Low-energy electron diffraction and auger electron spectroscopy study of the oxidation of Ti {0001} at room temperature

The reaction of a clean Ti (0001) surface with oxygen gas at low pressure and room temperature has been studied with low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). At low exposures (about 1 Langmuir) ap(2×2) superstructure is observed which gradually converts to 1×1 at high exposures (about 100 Langmuirs). The LEED spectra confirm that the final 1×1 structure is different from that of clean Ti (0001), while the AES spectra indicate that the final oxide is probably TiO, not TiO₂. The plausibility of this indication is discussed.     

Suprasegmental and segmental timing models in Mandarin Chinese and American English

This paper formalizes and tests two key assumptions of the concept of suprasegmental timing: segmental independence and suprasegmental mediation. Segmental independence holds that the duration of a suprasegmental unit such as a syllable or foot is only minimally dependent on its segments. Suprasegmental mediation states that the duration of a segment is determined by the duration of its suprasegmental unit and its identity, but not directly by the specific prosodic context responsible for suprasegmental unit duration. Both assumptions are made by various versions of the isochrony hypothesis [I. Lehiste, J. Phonetics 5, 253-263 (1977)], and by the syllable timing hypothesis [W. Campbell, Speech Commun. 9, 57-62 (1990)]. The validity of these assumptions was studied using the syllable as suprasegmental unit in American English and Mandarin Chinese. To avoid unnatural timing patterns that might be induced when reading carrier phrase material, meaningful, nonrepetitive sentences were used with a wide range of lengths. Segmental independence was tested by measuring how the average duration of a syllable in a fixed prosodic context depends on its segmental composition. A strong association was found; in many cases the increase in average syllabic duration when one segment was substituted for another (e.g., bin versus pin) was the same as the difference in average duration between the two segments (i.e., [b] versus [p]). Thus, the [i] and [n] were not compressed to make room for the longer [p], which is inconsistent with segmental independence. Syllabic mediation was tested by measuring which locations in a syllable are most strongly affected by various contextual factors, including phrasal position, within-word position, tone, and lexical stress. Systematic differences were found between these factors in terms of the intrasyllabic locus of maximal effect. These and earlier results obtained by van Son and van Santen [R. J. J. H van Son and J. P. H. van Santen, "Modeling the interaction between factors affecting consonant duration," Proceedings Eurospeech-97, 1997, pp. 319-322] showing a three-way interaction between consonantal identity (coronals vs labials), within-word position of the syllable, and stress of surrounding vowels, imply that segmental duration cannot be predicted by compressing or elongating segments to fit into a predetermined syllabic time interval. In conclusion, while there is little doubt that suprasegmental units play important predictive and explanatory roles as phonological units, the concept of suprasegmental timing is less promising.     

Point-mutation effects on charge-transport properties of the tumor-suppressor gene p53

We report on a theoretical study of point mutations effects on charge transfer properties in the DNA sequence of the tumor-suppressor p53 gene. On the basis of effective tight-binding models which simulate hole propagation along the DNA, a statistical analysis of mutation-induced charge transfer modifications is performed. In contrast to noncancerous mutations, mutation hot spots tend to result in significantly weaker changes of transmission properties. This suggests that charge transport could play a significant role for DNA-repairing deficiency yielding carcinogenesis.     

Phosphorescent κ3-(N^C^C)-Gold(III) Complexes: Synthesis,Photophysics, Computational Studies and Application to Solution-Processable OLEDs

Efficient OLED devices have been fabricated using organometallic complexes of platinum group metals. Still, the high material cost and low stability represent central challenges for their application in commercial display technologies. Based on its innate stability, gold(III) complexes are emerging as promising candidates for high-performance OLEDs. Here, a series of alkynyl-, N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)- and aryl-gold(III) complexes stabilized by a κ³-(N^C^C) template have been prepared and their photophysical properties have been characterized in detail. These compounds exhibit good photoluminescence quantum efficiency (η_PL) of up to 33 %. The PL emission can be tuned from sky-blue to yellowish green colors by variations on both the ancillary ligands as well as on the pincer template. Further, solution-processable OLED devices based on some of these complexes display remarkable emissive properties (η_CE 46.6 cd.A⁻¹ and η_ext 14.0 %), thus showcasing the potential of these motifs for the low-cost fabrication of display and illumination technologies.     

Pattern transfer and photoluminescence damage assessment of deep-submicrometer features etched by photon-induced cryoetching

We present a study of pattern-transfer and etch-induced damage in photon-induced cryoetching. Features with effective radii as small as 100 nm have been formed in both bulk and layered GaAs/AlGaAs materials. A measurement of the photoluminescence of etch-defined deep- submicrometer structures material suggests that this form of etching results in minimal process-induced damage. Modeling of the luminescence vs feature size for these features shows that the luminescence is limited only by carrier diffusion and non-radiative surface recombination.     

On the origin of the ferromagnetism in Zn0.8Mn0.2O having a higher Curie temperature than Zn0.8Co0.2O

Zn_0.8Co_0.2O and Zn_0.8Mn_0.2O films were deposited on substrates by a sol–gel technique. X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, photoluminescence, and ferromagnetism measurements were used to characterize these dilute magnetic semiconductors. It is shown that the ferromagnetic properties might be related to the formation of acceptor-like defects in the Zn_0.8Co_0.2O and Zn_0.8Mn_0.2O films. It is found that ferromagnetic Zn_0.8Mn_0.2O has a higher Curie temperature than Zn_0.8Co_0.2O. In addition, the higher ratio of grain-boundary area to grain volume of Zn_0.8Mn_0.2O than Zn_0.8Co_0.2O indicates that grain boundaries and related acceptors are the intrinsic origin for ferromagnetism.     

Application of Cryptand/Polystyrene Drift-Type Phase Transfer Catalysts for Reduction of Ketones

A drift-type phase transfer catalyst, cryptand-22, adsorbed on poly(styrene/diviny benzene)-sulfonic resin was prepared and applied to catalyze the reduction of ketones, e.g., acetophenone, benzophenone and benzaldehyde with NaBH₄ as a reducing agent. Before the reaction, cryptand-22 was adsorbed on the sulfonic resin with ion-pairing, resin-SO₃^{? +}NH-cryptand-22. The ion-pairs can be destroyed by adjusting the basicity of the reaction solution with NaOH and the cryptand can be released from the resin into the reaction solution as a homogeneous catalyst during the reaction period. After the reaction, the cryptand catalyst can be readsorbed on the resin by adjusting the acidity of the solution with HCl and can be readily recovered by filtration like a heterogeneous catalyst. The draft-type cryptand catalyst exhibited better catalytic ability than some common crown ethers, e.g., 15-crown-5, benzo-15-crown-5, 12-crown-4 and dibenzo-18-crown-6 for the reduction of acetophenone with NaBH₄. Effects of solvents, pH of solutions, concentration of the catalyst, reducing agents and resin property on the reduction of ketones were investigated and discussed. The reaction mechanism of the cryptand catalyzed reduction was also studied.     

A Rechargeable Hydrogen Battery Based on Ru Catalysis

Apart from energy generation, the storage and liberation of energy are among the major problems in establishing a sustainable energy supply chain. Herein we report the development of a rechargeable H₂ battery which is based on the principle of the Ru‐catalyzed hydrogenation of CO₂ to formic acid (charging process) and the Ru‐catalyzed decomposition of formic acid to CO₂ and H₂ (discharging process). Both processes are driven by the same catalyst at elevated temperature either under pressure (charging process) or pressure‐free conditions (discharging process). Up to five charging–discharging cycles were performed without decrease of storage capacity. The resulting CO₂/H₂ mixture is free of CO and can be employed directly in fuel‐cell technology.     

Determination of sunscreen agents in cosmetic products using microwave-assisted extraction and liquid chromatography

Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), was used to extract sunscreen agents from cosmetic products. The extracts were analyzed by liquid chromatography (LC). The present method allows the determination of three sunscreen agents, Eusolex 2292, 4360 and 6300. The precision of the assay at 40 microg/ml of sunscreen agents ranged from 1.5 to 2.2%, and the detection limits were 2.0-4.0 ng/ml.