AlGaAs capping effect on InAs quantum dots self-assembled on GaAs

The effects of AlGaAs capping on InAs quantum dots self-assembled on GaAs are investigated. It is observed that, the photoluminescence intensity becomes stronger up to twice when Al is incorporated into the cap layer. In the mean time, the full width at half maximum of the photoluminescence spectrum becomes narrower, the peak splitting between the ground and first excited exciton levels becomes wider, and the photoluminescence peak wavelength becomes longer. With considerations of the increased barrier height and the changed microstructures of the quantum dots induced by AlGaAs capping, the mechanisms of the observed improvements are discussed.     

Radiochemical study of fast fission mechanism

The reaction of²³⁸U with¹²C was studied radiochemically with the purpose of elucidating fast fission characteristics. Fast fission component was extracted in far-asymmetric mass region and interpreted as the mass diffusion following the Fokker-Planck equation. Anomalous charge dispersion widths in the corresponding mass region and a sudden increase of the whole mass distribution width at the critical energy were also observed to support the above interpretation. The reaction time of fast fission was determined to be 5·10⁻²¹ s from the width and position of the mass distribution.     

Synthesis of β-hydroxyphosphonates by iron-catalyzed oxidative addition of phosphonyl radicals to alkenes

Phosphorohydrazidates have been shown to work as radical precursors by iron-catalyzed aerobic oxidation to generate corresponding phosphonyl radicals. Generated radicals cause intermolecular addition to various alkenes in the presence of molecular oxygen to give β-hydroxyphosphonate compounds in good yield.     

Chain‐growth condensation polymerization of 4‐aminobenzoic acid esters bearing tri(ethylene glycol) side chain with lithium amide base

Chain‐growth condensation polymerization of p‐aminobenzoic acid esters 1 bearing a tri(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether side chain on the nitrogen atom was investigated by using lithium 1,1,1,3,3,3‐hexamethyldisilazide (LiHMDS) as a base. The methyl ester monomer 1a afforded polymer with low molecular weight and a broad molecular weight distribution, whereas the polymerization of the phenyl ester monomer 1b at ?20 °C yielded polymer with controlled molecular weight (M_n = 2800–13,400) and low polydispersity (M_w/M_n = 1.10–1.15). Block copolymerization of 1b and 4‐(octylamino)benzoic acid methyl ester ( 2 ) was further investigated. We found that block copolymer of poly 1b and poly 2 with defined molecular weight and low polydispersity was obtained when the polymerization of 1b was initiated with equimolar LiHMDS at ?20 °C and continued at ?50 °C, followed by addition of 2 and equimolar LiHMDS at ?10 °C. Spherical aggregates were formed when a solution of poly 1b in THF was dropped on a glass plate and dried at room temperature, although the block copolymer of poly 1b and poly 2 did not afford similar aggregates under the same conditions. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 1357–1363, 2010     

Polycatenar mesogens with a perfluorinated moiety showing a variety of liquid crystalline polymorphism

Polycatenar materials composed of a four-aromatic-ring core, with either a bulky or end-branched perfluorinated moiety attached at one end through a methylene spacer group, and three peripheral alkoxy chains of varying length (the carbon number n = 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16) on the other end-ring, were synthesized to investigate the roles of the chemical structure of the compositional segments in relation to liquid crystalline phase formation. It was found that a homologous series of polycatenar materials exhibited a variety of liquid crystalline phases strongly dependent on the length of the peripheral alkyl chains. Moreover it was shown that changes in the spacer group and in the structure of the perfluorinated segment had a significant influence on mesophase formation.     

Dependence of photoluminescence of CdSe/ZnS on excitation wavelength

We have found that the photoluminescence (PL) intensity of CdSe/ZnS nanocrystals placed on a thin film of insulator (GaAsOx/GaAs) depends on excitation wavelength through the interference effects of the excitation light. By employing the multi-reflection/interference calculation, the insulator thickness of the underlying non-uniform patterns can be evaluated by the simple observation of CdSe/ZnS PL with a couple of excitation wavelengths. Moreover, the differences observed for the temporal evolution of CdSe/ZnS PL (blue shifts and degradation) among the excitation wavelengths suggest that the photo-induced changes of chemical composition and surface ligands are responsible for blue shifts and degradation, respectively.     

The effect of UV irradiation on the reduction of Au(III) ions adsorbed on manganese dioxide.

The effect of UV (ultraviolet) irradiation on the adsorption of Au(III) ions on manganese dioxide and their reduction to Au(0) (gold with 0 valence state) was investigated using XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and 197Au M?ssbauer spectroscopy. The UV irradiation accelerated the adsorption and the reduction. From the fact that the proportion of Au(0) estimated from Au 4f XPS spectra for surface analysis was significantly smaller than that from 197Au M?ssbauer spectra for bulk analysis, we deduced that Au(0) was interpenetrated to the inside of manganese dioxide (into deeper places than about 30 A) where XPS is impossible to detect. The content of surface hydroxyl groups on manganese dioxide also increased due to the UV irradiation. The relationship between the charge in the content of hydroxyl groups and the interpenetration of Au(0) is discussed.