Enhancement of Solar Hydrogen Evolution from Water by Surface Modification with CdS and TiO2 on Porous CuInS2 Photocathodes Prepared by an Electrodeposition–Sulfurization Method

Porous films of p‐type CuInS₂, prepared by sulfurization of electrodeposited metals, are surface‐modified with thin layers of CdS and TiO₂. This specific porous electrode evolved H₂ from photoelectrochemical water reduction under simulated sunlight. Modification with thin n‐type CdS and TiO₂ layers significantly increased the cathodic photocurrent and onset potential through the formation of a p–n junction on the surface. The modified photocathodes showed a relatively high efficiency and stable H₂ production under the present reaction conditions.     

Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation from CdTe Photoanodes Annealed with CdCl2

Most CdTe photoanodes and photocathodes show positive and negative photocurrent onset potentials for water oxidation and reduction, respectively, and are thus unable to drive photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting without external applied biases. Herein, the activity of a CdTe photoanode having an internal p‐n junction during PEC water oxidation was enhanced by applying a CdCl₂ annealing treatment together with surface modifications. The resulting CdTe photoanode generated photocurrents of 1.8 and 5.4 mA cm^?2 at 0.6 and 1.2 V_RHE, respectively, with a photoanodic current onset potential of 0.22 V_RHE under simulated sunlight (AM 1.5G). The CdCl₂ annealing increased the grain sizes and lowered the density of grain boundaries, allowing more efficient charge separation. Consequently, a two‐electrode tandem PEC cell comprising a CdTe‐based photoanode and photocathode split water without any external bias at a solar‐to‐hydrogen conversion efficiency of 0.51 % at the beginning of the reaction.     

Polycationic‐Shelled Capsular and Tubular Nanostructures and Their Anionic–Guest Binding Properties

For the development of novel nanospace with unique electrostatic character, we prepared new capsular and tubular nanostructures by the quantitative assembly of metal ions and bent bisacridinium ligands. The capsule and tube have closed spherical and open cylindrical cavities, respectively, with diameters of around 1 nm surrounded by cationic polyaromatic panels. Thanks to the facile synthetic protocol (three steps), another polycationic capsule with an elliptical nanocavity was also prepared by using an elongated ligand. In spite of the absence of pendant hydrophilic groups, the spherical polyaromatic capsule shows sufficient water solubility due to the polycationic shell. Moreover, the highly cationic cavity (12+) can selectively encapsulate anionic organic compounds in water.     

Cinemicrophotographic study of boiling of water-in-oil emulsions

Cinemicrophotography is applied to the boiling of emulsions of water dispersed in oils whose boiling points are higher than that of water. The layer of emulsion is made thin enough to make possible a microscopic observation by transmitted light through the layer. Two alternative processes of bubble formation are found: a periodical bubble formation at specified sites on the heated solid surface contacting the emulsion and a casual bubble formation some distance away from the surface. The basic mechanisms of those processes are discussed.     

Homomorphisms between JC＊-algebras and Lie C＊-algebras

It is shown that every almost ＊-homomorphism h ： A→B of a unital JC＊-algebra A to a unital JC＊-algebra B is a ＊-homomorphism when h（rx） = rh（x） （r 〉 1） for all x∈A, and that every almost linear mapping h ： A→B is a ＊-homomorphism when h（2^nu o y） - h（2^nu） o h（y）, h（3^nu o y） - h（3^nu） o h（y） or h（q^nu o y） = h（q^nu） o h（y） for all unitaries u ∈A, all y ∈A, and n = 0, 1,.... Here the numbers 2, 3, q depend on the functional equations given in the almost linear mappings. We prove that every almost ＊-homomorphism h ： A→B of a unital Lie C＊-algebra A to a unital Lie C＊-algebra B is a ＊-homomorphism when h（rx） = rh（x） （r 〉 1） for all x ∈A.