Photoluminescence of (Ba1−xEux)Si6N8O (0.005≤x≤0.2) phosphors

Eu²⁺-doped BaSi₆N₈O phosphors (Ba_1−xEu_xSi₆N₈O, 0.005≤x≤0.2) were synthesized by gas-pressure sintering of the powder mixture of BaCO₃, Si₃N₄, and Eu₂O₃ at 1750 °C under 0.5 MPa N₂. The fired powder consists of a major BaSi₆N₈O phase and a trace amount of impurity phases. The structural result of the BaSi₆N₈O powder, refined by the Rietveld method, agrees well with that of single crystals. A wide blue luminescence band peaking at about 500 nm is observed in BaSi₆N₈O:Eu²⁺, upon excitation with the ultraviolet light of 310 nm. Although Eu is covalently bonded to six nearest neighbor nitrogen atoms, the luminescence of Eu²⁺ is not significantly redshifted but shows a very narrow excitation spectrum at high energies. The origin of the short-wavelength luminescence is mainly ascribed to a small crystal-field splitting as a result of extremely long distances between europium and nitrogen ligands in BaSi₆N₈O:Eu²⁺.     

Intrinsic versus extrinsic anomalous Hall effect in ferromagnets

A unified theory of the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) is presented for multiband ferromagnetic metals with dilute impurities. In the clean limit, the AHE is mostly due to extrinsic skew scattering. When the Fermi level is located around anticrossing of band dispersions split by spin-orbit interaction, the intrinsic AHE to be calculated ab initio is resonantly enhanced by its nonperturbative nature, revealing the extrinsic-to-intrinsic crossover which occurs when the relaxation rate is comparable to the spin-orbit coupling.     

Effect of Sn and Nb on generalized stacking fault energy surfaces in zirconium and gamma hydride habit planes

We have investigated the effects of Sn and Nb on dislocation properties in a Zr lattice to elucidate the role of these alloying elements in hydride nucleation processes. According to experimental observations, γ-hydride habit planes are close to the prismatic plane in pure Zr and close to the basal plane in Zircaloy. Dislocation loops are observed around hydride precipitates, implying they play a part in hydride formation. Our ab initio generalized stacking-fault energy calculations showed remarkable effects of Sn on unstable-stacking energy and stacking-fault energy: these parameters for basal slip were considerably reduced while those for prismatic slip were increased in the presence of Sn. These results suggest selective stabilization and enhancement of dislocation spreading in the basal plane, promoting possible elementary processes of hydride precipitation with basal habit plane, i.e. screw-dislocation spreading and edge-dislocation emission in the basal plane.     

Synthesis and photophysical properties of dinaphtho[2,3-b:2′,3′-i]dihydrophenazine derivatives

A dinaphtho[2,3-b:2′,3′-i]dihydrophenazine (DNP) derivative was synthesized by Buchwald-Hartwig cross-coupling, and its electronic spectrum was compared with that of dinaphtho[b,i]dihydrophenazine-5,18-dione (DNP-dione) as an anthraquinone analog. An absorption band of DNP is attributed to extension of π-conjugation over the entire molecule via the N atom. DNP-dione showed a broad absorption band in the range 450–490?nm due to intramolecular charge-transfer interactions. Additionally, the absolute fluorescence quantum yield of DNP was larger than that of DNP-dione. DNP-dione exhibited reversible oxidation peaks and a similar oxidation potential to DNP, since there are very weak electronic interactions between the anthracene and anthraquinone units across the N atoms with the 4-octyloxyphenyl substituent.     

Ti-sapphire femtosecond pulse pumped laser emission from all-plastic organic waveguide with distributed feedback resonator

We demonstrated the spectrally narrowed laser emission from all-plastic organic waveguide with the distributed feedback (DFB) resonator pumped by Ti-sapphire femtosecond laser. We fabricated the DFB resonator on a surface of a photoresist polymer using an interference of laser beams. All-plastic waveguide with organic dyes dispersed in poly(N-vinylcarbazole) and polystyrene matrix was spin-coated on a DFB resonator. Very narrow full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.15 nm in emission wavelength was observed, whereas an excitation laser of Ti-sapphire femtosecond laser has broad FWHM of 14 nm.     

TOF-SIMS structural characterization of self-assembly monolayer of cytochrome b5 onto gold substrate

Orientation and three-dimensional structure of immobilized proteins on bio-devices are very important to assure their high performance. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) is able to analyze upper surface of one layer of molecules. Orientation of immobilized proteins can be evaluated based on determination of a partial structure, representing ensemble of amino acids, on the surface part. In this study, a monolayer of cytochrome b5 was reconstituted onto gold substrate and investigated by surface plasmon resonance (SPR). After freeze-drying, the resulted protein self-assembly was evaluated using TOF-SIMS with the bismuth cluster ion source, and then TOF-SIMS spectra were analyzed to select peaks specific to cytochrome b5 and identify their chemical formula and ensembles of amino acids. The results from TOF-SIMS spectra analysis were compared to the amino acid sequence of the modified cytochrome b5 and three-dimensional structure of cytochrome b5 registered in the protein data bank. Finally, fragment-ion-generating parts of the immobilized-cytochrome b5 are determined based on the suggested residues and three-dimensional structure. These results suggest the actual structure and confirm the expected orientation of immobilized protein.     

TOF-SIMS analysis of magnetic materials in chum salmon head

A piece of tissue extracted from a chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta head was measured with time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) in order to evaluate the distribution and composition of magnetic materials in the tissue, which may concern with geomagnetic navigation of long-distance migrating salmon. Several depositions of iron compounds were detected in the tissue by TOF-SIMS analysis. Comparing with total ion images providing a topological tissue structure, specific distribution of iron ion in the tissue was clearly shown. Higher magnification TOF-SIMS analysis revealed the existence of the aggregations of iron particles. Iron oxide clusters comprising many submicron particles were also detected in the tissue using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray analysis, suggesting the common existence of submicron-scale iron oxides in salmon heads. These results suggest that TOF-SIMS analysis is a valid method to clarify detailed structures and chemical properties of candidate magnetoreceptors in fish heads.     

Fundamental Relation Between Entropy Production and Heat Current

Journal of Statistical Physics - We investigate the fundamental relation between entropy production rate and the speed of energy exchange between a system and baths in classical Markov processes....     

RhIII-Catalyzed Double Dehydrogenative Coupling of Free 1-Naphthylamines with α,β-Unsaturated Esters

The Rh^III-catalyzed, consecutive double C−H oxidative coupling of free 1-naphthylamine and α,β-unsaturated esters through C−H/C−H and C−H/N−H bonds is reported. The one step reaction leads to the formation of biologically important alkylidene-1,2-dihydrobenzo[cd]indoles scaffolds. This efficient process is much more synthetically convenient and useful than others because the starting materials, such as 1-naphthylamine derivatives are readily available and the free amine serves as a directing group.