Development and operation of fiber-based radiation protection beam-loss monitor for PAL-XFEL

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Beam loss monitor using a long optical fiber has been developed and operated for radiation protection in PAL-XFEL, which is an X-ray free electron...     

Investigation of negative differential resistance properties of self-assembled dipyridinium using STM

Recently, research on conducting molecules containing thiol functional groups such as benzenethiol has been progressing [X. Xiao, B. Xu, N.J. Tao, Nano Lett. 4 (2004) 267]. This conducting molecule is applicable to the study of the negative differential resistance (NDR) and switching properties of logic device. The 4-{4[4-(4-{1-[4-(4-acetylsulfanyl-phenylethynyl)-phenyl]-2,6-diphenyl-pyridinium-4-yl}-phenyl)-2,6-diphenyl-pyridinium-1-yl]-phenylethynyl}-phenylthioacetate (dipyridinium) molecule contains thiol functional groups such as benzenethiol. Thus, we have studied an NDR property of a dipyridinium molecule using the self-assembly method in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The Au substrate was exposed to a 1 mM solution of 1-dodecanethiol in ethanol for 24 h to form a monolayer. After thorough rinsing of the sample, it was exposed to a 0.1 μM solution of dipyridinium in dimethylformamide (DMF) for 30 min. After the assembly, we measured the electrical properties of the self-assembly monolayers (SAMs) using ultra high vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy (UHV-STM) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS). As a result, we confirmed the properties of NDR in a negative region at −1.67 V and a positive region at 1.78 V. The energy gap (E_g) was found to be 3.12 eV [C. Arena, B. Kleinsorge, J. Robertson, W.I. Milne, M.E. Welland, J. Appl. Phys. 85 (1999) 1609]. This molecule is applicable to the fabrication of molecular junctions.     

Nonenzymatic amperometric sensor for ascorbic acid based on hollow gold/ruthenium nanoshells

We report a new nonenzymatic amperometric detection of ascorbic acid (AA) using a glassy carbon (GC) disk electrode modified with hollow gold/ruthenium (hAu–Ru) nanoshells, which exhibited decent sensing characteristics. The hAu–Ru nanoshells were prepared by the incorporation of Ru on hollow gold (hAu) nanoshells from Co nanoparticle templates, which enabled AA selectivity against glucose without aid of enzyme or membrane. The structure and electrocatalytic activities of the hAu–Ru catalysts were characterized by spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques. The hAu–Ru loaded on GC electrode (hAu–Ru/GC) showed sensitivity of 426 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻² (normalized to the GC disk area) for the linear dynamic range of <5 μM to 2 mM AA at physiological pH. The response time and detection limit were 1.6 s and 2.2 μM, respectively. Furthermore, the hAu–Ru/GC electrode displayed remarkable selectivity for ascorbic acid over all potential biological interferents, including glucose, uric acid (UA), dopamine (DA), 4-acetamidophenol (AP), and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), which could be especially good for biological sensing.     

Thermally Driven Structural Order of Oligo(Ethylene Glycol)-Terminated Alkanethiol Monolayers on Au(111) Prepared by Vapor Deposition

To probe the effects of deposition temperature on the formation and structural order of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Au(111) prepared by vapor deposition of 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethanethiol (CH₃O(CH₂)₂O(CH₂)₂SH, EG2) for 24 h, we examined the surface structure and electrochemical behavior of the resulting EG2 SAMs using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). STM observations clearly revealed that EG2 SAMs vapor-deposited on Au(111) at 298 K were composed of a disordered phase on the entire Au surface, whereas those formed at 323 K showed improved structural order, showing a mixed phase of ordered and disordered phases. Moreover, at 348 K, uniform and highly ordered EG2 SAMs on Au(111) were formed with a (2 × 3√3) packing structure. CV measurements showed sharp reductive desorption (RD) peaks at −0.818, −0.861, and −0.880 V for EG2 SAM-modified Au electrodes formed at 298, 323, and 348 K, respectively. More negative potential shifts of RD peaks with increasing deposition temperature are attributed to an increase in van der Waals interactions between EG2 molecular backbones resulting from the improved structural quality of EG2 SAMs. Our results obtained herein provide new insights into the formation and thermally driven structural order of oligo(ethylene glycol)-terminated SAMs vapor-deposited on Au(111).