Visible and near-IR luminescence via energy transfer in rare earth doped mesoporous titania thin films with nanocrystalline walls

Selected photoluminescence in the wavelength range of 600-1540 nm is generated by energy transfer from a light-gathering mesostructured host lattice to an appropriate rare earth ion. The mesoporous titania thin films, which have a well-ordered pore structure and two-phase walls made of amorphous titania and TiO₂ nanocrystallites, were doped with up to 8 mol% lanthanide ions, and the ordered structure of the material was preserved. Exciting the titania in its band gap results in energy transfer and it is possible to observe photoluminescence from the crystal field states of the rare earth ions. This process is successful for certain rare earth ions (Sm³⁺, Eu³⁺, Yb³⁺, Nd³⁺, Er³⁺) and not for others (Tb³⁺, Tm³⁺). A mechanism has been proposed to explain this phenomenon, which involves energy transfer through surface states on titania nanocrystals to matching electronic states on the rare earth ions.     

The effect of ionizing radiation on microbiological decontamination of medical herbs and biologically active compounds

Several thousand tons of medical herbs are produced annually by pharmaceutical industry in Poland. This product should be of highest quality and microbial purity. Recently, chemical methods of decontamination are recognized as less safe, thus irradiation technique was chosen to replace them in use. In the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology the national program on the application of irradiation to the decontamination of medical herbs is in progress now. The purpose of the program is to elaborate, on the basis of research work, the facility standards and technological instructions indispensable for the practice of radiation technology.     

The photoluminescence of Co-Al-layered double hydroxide

We report a new optical behaviour of pure Co-Al-layered double hydroxide (LDH).It was found that the Co-Al-LDH sample could emit fluorescence without any fluorescent substances intercalated.Its excitation spectrum shows a maximum peak near the wavelength 370nm,the maximum emission peak appears at 430 nm and the photoluminescence colour of the Co-Al-LDH sample is blue.This new optical property will be expected to extend the potential applications of LDHs in optical materials field.     

Spectral studies on VO ions in potassium thiourea bromide single crystals using EPR and optical absorption spectroscopy

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies have been carried out on VO²⁺ ions doped in single crystals of ferroelectric material, potassium thiourea bromide (PTB) at room temperature and in the temperature range 103–343 K on X-band MW frequency. An isotropic octet spectrum characteristic of VO²⁺ ion was obtained due to the fast re-orientation of the VO²⁺ in PTB lattice, which exhibits glassy nature at certain range around room temperature. The temperature dependant EPR spectra of VO²⁺ ions in this host lattice has been attributed to the occurrence of multiple phase transitions due to the combined environment effects of KBr and thiourea materials in the single crystal. From the optical absorption spectrum, the crystal field splitting parameter Dq, tetragonal parameters Ds and Dt have been evaluated and discussed.     

Self-assembled monolayers of dendritic polyglycerol derivatives on gold that resist the adsorption of proteins

Highly protein-resistant, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of dendritic polyglycerols (PGs) on gold can easily be obtained by simple chemical modification of these readily available polymers with a surface-active disulfide linker group. Several disulfide-functionalized PGs were synthesized by N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide-mediated ester coupling of thioctic acid. Monolayers of the disulfide-functionalized PG derivatives spontaneously form on a semitransparent gold surface and effectively prevent the adsorption of proteins, as demonstrated by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) kinetic measurements. A structure-activity relationship relating the polymer architecture to its ability to effectuate protein resistance has been derived from results of different surface characterization techniques (SPR, attenuated total reflectance infrared (ATR-IR), and contact-angle measurements). Dendritic PGs combine the characteristic structural features of several highly protein-resistant surfaces: a highly flexible aliphatic polyether, hydrophilic surface groups, and a highly branched architecture. PG monolayers are as protein resistant as poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) SAMs and are significantly better than dextran-coated surfaces, which are currently used as the background for SPR spectroscopy. Due to the higher thermal and oxidative stability of the bulk PG as compared to the PEG and the easy accessibility of these materials, dendritic polyglycerols are novel and promising candidates as surface coatings for biomedical applications.     

Condensation reaction of 3-(methacryloxypropyl)-trimethoxysilane and diisobutylsilanediol in non-hydrolytic sol-gel process

The condensation reaction of 3-methacryloxypropyl-trimethoxysilane (MPTS) and diisobutylsilanediol (DIBSD) in a non-hydrolytic sol-gel process was investigated in terms of the reaction time and the catalyst amount for fabrication of inorganic-organic hybrid materials. The degree of condensation, which was characterized by ²⁹Si NMR, ¹H NMR and Abbe refractometry, increases with increased the reaction time and greater catalyst amount. However, a the large catalyst amount breaks the methacryl group during the condensation reaction. Thus, the reaction time and the catalyst amount were optimized to synthesize the condensed methacryl oligosiloxanes.     

Crystal structure of Mg0.65Sc0.35Dx deuterides studied by X-ray and neutron powder diffraction

The structural properties of the Mg_0.65Sc_0.35D_x deuterides have been investigated by X-ray and neutron powder diffraction at different deuterium content (0?x?2.2 D/f.u.). The metallic phase adopts a pseudo-CsCl structure (Pm-3m space group (SG); a=3.5921(2) Å) that transforms upon hydrogenation into a face centered cubic (FCC) phase involving an elongation of the c-axis, a shrinkage of the a-axis and a re-ordering of the metallic atoms. The fully hydrided compound (2.2 D/f.u.) adopts a cubic structure (Fm-3m SG; a=4.8087(7) Å) and deuterium is located in fully occupied tetrahedral sites and partially filled (24%) octahedral sites. Upon desorption, a two-phase domain appears with coexistence of a hydrogen-rich (1.55 D/f.u.) and a hydrogen-poor (0.85 D/f.u.) phase (Fm-3m SG; a=4.7598(3) and 4.6936(3) Å, respectively). All deuterium atoms are located in the tetrahedral sites with different occupancy factors: 77% for the H-rich phase and 43% for the H-poor phase. The appearance of a plateau in the pressure-composition-isotherm curve measured at 573 K confirms this two-phase behavior. The structural properties of the Mg_0.65Sc_0.35D_x system are discussed and compared with other body centered cubic (BCC) alloys adopting the same structure.     

Special Mixing Behavior of Chelate-based Ionic Liquid with Methanol

Compared to the general ionic liquids (ILs), a significant deviation of the binary mixtures of 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium tri(hexafluoroacetylaceto)-copper(II) ([C₁₀mim][Cu(hfacac)₃]) with methanol was found, indicating the way methanol interacts with ILs might be governed by the special structure of the chelating anion. IR results showed that the (C2-H) of 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluoroacetylacetonate ([C₁₀mim][hfacac]) blue-shifted more significantly than that of [C₁₀mim][Cu(hfacac)₃], meanwhile the (C=O) red-shifted in [C₁₀mim][Cu(hfacac)₃], which is contrast with that in [C₁₀mim][hfacac]. Two-dimensional correlation analysis of the FTIR spectra indicated that the chelating cavity has little effect on the sequence of the ILs sites that interact with methanol. Combined with small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) results, the picture of mixing processes in these two systems were proposed. Methanol interacts directly with the anion followed by the cation in [C₁₀mim][hfacac], while methanol preferentially enters the chelating cavity and enhances the packing effect in the [C₁₀mim][Cu(hfacac)₃] system.     

An efficient synthesis of novel spiro[[8H]indeno[2,1-b]-thiophene-8,9′-fluorene] building block for blue light-emitting materials

We have developed efficient synthetic routes to obtain a novel building block spiro[[8H]indeno[2,1-b]thiophene-8,9′-fluorene] (SITF), a monothiophene-containing spirobifluorene analogue, and constructed blue light-emitting materials, including 2′,7′-bis([1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl)-spiro[indeno[2,1-b]thiophene-8,9′-fluorene] (BBP-SITF) and 2′,7′-bis(9,9′-spirobifluoren-2-yl)spiro[[8H]indeno[2,1-b]-thiophene-8,9′-fluorene] (BSBF-SITF). BSBF-SITF has shown to be a stable blue light-emitting material with high PL quantum efficiency (89%) and unique regioselective feature at the C2 of thiophene, which indicate that BSBF-SITF will be useful for constructing complicated optoelectronic systems.     

表面改性对CeO2纳米粉体特性的影响

研究了表面改性对CeO2纳米粉体特性的影响，采用表面活性剂．十二烷基硫酸钠对CeO2粉末颗粒表面进行了改性。未改性和改性的纳米氧化铈用粉体综合性能测试仪、激光粒度仪、比表面积测试仪、X射线仪、扫描电子显微镜进行了表征。结果表明，用十二烷基硫酸钠表面改性能提高纳米氧化铈的流动性和分散性，减小比表面积和团聚，同时也对CeO2粉体颗粒表面改性的机制进行了探讨。