Controllable photoinduced optical attenuation in a single-mode optical fiber by irradiation of a femtosecond pulse laser

Novel optical attenuation fibers were fabricated by the irradiation of a focused infrared femtosecond pulsed laser onto the core of a silica glass single-mode optical fiber. Optical attenuation at a wavelength of 1.55 microm proportionally increased with increasing numbers of irradiation points and was controllable under laser irradiation conditions. The single-mode property of the waveguide and the mode-field diameter of the optical fiber were maintained after irradiation of the femtosecond laser. It is suggested that the attenuation results from optical scattering at photoinduced spots formed inside the fiber core.     

Nearest-neighbor configuration in (GaIn)(NAs) probed by x-ray absorption spectroscopy

Ga(1-x)In(x)N(y)As(1-y) is a promising material system for the fabrication of inexpensive "last-mile" optoelectronic components. However, details of its atomic arrangement and the relationship to observed optical properties is not fully known. Particularly, a blueshift of emission wavelength is observed after annealing. In this work, we use x-ray absorption fine structure to study the chemical environment around N atoms in the material before and after annealing. We find that as-grown molecular beam epitaxy material consists of a nearly random distribution of atoms, while postannealed material shows segregation of In toward N. Ab initio simulations show that this short-range ordering creates a more thermodynamically stable alloy and is responsible for blueshifting the emission.     

REVIEW: High pressure NMR study of proteins – seeking roots for function,evolution, disease and food applications

NMR experiments at variable pressure reveal a wide range of conformation of a globular protein spanning from within the folded ensemble to the fully unfolded ensemble, herewith collectively called “high-energy conformers”. The observation of “high-energy conformers” in a wide variety of globular proteins has led to the “volume theorem”: the partial molar volume of a protein decreases with the decrease in its conformational order. Since “high-energy conformers” are intrinsically more reactive than the basic folded conformer, they could play decisive roles in all phenomena of proteins, namely function, environmental adaptation and misfolding. Based on the information on high-energy conformers and the rules on their partial volume in its monomeric state and amyloidosis, one may have a general view on what is happening on proteins under pressure. Moreover, one may even choose a high-energy conformer of a protein with pressure as variable for a particular purpose. Bridging “high-energy conformers” to macroscopic pressure effects could be a key to success in pressure application to biology, medicine, food technology and industry in the near future.     

Irradiation of detonation nanodiamonds with γ-rays does not produce long living spin radicals

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Fluorescence studies on volume phase transition in poly(acrylamide) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) gels

The changes in microenvironments during the volume phase transition of poly(acrylamide) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) gels induced by pH change or the change in solvent composition were studied by using dansyl or pyrenyl fluorescent probes.     

Closed Curves in E 2 and S 2 Whose Total Squared Curvatures and Almost Minimal

The total squared curvature of a closed plane curve is minimized by a covering of a circle, if the rotation number of the curve is not zero. We measure the closeness of a closed plane curve to a circle by the difference of its total squared curvature from the minimum. A similar result is obtained for a simple closed curve in the 2-sphere.     

Synthesis of Organosilyl-Functionalized Cage-Type Germanoxanes Containing Fluoride Ions

Eight corners of a double-four ring cage-type germanoxane, containing a fluoride ion, were successfully silylated by the combination of chlorosilanes and silazanes. Three different silyl groups, trimethylsilyl, dimethylsilyl, and dimethylvinylsilyl, were attached on the corners of germanoxane cage. The solubility and reactivity of the cage modified with dimethylvinylsilyl groups were significantly increased, allowing for further reaction. Hydrosilylation reaction between dimethylvinylsilylated cage geramanoxanes and dimethylsilylated cage siloxanes afforded porous solids. Functionalization of the corners of germanoxanes with silyl groups should provide valuable building blocks in various functional materials.     

DFT calculations for Au adsorption onto a reduced TiO2 (110) surface with the coexistence of Cl

Residual chlorines, which originate from HAuCl₄, enhance the aggregation of gold (Au) nanoparticles and clusters, preventing the generation of highly active supported Au catalysts. However, the detailed mechanism of residual-chlorine-promoted aggregation of Au is unknown. Herein to investigate this mechanism, density functional theory (DFT) calculations of Au and Cl adsorption onto a reduced rutile TiO₂ (110) surface were performed using a generalised gradient approximation Perdew, Burke, and Ernzerhof formula (GGA–PBE) functional and plane-wave basis. Although both Au and Cl atoms prefer to mono-absorb onto oxygen defect sites, Cl atoms have a stronger absorption onto a reduced TiO₂ (110) surface, abbreviated as rTiO₂ (110) in the following, than Au atoms. Additionally, co-adsorption of a Cl atom and a Au atom or Au nanorod onto a rTiO₂ surface was investigated; Cl adsorption onto an oxygen defect site weakens the interaction between a Au atom or Au nanorod and rTiO₂ (110) surface. The calculation results suggest that the depletion of interaction between Au and rTiO₂ surface is due to strong interaction between Cl atoms at oxygen defect sites and neighbouring bridging oxygen (O^B) atoms.     

Development of a small X-ray source using an ultraviolet laser and pyroelectric crystal

We investigate a miniaturized X-ray source using an ultraviolet (UV) laser and a pyroelectric crystal and discuss potential applications in medicine. The UV laser is the fourth harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser with a wavelength of 266 nm, repetition rate of 10 Hz, and pulse energy of 40 mJ. The pyroelectric crystal is a LiNbO₃ cylinder of diameter 10 mm and length 6 mm. The prototype X-ray source we fabricated is an aluminum parallelepiped of dimensions 3 × 3 × 5 cm. The X-ray count rate of the X-ray source is maximized at approximately 1,400 cps for UV laser irradiation of approximately 5 min. After 30 min of irradiation by the UV laser, the temperature of the pyroelectric crystal rose from 295 K to 312 K. The principles of X-ray generation ensure that X-ray sources using UV lasers and pyroelectric crystals offer ample opportunity for miniaturization. We believe the X-ray source developed in this work is suitable for medical applications, although further study is needed to address points such as increasing the X-ray count rate and adjusting the temperature of the pyroelectric crystal.     

Intrinsic carrier doping in antiferromagnetically interacted supramolecular copper complexes with (pyrazino)tetrathiafulvalene (pyra-TTF) as the ligand, [CuIICl2(pyra-TTF)] and (pyra-TTF)2[CuI3Cl4(pyra-TTF)

New supramolecular copper complexes with pyrazinotetrathiafulvalene (pyra-TTF) as the ligand, [Cu(II)Cl2(pyra-TTF)] (1) and (pyra-TTF) 2[Cu(I)3Cl4(pyra-TTF)] (2), have been synthesized by the diffusion method. Complex 1 is a black block crystal with a three-dimensional (3-D) supramolecular network; the linear chain [-Cu(II)Cl2-(pyra-TTF)-] n extends along the b axis, where the coordinated pyra-TTF donors are stacked in a head-to-tail and ring-over-bond configuration to construct two-dimensional (2-D) sheets, and between the sheets, there are C...Cl(-) or H...Cl(-) contacts. Even though the electron spin resonance (ESR) measurement reveals the nearly Cu(II) state, complex 1 is a semiconductor with sigmaRT=1.0 x 10(-4) S cm(-1) and Ea=0.33 eV. The high-frequency conductivity measurement also confirmed the intrinsic slight carrier doping from Cu(II) to the pyra-TTF donor. This slight doping enhances not only the real and imaginary dielectric constants but also the antiferromagnetic interaction between Cu(II) spins following the 2-D Heisenberg model with 2J=-20 K. In contrast, complex 2 is a very thin black needle. This needle crystal has two crystallographically independent pyra-TTF molecules, which are coordinated and noncoordinated donors. The coordinated donors composed a supramolecular chain [Cu(I)3Cl4(pyra-TTF)(0)]n , whereas the noncoordinated donors formed conducting alpha'-type pyra-TTF(+0.5) sheets. This complex is semiconducting with sigmaRT=0.1 S cm(-1) and Ea=0.15 eV. Both complexes 1 and 2 demonstrate that the pyra-TTF molecule works not only as an oxidized donor by Cu(II) to construct conducting sheets but also as a ligand coordinated to a Cu cation to form supramolecuar chains.