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We have fabricated nanometer-sized channels, demonstrated a technique for the introduction of liquid into the channels, and carried out time-resolved fluorescence measurements of aqueous solutions. In this study, 330-nm- and 850-nm-sized channels were fabricated on fused-silica substrates by fast atom beam etching and hydrofluoric acid bonding methods. A liquid introduction method utilizing capillary action was demonstrated. The liquid introduction was observed under an optical microscope, and the liquid velocity during the introduction was analyzed by surface energy and macroscale hydrodynamics. The liquid velocity due to capillary action in the nanometer-sized channel seemed more than four times slower than the estimation. Then, aqueous solutions of rhodamine 6G (R6G), sulforhodamine 101 (SR101), and rhodamine B (RB) in the channels were measured by time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy; spectra of the same solution in a 250-microm-sized channel were also measured as a reference for the macrospace. Although the fluorescence spectra in the 330-nm-, 850-nm- and 250-microm-sized channels agreed with one another, the fluorescent decays in the nanometer-sized channels were faster for R6G and SR101 and slower for RB than the respective decays in the 250-microm-sized channels. The results suggested the solutions had lower dielectric constants and higher viscosities in the nanometer-sized channels.

The adsorption of natural organic matter (NOM) on mineral (hydr)oxide plays an important role in the evaluation of the speciation of toxic metal ions in the environment. Because both NOM and mineral oxide have variable charges that adjust upon adsorption, a good understanding of proton binding is required before the binding of metal ions can be understood. In this study, the adsorption of purified Aldrich humic acid (PAHA) on goethite was examined as a function of the environmental conditions (pH, salt concentration, and free concentration of PAHA) together with the proton adsorption to PAHA, goethite, and their mixtures. The induced charges on both components were separated on the basis of the difference between the charge/pH curves of the mixture and those of the single components. The electrostatic potential profile across the adsorbed layer was obtained as a numerical solution of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation using the charge density of the adsorbed PAHA and the goethite surface. From the quantitative evaluation of the induced charge on both components, it is revealed that the degree of the charge adjustment is related to the electrostatic affinity between the PAHA segments and the goethite surface, the electrostatic repulsion between the PAHA segments, and the electrostatic shielding by salt ions. Considering the charge distribution of the adsorbed PAHA at the goethite surface, it is concluded that the change of the charge adjustment is sensitive to that of the conformation of the adsorbed PAHA. From the detailed inspection of the assumptions made and the comparison with the reported theoretical calculations, the obtained potential profiles are considered to broadly reflect the true potential profiles. Because a charge adjustment is not frequently considered in detail in relation to the NOM adsorption on metal (hydr)oxides, the obtained results can form the basis for the further development of modeling of the adsorption of NOM on (hydr)oxide surfaces.

The large specific interfacial areas and short molecular diffusion distances provided by glass microchips play important roles not only for effective phase-transfer synthetic reaction, but also for avoiding an undesirable side reaction.

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