Criteria for the field boundaries of an axially symmetric ultrawideband radiator

Criteria for the near and far electromagnetic fields of ultrawideband radiation are considered based on a numerical simulation. To estimate the field boundaries for ultrawideband radiation, it is proposed to use the condition of the maximum (near field) and minimum (far field) differences between the time dependences of the electromagnetic field components. The approach proposed has been approved for an axially symmetric radiator excited by voltage pulses of varied waveform and duration. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 9, pp. 46–50, September, 2008.     

细乳液聚合法制备有机/无机纳米复合材料

无机纳米粒子的引入可以使聚合物材料获得抗菌、导电和防紫外等诸多特性,但无机纳米粒子在聚合物基质中易团聚、引入量少,难以充分发挥其优点。细乳液聚合法基于其独特的成核方式--液滴成核,能够提高无机纳米粒子在聚合物基中的分散性和引入量,且复合材料的形貌易于控制,是目前制备特殊形貌有机/无机纳米复合材料的一种有效手段。本文介绍了有机/无机复合纳米材料的细乳液制备过程,综述了近年来不同无机纳米粒子与有机基质复合的研究进展,例如：纳米SiO₂、纳米ZnO、金属纳米粒子、纳米氧化石墨烯等。最后就其发展现状提出了几点建议。     

Theoretical studies of the concentration dependences of d–d transition band,g factors,and local distortion for V4+ in Li2O–PbO–B2O3–P2O5 glasses

In this work, the g factors, d–d transition band, local distortion, and their concentration dependences for impurity V⁴⁺ in 20Li₂O–20PbO–45B₂O₃–(15 − x)P₂O₅:V₂O₅ (0 ≤ x ≤ 2.5 mol%) glasses are theoretically investigated by using perturbation formulas of g factors for a tetragonally compressed octahedral 3d¹ cluster. In the light of the cubic polynomial concentration functions for cubic field parameter D_q, covalency factor N, and relative tetragonal compression ratio ρ, the calculated concentration dependences of d–d transition band and g factors for V⁴⁺ show good agreement with the experimental data. With increasing x, N (≈0.7682–0.8165) displays the monotonously increasing trend, whereas ρ (≈6.5–4.2%) and D_q (≈1504.9–1481.1 cm⁻¹) exhibit the decreasing tendencies. The above concentration dependences can be ascribed to the modifications of the V⁴⁺–O²⁻ bonding and orbital admixtures around the impurity V⁴⁺ due to the effects of V₂O₅ doping on the stability of the glass network, the strength of local crystal fields, and the electron cloud distribution.     

Two-Dimensional Supramolecular Polymerization of DNA Amphiphiles is Driven by Sequence-Dependent DNA-Chromophore Interactions

Two-dimensional (2D) assemblies of water-soluble block copolymers have been limited by a dearth of systematic studies that relate polymer structure to pathway mechanism and supramolecular morphology. Here, we employ sequence-defined triblock DNA amphiphiles for the supramolecular polymerization of free-standing DNA nanosheets in water. Our systematic modulation of amphiphile sequence shows the alkyl chain core forming a cell membrane-like structure and the distal π-stacking chromophore block folding back to interact with the hydrophilic DNA block on the nanosheet surface. This interaction is crucial to sheet formation, marked by a chiral “signature”, and sensitive to DNA sequence, where nanosheets form with a mixed sequence, but not with a homogeneous poly(thymine) sequence. This work opens the possibility of forming well-ordered, bilayer-like assemblies using a single DNA amphiphile for applications in cell sensing, nucleic acid therapeutic delivery and enzyme arrays.     

Modulating the Reaction Configuration by Breaking the Structural Symmetry of Active Sites for Efficient Photocatalytic Reduction of Low-concentration CO2

Photocatalytic conversion of low-concentration CO₂ is considered as a promising way to simultaneously mitigate the environmental and energy issues. However, the weak CO₂ adsorption and tough CO₂ activation process seriously compromise the CO production, due to the chemical inertness of CO₂ molecule and the formed fragile metal-C/O bond. Herein, we designed and fabricated oxygen vacancy contained Co₃O₄ hollow nanoparticles on ordered macroporous N-doped carbon framework (Vo−HCo₃O₄/OMNC) towards photoreduction of low-concentration CO₂. In situ spectra and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the constructed oxygen vacancy is able to break the local structural symmetry of Co−O−Co sites. The formation of asymmetric active site switches the CO₂ configuration from a single-site linear model to a multiple-sites bending one with a highly stable configuration, enhancing the binding and structural polarization of CO₂ molecules. As a result, Vo−HCo₃O₄/OMNC shows unprecedent activity in the photocatalytic conversion of low-concentration CO₂ (10 % CO₂/Ar) under laboratory light source or even natural sunlight, affording a syngas yield of 337.8 or 95.2 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, respectively, with an apparent quantum yield up to 4.2 %.     

Coordinate transformation and construction of finite element mesh in a diverted tokamak geometry

A coordinate transformation technique between straight magnetic field line coordinate system (Ψ, θ) and Cartesian coordinate system (R, Z) is presented employing a Solov'ev solution of the Grad-Shafranov equation. Employing the equilibrium solution, the poloidal magnetic flux Ψ(R, Z) of a diverted tokamak, magnetic field line equation is solved computationally to find curves of constant poloidal angle θ, which provides us with explicit relations R = R(Ψ, θ) and Z = Z(Ψ, θ). Correspondingly, conversion from one coordinate to the other along particle trajectories in the vicinity of separatrix is demonstrated. Based on the magnetic structure, a finite element mesh is generated in a diverted tokamak geometry to solve Poisson's equation.     

A DFT study on mechanisms of CO2 coupling with propargylic alcohols using alkali carbonates

The mechanisms of CO₂ coupling with the propargylic alcohol using alkali carbonates M₂CO₃ (M = Li, Na, K, Cs) have been investigated by means of density functional theory calculations. The calculations reveal that the target product tetronic acid (TA) is yielded through two stages: (a) the formation of the α-alkylidene cyclic carbonate (αACC) intermediate via Cs₂CO₃-mediated carboxylative cyclization of the propargylic alcohol with CO₂, and (b) the conversion of the αACC intermediate with Cs₂CO₃ to produce the cesium salt of the TA. Since the overall kinetic barriers for the two stages are comparable and affordable, the excellent chemoselectivity to the TA should be primarily originated from the high thermodynamic stability of the cesium salt of the TA. Moreover, relative to the TA, the possibility to yield the by-product acyclic carbonate can be excluded due to the both kinetics and thermodynamic inferiority. This result is different from the organic base-mediated reaction. Alternatively, our calculations predict that CsHCO₃ together generated with the cesium salt of the TA might also be an available mediating reagent for the incorporation of CO₂ with the propargylic alcohol. Compared to other alkali carbonates M₂CO₃ (M = Li, Na, K), the stronger basicity of Cs₂CO₃ and the lower ionic potential of cesium ion can raise the effective concentration of the αACC intermediate, and thus the conversion of the αACC intermediate into the cesium salt of the TA can be achieved with high yield.     

Supramolecular Sensor for Astringent Procyanidin C1: Fluorescent Artificial Tongue for Wine Components

An artificial tongue that detects astringent components for a comprehensive evaluation of taste has not been established to date. Herein, we first propose fluorescent polythiophene (PT) derivatives ( S1 – S3 ) modified with 3-pyridinium boronic acid as supramolecular chemosensors for wine components including astringent procyanidin C1. After numerous attempts for the synthetic conditions, more than 95 mol % of the PT unit was modified with the pyridinium boronic acid moiety. To evaluate the PT derivatives as chemosensors of the artificial tongue, qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed with four types of wine components (i.e., sweet, sour, bitter, and astringent tastes) in combination with pattern recognition models. Notably, procyanidin C1 in the actual wine sample was successfully detected in a quantitative manner. In other words, we have established an authentic artificial tongue using PT based supramolecular chemosensors.     

A Mechanistic Study of the Multiple Roles of Oleic Acid in the Oil-Phase Synthesis of Pt Nanocrystals

Oleic acid (OAc) is commonly used as a surfactant and/or solvent for the oil-phase synthesis of metal nanocrystals but its explicit roles are yet to be resolved. Here, we report a systematic study of this problem by focusing on a synthesis that simply involves heating of Pt(acac)₂ in OAc for the generation of Pt nanocrystals. When heated at 80 °C, the ligand exchange between Pt(acac)₂ and OAc leads to the formation of a Pt^II–oleate complex that serves as the actual precursor to Pt atoms. Upon increasing the temperature to 120 °C, the decarbonylation of OAc produces CO, which can act as a reducing agent for the generation of Pt atoms and thus formation of nuclei. Afterwards, several catalytic reactions can take place on the surface of the Pt nuclei to produce more CO, which also serves as a capping agent for the formation of Pt nanocrystals enclosed by {100} facets. The emergence of Pt nanocrystals further promotes the autocatalytic surface reduction of Pt^II precursor to enable the continuation of growth. This work not only elucidates the critical roles of OAc at different stages in a synthesis of Pt nanocrystals, but also represents a pivotal step forward toward the rational synthesis of metal nanocrystals.