Improved surface morphology of flow-modulated MOVPE grown AIN on sapphire using thin medium-temperature AIN buffer layer

High-temperature (HT) AIN films were grown on (0 0 0 1) sapphire by low-pressure flow-modulated (FM) metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) with and without inserting a thin medium-temperature (MT) AIN layer. To suppress parasitic reactions between the sources of trimethylaluminum (TMA) and ammonia (NH₃), TMA and NH₃ was introduced to the reactor of MOVPE by alternating supply way. Surface morphology and crystalline quality were characterized by a scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray rocking curve (XRC) measurements of (0 0 0 2) and (10-12) diffractions. The AFM and SEM measurements indicated that the thin MT-AIN layer had a strong influence on the surface morphology of the HT-AIN films. The surface morphology became quite smooth by inserting the thin MT-AIN layer and surface RMS roughness values were 0.84 nm and 13.4 nm for the HT-AIN films with and without inserting the thin MT-AIN buffer layer, respectively. By etching the samples in aqueous KOH solution, it was found that the polarity of AIN films was different, the HT-AIN film with the thin MT-AIN layer could not be etched, indicating that the film had an Al-polar surface; however, the film without the MT-AIN layer was etched, which was explained that that film had a N- or mixed-polar surface. The mechanism for the origin of the different polarity of HT-AIN with and without the thin MT-AIN layer was proposed and discussed in detail.     

Reductive coupling of 1,3-dimethyluracils with benzophenone by low-valent titanium: unusual two-to-one coupling

The reductive coupling of 1,3-dimethyluracil with benzophenone by Zn-TiCl₄ in THF gave unusual two-to-one adduct and its further reduced product. The reductive coupling of 1,3-dimethyl-5-fluorouracil with benzophenone by Zn-TiCl₄ also gave two-to-one adduct. 1,3-Dimethylthymine was, however, completely inert under the same conditions.     

Strong lateral growth and crystallization via two-dimensional allotropic transformation of semi-metal Bi film

Two-dimensional (2D) nano-objects, such as metallic nanofilms are the most fundamental building blocks for nanoelectronics devices. However, the fabrication of highly ordered nanofilms has been difficult because of well known Stranski-Krastanov growth, which results in rough growth front and high density grains. Here we report on the unusual high-quality film growth of Bi on a Si surface with atomic-level surface/interface smoothness and high film crystallinity. The formation of a newly discovered 2D allotrope was clarified to initiate its strong 2D growth. Above several-monolayer thickness, the 2D allotrope transforms into a single-crystalline film with bulk-like layered structure. Our study unveils the atomistic growth process of nano-sized Bi, and the obtained knowledge here will be generally applicable for the fabrication of various nano-devices using this intriguing material that shows rich thermal, magnetic, electronic properties in nanometer scale.     

Insulinomimetic Zn(II) complexes as evaluated by both glucose-uptake activity and inhibition of free fatty acids release in isolated rat adipocytes

We prepared 4 new Zn(II) complexes with Zn(O4), Zn(N(2)O(2)), and Zn(S2O2) coordination modes and evaluated their insulinomimetic activities in an in vitro study. The insulinomimetic activities of bis(pyrrole-2-carboxylato)zinc (Zn(pc)2), bis(alpha-furonic acidato)zinc (Zn(fa)2), bis(thiophene-2-carboxylato)zinc (Zn(tc)2), and bis(thiophene-2-acetato)zinc (Zn(ta)2) complexes were found to be higher than that of zinc sulfate (ZnSO4). Zn(ta)2 showed the highest insulinomimetic activity among the Zn(II) complexes because of its high lipophilicity.     

Electroreductive intramolecular coupling of aliphatic cyclic imides with ketones and O-methyloximes

The electroreductive intramolecular coupling of aliphatic cyclic imides with ketones in isopropanol gave five- and six-membered cyclized products. Similarly, the electroreductive intramolecular coupling of aliphatic cyclic imides with O-methyloximes afforded five-, six-, and seven-membered cyclized products. These reactions provide a useful method to synthesize azabicyclo[n.m.0] compounds. The bicyclic products were stereoselectively transformed to the corresponding deoxylated compounds by reduction with NaB(CN)H₃ or Et₃SiH/BF₃·Et₂O.