Atomically flat single terminated oxide substrate surfaces

Scientific interest in atomically controlled layer-by-layer fabrication of transition metal oxide thin films and heterostructures has increased intensely in recent decades for basic physics reasons as well as for technological applications. This trend has to do, in part, with the coming post-Moore era, and functional oxide electronics could be regarded as a viable alternative for the current semiconductor electronics. Furthermore, the interface of transition metal oxides is exposing many new emergent phenomena and is increasingly becoming a playground for testing new ideas in condensed matter physics. To achieve high quality epitaxial thin films and heterostructures of transition metal oxides with atomically controlled interfaces, one critical requirement is the use of atomically flat single terminated oxide substrates since the atomic arrangements and the reaction chemistry of the topmost surface layer of substrates determine the growth and consequent properties of the overlying films. Achieving the atomically flat and chemically single terminated surface state of commercially available substrates, however, requires judicious efforts because the surface of as-received substrates is of chemically mixed nature and also often polar. In this review, we summarize the surface treatment procedures to accomplish atomically flat surfaces with single terminating layer for various metal oxide substrates. We particularly focus on the substrates with lattice constant ranging from 4.00 Å to 3.70 Å, as the lattice constant of most perovskite materials falls into this range. For materials outside the range, one can utilize the substrates to induce compressive or tensile strain on the films and explore new states not available in bulk. The substrates covered in this review, which have been chosen with commercial availability and, most importantly, experimental practicality as a criterion, are KTaO₃, REScO₃ (RE = Rare-earth elements), SrTiO₃, La_0.18Sr_0.82Al_0.59Ta_0.41O₃ (LSAT), NdGaO₃, LaAlO₃, SrLaAlO₄, and YAlO₃. Analyzing all the established procedures, we conclude that atomically flat surfaces with selective A- or B-site single termination would be obtained for most commercially available oxide substrates. We further note that this topmost surface layer selectivity would provide an additional degree of freedom in searching for unforeseen emergent phenomena and functional applications in epitaxial oxide thin films and heterostructures with atomically controlled interfaces.     

Inhibitory effects of 1,3-selenazol-4-one derivatives on mushroom tyrosinase

This study reports depigmenting potency of 1,3-selenazol-4-one derivatives, which would be based upon the finding of direct inhibition to mushroom tyrosinase. 1,3-Selenazol-4-one derivatives exhibited inhibitory effect on dopa oxidase activity of mushroom tyrosinase. In this study, inhibitory effects of six kinds of 1,3-selenazol-4-one derivatives (A, B, C, D, E and F) on mushroom tyrosinase were investigated. Compounds at a concentration of 500 microM exhibited 33.4-62.1% of inhibition on dopa oxidase activity of mushroom tyrosinase. Their inhibitory effects were higher than that of kojic acid (31.7%), a well known tyrosinase inhibitor. 2-(4-Methylphenyl)-1,3-selenazol-4-one (A) exhibited the strongest inhibitory effect among them dose-dependently and in competitive inhibition manner.     

Ratiometric fluorescent and colorimetric sensors for Cu based on 4,5-disubstituted-1,8-naphthalimide and sensing cyanide via Cu displacement approach

Two 4,5-disubstituted-1,8-naphthalimide derivatives 1 and 2 were synthesized as ratiometric fluorescent and colorimetric sensors for Cu²⁺, respectively. In 100% aqueous solutions of 1, the presence of Cu²⁺ induces a strong and increasing fluorescent emission centered at 478 nm at the expense of the fluorescent emission of 1 centered at 534 nm. Compound 2 senses Cu²⁺ by means of a colorimetric (primrose yellow to pink) method with a thorough quench in emission attributed to the deprotonation of the secondary amine conjugated to the naphthalimide fluorophore. 1-Cu²⁺ and 2-Cu²⁺ sense cyanide in ratiometric way via colorimetric and fluorescent changes.     

Ruthenium‐catalyzed synthesis of quinolines via reductive heteroannulation of nitroarenes with 3‐amino‐1‐propanols

Nitroarenes are reductively cyclized with 3‐amino‐1‐propanols in dioxane/H₂O in the presence of a ruthenium catalyst and tin(II) chloride dihydrate together with isopropanol to afford the corresponding quinolines. A reaction pathway involving initial reduction of nitroarenes to anilines, propanol group transfer from 3‐amino‐1‐propanols to anilines, N‐alkylation of anilines by 3‐anilino‐1‐propanols and heteroannulation of 1,3‐dianilinopropanes is proposed.     

Redetermination of (6R,7S,9S,11S)‐(–)‐sparteinium monoperchlorate

The structure of the title compound, C₁₅H₂₇N₂⁺·ClO₄^?, consists of a monoprotonated sparteinium cation and a perchlorate anion. The two tertiary N atoms of the cation, one perchlorate O atom and a H atom form a bifurcated hydrogen bond, the four hydrogen‐bonding atoms being nearly in the same plane.     

QM/MM based 3D QSAR models for potent B-Raf inhibitors

Three dimensional (3D) quantitative structure-activity relationship studies of 37 B-Raf inhibitors, pyrazole-based derivatives, were performed. Based on the co-crystallized compound (PDB ID: 3D4Q), several alignment methods were utilized to derive reliable comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) and comparative molecular similarity indices analysis (CoMSIA) models. Receptor-guided alignment with quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) minimization led to the best CoMFA model (q ² = 0.624, r ² = 0.959). With the same alignment, a statistically reliable CoMSIA model with steric, H-bond acceptor, and hydrophobic fields was also derived (q ² = 0.590, r ² = 0.922). Both models were validated with an external test set, which gave satisfactory predictive r ² values of 0.926 and 0.878, respectively. Contour maps from CoMFA and CoMSIA models revealed important structural features responsible for increasing biological activity within the active site and explained the correlation between biological activity and receptor-ligand interactions. New fragments were identified as building blocks which can replace R1-3 groups through combinatorial screening methods. By combining these fragments a compound with a high bioactivity level prediction was found. These results can offer useful information for the design of new B-Raf inhibitors.     

Efficient preparation of UCl3 by ZnCl2 mediated chlorination

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - U chlorination is demonstrated using electrochemical and chemical reactions with ZnCl2 in LiCl–KCl molten salts. Voltammetric studies...     

Effects of phosphorous beam equivalent pressure on GaInAsP/GaAs grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy with a valve phosphorous cracker cell

We report the growth and characterization of GaInAsP films on GaAs substrates by solid source molecular beam epitaxy (SSMBE) using a valve phosphorous cracker cell at varied white phosphorous beam equivalent pressure (BEP). It is found that the GaInAsP/GaAs can be easily grown with the solid sources, and the incorporated phosphorous composition as a function of the beam equivalent pressure ratio, R=f_P/(f_P+f_As), can be well described by a parabolic relationship. With the increase of the incorporated phosphorous composition, the GaP-, InP-, InAs- and GaAs-like phonon modes shift towards opposite directions and their emission intensities also change. The first three modes shift to larger wave numbers while the last one shifts to smaller wave number. The lattice mismatch, Δa/a, of the materials grown with varied phosphorous BEP follows a linear relationship. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements reveal that as the phosphorous BEP ratio increases, the peak position or energy band gap of the material shifts towards higher energy; the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) becomes narrower, and the luminescence intensity becomes higher. In addition, the materials also show smooth surfaces that do not change significantly with phosphorous beam equivalent pressure.