Confocal white light reflection imaging for characterization of metal nanostructures

A simple far-field confocal white light reflection imaging system was proposed using a xenon (Xe) lamp as the incident light source. The best spatial resolution was determined to be about 410 nm. Localized surface plasmons (LSPs) of isolated single and dimer gold nanospheres were studied and the resonance energy difference between their LSPs was extracted. Polarization dependent reflection imaging and contrast spectrum of single silver nanowires were also investigated, which correlate closely with the polarization dependent excitation of their LSP.     

Plasmon‐enhanced polarized Raman spectroscopy for sensitive surface characterization

Local‐mode and localized surface plasmons generated on the silver thin film can selectively enhance the Raman signal from the surface. Further improvement of surface signal can be obtained by using the polarized Raman technique that results in a dramatic enhancement of the surface sensitivity by up to 25.4 times as compared to that without a silver coating. This technique will be very useful for Raman study on samples that suffer overlapping background signal. In this article, we show that it can be used to significantly improve the signal of thin strained‐Si layer on top of SiGe buffer layer. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electrochemical characterization of phthalocyanine derivatives carrying a bulky triester unit on each benzo group

The focus of the present work is to gain more insight into the electrochemical behavior of newly synthesized Co^II, Zn^II, Cu^II, and Pd^II phthalocyanines with tetra-tricarbethoxyethyl substituents at the peripheral position. A more exhaustive electrochemical study of the complexes was done to determine the desired wisdom for the usage of the complexes as a functional material. A comparative study of the voltammetric measurements of these complexes showed that while Zn^II, Cu^II, and Pd^II phthalocyanines exhibited up to four common phthalocyanine ring reductions, Co^II phthalocyanine gave a metal-centered oxidation, a reduction and a ligand-centered reduction process. By contrast observation of the splitting of the second reduction process of Pd^II phthalocyanine suggests aggregation of the complex. Diffusion coefficients of all complexes were determined by both the cyclic voltammetry and the potential step chronocoulometry techniques. Diffusion coefficients of the reduced and oxidized forms of the redox couples of the complexes were also calculated by the potential step chronocoulometry technique. Diffusion coefficients of the reduced forms of the electrode products of the complexes were found to be slightly higher than that of the oxidized forms.     

Bis­[hydrogen 1,1′‐bis­(di­phenyl­phos­phinato)­ferrocenium] octa­chloro­diantimony(III)

In the title compound, [Fe(C₃₄H₂₉O₂P₂)]₂[Sb₂Cl₈], the discrete centrosymmetric [Sb₂Cl₈]^2? anions are formed from two edge‐shared square pyramids of Cl atoms about each Sb atom. Within the cation, the two di­phenyl­phosphinate groups share one H atom and the ferrocene cyclo­penta­dienyl rings are in a staggered conformation, with the average value of the twist angle being 46°. In the crystal, each [Sb₂Cl₈]^2? anion is involved in eight C—H?Cl interactions with four surrounding cations and these interactions interconnect the ions to form molecular columns along the a direction.     

Profiling of Potential Antibacterial Compounds of Lactic Acid Bacteria against Extremely Drug Resistant (XDR) Acinetobacter baumannii

A total of 20 of isolates of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were selected and screened for antagonistic activity against clinical strains of 30 clinical isolates of extremely drug-resistant (XDR) Acinetobacter baumannii using the well diffusion assay method. Results showed that 50% of the highly LAB strains possessed inhibitory activity against (up to 66%) of the XDR A. baumannii strains tested. The supernatant of the twenty LAB strains was subjected to gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) revealed that the common compound found in the active isolates against XDR A. baumannii was 3-Isobutyl-2,3,6,7,8,8a-hexahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,4-dione, a known potential diketopiperazine group. The molecular docking study against potential antibacterial targets with selected ligands was performed to predict the binding mode of interactions, which is responsible for antibacterial activity. The docking analysis of the potent compounds supported the potential antibacterial activity exhibiting high inhibition constant and binding affinity in silico.     

具有N策略和负顾客的反馈抢占型M/G/1重试可修排队模型研究

首先用Hille-Yosida定理与Phillips定理证明具有N策略和负顾客的反馈抢占型M/G/1重试可修排队模型存在唯一的正时间依赖解,然后当失效率函数为常数时推出该模型的解指数稳定.     

Synergistic effect of exfoliated graphene nanoplatelets and non-halogen flame retardants on flame retardancy and thermal properties of kenaf flour-PP nanocomposites

A series of quaternary hybrid kenaf (K) flour-PP nanocomposites, such as PP/KF/MAPP/GNP/MgOH (K-GNP-MgOH), PP/KF/MAPP/GNP/APP (K-GNP-APP) and PP/KF/MAPP/GNP/MgO (K-GNP-MgO) filled with exfoliated graphene nanoplatelets (GNP)-3 phr acting as adjuvant in combination with mineral flame retardants, 20 mass/% magnesium hydroxide (Mg (OH)₂) and 20 mass/% magnesium oxide (MgO), and 20 mass/% intumescent ammonium polyphosphate (APP), respectively, were prepared through melt extrusion using co-rotating twin screw extruder. The resulting quaternary nanocomposites were characterized in terms of flame retardancy, thermomechanical, thermal conductivity, thermal behavior, heat deflection temperature (HDT), and mechanical, morphological and structural properties. Mass loss calorimeter data revealed a significant reduction of peak heat release rate, total heat release, effective heat of combustion, mass loss rate and delayed time to ignition due to GNP-MgOH, GNP-MgO and GNP-APP synergistic mechanism in hybrid nanocomposites, respectively. The effective thermal conductivities and HDT of quaternary nanocomposites were found to significantly increase. DSC results revealed enhanced crystallization temperatures with reduced degree of crystallinity, while melting points remained stable.