Wave-packet dynamics of Bloch electrons—Role of Berry phase

Motivated by a recent proposal on the possibility of observing a monopole in the band structure, and by an increasing interest in the role of Berry phase in spintronics, we reconsidered the problem of adiabatic motion of a wave packet of Bloch functions, under a perturbation varying slowly and incommensurately to the lattice structure. We showed, using only the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics, that the effective wave-packet dynamics of Bloch electrons is conveniently described by a set of equations of motion (EOM) in which a non-Abelian Berry phase associated with the internal degree of freedom appears.     

Synergistic extraction of manganese(II) with thenoyltrifluoroacetone and neutral unidentate and bidentate ligands

Tritium content in tritiated titanium was measured by the method of fluorescent X-ray detection with an intrinsic Ge detector. The conventional method of setting region-of-interest of overlapped X-ray peaks was developed. The Ti K and K X-ray peak profile of³H/Ti was compared with that of V-49 electron capture standard source. Effect of geometry and sample thickness on peak profile was discussed. Detection limit in this method was 0.187 GBq of tritium.     

Substoichiometric Isotope Dilution Analysis for the Determination of Iron in Biological Materials and Comparison with Substoichiometric Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry

Substoichiometric isotope dilution analysis for the determination of trace iron has been studied by using synergistic extraction of iron(III) with a substoichiometric amount of 4-isopropyltropolone (Hipt) in the presence of an excess of 3,5-dichlorophenol (DCP) in heptane. Optimum conditions for the substoichiometric extraction of iron(III) in g to sub-g levels were examined and the high selectivity for iron(III) toward various metal ions encountered in the analysis of biological materials was confirmed. The present method was applied to a biological reference material (NIES, CRM No.9, sargasso) without any pre-separation and was successfully evaluated. Furthermore, substoichiometric stable isotope dilution mass spectrometry using the present extraction method was also used with the above sample. Applicability and practicability was compared for both substoichiometric methods.     

Synthesis of Nanoporous Carbon–Cobalt‐Oxide Hybrid Electrocatalysts by Thermal Conversion of Metal–Organic Frameworks

Nanoporous carbon–cobalt‐oxide hybrid materials are prepared by a simple, two‐step, thermal conversion of a cobalt‐based metal–organic framework (zeolitic imidazolate framework‐9, ZIF‐9). ZIF‐9 is carbonized in an inert atmosphere to form nanoporous carbon–metallic‐cobalt materials, followed by the subsequent thermal oxidation in air, yielding nanoporous carbon–cobalt‐oxide hybrids. The resulting hybrid materials are evaluated as electrocatalysts for the oxygen‐reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen‐evolution reaction (OER) in a KOH electrolyte solution. The hybrid materials exhibit similar catalytic activity in the ORR to the benchmark, commercial, Pt/carbon black catalyst, and show better catalytic activity for the OER than the Pt‐based catalyst.     

Controlled Crystallization of Cyano‐Bridged Cu–Pt Coordination Polymers with Two‐Dimensional Morphology

Two‐dimensional (2D) coordination polymers (CPs) have a highly accessible surface area that permits guest molecules to effectively access the micropores in the CPs. Here we report a bottom‐up synthesis of 2D cyano‐bridged Cu–Pt CP nanoflakes using trisodium citrate as a chelating agent, which controls the nucleation rate and the crystal growth. The lateral sizes of the CP nanoflakes are controlled by changing the amount of trisodium citrate used. We strongly believe that our method will be useful for the preparation of other types of 2D CP nanoflakes. The 2D CPs have many active sites for catalytic and electrochemical reactions, and furthermore the assembled CPs can be used as membrane filters.     

Micro total bioassay system for oral drugs: evaluation of gastrointestinal degradation, intestinal absorption, hepatic metabolism, and bioactivity

A micro total bioassay system that mimics physiological processes was developed as a means of evaluating orally administered drugs. A new feature accounting for gastrointestinal digestion was added to the previous system, which consists of microintestine, microliver, and target components. The artificial micro-gastrointestinal tract employs synthetic digestive juices. The system could correctly assay the overall digestive properties of ingested anticancer agents, i.e., the stability during digestive processes, as well as intestinal absorption, hepatic metabolism, and bioactivity toward target cells.     

Electrochemical Design of Mesoporous Pt–Ru Alloy Films with Various Compositions toward Superior Electrocatalytic Performance

Mesoporous Pt–Ru alloy films with various compositions were synthesized by electrochemical plating in an aqueous surfactant solution. After the removal of surfactants, continuous mesoporous Pt–Ru alloy films possessing uniform mesopores with diameter about 7 nm were obtained. The Ru content in the films could be controlled from 0 to 13 at % by changing the precursor compositions. For all the films, the mesostructural periodicities and the mesopore sizes in the films were not changed. Due to the mesoporous structure and the doped Ru content, our mesoporous Pt–Ru films showed superior electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation reaction in comparison with the commercially available Pt catalyst.     

Synthesis of Olive‐Shaped Mesoporous Platinum Nanoparticles (MPNs) with a Hard‐Templating Method Using Mesoporous Silica (SBA‐15)

Well‐ordered mesoporous Pt nanoparticles (MPNs) with uniform olive shapes are synthesized by using two‐dimensional (2D) hexagonal mesoporous silica (SBA‐15) as a hard template. The average particle sizes are controllable in the range of 150 to 230 nm by changing the reduction time. Low‐angle XRD profiles for the obtained MPNs show three distinct peaks assignable to the (10), (11), and (20) planes of a highly ordered 2D hexagonal symmetry. From high‐magnification SEM images, periodically arranged Pt nanowires are observed clearly, which are a negative replica of the 2D hexagonally ordered mesoporous silica (SBA‐15). Furthermore, the single crystallinity of the Pt fcc structure coherently extends over the whole particles. As a result of such unique character as well as high surface area, the obtained MPNs show distinctly enhanced electrocatalytic properties for methanol oxidation reaction compared to other Pt samples, such as Pt black.     

Aza-Morita–Baylis–Hillman reaction with ion-supported Ph3P

Various N-tosyl arylimines reacted with methyl vinyl ketone and ethyl vinyl ketone in the presence of ion-supported Ph₃P A and B to give adducts, N-(2′-methylene-3′-oxo-1′-arylbutyl)-4-methylbenzenesulfonamides and N-(2′-methylene-3′-oxo-1′-arylpentyl)-4-methylbenzenesulfonamides, respectively, in good yields with high purity by simple diethyl ether extraction of the reaction mixture. Moreover, ion-supported Ph₃P A and B could be repeatedly used for the same reaction to provide the corresponding adducts while maintaining good yields with high purity.