Investigation of all-optical analog-to-digital quantization using a chalcogenide waveguide: A step towards on-chip analog-to-digital conversion

We have investigated all-optical analog-to-digital quantization by broadening the pulse spectrum in a chalcogenide (As₂S₃) waveguide and subsequently slicing the measured spectrum using an array of filters. Pulse spectral broadening was measured for 8 different power levels in a 6 cm long As₂S₃ waveguide and used to analyze an 8-level all-optical quantization scheme employing filters with full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) bandwidth of 2 nm. A supercontinuum spectrum with −15 dB spectral width up to 324 nm was observed experimentally at large powers. This large spectral broadening, combined with filtering using a 128 channel arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) with 2 nm filter spacing, has the potential for all-optical quantization with 7-bit resolution. In order to encode the quantized signal we propose an encoder scheme which can be implemented using optical Exclusive-OR gates. Demonstrating all-optical quantization using a planar waveguide is an important step towards realizing all-optical A/D conversion on a chip.     

PECT model analysis and predictions of experimental collisional energy transfer probabilities P(E',E) and moments <DeltaE> for azulene and biphenylene

Experimental collisional energy transfer data from kinetically controlled selective ionization (KCSI) and ultraviolet absorption (UVA) experiments are analyzed in the framework of the partially ergodic collision theory (PECT). Collisions of azulene and biphenylene with different colliders are investigated as case studies. The downward wings of the P(E',E) energy transfer distributions obtained from the PECT model are fitted to the recently introduced "variable-shape"-exponential 3-parameter functional form of P(E',E) obtained from KCSI experiments, P(E',E) proportional, variant exp[-{(E - E')/(C(0) + C(1)E)}(Y)]. The PECT model is able to reproduce the characteristic dependence of the KCSI "shape parameter" Y on the choice of collider, the energy dependent width of the KCSI P(E',E) distributions, described by alpha(E) = C(0) + C(1)E, and the temperature dependence of the UVA data above room temperature. The statistical approach of PECT obviously captures the essence of large molecule energy transfer at chemically significant energies without the need of knowing specific features of the detailed collision dynamics. It therefore shows promise for predicting the shape of P(E',E) in master equation kernels for larger molecules.     

Iron(III) coordination chemistry of alterobactin A: a siderophore from the marine bacterium Alteromonas luteoviolacea

Alterobactin A is a siderophore produced by the oceanic bacterium Alteromonas luteoviolacea. The thermodynamic stability constant of the ferric alterobactin A (Alt-A) complex was estimated from electrochemical measurements on the basis of a previously reported linear relationship between the reduction potentials and the pH-independent stability constants for known iron(III) complexes. The reduction potential of the ferric alterobactin A complex determined by square wave voltammetry is -0.972 V vs SCE and reversible, corresponding to a thermodynamic stability constant of 10(51+/-2). Potentiometric titration of Fe(III)-Alt-A shows the release of six protons on complexation of Fe(III) to Alt-A. The 1H NMR resonances of the Ga(III)-Alt-A complex show that the C-4, C-5, and C-6 catecholate protons and the C(alpha) and C(beta) protons of both beta-hydroxyaspartate moieties are shifted downfield relative to the free ligand, which along with the potentiometric titration data is consistent with a complex in which Fe(III) is coordinated by both catecholate oxygen atoms and both oxygen atoms of each beta-hydroxyaspartate. The UV-vis spectrum of Fe(III)-Alt-A is invariant over the pH range 4-9, indicating the coordination does not change over a wide pH range. In addition, in the absence of a coordinated metal ion, the serine ester of Alt-A hydrolyzes forming Alt-B.     

Nanoporous Metal Foams

Nanoporous metal foams (NMFs) have been a long sought‐after class of materials in the quest for high‐surface‐area conductive and catalytic materials. Herein we present an overview of newly developed synthetic strategies for producing NMFs along with an in‐depth discussion of combustion synthesis as a versatile and scalable approach for the preparation of nanoporous, nanostructured metal foams. Current applications of NMFs prepared using combustion synthesis are also presented including hydrogen storage and catalysis.