Electron beam effects on oxygen exposed aluminum surfaces

The damaging effects of electron beams during the acquisition of electron spectra have long been an obstacle in surface analysis. In order to understand the physico-chemical processes which take place under electron irradiation in an AlO system, we have carried out an experiment in which artifices, such as heating, charging, and gas contamination, were absent. We have observed with Auger Electron Spectra increases of the oxidation extent and the oxygen concentration on an oxygen exposed (111) textured polycrystalline surface under electron irradiation (5 keV, 9 × 10^?5 A/cm²). These increases were not observed on a clean surface, and were very feeble on a (100) single crystal surface. The increase of oxygen concentration was independent of residual gas pressure (3 × 10^?9 to 6 × 10^?10 Torr) and its composition; and therefore cannot be explained by gas contamination during the experimental period (about 70 min). We attribute the increase of oxidation degree to the transition of chemisorbed oxygen atoms into oxide through direct momentum transfer from the incident electrons. We suggest that the increase of oxygen within the irradiated area is due to the surface diffusion of chemisorbed oxygen atoms from outside the irradiated area. These oxygen atoms are excited by the electrons scattered from the vacuum chamber walls and gain energy through Franck-Condon type mechanism. The absence of chemisorbed oxygen atoms on (100) surface explains the near absence of these increases on this surface.     

Charge stripe structure in FeTe

We report the STM study on a single-crystalline sample of FeTe at 7.8 K. FeTe is one of the iron-based superconductor. We measured the resistivity and the magnetization of FeTe. FeTe shows SDW transition at 58 K on these measurements. We study the electronic state of FeTe by using STM/STS for observing FeTe from a microscopic viewpoint. We observed the iron layer and the tellurium layer with atomic resolution. Moreover, we discover the charge stripe structure on STM/STS measurement. We find the charge stripe structure is caused by iron atoms from the analysis. The gap structure of 9 meV was observed in tunneling spectra. This gap size is consistent with the SDW gap which is expected from mean field theory with T_N=58 K.     

Reaction dynamics of excited 2-(3-benzoylphenyl)propionic acid (ketoprofen) with histidine

Photoreaction dynamics of 2-(3-benzoylphenyl)propionic acid (ketoprofen, KP), one of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, with histidine in a phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.4) was investigated with the laser flash photolysis. The deprotonated form of KP (KP(-)) was decarboxylated via UV laser excitation to form a carbanion. It was found that histidine accelerates the protonation reaction of the carbanion to 3-ethylbenzophenone ketyl biradical (3-EBPH) for the first time. The experimental results of the photoreaction of KP with alanine as well as the photoreaction of KP with 4-methylimidazole (a part of the side chain of histidine) in methanol, clearly showed that the protonated form of histidine is a key species for the protonation reaction of the carbanion. These series of the initial reactions should result in the occurrence of photosensitization in vivo. The reaction mechanism was discussed in detail.     

Laser-induced orientational change of nematic liquid crystalline molecules mediated by photochromic reactions of surface azobenzenes

The alignment of nematic liquid crystalline (LC) molecules with respect to the LC cell surface was regulated between the homeotropic (H) state and the parallel (P) state by the photochromic trans—cis isomerization of surface-attached azobenzene (Az) moieties. By bringing the angular-selective photoreaction into the system, the orientational order in the P state was significantly improved to attain a universal orientational axis over the entire irradiated area, which was rotatable and erasable photochemically. Laser pulse experiments revealed that the allignment relaxation time τ was reduced from 1000 to 30 ms by increasing the pulse intensity from 10 to 20 mJ cm⁻². Strong coupling between the LC and Az molecules was indicated.     

Methyl torsional potentials of rotational isomers of m-methylanisole studied by spectral hole-burning spectroscopy

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) excitation spectra of m-methylanisole in a supersonic jet were measured. Two series of progressions were observed in the spectrum, originating at 36048 and 36115 cm⁻¹, which were successfully assigned to the transitions to the methyl internal rotational vibronic levels of the two isomers, i.e. cis and trans isomers, with the aid of hole-burning spectrum measurements and quantum-chemical calculations. The progression for the trans isomer was observed up to the 6a₁ band, while only the 3a₁ band in addition to the 0a₁ and 1e bands was observed for the cis isomer. This finding can be explained by the conformational change upon the electronic excitation; the 60° rotation of the methyl torsional angle takes place for the trans isomer but not for the cis isomer.     

Direct Synthesis of Anatase Films with ~100% (001) Facets and [001] Preferred Orientation

Anatase films exhibiting ~100% (001) reactive facets at the surface were grown hydrothermally on gold substrate from a homogeneous solution of TiF(4) and NaF. In addition to NaF, it was found that TiO(2) films with very similar properties could be prepared with the fluoride salts LiF, CsF, HF, NH(4)F, and N(CH(2)CH(3))(4)F. The polycrystalline anatase films are continuous, approximately 1 μm thick, and evenly coat the substrate. The surface grain size is ~400 nm. Grazing angle XRD measurements show that the films exhibit a high degree of preferred orientation with the c-axis normal to the substrate surface. SEM images reveal that the grains span the thickness of the films. Annealing the films at 500 °C removes fluorine and causes crystallites within the grains to restructure as shown by SEM, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy. Supported anatase films grown from this one-pot method may serve as oxidative photocatalysts and electrodes for photoelectrochemical applications such as solar cells and hydrogen evolution.     

Optical and surface morphological properties of polarizing films fabricated from a chromonic dye by the photoalignment technique

The inherent chromonic lyotropic liquid crystalline properties of a dye have been manipulated to fabricate multi-axial micropolarizing thin films by means of the photoalignment technique. The dye aqueous solution is deposited on a photopatterned polymer film to result in the macroscopic alignment of the dye molecules, followed by drying at ambient temperature. The solid polarizing dye layers thus produced exhibit very a high contrast ratio and degree of polarization in the region of visible light. Addition of a small amount of surfactant to the dye solution is a prerequisite for the generation of a nematic chromonic phase and for the formation of homogeneous thin dye layers on the polymer film. The correlation between the optical and surface morphological properties of the dye layers is discussed.     

Molecular hybrids of azobenzene polymer and liquid crystal molecule. A new approach for understanding the command surface system

Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films consisting of the hybrid of a polymer having the azobenzene (Az) side chain and 4î-pentyl-4-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) are prepared. Microscopic observations and spectroscopic data both indicate that the Az side chain and 5CB are homogeneously mixed at a molecular level without phase separation in the layer. This provides a satisfactory model of the command surface system. Time course accumulation of spectroscopic data for multilayered hybrid films reveals the cooperative nature of the photo-motivated molecular motions.     

Simultaneous quantitative measurement of fourteen adrenal steroids by capillary column gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and its clinical application

Until now, there has been little work covering all of the main native adrenal-cortical steroids in blood. We therefore established a method for the simultaneous quantitative measurement of 14 native adrenal-cortical steroids, which involves capillary column gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC--MS). Serum steroids were purified from serum with the Extrelut mini-column and then converted into stable derivatives for GC-MS by a combination of boronic cyclization and trimethylsilyl and methyloxime derivatization. The sensitivities (with a signal-to-noise ratio greater than or equal to 7) of our GC-MS method ranged from 0.1 to 1.0 ng/ml of serum, and the coefficients of variation of intra- and inter-assays were less than 19% for each steroid. Our newly devised method involving a capillary column GC-MS system has been proven to be a simple and suitable method for a diagnosis requiring simultaneous detection of many native adrenal steroids in clinical practice. The analysis time is only 4 h.