First Synthesis and Properties of Calix[4]arene with Two Alternately Arranged Phloroglucinols and Two p-tert-Butylphenols

The Calix[4]arene 1 including two alternately arranged phloroglucinols and p-tert-butylphenols was synthesized via the “3+1” coupling procedure, and its pKa values were estimated to be 3–4 and 7.5, while those of the other six phenolic hydroxyls were approximately 11. Its UV–vis spectrum at pH 11 and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra in NaOD-D₂O solution (pH 12.8) showed a dramatic change like those of the phloroglucinol when compared to those in acidic or neutral solution, which suggests a change in the phloroglucinol moiety to the keto-form. During the solvent extraction for alkali metal species using 1, Li⁺ was only extracted in the low yield of 15% at pH 11. The cyclic voltammetry study of 1 was used to compare it with the phloroglucinol and p-tert-butylphenol. The redox potential of the corresponding two phloroglucinols was observed in 1.     

Vinyl Polymerization. 350. Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate Initiated by the System Sodium Polyvinyl Sulfonate)/Ferric Chloride/Water

In an aqueous medium, sodium polyvinyl sulfonate)(PVS-Na) initiated radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in the presence of ferric chloride. The presence of water and Fe(III) ion was essential. The polymerization was concluded to take place in the aqueous phase. The effects of the amount of water, MMA, Fe(III) ion, and temperature on the polymerization were studied. The mechanism of the initiation is discussed.     

Study of electrical field distribution of gold-capped nanoparticle for excitation of localized surface plasmon resonance

The specific optical characteristics which can be observed from noble metal nanostructured materials such as nanoparticles and nanoislands have wide variety of applications such as biosensors, solar cells, and optical circuit. Because, these noble metal nanostructures induce the increment of light absorption efficiency by the enhancing effect of electrical field from localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) excitation. However, the enhancing effects of electrical field from LSPR using simple structured noble metal nanostructures for several applications are not satisfactory. To realize the more effective light absorption efficiency by the enhancing effect of electrical field, quite different noble metal nanostructures have been desired for applying to several applications using LSPR. In this study, to obtain the more effective enhancing effect of electrical field, conditions for LSPR excitation using a gold-capped nanoparticle layer substrate are computationally analyzed using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. From the previous research, LSPR excitation using such gold-capped nanoparticle layer substrates has a great potential for application to high-sensitive label-free monitoring of biomolecular interactions. For understanding of detailed LSPR excitation mechanism, LSPR excitation conditions were investigated by analyzing the electrical field distribution using simulation software and comparing the results obtained with experimental results. As a result of computational analysis, LSPR excitation was found to depend on the particle alignment, interparticle distance, and excitation wavelength. Furthermore, the LSPR optical characteristics obtained from the simulation analysis were consistent with experimentally approximated LSPR optical characteristics. Using this gold-capped nanoparticle layer substrate, LSPR can be excited easily more than conventional noble metal nanoparticle-based LSPR excitation without noble metal nanoparticle synthesis. Hence, this structure is detectable a small change of refractive index such as biomolecular interactions for biosensing applications.     

Preparation and characterization of thin films of monomeric and polymeric octacyanophthalocyanines

Thin films were prepared on substrates, cleavage surface of KCl single crystal, and metallic copper, by reaction of 1,2,4,5-tetracyanobenzene with the substrate at various temperatures. The films were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, and UV/VIS spectroscopies. The films were observed by scanning electron microscopy. The films produced on copper at temperatures between 300 and 400°C consisted of copper octacyanophthalocyanine and its polymer with ladder structure. The ratio of polymer to monomer increased with elevating the reaction temperature. The films were composed of ribbon-like crystals. The film produced on copper above 450°C was composed of an amorphous and continuous layer of polymeric copper phthalocyanine. The film produced on KCl at temperatures between 250 and 350°C consisted of potassium octacyanophthalocyanine and its polymer with ladder structure. The film produced on KCl above 450°C was polymeric potassium phthalocyanine. Those films contained more metal content than that required stoichiometrical.     

Multimetal‐Substituted Epsilon‐Iron Oxide ϵ‐Ga0.31Ti0.05Co0.05Fe1.59O3 for Next‐Generation Magnetic Recording Tape in the Big‐Data Era

From the viewpoints of large capacity, long‐term guarantee, and low cost, interest in magnetic recording tapes has undergone a revival as an archive storage media for big data. Herein, we prepared a new series of metal‐substituted ?‐Fe₂O₃, ?‐Ga^III_0.31Ti^IV_0.05Co^II_0.05Fe^III_1.59O₃, nanoparticles with an average size of 18 nm. Ga, Ti, and Co cations tune the magnetic properties of ?‐Fe₂O₃ to the specifications demanded for a magnetic recording tape. The coercive field was tuned to 2.7 kOe by introduction of single‐ion anisotropy on Co^II (S=3/2) along the c‐axis. The saturation magnetization was increased by 44 % with Ga^III (S=0) and Ti^IV (S=0) substitution through the enhancement of positive sublattice magnetizations. The magnetic tape media was fabricated using an actual production line and showed a very sharp signal response and a remarkably high signal‐to‐noise ratio compared to the currently used magnetic tape.     

Stimuli-responsive hydrogel-silver nanoparticles composite for development of localized surface plasmon resonance-based optical biosensor

In this paper, the development of a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)-based optical enzyme biosensor using stimuli-responsive hydrogel-silver nanoparticles composite is described. This optical enzyme biosensor was constructed by immobilizing glucose oxidase (GOx) into the stimuli-responsive hydrogel. When a sample solution such as glucose was applied to the surface of this optical enzyme biosensor, the interparticle distances of the silver nanoparticles present in the stimuli-responsive hydrogel were increased, and thus the absorbance strength of the LSPR was decreased. Furthermore, hydrogen peroxide, which was produced by the enzymatic reaction, induced the degradation of highly clustered silver nanoparticles by the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. Hence, a drastic LSPR absorbance change, which depends on the glucose concentrations, could be observed. On the basis of the abovementioned mechanism, the characterization of the LSPR-based optical enzyme biosensor was carried out. It was found that the LSPR-based optical enzyme biosensor could be used to specifically determine glucose concentrations. Furthermore, the detection limit of this biosensor was 10 pM. Therefore, this LSPR-based optical enzyme biosensor has the potential to be applied in cost-effective, highly simplified, and highly sensitive test kits for medical applications.     

Photosensitive function of encapsulated dye in carbon nanotubes

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) exhibit resonant absorption localized in specific spectral regions. To expand the light spectrum that can be utilized by SWCNTs, we have encapsulated squarylium dye into SWCNTs and clarified its microscopic structure and photosensitizing function. X-ray diffraction and polarization-resolved optical absorption measurements revealed that the encapsulated dye molecules are located at an off center position inside the tubes and aligned to the nanotube axis. Efficient energy transfer from the encapsulated dye to SWCNTs was clearly observed in the photoluminescence spectra. Enhancement of transient absorption saturation in the S1 state of the semiconducting SWCNTs was detected after the photoexcitation of the encapsulated dye, which indicates that ultrafast (<190 fs) energy transfer occurred from the dye to the SWCNTs.     

Efficient peroxide decoloration of azo dye catalyzed by polyethylene glycol-linked manganese chlorin derivative

We reported here that polyethylene glycol (PEG)-linked manganese pyrochlorophyllide a (PEG-MnPChlide a) possesses remarkable catalytic activity comparable to horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The PEG-MnPChlide a catalyzed the oxidation decoloration reaction of C.I. Acid Orange 7 by hydrogen peroxide under a mild aqueous condition, pH 8.0 at 25 °C. The manganese pyrochlorophyride a methylester (MnPChlide a ME) dissolved in a Triton X-100 micellar solution also exhibited the catalytic activity, indicating the micellar environment plays an important role in the catalytic reaction. The reaction rate was accelerated by addition of imidazole. The catalytic reactions were analyzed by Michaelis–Menten kinetics, revealing that the higher reactivity of catalyst–substrate complex is responsible for the present catalytic reaction system.