Proton shock acceleration in laser-plasma interactions

The formation of strong, high Mach number (2-3), electrostatic shocks by laser pulses incident on overdense plasma slabs is observed in one- and two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, for a wide range of intensities, pulse durations, target thicknesses, and densities. The shocks propagate undisturbed across the plasma, accelerating the ions (protons). For a dimensionless field strength parameter a(0)=16 (Ilambda(2) approximately 3 x 10(20) W cm(-2) microm(2), where I is the intensity and lambda the wavelength), and target thicknesses of a few microns, the shock is responsible for the highest energy protons. A plateau in the ion spectrum provides a direct signature for shock acceleration.     

Near-GeV-energy laser-wakefield acceleration of self-injected electrons in a centimeter-scale plasma channel

The first three-dimensional, particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of laser-wakefield acceleration of self-injected electrons in a 0.84 cm long plasma channel are reported. The frequency evolution of the initially 50 fs (FWHM) long laser pulse by photon interaction with the wake followed by plasma dispersion enhances the wake which eventually leads to self-injection of electrons from the channel wall. This first bunch of electrons remains spatially highly localized. Its phase space rotation due to slippage with respect to the wake leads to a monoenergetic bunch of electrons with a central energy of 0.26 GeV after 0.55 cm propagation. At later times, spatial bunching of the laser enhances the acceleration of a second bunch of electrons to energies up to 0.84 GeV before the laser pulse intensity is significantly reduced.     

PHOTOCATALYTIC ACTIVITY OF TiO2 NANOPARTICLE FLUID PREPARED BY COMBINED ASNSS

1. Inroduction Since TiO2 nanoparticles possess such characteristics as strong reduction and oxidation capabilities, high chemical stability, harmlessness to the environment, and low cost of production, it has been used as a new type of photocatalyst as well as anti-bacterium and anti-fungus agent, air and water purifier, and photosynthesis material (Jang et al., 2001). According to the principle based on gas condensation, the present study describes a combined vacuum Arc-Submerged Nanoparti…     

Manganese‐Catalyzed Cross‐Coupling of Thiols with Aryl Iodides

A manganese‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reaction of thiols with aryl iodides, furnishing aryl thioethers in good to excellent yields has been reported; the system shows good functional group tolerance and enables the sterically demanding aryl iodides to couple with thiols.     

A Vlasov–Fokker–Planck code for high energy density physics

OSHUN is a parallel relativistic 2D3P Vlasov–Fokker–Planck code, developed primarily to study electron transport and instabilities pertaining to laser-produced—including laser-fusion—plasmas. It incorporates a spherical harmonic expansion of the electron distribution function, where the number of terms is an input parameter that determines the angular resolution in momentum-space. The algorithm employs the full 3D electromagnetic fields and a rigorous linearized Fokker–Planck collision operator. The numerical scheme conserves energy and number density. This enables simulations for plasmas with temperatures from MeV down to a few eV and densities from less than critical to more than solid. Kinetic phenomena as well as electron transport physics can be recovered accurately and efficiently.     

New D‐A‐A’‐Configured Small Molecule Donors Employing Conjugation to Red‐shift the Absorption for Photovoltaics

Four new donor‐acceptor‐acceptor’ (D‐A‐A’)‐configured donors, CPNT , DCPNT , CPNBT , and DCPNBT equipped with naphtho[1,2‐c:5,6‐c′]bis([1,2,5]‐thiadiazole) (NT) or naphtho[2,3‐c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (NBT) as the central acceptor (A) unit bridging triarylamine donor (D) and cyano or dicyanovinylene acceptor (A’), were synthesized and characterized. All molecules exhibit bathochromic absorption shifts as compared to those of the benzothiadiazole (BT)‐based analogues owing to improved electron‐withdrawing and quinoidal character of NT and NBT cores that lead to stronger intramolecular charge transfer. Favorable energy level alignments with C₇₀, together with the good thermal stability and the antiparallel dimeric packing render CPNT and DCPNT suitable donors for vacuum‐processed organic photovoltaics (OPV)s. OPVs based on DCPNT : C₇₀ active layers displayed the best power conversion efficiency (PCE)=8.3%, along with an open circuit voltage of 0.92 V, a short circuit current of 14.5 mA cm^?2 and a fill factor of 62% under 1 sun intensity, simulated AM1.5G illumination. Importantly, continuous light‐soaking with AM 1.5G illumination has verified the durability of the devices based on CPNT :C₇₀ and DCPNT : C₇₀ as the active blends. The devices were examined for their feasibility of indoor light harvesting under 500 lux illumination by a TLD‐840 fluorescent lamp, giving PCE=12.8% and 12.6%, respectively. These results indicate that the NT‐based D‐A‐A’‐type donors CPNT and DCPNT are potential candidates for high‐stability vacuum‐processed OPVs suitable for indoor energy harvesting.     

Rotaxanes Synthesized Through Sodium‐Ion‐Templated Clipping of Macrocycles Around Nonconjugated Amide and Urea Functionalities

A single urea or amide functionality in a dumbbell‐shaped guest can be “clipped” by a macrocycle generated from a diamine and a dialdehyde through the templating effect of a Na⁺ ion (see scheme). The resulting imine‐containing rotaxanes can then be reduced to allow isolation of stable amine‐based rotaxanes.     

The Solitary Isomer of C60H18 Is Proven to Have a C3v Crown Shape: Crystal Structure Determination and Synthesis of Its Triruthenium Cluster Complex

Analytically pure C₆₀H₁₈ is obtained by a Ru₃ cluster complexation and decomplexation method. The crystal structure of C₆₀H₁₈ consists of one flattened hemisphere, to which all 18 hydrogen atoms are symmetrically bonded, and one curved hemisphere akin to C₆₀. A benzenoid ring in the flattened hemisphere is isolated from the residual π systems by a belt composed of sp³‐hybridized CH units. The average out‐of‐plane distances for carbon atoms attached to the benzenoid ring (0.14 Å) is substantially larger than that found in C₆₀F₁₈ (0.06 Å). Several long C(sp³)?C(sp³) single bond lengths [1.61(3)–1.65(3) Å] are observed for C₆₀H₁₈. The reaction of [Ru₃(CO)₁₂] and C₆₀H₁₈ produces [Ru₃(CO)₉(μ₃‐η²,η²,η²‐C₆₀H₁₈)] ( 1 ), where the Ru₃ triangle is regiospecifically linked to the hexagon opposite to the benzenoid ring. Compound 1 is the first transition metal complex of a polyhydrofullerene (fullerane). C₆₀H₁₈ and 1 have been characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR, UV/Vis, and mass spectroscopies. The HOMO–LUMO gap of C₆₀H₁₈ is evaluated to be 1.51 V by cyclic voltammetry.