in that the level of sizing was found to have a smaller than expected influence on the degree of recoil. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to probe fibres on a sized filter paper surface under water. The AFM data showed that water interacted strongly with the fibre even though the paper was heavily sized. Implications of this phenomenon were discussed in the context of inkjet print quality and of the surface conditions of sized papers. Results of this study are very useful in the understanding of inkjet ink droplet impaction on paper surfaces which sets the initial condition for ink penetration into paper after impaction.     

DFT study on the geometric, electronic structure and Raman spectra of 5,15-diphenylporphine

The ground state geometric, electronic structure and Raman spectra of 5,15-diphenylporphine (H(2)DPP) have been studied using B3LYP/6-31G(d) method and compared with that of well-studied free base porphine (H(2)P) and meso-tetraphenylporphine (H(2)TPP). Calculation shows that 5,15-substitution causes remarkable in-plane distortion, whereas the resulting out-of-plane distortion is negligible. The calculated electronic structure of H(2)DPP is consistent with the absorption spectra compared with H(2)P and H(2)TPP. The calculated vibrational frequencies of H(2)DPP scaled with a single factor of 0.971 agree well with experimental data (the rms error is 8.0 cm(-1)). The assignment of experimental Raman bands of H(2)DPP was discussed on the basis of theoretical calculation and the comparison with that of H(2)P and H(2)TPP. The splitting of some vibrational modes involving the motion of C(m) atom, such as nu(1), nu(8), and nu(10), was observed and was attributed to the diversification of the environment around C(m) atoms. As the shift of absorption peaks, the shift of some structure-sensitive Raman bands of H(2)DPP form that of H(2)TPP and H(2)P was attributed to the in-plane nuclear reorganization (IPNR) induced by phenyl-substitution, though the contribution of nonplanarity mechanism could not be excluded completely.     

Palladium salicylaldimine complexes containing boronate esters

Reactions of salicylaldehydes with boronate ester derivatives of aniline have been examined. Addition of these Schiff base ligands to palladium acetate or Na₂PdCl₄ afforded novel boron-containing trans-bis(N-arylsalicylaldiminato) palladium complexes.Condensation of salicylaldehyde (2-HOC₆H₄C(O)H) with H₂NC₆H₄Bpin (pin=1,2-O₂C₂Me₄) afforded the boron-containing Schiff bases, 2-HOC₆H₄C(H)=NC₆H₄Bpin (1–3a). Similar reactivity with 2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzaldehyde and 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde gave the corresponding Schiff bases (1-3b) and (1-3c), respectively. Reaction of Schiff bases (2) and (3) with palladium acetate or Na₂PdCl₄ afforded complexes of the type PdL₂ (4,5), where L=deprotonated Schiff base. The molecular structure of the nitro-salicylaldehyde 4-Bpin palladium complex (5b) was characterized by an X-ray diffraction study. All new palladium compounds have been characterized fully and tested for their antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus.     

Induced circular dichroism and structural assignment of the cyclodextrin inclusion complexes of bicyclic azoalkanes

The stoichiometries and binding constants of the host-guest complexes between the bicyclic azoalkanes 1-6 and alpha-, beta-, and gamma-cyclodextrins (CDs) and the induced circular dichroism (ICD) of the complexes were analyzed. Assisted by proximity relationships obtained from 2D ROESY NMR spectra, the signs and intensities of the ICD spectra are interpreted in terms of the solution structures (co-conformations) of the CD complexes. The ICD assignments are based on the orientation-intensity ICD rules of Harata and Kodaka, which relate the ICD signs and intensities to the relative orientation of the electric dipole transition moment of the n,pi azo chromophore to the CD axis. The influence of the size of the guest and the host is discussed and the effect of introducing an additional chromophore (either a phenyl or a second azo group) on the ICD spectra is demonstrated.     

Co-C bond dissociation energy and reaction volume change of 2',5'-dideoxyadenosylcobalamin studied by laser-induced time-resolved photoacoustic calorimetry

Time resolved photoacoustic calorimetry (PAC) was applied to a study of the photolysis of a coenzyme B(12) analog 2',5'-dideoxyadenosylcobalamin, which lacks an -OH group at the 2' position of ribofuranose ring. In aqueous solution, we report for the first time the quantum yield Phi(d) (0.25+/-0.02), Co-C bond dissociation energy (BDE; 31.8+/-2.5 kcal mol(-1)) and reaction volume change deltaV(R) (6.5+/-0.5 ml mol(-1)) due to conformation changes of the corrin ring and its side chains accompanying the cleavage of the Co-C bond. These values for the analog are very similar to those for the natural cofactor. Based our results and previous studies, a possible explanation for the similarity in their structure and properties versus the large difference in their enzymatic activity is discussed.