Preparation of L-Alanine Crystals Containing Gold Nanoparticles

Amino acids provide useful foods, medicines, health foods, and nutritional supplements. We studied the morphology control of alanine, an amino acid. We also studied the effects of amino acid addition on the dispersion stability of gold nanoparticles. We then studied hybridization between alanine crystals and arginine-capped gold nanoparticles. Alanine crystal growth in a supersaturated alanine solution was found to increase linearly over time, and alanine crystal growth stopped as supersaturation decreased. Alanine crystals with arginine grew toward the c-axis because arginine was adsorbed onto the face (120) of alanine crystals. Absorption wavelengths of colloidal solutions changed for gold nanoparticles with arginine, suggesting that arginine was adsorbed onto gold nanoparticles. The change in alanine crystal morphology was the same for alanine crystals with arginine-capped gold nanoparticles in that it grew toward the c-axis. Alanine crystals contained arginine-capped gold nanoparticles toward the c-axis.     

Effects of concentration and temperature on SDS monolayers at the air-solution interface studied by infrared external reflection spectroscopy

Infrared external reflection (IER) spectra of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) monolayers at the air-solution interface and infrared transmission spectra of the corresponding aqueous solutions were measured at various SDS concentrations and temperatures. A comparison between the spectra of adsorbed monolayers and bulk solutions revealed that the conformational order of the SDS alkyl-chain at the air-solution interface improved with increasing the SDS concentrations, up until the saturation adsorption, and that the conformational order of the adsorbed SDS monolayer was higher than those of monomers and micelles. In addition, below the Krafft point temperature, the adsorbed SDS was maintained in the liquid crystal state, while SDS in the bulk solution was in the crystalline state. Furthermore, the SDS adsorption density was evaluated based on the IER band intensities of the insoluble monolayer of tridecanoic acid with an identical alkyl chain length to SDS.     

Quinoxaline-embedded polyacenoquinone esters: synthesis, electronic properties, and crystal structure

The development of an expedient synthesis toward quinoxaline ring-embedded polyacenoquinone esters with the generic structure A is demonstrated by the synthesis of penta- and hexacenoquinone esters. They are potential n-type small molecules, capable of undergoing successive reductions and self-assembling in face-to-face π-stacks.     

PREPARATION OF CaCO3 PARTICLES IN WATER POOL IN NONAQUEOUS NONIONIC SURFACTANT SOLUTIONS

ABSTRACT

CaCO₃ particles were prepared by bubbling of CO₂ into the systems consisting of polyoxyethylene(6) nonylphenyl ether/aqueous Ca(OH) ₂/cyclohexane. Spherical particles were formed in any systems, but those size distribution depended on the solubility behavior of aqueous Ca(OH) ₂ in surfactant solutions, i.e., monodisperse particles were formed in colorless solution, whereas in blue translucent solution they became bimodal. Such change was also observed for the size of reversed micelles. This suggested that the formation of CaCO₃ particles were related with that of micelles. On the other hand, the particles obtained were consisted of calcite, vaterite and aragonite. Those fraction differed also from the solubility behavior of aqueous Ca(OH) ₂. Both the vaterite and aragonite were transformed into calcite and those rate constants were order of 10^?6 sec^?1.