PM IRRAS investigation of thin silica films deposited on gold. Part 1. Theory and proof of concept

Polarization modulation infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM IRRAS) was successfully used for the first time to characterize an optically transparent thin oxide film. SiO2 layers of 7 nm thickness were synthesized by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on 200 nm thick gold covered glass slides. Despite the fact that silica is transparent and absorptive to IR radiation when deposited in the form of thin films on a gold surface, it preserves the high metallic reflectivity for the IR light. At grazing angles of incidence of the IR beam, the enhancement of the normal component of the electric field at the interface is comparable to that of Au alone. In addition, the analysis of the structure of a 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) lipid monolayer deposited using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique is demonstrated.     

Dilithium Hexaboride,Li2B6

Li₂B₆ is formed from the elements as transparent red microcrystalline compound (Li : B = 1 : 3; Mo crucible in closed Nb ampoule; 1723 K; 4 h). Single crystals are grown from a lithium silicide melt with large Li excess at 1923 K. Li₂B₆ is a semiconductor with electron as well as Li⁺ ionic conductivity which dominates above 600 K. Microcrystalline samples react with H₂O liberating gases and forming a brownish amorphous product, but larger crystals are not very sensitive. – Li₂B₆ crystallizes tetragonally in a new tP16 structure type which is a variant of the CaB₆ structure (a = 5.975 Å, c = 4.189 Å; Z = 2; space group P4/mbm). The [B₆^2–] net of the polymeric octahedro-anion is slightly distorted to give space for the insertion of a (3²434) net of the Li⁺ cations in the cavities (d(B–B)_endo = 1.766 Å; d(B–B)_exo = 1.720 Å; d(Li–B) = 2.363 Å; d(Li–Li) = 3.094 Å). The incomplete occupancy of the Li position (80%) and the electron density at a further position (20%) indicate the mobility of the Li⁺ cations.     

The Influence of Activating Co and Ni Additions on the Mechanisms of Reaction and Diffusion Interaction During Sintering of PV-N55Т45 TiNi-Based Powders

Russian Physics Journal - An investigation of the influence of reaction- and diffusion-induced interactions in the system of PV-N55Т45 TiNi-based powders and activating Co and Ni additions...     

Photoelectrochemical kinetics of eosin y-sensitized zinc oxide films investigated by scanning electrochemical microscopy

Eosin Y is used as a sensitizer for nanoporous zinc oxide films for prospective applications in photoelectrochemical solar cells. The kinetics of the reduction of the intermittently formed photo-oxidized dye molecules by iodide ions in the electrolyte phase was investigated by using the feedback mode of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). The bulk solution phase contained triiodide as electron transfer mediator, from which the ultramicroelectrode-generated iodide ions acted as electron donors for photo-oxidized Eosin Y molecules (D(+) (ads)) at the zinc oxide sample. Effective rate constants for the dye regeneration could be extracted from the SECM approach curves. The effective rate constants at different triiodide concentrations could be related to the rate constant for the reaction of the dissolved donor with photo-oxidized Eosin Y bound to ZnO, as well as to the overall rate of the photosensitization process. For the reaction D(+) (ads) + 1.5 I(-)-->D(ads) + 0.5 I(3) (-) a rate constant of k(ox) = (1.4+/-0.8)x10(8) cm(9/2) mol(-3/2) s(-1) was determined.     

Controlling the supramolecular assembly of redox-active dendrimers at molecular printboards by scanning electrochemical microscopy

Redox-active ferrocenyl (Fc)-functionalized poly(propylenimine) (PPI) dendrimers solubilized in aqueous media by complexation of the Fc end groups with beta-cyclodextrin (betaCD) were immobilized at monolayers of betaCD on glass ("molecular printboards") via multiple host-guest interactions. The directed immobilization of the third-generation dendrimer-betaCD assembly G3-PPI-(Fc)16-(betaCD)16 at the printboard was achieved by supramolecular microcontact printing. The redox activity of the patterned dendrimers was mapped by scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) in the positive feedback mode using [IrCl(6)](3-) as a mediator. Local oxidation of the Fc-dendrimers by the microelectrode-generated [IrCl(6)](2-) resulted in an effective removal of the Fc-dendrimers from the host surface since the oxidation of Fc to the oxidized form (Fc+) leads to a concomitant loss of affinity for betaCD. Thus, SECM provided a way not only to image the surface, but also to control the binding of the Fc-terminated dendrimers at the molecular printboard. Additionally, the electrochemical desorption process could be monitored in time as the dendrimer patterns were gradually erased upon multiple scans.     

Proteomics in cancer research: methods and application of array-based protein profiling technologies

With the human genome sequence now determined, the field of molecular medicine is moving beyond genomics to proteomics, the large-scale analysis of proteins.It is now possible to examine the expression of more than 1000 proteins using mass spectrometry technology coupled with various separation methods.Microarray technology is a new and efficient approach, for extracting relevant biomedical data and has a wide range of applications. It provides a versatile tool to study protein-protein, protein-nucleic acid, protein-lipid, enzyme-substrate and protein-drug interactions.This review paper will explore the key themes in proteomics and their application in clinical cancer research.     

Formation of N719 dye multilayers on dye sensitized solar cell photoelectrode surfaces investigated by direct determination of element concentration depth profiles

The structure of the dye layer adsorbed on the titania substrate in a dye-sensitized solar cell is of fundamental importance for the function of the cell, since it strongly influences the injection of photoelectrons from the excited dye molecules into the titania substrate. The adsorption isotherms of the N719 ruthenium-based dye were determined both with a direct method using the depth profiling technique neutral impact collision ion scattering spectroscopy (NICISS) and with the standard indirect solution depletion method. It is found that the dye layer adsorbed on the titania surface is laterally inhomogeneous in thickness and there is a growth mechanism already from low coverage levels involving a combination of monolayers and multilayers. It is also found that the amount of N719 adsorbed on the substrate depends on the titania structure. The present results show that dye molecules in dye-sensitized solar cells are not necessarily, as presumed, adsorbed as a self-assembled monolayer on the substrate.     

扫描电化学显微镜在功能材料分析中的应用

扫描电化学显微镜是一种扫描探针技术,利用微电极检测发生在固／液、液／液或者气／液界面反应物或者反应产物的连续变化。这里将对该技术原理进行详细说明。过去我们工作主要都集中在固定化酶的活性成像。最近研究的领域开始拓展到与能源转变相关材料上,如染料敏化太阳能电池和（生物）燃料电池的氧气催化还原。起初的尝试已经扩展到如何扩宽研究材料的范围和成像模式的应用范围。扫描电化学显微镜的反馈和产生～收集模式已被用于研究染料敏化太阳能电池半导体／电解质界面的光激发染料阳离子再生过程。现在开始关注更多的与太阳能的再生,燃料电池或染料敏化太阳能电池相关的复杂反应,这些复杂的反应包括外部质量传输过程、内部质量和电荷传输过程、多孔物质反应中心的本身活性等。     

The attenuated ray transform for connections and Higgs fields

We show that for a simple surface with boundary the attenuated ray transform in the presence of a unitary connection and a skew-Hermitian Higgs field is injective modulo the natural obstruction for functions and vector fields. We also show that the connection and the Higgs field are uniquely determined by the scattering relation modulo a gauge transformation. The proofs involve a Pestov type energy identity for connections together with holomorphic gauge transformations which arrange the curvature of the connection to have definite sign.