Direct Estimation of the Surface Location of Immobilized Functional Groups for Concerted Catalysis Using a Probe Molecule

The location of active sites during concerted catalysis by a metal complex and tertiary amine on a SiO₂ surface is discussed based on the interaction between the functionalized SiO₂ surface and a probe molecule, p‐formyl phenylboronic acid. The interactions of the probe molecule with the surface functionalities, diamine ligand, and tertiary amine, were analyzed by FT‐IR and solid‐state ¹³C and ¹¹B MAS NMR. For the catalyst exhibiting high 1,4‐addition activity, the diamine ligand and tertiary amine base exist in closer proximity than in the catalyst with low activity.     

On the Smith normal form of a skew‐symmetric d‐optimal design of order

We show that the Smith normal form of a skew‐symmetric D ‐optimal design of order is determined by its order. Furthermore, we show that the Smith normal form of such a design can be written explicitly in terms of the order , thereby proving a recent conjecture of Armario. We apply our result to show that certain D ‐optimal designs of order are not equivalent to any skew‐symmetric D ‐optimal design. We also provide a correction to a result in the literature on the Smith normal form of D ‐optimal designs.     

Pressure-induced reentrant micellization of amphiphilic block copolymers in dilute aqueous solutions

The pressure-induced structural changes of a block copolymer, poly(2-ethoxyethoxyethyl vinyl ether)-block-poly(2-hydroxyethyl vinyl ether) (pEOEOVE-b-pHOVE) in aqueous solutions, were studied by means of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) from atmospheric pressure up to 400 MPa. pEOEOVE-b-pHOVE formed a spherical micellar structure above 40 degrees C due to poor solubility of pEOEOVE. Micellization phase diagram was determined by DLS, and a covex-upward pressure-temperature (P-T) phase diagram was obtained having a peak around (P,T)=(150 MPa,48 degrees C). The SANS curves at 50 degrees C were analyzed as a function of P. The micellar core size decreased by pressurizing at low P's (P相似文献   

Interactions between clusters of self-interstitial atoms via a conservative climb in BCC–Fe

We conduct kinetic Monte Carlo simulations for the conservative climb motion of a cluster of self-interstitial atoms (SIAs) towards another SIA cluster in BCC–Fe; the conservative climb velocity is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the distance between them, as per the prediction based on Einstein’s equation. The size of the climbing cluster significantly affects its conservative climb velocity, while the size of the cluster that originates the stress field does not. The activation energy for the conservative climb is considerably greater than that derived in previous studies and strongly dependent on the climbing cluster size. The results presented in this study are the atomistic evaluation of the behaviour of SIA clusters through three-dimensional motion, which cannot be achieved using molecular dynamics techniques alone.     

Microchip electrophoresis of oligosaccharides using lectin-immobilized preconcentrator gels fabricated by in situ photopolymerization

A lectin-impregnated gel was fabricated at the channel crossing point in a microfluidic chip made from polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The acrylamide containing lectin was photopolymerized to form a round gel (radius 60 μm) by irradiation with an argon laser, which was also used for fluorometric detection. This gel was applied to specific concentration, elution, and electrophoretic separation of fluorescent-labeled oligosaccharides. Because the lectin in the polyacrylamide gel was mechanically immobilized, it maintained its activity. The lectin was used to trap up to a few tens of femtomoles of specific oligosaccharides labeled with 8-aminopyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid with 2 min by a factor >800, and the amount trapped corresponded to ca. 70% of lectin in the gel. The trapped oligosaccharides were released from the gel by lowering the pH with an acidic background electrolyte. The oligosaccharides that eluted as a broad band were concentrated by transient isotachophoresis stacking using concentrated sodium borate buffer (pH 11.0). The stacked sample components were then separated and fluorometrically detected at the end of the separation channel. Under the optimized conditions, resolution of the saccharides was good, and was similar to that obtained by pinched injection. The method was applied to preconcentration and analysis of oligosaccharides derived from some glycoproteins.     

Formation of flat, homogeneous surfaces of organized molecular films of three-armed polymerizable amphiphiles with metal-scavenging properties

Surface complexing (i.e., metal-bridged polymerization in this study) of a three-armed amphiphilic compound with metal-scavenging properties has been investigated using the surface pressure-area (π-A) isotherms of a Langmuir monolayer from the subphase. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was also carried out on eluted solutions from corresponding multilayers of the solid. Furthermore, the molecular arrangement and surface morphology of organized molecular films of the resultant comb polymer were estimated by in-plane and out-of-plane X-ray diffraction (XRD) and by atomic force microscopy. From an analysis of the wide-angle X-ray diffraction of the corresponding monomer in the bulk, the long hydrocarbon chains are observed to pack hexagonally in the solid state. Compared to their monolayer on distilled water as the subphase, a polymerized monolayer on a buffer solution containing Cd(2+) ions is remarkably expanded at 15 °C. From ICP-MS and IR measurements, it is found that this monolayer stoichiometrically contains Cd(2+) ions on the -SH group. It is found by XRD that highly ordered layer structures and regular 2D lattices are constructed in the organized molecular films of the Cd-bridged comb polymer. Furthermore, the surface morphology of Langmuir-Blodgett films fabricated from the monolayers on a buffer solution containing Cd(2+) and Pd(2+) shows flat and smooth domains upon metal scavenging and polymerization.     

Reduction of thermal fluctuations in a cryogenic laser interferometric gravitational wave detector

The thermal fluctuation of mirror surfaces is the fundamental limitation for interferometric gravitational wave (GW) detectors. Here, we experimentally demonstrate for the first time a reduction in a mirror's thermal fluctuation in a GW detector with sapphire mirrors from the Cryogenic Laser Interferometer Observatory at 17 and 18 K. The detector sensitivity, which was limited by the mirror's thermal fluctuation at room temperature, was improved in the frequency range of 90 to 240 Hz by cooling the mirrors. The improved sensitivity reached a maximum of 2.2×10(-19) m/√Hz at 165 Hz.     

Topological superconductivity in bilayer Rashba system

We theoretically study a possible topological superconductivity in the interacting two layers of Rashba systems, which can be fabricated by the heterostructures of semiconductors and oxides. The hybridization, which induces the gap in the single particle dispersion, and the electron-electron interaction between the two layers leads to the novel phase diagram of the superconductivity. It is found that the topological superconductivity without breaking time-reversal symmetry is realized when (i) the Fermi energy is within the hybridization gap, and (ii) the interlayer interaction is repulsive, both of which can be satisfied in realistic systems. Edge channels are studied in a tight-binding model numerically, and the several predictions on experiments are also given.     

A narrow process window for the preparation of polytypes of microcrystalline silicon carbide thin films by hot-wire CVD method

Effects of deposition conditions on the structure of microcrystalline silicon carbide (μc-SiC) films prepared by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (hot-wire CVD) method have been investigated. It is found from X-ray diffraction patterns of the film that a diffraction peak from crystallites from hexagonal polytypes of SiC is observed in addition to those of 3 C-SiC crystallites. This result is obtained in the film under a narrow deposition conditions of SiH₃CH₃ gas pressure of 8 Pa, the H₂ gas pressure of 80–300 Pa and the total gas pressure of 40–300 Pa under fixed substrate and filament temperatures employed in this study. Furthermore, the grain size of hexagonal crystallites (about 20 nm) on c-Si substrates becomes larger than that of 3 C-SiC crystallites (about 10 nm) for the films deposited under the total gas pressure of 36–88 Pa. The fact that microcrystalline hexagonal SiC can be deposited under limited deposition conditions could be interpreted in the context of a result for c-SiC polytypes prepared by thermal CVD method.