Continuous‐wave vertically emitting photonic crystal terahertz laser

Compact semiconductor light sources with high performance continuous‐wave (CW) and single mode operation are highly demanded for many applications in the terahertz (THz) frequency range. Distributed feedback (DFB) and photonic crystal (PhC) quantum cascade (QC) lasers are amongst the leading candidates in this field. Absorbing boundary condition is a commonly used method to control the optical performance of a laser in double‐metal confinement. However, this approach increases the total loss in the device and results in a large threshold current density, limiting the CW maximum output power and operating temperature. In this letter, a robust surface emitting continuous‐wave terahertz QC laser is realized in a two‐dimensional PhC structure by a second order Bragg grating extractor that simultaneously provides the boundary condition necessary for mode selection. This results in a 3.12 THz single mode CW operation with a 3 mW output power and a maximum operation temperature (T_max) of 100 K. Also, a highly collimated far‐field pattern is demonstrated, which is an important step towards real world applications.     

Studies in the phase behavior of the microemulsions formed by mixed cationic and nonionic surfactants

The middle-phase behavior for the systems of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)/poly-ethyleneglycol-9-monododecyl ether (AEO₉)/alcohol/oil/brine and CTAB/octylphenolpolyoxyethylene-10-ether (Triton X-100)/alcohol/oil/brine have been studied with ɛ-β fishlike phase diagram method. The interfacial layer composition was determined, and some significant physicochemical parameters are derived from the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance plane equation. The effects of different alcohols, oils, temperature and inorganic salt (NaCl) on the middle-phase behavior of microemulsion formed by composite CTAB/AEO₉ systems were also investigated systematically. The effects of different factors on the phase behavior of microemulsions formed by CTAB/AEO₉ and CTAB/TX-100 systems were compared. The results suggest that the solubilization of CTAB/AEO₉ microemulsion is higher than that of CTAB/TX-100 system under the same conditions.     

Complexation thermodynamics between butyl rhodamine B and calix[n]arenesulfonates (n = 4, 6, 8)

The characteristics of host–guest complexation between water-soluble calix[n]arenesulfonates (CnS, n = 4, 6, 8) and butyl rhodamine B (BRB) were investigated by fluorescence spectrometry. Fluorescence spectroscopy experiments were performed in pH 8.0 Tris(3-aminomethane)–HCl buffer solution at different temperature to calculate the stability constants (K_S) for the stoichiometric 1:1 inclusion complexes of C4S, C6S, and C8S with BRB. The complex stability constant monotonically increased with the number of phenolic units in the calixarene ring. The thermodynamic parameters at T = 298 K for the inclusion complexes were calculated through Van’t Hoff analysis. The inclusion complexes of CnS with BRB were driven by the favorable enthalpic changes, accompanying negative entropy changes. The stability constants were affected by the acidity of the solution. When pH was 8.0, the stability constants reached the maximum. The complex interaction was mainly attributed to the weak forces including electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding.     

Cationic recognition by tert-butylcalix[4]arene-functionalized nanoprobes

A nanoparticle-based strategy has been demonstrated using structurally-tailored tert-butylcalixarenes immobilized on gold nanoparticles to tune the guest access to the calixarene cone cavity for cationic recognition. This strategy exploits the interparticle charge-induced aggregation upon selective capture of metal cations into the nanoparticle-immobilized tert-butylcalixarenes, which produces calorimetric changes for the detection. A possible pathway for the binding of M(n+) into the t-BCA structure and the interparticle interaction is proposed for the formation of an electric double layer inducing the interparticle association responsible for the red-shifted surface plasmon resonance band of the nanoparticles. The value of this class of calorimetric nanoprobes will be in the area of designing advanced host-guest probes using a variety of calixarene ligands for ionic recognition in a simplistic detection format.     

Cyclic water clusters in tape-like and cage-like structures

Controlling the ratio of 2,2'-bpy to benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid produces two interesting complexes, namely [Co(2,2'-bpy)?]?(SO?)?8.5H?O (1) and [Cu?(BTCA) (2,2'-bpy)?] (OH)?(2,2'-bpy)?.??14H?O (2) (H?BTCA = benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid, 2,2'-bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine). We report the structural evidence in the solid state of discrete lamellar water cluster conformations. These units are found to act as supramolecular glue in the aggregation of cobalt (II) or copper (II) complexes to give three dimensional cage-like networks through hydrogen-bonding. It is interesting that the structure of complex 1 contains a 3D negatively charged cage.     

Surface design for controlled crystallization: the role of surface chemistry and nanoscale pores in heterogeneous nucleation

Current industrial practice for control of primary nucleation (nucleation from a system without pre-existing crystalline matter) during crystallization from solution involves control of supersaturation generation, impurity levels, and solvent composition. Nucleation behavior remains largely unpredictable, however, due to the presence of container surfaces, dust, dirt, and other impurities that can provide heterogeneous nucleation sites, thus making the control and scale-up of processes that depend on primary nucleation difficult. To develop a basis for the rational design of surfaces to control nucleation during crystallization from solution, we studied the role of surface chemistry and morphology of various polymeric substrates on heterogeneous nucleation using aspirin as a model compound. Nucleation induction time statistics were utilized to investigate and quantify systematically the effectiveness of polymer substrates in inducing nucleation. The nucleation induction time study revealed that poly(4-acryloylmorpholine) and poly(2-carboxyethyl acrylate), each cross-linked by divinylbenzene, significantly lowered the nucleation induction time of aspirin while the other polymers were essentially inactive. In addition, we found the presence of nanoscopic pores on certain polymer surfaces led to order-of-magnitude faster aspirin nucleation rates when compared with surfaces without pores. We studied the preferred orientation of aspirin crystals on polymer films and found the nucleation-active polymer surfaces preferentially nucleated the polar facets of aspirin, guided by hydrogen bonds. A model based on interfacial free energies was also developed which predicted the same trend of polymer surface nucleation activities as indicated by the nucleation induction times.     

毛细管离子色谱分析系统研究进展

离子色谱是目前分析离子型样品的成熟技术,其水相工作介质的特点相对于液相色谱更适合于生物样品的分析。毛细管离子色谱(CIC)由于其节省样品的特点在生物分析方面的优势更为明显。CIC大体上可分为开管型、填充柱型和整体柱型3种类型。本文以填充型CIC几大关键部件技术发展为主线,综述了近年来CIC的研究进展。     

A separation mechanism of photogenerated charges and magnetic properties for BiFeO3 microspheres synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method

BiFeO(3) (BFO) microspheres were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The optical absorption spectrum indicates that on site Fe(3+) crystal-field transitions and the charge transfer excitations can be observed. Magnetic measurements show a spin-glass behavior and room temperature weak ferromagnetism. The surface photovoltage spectroscopy of the BFO shows two response peaks centered at about 370 and 400 nm, respectively. Under an ambient atmosphere, the maximum surface photovoltage of the BFO reaches 180 μV with the bias (+2 V) and is three times larger than that with zero bias. It is found that the surface photovoltage response intensity increases with an increase in applied bias, regardless of positive or negative bias. It is suggested that the surface photovoltaic properties are related to both the depolarization field owing to ferroelectric polarization and the build-in electric field due to the Schottky barrier. The micro-process and the physical mechanism of the separation of photogenerated charges for BFO are fully explained.     

Selective light-triggered chemiluminescence between fluorescent dyes and luminol, and its analytical application

We report herein a novel chemiluminescence (CL) phenomenon triggered by light irradiation when a fluorescent dye, for example hematoporphyrin, fluorescein, eosin, or methylene blue is present in the luminol solution. A possible mechanism is proposed for the photoinduced chemiluminescence (PICL) reaction. Compared with reported methods for CL triggering, for example flow-injection, static reagent injection, and the electrochemical technique, the proposed in-situ PICL method presented has three advantages. First, the method is more selective, because the PICL signal of the target fluorescent dyes is initiated by excitation at a selective wavelength only. Second, the space and time resolution of the PICL method are better. Last, and most important, compared with injecting a reagent or inserting a electrode into the CL system to initiate the CL reaction, with the in-situ PICL method there is no physical interference with the target detecting system. All these advantages of the PICL method indicate it has many potential applications in the analytical sciences. The proposed method was applied to analysis of urine containing adrenaline. The linear range for adrenaline is 2.0?×?10^?10–1.0?×?10^?7 g mL^?1 and the detection limit is 6.0?×?10^?11 g mL^?1.

Effect of LiBOB as additive on electrochemical properties of lithium–sulfur batteries

The effect of varying amounts (in the range 1–10 wt.%) of LiBOB (lithium bis(oxalato) borate) as additive in mixed liquid electrolyte on the electrochemical performance of lithium–sulfur batteries is investigated at room temperature. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) of lithium anode with LiBOB has two semicircles, corresponding to charge transfer impedance and ion migration impedance, respectively. The lithium anode with LiBOB shows a higher ion migration impedance, which could reduce the ionic diffusion rate in the anode. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations shows that lithium anode with LiBOB has a smoother and denser surface morphology than the anode without LiBOB. The lithium–sulfur batteries with LiBOB shows the improvement of both the discharge capacity and cycle performance, a maximum discharge capacity of 1,191 mA h g⁻¹ is obtained with 4 wt.% LiBOB. The lithium–sulfur batteries with 4 wt.% LiBOB can maintain a reversible capacity of 756 mA h g⁻¹ after 50 cycles.