A New Supramolecular Assembly Formed by Melamine and Sulfuric Acid

Polymeric melaminium sulfate [(LH₂)₂(SO₄)₂]_n has been synthesized by reaction of melamine L with sulfuric acid in aqueous solution. The compound was characterized by elemental analysis, ¹H NMR, ESI MS and a single crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis. The architecture of the assembly formed is based on hydrogen bonded dimers of diprotonated melaminium cations (LH₂)²⁺ which are linked by a hydrogen bonded network with sulfate ions forming 2D sheets. A 3D polymeric structure results from the presence of mutual hydrogen bonds between sulfate ions and melaminium cations in different sheets. Significant π‐π stacking is also present between the aromatic cations in this supramolecular arrangement.     

Dynamic covalent hydrazine chemistry as a selective extraction and cleanup technique for the quantification of the Fusarium mycotoxin zearalenone in edible oils

A novel, cost-efficient method for the analytical extraction of the Fusarium mycotoxin zearalenone (ZON) from edible oils by dynamic covalent hydrazine chemistry (DCHC) was developed and validated for its application with high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD). ZON is extracted from the edible oil by hydrazone formation on a polymer resin functionalised with hydrazine groups and subsequently released by hydrolysis. Specifity and precision of this approach are superior to liquid partitioning or gel permeation chromatography (GPC). DCHC also extracts zearalanone (ZAN) but not α-/β-zearalenol or -zearalanol. The hydrodynamic properties of ZON, which were estimated using molecular simulation data, indicate that the compound is unaffected by nanofiltration through the resin pores and thus selectively extracted. The method's levels of detection and quantification are 10 and 30 μg/kg, using 0.2 g of sample. Linearity is given in the range of 10–20,000 μg/kg, the average recovery being 89%. Bias and relative standard deviations do not exceed 7%. In a sample survey of 44 commercial edible oils based on various agricultural commodities (maize, olives, nuts, seeds, etc.) ZON was detected in four maize oil samples, the average content in the positive samples being 99 μg/kg. The HPLC-FLD results were confirmed by HPLC–tandem mass spectrometry and compared to those obtained by a liquid partitioning based sample preparation procedure.     

19.4%‐efficient large‐area fully screen‐printed silicon solar cells

We demonstrate industrially feasible large‐area solar cells with passivated homogeneous emitter and rear achieving energy conversion efficiencies of up to 19.4% on 125 × 125 mm² p‐type 2–3 Ω cm boron‐doped Czochralski silicon wafers. Front and rear metal contacts are fabricated by screen‐printing of silver and aluminum paste and firing in a conventional belt furnace. We implement two different dielectric rear surface passivation stacks: (i) a thermally grown silicon dioxide/silicon nitride stack and (ii) an atomic‐layer‐deposited aluminum oxide/silicon nitride stack. The dielectrics at the rear result in a decreased surface recombination velocity of S_rear = 70 cm/s and 80 cm/s, and an increased internal IR reflectance of up to 91% corresponding to an improved J_sc of up to 38.9 mA/cm² and V_oc of up to 664 mV. We observe an increase in cell efficiency of 0.8% absolute for the cells compared to 18.6% efficient reference solar cells featuring a full‐area aluminum back surface field. To our knowledge, the energy conversion efficiency of 19.4% is the best value reported so far for large area screen‐printed solar cells. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Laser power noise detection at the quantum-noise limit of 32 A photocurrent

The power noise of a cw Nd:YAG laser system was measured at radio frequencies using the optical ac coupling technique. An additional mode cleaner in the setup allowed a high optical ac coupling amplification of 62.3. For the first time, to our knowledge, a sensitivity of 1.1×10?1? Hz(-1/2) relative power noise was achieved corresponding to an equivalent detected photocurrent of 32 A. High precision optics experiments can utilize this scheme to improve the sensitivity of their photodetectors.