Identification of beta-decay of150La

The -decay of¹⁵⁰La, the heaviest isotope of lanthanum, has been identified by observing -rays from mass separated activities obtained at KUR-ISOL. From the decay curves of 97.0 and 208.7 keV -rays in¹⁵⁰Ce and of Ce-K X-ray, the half-life of¹⁵⁰La has been determined as 0.51(3) s. This value is in agreement with theoretical predictions from microscopic theory.     

Fast‐response organic–inorganic hybrid light‐emitting diode

We demonstrated important changes produced on the modulation frequency of hybrid organic–inorganic light‐emitting diodes to examine the applicability as a light source for visible optical communications. The fabricated device structure was 4,4′‐bis[N ‐(1‐napthyl)‐N ‐phenyl‐amino]biphenyl/4,4′‐(bis(9‐ethyl‐3‐carbazovinylene)‐1,1′‐biphenyl:4,4′‐bis[9‐dicarbazolyl]‐2,2′‐biphenyl/ZnS/LiF/MgAg. This device showed an improvement in the modulation frequency using ZnS instead of an organic material, tris(8‐hydroxyquinoline)aluminum. A maximum cutoff frequency of 20.6 MHz was achieved.

     

Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Confocal Microscopy of the Mycotoxin Citrinin in Condensed Phase and Hydrogel Films

The emission spectra, quantum yields and fluorescence lifetimes of citrinin in organic solvents and hydrogel films have been determined. Citrinin shows complex fluorescence decays due to the presence of two tautomers in solution and interconversion from excited-state double proton transfer (ESDPT) process. The fluorescence decay times associated with the two tautomers have values near 1 and 5 ns depending on the medium. In hydrogel films of agarose and alginate, fluorescence imaging showed that citrinin is not homogeneously dispersed and highly emissive micrometer spots may be formed. Fluorescence spectrum and decay analysis are used to recognize the presence of citrinin in hydrogel films using confocal fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy.     

Structural and hyperfine properties of Mn and Co-incorporated akaganeites

The structural and hyperfine properties of pure and substituted akaganeites prepared in the presence of Mn, Co and urea are presented and discussed. In all samples, the chloride content increased with the increase in the urea concentration of the parent solution, and a small Mn-for-Fe or Co-for-Fe substitution occurred. In pure akaganeites, the increase of urea concentration provoked an enlargement of the unit cell volume and a decrease of the crystallinity of the synthesised oxides. The incorporation of Mn and Co provoked changes in cell parameters and an increase in the crystallinity of the samples. The hyperfine parameters for both iron sites of the akaganeites remained practically unchanged, and the spectral areas of the iron sites located close to the chlorides decreased for the doped samples. The recoilless f-factor increased for the substituted akaganeites, indicating an increase in the strength of the atomic bonding of the iron ions.     

ac ionic conductivity of hollandite type compounds from 100 Hz to 37.0 GHz

The frequency- and temperature-dependences of a.c. ionic conductivity of one-dimensional super-ionic conductors K-priderites with a hollandite type structures were investigated from 100 Hz to 37.0 GHz. Four kinds of K-priderite, K_1.6Mg_0.8Ti_7.2O₁₆, (K_1.3, Li_0.1) Mg_0.7Ti_7.3O₁₆, K_1.6Al_1.6Ti_6.4O₁₆ and (K_1.3, Li_0.2) Al_1.5Ti_6.5O₁₆, were studied. An equivalent circuit to combine the data of the complex conductivity at low and high frequencies was proposed. The data of complex conductivity at low frequencies can be analyzed in terms of the moving box model proposed by Beyeler et al. The transport of K⁺ ions at low frequencies is characterized by the cooperative motion of the K⁺ ions with various mobilities and is accompanied with the polarization of the K⁺ ions in the channels. The ion transport across intrinsic barriers at or above microwave frequencies is characterized by the frequency-independent ionic conductivity and is interpreted by the configurational model proposed by Beyeler et al. The height of intrinsic barriers is related to the lattice constants of a crystal.     

Development of an enzymatic microreactor based on microencapsulated laccase with off-line capillary electrophoresis for measurement of oxidation reactions

Microencapsulation is used here as a new technique to immobilize enzymes in a microreactor coupled off-line to capillary electrophoresis (CE), allowing the determination of enzymatic reaction products. The redox enzyme laccase was encapsulated using the method of interfacial cross-linking of poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI). The 50 μm diameter capsules were slurry packed from a suspension into a capillary-sized reactor made easily and quickly from a short length of 530 μm diameter fused-silica tubing. The volume of the bed of laccase microcapsules in the microreactor was in the order of 1.1 μL through which 50 μL of the substrate o-phenylenediamine (OPD) was flowed. The oxidation product 2,3-diaminophenazine (DAP) and the remaining OPD were quantified by CE in a pH 2.5 phosphate buffer. Peak migration time reproducibility was in the order of 0.4% RSD and peak area reproducibility was less than 1.7% RSD within the same day. Using the OPD peak area calibration curve, a conversion efficiency of 48% was achieved for a 2-min oxidation reaction in the microreactor.     

Palladium‐catalysed P?C bond forming reactions between diphenylphosphine and ortho‐substituted aryl bromides

The use of palladium catalysts derived from 1,1′‐bis‐diisopropylphosphino‐ferrocene and a microwave heating source allows the coupling of a range of ortho‐substituted aryl bromides to diphenylphosphine derivatives to proceed in good yield in under 30 min. Optimization studies reveal that the combination of diphenylphosphine and DABCO is superior to more basic phosphide nucleophiles such as Ph₂PK or Ph₂PMgBr. High yields are only observed when moderately bulky electron rich diphosphines are used as ligands. The differences between P? C coupling and other cross‐coupling reactions are discussed in the light of the reactivity observed. Studies aimed at producing industrially important 1,2‐bis‐phosphino‐benzene ligands are also described. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The in situ oxidation-Wittig reaction of alpha-hydroxyketones

In situ oxidation-Wittig methodology has been applied to alpha-hydroxyketones avoiding the problems normally associated with alpha-ketoaldehydes; the procedure is practically simple, and in many cases gives high yields of the product gamma-ketocrotonates; the procedure has also been successfully utilised with ethyl glycolate and glycolaldehyde dimer.