On-chip fuel cell: micro direct methanol fuel cell of an air-breathing, membraneless, and monolithic design

This paper proposes a novel design for a microfuel cell as an on-chip power source and demonstrates its fabrication and operation to prove the concept. Its simple design is important from the viewpoints of fabrication (e.g., replication), integration, and compatibility with other microdevices. In testing, the prototype cell was able to generate electric power (maximum: ca. 1.4 microW) on methanol without pumps under both neutral and acidic conditions. As for the size, the electrode part of the cell (two cathodes and one anode) is 400 microns in width and 6 mm in length. The evaluation demonstrated that the proposed design is a promising on-chip power source for miniature devices.     

Synthesis and spectroscopic properties of ring-fused thiophene bridged push–pull dyes and their application in dye-sensitized solar cells

Bisdimethylfluorenylamino-based push–pull dyes bearing one or two benzo[c]thiophene and its precursor bicyclo[2.2.2]octadiene (BCOD) fused thiophene as π bridge have been synthesized. The effect of fused-ring on thiophene bridge for the spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of these dyes has been investigated. Dye-sensitized solar cells fabricated with these dyes show moderate photovoltaic properties.     

Spontaneous formation of dye-functionalized gold nanoparticles using reverse micellar systems

Detailed exploratory and mechanistic investigations on spontaneous formation of dye-functionalized gold nanoparticles (GNPs) using dye-based reverse micellar systems are described in this publication. The accumulated results from spectroscopic and microscopic investigations demonstrated that water molecules confined within nanoscopic enclosure of the self-assembled reverse micelles played critical role in the redox processes of aurate ions to produce GNPs, which are assumed to have approximately constant size distributions. The resulting dye-functionalized GNPs were found to offer their absorption and fluorescence emission tunability by changing the medium polarity as well as to exhibit excellent film-forming properties to give optically homogeneous polystyrene thin films. These key findings in addition to broad applicability of the self-assembling process with a variety of dye analogues have led to a conclusion that the protocol presented here serves as a versatile synthetic method to provide a potential convenience for future development of new organic-inorganic hybrid nanomaterials.     

Garlicnins B(1), C(1), and D, from the fraction regulating macrophage activation of Allium sativum

Several novel sulfides from acetone extracts of bulbs of garlic (Allium sativum L.), were identified and investigated. These were named garlicnins B(1) (1), C(1) (2), and D (3), and they were found to have the ability to control macrophage activation. Garlicnins B(1) (1) and C(1) (2) possess a new skeleton of cyclic sulfoxide and their structures of garlicnins B(1) (1) and C(1) (2) were characterized as 3,4-dimethyltetrahydrothiophene-S-oxide derivatives carrying the substitutions of a propenyl and a sulfenic acid, and an allyldithiine and a 1-propene-sulfenic acid (a), respectively. The mechanism of the proposed production of these compounds is discussed. Garlicnin D (3), dithiine-type, was estimated to be derived by addition of (a)+allyl thiosulfenic acid (b) derived from allicin. The identification of these novel sufoxides from onion and garlic accumulates a great deal of new chemistry to the Allium sulfide field, and future pharmacological investigations aid the development of natural, healthy foods and anti-cancer agents that could potentially prevent or combat disease.     

Synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of copper(II)-nitrito complexes with hydrotris(pyrazolyl)borate and related coligands

This study focuses on the geometric (molecular) structures, spectroscopic properties, and electronic structures of copper(II)-nitrito complexes as a function of second coordination sphere effects using a set of closely related coligands. With anionic hydrotris(pyrazolyl)borate ligands, one nitrite is bound to copper(II). Depending on the steric demand of the coligand, the coordination mode is either symmetric or asymmetric bidentate, which leads to different ground states of the resulting complexes as evident from EPR spectroscopy. The vibrational spectra of these compounds are assigned using isotope substitution and DFT calculations. The results demonstrate that nu sym(N-O) occurs at higher energy than nu asym(N-O), which is different from the literature assignments for related compounds. UV-vis absorption and MCD spectra are presented and analyzed with the help of TD-DFT calculations. The principal binding modes of nitrite to Cu(II) and Cu(I) are also investigated applying DFT. Using a neutral tris(pyrazolyl)methane ligand, two nitrite ligands are bound to copper. In this case, a very unusual binding mode is observed where one nitrite is eta1-O and the other one is eta1-N bound. This allows to study the properties of coordinated nitrite as a function of binding mode in one complex. The N-coordination mode is easily identified from vibrational spectroscopy, where N-bound nitrite shows a large shift of nu asym(N-O) to >1400 cm-1, which is a unique spectroscopic feature. The optical spectra of this compound exhibit an intense band around 300 nm, which might be attributable to a nitrite to Cu(II) CT transition. Finally, using a bidentate neutral bis(pyrazolyl)methane ligand, two eta1-O coordinated nitrite ligands are observed. The vibrational and optical (UV-vis and MCD) spectra of this compound are presented and analyzed.     

Dependence of electron transfer among alpha cages on the chemical compositions of zeolite LTAs including K clusters

K atoms are loaded in diluted amount into K-form LTA zeolites whose framework compositions are Al(x)Si(24-x)O(48) (6相似文献   

An ab initio study of tunneling splittings in the water dimer

Tunneling splittings in the water dimer have been determined by the semiclassical WKB method, based on pathways characterized at the computational level of second-order M?ller-Plesset (MP2) theory with basis sets of aug-cc-pVTZ quality. This calculation takes into account all three acceptor tunneling, donor-acceptor interchange, and bifurcation tunneling rearrangements of the water dimer. The tunneling splittings were evaluated as 7.73 cm(-1) (large splitting) and 0.42 cm(-1) (small splitting), which are in good agreement with the corresponding experimental values of 11.18 cm(-1) and 0.70 cm(-1), respectively.     

Asymmetric desymmetrization based on an intramolecular haloetherification: a highly effective and recyclable chiral nonracemic auxiliary, 2-exo-methyl-3-endo-phenyl-5-norbornene-2-carboxaldehyde, for meso-1,3- and meso-1,4-diols

A new chiral auxiliary, a 3-endo-phenyl norbornene aldehyde derivative, which is a crystalline, very stable, and easily handled, was developed for the desymmetrization of meso-1,3- and meso-1,4-diols. The key step of the method, an intramolecular bromoetherification, proceeded in a highly diastereoselective manner. A four-step sequence, 1) acetalization, 2) intramolecular bromoetherification followed by acid hydrolysis, 3) protection of the alcohol, and 4) retrobromoetherification, transformed the meso-diols into optically active derivatives. The 3-endo-phenyl norbornene aldehyde derivative was simultaneously reformed and could be used repeatedly. This is the first chemical example of a single auxiliary that is applicable for highly enantioselective desymmetrization of meso-1,3- and meso-1,4-diols; to the best of our knowledge, this is the best chemical method available for the desymmetrization of meso-1,4-diols.     

Reversible micelle-vesicle conversion of oleyldimethylamine oxide by pH changes

A preliminary study on the reversible micelle-vesicle conversion of oleyldimethylamine oxide [Kawasaki, H. et al. J. Phys. Chem. B. 2002, 106, 1524 ] is extended in the present study. In the presence of 0.01 M NaCl at a surfactant concentration of 0.05 M, a micelle-to-vesicle conversion with increasing degree of ionization alpha takes place in the following sequence: growth of fibrous micelle (alpha < 0.2), a fused network (alpha approximately 0.3), fibrous micelles + (perforated) vesicles (alpha = 0.4), and vesicles + lamellae (alpha = 0.5). Viscoelasticity correspondingly varies from the Maxwell-type behavior of the entangled network of fibrous micelles to the gel-like behavior of vesicle suspensions, via a fluid solution-like behavior of the fused network. This phase sequence is in contrast with the case of no added salt where no branching of micelles is observed, and long micelles and bilayers (vesicles + lamellae) coexist at alpha = 0.5. In water, a state of the lowest viscoelasticity occurs around alpha = 0.2 for both surfactant concentrations 0.05 and 0.15 M. Synergism between protonated and nonprotonated amine oxide headgroups is observed despite low ionic strengths. From the time course of the reversible micelle-vesicle conversion, vesicles seem to be formed from threadlike micelles within 25 h according to the shear moduli, while a longer conversion time is suggested by a flow property (viscosity). Shear thickening behavior is observed at alpha = 0.2 and 0.4 in 0.01 M NaCl but not in water.     

Ozagrel hydrochloride monohydrate, a thromboxane synthase inhibitor, and its metabolites as inhibitors of hepatic microsomal drug metabolism

The change in the hepatic oxidative drug-metabolizing capacity in humans treated with ozagrel hydrochloride monohydrate (OZA), an imidazole derivative and a new thromboxane A2 synthase inhibitor, was studied and the inhibitory potencies of the metabolites of OZA (M-1 and M-2) on the mouse hepatic microsomal monooxygenase system in vitro were compared with that of OZA. In vitro, M-1 and M-2, which are the beta-oxidized form and the reduced form of OZA, respectively, inhibited aminopyrine N-demethylation, aniline hydroxylation and testosterone hydroxylations in mouse hepatic microsomes and produced type II difference spectra in the same manner as OZA. The kinetic data indicated that the inhibitory potencies and the affinities of these compounds for cytochrome P-450 were decreased in the order of M-2 greater than OZA greater than M-1. The ratio of 6 beta-hydroxycortisol (6 beta-OHF) to cortisol (F) in urine, used as an indicator of oxidative drug-metabolizing capacity in humans, did not change significantly during oral treatment with 400 mg/d of OZA, while the ratio decreased to 80-85% of the original level during treatment with 800 mg/d of OZA. Although the participation of the metabolites of OZA in the reduction of drug-metabolizing capacity in vivo is not yet clear, the results suggest that hepatic oxidative drug-metabolizing enzyme activities in humans are inhibited by treatment with a relatively high dose of OZA.