Carbon nanotube growth on a pointed bulk electrode using femtosecond laser nonlinear lithography

Carbon nanotube (CNT) bundles were synthesized on pointed bulk electrodes using femtosecond laser nonlinear lithography. A resist mask of 1.5 μm diameter was formed on a pointed bulk cathode by translating a laser focus three-dimensionally inside the spherical photoresist. Metal masks obtained by pattern transfers of the resists effectively suppressed CNT growth during plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, resulting in synthesis of CNT bundles only at the electrode tip. Irradiation of field emission currents from the pointed cathode enables local melting and subsequent removal of anode materials. The damaged region size and the threshold voltage for this removal process were reduced by spatial limitations of emission sites using the metal mask.     

Bulk-type all-solid-state batteries with mechanically prepared LiCoPO4 composite cathodes

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - All-solid-state Li batteries are suitable for the application of 5 V-class cathode materials that can provide high energy densities. However, it is hard to...     

Effects of poly(vinyl alcohol) additions on the structure of silica xerogels

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/silica hybrid xerogels were prepared from sonohydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and additions of water-solution of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). The samples were studied by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), nitrogen adsorption, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). On drying at room temperature the resulting xerogels exhibit a fairly bimodal porous structure composed by small mesopores and micropores. The pore size distribution of the mesopores was found to follow approximately a power-law with the pore size. The micropore structure was associated to an evolution at a high resolution level of the mass fractal structure of the original wet gels. The role of the PVA addition on the pore structure of the xerogels is to diminish the specific surface area and the pore volume without to change substantially the pore mean size.     

Catalytic oxidative carbonylation of primary and secondary diamines to cyclic ureas. Optimization and substituent studies

W(CO)(6)-catalyzed oxidative carbonylation of 1,3-propanediamine to the corresponding urea has been examined under a variety of conditions. Following optimization, the Thorpe-Ingold effect on ring closure was studied using 2,2-dialkyl-1,3-propanediamines. For the 2,2-dimethyl- and 2,2-dibutyl-1,3-propanediamines, the yields were increased significantly as compared to that of the unsubstituted case. The eight-membered cyclic urea 5-butyl-5-ethyl-1,3-diazepan-2-one (5f) was formed in 38% yield, while only trace amounts of the cyclic urea were produced from the parent 1,5-pentanediamine. In a study of secondary diamines, yields from the carbonylation of N,N'-dialkyl-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-propanediamines were lower than those obtained from the primary diamines. The main byproducts from secondary diamines were tetrahydropyrimidine derivatives formed from a competitive reaction of the substrate with the oxidant and base.     

A dissolution and reaction modeling for hydrolysis of TEOS in heterogeneous TEOS-water-HCl mixtures under ultrasound stimulation

A simplified dissolution and reaction modeling was employed to study the hydrolysis of heterogeneous tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)-water-HCl mixtures under ultrasound stimulation. The nominal pH was changed from 0.8 to 2.0. The acid specific hydrolysis rate constant was determined as k = 6.1 mol-1 1 min-1 [H+]-1 at 39 degrees C, in good agreement with the literature. Along the heterogeneous step of the reaction, the ultrasound maintains an additional quantity of water under a virtual state of dissolution besides the water dissolved due to the homogenizing effect of the alcohol produced in the reaction. The forced virtually dissolved water is probably represented by water at the TEOS-water interface during the heterogeneous step of the reaction. The mean radius of the heterogeneity represented by water dispersed in TEOS phase, while hydrolysis has not started yet, was evaluated as about 290 A. The HCl concentration accordingly increases the hydrolysis rate constant but its fundamental role on the immiscibility gap of the TEOS-water-ethanol system has not been unequivocally established.     

Systematic studies of small scintillators for new sampling calorimeter

A new sampling calorimeter using very thin scintillators and the multi-pixel photon counter (MPPC) has been proposed to produce better position resolution for the international linear collider (ILC) experiment. As part of this R&D study, small plastic scintillators of different sizes, thickness and wrapping reflectors are systematically studied. The scintillation light due to beta rays from a collimated ⁹⁰Sr source are collected from the scintillator by wavelength-shifting (WLS) fiber and converted into electrical signals at the PMT. The wrapped scintillator that gives the best light yield is determined by comparing the measured pulse height of each 10 × 40 × 2 mm strip scintillator covered with 3M reflective mirror film, teflon, white paint, black tape, gold, aluminum and white paint+teflon. The pulse height dependence on position, length and thickness of the 3M reflective mirror film and teflon wrapped scintillators are measured. Results show that the 3M radiant mirror film-wrapped scintillator has the greatest light yield with an average of 9.2 photoelectrons. It is observed that light yield slightly increases with scintillator length, but increases to about 100% when WLS fiber diameter is increased from 1.0 mm to 1.6 mm. The position dependence measurement along the strip scintillator showed the uniformity of light transmission from the sensor to the PMT. A dip across the strip is observed which is 40% of the maximum pulse height. The block type scintillator pulse height, on the other hand, is found to be almost proportional to scintillator thickness.      

Grand unification with large supersymmetry breaking

We give general criteria for the magnitudes of mass splittings between supersymmetric partners compatible with the desired hierarchy of mass scales in GUTs. These splittings arise naturally when masses are generated radiatively from a Higgs sector breaking supersymmetry through the O'Raifeartaigh mechanism. We construct explicit GUTs in which the supersymmetry-breaking scale may easily be as large as the Planck mass.     

UV-Visible Absorption Characteristics of TEOS-Derived and Cr-Doped Silica Sonogels Aged in Different pH Solutions and Heat Treated up to 600°C

Cr-doped xerogels were obtained by sol-gel process from the acid-catalyzed and ultrasound-stimulated hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) with addition of CrCl₃6H₂O in water solution during the liquid step of the process. The gels were aged immersed in different pH solutions for about 30 days, after that they were allowed to dry. The samples were annealed at temperatures ranging from 40 to 600°C and analyzed by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy. Cr³⁺ is the preferable oxidation state of the chromium ion in the gels annealed up to 250–300°C, in the case of aging in solutions of pH = 5 and 11. A high UV absorption below 320 nm, due to the host gel, and different absorption bands, depending on the temperature, due to the chromium ion were observed in the xerogels at temperatures below 250°C, in the case of aging in solutions of pH = 1 and 2. These absorption bands have not been assigned. Above 300°C up to 600°C, Cr⁵⁺, and possibly Cr⁶⁺, are the preferable oxidation states of the chromium ion independent of the pH of the aging solution, so the xerogels turn to a yellowish appearance in all cases.     

Use of compressed fluids for sample preparation: food applications

This review attempts to provide an updated overview (including works published till June 2006) on the latest applications of compressed fluids as sample preparation techniques for food analysis. After a general review of the principles of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE; also called accelerated solvent extraction, ASE or subcritical water extraction, SWE, when water is employed as extraction solvent), the principal applications of such techniques in the mentioned fields of food and natural products are described, discussing their main advantages and drawbacks.     

Raman tensor analysis of hexagonal polyoxymethylene and its application to study the molecular arrangement in highly crystalline electrospun nanofibers

The orientation dependence in space of Raman‐active vibrations in the hexagonal structure of polyoxymethylene (POM) is discussed in terms of Raman tensor elements as intrinsic physical parameters of the lattice. The variation of polarized intensity for the A₁ and the E₁ vibrational modes with respect to the POM molecular orientation is systematically studied, from both theoretical and experimental viewpoints, according to the symmetry assignments of each vibrational mode. A set of working equations including the Raman selection rules associated with the A₁ and the E₁ modes and the orientation distribution function are explicitly formulated and validated by means of a least‐square fitting procedure on experimental data. In addition, an approach based on the introduction of orientation distribution functions is applied to quantitatively assess and compare on a statistical base the molecular orientation of two different types of electrospun POM nanofibers. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.