Improvement of TiO2/Dye/Electrolyte Interface Conditions by Positional Change of Alkyl Chains in Modified Panchromatic Ru Complex Dyes

A series of panchromatic ruthenium sensitizers ( MJ sensitizers) with attached thiophene and phenyl units bearing alkyl chains was synthesized. A new synthetic route was used to examine all possible positions for the alkyl chains. The absorption spectra showed the sum of a ruthenium complex and peripheral organic chromophore units. The hypochromic effect and blueshift of the metal‐to‐ligand charge‐transfer band observed in the modified ruthenium sensitizers were suppressed by changing the positions of the alkyl chains on the attached thiophene ring. Changing only one alkyl chain also influenced the performance of dye‐sensitized solar cells. Ruthenium sensitizer MJ‐10 with bulky substituent harvests visible and near‐infrared light, and solar cells sensitized by MJ‐10 exhibit an efficiency of 9.1 % under 1 sun irradiation.     

Complex formation of light and heavy lanthanides with DGA and DOODA,and its application to mutual separation in DGA–DOODA extraction system

We studied the stepwise formation constants (β) of water-soluble diglycolamide (DGA) and dioxaoctanediamide (DOODA) for the mutual separation of Ln in a solvent extraction system. TODGA (N,N,N?,N?-tetraoctyl-diglycolamide) and DOODA(C8) (N,N,N?,N?-tetraoctyl-dioxaoctanediamide) exhibit opposite behaviors in extracting both light and heavy Ln through Ln-patterns. Metal complexes of two- and three-folding with water-soluble DOODA and DGA, respectively, were found, and each β value was calculated using distribution ratios. Taking β, their distribution ratio, D, and separation factor, SF, values into consideration, the suitable separation conditions (aqueous phase: 30 mM DOODA(C2) in 1 M HNO₃; organic phase: 0.1 M TODGA in n-dodecane) of multistage extraction (10?×?10 extraction using aqueous and organic phases, including one sample solution) were determined. In this study, La, Pr, and Nd were mainly present in the aqueous phase, whereas Sm–Dy existed in the organic phase. Although these two groups can be easily separated into two phases, the resolution, Rs, values provide for little mutual separation between La–Nd and Sm–Dy under the present conditions.

     

Piled-lamellae structure in polyethylene film and its deformation

The fine structure of polyethylene film has been investigated by using a high-resolution scanning electron microscope equipped with a field emission source. The original film surface of a-axis-oriented blown polyethylene film and the surface of a necked region formed by drawing the film in the machine direction were observed. High magnification electron micrographs indicate that the basic unit of internal texture of this film consists of piled-lamellae units, each pile containing three to ten lamellar crystal sheets. The piled-lamellae unit acts as one body and does not separate into single lamellae during deformation. Many tie fibrils are formed between adjacent piled-lamellae units, when the film is drawn in the machine direction. Although little attention has been given to this mechanism, it is important in deformation. This fact seems to be reflected in different shapes of the stress-strain curves of films drawn the machine direction and perpendicular to it.     

Preconcentration of copper, cadmium, and lead with a thiacalix[4]arenetetrasulfonate-loaded Sephadex A-25 anion-exchanger for graphite-furnace atomic-absorption spectrometry

A rapid column-adsorption method has been developed for concentrating traces of copper, cadmium, and lead in water prior to their determinations by graphite-furnace atomic-absorption spectrometry. The adsorbent used was prepared by loading a strongly basic anion-exchanger QAE-Sephadex A-25 (50 mg) with thiacalix[4]arenetetrasulfonate (20 mol). Two-hundredfold preconcentration of the analyte elements was achieved by passing 100 mL of sample solution (pH 8.0) through a column packed with the adsorbent (6 mm i.d.×7 mm high) at a flow rate of 10 mL min^–1 and by the subsequent elution with 500 L of aqueous nitric acid solution (1 mol L^–1). The practical applicability of the proposed method was evaluated by analyzing certified reference seawater samples.     

Unprecedented hydrothermal reaction of o-phenylaniline and related derivatives with cyclic ketones. A novel approach to the construction of phenanthridine and quinoline ring systems

[reaction: see text] A new method for synthesizing phenanthridine and its related compounds was developed using the condensation of o-phenylaniline and its homologues with cyclic ketones under hydrothermal conditions.     

Electronic structure of substitutional nitrogen impurity in TiO 2 studied by the β-NMR method

In order to study the local electronic structure of nitrogen impurity in rutile TiO₂, we have measured double-quantum NMR spectra of short lived β-emitter ¹²N(I = 1, T _1/2 = 11 ms) implanted into a rutile single crystal by means of the β-NMR technique. The resonance line obtained at room temperature is well accounted for by the second order shift due to the quadrupole interaction at the oxygen substitutional site. The spectrum at 25 K has shown the other lines than the central diamagnetic line shifted by 10?15 kHz to both sides, which has been already shown in the previous data obtained with a different crystal orientation and an external field. The present results supports the existence of a paramagnetic state formed by the substitutional nitrogen impurities.     

Charge Transfer Transitions from Cyclohexadienyl-Type Radicals to Host Molecules in Anthracene Single Crystals

The optical absorption spectra of 1-, 2- and 9-dibenzo-cyclohexadienyl radical in anthracene crystals have been obtained and analyzed. It is shown that the absorption lines consist of vibrational progression and charge-transfer lines for 2- and 9-DBCR. Each line belonging to the former has the same polarization as the most intense 0–0 vibrational line and the latter show polarization character depending on the direction of charge transfer and the transition energy was found to have a coulombic dependence on the distance of charge transfer. It is pointed out that only charge transfer lines were observed for 1-DBCR. The splitting of lines were observed and ascribed either to the resonance transfer interaction between two neighboring molecules situated at an equal distance from the radical or to the site symmetry. It is suggested that the intensity of the charge-transfer lines are borrowed from the intra-radical transition. The result that the charge transfer lines are more intense than the intra-radical lines for 1-DBCR was discussed.     

Nuclear moments as a probe of electronic structure in material, exotic nuclear structure and fundamental symmetry

We report our studies in various fields of Physics through nuclear moments utilizing the β-NMR technique, including material sciences, nuclear structures and fundamental symmetries. Especially, we focus on the recent progress in the studies on the electronic structure in Pt through Knight shifts of various impurities, lattice locations of impurities, electric field gradients, the analysis of nuclear spin in terms of its components, anomaly in the spin expectation value for ⁹C-⁹Li mirror pair, the G-parity conservation law, and the Ramsey resonance on UCN for future neutron EDM measurements.