Synthesis and characterization of Ca2Sn1-xCexO4 with blue luminescence originating from Ce^4＋ charge transfer transition

Ce^4＋-doped Ca2SnO4 with a one-dimensional structure, which emits bright blue light, is prepared by using a solid-state reaction method. The x-ray diffraction results show that the Ce^4＋ ions doped in Ca2SnO4 occupy the Sn^4＋ sites. The excitation and emission spectra of Ca2Sn1-xCexO4 appear to have broad bands with peaks at - 268nm and -442nm, respectively. A long excited-state lifetime （-83μs） for the emission from Ca2Sn1-xCexO4 suggests that the luminescence originates from a ligand-to-metal Ce^4＋ charge transfer （CT）. The luminescent properties of Ca2Snl_xCexO4 have been compared with those of Sr2CeO4, which is the only material reported so far to show Ce^4＋ CT luminescence. More interestingly, it is observed that the emission intensity of Ca2Sn1-xCexO4 with a small doping concentration （x - 0.03） is comparable to that of Sr2CeO4 in which the concentration of active centre is 100%.     

A generalized preferential attachment model for business firms growth rates

We present a preferential attachment growth model to obtain the distribution P(K) of number of units K in the classes which may represent business firms or other socio-economic entities. We found that P(K) is described in its central part by a power law with an exponent ϕ = 2+b/(1-b) which depends on the probability of entry of new classes, b. In a particular problem of city population this distribution is equivalent to the well known Zipf law. In the absence of the new classes entry, the distribution P(K) is exponential. Using analytical form of P(K) and assuming proportional growth for units, we derive P(g), the distribution of business firm growth rates. The model predicts that P(g) has a Laplacian cusp in the central part and asymptotic power-law tails with an exponent ζ = 3. We test the analytical expressions derived using heuristic arguments by simulations. The model might also explain the size-variance relationship of the firm growth rates.     

Generation of vortices by a streamwise oscillating cylinder

The wake of a streamwise oscillating cylinder is presently investigated. The Reynolds number investigated is 300, based on the cylinder diameterd. The cylinder oscillates at an amplitude of 0.5d and a frequencyf _e/f_s=1.8, wheref _e is the cylinder oscillating frequency andf _s is the natural vortex shedding frequency of a stationary cylinder. Under these conditions the flow is essentially two dimensional. A two-dimensional direct numerical simulation (DNS) scheme has been developed to calculate the flow. The DNS results display a street of binary vortices, each containing two counter-rotating vortical structures, symmetrical about the centerline, which is in excellent agreement with measurements. The drag and lift on the cylinder have been examined. The time averaged drag and lift are 1.4 and 0, respectively, which are the same as those on a stationary cylinder at the sameRe. However, the fluctuating drag was high, about 2.68. It has been found that, being symmetrically formed about the centerline, the binary vortices induce an essentially zero fluctuating lift, which may have a profound implication in flow control and engineering.     

Chiral crystal of a C2v‐symmetric 1,3‐diazaaulene derivative showing efficient optical second harmonic generation

Achiral nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores 1,3‐diazaazulene derivatives, 2‐(4′‐aminophenyl)‐6‐nitro‐1,3‐diazaazulene (APNA) and 2‐(4′‐N,N‐diphenylaminophenyl)‐6‐nitro‐1,3‐diazaazulene (DPAPNA), were synthesized with high yield. Despite the moderate static first hyperpolarizabilities (β₀) for both APNA [(136 ± 5) × 10^?30 esu] and DPAPNA [(263 ± 20) × 10^?30 esu], only APNA crystal shows a powder efficiency of second harmonic generation (SHG) of 23 times that of urea. It is shown that the APNA crystallization driven cooperatively by the strong H‐bonding network and the dipolar electrostatic interactions falls into the noncentrosymmetric P2₁2₁2₁ space group, and that the helical supramolecular assembly is solely responsible for the efficient SHG response. To the contrary, the DPAPNA crystal with centrosymmetric P‐1 space group is packed with antiparalleling dimmers, and is therefore completely SHG‐inactive. 1,3‐Diazaazulene derivatives are suggested to be potent building blocks for SHG‐active chiral crystals, which are advantageous in high thermal stability, excellent near‐infrared transparency and high degree of designing flexibility. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2011     

Sustainability from agricultural waste: chiral ligands from oligomeric proanthocyanidins via acid-mediated depolymerization

Oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs, Ar′ = 3,4-(HO)₂(C₆H₃) are abundant natural products found in agricultural and forestry waste such as pine bark, grape seeds, and the peels of mangosteen. We have demonstrated that the OPCs can be converted into small molecule chiral ligands by using proper nucleophiles for acid depolymerization of the OPCs. The chiral ligands may have potential for sustainable asymmetric catalysis.     

Studying the Interaction of Pirarubicin with DNA and Determining Pirarubicin in Human Urine Samples: Combining Excitation -Emission Fluorescence Matrices with Second-order Calibration Methods

In this paper, UV–vis spectroscopy and fluorescence were combined to study the binding of Calf thymus DNA (ct-DNA) with the anthacycline antibiotic drug pirarubicin (THP). Ethidium bromide (EB) as the fluorescence probe was used to study the competitive binding interactions of THP with DNA by excitation -emission fluorescence matrices (EEFMs) coupled with the parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) and the alternating normalization-weighted error algorithm (ANWE) with the second-order advantage. All the results conformed that THP mainly bound with DNA by intercalation. Meanwhile, the two second-order calibration methods have been successfully applied to quantify THP in urine samples. Figures of merit were applied to compare the performance of the two methods. The results presented in this work showed that both the PARAFAC and ANWE methods were the convincing way to be applied in the complex biological systems even in the presence of uncalibrated interferences.     

Electrodeposition and characterization of assembly of Sn on Cu nanorods for Li-ion microbattery application

Assembly of Sn on Cu Nanorods as anode for Li-ion microbatteries was prepared by a two-step electrodeposition design. Firstly, Cu nanorods arrays were grown on copper substrate by anodic aluminum oxide template-assisted growth method. Then, Sn was deposited onto Cu nanorods arrays by galvanostatic deposition. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy measurements reveal that Cu nanorod arrays are covered with Sn. Electrochemical performances of prepared electrodes were evaluated by charge/discharge cycle measurement. The assembly of Sn on Cu nanorods electrode exhibited highly reversible specific capacity and superior capacity retention resulting from the three-dimensionally nano-architectured design, which exhibits a large surface area, shortened Li-ion diffusion distance, Cu–Sn alloying, and can accommodate the volume expansion of Sn during cycling. Deposition time is an important parameter for fabricating the assembly of Sn on Cu nanorods electrode with suitable structure and morphology.

     

固相微萃取-气相色谱/质谱法测定博物馆空气中总挥发性有机物

采用固相微萃取-气相色谱/质谱(SPME-GC/MS)法测定博物馆室内空气中总挥发性有机物(TVOC)的含量,建立了一种更适合于博物馆室内空气中TVOC的检测方法.对7种挥发性有机物标样进行SPME-GC/MS定性定量分析,进样口温度230 ℃,柱温:起始温度45 ℃,保持3 min,以16 ℃/min的速率程序升温至250 ℃,保持5 min.结果表明,该方法在0.014～0.914 μg/L浓度范围内具有良好的线性关系,最低检出限在1.4～14 ng/L之间,相对标准偏差小于5.28%.该方法方便快捷、对待测物的选择性高、重复性好、采样无需电源、无需溶剂.