Control of diameter of ZnO nanorods grown by chemical vapor deposition with laser ablation of ZnO

We made a study of controlling diameters of well-aligned ZnO nanorods grown by low-pressure thermal chemical vapor deposition combined with laser ablation of a sintered ZnO target, which was developed by us. Until now, it has been impossible to control diameters of ZnO nanorods, while the growth orientation was maintained well-aligned. In this study we developed a multi-step growth method to fabricate well-aligned nanorods whose diameters could be controlled. Metal Zn vapor and O₂ are used as precursors to grow ZnO nanorods. N₂ is used as a carrier gas for the precursors. A substrate is an n-Si (111) wafer. A sintered ZnO target is placed near the substrate and ablated by a Nd–YAG pulsed laser during ZnO nanorod growth. The growth temperature is 530 C and the pressure is 66.5 Pa. A vertical growth orientation of ZnO nanorods to the substrate is realized in the first-step growth although the diameter cannot be controlled in this step. When an O₂ flow rate is 1.5 sccm, well-aligned nanorods with 100 nm diameter are grown. Next, the second-step nanorods are grown on only the flat tip of the first-step nanorods. The diameters of the second-step nanorods can be controlled by adjusting the O₂ flow rate, and the growth direction is kept the same as that of the first-step nanorods. When the O₂ flow rate in second-step growth is smaller than 0.6 sccm, the diameter of the second-step nanorods is 30–50 nm. When the O₂ flow rate is between 0.75 and 3.0 sccm, the diameter is almost same as that of the first-step nanorods. When the O₂ flow rate is larger than 4.5 sccm, the diameter is increased with increasing O₂ flow rate. Further, the third-step ZnO nanorods with gradually increased diameters can be grown on the second-step nanorods with 1.5 sccm O₂ flow rate and without laser ablation.     

FER分子筛中铝原子的受限落位

分子筛是一类具有规则孔道或笼状结构的多孔材料,因其独特的结构和可调的酸性而广泛用于石油化工、精细化学品合成、现代煤化工等诸多行业.2006年Iglesia等在具有8元环孔道结构/侧口袋的FER和MOR分子筛上实现了无卤素添加、无贵金属存在条件下,由二甲醚羰基化合成乙酸甲酯的反应.乙酸甲酯通过进一步加氢可实现煤基乙醇的绿色生产.MOR分子筛通常具有较高的催化活性,但失活迅速;FER分子筛表现出良好的催化稳定性,但活性较低.如何在保证FER分子筛稳定性的前提下,进一步提升其羰基化活性是目前研究的热点.前期理论和实验研究发现,二甲醚羰基化反应活性与分子筛8元环孔道中的Br?nsted酸位密度存在正相关.因此,通过优化合成条件,选择性调控铝原子分布在"ferrierite"笼中,可以提高FER分子筛的羰基化反应活性.尽管研究者已在调节FER分子筛铝分布方面进行了大量研究,但对于不同T位上Al原子的精准识别以及对应Br?nsted酸位的可接触性还缺少系统和深入的认识.本文选取了几种代表性模板剂,分别在碱性和含氟体系下制备了系列FER分子筛样品,利用Rietveld精修和模拟退火算法,在原子水平揭示了模板剂种类以及合成介质变化对Al原子在不同T位分布的影响,并结合二甲醚羰基化反应进行了结构和性能的关联.首先选取不同尺寸大小的环状胺(环己胺、哌啶、吡啶、吡咯烷)和链状胺(乙二胺)合成了具有相似形貌、孔结构、酸密度的系列FER分子筛样品.以CHA-Na-FER为例,PXRD精修结果显示,Na+(平衡35％的骨架负电荷)分布在10元环孔道中与O1形成氢键,质子化的环己胺分布在"ferrierite"笼中,并且环己胺上的N与O3形成氢键.这说明与O1相连的T3位以及与O3相连的T1位都有可能是Al富集的位置.为了进一步验证该结论,本文还精修了吸附探针分子吡啶的样品CHA-Na-FER-Py-60h.原粉以及吸附吡啶样品的精修结果表明,T1位和T3位是样品中铝富集的位置.随后,运用相同方法研究了Py-Na-FER,PI-Na-FER,En-Na-FER和Pyrr-HF-FER样品中的Al落位,发现T1/T3位均是样品中Al富集的位置.此外,理论计算结果表明T1/T3位上Al原子的取代能较低,说明Al优先取代T1/T3位上的Si,这与精修结果相一致.前期理论模拟结果表明,FER分子筛中T2-O5和T4-O7位点的CO插入反应能垒较低,是二甲醚羰基化反应的活性位.本文吡啶吸附实验、热重分析以及PXRD精修结果表明,FER分子筛中大部分Al富集在T1/T3位,与T2/T4位相关的Br?nsted酸约占18％～30％.最后,对各样品进行了二甲醚羰基化反应评价,结果显示PI-Na-FER,Py-Na-FER,En-Na-FER和CHA-Na-FER催化剂的乙酸甲酯生成速率相近,约为0.10 mol/(mol H+?h).Pyrr-HF-FER催化剂的乙酸甲酯生成速率最高,可达到0.16 mol/(mol H+?h),这可能是由于Pyrr-HF-FER催化剂具有更多T2/T4位相关的Br?nsted酸.虽然Pyrr-HF-FER催化剂的乙酸甲酯生成速率较其他四个催化剂有一定提升,但其仍远低于MOR分子筛上乙酸甲酯生成速率(0.40 mol/(mol H+·h)).综上,有机模板剂的选择与合成介质的改变对FER分子筛中Al分布的调控作用是有限的,即Al原子总是优先分布于T1/T3位.而与T1和T3位相关的Br?nsted酸位不是二甲醚羰基化反应的活性位点.因此与MOR相比,FER分子筛在二甲醚羰基化反应中表现出较低的催化活性.     

Quantitative Detection for Porphyromonas gingivalis in Tooth Pocket and Saliva by Portable Electrochemical DNA Sensor Linked with PCR

Here, a quantitative electrochemical analysis of periodontal bacteria in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and saliva by direct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is presented. The electrochemical measurement was performed by mixing with PCR products and electrochemical indicator (bisbenzimidazole trihydrochloride). The peak current of indicator is reduced due to slower diffusion when the dye intercalates into the amplified DNA, and the degree of reduction in the peak current is correlates with the quantity of amplified DNA. Therefore, a quantitative analysis is possible by using our electrochemical method at the end point of PCR. In the GCF testing, The number of Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) detected by our electrochemical method at the end point of PCR were almost same compared with that were calculated by the conventional method of quantitative real? time PCR. In the saliva testing, the relationship between number of Pg in saliva and average pocket depth, and age‐dependence were also clearly observed. Since the saliva sample is obtained in a non‐invasive manner, this method is useful for the primary screening of periodontal disease. Moreover, our detection method is simple and uses a hand‐held potentiostat making it suitable for development of an on‐site periodontal diagnosis system.     

Structural Insights into Rice Straw Pretreated by Hot-Compressed Water in Relation to Enzymatic Hydrolysis

Pretreatment-induced structural alteration is critical in influencing the rate and extent of enzymatic saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass. The present work has investigated structural features of rice straw pretreated by hot-compressed water (HCW) from 140 to 240 °C for 10 or 30 min and enzymatic hydrolysis profiles of pretreated rice straw. Compositional profiles of pretreated rice straw were examined to offer the basis for structural changes. The wide-angle X-ray diffraction analysis revealed possible modification in crystalline microstructure of cellulose and the severity-dependent variation of crystallinity. The specific surface area (SSA) of pretreated samples was able to achieve more than 10-fold of that of the raw material and was in linear relationship with the removal of acetyl groups and xylan. The glucose yield by enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated materials correlated linearly with the SSA increase and the dissolution of acetyl and xylan. A quantitatively intrinsic relationship was suggested to exist between enzymatic hydrolysis and the extraction of hemicellulose components in hydrothermally treated rice straw, and SSA was considered one important structural parameter signaling the efficiency of enzymatic digestibility in HCW-treated materials in which hemicellulose removal and lignin redistribution happened.     

Protonation susceptibility of functional groups: A new parameter for interpreting chemical ionization mass spectra of bifunctional organic compounds

A new parameter, the protonation susceptibility (PS), of functional groups in the chemical ionization mass spectrometry of bifunctional organic compounds is presented. In terms of quasi-equilibrium theory of unimolecular decomposition of the molecular protonated ion of [MH]⁺, the relative PS corresponds to the relative area under P(E) curves of [MH]⁺ ions that have a proton at different functional groups. Numerical evaluation of the PS values of pertinent functional groups was made by using particularly selected compounds. The results clearly indicate that PS is independent of proton affinity (PA).     

Static light scattering from poly(ethylene oxide) in methanol

Static light scattering measurements were performed on dilute solutions of monodisperse poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) in methanol at 25°C. PEOs of five different molecular weights ranging from nominal M_w = 8.6 × 10⁴ to 9.13 × 10⁵ were used. Linear Zimm plots were obtained for all the PEO samples: no downturn was observed at small angles, indicating that no large aggregates of PEO molecules exist in the solution. From the plots, values of the weight-average molecular weight, M_w, the radius gyration, R_G, and the second virial coefficient, A₂, were successfully determined for respective PEOs. Observed relationship between R_G and M_w indicates that methanol is certainly a good solvent for the polymer. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Steric effects upon transition states of radical addition polymerizations

Transition states (TSs) of radical addition homopolymerization reactions of methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, dimethyl itaconate, and N-methyl itaconimide were examined with two-unit radical models using MOPAC (PM3 UHF) semiempirical method. Calculated activation energies (E_as) show good correlations with experimental values. Calculated activation entropies (−ΔS^‡s) are found to be well proportional to E_as. The entropy terms play an important role as well as E_a in radical additions. E_a depends on the angle (θ_rs) between reaction points of radical and of monomer at TS. The bond length between reaction points at TS is constant regardless of monomers studied. The geometries and thermodynamical properties calculated here for TS indicate the importance of steric effects caused by substituted group(s) rather than electronic perturbation energies reported previously. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.