Determination of phosphorus in steel by the combined technique of laser induced breakdown spectrometry with laser induced fluorescence spectrometry

Laser induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS) combined with laser induced fluorescence spectrometry (LIFS) has been applied for detection of trace-level phosphorus in steel. The plasma induced by irradiation of Nd:YAG laser pulse for ablation was illuminated by the 3rd harmonic of Ti:Sapphire laser tuned to one of the resonant lines for phosphorus in the wavelength region of 253–256 nm. An excitation line for phosphorus was selected to give the highest signal-to-noise ratio. Fluorescence signals, P213.62 and P214.91 nm, were observed with high selectivity at the contents as low as several tens µg g^− 1. Fluorescence intensities were in a good linear correlation with the contents. Fluorescence intensity ratio of a collisionally assisted line (213.62 nm) to a direct transition line (214.91 nm) was discussed in terms of the analytical conditions and experimental results were compared with a calculation based on rate equations. Since the fluorescence signal light in the wavelength range longer than 200 nm can be transmitted relatively easily, even through fiber optics of moderate length, LIBS/LIFS would be a versatile technique in on-site applications for the monitoring of phosphorus contents in steel.     

Crystal Structures of Mono-, Di-, and Tri(p-tert-butyl)-thiacalix[4]arenes: Dimeric Self-inclusion Behavior

X-Ray crystal structures of the mono-, di-, and tri(p-tert-butyl)-substituted thiacalix[4]arenes (TC4As; 1, 2, and 3, respectively) have beendetermined. TC4As 1–3 adopt a cone conformation and form dimeric self-inclusion units in such a manner that phenol moieties are inserted into the cavity of each molecule. In all the crystal structures of 1–3, lateralface-to-face interactions exist between the phenol rings that do not bear a tert-butyl substituent, and seemingly, this molecular assembly stabilizes the formation of self-inclusion. TC4As 1 and 2 adopt a cone conformation with C₂ symmetry, leading to the formation of rim-to-rim intermolecular hydrogenbonds so as to link the dimeric units up and down. On the other hand, 3 adopts a regular cone conformation with C₄ symmetry to form cyclic hydrogen bonds withinthe rim part of TC4A.     

An Accurate Characterization of CRT Monitor (I) Verifications of Past Studies and Clarifications of Gamma

CRT monitors are widely used to view images on the Internet. The color images on the computer graphic display can be printed out or displayed on other monitors through the Internet, and color matching between the original and the reproduction is very important. The color management systems (CMSs) are useful for the color matching. CMSs utilize device profiles, in which color characteristic information is stored, and these profiles are generated by device characterization. Thus, an accurate characterization of the monitor is essential for better color matching. CRT monitor characteristics can be described by the tone reproduction curves (TRCs) of each channel, and color additive matrix. In this paper, these characteristics were investigated from a physical point of view. Various kinds of flare and the interdependence among the channels were also investigated and verified. The definition of the term “gamma” is clarified, which is very often used to describe the TRC. Various definitions are compared and a new definition of S-γ is proposed.     

Inclusion complexation of octaethyl-p-tert-butylcalix[8]arene octaacetate with methylene blue and control of its inclusion ability by alkali metal cations

The equilibrium constants for the inclusion complexation of octaethyl-p-tert-butylcalix[8]arene octaacetate (Calix-B8-EA) with methylene blue (MB) were determined spectrophotometrically. Calix-B8-EA, which has a flexible hydrophilic pseudo-cavity formed by polyfunctional esters on the lower rim, is an effective receptor for alkali and alkaline-earth cations, and its ester carbonyl group forms the complex with metal cations. We have examined the ability to include the organic molecule (methylene blue (MB)) into the upper main cavity of Calix-B8-EA formed the complex of alkali metal cations with ester carbonyl groups on the lower rim. It was found that Calix-B8-EA forms a 1:1 inclusion complex of MB with the upper main cavity and, in the presence of excess alkali metal cations, the association constants increase with an increase in the size of the metal cations complexed with the polyfunctional groups on the lower rim. Further, the structure of the inclusion complex of MB with cation-complexed Calix-B8-EA is characterized by 2D ROESY-NMR measurements. Based on the results, we have demonstrated the control of the inclusion ability by changing the portal size of the calixarene cavity.     

Hall effect of FeTe and Fe(Se1–xTex) thin films

The Hall effect is investigated in thin-film samples of iron–chalcogenide superconductors in detail. The Hall coefficient (R_H) of FeTe and Fe(Se_1–xTe_x) exhibits a similar positive value around 300 K, indicating that the high-temperature normal state is dominated by hole-channel transport. FeTe exhibits a sign reversal from positive to negative across the transition to the low-temperature antiferromagnetic state, indicating the occurrence of drastic reconstruction in the band structure. The mobility analysis using the carrier density theoretically calculated reveals that the mobility of holes is strongly suppressed to zero, and hence the electric transport looks to be dominated by electrons. The Se substitution to Te suppresses the antiferromagnetic long-range order and induces superconductivity instead. The similar mobility analysis for Fe(Se_0.4Te_0.6) and Fe(Se_0.5Te_0.5) thin films shows that the mobility of electrons increases with decreasing temperature even in the paramagnetic state, and keeps sufficiently high values down to the superconducting transition temperature. From the comparison between FeTe and Fe(Se_1–xTe_x), it is suggested that the coexistence of ‘itinerant’ carriers both in electron and hole channels is indispensable for the occurrence of superconductivity.     

40 Gb/s, secure optical communication based upon fast reconfigurable time domain spectral phase en/decoding with 40 Gchip/s optical code and symbol overlapping

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a 40 Gb/s secure optical communication system with on-off-keying (OOK) modulation format by using a time domain spectral phase en/decoding scheme, which employs a highly dispersive element and high-speed phase modulator for introducing significant symbol overlapping for both the encoded and incorrectly decoded noiselike signals to enhance the information security against eavesdropping using a power detector. The influence of dispersion and chip modulation rate on the symbol overlapping of the incorrectly decoded signal has been analytically investigated and experimentally verified. Security enhancement for 40 Gb/s OOK data using fast reconfigurable 40 Gchip/s optical codes with code lengths of up to 1024 has been demonstrated and compared with a 10 Gb/s system.     

Synthesis of monodispersed cubic magnetite particles through the addition of small amount of Fe into Fe(OH)2 suspension

Magnetite particles were synthesized through a process including dissolution of Fe(OH)₂ and precipitation of an oxidized phase in aqueous solution. The Fe³⁺ ion was added at the beginning of the synthesis to accelerate the formation of magnetite, control the particle size and improve the monodispersibility. It was found that the addition of Fe³⁺ ion affected the nucleation and the formation of magnetite particles significantly. Magnetite nanoparticles with small particle size and narrow size distribution were obtained. Furthermore, high magnetic properties were obtained in small particle size. The particle size and magnetic properties increased through the increase of Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ ratio.     

Synthesis of end‐functionalized poly(phenylacetylene)s with well‐characterized palladium catalysts

End‐functionalized poly(phenylacetylene)s were synthesized by the polymerization of phenylacetylene (PA) using the well‐defined palladium catalysts represented as [(dppf)PdBr(R)] {dppf = 1,1′‐bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene}. The Pd catalysts having a series of R groups such as o‐tolyl, mesityl, C(Ph)?CPh₂, C₆H₄‐o‐CH₂OH, C₆H₄‐p‐CN, and C₆H₄‐p‐NO₂ in conjunction with silver triflate polymerized PA to give end‐functionalized poly(PA)s bearing the corresponding R groups in high yields. The results of IR and NMR spectroscopies and MALDI‐TOF mass analyses proved the introduction of these R groups at one end of each polymer chain. The poly(PA) bearing a hydroxy end group was applied as a macroinitiator to the synthesis of a block copolymer composed of poly(PA) and poly(β‐propiolactone) moieties. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010