Investigating Two-Photon-Induced Fluorescence in Rhodamine-6G in Presence of Cetyl-Trimethyl-Ammonium-Bromide

We investigate the effect of cetyl-trimethyl-ammonium-bromides (CTAB) concentration on the fluorescence of Rhodamine-6G in water. This spectroscopic study of Rhodamine-6G in presence of CTAB was performed using two-photon-induced-fluorescence at 780 nm wavelength using high repetition rate femtosecond laser pulses. We report an increment of ～10 % in the fluorescence in accordance with ～12 % enhancement in the absorption intensity of the dye molecule around the critical micellar concentration. We discuss the possible mechanism for the enhancement in the two-photon fluorescence intensity and the importance of critical micellar concentration.     

Effect of π-Extended Substituents on Photophysical Properties of BODIPY Dyes in Solutions

Four boron-dipyrrine (BODIPY) based dyes with π-extended substituents in 8-position of dipyrrin ligand have been synthesized and characterized. Photophysical properties of the obtained compounds have been investigated in different individual solvents. Deposits of solvent polarity and viscosity were evaluated. BODIPY with 8-biphenyl substituent was found to be the fluorescent molecular rotor in contrast to more extended substituents. The complex nature of solvent-solute interactions leads to the poor applicability of standard multiparameter approaches to BODIPY solvatochromic properties. Fluorescence intensity was found to increase in case of solvent polarity growth, it is not typical for BODIPY. Taking that into account the BODIPY with π-extended substituents could be used for fluorescence viscosity measurements, and as the fluorescent media polarity indicators in analytical chemistry and biochemistry.     

Immobilized TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles produced by flame spray for photocatalytic water remediation

Anatase/rutile mixed-phase titanium dioxide (TiO₂) photocatalysts in the form of nanostructured powders with different primary particle size, specific surface area, and rutile content were produced from the gas-phase by flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) starting from an organic solution containing titanium (IV) isopropoxide as Ti precursor. Flame spray-produced TiO₂ powders were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and BET measurements. As-prepared powders were mainly composed of anatase crystallites with size ranging from 7 to 15 nm according to the synthesis conditions. TiO₂ powders were embedded in a multilayered fluoropolymeric matrix to immobilize the nanoparticles into freestanding photocatalytic membranes. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO₂-embedded membranes toward the abatement of hydrosoluble organic pollutants was evaluated employing the photodegradation of rhodamine B in aqueous solution as test reaction. The photoabatement rate of best performing membranes significantly overcomes that of membranes produced by the same method and incorporating commercial P25-TiO₂.     

Facile and scalable fabrication engineering of fullerenol nanoparticles by improved alkaline-oxidation approach and its antioxidant potential in maize

A feasible in operation, labor-saving and low-cost one-step technology to fabricate fullerenol nanoparticles (FNPs) up to 10 g in laboratory was developed by improved alkaline-oxidation approach using moderately concentrated sodium hydroxide solution as the hydroxylation agent and o-dichlorobenzene as the solvent. This strategy paves the avenue for industrial-scale bulk production of FNPs. The resulted product, [C₆₀(OH)₂₂·8H₂O]_n, were characterized by various measurements including matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, high-resolution ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-Visible spectrophotometer, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic light scattering analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and electron spin resonance spectrometer. Radical scavenging assay in vitro confirmed the high efficiency of water-soluble [C₆₀(OH)₂₂·8H₂O]_n as a novel radical scavenger. Furthermore, [C₆₀(OH)₂₂·8H₂O]_n as an excellent candidate has the potential to serve as the plant defense stimulation agent in maize.

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Improved multiparty quantum key agreement in travelling mode

The need to simultaneously balance security and fairness in quantum key agreement (QKA) makes it challenging to design a flawless QKA protocol, especially a multiparty quantum key agreement (MQKA) protocol. When designing an MQKA protocol, two modes can be used to transmit the quantum information carriers: travelling mode and distributed mode. MQKA protocols usually have a higher qubit efficiency in travelling mode than in distributed mode. Thus, several travelling mode MQKA protocols have been proposed. However, almost all of these are vulnerable to collusion attacks from internal betrayers. This paper proposes an improved MQKA protocol that operates in travelling mode with Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen pairs. More importantly, we present a new travelling mode MQKA protocol that uses single photons, which is more feasible than previous methods under current technologies.     

Some new symmetric relations of quark masses and prediction of fourth-generation quark masses

In this study, we discover a mass space defined by generalized Koide relations, named here as k-relations, and achieve some new symmetric relations. These relations can be further used to predict the fourth-generation quark masses in terms of dilation magnitude and angular rotation ratios in the general mass space. Thus far, no theory has been proposed that can constrain the number of generations of quarks; this theory naturally limits the number of generations of quarks.     

A novel carbon source coated on C-LiFePO<Subscript>4</Subscript> as a cathode material for lithium-ion batteries

The poor electronic conductivity and low lithium-ion diffusion are the two major obstacles to the largely commercial application of LiFePO₄ cathode material in power batteries. In order to improve the defects of LiFePO₄, a novel carbon source polyacrylonitrile (PAN), which would form the hierarchical porous structure after carbonization, is fabricated and used. This work comes up with a simple and facile carbothermal reduction method to prepare porous-carbon-coated LiFePO₄ (C-LiFePO₄-PC) composite and to study the effect of carbon-coated temperature on ameliorating the electrochemical performance. The obtained C-LiFePO₄-PC composite shows a high initial discharge capacity of 164.1 mA h g^?1 at 0.1 C and good cycling stability as well as excellent rate capacity (49.0 mA h g^?1 at 50 C). The most possible factors that improve the electrochemical performance could be related to the enhancement of electronic conductivity and the existence of porous carbon layers. In a word, the C-LiFePO₄-PC material would become an excellent candidate for application in the fields of lithium-ion batteries.     

基于腔体滤波器的可调谐微波开关的设计

为了满足无人机数据链路测试中信号转换的需求,提出一种可调谐的S波段分波道微波转换开关设计方案,其中采用开关控制电路对输入微波信号进行分波道选择,两路加载集总电容的三阶方杆梳状腔体滤波器对微波信号进行选频、滤波,同时可通过调节调谐螺钉实现两波道中心谐振频点同频或异频,调谐中心频率范围可达20 MHz,自由度较高;微波开关经参数仿真结果满足设计要求,研制完成的微波开关经过实际测试和应用验证,各项技术指标满足使用要求,同时该微波转换开关具有大功率、低损耗、高隔离度等优点,性能稳定、自由度高、易于实现,可满足无人机数据链测试诊断的信号转接要求。