Hongwei Zhao

Absorption coefficients of selected explosives and related compounds in the range of 0.1–2.8 THz

We have investigated the absorption spectra of seventeen explosives and related compounds (ERCs) by using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy in the 0.1-2.8 THz region. Most of these substances show characteristic absorption features in this frequency range. The measured absorption coefficients of these ERCs form a database, which is of great importance for biochemical, defense and security related applications.

Molecular Recognition and Interaction between Uracil and Urea in Solid-State Studied by Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

Using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy characterization, we observe that urea is able to recognize and interact with uracil efficiently even in the solid phase without involving water or solvents. A cocrystal configuration linked by a pair of hydrogen bonds between uracil and urea was formed. The terahertz absorption spectrum of the cocrystal shows a distinct new absorption at 0.8 THz (26.7 cm(-1)), which originates from the intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Both mechanical milling and heating can accelerate the reaction efficiently. Density functional theory was adopted to simulate the vibrational modes of the cocrystal, and the results agree well with the experimental observation. Multiple techniques, including powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, were performed to investigate the reaction process, and they presented supportive evidence. This work enables in-depth understanding of recognition and interaction of urea with nucleobases and comprehension of the denaturation related to RNA. We also demonstrate that terahertz spectroscopy is an effective and alternative tool for online measurement and quality control in pharmaceutical and chemical industries.

Preparation of freestanding graphene-based laminar membrane for clean-water intake via forward osmosis process

Here, a facile strategy is reported to prepare thin freestanding graphene oxide (GO) laminar membranes through thermally-induced chemical cross-linking process. The resultant freestanding cross-linked GO (F-CGO) membranes show controllable inter-laminar distance and hydraulic stability in aqueous media. Semi-permeability tests through a forward osmosis (FO) system show that the water permeation rate of the F-CGO membranes is up to 35.5 L m−2 h−1 when the draw solution is 2.0 mol L−1 NaCl solution. This value is much higher than that of standing cross-linked GO (S-CGO) membranes, which indicates that the internal concentration polarization (ICP) effect has been alleviated by the F-CGO membrane. Furthermore, clean-water was taken in from various wastewaters, but without any detectable residual pollutants by using the F-CGO membrane as a separator. This work demonstrates that the F-CGO membrane is promising for water purification applications through the FO process, especially for portable water purification systems utilized during emergency situations.

Terahertz identification and quantification of neurotransmitter and neurotrophy mixture

Terahertz spectroscopy has been widely used for investigating the fingerprint spectrum of different substances. For cancerous tissues, the greatest difficulty is the absorption peaks of various substances contained in tissues overlap with each other, which are hard to identify and quantitative analyze. As a result, it is very hard to measure the presence of cancer cell and then to diagnose accurately. In this paper, we select three typical neurotransmitters (γ-aminobutyric acid, L-glutamic acid, dopamine hydrochloride) and two typical metabolites (inositol and creatine) in neurons to measure their terahertz spectra with different mixture ratios. By choosing characteristic absorption peaks, removing baseline and using the least square method, we can identify the components and proportions of each mixture, where the goodness of fit to practical situation is up to 94%. These results provide important evidences for identifying nerve substances and obtaining exact quantitative analysis.

Terahertz spectra of l-phenylalanine and its monohydrate

The low-frequency vibrational property of l-phenylalanine (l-Phe) and l-phenylalanine monohydrate (l-Phe·H2O) has been investigated by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) at room and low temperature ranging from 0.5 to 4.5THz. Distinctive THz absorption spectra of the two compounds were observed. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations based on the crystal structures have been performed to simulate the vibrational modes of l-Phe and l-Phe·H2O and the results agree well with the experimental observations. The study indicates that the characterized features of l-Phe mainly originate from the collective vibration of molecules. And the characterized features of l-Phe·H2O mainly come from hydrogen bond interactions between l-Phe and water molecules. l-Phe and l-Phe·H2O were also verified by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry (DSC-TG) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) examinations.

Isomers Identification of 2-hydroxyglutarate acid disodium salt (2HG) by Terahertz Time-domain Spectroscopy

Abstract2-Hydroxyglutaric acid disodium salt (2HG) is a unique biomarker existing in glioma, which can be used for recognizing cancer development stage and identifying the boundary between the ordinary tissue and cancer tissue. However, the most efficient detection method for 2HG now is Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS), whose testing time is at least twenty minutes and the variability of 2HG (continuous synthesis and decomposition) determines it cannot be used as the real-time image in medical surgery. In this paper, by using the Terahertz Time-domain Spectroscopy (THz-TDS) System, we investigate the vibration spectra of 2HG isomers and further distinguish their physical properties by using Density Functional Theory. The differences between isomers are mainly attributed to the proton transfer inside the carbon chain. These results indicate that terahertz technology can identify the isomers of 2HG accurate and fast, which has important significance for the further investigation of glioma and clinical surgery.

Polarization-controlled asymmetric excitation of surface plasmons

Free-space light can be coupled into propagating surface waves at a metal–dielectric interface, known as surface plasmons (SPs). This process has traditionally faced challenges in preserving the incident polarization information and controlling the directionality of the excited SPs. The recently reported polarization-controlled asymmetric excitation of SPs in metasurfaces has attracted much attention for its promise in developing innovative plasmonic devices. However, the unit elements in these works were purposely designed in certain orthogonal polarizations, i.e., linear or circular polarizations, resulting in limited two-level polarization controllability. Here, we introduce a coupled-mode theory to overcome this limit. We demonstrated theoretically and experimentally that, by utilizing the coupling effect between a pair of split-ring-shaped slit resonators, exotic asymmetric excitation of SPs can be obtained under the x-, y-, left-handed circular, and right-handed circular polarization incidences, while the polarization information of the incident light can be preserved in the excited SPs. The versatility of the presented design scheme would offer opportunities for polarization sensing and polarization-controlled plasmonic devices.

0.1–20 THz ultra-broadband perfect absorber via a flat multi-layer structure

An ultra-broadband perfect absorber based on graded-index mechanism is designed and fabricated. The perfect absorber is comprised of a heavily-doped silicon absorption substrate and a flat six-layer antireflective structure. The refractive index of each layer was widely tuned by hollow polystyrene microsphere and TiO2 nanoparticle dopants, which can offer a gradually changed refractive index profile from 1.3 to 2.9. The experimental results show that 98% absorption can be achieved within the range of 0.1-20 THz. Moreover, the high absorption efficiency as well as the ultra-broad range can maintain for incident angle from 0 to 75° by the theoretical simulation.

Hydrogen bond network in the hydration layer of the water confined in nanotubes increasing the dielectric constant parallel along the nanotube axis.

The water confined in nanotubes has been extensively studied, because of the potential usages in drug delivery and desalination. The radial distribution of the dielectric constant parallel along the nanotube axis was obtained by molecular dynamics simulations in a carbon nanotube and a nanotube with a very small van der Waals potential. The confined water was divided into two parts, the middle part water and the hydration water. In both cases, the hydrogen bond orientation of the middle water is isotropic, while the hydrogen bonds in hydration layers are apt to parallel along the nanotube axis. Therefore, the hydration water has higher dipole correlations increasing the dielectric constant along the nanotube axis.

Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy and Quantitative Analysis of Metal Gluconates

A series of metal gluconates (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Fe2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+) were investigated by terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy. The absorption coefficients and refractive indices of the samples were obtained in the frequency range of 0.5–2.6 THz. The gluconates showed distinct THz characteristic fingerprints, and the dissimilarities reflect their different structures, hydrogen-bond networks, and molecular interactions. In addition, some common features were observed among these gluconates, and the similarities probably come from the similar carbohydrate anion group. The X-ray powder diffraction measurements of these metal gluconates were performed, and the copper(II) gluconate was found to be amorphous, corresponding to the monotonic increase feature in the THz absorption spectrum. The results suggest that THz spectroscopy is sensitive to molecular structure and physical form. Binary and ternary mixtures of different gluconates were quantitatively analyzed based on the Beer–Lambert law. A chemical map of a tablet containing calcium D-gluconate monohydrate and α-lactose in the polyethylene host was obtained by THz imaging. The study shows that THz technology is a useful tool in pharmaceutical research and quality control applications.