Orientation control of perovskite thin films on glass substrates by the application of a seed layer prepared from oxide nanosheets

Orientation control of perovskite compounds was investigated by the application of a seed layer prepared from oxide nanosheets. An aqueous suspension of oxide nanosheets was prepared by the exfoliation of a layered compound of KCa₂Nb₃O₁₀ oxide grains. A seed layer composed of (TBA)Ca₂Nb₃O₁₀ nanosheets (TBA = tetrabutylammonium) was formed on a glass substrate by simply dip coating it in the suspension. Two kinds of perovskite compounds, LaNiO₃ (LNO) and Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ (PZT) with a preferred orientation of (00l) were successfully grown on this seeded glass substrate. In this study, the relation between lattice mismatch and electrical properties is investigated. A large, oriented PZT film with a size of 5 ×4 cm shows an improved P-E hysteresis behavior by use of this orientation control.     

Novel real-time sensors to quantitatively assess in vivo inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate production in intact cells

Real-time observation of messenger molecules in individual intact cells is essential for physiological studies of signaling mechanisms. We have developed a novel inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3)) sensor based on the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain from phospholipase C (PLC) delta. The environmentally sensitive fluorophore 6-bromoacetyl-2-dimethyl-aminonaphtalene was conjugated to the genetically introduced cysteine at the mouth of the IP(3) binding pocket for enhanced IP(3) selectivity and for rapid and direct visualization of intracellular IP(3) > or = 0.5 microM as fluorescence emission decreased. The probe, tagged with arginine-rich sequences for efficient translocation into various cell types, revealed a major contribution of Ca2+ influx to PLC-mediated IP(3) production that boosts Ca2+ release from endoplasmic reticulum. Thus, our IP(3) probe was extremely effective to quantitatively assess real-time physiological IP(3) production via those pathways formed only in the intact cellular configuration.     

Palladium catalyzed synthesis of tertiary allylamines. Utilization of α-nitro olefins as allylic nitro compounds

Reaction of α-nitro olefins with secondary amines in the presence of palladium(O) catalyst affords allylic amines.     

Thermal degradation of poly[(tetramethyl-p-silphenylene) siloxane]

For the purpose of studying the mechanism of thermal degradation of poly[(tetramethyl-p-silphenylene) Siloxane] (poly TMPS) a series of polymers with silphenylene and siloxane bonds in the main chain were prepared and subjected to thermogravimetry (TG) and pyrolysis study. Analyses of products from poly TMPS degradation (in vacuum at a constant temperature) by gas chromatography (GC), infrared (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) revealed that degradation occurs at the silphenylene bonds. The TG curves obtained in He for heating rates of 1,2,2.5,7.5, and 10°C/min were analyzed by the Ozawa method; activation energies of 39 ± 1 and 45 ± 2 kcal/mol were obtained respectively for the initial cleavage of the methyl side group and the later-stage scission of the main-chain silphenylene bond which leads to a major weight loss. The results agree with those obtained for other structurally similar polymers.     

Structure changes on polymer blends by means of phase growth on microheterophase surface

We have studied the structural changes on poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA)/polystyrene (PS) blends by means of phase growth of microheterophase pattern on a template surface composed of poly[2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA)-g-styrene (S)] graft copolymer (lamellar shape). The PS macromonomer was synthesized by free radical polymerization of S monomer initiated by a functional initiator [2,2'-azobis(2-(2-imidazolin-2-yl)propane: VA-061] in the presence of a degradative chain transfer agent, followed by an end-capping reaction with p-chloromethylstyrene (CMS). Poly(HEMA-g-S) graft copolymers were prepared by free radical copolymerization of these vinylbenzyl-terminated PS macromonomers with HEMA comonomer.     

EFFECTS OF N-PHENYLIMIDE S-23142 AND N-METHYL MESOPORPHYRIN IX ON THE SYNTHESIS OF THE PHYTOCHROME CHROMOPHORE IN PEA EMBRYONIC AXES

Abstract Treatment of imbibed embryonic axes taken from seeds of Pisum sativum with N-phenylimide S-23142, a herbicide that has been suggested to inhibit protoporphyrin synthesis, or with N -methyl mesoporphyrin IX, an inhibitor of the iron chelatase for heme, resulted in a significant decrease in the amount of spectrophotometrically detectable phytochromc in the axes in both cases. However, the amount of immunochemically detectable phytochrome was not affected by either treatment. If S-23142 inhibits the synthesis of protoporphyrin IX in pea, it appears that the conversion of protoporphyrinogen IX to protoporphyrin IX is involved in the biosynthesis of the phytochrome chromophore. The conversion of protoporphyrin IX to heme (Fe-protoporpbyrin) also appears to be a step in the biosynthesis of the chromophore, since N -methyl mesoporphyrin IX prevented the synthesis of spectrophotometrically detectable phytochrome but did not affect the magnesium chelatase activity required for the synthesis of chlorophyll in pea embryonic axes. The results suggest that protoporphyrinogen IX, protoporphyrin IX and heme are intermediates in the biogenesis of the phytochromc chromophore. The pathway to phytochromobilin might become fixed after protoporphyrin IX, being directed toward the Fe branch for heme rather than to the Mg branch for chlorophyll.     

Synthesis of poly (ethylene oxide)-b-polysilane by anionic polymerization of masked disilenes using a macroinitiator method

Poly(ethylene oxide-)-poly(1, 1-dimethyl-2, 2-dihexyldisilene) block copolymers (PEO-b-PMHS) were synthesized by the anionic polymerization of masked disilenes initiated with the potassium alkoxide of poly(ethylene glycol). The block copolymer self-assembled into polymer micelles in water accompanied by a transition in the polysilane conformation.     

Organometallic compounds : XII. stereochemical interconversion reactions between 1,1′−bis(α-hydroxyalkyl)ferrocenes and 7-oxa[3]ferrocenophanes

Meso and racemic isomers of 1,1′-bis(α-hydroxyalkyl)ferrocene derivatives, and trans and cis isomers of 7-oxa[3]ferrocenophanes have been isolated. The configurations of these isomers have been determined both by spectroscopy and from their reaction behavior. It has been found that the ring-closure and ring-opening interconversion reactions between 1,1′-bis(α-hydroxyalkyl)ferrocenes and 7-oxa[3]ferrocenophanes are stereospecific. PMR spectra of the diols and ethers have been examined at 100 MHz in CF₃COOH, and the existence of α-[1′-(α-hydroxyalkyl)ferrocenyl]carbonium ions has been demonstrated in this acid. A mechanism for the various interconversion reactions is proposed on the basis of their stereospecific reactivity and from the PMR spectra of the carbonium ions.     

Fluorescence quenching of pyrene and pyrenedecanoic acid by various kinds of N,N-dialkylanilines in dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine liposomes

Fluorescence quenching of pyrene and pyrenedecanoic acid by various kinds of anilines has been studied in dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine liposomes in gel phases. N,N-dimethylaniline and p-isopropyl-N,N-dimethylaniline caused anisotropic diffusional quenching, while N,N-dicetylaniline, a less mobile quencher, predominantly caused static quenching. These data suggested the location sites of both pyrenes and anilines in the membranes.