Measurements of SiH4/H2 VHF Plasma Parameters with Heated Langmuir Probe

The parameters of a SiH₄/H₂ VHF plasma were measured as a function of silane gas concentration with a heated Langmuir probe. It was found that when the sailane gas concentration is increased, the nagative ion density increases. Here the negative ion density was estimated from the reduction of the electron saturation current. In addition, the dependence of the wall potential on the silane gas concentration agreed with the theoretical values derived from the Bohm sheath equation including negative ions. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Electrochemical Detection of Free Chlorine Using Ni Metal Nanoparticles Combined with Multilayered Graphene Nanoshells

An electrochemical detection of free chlorine using carbon‐metal (C?M) composite powder, with a nickel‐metal nanoparticle combined with a multilayered graphene nanoshell (Ni metal@multilayered graphene) as the main component, synthesized from CH₄ via multimode microwave‐assisted catalytic decomposition, was studied. Morphological analysis of the C?M composite powder was performed by TEM–EDX and Raman spectroscopy. The C?M composite powder was packed in a porous microelectrode (PME), and its electrochemical activity with respect to free chlorine was evaluated using a potential sweep method. The C?M composite powder exhibited a sufficient activity against free chlorine. A current based on the reduction of free chlorine was observed in the potential < around+0.3 V vs. Ag/AgCl. A linear relationship was observed between the current and the concentration.     

Collective phase sensitivity

The collective phase response to a macroscopic external perturbation of a population of interacting nonlinear elements exhibiting collective oscillations is formulated for the case of globally coupled oscillators. The macroscopic phase sensitivity is derived from the microscopic phase sensitivity of the constituent oscillators by a two-step phase reduction. We apply this result to quantify the stability of the macroscopic common-noise-induced synchronization of two uncoupled populations of oscillators undergoing coherent collective oscillations.     

A Nonaromatic Thiophene‐Fused Heptalene and Its Aromatic Dianion

Heptalene, a nonaromatic, bicyclic 12 π‐electron system with a twisted structure, is of great interest with regard to its potential Hückel aromaticity in the two‐electron oxidized or reduced forms. The synthesis of thiophene‐fused heptalene 5 from the reductive transannular cyclization of bisdehydro[12]annulene 4 , and its solid‐state structure, which was confirmed by X‐ray crystallographic analysis, is presented. Chemical reduction of 5 readily generated the corresponding dianion, which was successfully isolated as [(K[2.2.2]cryptand)⁺]₂ 5 ^2?. The X‐ray crystallographic analysis of the dianion revealed a shallower saddle structure for the heptalene moiety and a lesser degree of bond alternation relative to 5 . ¹H NMR spectroscopy exposed the effect of a diamagnetic ring current on dianion 5 ^2?, which was corroborated by nucleus‐independent chemical shift (NICS) calculations. These results demonstrate that the heptalene dianion, containing 14 π‐electrons, does indeed exhibit pronounced degrees of Hückel aromaticity.     

Noise-induced synchronization and clustering in ensembles of uncoupled limit-cycle oscillators

We study synchronization properties of general uncoupled limit-cycle oscillators driven by common and independent Gaussian white noises. Using phase reduction and averaging methods, we analytically derive the stationary distribution of the phase difference between oscillators for weak noise intensity. We demonstrate that in addition to synchronization, clustering, or more generally coherence, always results from arbitrary initial conditions, irrespective of the details of the oscillators.     

New synthetic method for indole-2-carboxylate and its application to the total synthesis of duocarmycin SA

The sequential coupling and cyclization reactions between aryl halides and methyl propiolate were investigated. The electron-withdrawing groups on the aromatic ring are essential for producing the methyl indole-2-carboxylate derivatives. On the other hand, the presence of an extra methyl propiolate and Pd(PPh3)4 were required to provide an efficient catalytic system for the cyclization reactions. This reaction was used for the total synthesis of duocarmycin SA.