Octagonal dual-concentric-core photonic crystal fiber for C-band dispersion compensation with low confinement loss

A novel kind of octagonal dual-concentric-core photonic crystal fiber （PCF） is calculated with the finite element method （FEM） and proposed for broadband compensation. In order to realize highly negative dispersion, the hole diameter of the second ring is reduced relative to conventional PCFs. Numerical simulation results show that when the diameters of large holes and small holes are 0.77 pm and 0.5 #m, respectively, and the pitch of the adjacent rings is 1.1 μm, the negative dispersion can achieve about 840 ps.nm^-1.km^-1 at 1 550 nm and the dispersion slope can match with single mode fiber （SMF-28） perfectly. This PCF can compensate the positive dispersion and also its slope of about 50 times its length of SMF-28 fiber, which is suitable for C-band optical fiber telecommunication as a dispersion compensation fiber.     

Temperature dependent exchange bias effect in polycrystalline BiFeO3/FM (FM = NiFe, Co) bilayers

Extensive studies on the temperature (T) dependent exchange bias effect were carried out in polycrystalline BiFeO₃(BFO)/NiFe and BFO/Co bilayers. In contrast to single-crystalline BFO/ferromagnet (FM) bilayers, sharp increase of the exchange bias field (H _E ) below 50 K were clearly observed in both of these two bilayers. However, when T is higher than 50 K, H _E increases with T and decreases further when T is larger than 230 K (for BFO/NiFe) or 200 K (for BFO/Co), which is similar to those reported in single-crystalline BFO/FM bilayers. After the exploration of magnetic field cooling, the temperature dependent exchange bias can be explained considering two contributions from both the interfacial spin-glass-like frustrated spins and the polycrystalline grains in the BFO layer. Moreover, obvious exchange bias training effect can be observed at both 5 K and room temperature and the corresponding results can be well fitted based on a recently proposed theoretical model taking into account the energy dissipation of the AFM layer.     

Synthesis of mesoporous-silica coated multi-branched gold nanoparticles for surface enhanced Raman scattering evaluation of 4-bromomethcathinone

Mesoporous silica-coated multi-branched gold nanoparticles (bAu@mesoSiO₂) aiming for enhanced Raman sensing for 4-bromomethcathinone (4-BMC) detection is reported. In this work, we present an effective strategy to probe the Raman signal of 4-MBC. Morphologies and optical properties of the synthesized materials with different [Au³⁺]/[Au⁰] ratios are characterized utilizing transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–vis and mid-infrared spectroscopy. Both experimental and theoretical (simulation) studies were investigated. Taking advantages of gold core branches that provide highly localized and strongly enhanced electromagnetic fields due to plasmon resonance, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is observed. The experimental results show that the SERS intensity exhibits a 100-fold increase with the increased average length and quantity of gold branches (nano tips). The analytical performance yielded a detection limit of 0.1?mg/ml for the 4-MBC target within 5?mins. The sensing method will likely find further improvement and broad use in the forensic science. Besides rapid detection and portability, the combination of the Raman effect and enhanced materials imparts other notable advantages, such as its non-contact and free of reagents.     

Nanoparticle‐Mediated Immunogenic Cell Death Enables and Potentiates Cancer Immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapies that train or stimulate the inherent immunological systems to recognize, attack, and eradicate tumor cells with minimal damage to healthy cells have demonstrated promising clinical responses in recent years. However, most of these immunotherapeutic strategies only benefit a small subset of patients and cause systemic autoimmune side effects in some patients. Immunogenic cell death (ICD)‐inducing modalities not only directly kill cancer cells but also induce antitumor immune responses against a broad spectrum of solid tumors. Such strategies for generating vaccine‐like functions could be used to stimulate a “cold” tumor microenvironment to become an immunogenic, “hot” tumor microenvironment, working in synergy with immunotherapies to increase patient response rates and lead to successful treatment outcomes. This Minireview will focus on nanoparticle‐based treatment modalities that can induce and enhance ICD to potentiate cancer immunotherapy.     

Mechanistic Dichotomy of Magnesium‐ and Zinc‐Based Germanium Nucleophiles in the C(sp3)−Ge Cross‐Coupling with Alkyl Electrophiles

Robust procedures for two mechanistically distinct C(sp³)?Ge bond formations from alkyl electrophiles and germanium nucleophiles are reported. The germanium reagents were made available as bench‐stable solutions by lithium‐to‐magnesium and lithium‐to‐zinc transmetalation, respectively. The germanium Grignard reagent reacts with various primary and secondary alkyl electrophiles by an ionic nucleophilic displacement. Conversely, the coupling of the corresponding zinc reagent requires a nickel catalyst, which then engages in radical bond formations with primary, secondary, and even tertiary alkyl bromides. Both methods avoid the regioselectivity issue of alkene hydrogermylation and enable the synthesis of a wide range of functionalized alkyl‐substituted germanes.     

Synthesis and Applications of Functionalized Magnetic Nanomaterials in Enantioseparation

Efficient enantioselective separation is a challenging task due to the identical physical and chemical properties of enantiomers. Functionalized magnetic nanomaterials modified with chiral ligands on their surface possess both magnetic property and chiral recognition ability, and have demonstrated great potential in chiral discrimination. This review summarizes the applications of magnetic nanomaterials modified with various chiral selectors (e.g., β-cyclodextrins, polymers, proteins, amino acids and cellulose) in enantioselective separation. After proper preparation and modification, these functionalized magnetic nanomaterials are effective for enantioseparation. Therefore, enantioseparations based on functionalized magnetic nanomaterials are convenient, economical and effective.     

Effect of rapid thermal treatment on photoluminescence of surface passivated porous silicon

The photoluminescence of porous silicon with and without carbon deposition fabricated by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique has been investigated. After the deposition, the rapid thermal processes in the temperature ranging from 500 to 1100 °C have been carried out. It was found that after the carbon deposition a new intense blue emission appeared. The rapid thermal processes at 800and 900 °C could enhance the blue emission, while the other rapid thermal processes quenched it. Finally, the mechanism for the effect of carbon deposition and rapid thermal processes on photoluminescence properties of porous silicon was discussed.     

Preparation of TiO2-carbon surface composites with high photoactivity by supercritical pretreatment and sol-gel processing

TiO₂-carbon surface (TCS) composites were prepared by pretreatment of a sealing substrate in supercritical carbon dioxide using paraffin as a plugging agent, and sol-gel processing using tetrabutyl orthotitanate as a precursor. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS), optical absorption spectroscopy and nitrogen absorption. The photoactivity of TCS was checked by monitoring the decomposition of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution under UV irradiation. The results indicated that compared with TC prepared only by the sol-gel method, the small nanosize TiO₂ particles are well dispersed on carbon surface with large amount of micropores and high Eg values, meanwhile TCS have high Ti³⁺ concentration due to supercritical pretreatment providing a amount of carbon on the composite surface with interfacial energy effects, which controls the growth of TiO₂ nanoparticles, baffles the agglomeration of TiO₂ nanoparticles and easily produces Ti³⁺ ions. These are reasons why TCS has a higher efficiency of decomposing MB than TiO₂-carbon (TC) composites and pure TiO₂. Additional, it is also attributed to the fact that TCS produce a high concentration of organic compounds near TiO₂ in comparison with TC and pure TiO₂, because their surface area are greater than that of TC and pure TiO₂.