Bundling influence on ultrafast optical nonlinearities of single-walled carbon nanotubes in suspension and composite film

Nonlinear optical characteristics of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) dispersed in dichlorobenzene and imbedded in polymer were investigated at 800 nm using the time-resolved optical Kerr gate technique. For systematic study of the influence of SWCNT bundling on optical nonlinearities, SWCNT solutions with different concentrations and a series of SWCNT/polymer composites deposited on glass substrates with different concentrations and thicknesses were prepared. The nonlinear response was comparable to the pulse duration of the laser used (～90 fs) both in SWCNT solutions and SWCNT/polymer composites. Over three orders of magnitude enhancement was observed in the third-order nonlinear susceptibility of SWCNT/polymer composite film compared with that of SWCNT solution. An appreciable reduction of microscopic and macroscopic nonlinearities was observed with increasing SWCNT concentrations due to stronger bundling of SWCNTs.     

Fabrication of nano-crystalline silicon thin film at low temperature by using a neutral beam deposition method

Low temperature (<80 °C) neutral beam deposition (LTNBD) was investigated as a new approach to the fabrication and development of nano-crystalline silicon (nc-Si), which has better properties than that of amorphous silicon (α-Si). The difference between LTNBD and conventional PECVD is that the film formation energy of the nc-Si in LTNBD is supplied by controlled neutral beam energies at a low temperature rather than by heating. Especially, in this study, the characteristics of the nc-Si thin film were investigated by adding 10% of an inert gas such as Ne, Ar or Xe to SiH₄/H₂. Increasing the beam energy resulted in an increase in the deposition rate, but the crystallinity was decreased, due to the increased damage to the substrate. However, the addition of a higher mass inert gas to the gas mixture at a fixed beam energy resulted not only in a higher deposition rate but also in a higher crystallization volume fraction. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy image showed that the grown film is composed of about 10 nm-size grains.     

Self-assembled, pH-sensitive retinoate nanostructures ionically complexed with PEG-grafted cationic polyelectrolytes

All-trans-retinoic acids (ATRA) are ionically complexed with cationic polyelectrolytes containing tertiary amines and self-assembled into nanoscale colloidal structures. Poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) grafted with polyethylene glycol, poly(DMAEMA-g-PEG), is used as a double hydrophilic, cationic polyelectrolyte. The polyion/ATRA complexes are formed by adding ATRA in dimethyl sulfoxide into aqueous solution of poly(DMAEMA-g-PEG). This complexation effectively suppresses the formation of undesirable drug crystallites and produces stable colloidal nanostructures having a hydrodynamic diameter of about 15?nm at a neutral pH. However, as the pH decreases below about 6, they undergo dramatic structural change into large aggregates of about 250?nm in diameter presumably due to the dissociation of ATRA from the polyelectrolyte. We expect that this pH-sensitive response of the polyion/ATRA complexes is useful for intracellular translocation at a neutral pH followed by the endosomal escape of ATRA in an acidic condition.     

Metal-insulator transition in Au atomic chains on Si with two proximal bands

One-dimensional atomic chains on Au/Si(557) feature two proximal 1D bands near the Fermi level, which were controversially attributed as a spinon-holon pair of a Luttinger liquid. Angle-resolved photoemission shows that only one band is metallic with the neighboring one gapped at room temperature. Furthermore, even the metallic branch is found to undergo a metal-insulator transition upon cooling, which follows a mean-field-type behavior. Scanning tunneling microscopy observes two apparently unequivocal chains on the surface, one of which exhibits periodicity doubling accompanying the metal-insulator transition. The surface 1D structure is thus concluded to be insulating at low temperature with a Peierls-type instability.     

Spontaneous N incorporation onto a Si(100) surface

Initial nitridation of the Si(100) surface is investigated using photoemission, ion-scattering and ab initio calculations. After dissociation of NO or NH3, nitrogen atoms are found to spontaneously form a stable, highly coordinated N[triple bond]Si(3) species even at room temperature. The majority of the N species is incorporated into the subsurface Si layers occupying an interstitial site, whose atomic structure and unique bonding mechanism is clarified through ab initio calculations. This unusual adsorption behavior elucidates the atomistic mechanism of initial silicon nitride formation on the surface and has important implication on the N-rich layer formation at the SiO(x)N(y)/Si interface.     

Liquid chromatographic assay of carbovir, a carbocyclic nucleoside active against human immunodeficiency virus

Carbovir is a novel carbocyclic guanosine derivative that has potent in vitro activity against human immunodeficiency virus, the causative agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Two methods of sample preparation were developed for the analysis of carbovir in rat blood. Solid-phase extraction on C18 extraction columns proved to be the most effective. Whole rat blood (200 microliters) was diluted with 0.8 ml of distilled water containing the internal standard. After two freeze-thaw cycles to lyse the red blood cells and subsequent centrifugation at 13,000 g, the supernatant was loaded on the C18 extraction columns. Carbovir and the internal standard were eluted with methanol-water (60:40). The extract was evaporated and reconstituted in mobile phase and the samples were injected onto a high-capacity reversed-phase column. The compounds were detected at 252 nm. Other nucleosides that could be used in the treatment of AIDS such as zidovudine and acyclovir did not interfere. Standard curves were linear over the concentration range 0.156-28.0 micrograms/ml (r2 greater than 0.99). The within-day coefficient of variation was less than 7.6% at all concentrations (n = 4). The between-day coefficient of variation ranged from 16.7 to 2.0% (n = 14). The limit of sensitivity was 0.05 micrograms/ml with a 200-microliters blood sample and the average extraction recovery was 74%. Carbovir was stable in rat blood for at least 4 h at 37 degrees C. The assay was used to determine the blood levels of carbovir in a rat after a 20 mg/kg intravenous dose.     

Structure and thermodynamics of associating rods solutions

Physical gelation in rod-like associating polymer solutions is analyzed by computer simulations and by mean field models. The structural gelation (SG) transition is determined by a rapid change in the cluster weight average. The analytically determined SG transition is in good agreement with the simulation results. At low temperatures we observe a peak in the heat capacity, which maximum is associated with phase segregation. The SG transition is sensitive to the number of associating groups per rod but nearly insensitive to the spatial distribution of associating groups around the rods. Phase segregation is strongly dependent on both the number and distribution of associating groups per rod. We find negligible overall nematic order near the SG transition and only partial local nematic order of the clusters at the phase segregation transitions.Received: 23 May 2003, Published online: 5 February 2004PACS: 61.30.Cz Molecular and microscopic models and theories of liquid crystal structure - 64.70.Md Transitions in liquid crystals     

Mechanism of gap opening in a triple-band Peierls system: in atomic wires on Si

One dimensional (1D) metals are unstable at low temperature undergoing a metal-insulator transition coupled with a periodic lattice distortion, a Peierls transition. Angle-resolved photoemission study for the 1D metallic chains of In on Si(111), featuring a metal-insulator transition and triple metallic bands, clarifies in detail how the multiple band gaps are formed at low temperature. In addition to the gap opening for a half-filled ideal 1D band with a proper Fermi surface nesting, two other quasi-1D metallic bands are found to merge into a single band, opening a unique but k-dependent energy gap through an interband charge transfer. This result introduces a novel gap-opening mechanism for a multiband Peierls system where the interband interaction is important.     

Au(I)-catalyzed tandem [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement-cycloisomerization cascade as a route to spirocyclic furans

Gold-catalyzed reaction of 1-(3-hydroxypropynyl)cycloalkanol derivatives was studied. The reaction profile was highly dependent on the ring size, migrating group, as well as reaction conditions. An efficient route to spirocyclic furans via tandem [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement-cycloisomerization is reported.