Low-temperature growth of SnO2 film prepared by XeCl excimer laser MOD process

A SnO₂ film has been prepared by an excimer laser metal organic deposition (ELMOD) process using an XeCl laser. The effects of the laser fluence, shot number, and the pretreatment temperature of the Sn acetylacetonate (Sn-acac) on the crystallization of the SnO₂ film were investigated by X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. When the MO spin-coated film preheated at room temperature on a Si substrate was irradiated by the laser at a fluence of 100 mJ/cm² and at a repetition rate of 10 Hz for 5 min, a crystallized SnO₂ film was successfully obtained without heat treatment. At a fluence of 260 mJ/cm², the highest crystalline film was formed. On the other hand, when the amorphous SnO₂ film was irradiated by the laser at 260 mJ/cm², the crystallinity of the SnO₂ film was improved. SnO₂ films were also prepared by conventional thermal MOD in a temperature range from 300 to 900 °C. The crystallinity of the SnO₂ films prepared by the ELMOD process at room temperature was higher than that of the films prepared by heating at 900 °C for 60 min. PACS 81.15.Fg; 81.15.-z; 81.16.Mk; 82.50.Hp; 73.61.Le     

Development of spin‐dependent relativistic open‐shell Hartree–Fock theory with time‐reversal symmetry (I): The unrestricted approach

An open‐shell Hartree–Fock (HF) theory for spin‐dependent, two‐component relativistic calculations, termed the Kramers‐unrestricted HF (KUHF) method, is developed. The present KUHF method, which is formulated as a relativistic counterpart of nonrelativistic UHF, is based on quaternion algebra and partly uses time‐reversal symmetry. The fundamental characteristics of KUHF are discussed in this study. From numerical assessments, it was revealed that KUHF gives a corresponding solution to nonrelativistic UHF; furthermore, KUHF properly describes spin‐orbit interactions. In addition, KUHF can improve the self‐consistent field convergence behavior in spin‐dependent calculations, for example, for f‐block elements.     

Effects of stretching on microstructures of polymer-immobilized non-close-packed colloidal crystalline array

Non-close-packed silica colloidal crystalline array was immobilized by polymer, and effects of stretching on the change of the optical properties and microstructure of the colloidal crystalline arrays have been demonstrated. The immobilization was a two-step polymerization process: the first step was with hydrophilic polyethylene glycol acrylate (PEGA) polymer gel, and the second step was with 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate polymer matrix. The structure of the three-dimensional array was maintained during the immobilizing process with lock in periodic order. The peak wavelength of Bragg diffraction of the polymer-immobilized colloidal crystalline array shifted to shorter wavelength with stretching. The peak shift was caused by the compression of the polymer proportional to the stretching ratio, and the compression was homogeneous throughout the polymer-immobilized colloidal crystalline arrays. These results show that by using polymer-immobilized non-close-packed colloidal crystalline array, mechanically tunable photonic crystals can be realized, and they open the possibility of tuning the microstructure of colloidal crystalline array for photonic crystal.     

Poly(amide amine) dendrimer with naphthyl units as a fluorescent chemosensor for metal ions.

Poly(amide amine) dendrimer with naphthyl units (N8) as a fluorescent chemosensor for metal ions was synthesized. We investigated the metal ion recognition of N8. Large changes in the fluorescence spectra of N8 were observed upon the addition of cadmium and zinc ions.     

Equivalence problem for annuli and Bell representations in the plane

In this paper we solve the problem of equivalence between annuli and Bell representations, which are canonical planar domains of connectivity 2. We give a necessary and sufficient condition for equivalence as an explicit formula in parameters of the domains.     

Minimization of the Ratio of Functions Defined as Sums of the Absolute Values

This paper addresses a new class of linearly constrained fractional programming problems where the objective function is defined as the ratio of two functions which are the sums of the absolute values of affine functions. This problem has an important application in financial optimization. This problem is a convex-convex type of fractional program which cannot be solved by standard algorithms. We propose a branch-and-bound algorithm and an integer programming algorithm. We demonstrate that a fairly large scale problem can be solved within a practical amount of time. The research of the first author was supported in part by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Government of Japan, B(2) 15310122 and 15656025.     

Mesomorphic phase transitions of 4,4'-dialkyloxyquaterphenyls and dialkyl quaterphenyl-4,4'-dicarboxylates

The mesogenicities of 4,4'-dialkyloxyquaterphenyls (DAQP) and dialkyl quaterphenyl-4,4'-dicarboxylates (DCQP) were studied by differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy and miscibility tests. The DAQP homologues, for which the number of carbon atoms in the alkyloxy group (n) is 1-9, showed a S_A phase, and the higher homologues (n = 9-18) showed a Sc phase. The propyl, butyl and pentyl esters of DCQP showed a S_A phase, and the octyl and dodecyl esters showed S_A and Sc phases. The isopropyl, isobutyl, 2-ethylhexyl and cyclohexyl esters showed a Sc phase and the branching of the alkyl group strikingly lowered the mesophase thermal stabilities.     

Reactions of chlorobenzene and bromobenzene with methyl acrylate using a conventional supported palladium catalyst

Reactions of bromobenzene and chlorobenzene with methyl acrylate were carried out in N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) over a conventional Pd/C catalyst under Heck coupling conditions indicating both heterogeneous and homogeneous character. Benzene and biphenyl are produced in addition to the Heck coupling product of methyl cinnamate. It is proposed that the formation of methyl cinnamate and biphenyl proceed homogeneously with dissolved palladium species, while the formation of benzene takes place heterogeneously on the surface of supported palladium particles or free colloidal particles formed during the reaction. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.