Broad-spectrum frequency comb generation and carrier-envelope offset frequency measurement by second-harmonic generation of a mode-locked fiber laser

A frequency comb spanning more than one octave has been achieved by injecting the second-harmonic generation (780 nm) of a mode-locked fiber laser (1.56 microm) into a photonic crystal fiber. We propose and realize a novel interferometric scheme for observing the carrier-envelope offset frequency of the frequency comb. Frequency noise has been observed on the measured carrier-envelope offset frequency, which has been confirmed to be generated in the photonic crystal fiber by comparing the measured beat frequencies between cw lasers and frequency combs before and after the photonic crystal fiber. The mode-locked fiber laser is considered to be an important candidate for the light source used in realizing a compact optical frequency measurement system including applications in the telecommunication bands.     

Formation and Characterization of Reversed Micelles Composed of Phospholipids and Fatty Acids

The formation of reversed micellar systems composed of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and fatty acid was newly demonstrated by a significant increase in water content in the organic ethyl oleate phase when the micelles were prepared by the contact method. The solubilized water concentration in the reversed micellar organic phase reached 3 wt%. The new systems are expected to be used as highly biocompatible reversed micellar systems. The structure of the reversed micelles composed of PC and oleic acid was characterized by determining the water concentration and by small-angle X-ray scattering analysis. The reversed micelles composed of PC and oleic acid formed in ethyl oleate were spherical. The radius of gyration was between 30 and 50 Å. The size of the reversed micelles decreased with an increase in the oleic acid concentration and was independent of the PC concentration. Experimental results indicated that the structure of the reversed micellar system was determined by the oleic acid concentration. An increase in the PC concentration caused an increase in the number of reversed micelles of the same size. These reversed micellar systems are expected to be used as solubilization media in pharmaceutical and food industries because they are not toxic.     

ESR study of radical sites in crystalline texture of irradiated polypropylene by means of nitric acid etching

Bulk-crystallized isotactic polypropylene samples with different crystalline textures were etched by fuming nitric acid to remove the disordered region. The radicals produced by irradiation of γ-rays or ultraviolet light on these etched samples in vacuum at liquid nitrogen temperature were investigated by the ESR method. A triplet spectrum in addition to the original spectrum of polypropylene radicals was separated for the etched samples. It was concluded that this triplet was caused by radical species associated with nitro groups introduced on the surface of the crystalline residues by etching. The difference in the intensity of this triplet among the samples was ascribed to differences in crystalline textures and interpreted in a quantitative way. The concentration of polypropylene radicals corrected for the triplet differed among the quenched, annealed, and cold-drawn samples and the sample annealed one after drawing. This fact was interpreted on the basis of the hypothesis that radical sites were almost concentrated in the defects of crystal domain. The well known nonet spectrum, which can be observed at liquid nitrogen temperature after annealing the irradiated samples at room temperature, was also confirmed to be attributable to the defects of crystals. The behavior of free methyl radicals induced by ultraviolet irradiation was also found to be strongly dependent on the state of aggregation of the polymer molecules.     

Monolithic silica columns with various skeleton sizes and through-pore sizes for capillary liquid chromatography

Reduction of through-pore size and skeleton size of a monolithic silica column was attempted to provide high separation efficiency in a short time. Monolithic silica columns were prepared to have various sizes of skeletons (approximately 1-2 microm) and through-pores (approximately 2-8 microm) in a fused-silica capillary (50-200 microm I.D.). The columns were evaluated in HPLC after derivatization to C18 phase. It was possible to prepare monolithic silica structures in capillaries of up to 200 microm I.D. from a mixture of tetramethoxysilane and methyltrimethoxysilane. As expected, a monolithic silica column with smaller domain size showed higher column efficiency and higher pressure drop. High external porosity (> 80%) and large through-pores resulted in high permeability (K = 8 x 10(-14) -1.3 x 10(-12) m2) that was 2-30 times higher than that of a column packed with 5-mirom silica particles. The monolithic silica columns prepared in capillaries produced a plate height of about 8-12 microm with an 80% aqueous acetonitrile mobile phase at a linear velocity of 1 mm/s. Separation impedance, E, was found to be as low as 100 under optimum conditions, a value about an order of magnitude lower than reported for conventional columns packed with 5-microm particles. Although a column with smaller domain size generally resulted in higher separation impedance and the lower total performance, the monolithic silica columns showed performance beyond the limit of conventional particle-packed columns under pressure-driven conditions.     

α‐Chiral Acetylenes Having an All‐Carbon Quaternary Center: Phase Transfer Catalyzed Enantioselective α Alkylation of α‐Alkyl‐α‐alkynyl Esters

Going through the phases : The title reaction was found to proceed by an initial base‐mediated isomerization to allenyl esters and subsequent phase transfer catalyzed alkylation at the α position of the ester (see scheme).

     

Hydroxyapatite-supported copper(II)-catalyzed azide-alkyne [3+2] cycloaddition with neither reducing agents nor bases in water

Copper(II)-exchanged hydroxyapatite, prepared by ion-exchanging of Ca(II) in calcium hydroxyapatite [Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂] with Cu(NO₃)₂ at 70 °C in water, functions as a reusable heterogeneous catalyst with neither reducing agents nor bases for azide-alkyne [3+2] cycloaddition at 50 °C in water under air.     

Cyano-bridged Mn(III)3M(III) (M(III) = Fe, Cr) complexes: synthesis, structure, and magnetic properties

Two cyano-bridged tetranuclear complexes composed of Mn(III) salen (salen = N,N'-ethylene bis(salicylideneiminate)) and hexacyanometalate(III) (M = Fe, Cr) in a stoichiometry of 3:1 have been selectively synthesized using {NH2(n-C12H25)2}3[M(III)(CN)6] (M(III) = Fe, Cr) starting materials: [{Mn(salen)(EtOH)}3{M(CN)6}] (M = Fe, 1; Cr, 2). Compounds 1 and 2 are isostructural with a T-shaped structure, in which [M(CN)6]3- assumes a meridional-tridentate building block to bind three [Mn(salen)(EtOH)]+ units. The strong frequency dependence and observation of hysteresis on the field dependence of the magnetization indicate that 1 is a single-molecule magnet.     

Isolation and structures of euonymine and neoeuonymine,alkaloids from Euonymus Sieboldiana blume

Two new alkaloids, euonymine 5 and neoeuonymine 14 were isolated from Euonymus Sieboldiana Blume. The structures of euonymine and neoeuonymine were established to be 5 and 14, respectively, by chemical and spectral means: the structural features of euonymine 5 are that it is a polyhydroxyl sesquiterpene of eudesman type (euonyminol) which is esterified with evoninic acid 3 and six moles of acetic acid. Neoeuonymine 14 was converted to euonymine 5. Direct conversion of evonine 1 to euonymine 5 was also achieved.     

Heterometallic hexanuclear cluster with an S = 8 spin ground state: MnII[MnII(hfac)2]3[NiII(pao)3]2 (hfac- = hexafluoroacetylacetonate,pao- = pyridine-2-aldoximate)

The heterometallic Mn(II)(4)Ni(II)(2) title compound has been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography. The compound consists of a Ni-Mn-Ni linear moiety, [[Ni-(mu-NO)(3)](2)-Mn], linked by oximate bridges and three Mn(II) hfac terminal units attached by oximate oxygens in a di-mu-oxo fashion, forming a novel heterometallic cluster: Mn[Mn(hfac)(2)](3)[Ni(pao)(3)](2) (1). Magnetic measurements reveal the antiferromagnetic nature of the oximate pathway between Mn(II) and Ni(II) metal ions, which imposes an unusual high-spin ground state (S = 8) for 1.