Topological aspects of excitons in artificial structure

The exciton properties of thin nanotube structures are investigated theoretically. Anisotropic size dependencies have been found in the exciton binding energy, the kinetic energy for the relative motions of an electron and a hole, and the wavefunction. These anisotropies arise from the different boundary conditions in the tube-length and circumferential directions, namely, the topological features of nanotubes. We also found that it is possible to change the topology of exciton wavefunctions by varying the tube-length and the tube-radius. These findings suggest that the optical properties of nanotubes such as oscillator strength or nonlinear susceptibilities can be controlled by tuning the structural parameters, thus yielding a novel guiding principle for designing optical functional materials.     

Hankel-type operators on the space of bounded harmonic functions

We study Hankel-type operators on the space of bounded harmonic functions on the open unit disk. These operators are related to tight uniform algebras, the Dunford-Pettis property, and Bourgain algebras.

     

Anti-biofouling properties of an amphoteric polymer brush constructed on a glass substrate

An amphoteric copolymer brush of methacrylic acid (MA) and 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) was prepared by reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization using both a free chain transfer agent (n-butylsulfanylthiocarbonylsulfanyl-2-methyl propionic acid) and a radical initiator (4,4'-azobis(4-cyanopentanoic acid)) covalently fixed to a glass substrate. An aqueous solution of the copolymer, Poly(MA-r-DMAEMA), which was simultaneously obtained in liquid phase, had a sufficiently small polydispersity in its molecular weight. The copolymer brush showed effective suppression of non-specific adsorption of bovine serum albumin and egg white lysozyme to the brush. In contrast, both negatively charged PolyMA and positively charged PolyDMAEMA brushes significantly adsorbed the proteins irrespective of their net charges. Upon ion beam irradiation, furthermore, a hollow space with a designed shape could be made on the glass substrate, and both HEK293 and HepG2 cells non-specifically adhered to the space, forming aggregates, while no adhesion to the non-treated area on the brush was observed. These results suggest that the amphoteric polymer brushes will be useful materials for biomedical applications.     

PowerSlicing to determine fluorescence lifetimes of water-soluble organic matter derived from soils,plant biomass,and animal manures

Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy was used to characterize water-soluble organic matter (WSOM) which plays an important role in soil ecosystem processes. WSOM was extracted from plant biomass, animal manures, and soils from controlled cropping systems studies with known histories of organic amendments. Lifetime constants were derived using the multi-way PowerSlicing method which provides a non-iterative, multi-exponential fitting of decay profiles. The lifetimes obtained by PowerSlicing were not significantly different from those obtained using the traditional discrete components analysis. The three components attributed to WSOM had lifetimes of 0.38 ± 0.14, 2.11 ± 0.72, and 7.08 ± 1.18 ns which are in agreement with previous lifetimes reported for humic substances. This study provides further support for the new paradigm for the structure of soil organic matter where the organic matter is composed of low-molecular-weight components held together by hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions.     

Noncovalent ligand-to-ligand interactions alter sense of optical chirality in luminescent tris(β-diketonate) lanthanide(III) complexes containing a chiral bis(oxazolinyl) pyridine ligand

Highly luminescent tris[β-diketonate (HFA, 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoropentane-2,4-dione)] europium(III) complexes containing a chiral bis(oxazolinyl) pyridine (pybox) ligand--[(Eu(III)(R)-Ph-pybox)(HFA)(3)], [(Eu(III)(R)-i-Pr-pybox)(HFA)(3)], and [(Eu(III)(R)-Me-Ph-pybox)(HFA)(3)])--exhibit strong circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) at the magnetic-dipole ((5)D(0) → (7)F(1)) transition, where the [(Eu(III)(R)-Ph-pybox)(HFA)(3)] complexes show virtually opposite CPL spectra as compared to those with the same chirality of [(Eu(III)(R)-i-Pr-pybox)(HFA)(3)] and [(Eu(III)(R)-Me-Ph-pybox)(HFA)(3)]. Similarly, the [(Tb(III)(R)-Ph-pybox)(HFA)(3)] complexes were found to exhibit CPL signals almost opposite to those of [(Tb(III)(R)-i-Pr-pybox)(HFA)(3)] and [(Tb(III)(R)-Me-Ph-pybox)(HFA)(3)] complexes with the same pybox chirality. Single-crystal X-ray structural analysis revealed ligand-ligand interactions between the pybox ligand and the HFA ligand in each lanthanide(III) complex: π-π stacking interactions in the Eu(III) and Tb(III) complexes with the Ph-pybox ligand, CH/F interactions in those with the i-Pr-pybox ligand, and CH/π interactions in those with the Me-Ph-pybox ligand. The ligand-ligand interactions between the achiral HFA ligands and the chiral pybox results in an asymmetric arrangement of three HFA ligands around the metal center. The metal center geometry varies depending on the types of ligand-ligand interaction.     

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations of the cobalt porphine complex. I. LCAO SCF MO calculation of low-spin,high-spin,and π-ionized states of Co-porphine

Ab initio LCAO SCF MO calculations are carried out on planar Co-porphine with a basis set of roughly double zeta quality for Co and N and of single zeta quality for C and H. The net charge on Co and N and the overlap population between them are 1.78, ?0.57, and 0.06, respectively, in the ²A_1g, state, which is known to be the ground state by experiment. The bonding in this complex is thus largely ionic. The first and second calculated ionization potentials are 6.51 and 6.77 eV, respectively, and are in reasonable agreement with the observed ionization potentials of 6.44 and 6.62 eV for Ni-tetraphenylporphine. CI calculations within the framework of the ligand field theory are also performed. The calculated order of the five lowest states is ⁴B_2g ≈ ⁴E_g, ⁴A_2g, ²A_1g, ⁴E_g from below and is not in agreement with the semiempirical order of ²A_1g ≈ ⁴B_2G, ⁴A_2g, ²E_g, ⁴E_g determined by Lin.     

Optimized 3D structures and energy bands of peanut-shaped C60 polymers

Optimized three-dimensional (3D) cell structures and energy bands of fused (peanut-shaped) C₆₀ polymers (p55 and p66) have been investigated using the first-principles pseudopotential approach within the local density approximation of the density functional theory. We found that the resulting electronic structure is either metal or semiconductor depending on the shape of the polymer chains and the unit cell structure.     

Freeze-dried cellulose acetate membrane fine structure observation

A freeze-dried cellulose acetate membrane fine structure was observed with an ultrathin sectioning electron microscope. The fine structure for the top surface in this membrane could be seen by lead citrate staining ultrathin sectioning. This network structure was observed among pores, which existed in porous substrate. The pore diameter in the top surface was about 50 Å, a value that agrees approximately with the value estimated by gas permeation.     

Synthesis and structural characterization of Ni(II) complexes with the chiral CpH(PNMent) tripod ligand

Treatment of NiCl₂ with the tripod ligand (L_Ment,S_C)-1H led to (L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)NiCl] in which the potentially tridentate ligand coordinated to the metal center in a bidentate way via the cyclopentadienyl system and the phosphorus atom. In the presence of NH₄PF₆ [(L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)NiCl] readily underwent Cl/PPh₃ exchange to give (L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)NiPPh₃]PF₆. Reaction of (L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)NiCl] with 0.5 eq. of dppe afforded [{(L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)Ni]}₂dppe](PF₆)₂. (L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)NiPPh₃]PF₆ and [{(L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)Ni]}₂dppe](PF₆)₂ were characterized by NMR and MS spectroscopy, and also by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The cyclopentadienyl ligand of (L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)NiPPh₃]PF₆ shows a distortion intermediate between the ene-allyl and diene types, while the two cyclopentadienyl ligands of [{(L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)Ni]}₂dppe](PF₆)₂ have intermediate and diene distortions, respectively. According to the temperature dependent NMR spectra of (L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)NiPPh₃]PF₆ and [{(L_Ment,S_C)-[Cp(PN_Ment)Ni]}₂dppe](PF₆)₂ two different conformations of the tether in the Cp(PN_Ment)Ni system could be frozen out at low temperatures.