Structural and photoluminescent properties of TiN thin films

Structural and photoluminescent properties of TiN thin films deposited by dc reactive magnetron sputtering are studied. It is found that TiN thin films are polycrystalline with a grain size of ～15 nm and have a NaCl-type cubic crystal structure with a lattice constant of 0.42 nm. The TiN films under study exhibit photoluminescence in the spectral range h _ν ≈ 2.1–3.4 eV at 300 K.     

Computer-aided molecular design of asymmetric pyrazole derivatives with exceptional enantioselective recognition toward the Chiralcel OJ-H stationary phase

A computer-aided design of novel asymmetric pyrazoles with improved enantioselective properties was performed by docking experiments starting from a model of Chiralcel OJ chiral in the stationary phase. Synthesis and HPLC experiments confirmed the theoretical prediction and led to a detailed investigation of the enantioselective recognition process. For the first time, looking at the time spent by each enantiomer in contact with the CSP during long molecular dynamic simulations, the experimental analytical trend has been reproduced.     

Functionalization of Reduced Graphite Oxide Sheets with a Zwitterionic Surfactant

Films of a few layers in thickness of reduced graphite oxide (RGO) sheets functionalized by the zwitterionic surfactant N‐dodecyl‐N,N‐dimethyl‐3‐ammonio‐1‐propanesulfonate (DDPS) are obtained by using the Langmuir–Blodgett method. The quality of the RGO sheets is checked by analyzing the degrees of reduction and defect repair by means of X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), field‐emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), micro‐Raman spectroscopy, and electrical conductivity measurements. A modified Hummers method is used to obtain highly oxidized graphite oxide (GO) together with a centrifugation‐based method to improve the quality of GO. The GO samples are reduced by hydrazine or vitamin C. Functionalization of RGO with the zwitterionic surfactant improves the degrees of reduction and defect repair of the two reducing agents and significantly increases the electrical conductivity of paperlike films compared with those prepared from unfunctionalized RGO.     

Isolation and structure elucidation of ovatoxin-a, the major toxin produced by Ostreopsis ovata

Since 2005, the benthic dinoflagellate Ostreopsis cf. ovata has bloomed across the Mediterranean basin, provoking serious toxic outbreaks. LC/MS studies have identified a number of palytoxin-like compounds, termed ovatoxins, along with trace amounts of putative palytoxin as the causative agents of the O. cf. ovata -related human sufferings. So far, any risk assessment for ovatoxins as well as establishment of their allowance levels in seafood has been prevented by the lack of pure toxins. The present paper reports on the isolation, NMR-based structural determination, and preliminary mouse lethality evaluation of ovatoxin-a, the major toxic compound contained in O. cf. ovata extracts. Availability of pure ovatoxin-a will open the double prospect of fully evaluating its toxicity and preparing reference standards to be employed in LC/MS quantitative analyses. Elucidation of ovatoxin-a's complex structure will ultimately herald the understanding of the molecular bases of ovatoxins bioactivity.     

Polyacetylene‐Type Networks Prepared by Coordination Polymerization of Diethynylarenes: New Type of Microporous Organic Polymers

Microporous organic polymers (MOP) of a new type have been synthesised in high yields by a simple coordination polymerization of 1,3‐diethynylbenzene, 1,4‐diethynylbenzene and 4,4′‐diethynylbiphenyl catalysed by [Rh(cod)acac] and [Rh(nbd)acac] complexes. The new MOPs are non‐swellable polyacetylene‐type conjugated networks consisting of ethynylaryl‐substituted polyene main chains that are crosslinked by arylene linkers. Prepared MOP samples have a mole fraction of branching units (by ¹³C CP/MAS NMR) from 0.30 to 0.47 and exhibit the BET (Brunaer‐Emmett‐Teller) surface up to 809 m² g⁻¹ and hydrogen uptake up to 0.69 wt% (77 K, H₂ pressure 750 torr).     

Optical Anisotropy of Porphyrin Nanocrystals Modified by the Electrochemical Dissolution

Reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS) coupled to an electrochemical cell represents a powerful tool to correlate changes in the surface optical anisotropy to changes in the electrochemical currents related to electrochemical reactions. The high sensitivity of RAS in the range of the absorption bands of organic systems, such as porphyrins, allows us to directly correlate the variations of the optical anisotropy signal to modifications in the solid-state aggregation of the porphyrin molecules. By combining in situ RAS to electrochemical techniques, we studied the case of vacuum-deposited porphyrin nanocrystals, which have been recently observed dissolving through electrochemical oxidation in diluted sulfuric acid. Specifically, we could identify the first stages of the morphological modifications of the nanocrystals, which we could attribute to the single-electron transfers involved in the oxidation reaction; in this sense, the simultaneous variation of the optical anisotropy with the electron transfer acts as a precursor of the dissolution process of porphyrin nanocrystals.     

“Magic” Dispersion Maps with Distributed Raman Amplification

We analyze pulse propagation in an optical fiber with a periodic dispersion map and distributed amplification. Using an asymptotic theory and a momentum method, we identify a family of dispersion management schemes that are advantageous for massive multichannel soliton transmission. For the case of two-step dispersion maps with distributed Raman amplification to compensate for the fiber loss, we find special schemes that have optimal (chirp-free) launch point locations that are independent of the fiber dispersion. Despite the variation of dispersion with wavelength due to the fiber dispersion slope, the transmission in several different channels can be optimized simultaneously using the same optimal launch point. The theoretical predictions are verified by direct numerical simulations. The obtained results are applied to a practical multichannel transmission system.     

RF cavity for gas laser excitation

Summary A new technique for RF transverse excitation of gas laser has been tested: the plasma tube has been put inside a quarter wave strip line RF cavity. Excellent field uniformity and arcing problem avoidance have been observed. The efficiency is greater than 15%. The guidelines for cavity design are discussed. Work partially supported by ENEA-Contract No. C/451 (Dip. Fusione Associazione EURATOM-ENEA, CRE Frascati).     

Small-signal gain of Free Electron Laser in a resonator Gaussian mode

We present an analytical expression for the small-signal gain of a Free Electron Laser (FEL) in the presence of a Gaussian mode. To describe the electron beam evolution we use the one-dimensional (1-d) Vlasov equation. Our perturbation result, valid for small values of the parameterq (length of the undulatorL divided by the Rayleigh rangeZ _R), can be extrapolated to values ofq4÷5.     

Factor analysis of 27Al MAS NMR spectra for identifying nanocrystalline phases in amorphous geopolymers

Nanostructured materials offer enhanced physicochemical properties because of the large interfacial area. Typically, geopolymers with specifically synthesized nanosized zeolites are a promising material for the sorption of pollutants. The structural characterization of these aluminosilicates, however, continues to be a challenge. To circumvent complications resulting from the amorphous character of the aluminosilicate matrix and from the low concentrations of nanosized crystallites, we have proposed a procedure based on factor analysis of ²⁷Al MAS NMR spectra. The capability of the proposed method was tested on geopolymers that exhibited various tendencies to crystallize (i) completely amorphous systems, (ii) X‐ray amorphous systems with nanocrystalline phases, and (iii) highly crystalline systems. Although the recorded ²⁷Al MAS NMR spectra did not show visible differences between the amorphous systems (i) and the geopolymers with the nanocrystalline phase (ii), the applied factor analysis unambiguously distinguished these materials. The samples were separated into the well‐defined clusters, and the systems with the evolving crystalline phase were identified even before any crystalline fraction was detected by X‐ray powder diffraction. Reliability of the proposed procedure was verified by comparing it with ²⁹Si MAS NMR spectra. Factor analysis of ²⁷Al MAS NMR spectra thus has the ability to reveal spectroscopic features corresponding to the nanocrystalline phases. Because the measurement time of ²⁷Al MAS NMR spectra is significantly shorter than that of ²⁹Si MAS NMR data, the proposed procedure is particularly suitable for the analysis of large sets of specifically synthesized geopolymers in which the formation of the limited fractions of nanocrystalline phases is desired. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.