Emission and sputtering characteristics of Ne-Ar mixed gas glow discharge plasmas.

The emission characteristics of several Cu lines emitted from a Ne-Ar mixed gas glow discharge plasma were investigated. The addition of small amounts of Ar to a Ne plasma increases the sputtering rate of a Cu sample because Ar ions, which work as the impinging ions for cathode sputtering, are predominantly produced through Penning ionization collisions between Ne metastables and Ar atoms. Ar addition also elevates the number density of electrons in the plasma. These changes occurring in the Ne-Ar mixed gas plasma result in enhanced emission intensities of the Cu lines. The Cu II 270.10-nm and the Cu II 224.70-nm lines yield different intensity dependence on the Ar partial pressure added. This phenomenon is because these Cu II lines are excited principally through different charge transfer processes: collisions with Ne ions for the Cu II 270.10-nm line and collisions with Ar ions for the Cu II 224.70-nm line. The shape of sputtered craters in the Ne-Ar glow discharge plasma was measured. The depth resolution was improved when Ar was added to a Ne plasma because the crater bottoms were flatter with larger Ar partial pressures.     

Silylation of water glass. I. Solvent extraction and trimethylsilylation of silicic acid

Homogeneous trimethylsilylation of silicic acid in nonaqueous media was studied. The silylation process consisted of three steps: acidification of sodium silicate, solvent extraction. and trimethylation of silicic acid. Sodium silicate was first acidified with dilute sulfuric acid to form silicic acid: extraction followed with hydrophilic organic solvents. The Silicic acid obtained was finally allowed to react with trimethylchlorosilane to give trimethylsilylates with molecular weights of 1000–12,000. Optimum conditions for each step have been intensively sought to achieve trimethylsilylates in high yield. The trimethylsilylates exhibited excellent thermal stability and surface properties, such as water repellency and antifoaming properties, comparable to those of conventional polydimethylsiloxanes.     

SERS and FT-IR studies of CO adsorbed on underpotential deposited Ag/Pt electrodes

CO adsorbed on UPD and OPD (under- and overpotential deposited) Ag layers on a Pt electrode surface was studied by SERS and IRRAS in conjunction with cyclic voltammetry. Electrochemical activation of a uniform UPD Ag adlayer produced Ag clusters on the Pt electrode as well as bare Pt sites. The strong adsorption of CO on the UPD Ag/Pt electrode compared with a bulk Ag electrode is explained by the influence of the substrate Pt atoms. The degree of electron back-donation to CO increases the degree of lower frequency shifts of CO on the electrodes in the order Pt electrodes < monolayer Ag/Pt < multilayer Ag/Pt.     

Analysis by partial reflection spectrometry of protonated tetraphenylporphyrin adsorbed at a liquid-liquid interface

Visible reflection spectra of diprotonated meso-tetraphenylporphyrin adsorbates spontaneously formed at a dodecane-aqueous sulfuric acid interface have been measured using a home-made device comprising a prism-cell and variable-angle optics. The tilt angle of the pyrrole ring plane was estimated to be 47 degrees from the interface normal by use of an experimentally evaluated molecular density (1.20x10(-10) mol cm(-2)) of the diprotonated molecule in a monolayer form at the liquid-liquid interface. Positive and negative bands have been observed in the p-polarized partial internal reflection (p-PIR) spectra, whose band locations correspond to those in p-polarized external reflection (p-ER) spectra. Nevertheless, the bands in the p-PIR exhibited reversed sign to those of p-ER spectra. These suggest that the surface selection rule of the p-PIR spectrometry has a reversal rule of p-ER and p-PIR can also be used for the analysis of molecular orientation.     

Pressure-Induced Solidification of 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium Tetrafluoroborate

We have used Raman spectroscopy to investigate the high-pressure phase behavior of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim][BF₄]), a representative ionic liquid, at pressures up to ~7.5 GPa. We have also studied how increasing pressure leads to conformational changes in the [bmim]⁺ cation. We have found that liquid [bmim][BF₄] undergoes pressure-induced solidification (freezing) into a superpressed (metastable) state at 2.5 GPa; another structural change probably occurs at ~6 GPa. Remarkably, conformational changes in the [bmim]⁺ cation between trans and gauche conformers are concordant with the metastable structural changes of [bmim][BF₄]. As the pressure is increased from ambient, the fraction of gauche conformers increases, but the gauche fraction decreases above the solidification pressure (2.5 GPa), and slope of the gauche/trans ratio changes again above 6 GPa. We interpret these results in terms of the fragility of the ionic liquid.     

Reactions of lithium tributyl heteroaryl borates with allylic bromides in the presence of copper(I) cyanide

The reaction of various lithium tributylheteroarylborates with allylic bromides in the presence of copper(I) cyanide furnished the regioselective allylation at the heteroaryl ring.     

Sulfur-rich CpCo(dithiolene) complexes: Isostructural or non-isostructural couples of CpCo(III) with CpNi(III) dithiolene complexes

Eight new sulfur-rich [CpCo(dithiolene)] complexes were synthesized from [Zn(dmit)₂]²⁻ as a starting material. The structures, electrochemical behavior and electronic absorption spectra of the sulfur-rich [CpCo(S₂C₂S₂Y)] complexes could be compared with the early data of analogous Ni complexes. [CpCo(pddt)] (Y = -(CH₂)₃-), [CpCo(dpdt)] (Y = -CH₂C(CH₂)CH₂-), [CpCo(bddt)] (Y = -(CH₂)₄-), [CpCo(dtdt)] (Y = -CH₂SCH₂-) and [CpCo(poddt)] (Y = -CH₂C(O)CH₂-) crystallized in all isostructural with the corresponding paramagnetic [CpNi(dithiolene)] complexes, but [CpCo(dmid)] (Y = CO), [CpCo(dddt)] (Y = -(CH₂)₂-) and [CpCo(F₂pddt)] (Y = -CH₂CF₂CH₂-) crystallized in non-isostructural with them. These molecules are associated with intermolecular short S?S contacts in the crystals. [CpCo(F₂pddt)] did not show any remarkable S?S contacts but indicated interesting fluorine segregation and Cp?Cp face-to-face interactions. Redox potentials of [CpCo(dithiolene)] complexes were obtained with the cyclic voltammetry measurements and dimerized by electrochemical oxidations. Electronic absorption spectra of [CpCo(dithiolene)] complexes showed visible absorption in the range of 585-701 nm as lowest energy wavelengths (? = 9800-11,800 M⁻¹ cm⁻¹) in solutions, and they were higher energy than those of [CpNi(dithiolene)] complexes (near-IR).     

A new charge-correction method in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The 2p_{$\text{3}\text{2}$} binding energy (242.3 eV) of Ar implanted in insulating materials is available to correct for charging shifts. Argon ions hav materials SiO₂ and soda glass. In each case the charging shift for Ar 2p_{$\text{3}\text{2}$} electrons agrees exactly with those for core-level elec The charge-corrected binding energies of the insulating materials permit the identification of atomic chemical states. Ion-induced reduction of the ins investigations.     

Surface-enhanced raman spectra and molecular orientation of phthalazine adsorbed on a silver electrode

SERS from phthalazine adsorbed on an Ag electrode was investigated under several conditions of applied voltage and solution concentration. Spectral assignments of the Raman bands were successfully performed and two differently oriented adsorbates, i.e. flat and end-on species, were identified. The contribution of the image field to the SERS intensity was considerable.