Direct synthesis of a macroscopic array of naked Ag nanoparticles

A 2-D array of naked Ag nanoparticles has been synthesized through interfacial reduction of Ag(+) under hydrothermal conditions. The process bestows the synthesis, nucleation, growth and self-assembly of the nanoparticles in a simple one-pot reaction and makes use of no additive or capping agent. The resulting macroscopic liquid silver mirror is highly stable and composed of tightly packed naked Ag nanoparticles (17 (3) nm diameter, with interparticle gaps of 1.3 (1.0) nm) which can be easily transferred to a given substrate for application.     

Synthesis of porphyrin-dendrimers with a pyrene in the periphery and their cubic nonlinear optical properties

Dendrons of pyrene derivatives were attached to a porphyrin core. A marked effect in solution for the dendrimers was observed in the absorption spectra. All the compounds obtained were characterized by (1)H-, (13)C-NMR, FTIR, UV-vis, MALDI-TOF or FAB+ mass spectrometry and elemental analysis. The cubic nonlinear optical behavior of some the synthesized compounds was tested via Z-Scan measurements in spin-coated film samples.     

Nuclear-induced time evolution of entanglement of two-electron spins in anisotropically coupled quantum dot

We study the time evolution of entanglement of two spins in an anisotropically coupled quantum dot interacting with the unpolarised nuclear spins environment. We assume that the exchange coupling strength in the z direction J _z is different from the lateral one J _l . We observe that the entanglement decays as a result of the coupling to the nuclear environment and reaches a saturation value, which depends on the value of the exchange interaction difference J = ‖J _l ? J _z ‖ between the two spins and the strength of the applied external magnetic field. We find that the entanglement exhibits a critical behaviour controlled by the competition between the exchange interaction J and the external magnetic field. The entanglement shows a quasi-symmetric behaviour above and below a critical value of the exchange interaction. It becomes more symmetric as the external magnetic field increases. The entanglement reaches a large saturation value, close to unity, when the exchange interaction is far above or below its critical value and a small one as it closely approaches the critical value. Furthermore, we find that the decay rate profile of entanglement is linear when the exchange interaction is much higher or lower than the critical value but converts to a power law and finally to a Gaussian as the critical value is approached from both directions. The dynamics of entanglement is found to be independent of the exchange interaction for an isotropically coupled quantum dot.     

Detection of fentanyl in binary mixtures with cocaine by use of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Abstract

The ongoing epidemic pertaining to overdose deaths has been attributed to the synthetic opioid fentanyl due to its use as an adulterant in other, less potent drugs of abuse. Detection of low quantities of fentanyl would, therefore, be extremely useful in a forensic science laboratory. While Raman spectroscopy is particularly effective at distinguishing between classes of drugs, weak signatures can prove difficult when dealing with microscopic samples. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy provides the enhancement necessary to make Raman a viable approach for the detection of small amounts of fentanyl. This work explores the use of a paper-based substrate loaded with silver nanoparticles for the recovery of small quantities of fentanyl in cocaine, where it was identified at a lower limit of 500?ng (～65?ppm) in mixtures. Linear relationships were investigated between intensity and concentration for diagnostic peaks associated with fentanyl and cocaine, which in turn sheds light on the attenuation of the enhancement intensity as a result of competitive binding to silver nanoparticles. This work demonstrates a potentially simple and qualitative pathway for the forensic analysis of fentanyl as an adulterant in cocaine.     

Study of various parameters influencing the fixation of metallic ions Cu2+, Zn2+, and Ni2+ at the catalytic Amberlyst-15 resin in the presence of alcohols

The ionic exchange behavior of Zn²⁺, Ni²⁺, and Cu²⁺ metallic ions on Amberlyst-15 commercial resin was studied as a function of resin solution contact time, initial concentration of metallic ions, nature of the solvent, and the amount of resin. The metallic ions were studied in ternary mixtures using both column and batch experiments. In addition, water, methanol, ethanol, and propan-2-ol were used as solvents for dissolving metallic ions. It was found that the resin behavior depends on the solvent nature and the metallic ion concentration. The analysis of solutions by atomic absorption spectrometry revealed that the affinity of the resin for the studied metallic ions followed the sequence Cu²⁺ > Ni²⁺ > Zn²⁺ in the case of an aqueous medium. Furthermore, uptake increased with increasing amount of resin. A better uptake was observed in the case of the 75:25 % water/methanol compositions when the column technique was used. For the batch technique, we noted a better uptake using 100 % water. The uptake rate decreased with an increase in the number of carbons for the 50 % water–50 % alcohol solvents. The acid–base properties of Amberlyst-15 commercial resin were studied by 2-propanol decomposition test. Propene and acetone are the main expected products and it is believed that they are formed through dehydration or dehydrogenation reaction on acid and base sites, respectively.     

Réflexivité d’une extension d’un opérateur normal par un opérateur nilpotent

Let T be an extension of a one to one normal operator A by a nilpotent operator N. In this paper we calculate the defect of reflexivity of T. We give a necessary and sufficient condition to insure the reflexivity of such extensions. In particular, it is shown that T is reflexive when N is reflexive.     

Optimizing thermography depth probing with a dynamic thermal point spread function

Derivation of two point spread functions PSFs suitable for infrared thermograms analysis is illustrated, based on two unique approaches, one based on depth decaying limit and one on diffusion limit. Experimental work using PMMA sample with back drilled holes and pulsed thermographic routine is utilized to show the effectiveness of deconvoluting pixel temperature transient history with suggested PSF’s. Synthetic second time derivative thermograms are utilized for comparison and the signal to noise ratio is used as a figure of merit for quantification.     

Low temperature raman evidence for two crystalline phases of methylcyclohexane

Comparison of the lattice mode region of the low-temperature Raman spectrum of MCH and MCH-d₁₄ under various cooling rates shows that there are two crystalline modifications. The molecular mode region frequencies however, remain invariant to cooling rate suggesting a single molecular conformation for both crystalline phases.