Converting ceria polyhedral nanoparticles into single-crystal nanospheres

Ceria nanoparticles are one of the key abrasive materials for chemical-mechanical planarization of advanced integrated circuits. However, ceria nanoparticles synthesized by existing techniques are irregularly faceted, and they scratch the silicon wafers and increase defect concentrations. We developed an approach for large-scale synthesis of single-crystal ceria nanospheres that can reduce the polishing defects by 80% and increase the silica removal rate by 50%, facilitating precise and reliable mass-manufacturing of chips for nanoelectronics. We doped the ceria system with titanium, using flame temperatures that facilitate crystallization of the ceria yet retain the titania in a molten state. In conjunction with molecular dynamics simulation, we show that under these conditions, the inner ceria core evolves in a single-crystal spherical shape without faceting, because throughout the crystallization it is completely encapsulated by a molten 1- to 2-nanometer shell of titania that, in liquid state, minimizes the surface energy. The principle demonstrated here could be applied to other oxide systems.     

棉花组织培养高效植株再生体系的建立

通过对影响棉花体细胞胚胎发生和植株再生关键因素的研究,建立了适用于广泛基因型的棉花组织培养高效胚胎发生与植株再生体系。从中棉所12、中棉所19、泗棉3号等20余个主栽品种诱导获得了胚胎发生和植株再生,有效地突破了棉花组织培养植株再生的基因型控制,使占我国棉田面积50%以上的品种均能诱导获得胚胎发生和再生植株。首次诱导获得直接胚胎发生,使棉花组织培养的周期由180d缩短到120d左右,减少了培养过程中变异的发生。该结果的获得必将大大促进植物细胞工程和基因工程在棉花遗传改良上的应用。     

Fluorinated analogues of chrysanthemic acid

Novel halogenated chrysanthemic acid analogues have been prepared and the interesting properties of their esters are described. Among this group are the most active insecticides yet reported.