Phase polymorphism by mixing of poly(oxyethylene)-poly(dimethylsiloxane) copolymer and nonionic surfactant in water

The phase behavior of the water/poly(oxyethylene)-poly(dimethylsiloxane) copolymer (Si25C3EO51.6)/pentaoxyethylene dodecyl ether (C12EO5) ternary system has been studied. Both the silicone copolymer and the surfactant have equal volumes of hydrophilic and lipophilic parts; i.e., these are balanced amphiphiles. Although only a lamellar phase is observed in water-Si25C3EO51.6 and water-C12EO5 binary systems, a variety of liquid crystalline phases, including normal micellar cubic (I1), hexagonal (H1), bicontinuous cubic (V1), lamellar (L(alpha)), reverse bicontinuous cubic (V2), and reverse hexagonal (H2), are observed in the copolymer-rich region of the ternary phase diagram. The small C12EO5 molecules dissolve at the hydrophobic interface in the thick bilayer of the Si25C3EO51.6 L(alpha) phase occupying a large area of the total interface of the aggregates and modulate the curvature of the aggregates. Hence a variety of self-assembled structures are observed. In contrast, Si25C3EO51.6 is not dissolved in the thin bilayer of the C12EO5 lamellar phase (L'(alpha)). Hence, the C12EO5 L'(alpha) phase coexists with copolymer-rich L(alpha) and H2 phases. Consequently, small surfactant molecules are dissolved in a large silicone copolymer aggregate to induce a change in layer curvature, but a large copolymer molecule is hard to incorporate with surfactant aggregates.     

Syntheses, characterization, and photo-hydrogen-evolving properties of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) derivatives tethered to a cis-Pt(II)Cl2 unit: insights into the structure-activity relationship

The photo-hydrogen-evolving activity (activity to enhance the photochemical EDTA-reduction of water into molecular hydrogen) was evaluated for three different Ru(II)Pt(II) dimers with a general formula of [(bpy)2Ru(micro-bridge)PtCl2]2+(bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine; bridge = 4,4'-bis(N-(3-aminopropyl)carbamoyl)-2,2'-bipyridine (L1), 2,3-bis(2-pyridyl)pyrazine (L2), and 4,4'-bis(N-(4-pyridyl)methylcarbamoyl)-2,2'-bipyridine (L3); EDTA = ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt). A new Ru(II)Pt(II) complex, [(bpy)2Ru(micro-L3)PtCl2]2+, was synthesized and characterized. It was confirmed that all three compounds are ineffective towards photochemical H2 production. In each case, an acetate-buffer solution (pH = 5) containing the Ru(II)Pt(II) dimer and EDTA was photolysed using a 350-W Xe lamp under an Ar atmosphere, during which the amount of H2 evolved was analysed by gas chromatography. Additional photolysis experiments were carried out by adding [Ru(bpy)3]2+ and methylviologen (N,N'-dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium) to the photolysis solutions described above to test the H2-evolving activity of the Pt(II) unit involved in these Ru(II)Pt(II) dimers. As a result, the Pt(II) units involved in the L1 and L2 compounds were found to be active as an H2-evolving catalyst, while that of the L3 compound was found to show no activity at all. The extent of intramolecular electron-transfer quenching from the 3MLCT excited state of the [Ru(bpy)3]2+ derivative to the tethering Pt(II) catalyst centre was investigated by comparison of the luminescence spectra of these compounds, together with the related compounds. The results showed that the quenching of the 3MLCT luminescence is not at all enhanced in either the L1 or the L3 compounds. On the other hand, the L2 compound is strongly quenched as previously reported. In addition to the above studies, the H2-evolving activity of some Pt(II) monomers, cis-PtCl2(NH3)2, PtCl2(en)(en = ethylenediamine), cis-PtCl2(4-methylpyridine)2, PtCl2(2,2'-bipyrimidine), PtCl2(4,4'-dicarboxy-2,2'-bipyridine), and [PtCl(terpy)]+(terpy = 2,2':6',2'-terpyridine), were similarly investigated in the presence of EDTA, [Ru(bpy)3]2+ and methylviologen, since they were regarded as structural analogues of the Pt(II) units involved in the L1-L3 compounds. The compounds having a cis-Pt(II)Cl2 unit were generally found to show high H2-evolving activity. This was interpreted in terms of the ligation of negatively charged chloride anions leading to the destabilization of the Pt(II) dz2 orbital responsible for the hydrogenic activation. Importantly, cis-PtCl2(4-methylpyridine)2 exhibited relatively high activity as an H2-evolving catalyst, suggesting the importance of the flexible rotation of the pyridyl ligands for efficient hydrogenic activation at the axial site of the Pt(II) ion. The DFT calculations also showed the validity of the structure-activity relationship discussed above for the L3 compound.     

Effects of porphyrin substituents on film structure and photoelectrochemical properties of porphyrin/fullerene composite clusters electrophoretically deposited on nanostructured SnO2 electrodes

We have systematically examined the substituent effects of meso-tetraphenylporphyrins on film structures and the photoelectrochemical properties of the composite clusters of free-base porphyrin and C(60) electrophoretically deposited on nanostructured SnO(2) electrodes. The photocurrent generation efficiency was found to correlate with the complexation ability of the porphyrin for C(60). Basically, the incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) value was increased with increasing relative amounts of the porphyrin versus C(60) in the films. The unique molecular arrangement of the porphyrin with the simple, specific substituents (i.e., methoxy groups at the meta-positions of the meso-phenyl rings of tetraphenylporphyrins (3,5-OMeTPP; TPP=tetraphenylporphyrin)) and C(60) on SnO(2) electrodes resulted in the largest IPCE value (ca. 60 %) among this type of photoelectrochemical device. The rapid formation of the composite clusters and microcrystals from the combination of 3,5-OMeTPP and C(60) in a mixed solvent is unique as the association is accelerated by intermolecular interactions (i.e., hydrogen-bonding and CH-pi interactions) between the methoxy groups of the porphyrins and the porphyrin/C(60), in addition to the pi-pi interactions between the porphyrins/C(60) and C(60) molecules. Both the films and single crystals composed of the porphyrin and C(60) exhibited remarkably high electron mobility (7x10(-2) and 0.4 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1)), which is comparable to the value for highly efficient bulk heterojunction solar cells. Our experimental results have successfully demonstrated the importance of nanostructured electron- and hole-transporting pathways in bulk heterojunction solar cells. Such a finding will provide basic and valuable information on the design of molecular photovoltaics at the molecular level.     

Reaction of olefins using cerium(IV) sulfate tetrahydrate in carbonyl compounds–H2O

The reaction of olefins with cerium(IV) sulfate tetrahydrate [Ce(SO₄)₂·4H₂O, CS] in acetone–H₂O under reflux for 5 h gave 2‐oxo‐ and 2‐oxo‐5‐hydroxy derivatives. In this reaction, the yields of 2‐oxo‐5‐hydroxy derivatives were dependent on the quantity of H₂O. Moreover, the reaction of α, β‐unsaturated ketones with CS in acetone–H₂O yielded 2,7‐dioxo‐3‐hydroxy or 3,8‐dioxo‐4‐hydroxy derivatives. The reaction mechanism is also discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surface modification of gold nanorods using layer-by-layer technique for cellular uptake

Gold nanorods (NRs), rod-shaped gold nanoparticles, were modified with bovine serum albumin (BSA) and polyethylenimine (PEI) using layer-by-layer technique. From absorption spectroscopy and zeta potential measurements, it was obvious that NRs were wrapped with these polymers without aggregation of NRs. Following BSA modification, the surface-modified NRs (BSA-NRs) were well-dispersed without aggregation in biochemical conditions, verified from absorption spectroscopy. Further modification with PEI provided positively charged NRs (PEI-NRs). A transmission electron microscopy image of PEI-NRs revealed that the surface modification did not affect changing the shape of the initial NRs. In addition, the PEI-NRs retained the colloidal stability of BSA-NRs in biochemical conditions. We have evaluated that transfection activity of PEI-NRs with HeLa cells. From results of gene expression experiments, it was obvious that the stabilization of NRs by BSA and further modification with PEI realized transfection using NRs into cultured cells. Moreover, the cellular uptake of NRs enabled cellular imaging using light scattering from the NRs.     

Die stabile Reduktion der Fermatkurve über einem Zahlkörper

Let p be an odd prime and F the Fermat curve of degree p, defined by x^p+y^p=1 over . Although the curve F has bad reduction at the prime (p), the stable reduction theorem assures that over some number field K/ we can get stable reduction of the curve F at the primes lying above p. We have determined it in this paper. See Abb.1.     

Quenching of the translationally hot and thermalized NH(c Π) radicals by HN3

The cross section for the quenching of NH(c ¹Π, ν = 0) by HN₃ was measured by using a pulsed laser technique. A single rotational level of NH(c ¹Π, ν = 0) was formed by exciting NH(a ¹Δ, ν = 0) with a frequency doubled dye laser. NH(a¹Δ) was produced by photolyzing HN₃ with a XeCl excimer laser. The time profiles of the NH(c-a) fluorescence were measured at various pressures of HN₃. Experiments were performed both in the presence and in the absence of He buffer gas. In the absence of He, the NH radicals were found to be translationally hot; the average velocity was 3800±600 m s⁻¹. The quenching cross sections for the translationally hot and thermalized NH(c) radicals by HN₃ were determined to be (28±5) × 10⁻¹⁶ and (85±3) × 10⁻¹⁶ cm², respectively. No rotational level dependence could be observed in the quenching of the hot NH(c) radicals.