Dopant effect on threshold electric field of antiferroelectric liquid crystal switching

Abstract

The influence of dopants on the threshold electric field for switching anti-ferroelectric liquid crystals was determined from the optical response curve obtained by using a triangular wave. The effect of dopant concentration on the transition temperatures of the mixtures with a host material was also investigated. The threshold electric field was diminished depending on (i) the chemical structure of the additive and (ii) increasing amounts of the additive. The upper limits of the temperature region of the S*_{C A} phases also decreased with increasing amount of additive, and these phases disappeared at 40 mol% of additive in all cases. Compound (C) is the most effective with respect to the threshold electric field. It is a two ring compound and has a chiral part similar to that of the host antiferroelectric liquid crystal compound.     

Design of a molecular memory element with an alternating circular array of dipolar rotors and rotation suppressors

As a new element for electric-field driven molecular memory, we developed a hexaarylbenzene derivative in which three difluorophenyl groups and three aryl groups as a dipolar rotor and a rotation suppressor, respectively, are alternately positioned on the central benzene core. This molecule has two rotational isomeric forms, both of which preserve their conformational states at room temperature but exhibit interconversion at high temperatures. Amorphous thin films fabricated from the hexaarylbenzene show a reversible change in surface potential by application of electric fields.

A hexaarylbenzene derivative with an alternating circular array of dipolar rotors and rotation suppressors holds promise as a new element for electric-field driven molecular memory.     

Contribution of atmospheric nitrate to stream‐water nitrate in Japanese coniferous forests revealed by the oxygen isotope ratio of nitrate

Evaluation of the openness of the nitrogen (N) cycle in forest ecosystems is important in efforts to improve forest management because the N supply often limits primary production. The use of the oxygen isotope ratio (δ¹⁸O) of nitrate is a promising approach to determine how effectively atmospheric nitrate can be retained in a forest ecosystem. We investigated the δ¹⁸O of nitrate in stream water in order to estimate the contribution of atmospheric NO in stream‐water NO (f_atm) from 26 watersheds with different stand ages (1–87 years) in Japan. The stream‐water nitrate concentrations were high in young forests whereas, in contrast, old forests discharged low‐nitrate stream water. These results implied a low f_atm and a closed N cycle in older forests. However, the δ¹⁸O values of nitrate in stream water revealed that f_atm values were higher in older forests than in younger forests. These results indicated that even in old forests, where the discharged N loss was small, atmospheric nitrate was not retained effectively. The steep slopes of the studied watersheds (>40°) which hinder the capturing of atmospheric nitrate by plants and microbes might be responsible for the inefficient utilization of atmospheric nitrate. Moreover, the unprocessed fraction of atmospheric nitrate in the stream‐water nitrate in the forest (f_unprocessed) was high in the young forest (78%), although f_unprocessed was stable and low for other forests (5–13%). This high f_unprocessed of the young forest indicated that the young forest retained neither atmospheric NO nor soil NO effectively, engendering high stream‐water NO concentrations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetic Field Effects on the Photoinduced Electron-Transfer Reactions in a Ruthenium Porphyrin–C60 Ligand Complex

Magnetic field effects (MFEs) on a photoinduced electron-transfer reaction in a semi-rigid linked system (RuP–C₆₀) were examined in toluene and o-dichlorobenzene. The transient absorption spectra indicated that the photogenerated biradical produced by an intramolecular electron-transfer reaction was observed only in o-dichlorobenzene. The decay rate constants (k _d) for the biradical decreased steeply at lower magnetic fields (≤0.06 T) and rapidly recovered at 0.08 T. The k _d value was observed to decrease gradually above 0.2 T. The MFEs strongly indicated the formation of the singlet-born biradical for RuP–C₆₀. The dip in the MFE at 0.06 T was ascribed to the S–T level crossing mechanism. The MFEs above 0.2 T can be explained by a spin–spin relaxation mechanism due to the anisotropic Zeeman interaction being related to the exchange interaction.     

Alterations of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid glutamate levels in rats treated with the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, ketamine

It has been reported that the repeated administration of a sub-anesthetic dose of an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, ketamine, can produce an animal model of schizophrenia. Since no information is available on the alterations of the amino acid levels in ketamine-treated rats, we investigated the amino acid composition in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of rats that were repeatedly administered with ketamine for 5 consecutive days (30 mg/kg/day). The plasma and cerebrospinal fluid amino acid compositions in the fifth week after cessation of repeated ketamine administration were determined by highperformance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection using a pre-column fluorescence reagent, i.e. 4-fluoro-7nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole. Among the amino acids investigated in the present study, the level of plasma glutamic acid increased significantly (p < 0.05), while that of the cerebrospinal fluid glutamic acid decreased significantly in the ketamine-treated rats as compared with these levels in control rats injected with saline (p < 0.05, n = 7). These alterations in the glutamic acid level in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid resemble those in schizophrenic patients, suggesting that ketamine-treated rats may be a useful model for performing research on the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.