Oxysulfide Sm(2)Ti(2)S(2)O(5) as a stable photocatalyst for water oxidation and reduction under visible light irradiation (lambda < or = 650 nm)

A Ti-based oxysulfide, Sm(2)Ti(2)S(2)O(5), was studied as a visible light-driven photocatalyst. Under visible light (440 nm < or = lambda < or = 650 nm) irradiation, Sm(2)Ti(2)S(2)O(5) with a band gap of approximately 2 eV evolved H(2) or O(2) from aqueous solutions containing a sacrificial electron donor (Na(2)S-Na(2)SO(3) or methanol) or acceptor (Ag(+)) without any noticeable degradation. This oxysulfide is, therefore, a stable photocatalyst with strong reduction and oxidation abilities under visible-light irradiation. The electronic band structure of Sm(2)Ti(2)S(2)O(5) was calculated using the plane-wave-based density functional theory (DFT) program. It was elucidated that the S3p orbitals constitute the upper part of the valence band and these orbitals make an essential contribution to the small band gap energy. The conduction and valence bands' positions of Sm(2)Ti(2)S(2)O(5) were also determined by electrochemical measurements. It indicated that conduction and valence bands were found to have satisfactory potentials for the reduction of H(+) to H(2) and the oxidation of H(2)O to O(2) at pH = 8. This is consistent with the results of the photocatalytic reactions.     

Oligothiophene-containing coumarin dyes for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

We have developed oligothiophene-containing coumarin dyes fully functionalized for dye-sensitized nanocrystalline TiO(2) solar cells (DSSCs). DSSCs based on the dyes gave good performance in terms of incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) in the range of 400-800 nm. A solar energy-to-electricity conversion efficiency (eta) of 7.4% was obtained with a DSSC based on 2-cyano-3-[5'-(1,1,6,6-tetramethyl-10-oxo-2,3,5,6-tetrahydro-1H,4H,10H-11-oxa-3a-aza-benzo[de]anthracen-9-yl)-[2,2']bithiophenyl-5-yl]acrylic acid (NKX-2677) under simulated AM 1.5G irradiation (100 mW cm(-2)) with a mask: short-circuit current density (J(sc)) = 13.5 mA cm(-2); open-circuit voltage (V(oc)) = 0.71 V; fill factor (FF) = 0.77. Transient absorption spectroscopy measurements indicated that electron injection from NKX-2677 to the conduction band of TiO(2) is very rapid (<100 fs), which is much faster than the emission lifetime of the dye (1.0 ns), giving a highly efficient electron injection yield of near unity.     

DNA cleavage reaction of antitumour antibiotic, kapurimycin A3, with deoxytetranucleotide d(CGCG)2

Kapurimycin A3 (kap A3, 1 ), an antitumour antibiotic, alkylates N7 of guanine₂ (G₂) and G₄ of d(C₁G₂C₃G₄)₂ to produce their covalent adducts 2 (64 %) and 3 (7.0 %), respectively. Heating at 90 °C for 5 min degraded both adducts to kap A3 - G adduct (5) with the concurrent release of their respective abasic-site containing oligomers 4 and 6.     

The structure of the core of a numerical contraction

A bounded linear operatorT is a numerical contraction if and only if there exists a selfadjoint contractionZ such that . The aim of the present paper is to study the structure of the coreZ(T) of all selfadjoint contractions satisfying the above inequality. Especially we consider several conditions for thatZ(T) is a single-point set. By using this argument we shall characterize extreme points of the set of all numerical contractions. Moreover we shall give effective sufficient conditions for extreme points.     

When all trajectories in the Liénard plane cross the vertical isocline?

In this paper we study the problem whether all trajectories of the system =y–F(x) and =–g(x) cross the vertical isocline which is very important for the existence of periodic solutions and oscillation theory. The problem has not been solved for the critical case:

The EPR dipolar broadening of irradiated solids as detected using FID and ESE following selective hole burning

A novel electron spin echo method employing detection of FID and transient echo shape following selective hole burning in the EPR spectrum has been applied to study γ-irradiated malonic acid. The dipolar lineshapes of stabilized free radicals are separated into bulk and pairwise contributions; both of them have proved to be Lorentzian.     

Organic synthesis by means of noble metal complexes—XCIV : Palladium catalyzed hydrosilylation of monoenes and conjugated dienes

Palladium compounds and metallic palladium combined with phosphine are active catalysts of selective hydrosilylation of terminal olefins. Butadiene and trichlorosilane give a 1:1 adduct and trimethylsilane affords a 1:2 adduct. Special features of the palladium catalyzed hydrosilylation reactions are presented.     

A Novel Production of γ-Butyrolactone Catalyzed by Homogeneous Ruthenium Complexes

γ-Butyrolactone (hereafter abbreviated GBL) is produced by the two-stage hydrogenation of maleic anhydride(MAH) in the liquid phase: the hydrogenation of MAH to succinic anhydride(SAH) in the first stage and the subsequent hydrogenation of SAH to GBL in the second stage. A novel ruthenium catalyst system consisting of Ru salts, trialkylphosphine and p-toluene sulfonic acid (p-TsOH) was found very effective for the hydrogenation of SAH affording GBL, which exhibited excellent catalyst performance, exceeding 97% selectivity for GBL and high activity.     

Chemically enhanced alpha-energy spectroscopy in liquids

Summary The determination of transuranic (TRU) content in nuclear wastes, reactor materials, process solutions, and various other matrices is required in support of material assessment, environmental restoration, and waste processing activities. We have found that direct measurement of TRU is possible using surface passivated ion implanted planar silicon diode detectors. The performance and durability of modern silicon diodes enables direct detection of alpha-particles, with retention of some spectral information, through small air gaps or under direct contact with liquid or solid samples. We will present results on the performance of silicon diode detectors for the determination of TRU in liquids.     

Photophysical properties of oligo(2,3-thienyleneethynylene)s

Photophysical properties of oligo(2,3-thienyleneethynylene)s (nTE, n denotes the number of thiophene rings, n = 2, 3) in benzene were investigated using steady-state, time-resolved fluorescence, and transient absorption spectroscopies. For 2TE, generation of the radiative S2 and nonradiative S1 states was confirmed. Upon excitation, the S2 state was initially generated and deactivated to the S1 state within 10 ps. The S1 state exhibited the transient absorption band at 470 nm, of which the lifetime was estimated to be 5.3 ns. In the case of 3TE, on the other hand, it was revealed that the radiative S1 state with a transient absorption peak at 650 nm was generated upon excitation. The T1 states of nTE were generated from the S1 states. The quantum yields were estimated to be 0.52 and 0.54 for 2TE and 3TE, respectively. Extremely fast reactions in the higher triplet excited state were indicated for both 2TE and 3TE.