Although gold is the subject of one of the most ancient themes of investigation in science, its renaissance now leads to an exponentially increasing number of publications, especially in the context of emerging nanoscience and nanotechnology with nanoparticles and self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). We will limit the present review to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), also called gold colloids. AuNPs are the most stable metal nanoparticles, and they present fascinating aspects such as their assembly of multiple types involving materials science, the behavior of the individual particles, size-related electronic, magnetic and optical properties (quantum size effect), and their applications to catalysis and biology. Their promises are in these fields as well as in the bottom-up approach of nanotechnology, and they will be key materials and building block in the 21st century. Whereas the extraction of gold started in the 5th millennium B.C. near Varna (Bulgaria) and reached 10 tons per year in Egypt around 1200-1300 B.C. when the marvelous statue of Touthankamon was constructed, it is probable that “soluble” gold appeared around the 5th or 4th century B.C. in Egypt and China. In antiquity, materials were used in an ecological sense for both aesthetic and curative purposes. Colloidal gold was used to make ruby glass 293 Chem. Rev. 2004, 104, 293−346

Gold nanoparticles: assembly, supramolecular chemistry, quantum-size-related properties, and applications toward biology, catalysis, and nanotechnology.

Surface plasmons are waves that propagate along the surface of a conductor. By altering the structure of a metal's surface, the properties of surface plasmons--in particular their interaction with light--can be tailored, which offers the potential for developing new types of photonic device. This could lead to miniaturized photonic circuits with length scales that are much smaller than those currently achieved. Surface plasmons are being explored for their potential in subwavelength optics, data storage, light generation, microscopy and bio-photonics.

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Surface plasmon subwavelength optics

Deposits of clastic carbonate-dominated (calciclastic) sedimentary slope systems in the rock record have been identified mostly as linearly-consistent carbonate apron deposits, even though most ancient clastic carbonate slope deposits fit the submarine fan systems better. Calciclastic submarine fans are consequently rarely described and are poorly understood. Subsequently, very little is known especially in mud-dominated calciclastic submarine fan systems. Presented in this study are a sedimentological core and petrographic characterisation of samples from eleven boreholes from the Lower Carboniferous of Bowland Basin (Northwest England) that reveals a >250 m thick calciturbidite complex deposited in a calciclastic submarine fan setting. Seven facies are recognised from core and thin section characterisation and are grouped into three carbonate turbidite sequences. They include: 1) Calciturbidites, comprising mostly of highto low-density, wavy-laminated bioclast-rich facies; 2) low-density densite mudstones which are characterised by planar laminated and unlaminated muddominated facies; and 3) Calcidebrites which are muddy or hyper-concentrated debrisflow deposits occurring as poorly-sorted, chaotic, mud-supported floatstones. These

Phd by thesis

The optical properties of metal nanoparticles have long been of interest in physical chemistry, starting with Faraday's investigations of colloidal gold in the middle 1800s. More recently, new lithographic techniques as well as improvements to classical wet chemistry methods have made it possible to synthesize noble metal nanoparticles with a wide range of sizes, shapes, and dielectric environments. In this feature article, we describe recent progress in the theory of nanoparticle optical properties, particularly methods for solving Maxwell's equations for light scattering from particles of arbitrary shape in a complex environment. Included is a description of the qualitative features of dipole and quadrupole plasmon resonances for spherical particles; a discussion of analytical and numerical methods for calculating extinction and scattering cross-sections, local fields, and other optical properties for nonspherical particles; and a survey of applications to problems of recent interest involving triangula...

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The Optical Properties of Metal Nanoparticles: The Influence of Size, Shape, and Dielectric Environment

The emerging field of plasmonics has yielded methods for guiding and localizing light at the nanoscale, well below the scale of the wavelength of light in free space. Now plasmonics researchers are turning their attention to photovoltaics, where design approaches based on plasmonics can be used to improve absorption in photovoltaic devices, permitting a considerable reduction in the physical thickness of solar photovoltaic absorber layers, and yielding new options for solar-cell design. In this review, we survey recent advances at the intersection of plasmonics and photovoltaics and offer an outlook on the future of solar cells based on these principles.

Plasmonics for improved photovoltaic devices

wurden yon W. PAULI dutch sein AusschlieBungsprinzip erkl~rt: h6chstens ein Elektron fiir jeden Satz der vier Quantenzahlen, die den Zustand des Elektrons kennzeichnen. So war t925 der deduktive Aufbau des Periodensystems gelungen als eine qualitative Deduktion von Eigenschaften der Atome und Ionen unter Voraussetzung der Atomkerne mit den Ladungszahlen t, 2, 3 . . . . 92, der Elektronen und der allgemeinen Prinzipien der Physik, zu denen jetzt auch die Quantentheorie des Atoms geh6rte. Die spektroskopischen Eigenschaften der Atome waren qualitativ verstanden, auch ihre Neigung, Ionen zu bilden, damit weitgehend die Valenzregeln far die polaren Verbindungen. Zum Verst~tndnis der Valenzregeln der Chemie der hom6opolaren Verbindungen reichte das Korrespondenzprinzip aber nicht aus. Schon in dem Zweimuldensystem einer zweiatomigen Molekel war die klassische Frequenz keine glatte Funktiun der Energie. Die strenge Quantenmechanik Heisenberg-Born-Jordanscher Fassung (yon t925) war in ihrer Tendenz und ihrem Ergebnis eine Versch~rfung des Korrespondenzprinzips. Aber sie war ftir Anwendungen auf Molekeln unhandlich. Die Schr6dinger-Gleichung (t926) jedoch lieB sich bequem anwenden und ft~hrte bald zu einem Verst~indnis der hom6opolaren Bindung, etwa yon HEITLER und LONDONS Behandlung der H2-Molekel (1927) bis zum Verst~ndnis der gerichteten Valenz durch SLATE~ und PAULING (t93t). Jetzt war wirklich das Problem der Stoffe gel6st. Hinter der 13bereinstimmung der Ergebnisse der Heisenbergschen ,, Quantenmechanik\" und der Schr6dingerschen ,,Wellenmechanik\" (wie sic damals genannt wurden) stand die Vereinigung der fiir eine klassische Physik einander widersprechenden Aspekte yon der Materie, des Teilchenbildes und des Feldoder Wellenbildes. In der ,,chemischen Kraf t\" konnte man jetzt eine Aul3erung des Feldbildes sehen (der den Elektronen entsprechenden Materie), in den Ganzzahligkeitsgesetzen der Chemic eine AuBerung des Teilchenbildes. Ftir die klassische Physik war die Chemie unverst~ndlich; fiir die bisherige Chemie war das Atombild der Physiker unbrauchbar. Mit der Quantentheorie aber fliegen in der L6sung des Problems der Stoffe die Entwicklungslinien der Chemic und der Physik zusammen. Der Preis ftir diese gewaltige Vereinfachung ist der Verzicht auf die anschauliche Beschreibung der Vorg~inge im Atom. Das Atom ist wirklich der kleinste Baustein, aus dem die Materie noch einigermaBen im anschaulichen Wortsinne ,,gebaut\" ist. Beim Sprechen vom ,,Atombau\" gebraucht man das Wort ,,Bau\" im unanschaulich abge~inderten Sinne. Die Grundlage zu dieser neuen Sprache, in der man sinnvoll yon den Vorg~ngen im Atom sprechen kann, hat BoHR vor 50 Jahren gelegt. In der Beschr~nkung auf das Problem der Stoffe ist sicher Bombs Beitrag zum wissenschaftlichen Denken der Menschheit zu eng gesehen. Er wuBte selbst, daft seine Gedanken in sehr allgemeiner Weise auf eine neue Stufe des Denkens fiihrten. So hat NIELS BOttR wie selten ein Menseh auf der H6he des Menschseins gestanden.

Die Bestimmung der austauschbaren Ionenladung in Quarzkristallen

Silicon is now the dominant semiconductor material in practical applications, accompanied by a few other compounds, all of inorganic nature. On the other hand, already some twenty years ago, strong interest has arisen in organic semiconductor materials, which in principle should be possible to be tailored according to purpose by organic chemistry. In reality, up to now we are far from this point, and most organic semiconductor materials are poorly characterized and of insufficient purity. Nevertheless, investigating this field seems promisable for the future. Up to now a few electronic devices, like diodes, thermistors, peltier elements, photoresistors, etc., have been built on the basis of organic semiconductors, and there are encouraging prospects even in the direction of more complex electronic functions. Prerequisite for this development is a reliable knowledge of the submicroscopic structure provided by suitable spectroscopic methods.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering as a Diagnostic Method in Preparing Organic Semiconductor Films

Bile pigments are biological dyes built up essentially of four pyrrol rings. Thus they show a certain chemical relationship to haem and chlorophyll, but the pyrrol rings do not form a closed porphyrine ring like in these molecules. Bile pigments are found in various biological systems (e.g. mammalian liver and bile, bird egg-shells, insect wings and cuticula pigments, red and blue algae, higher plants). They play a key role in a number of important photochemical processes, namely

1)

photo therapy of hepatitis in new-born babies




2)

photosynthesis in red and blue algae




3)

higher plant morphogenesis.

Picosecond Studies on Bile Pigments

Patient safety technology for microspheres adsorbent suspension-technologies

Abstract Theoretische Überlegungen zeigen, daß die Emission eines Riesenimpulslasers mit Farbstoff-schalter bei einem kurzen Resonator in einzelne \"Filament-Moden\" transversal nullter Ordnung zerfallen kann. Dies kommt dadurch zustande, daß die einzelnen Volumenelemente des Farbstoffschalters unabhängig voneinander den Resonator auf hohe Güte schalten können. Bei langen Resonatoren und beim Schalten mit aktiven Schaltern sollte dieser Effekt nicht auftreten. Es werden Experimente an einem Rubinlaser beschrieben, die diese Überlegungen bestätigen. Filament-Moden bedingen lokal hohe Strahlungsintensitäten und können dadurch zur Zerstörung optischer Bauteile im Resonator führen.

Franz R. Aussenegg

Papers

Die Bestimmung der austauschbaren Ionenladung in Quarzkristallen

Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering as a Diagnostic Method in Preparing Organic Semiconductor Films

Picosecond Studies on Bile Pigments

Patient safety technology for microspheres adsorbent suspension-technologies

Instabilitäten in der Emissionsverteilung farbstoffgeschalteter Rubinlaser