Colloidal Stability of TiO2 Nanoparticles: The Roles of Phosphonate Ligand Length and Solution Temperature

Surface ligands are essential tools for the stabilization of colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) in solvents. However, knowledge regarding the effects of the ligand shell, especially the ligand length, is insufficient and controversial. Here we demonstrate solution-based experiments on n-alkylphosphonate-capped TiO₂ NPs to investigate the effects of ligand length and solution temperature on colloidal stability. A robust ligand-exchange process is achieved that draws free ligands and impurities away from the colloidal solution. In the case of 8 nm anatase NPs in toluene, the dodecylphosphonate ligand provided better colloidal stability than all the other n-alkylphosphonate ligands. In addition, relaxation studies suggested there is kinetic hysteresis in the dispersion/agglomeration transition. The proposed method is applicable to a wide range of surface ligands designed to maximize the colloidal stability of NPs.     

Design of a Photocatalytic [2+2] Cycloaddition Reaction Using Redox-Tag Strategy

The design of photocatalytic processes is important for a sustainable society. Key to these photocatalytic reactions is electron transfer. This article is focused on titanium dioxide photocatalyzed organic synthesis and the design of a new [2+2] cycloaddition reaction based on the electron transfer process. Electron transfer - not only between the substrate and the photocatalyst but also inter- and intramolecularly – is crucial for the reaction design. Radical cations were generated by the photocatalyst and trapped by alkenes. The resultant cyclobutyl radical cations were immediately reduced by the aryl rings via intramolecular electron transfer to obtain cyclobutane rings. The outcome of the reaction was controlled by substitution of the aryl ring and the linker connecting the aryl ring to the enol ether. The carefully designed substrates were highly effective for photocatalytic cycloaddition.     

Experimental Correspondence between Spore Dosimetry and Spectral Photometry of Solar Ultraviolet Radiation

Abstract— The biologically effective dose of solar UV radiation was estimated from the inactivation of UV-sensitive Bacillus subtilis spores. Two types of independent measurements were carried out concurrently at the Aerological Observatory in Tsukuba: one was the direct measurement of colony-forming survival that provided the inactivation dose per minute (ID/min) and the other was the measurement of the spectral irradiance by a Brewer spectrophotometer. To obtain the effective spectrum, the irradiance for each 1 nm wavelength interval from 290 to 400 nm was multiplied with the efficiency for inactivation derived from the inactivation action spectrum of identically prepared spore samples. Integration of the effective spectrum provided the estimate for ID/min. The observed values of ID/min were closely concordant with the calculated values for the data obtained in four afternoons in 1993. The average ratio (±SD) between them was 1.24 (±0.16) for 14 data points showing high inactivation rates (<0.05 ID/min). Considering difficulties in the absolute dosimetry of UV radiation, the concordance was satisfactory and improved credibility of the two types of monitoring systems of biologically effective dose of solar UV radiation.     

Photo-induced chirality switching in a cobaloxime complex crystal

Switching of molecular chirality under photo-irradiation was studied in a cobaloxime complex crystal. Excitation of the d-d transition of the Co(III) ion appeared to be much more effective in inducing the chirality change than excitation of the ligand-metal charge transfer band although the latter is more effective in breaking the Co-C bond that initiates the chirality switching. The chirality change versus irradiation time showed a steplike behavior suggesting that chirality switching of molecules occurred in correlation with their nearest neighbors.     

Concurrent determination of magnesium and calcium in iron ores by atomic absorption spectroscopy

Summary Examinations were made for the concurrent determination of magnesium and calcium in iron ores when present in about equal amounts, using the magnesium-calcium coupled type hollow-cathode lamp in atomic absorption spectroscopy, and a method of measurement was established. Concurrent determination was found to be easily possible by removal of the majority of iron by extraction with methyl isobutyl ketone and addition of strontium. Analytical precision was calculated and found to give satisfactory results (standard deviations: ±0.004% for Ca, ±0.006% for Mg).

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Zusammenfassung Untersuchungen wurden angestellt über die Bestimmung von Magnesium und Calcium nebeneinander in ungefähr gleichen Mengen in Eisenerzen durch Atomabsorptionsspektrometrie. Verwendet wird die Ca-Mg-Doppel-Hohlkathodenlampe. Die Hauptmenge des Eisens wird durch Extraktion mit Methylisobutylketon zuvor entfernt. Außerdem ist zur Vermeidung einer Störung ein Zusatz von Strontium erforderlich. Es werden zufriedenstellende Ergebnisse erhalten (Standardabweichung: ±0,004% für Ca, ±0,006% für Mg).

     

Crystalline‐State Photoreaction of 1‐Azido‐2‐nitrobenzene – Direct Observation of Heterocycle Formation by X‐Ray Crystallography

The crystalline‐state photoreaction of 1‐azido‐2‐nitrobenzene ( 1 ) was investigated by a combination of X‐ray crystallography, IR spectroscopy, electron‐spin resonance (ESR), and by means of theoretical calculations. Upon low‐temperature (80 K) photolysis of 1 , the formation of benzofuroxan ( 2 ) was directly observed by X‐ray single‐crystal analysis. ESR Measurements at 5 K suggested the presence of a triplet nitrene as an intermediate in the formation of the heterocycle. Temperature‐dependent IR spectroscopy also revealed that another intermediate, trans,trans‐1,2‐dinitrosobenzene, was produced at temperatures below 80 K.     

Charge transport through polyene self-assembled monolayers from multiscale computer simulations

We combine first-principles density-functional theory with matrix Green's function calculations to predict the structures and charge transport characteristics of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of four classes of systems in contact with Au(111) electrodes: conjugated polyene chains (n = 4, 8, 12, 16, and 30) thiolated at one or both ends and saturated alkane chains (n = 4, 8, 12, and 16) thiolated at one or both ends. For the polyene SAMs, we find no decay in the current as a function of chain length and conclude that these 1-3 nm long polyene SAMs act as metallic wires. We also find that the polyene-monothiolate leads to a contact resistance only 2.8 times higher than that for the polyene-dithiolate chains, indicating that the device conductance is dominated by the properties of the molecular connector with less importance in having a second molecule-electrode contact. For the alkane SAMs, we observe the normal exponential decay in the current as a function of the chain length with a decay constant of beta(n) = 0.82 for the alkane-monothiolate and 0.88 for the alkane-dithiolate. We find that the contact resistance for the alkane-monothiolate is 12.5 times higher than that for the alkane-dithiolate chains, reflecting the extra resistance due to the weak contact on the nonthiolated end. These contrasting charge transport characteristics of alkane and polyene SAMs and their contact dependence are explained in terms of the atomic projected density of states.