In Operando Visualization of the Electrochemical Formation of Liquid Polybromide Microdroplets

Zinc–bromine flow batteries are promising for stationary energy storage, and bromine‐complexing agents have been used to form phase‐separated liquid polybromide products. However, an understanding of the dynamics of polybromide nucleation is limited due to the beam sensitivity and complexity of polybromides. Here we report an in operando platform composed of dark‐field light microscopy and a transparent electrochemical cell to reveal the dynamics of polybromide formation in their native environment. Using our platform, we confirm and reveal the liquid nature, chemical composition, pinning effect (strong interaction with Pt), residual effect (residual charge products on the surface), self‐discharging, and over‐oxidation of the polybromide products. The results provide insights into the role of complexing agents and guide the future design of zinc–bromine flow batteries. Furthermore, our in operando platform can potentially be used to study sensitive species and phases in other electrochemical reactions.     

Measuring Ultrafast Spectral Diffusion and Correlation Dynamics by Two‐Dimensional Electronic Spectroscopy

The frequency fluctuation correlation function (FFCF) measures the spectral diffusion of a state's transition while the frequency fluctuation cross‐correlation function (FXCF) measures the correlation dynamics between the transitions of two separate states. These quantities contain a wealth of information on how the chromophores or excitonic states interact and couple with its environment and with each other. We summarize the experimental implementations and theoretical considerations of using two‐dimensional electronic spectroscopy to characterize FFCFs and FXCFs. Applications can be found in systems such as the chlorophyll pigment molecules in light‐harvesting complexes and CdSe nanomaterials.     

The dissipation of sound at an edge

A general formula is established for the rate at which acoustic energy is dissipated at the sharp edges of a rigid boundary by the generation of vorticity in the presence of a low, subsonic mean flow of uniform mean density. Experimental results relating to the radiation of sound from a jet pipe are used to show how the formula can be used to make quantitative predictions in the absence of a detailed knowledge of the unsteady flow field.     

Effect of expression of manganese superoxide dismutase in baculovirus-infected insect cells

It has previously been demonstrated that baculovirus infection of the Spodoptera frugiperda Sf-9 (Sf-9) and Trichoplusia ni BTI-Tn-5B1-4 (Tn-5B1-4) insect cell lines leads to oxidative stress as measured by protein and membrane lipid oxidation and that this oxidative damage contributes to cell death. As a result of these findings, it was hypothesized that baculovirus infection stimulates superoxide radical (O ₂ ^·— synthesis in the mitochondria and that the resulting O ₂ ^·— accumulation overwhelms the cells’ antioxidant defenses. We investigated the ability of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) expression (which reduces O ₂ ^·— to H₂O₂) to overcome the oxidative damage caused by baculovirus infection. It was found that MnSOD expression significantly reduced oxidative damage in baculovirus-infected Tn-5B1-4 cells but had no significant effect on oxidative damage in baculovirus-infected Sf-9 cells. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that O ₂ ^·— accumulation in the mitochondria is at least partially responsible for the oxidative damage resulting from the baculovirus infection of insect cells.     

On the role of separation in compression wave generation by a train entering a tunnel hood with a window

An approximate analytical theory is proposed for calculatingthe compression wave generated when a train enters a tunnelfitted with an entrance hood with an open window. The pressurerise ahead of the entering train causes air to exhaust fromthe window in the form of a high-speed jet. The profile of thecompression wave transmitted into the tunnel is modified by theinteraction of the train nose with the window, by multiple reflectionsof wave energy between the window and the hood portal priorto transmission into the tunnel, and in addition by the productionof a pressure pulse by the jet. The wave generation problemcan be formulated in a quasi-one-dimensional manner, wherebythe pressure field generated in front of and to the sides ofthe train in the absence of the window is assumed to be scatteredby the window. A self-consistent solution is obtained by evaluatingthe jet flow from the window using a nonlinear empirical quationproposed and validated by Cummings (1984, Amer. Inst. Aeron.Astron. J., 22, 786–792; 1986, J. Acoust. Soc. Amer.,79, 942–951) for the velocity in the window-exit plane.Predictions are found to be in excellent agreement with measurementsof compression wave profiles obtained in model scale experimentsreported by Howe et al. (2003, J. Fluid Mech., 487, 211–243)at train speeds 350 km h^–1.     

Ultrafast optical delay line by use of a time-prism pair

We demonstrate an all-fiber, programmable, ultrafast optical delay line based on reversible frequency conversion by use of a time-prism pair. Using electro-optic phase modulators to provide the time-prism phase profile, we show a record scanning rate of 0.5 GHz and a delay range of 19.0 ps. Computer modeling suggests that aberration correction in the time-prism system can extend the delay range to 28.0 ps. Finally, limitations and potential improvement of our techniques are discussed.     

Plastic Versus Glass Support for an Immunoassay on Metal-Coated Surfaces in Optically Dense Samples Utilizing Directional Surface Plasmon-Coupled Emission

We compared plastic (polycarbonate) and high-quality glass support materials for gold-coated slides, when performing a model immunoassay against rabbit IgG using fluorescently labeled (AlexaFluor-647) anti-rabbit IgG, and detecting surface plasmon-coupled emission (SPCE) signals. Both, glass and plastic slides were simultaneously coated with a 48-nm layer of gold and protected with a 10-nm layer of silica. The maximum SPCE signal of AlexaFluor-647 was only two- to three-fold smaller on plastic slides than on glass slides. A small difference in the SPCE angles on glass (θ _F = 55°) and plastic (θ _F = 52.5°) slides was observed and can be explained with a slightly smaller refractive index of the plastic. We have not found any difference in the angle distribution (sharpness of the fluorescence signal at optimal SPCE angle) for the plastic slide compared to the glass slide. The kinetics of binding was monitored on the plastic slide as well as on the glass slide. Optically dense samples, a 4% red blood cell suspension and a 15% hemoglobin solution, are causing a reduction in the immunoassay SPCE signal by approximately 15% and three times, respectively, and the percentage of the reduction is the same for plastic and for glass slides. We believe that plastic substrates can be readily used in any SPCE assay, with only marginally lower total signal compared to high-quality glass slides.     

Diffraction of bending waves

This paper is a discussion of the theory of diffraction and scattering of bending waves by mass-impedance loadings of an infinite plane plate. Emphasis is placed on the case of heavy loadings, at which deflexions of the plate are precluded and the scattering is the strongest possible. Examples treated in detail include the diffraction grating, diffraction by a semi-infinite rib, and diffraction by a comb of semi-inifinite ribs.     

The gas phase structure of some protonated and ethylated aromatic amines

The fundamental processes of protonation and ethylation, occurring in a methane chemical ionization source, have been investigated for a variety of aromatic amines. The positions of protonation and ethylation on the substrate amines were determined by generating isomeric ions either by protonation of neutral ethyl substituted amines or by ethylation of the amines themselves. The product ions were investigated for structural differences via collision induced dissociation and subsequent analysis via mass analysed ion kinetic energy spectrometry. Similarities and differences between mass analysed ion kinetic energy/collision induced dissociation spectra of these isomeric ions were used to determine protonation and ethylation sites for imidazole, benzimidazole, indazole, pyrrole, pyridine and aniline.