Tuning Wall Thicknesses in Mesoporous Silica Films for Optimization of Optical Anti-Reflective Properties.

This work reports the fabrication of mesoporous silica films with controllable wall thicknesses by spin coating of precursor solutions consisting of polystyrene-block-polybutadiene-block-polystyrene based triblock copolymers (Hydrogenated methyl Styrene Ethylene Butadiene methyl Styrene, HmSEBmS) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) followed by calcination in air at 600 °C, for optical anti-reflection films. By changing the relative weight of the triblock polymer to TEOS, the pore-to-pore distance in the mesoporous silica film can be controlled without significantly affecting the size of the mesopores, thus, enabling effective control of the refractive index and porosity of the films. In terms of optical properties, the transmittance of the fabricated mesoporous silica film is approximately 3.

Measurement of swallowing using flexible polymer sensor.

We proposed a new method to measure swallowing in this study. A flexible polymer sensor was used to measure human swallowing. Electromyogram (EMG) of suprahyoid muscles were measured as a reference of swallowing.

Synthesis and characterization of Zn-doped mesoporous SnO2 by using thermally-stable block copolymer templates.

By using novel triblock copolymer templates, thermally-stable ordered mesoporous SnO2 thin films are synthesized through a solvent evaporation method. Owing to the high thermal stability of the triblock copolymer, the mesoporous structure is retained even after calcination at 600 °C. After the crystallization, the mesopore walls consist of small crystallite nanoparticles a few nanometers in diameter.

Iron twin-coronet porphyrins as models of myoglobin and hemoglobin: amphibious electrostatic effects of overhanging hydroxyl groups for successful CO/O2 discrimination.

Inspired by the observation of polar interactions between CO and O(2) ligands and the peptide residues at the active site of hemoglobin and myoglobin, we synthesized two kinds of superstructured porphyrins: TCP-IM, which contains a linked imidazole ligand, and TCP-PY, which contains a linked pyridine ligand, and examined the thermodynamic, kinetic, and spectroscopic (UV/Vis, IR, NMR, and resonance Raman) properties of their CO and O(2) complexes. On both sides of each porphyrin plane, bulky binaphthyl bridges form hydrophobic cavities that are suitable for the binding of small molecules. In the proximal site, an imidazole or pyridine residue is covalently fixed and coordinates axially to the central iron atom.

Formation and characterization of carbon monoxide adducts of iron "twin coronet" porphyrins. Extremely low CO affinity and a strong negative polar effect on bound CO.

The carbon monoxide (CO) adducts of iron "twin coronet" porphyrins (TCPs) are characterized by UV-vis, resonance Raman (RR), IR, and 13C NMR spectroscopies. A superstructured porphyrin, designated as TCP, was used as a common framework for the four different types of iron complexes. TCP bears two binaphthalene bridges on each side and creates two hydrophobic pockets surrounded by the bulky aromatic rings.