Comparison of surface films formed on titanium by pulsed Nd:YAG laser irradiation at different powers and wavelengths in nitrogen atmosphere

The nitridation of titanium (Ti) caused by a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser under nitrogen gas atmosphere was investigated in situ using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A laser having a wavelength of 1064 nm and 532 nm (SHG mode) was irradiated on a titanium substrate in an atmosphere-controlled chamber, and the substrate was then transported to an XPS analysis chamber without exposing it to air. The characteristics of the surface layer strongly depend on the laser power. When the power is relatively low, a titanium dioxide layer containing a small amount of nitrogen is formed on the substrate. Laser irradiation beyond a certain laser power is required to obtain a stoichiometric titanium nitride (TiN) layer. A TiN layer and an oxynitride layer with a TiO_xN_y-like structure are formed as the topmost and the lower surface layer, respectively, when the laser power exceeds this threshold value. The threshold laser power strongly depends on the wavelength of the laser, and this threshold value for the 532-nm laser is quite lower than that for the 1064-nm laser.     

New catalysts for borohydride electro-oxidation using Rh porphyrins

New borohydride electro-oxidation catalysts for direct borohydride fuel cells were developed. These catalysts use rhodium porphyrins on carbon black. The overpotential for borohydride electro-oxidation is much lower than that for a gold electrode. Hydrogen generation by the hydrolysis of borohydride is suppressed much more with rhodium porphyrin catalysts than with a platinum catalyst. Rh porphyrins oxidized borohydride below 0 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode. The measurement of hydrogen generation after electrolysis indicates that the apparent number of electrons transferred in rhodium octaethylporphyrin exceeds 7.     

3,3'-Diphosphoryl-1,1'-bi-2-naphthol-Zn(II) complexes as conjugate acid-base catalysts for enantioselective dialkylzinc addition to aldehydes

A highly enantioselective dialkylzinc (R(2)(2)Zn) addition to a series of aromatic, aliphatic, and heteroaromatic aldehydes (5) was developed based on conjugate Lewis acid-Lewis base catalysis. Bifunctional BINOL ligands bearing phosphine oxides [P(=O)R(2)] (7), phosphonates [P(=O)(OR)(2)] (8 and 9), or phosphoramides [P(=O)(NR(2))(2)] (10) at the 3,3'-positions were prepared by using a phospho-Fries rearrangement as a key step. The coordination of a NaphO-Zn(II)-R(2) center as a Lewis acid to a carbonyl group in a substrate and the activation of R(2)(2)Zn(II) with a phosphoryl group (P=O) as a Lewis base in the 3,3'-diphosphoryl-BINOL-Zn(II) catalyst could promote carbon-carbon bond formation with high enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee). Mechanistic studies were performed by X-ray analyses of a free ligand (7) and a tetranuclear Zn(II) cluster (21), a 31P NMR experiment on Zn(II) complexes, an absence of nonlinear effect between the ligand (7) and Et-adduct of benzaldehyde, and stoichiometric reactions with some chiral or achiral Zn(II) complexes to propose a transition-state assembly including monomeric active intermediates.     

Pseudorotaxane-type fluorescent receptor exhibiting unique response to saccharides

Pseudorotaxane formed by reacting beta-cyclodextrin bearing a phenylboronic acid residue with 1-heptyl-4-(4'-dimethylaminostyryl)pyridinium functioned as a novel fluorescent saccharide receptor having unique responses.     

Design of a small-molecule catalyst using intramolecular cation-pi interactions for enantioselective Diels-Alder and Mukaiyama-Michael reactions: L-DOPA-derived monopeptide.Cu(II) complex

[reaction: see text] We have designed a small-molecule artificial metalloenzyme that is prepared in situ from Cu(OTf)(2) or Cu(NTf(2))(2) (1.0 equiv) and l-DOPA-derived monopeptide (1.1 equiv). This catalyst (2-10 mol %) is highly effective for the enantioselective Diels-Alder (DA) and Mukaiyama-Michael (MM) reactions with alpha,beta-unsaturated 1-acyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazoles. The present results demonstrate that cation-pi interactions may be available for controlling the conformation of sidearms of chiral ligands, and monopeptides are readily tunable ligands that include only one chiral center.     

Chiral discrimination of primary amines by HPLC after labeling with a chiral derivatization reagent, trans-2-(2,3-anthracenedicarboximido)-cyclohexanecarbonyl chloride

Enantiomeric discrimination of chiral primary amines was performed by both reversed-phase HPLC and normal-phase HPLC after labeling with a chiral fluorescent derivatization reagent, (1R,2R)- and (1S,2S)-trans-2-(2,3-anthracenedicarboximido)cyclohexanecarbonyl chloride. Use of HPLC permits separation of diastereomeric derivatives of amines up to C30 which have a primary amino group at the middle of the alkyl chain. The derivatives of primary amines having an anteiso alkyl chain, which has a chiral branched-methyl at the n-3 position of the alkyl chain, were also separated by HPLC, and it was also possible to separate niphatesine D by reversed-phase HPLC after derivatization.     

Electron transport in self-assembled polymer molecular junctions

A molecular junction of a poly(p-phenyleneethynylene)s derivative with thioacetate end groups (TA-PPE) was fabricated by self-assembling. Nanogap electrodes made by electroplating technique was used to couple thiol end groups of TA-PPE molecules. Room temperature current-voltage characteristics of the molecular junction exhibited highly periodic, repeatable, and identical stepwise features. First-principles calculations suggest that one possibility for the equidistant step is due to the opening of different conducting channels that corresponds to the unoccupied molecular orbitals of the polymer in the junction. It is interesting to see that an 18 nm long polymer is of quantized electronic structures and behaves like a quantum transport device.     

Application of Brillouin scattering to the local anisotropy and birefringence measurements of thin layers

Brillouin scattering is an efficient nondestructive and noncontact measurement method to obtain the wave properties of thin layers at hypersonic frequencies. The reflection induced ThetaA (RIThetaA) scattering geometry enables the simultaneous measurement of the phonons, which propagate in each direction of wave vectors of q(Theta A) (propagation in the film plane) and q(180) (back scattering). Using this scattering geometry, we could observe the refractive indices and birefringence of the piezoelectric poly-vinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film as a function of temperature. By introducing the microscopic technique, the elastic anisotropy and refractive index measurements in the minute area of polycrystalline ZnO films were also performed.     

Platinum dissolution and deposition in the polymer electrolyte membrane of a PEM fuel cell as studied by potential cycling

The behavior of platinum dissolution and deposition in the polymer electrolyte membrane of a membrane-electrode-assembly (MEA) for a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) was studied using potential cycling experiment and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The electrochemically active surface area decreased depending on the cycle number and the upper potential limit. Platinum deposition was observed in the polymer electrolyte membrane near a cathode catalyst layer. Platinum deposition was accelerated by the presence of hydrogen transported through the membrane from an anode compartment. Platinum was transported across the membrane and deposited on the anode layer in the absence of hydrogen in the anode compartment. This deposition was also affected by the presence of oxygen in the cathode compartment.