A New Route to Light Emitting Organic Materials Based on Triazine Derivatives

Novel light-emitting organic materials comprising conjugated oligomers chemically attached via a flexible spacer to an electron–or hole-conducting core were synthesized by Stille cross-coupling methodology and designed for tunable charge injection and optical properties. The hyperbranched structures have been characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and UV-VIS spectroscopy. The obtained structures show good stability in common organic solvents such as CHCl₃, toluene, and CH₂Cl₂ and exhibit excellent thermal stability. A preliminary electroluminescence properties were also investigated. This class of materials will help to balance charge injection and transport and to spread out the charge recombination zone, thereby significantly improving the device efficiency and lifetime of unpolarized and polarized OLEDs.     

Exceeding the classical capacity limit in a quantum optical channel

The amount of information transmissible through a communications channel is determined by the noise characteristics of the channel and by the quantities of available transmission resources. In classical information theory, the amount of transmissible information can be increased twice at most when the transmission resource is doubled for fixed noise characteristics. In quantum information theory, however, the amount of information transmitted can increase even more than twice. We present a proof-of-principle demonstration of this superadditivity of classical capacity of a quantum channel by using the ternary symmetric states of a single photon, and by event selection from a weak coherent light source. We also show how the superadditive coding gain, even in a small code length, can boost the communication performance of the conventional coding technique.     

Structure determination of the Cu(0 0 1)–c(4 × 4)-Sn surface by low-energy electron diffraction

Low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) have been used to determine the Cu(0 0 1)–c(4 × 4)-Sn structure formed at 300 K. It is demonstrated that a structural model suggested by scanning tunneling microscopy observations is correct: The model consists of one substitutional Sn atom and four Sn adatoms in the unit cell. Optimum parameters of the determined c(4 × 4) structure reveal that Sn adatoms laterally are displaced by 0.30 Å away from ideal fourfold-hollow sites along the 〈100〉 directions. It is proposed that such displacements of the Sn adatoms cause the formation of a network of octagonal rings on Cu(0 0 1). The substitutional Sn atom is located at each center of the octagonal rings. The formation conditions of the network are discussed.     

Ligand Control of Palladium-Catalyzed Site-Selective α- and γ-Arylation of α,β-Unsaturated Ketones with (Hetero)aryl Halides

This study describes the first palladium-catalyzed, site-selective α- and γ-arylation of α,β-unsaturated ketones with (hetero)aryl halides. A wide range of hetero(aryl)halides coupled with α,β-unsaturated ketones, and transformation into the arylated products proceeded with excellent to good yields. The site selectivity of the reaction is switchable by simply changing the phosphine ligand to access either α-arylated or γ-arylated products in good to excellent yields by using a low catalyst loading, and the method demonstrates good functional-group compatibility.     

Significant differences in site of protonation and extent of fragmentations in chemical ionization and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry of simple bifunctional compounds. A mechanistic implication for formation of protonated molecules

Chemical ionization (CI) and fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectra of simple bifunctional aromatic compounds were compared. Some significant differences were revealed with respect to the site of protonation and extent of fragmentations. Unlike conventional CI ionization, the protonated molecule formation by FAB could not be accounted for by ordinary proton transfer reactions in the gas phase. The observed ions under FAB conditions appear to be regulated by proton exchange reactions through frequent collisions in some particular region between the matrix and the gas phase.     

Bioremediation of Cd by Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation

Contamination by Cd is a significant environmental problem. Therefore, we examined Cd removal from an environmental perspective. Ureolysis-driven calcium carbonate precipitation has been proposed for use in geotechnical engineering for soil remediation applications. In this study, 55 calcite-forming bacterial strains were newly isolated from various environments. Biomineralization of Cd by calcite-forming bacteria was investigated in laboratory-scale experiments. A simple method was developed to determine the effectiveness of microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP). Using this method, we determined the effectiveness of biomineralization for retarding the flow of crystal violet through a 25-mL column. When the selected bacteria were analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer, high removal rates (99.95 %) of Cd were observed following incubation for 48 h. Samples of solids that formed in the reaction vessels were examined using a scanning electron microscope. The CdCO₃ compounds primarily showed a spherical shape. The results of this study demonstrate that MICP-based sequestration of soluble heavy metals via coprecipitation with calcite may be useful for toxic heavy metal bioremediation.