Sm mediated structural properties for MO dye degradation on the titania surface

In the present investigation, titania thin films doped with varying concentrations of Samarium (Sm) were synthesized by spin coating method on glass substrate. The obtained films were annealed at two different temperatures (350 and 450 ?C) to induce crystallinity. The structural property of these samples was characterized by using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectrometer. The surface morphology of the films was analysed by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The presence of pure anatase phase with enhanced polycrystalline nature was evident for the films annealed at 350 and 450 ?C. Due to the addition of Sm, the titania thin films exhibited increased crystallinity. The Raman analysis also support the presence of crystalline anatase phase and the existence of defects in the deposited films. The prepared samples were also subjected to photocatalytic activity studies by using methyl orange (MO) dye and the results are discussed herein. The rate constant increased and half life time decreased considerably for 0.4 at% doped samples. The current work provides new ideas for monitoring the structural properties by adding low concentration rare earth dopant into metal oxides (titania) suitable for various applications.     

Sm3+-based single-band ratiometric thermometer with tunable sensitivity

Rational design of single-band ratiometric (SBR) thermometers has gained considerable attention over the past 5 years. However, the intensity of the excited state absorption mechanism, which is often involved in SBR thermometry, is not such unsatisfactory. Here, we provide a novel SBR temperature measurement method, depending on Sm³⁺-doped calcium tungstate. It has been demonstrated that the charge-transfer- and ground-state absorption mechanisms have the totally opposite responses to the change of temperature. Relying on these two excitation mechanisms, a sensitive SBR thermometry is proposed. In addition, its relative sensitivity could be modulated flexibly by just adjusting excitation modes. The maximum relative sensitivity is as high as 1.98% per K at 318 K. Our results are expected to provide a reference for more researchers to design optical thermometers.     

Isolation and study of KlLSM4, a Kluyveromyces lactis gene homologous to the essential gene LSM4 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We have isolated the KlLSM4 gene as a multicopy suppressor of a Kluyveromyces lactis mutant which shows a rag(-) phenotype (resistance to antimycin A on glucose). This gene is homologous to the ScLSM4 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which codes for an essential 187 amino acid protein containing Sm-like domains. These motifs are present in the evolutionarily conserved family of the Sm-like proteins, which are involved in a large number of cellular processes, including pre-mRNA splicing and mRNA decapping. We demonstrated that the first 72 amino acids of KlLsm4p, which contain the Sm-like domains, can restore cell viability in both K. lactis and S. cerevisiae cells lacking the wild-type protein. However, the absence of the carboxy-terminal region resulted in a remarkable loss of cell viability in the stationary phase. The KlLSM4 sequence has been deposited in the EMBL Data library under Accession No. AJ311719.     

Structure characteristics and microwave dielectric properties of novel Re2Ce6O15 (ReY,Sm, Nd,La) ceramics

Based on the cubic fluorite structure, novel ceramic series with Re₂Ce₆O₁₅ (ReY, Sm, Nd, La) formula had been designed and prepared successfully using solid-state reaction method. The new Re₂Ce₆O₁₅ (ReY, Sm, Nd, La) ceramics all presented a single phase indexed as CeO₂-type structure, belonged to Fm-3m space. The formation mechanism and lattice constant of the crystal structure had been investigated using Rietveld structural refine method. The microstructure of the Re₂Ce₆O₁₅ (ReY, Sm, Nd, La) ceramics had been evaluated by pores, grain size and its distribution. The dielectric constant had been corrected for the exclusion of pores and depended on the ionic polarizability. The quality factors of the Re₂Ce₆O₁₅ (ReY, Sm, Nd, La) ceramics had been investigated by packing fraction related to the phonon vibration. The temperature coefficient of resonance frequency had been analyzed using the bond valence theory. The Re₂Ce₆O₁₅ (ReY, Sm, Nd, La) ceramics exhibited excellent microwave dielectric properties with medium dielectric constant, high quality factors and stable resonant frequency temperature coefficient.