Micrometer-sized gold-silica Janus particles act as an effective stabilizer of emulsions by adsorption at the oil-water interface. The Janus particles were adsorbed at the oil-water interface as a monolayer and stabilized near-spherical and nonspherical oil droplets that remained stable without coalescence for longer than one year. Gold and silica surfaces have hydrophobic and hydrophilic features; these surfaces were exposed to oil and water phases, respectively. In contrast, bare silica particles cannot stabilize stable emulsion, and completed demulsification occurred within 2 h. Greater stability of the emulsion for the Janus particle system compared to the silica particle system was achieved by using the adsorption energy of the Janus particles at the oil-water interface; the adsorption energy of the Janus particles is more than 3 orders of magnitude greater than that of silica particles. Suspension polymerization of Janus particle-stabilized vinyl monomer droplets in the absence of any molecular-level emulsifier in aqueous media led to nonspherical microspheres with Janus particles on their surface. Furthermore, polymer microspheres carrying Au femtoliter cups on their surfaces were successfully fabricated by removal of the silica component from the Janus-particle stabilized microspheres.

Its high nutritional content and sensory characteristics make edamame a popular vegetable bean. However, because of its short shelf-life, it is important to optimize the storage conditions to maintain its quality during distribution to consumers. We focused on storage conditions to investigate the temporal changes in the metabolic profiles and sensory characteristics of edamame during transportation from the site of harvest to the site of purchase/consumption. We conducted metabolomic analysis and sensory evaluation tests of edamame stored for different lengths and at different temperatures. Charged metabolites were profiled by capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry, and free sugars were quantified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. In comparison to the gradual decrease in its sensory characteristics over time, the changes in metabolite profiles manifested four different patterns. In particular, changes in amino acid levels were related to sensory attributes. The downstream metabolites of shikimate as well as phospholipids and gamma-aminobutyric acid increased with increasing storage temperatures.

Polymeric micelles with core-shell-corona architecture have been found to be the efficient colloidal templates for synthesis of periodic organosilica hollow nanospheres over a broad pH range from acidic to alkaline media. In alkaline medium, poly (styrene-b-[3-(methacryloylamino)propyl] trimethylammonium chloride-b-ethylene oxide) (PS-PMAPTAC-PEO) micelles yield benzene-silica hollow nanospheres with molecular scale periodicity of benzene groups in the shell domain of hollow particles. Whereas, an acidic medium (pH 4) produces diverse hollow particles with benzene, ethylene, and a mixture of ethylene and dipropyldisulfide bridging functionalities using poly(styrene-b-2-vinyl pyridine-b-ethylene oxide) (PS-PVP-PEO) micelles. These hollow particles were thoroughly characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTA), Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), magic angle spinning-nuclear magnetic resonance ((29)Si MAS NMR and (13)CP-MAS NMR), Raman spectroscopy, and nitrogen adsorption/desorption analyses. The benzene-silica hollow nanospheres with molecular scale periodicity in the shell domain exhibit higher cycling performance of up to 300 cycles in lithium ion rechargeable batteries compared with micron-sized dense benzene-silica particles.

Micrometer-sized polymer-grafted gold-silica (Au-SiO) Janus particles were fabricated by vacuum evaporation followed by polymer grafting. The Janus particle diameter, diameter distribution, morphology, surface chemistry, and water wettability were characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and contact angle measurements. The optical microscopy results showed that the polystyrene (PS)-grafted Au-SiO Janus particles exhibited monolayer adsorption at the air-water interface and could stabilize bubbles, preventing their coalescence for more than 1 month. The hydrophobic PS-grafted Au and hydrophilic SiO surfaces were exposed to the air and water phases, respectively. Bare Au-SiO and poly(2-(perfluorobutyl)ethyl methacrylate) (PPFBEM)-grafted Au-SiO Janus particles could also stabilize bubbles for up to 2 weeks. By contrast, bare silica particles did not stabilize bubbles and were dispersed in water. The bubbles that formed in the PS-grafted Janus particle system were more stable than those formed in the bare Au-SiO Janus particles, PPFBEM-grafted Au-SiO Janus particles, and SiO particle systems because of the high adsorption energy of the PS-grafted particles at the air-water interface.

Three forms of crystals were obtained from mixed solutions of phenothiazine and SbCl5; the crystal structure of the monoclinic(I) modification was determined using 2827 reflections at room temperature. Crystal data: (C12H9NS)+·SbCl6−, F.W.=533.7, monoclinic, a=16.253(3), b=14.334(1), c=15.786(3) Å, β=104.07(1)°, space group C2/c, Dm=2.00, Dx=1.99 g cm−3, Z=8, μ=25.73 cm−1 (Mo Kα). The structure was solved by the heavyatom method and refined by block-diagonal least-squares method to R=0.072. The crystal consists of phenothiazine cation radicals(PT+·) and hexachloroantimonate anions(SbCl6−), and every ion exists as a monomer in the crystal. Each SbCl6− forms a distorted octahedron. The two C–S distances of PT+· are 1.705 and 1.711 Å, and the C–S–C angle is 103.9°. The dihedral angle between the two outer phenyl rings of PT+· is 176.5°. From the ESR measurements of a single crystal, three principal g-values were determined: g1=2.003, g2=2.007 and g3=2.008. The direction of g1 is normal to the molecular plane of PT+·. These facts suggest some π-delocalization in the central ring of PT+·. Absorption spectra polarized parallel to the molecular plane of PT+· are very similar to the poly crystalline reflection spectra of PT+· salts obtained by other authors, and there are no intense bands in the spectra polarized perpendicular to PT+· molecular plane over the wave number range 10 to 27×103 cm−1.