Isothiouronium-based amphiphilic gold nanoparticles with a colorimetric response to hydrophobic anions in water: a new strategy for fluoride ion detection in the presence of a phenylboronic acid

Gold nanoparticles modified with isothiouronium-derived amphiphile units 1 were prepared by the reduction of with NaBH₄ in the presence of bis(5-(N-(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl)-N-methyl-S-isothiouronio)pentyl) disulfide 2. The obtained nanoparticles 1 showed a selective coloration for hydrophobic anions in water, possibly due to an anion exchange and subsequent aggregation. On the basis of this observation, the detection of F⁻ in water has been achieved using 3-nitrophenylboronic acid as a mediator at pH 5.5, thereby providing a new strategy for the design of a F⁻ sensory system.     

Synthesis and morphology control of surface functionalized nanoscale yttrium aluminum garnet particles via supercritical hydrothermal method

Organic-functionalized nanoscale yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) particles were synthesized via a simple rapid supercritical hydrothermal method in the presence of oleylamine and oleic acid as organic surface modifiers. The presence of the organic molecules resulted in the various morphologies of the produced YAG particles, including cubic, spherical and chainlike structures. Because of their hydrophobic surface character, as-synthesized particles were dispersible in organic solvents.     

Desorption of Ammonia Adsorbed on Prussian Blue Analogs by Washing with Saturated Ammonium Hydrogen Carbonate Solution

Prussian blue analogs (PBAs) have been reported as promising ammonia (NH₃) adsorbents with a high capacity compared to activated carbon, zeolite, and ion exchange resins. The adsorbed NH₃ was desorbed by heating and washing with water or acid. Recently, we demonstrated that desorption was also possible by washing with a saturated ammonium hydrogen carbonate solution (sat. NH₄HCO₃ aq) and recovered NH₃ as an NH₄HCO₃ solid by introducing CO₂ into the washing liquid after desorption. However, this has only been proven for copper ferrocyanide and the relationship between the adsorption/desorption behavior and metal ions in PBAs has not been identified. In this study, we investigated the adsorption/desorption behavior of PBAs that are complexes of first row transition metals with hexacyanometalate anions. Six types of PBAs were tested in this study and copper ferricyanide exhibited the highest desorption/adsorption ratio. X-ray diffraction results revealed high structural stability for cobalt hexacyanocobaltate (CoHCC) and nickel ferricyanide (NiHCF). The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results showed that the NH₃ adsorbed on the vacancy sites tended to desorb compared to the NH₃ adsorbed on the interstitial sites as ammonium ions. Interestingly, the desorption/adsorption ratio exhibited the Irving-Williams order.     

Production of electrically conductive, core/shell polystyrene/polyaniline composite particles by chemical oxidative seeded dispersion polymerization

Micron-sized, monodispersed, electrically conductive polystyrene (PS)/polyaniline (PAn) composite particles were produced by chemical oxidative seeded dispersion polymerization of aniline at 0 °C with 1.37-μm-sized, monodispersed PS seed particles in HCl aqueous solution, where the pH value was kept at 2.5 with a pH stat. The composite particles consisted of a PS core and a PAn shell. A pellet of the composite particles had a conductivity of 3.4 × 10⁻³ S/cm. Received: 5 April 2000 Accepted: 10 August 2000     

Production of (4)(double Lambda)H hypernuclei

An experiment demonstrating the production of double-Lambda hypernuclei in (K(-),K(+)) reactions on (9)Be was carried out at the D6 line in the BNL alternating-gradient synchrotron. The technique was the observation of pions produced in sequential mesonic weak decay, each pion associated with one unit of strangeness change. The results indicate the production of a significant number of the double hypernucleus (4)(double Lambda)H and the twin hypernuclei (4)(Lambda)H and (3)(Lambda)H. The relevant decay chains are discussed and a simple model of the production mechanism is presented. An implication of this experiment is that the existence of an S = -2 dibaryon more than a few MeV below the double Lambda mass is unlikely.     

Anti-Reflective Coatings of Flowerlike Alumina on Various Glass Substrates by the Sol–Gel Process with the Hot Water Treatment

Anti-reflective (AR) properties of flowerlike alumina thin films with a small roughness of less than 100 nm have been studied on substrates such as soda-lime silica glass, non-alkali glass, and quartz glass. The highest AR effects were obtained on quartz glass substrate, which has the lowest refractive index of the three substrates. The reflectance of quartz glass substrates coated with flowerlike Al₂O₃ was less than 0.5% in the wavelength region from 300 to 720 nm.