Surface treatments toward obtaining clean GaN(0 0 0 1) from commercial hydride vapor phase epitaxy and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition substrates in ultrahigh vacuum

We studied processes of cleaning GaN(0 0 0 1) surfaces on four different types of wafers: two types were hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) free-standing substrates and two types were metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) films grown on these HVPE substrates and prepared by annealing and/or Ar ion sputtering in ultra high vacuum. We observed the surfaces through treatments using in situ low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and Auger electron spectroscopy, and also using ex situ temperature programmed desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and secondary ion mass spectrometry. For HVPE samples, we obtained relatively clean surfaces under optimized three-step annealing conditions (200 °C for 12 h + 400 °C for 1 h + 500 °C for 5 min) without sputtering, after which the surface contamination of oxide and carbide was reduced to ∼20% of that before annealing. Clear GaN(0 0 0 1)1×1 patterns were obtained by LEED and RHEED. STM images showed flat terraces of ∼10 nm size and steps of ∼0.5 nm height. Upon annealing the HVPE-GaN samples at a much higher temperature (C), three-dimensional (3D) islands with facets were formed and the surface stoichiometry was broken down with the desorption of nitrogen in the form of ammonia, since the samples include hydrogen as an impurity. Ar⁺ sputtering was effective for removing surface contamination, however, postannealing could not recover the surface roughness but promoted the formation of 3D islands on the surface. For MOCVD/HVPE homoepitaxial samples, the surfaces are terminated by hydrogen and the as-introduced samples showed a clear 1×1 structure. Upon annealing at 500-600 °C, the surface hydrogen was removed and a 3×3 reconstruction structure partially appeared, although a 1×1 structure was dominant. We summarize the structure differences among the samples under the same treatment and clarify the effect of crystal quality, such as dislocations, the concentration of hydrogen impurities, and the residual reactant molecules in GaN films, on the surface structure.     

Microflow reactor synthesis of palladium nanoparticles stabilized with poly(benzyl ether) dendron ligands

A simple glass capillary microflow reactor system has been applied for the synthesis of palladium nanoparticles by thermal decomposition of palladium acetate (Pd(OAc)₂) in diphenyl ether in the presence of poly(benzyl ether) dendron ligands (PBED Gn-NH₂, n = 1–3) as a stabilizer. Effect of hydrodynamic parameters (capillary diameter, linear flow rate, volume flow rate, and reaction temperature) and concentrations (precursor and stabilizer) on the particle size was investigated. The particle size can be controlled by varying linear flow rate and temperature as well as ligand/precursor concentration ratio. Volume flow rate does not affect the particle size when the linear flow rate is held constant for different capillary diameters (150–320 μm). Unlike batch systems, in this microreactor system, smaller particles are produced at low ligand concentrations when the molar ratio of the ligand to metal precursor ranged from 1 to 5. As another characteristic of the microreactor synthesis, the concentration of the Pd precursor can be increased (up to 27 mM) with maintaining a constant particle size (3.1 ± 0.2 nm) and a good monodispersity, while in the batch system a significant increase and broadening in the particle size are observed with increasing precursor concentration.     

Three-dimensional potential energy surface of the Ar-OH(2Pi i) complex

Pure rotational transitions in the ground state for Ar-OH and Ar-OD [Y. Ohshima et al., J. Chem. Phys. 95, 7001 (1991) and Y. Endo et al., Faraday Discuss. 97, 341 (1994)], those in the excited states of the OH vibration, nu(s)=1 and 2, observed by Fourier-transform microwave spectroscopy in the present study, rotation-vibration transitions observed by infrared-ultraviolet double-resonance spectroscopy [K. M. Beck et al., Chem. Phys. Lett. 162, 203 (1989) and R. T. Bonn et al., J. Chem. Phys. 112, 4942 (2000)], and the P-level structure observed by stimulated emission pumping spectroscopy [M. T. Berry et al., Chem. Phys. Lett. 178, 301 (1991)] have been simultaneously analyzed to determine the potential energy surface of Ar-OH in the ground state. A Schrodinger equation, considering all the freedom of motions for an atom-diatom system in the Jacobi coordinate, R, theta, and r, was numerically solved to obtain energies of the rovibrational energy levels using the discrete variable representation method. A three-dimensional potential energy surface is determined by a least-squares fitting. In the analysis the potential parameters, obtained by ab initio calculations at the RCCSD(T) level of theory with a set of basis functions of aug-cc-pVTZ and midbond functions, are used as initial values. The determined intermolecular potential energy surface and its dependence on the OH monomer bond length are compared with those of an isovalent radical complex, Ar-SH.     

Ion transport in mesoporous silica SBA-16 thin films with 3D cubic structures

Mesoporous silica SBA-16 thin films with highly ordered 3D cubic structures were synthesized on a Si substrate via the dip-coating method. After these films were filled with KCl aqueous solutions, the ionic current passing through the mesopores was measured by applying dc electric fields. At low ion concentrations, the measured I-V curves were nonlinear and the current increased exponentially with respect to voltage. As the ion concentration increased, the I-V curve approached linear behavior. The nonlinear behavior of I-V curves can be reasonably attributed to the electric potential barrier created in nanopores.     

Crystal structures and photoreactivity of trans- and cis-valerophenone diperoxides

Abstract  

The crystal structures of valerophenone diperoxides trans-1 and cis-1 were elucidated by X-ray crystallographic analysis. The 1,2,4,5-tetraoxane rings of both compounds adopt chair conformations. Intermolecular CH···O hydrogen bond, π–π, and CH/π interactions exist in cis-1, whereas only CH/π interactions exist in trans-1. In the asymmetric unit of the crystal, a half molecule exists for trans-1, while one molecule for cis-1 which shows whole-molecule disorder. Solid-state photolysis (at 254 nm) or solution-state thermolysis (at 150 °C) of trans-1 and cis-1 produced valerophenone (2) and butyl benzoate (3). Rationalization of the solid-state photoreactivity of the diperoxides by their crystal structures was attempted.     

p-Phenylenediamine Epoxy Resin Film for Redox Enzyme Detection

Summary: Phenylenediamine derivatives (PDs) are environmentally hazardous, though very useful for chemical analysis. To minimize release into the environment, a PD-containing epoxy resin film was developed that retained redox enzyme activity. p-Phenylenediamine and 2,2-bis(4-glycidyloxyphenyl)-propane were cured to produce a violet film. This film was reactive against peroxidase, a redox enzyme that oxidizes phenylenediamine to afford an imine. Enzymatic oxidation caused the film to change color from violet to deep green. The film exhibited fluorescence at 394 nm under excitation at 350 nm, and the fluorescent intensity decreased with greater oxidation. Thus, the film could be used to detect redox enzyme activity.     

Reliable enzyme immunoassay detection for chlorothalonil: fundamental evaluation for residue analysis and validation with gas chromatography

This work describes the analytical performance of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the fungicide chlorothalonil to effectively exploit as a simple and rapid detection system for pesticide residue on the scenes of the agricultural production and distribution. This ELISA represents the satisfactory analytical characteristics (I50 value, 0.34 ng/g; limit of detection, 0.052 ng/g) to detect chlorothalonil at the regulatory values or thereabout in a sample. Noticeable cross-reactivities were shown with two fungicides, fthalide (58.8%) and pentachloronitrobenzene (quintozene) (20.0%), and some non-agrochemicals such as tetrachloroterephthalonitrile (96.8%) and tetrachlorophthalonitrile (68.3%). The influence of three organic solvents (methanol, acetone, and acetonitrile) used as extractants for chlorothalonil residue was evaluated, with the result that methanol was the most suitable solvent for the ELISA, and the final concentration in the well could be up to 5% (v/v) without any negative influence on the ELISA. It has been possible to directly analyze chlorothalonil residue only by giving dilution of each sample extract with water prior to the ELISA analysis. The average recovery values from the spiked samples by the ELISA were between 101.7 and 113.6% with the average coefficients of variation between 2.6 and 5.9%. Although the results obtained from the ELISA correlated well with those from the reference GC/MS methods for all agricultural samples (r>0.98), the linear function inclined to the ELISA results because of loss during complex sample preparations for GC/MS analysis. Nevertheless, the results demonstrated that the proposed ELISA is a reliable, cost-effective, and rapid quantitative method for chlorothalonil residue.     

Synthesis and characterization of polyphenylenes with polypeptide and poly(ethylene glycol) side chains

We report a novel approach for fabrication of multifunctional conjugated polymers, namely poly(p‐phenylene)s (PPPs) possessing polypeptide (poly‐l ‐lysine, PLL) and hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) side chains. The approach is comprised of the combination of Suzuki coupling and in situ N‐carboxyanhydride (NCA) ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) processes. First, polypeptide macromonomer was prepared by ROP of the corresponding NCA precursor using (2,5‐dibromophenyl)methanamine as an initiator. Suzuki coupling reaction of the obtained polypeptide and PEG macromonomers both having dibromobenzene end functionality using 1,4‐benzenediboronic acid as the coupling partner in the presence of palladium catalyst gave the desired polymer. A different sequence of the same procedure was also employed to yield polymer with essentially identical structure. In the reverse sequence mode, low molar mass monomer (2,5‐dibromophenyl)methanamine, and PEG macromonomer were coupled with 1,4‐benzenediboronic acid in a similar way followed by ROP of the L‐Lysine NCA precursor through the primary amino groups of the resulting polyphenylene. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 1785–1793