Growth of InAs nanostructures on InP using atomic-force nanolithography

Atomic-force nanolithography was used to control the nucleation sites of InAs nanostructures on InP substrates. Indentations with a wide range of dimensions were produced on InP. InAs nanostructures were selectively grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. It is shown that the number of active nucleation sites depends on the normal force applied during nanoindentation. Crystalline defects introduced by nanoindentation are shown to be nucleation sites for these nanostructures. The presence of screw dislocations within the grown nanostructures further supports this observation. PACS 81.07.-b; 68.37.Ps; 81.16.Nd     

A study of substituent effect on 1H and 13C nmr spectra of N‐ and C‐substituted carbazoles

¹H and ¹³C nmr spectra of several N‐ and C‐substituted carbazoles (Series 1, 2, 3 and 4) were measured. Correlations between chemical shifts and substituent constants show that these parameters describe properly the substituent effect on the nmr phenomena. Atomic charge densities for carbazoles of Series 1, 2, 3 and 4 were calculated by using the semi empirical PM3 method. These values also show a linear correlation with the ¹³C chemical shifts. The synthesis of several carbazole derivatives 1a – 1g, 2a – 2g, 3a – 3j and 4a – 4g have been carried out according to literature procedures. The carbazoles 3i, 3j and 4c have been synthesized and fully characterized for the first time.     

Developments on carbon dioxide reduction: Their promise,achievements, and challenges

CO₂ reduction processes continue to be developed for electrosynthesis, energy storage applications, and environmental remediation. A number of promising materials have shown high activity and selectivity to target reduction products. However, the progress has been mainly at a small laboratory scale, and the technical challenges of large scale CO₂ reduction have not been considered adequately. This review covers recent advancements in catalyst materials and cell designs. The leading materials for CO₂ reduction to a number of useful products are presented with their corresponding cell and reactor designs. The latest efforts to progress to industrially relevant scales are discussed, along with the challenges that must be met for carbon dioxide reduction to be a viable route for mass scale production.     

Elemental speciation by chromatographic separation with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry detection

Separation techniques coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is reviewed. ICP-MS technique is described briefly. Coupling of the different separation techniques are described, together with the most common applications used for each technique that has been described in the literature. An overview for the future of separation techniques coupled to ICP-MS with regard to elemental speciation is discussed.     

Cadmium colloids from non-aqueous solvents

Cadmium colloids have been prepared by Chemical Liquid Deposition (CLD). The metal is evaporated to yield atoms which are solvated at liquid nitrogen temperature, and upon warming, stable liquid colloids are formed with particle size ranging between 25–100 Å. Zeta potentials were calculated according to the conversion of Hunter and the Hückel equation, for ethanol and dimethyl sulphoxide. UV/VIS measurement of most of the black colloids showed absorption band around 280 nm. For comparison, we prepared CdS colloid with size 400–625 Å. The colloids are stable to oxidation in air and/or oxygen bubbling. The synthesis of colloids and films from Cd with acetone, 2-butanone, ethanol, 2-propanol, 2-methoxyethanol, DMF and DMSO is reported. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) allows us to determine particle size.     

Synthesis and characterization of three novel perfluoro-oligothiophenes ranging in length from the trimer to the pentamer

In this Article, we report on the synthesis and full characterization of three perfluorinated oligothiophenes, ranging in length from the trimer to the pentamer (PF-nT, with n = 3, 4, or 5). The differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) analysis of the compounds showed that they can be both oxidized and reduced (i.e., they display a dual or amphoteric electrochemical behavior), with the reduction peaks positively shifted relative to those of the corresponding unsubstituted oligothiophenes. The electrochemically determined energy gaps are in agreement with those measured from the UV-vis-NIR absorption spectra in solution. The conjugational properties have been investigated by means of FT-Raman spectroscopy, both as pure solids and as dilute solutes in CH(2)Cl(2), revealing that: (i) pi-conjugation does not still reach saturation with chain length for the longest oligomer, and (ii) conformational distortions from a nearly coplanar arrangement of the successive thiophene units upon solution are not too large. DFT and TDDFT quantum chemical calculations have been performed, at the B3LYP/6-31G level, to assess information about the optimized molecular structure, equilibrium atomic charges distribution, energies and topologies of the frontier molecular orbitals (MO) around the gap, vibrational normal modes associated with the most outstanding Raman scatterings, and vertical one-electron excitations that give rise to the main optical absorptions.     

Trace element determination in vitamin E using ICP-MS

Vitamin E supplements are either isolated from plants sources or prepared synthetically. Isolation from plants includes eight different tocopherol structures. Vitamin E synthesis includes seven different stereoisomers, which involves the use of several catalysts that may lead to trace element contamination in the vitamin. The use of ICP-MS is an ideal technique for detecting these trace elements. However, the oily nature of the samples requires the development of a sample preparation methodology. This study was done upon the request of synthetic vitamin E manufacturers to test the trace metal purity of their samples. In this work, the comparison of an acid microwave digestion and emulsion preparation is discussed. Cromium, nickel, tin and lead were found in the synthetic vitamin E analyzed and 200, 60, 9 and 45 ppb were the concentrations found respectively for these elements.Digesting the samples gives slightly lower detection limits compared to the emulsion preparation.