Oxygen Trapping Research Articles

Seasonal variability of hydrographical properties of the Syrian marine water

The hydrographical properties of the Syrian marine water are described on the basis of three cruises performed during December 2006, March 2009 and October 2009. In all cruises a Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) instrument equipped with a fluorometer and oxygen sensor was used for casts that extended to a maximum depth of 480 m. The hydrographic data reveal the presence of Levantine Surface Water (LSW) and Atlantic Water (AW) within the upper 90 m layer, Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) between 90 and 250 m, and Deep Water (DW) further below. Stratification was clearer in October and December compared to March. Cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies were observed during the three cruises at different locations situated along the Syrian coast. The flow structure along the Syrian coast is controlled by the shape of the coastline and the bottom topography of the continental shelf. From March 2009 to October 2009 a dynamic height rise (within 6 months) of about 3.7–9.8 cm reflected the seasonal cycle of sea level due mainly to thermosteric expansion of the water column. This gave a rise rate in the range of 0.6–1.7 cm month − 1 . Dissolved oxygen was higher in March 2009 (214 ± 4.8 μM) than in December 2006 (202 ± 11.5 μM) or in October 2009 (188 ± 18.9 μM). During March 2009 the water column oxygen distribution was homogeneous. In December 2006 the oxygen distribution was homogeneous in the upper 125 m where LSW was present and subsequently decreased in concentration due to bacterial oxidation of detritus. However, a shallow oxygen maximum (oversaturated) was present at 50–80 m depth during October 2009. Oversaturation was attributed mainly to the biological and physical processes of rapid capping and trapping of oxygen in the AW mass. Chlorophyll- a concentration varied substantially depending on depth and season, having values of 0.05 ± 0.01 mg m − 3 during December 2006, 0.08 ± 0.01 mg m − 3 during March 2009 and 0.06 ± 0.01 mg m − 3 during October 2009. The deep Chl -a maxima, of 0.08 mg m − 3 during December 2006, 0.1 mg m − 3 during March 2009 and 0.12 mg m − 3 during October 2009, were observed at 50–100 m. These Chl -a maxima were associated with cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies at 40–75 m and at 80–105 m, during December 2006 and March 2009, respectively, and along all the stations sampled in October 2009. Comparisons of Chl- a estimates during December 2006 with the Sea-viewing Wide Field of view Sensor (SeaWiFS) and in situ measurements revealed a significant correlation of r 2 = 0.82 and showed that the study region is the most oligotrophic in the Mediterranean sea.

A high-power tunable Raman fiber ring laser for the investigation of singlet oxygen production from direct laser excitation around 1270 nm

We report on the development of a tunable Raman fiber ring laser especially designed for the investigation of the 3Σ(-)(g) →1 Δg transition of molecular oxygen. Singlet oxygen (1Δg) is a reactive species of importance in the fields of biology, photochemistry, and phototherapy. Tunability of the Raman fiber ring laser is achieved without the use of an intracavity tunable bandpass filter and the laser thus achieves a slope efficiency only obtained up to now in Perot-Fabry cavities. A measurement of the action spectrum of a singlet oxygen trap is made in air-saturated ethanol and acetone to demonstrate the practical application of the tunable Raman fiber ring laser for the investigation of the 3Σ(-)(g) →1 Δg transition of molecular oxygen.

ChemInform Abstract: M10S14O-Type Oxysulfides (M: La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm) as an “Oxygen Trap” in Oxidation Reactions of Reduced Lanthanoid Chlorides with Sulfur.

ChemInform Abstract: M10S14O-Type Oxysulfides (M: La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm) as an “Oxygen Trap” in Oxidation Reactions of Reduced Lanthanoid Chlorides with Sulfur.

ChemInform Abstract: Photoinduced Single Electron Transfer Reactions of 1,3-Dithianes and 1, 3-Dithiolanes Sensitized by Triphenylpyrylium Salt in the Presence of Molecular Oxygen.

Abstract Triphenylpyrylium salt sensitized photoreactions of several dithianes and dithiolanes produced carbonyl compounds in good yields in the presence of molecular oxygen. Molecular oxygen trapping of carbon radical intermediates generated through selective CS bond cleavage of dithiane and dithiolane cation radicals is proposed.

Direct Spectroscopic Observation of Singlet Oxygen Quenching and Kinetic Studies of Physical and Chemical Singlet Oxygen Quenching Rate Constants of Synthetic Antioxidants (BHA, BHT, and TBHQ) in Methanol

Singlet oxygen quenching by synthetic antioxidants (BHA, BHT, and TBHQ) was directly observed by spectroscopic monitoring of luminescence at 1268 nm. The luminescence data showed unambiguous evidence of singlet oxygen quenching by synthetic phenolic antioxidants with the highest activity for TBHQ, followed by BHA and BHT. The protective activities of these synthetic antioxidants on alpha-terpinene oxidation with chemically-induced singlet oxygen under dark further confirmed their singlet oxygen quenching abilities. Total singlet oxygen quenching rate constants (k(r) + k(q)) of BHA, BHT, and TBHQ were determined in a system containing alpha-terpinene (as a singlet oxygen trap) and methylene blue (as a sensitizer) during light irradiation, and the values were 5.14 x 10(7), 3.41 x 10(6), and 1.99 x 10(8) M(-1)s(-1), respectively. After the k(r) value of alpha-terpinene was first determined, the k(r) values of the synthetic antioxidants were calculated by measuring their relative reaction rates with singlet oxygen to that of alpha-terpinene under the identical conditions. The k(r) values of the BHA, BHT, and TBHQ were 3.90 x 10(5), 1.23 x 10(5), and 2.93 x 10(6), M(-1)s(-1). The percent partition of chemical quenching over total singlet oxygen quenching (k(r) x 100)/(k(r) + k(q)) for BHA, BHT, and TBHQ were 0.76%, 3.61%, and 1.47%, respectively. The results showed that the synthetic antioxidants quench singlet oxygen almost exclusively through the mechanism of physical quenching. This represents the first report on the singlet oxygen quenching mechanism of these synthetic antioxidants. Practical Application: The synthetic antioxidants, especially TBHQ, have been found to have a strong singlet oxygen quenching ability. This article also clearly showed that singlet oxygen quenching by synthetic antioxidants was mainly by the physical quenching mechanism. The results suggested that these synthetic antioxidants, especially TBHQ, could be used practically for the protection of the food components such as edible oils and vitamins against singlet oxygen induced oxidations without significant losses of antioxidant activity during storage under light.

Weakening C−O Bonds: Ti(III), a New Reagent for Alcohol Deoxygenation and Carbonyl Coupling Olefination

Investigations detailed herein, including density functional theory (DFT) calculations, demonstrate that the formation of either alkoxy- or hydroxy-Ti(III) complexes considerably decreases the energy of activation for C-O bond homolysis. As a consequence of this observation, we described two new synthetic applications of Nugent's reagent in organic chemistry. The first of these applications is an one-step methodology for deoxygenation-reduction of alcohols, including benzylic and allylic alcohols and 1,2-dihydroxy compounds. Additionally, we have also proved that Ti(III) is capable of mediating carbonyl coupling-olefination. In this sense, and despite the fact that for over 35 years it has been widely accepted that either Ti(II) or Ti(0) was the active species in the reductive process of the McMurry reaction, the mechanistic evidence presented proves the involvement of Ti(III) pinacolates in the deoxygenation step of the herein described Nugent's reagent-mediated McMurry olefination. This observation sheds some light on probably one of the mechanistically more complex transformations in organic chemistry. Finally, we have also proved that both of these processes can be performed catalytically in Cp(2)TiCl(2) by using trimethylsilyl chloride (TMSCl) as the final oxygen trap.

Intramolecular Anodic Olefin Coupling Reactions: Using Radical Cation Intermediates to Trigger New Umpolung Reactions

Anodic electrochemistry is a powerful tool for generating radical cation intermediates and initiating new cyclization reactions. Like most electrochemical reactions, the transformations involve umpolungs. In this review, recent studies examining the intramolecular coupling of radical cations derived from enol ethers, vinyl sulfides, and ketene acetals with carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen trapping groups are discussed to highlight their synthetic potential.

Activated toxicity of diesel particulate extract by ultraviolet a radiation in mammalian cells: role of singlet oxygen.

BackgroundDiesel exhaust [diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) and their extracts (DPE)] and ultraviolet A radiation (UVA) are two ubiquitous environmental factors that have been identified as essential risk factors for various benign or malignant human diseases, either alone or in combination with other agents.ObjectivesWe aimed to investigate the synergistic effects of DPE and UVA at low-dose exposures in human–hamster hybrid (AL) cells and their underlying mechanisms.MethodsWe exposed exponentially growing AL cells to DPE and/or UVA radiation with or without reactive oxygen species (ROS) quenchers and then assayed the cells for survival, mutation induction, apoptosis, and micronucleus generation. In addition, using a singlet oxygen (1O2) trapping probe, 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidone, coupled with electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, we determined the production of 1O2.ResultsTreatment of AL cells with DPE + UVA induced significant cytotoxic and genotoxic damage. In contrast, we found no significant damage in cells treated with either UVA or DPE alone at the same doses. Mutation spectra of CD59− mutants showed that treatment with DPE + UVA easily induces multilocus deletions. Sodium azide significantly inhibited both cellular and DNA damage induced by DPE + UVA treatment, whereas other ROS inhibitors had little protecting effect. Furthermore, we found a significant increase of 1O2 in the cells that received DPE + UVA treatment.ConclusionThese findings suggest that UVA activated the genotoxicity and cytotoxicity of DPE in mammalian cells and that 1O2 played an important role in these processes.

Synthesis, properties and photodynamic activities of some zinc(II) phthalocyanines against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus

Two new zinc phthalocyanine derivatives bearing four 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl (ZnPc1) and 3,5-dimethylphenoxy (ZnPc2) have been synthesized and proved by elemental analyses and UV-vis, 1H NMR, FTIR and MALDI-TOF mass spectra as spectroscopic determination. Thermal stabilities of these neutral Zn -phthalocyanines were performed by thermal gravimetric analysis and, significantly, were found stable up to 373 °C for ZnPc1 and 550 °C for ZnPc2. In addition, the photostability of the sensitizers was quite successful within 240 min. Furthermore, photodynamic therapy has been investigated using these neutral phthalocyanines. Singlet oxygen generation capacities of ZnPc1 and ZnPc2 were studied using 1,3-diphenyl-iso-benzofuran (50.0 μM) as a selective singlet oxygen trap in DMSO and both of them demonstrated very high singlet oxygen generation capacity. Photodynamic therapy is of considerable interest for its potential as an antimicrobial therapy on the grounds that the photodynamic activity of these compounds was tested against a Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli and a Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus. Suspensions of the microorganisms were irradiated for 240 min in the presence of ZnPc1 (with hydrophilic group) and ZnPc2 phthalocyanines. In order to simulate solar radiation, we used a 750 W xenon lamp. Minimum photosensitizer concentration was used as 0.1 mg.10 mL-1 in 1% dimethylsulfoxide/phosphate buffer saline solution (DMSO/PBS). Moreover, the photostability of these compounds has been investigated and the effect of the amount of DMSO tested against selected bacteria. In the dark, with and without Pcs, bacterial inactivation did not occur. Bacterial inactivation by light with ZnPc1 was observed in response to Gram-negative bacteria E. coli and Gram-positive bacteria S. aureus, whereas the photoinactivation studies with ZnPc2 have revealed that the lack of its activity is due to its poor affinity for either of the organisms. These results suggest that a neutral amphiphilic photosensitizer may be easily used in an application concerning photoinactivation of bacterial cells as well as ionic photosensitizers.

Mechanical Damping of the Snoek Peak in Tantalum – Oxygen System

Interstitial solutes in body-centered cubic metals, such as oxygen in tantalum, produce ideally Snoek effects when they are in solutions enough diluted. However, for higher concentration of these solutes, more complex relaxation process can occur, as interaction between interstitial solutes and dislocations. Anelastic relaxation measurements were carried out in polycrystalline tantalum samples, using torsion pendulum inverted, operating between 300 K and 680 K and oscillation frequencies in the hertz bandwidth, for three different experimental sample conditions: as received sample, annealed and annealed followed by a treatment in an oxygen atmosphere. These measurements have revealed the following behavior: the intensity of the internal friction peak associated to matrix-interstitial interaction Ta-O decreased between the first run and the next runs, and this phenomenon did not occur for the others conditions. The variation of relaxation strength of Ta-O peak, with number of runs is due to a decrease of an amount of oxygen in solid solution, which can be associated with the precipitation of new phases in Ta sample and with the trapping of oxygen atoms by dislocations.

Optimizing MIM Device Electrical Properties. Impact of Bottom Electrodes and High K Materials

AbstractHigh quality MIM capacitors with improved capacitance density, low leakage currents and linear C(V) behaviour are the object of active research, with potential applications in CMOS, BICMOS and bipolar technologies as filters, analog to digital converters and related radio-frequency operating devices. Several high-k materials (Ta2O5, HfO2, Y2O3, Al2O3-HfTiO, HfON-SiO2) have been put on trial as possible candidates for SiO2 substitution which is required by the aggressive downscaling of electronic devices. Among those, HfO2- based materials seem to offer promising properties, combining a high chemical stability with Si and a high k value. However, HfO2 shows a strong ability to favour charge defects such as oxygen vacancies, which in turn affect the intrinsic properties of devices such as threshold voltage or leakage currents. These oxygen vacancies are actually thought to accumulate in the vicinity of the electrode, thus forming an oxidized interfacial layer and inducing a significant voltage linearity degradation of MIM capacitors.In this work, it will be shown that this oxide layer thickness can be strongly minimized by using appropriate bottom electrode material. Indeed, high work function materials can efficiently prevent oxygen vacancies charge stocking on their surface. Several MIM devices have been prepared based on HfO2, Al2O3 and SrTiO3 as dielectric materials, and TiN, WSi2.7 and Pt as bottom electrode material. All these devices have been fully characterized in terms of materials properties and electrical behaviour. These results have been analysed and show that a reduced dielectric thickness is preferred to achieve high capacitance density, but is also responsible for voltage linearity degradation. High work function electrode material can help improve this degraded linear behaviour, thanks to the formation of a reduced interfacial oxygen trap layer thickness. Leakage currents seem to be deeply correlated with the morphological state of the dielectric material, an amorphous state being obviously more efficient to prevent current pathways through grain boundaries.All these results will be presented in detail and discussed with regards to different models proposed in the literature to account for these data.

Alkyl Radical Generation in Water under Ambient Conditions— A New Look at the Guareschi Reaction of 1897

Chemical and biochemical significance of a long-forgotten 19th century observation: The hydrocarbon production from quaternary glutarimides on neutralization in water is the consequence of formation of alkyl radicals, which means that it is possible to generate alkyl radicals under very mild conditions. Oxygen trapping competes with hydrogen abstraction (see scheme).

N-(Trifluoromethylsulfonyl)aryloxytrifluoromethylsulfoximines [ArO−SO(CF3)NTf] and N-Aryltriflimides Ar−N(Tf)2 by Thermal and Photolytic Dediazoniation of [ArN2][BF4] in [BMIM][Tf2N] Ionic Liquid: Exploiting the Ambident Nucleophilic Character of a “Nonnucleophilic” Anion

Arenediazonium tetrafluoroborate salts undergo metathesis on immobilization in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonato)amide [BMIM][Tf(2)N]. The "noncoordinating", "nonnucleophilic" [Tf(2)N] anion acts as an ambident nucleophile toward the aryl cations, formed via thermal dediazoniation, to give predominantly the oxy anion quenching products [ArO-SO(CF(3))=NTf], with minimal formation of ArN(Tf)(2), irrespective of the nature of the substituent(s) on the ArN(2)+. Strong preference for the formation of oxygen trapping products did not change under photolytic conditions, where dediazoniation occurs at room temperature. A minimal amount of the Schiemann product ArF is also formed in both thermal and photolytic dediazoniation, depending on the substituent(s). Progress of dediazoniation in the IL (both thermal and photolytic) and the evolution of the products were directly monitored by (1)H and (19)F NMR. According to DFT (Density Functional Theory) calculations, PhN(Tf)(2) is more stable than PhO-SO(CF(3))=NTf by 15-17 kcal/mol, depending on the basis set. Inclusion of solvation effects (PCM, with acetone and with CH(2)ClCH(2)Cl as solvent) did not change this preference. The [ArN(2)][BF(4)] dediazoniation in [BMIM][Tf(2)N] resulted in synthesis and characterization of a series of hitherto unknown [ArO-SO(CF(3))=NTf] compounds. The X-ray structure of MesO-SO(CF(3))=NTf (Mes = mesityl) is reported. On the basis of extraction studies, suitable solvent systems have been identified that remove the products without dissolving [BMIM][NTf(2)], thus overcoming product recovery difficulties typically associated with the use of this IL.

Subpicosecond oxygen trapping in the heme pocket of the oxygen sensor FixL observed by time-resolved resonance Raman spectroscopy

Dissociation of oxygen from the heme domain of the bacterial oxygen sensor protein FixL constitutes the first step in hypoxia-induced signaling. In the present study, the photodissociation of the heme-O2 bond was used to synchronize this event, and time-resolved resonance Raman (TR(3)) spectroscopy with subpicosecond time resolution was implemented to characterize the heme configuration of the primary photoproduct. TR(3) measurements on heme-oxycomplexes are highly challenging and have not yet been reported. Whereas in all other known six-coordinated heme protein complexes with diatomic ligands, including the oxymyoglobin reported here, heme iron out-of-plane motion (doming) occurs faster than 1 ps after iron-ligand bond breaking; surprisingly, no sizeable doming is observed in the oxycomplex of the Bradyrhizobium japonicum FixL sensor domain (FixLH). This assessment is deduced from the absence of the iron-histidine band around 217 cm(-1) as early as 0.5 ps. We suggest that efficient ultrafast oxygen rebinding to the heme occurs on the femtosecond time scale, thus hindering heme doming. Comparing WT oxy-FixLH, mutant proteins FixLH-R220H and FixLH-R220Q, the respective carbonmonoxy-complexes, and oxymyoglobin, we show that a hydrogen bond of the terminal oxygen atom with the residue in position 220 is responsible for the observed behavior; in WT FixL this residue is arginine, crucially implicated in signal transmission. We propose that the rigid O2 configuration imposed by this residue, in combination with the hydrophobic and constrained properties of the distal cavity, keep dissociated oxygen in place. These results uncover the origin of the "oxygen cage" properties of this oxygen sensor protein.

Towards magnetic slowing of atoms and molecules

We outline a method to slow paramagnetic atoms or molecules using pulsed magnetic fields. We also discuss the possibility of adiabatically slow trapped particles by decelerating a moving magnetic trap. We present numerical simulation results for the slowing and trapping of molecular oxygen.

Reduction of pertechnetate [Tc(VII)] by aqueous Fe(II) and the nature of solid phase redox products

The subsurface behaviour of 99Tc, a contaminant resulting from nuclear fuels reprocessing, is dependent on its valence (e.g., IV or VII). Abiotic reduction of soluble Tc(VII) by Fe(II) (aq) in pH 6–8 solutions was investigated under strictly anoxic conditions using an oxygen trap (<7.5 × 10 −9 atm O 2). The reduction kinetics were strongly pH dependent. Complete and rapid reduction of Tc(VII) to a precipitated Fe/Tc(IV) form was observed when 11 μmol/L of Tc(VII) was reacted with 0.4 mmol/L Fe(II) at pH 7.0 and 8.0, while no significant reduction was observed over 1 month at pH 6.0. Experiments conducted at pH 7.0 with Fe(II) (aq) = 0.05–0.8 mmol/L further revealed that Tc(VII) reduction was a combination of homogeneous and heterogeneous reaction. Heterogeneous reduction predominated after approximately 0.01 mmol/L of Fe(II) was oxidized. The heterogeneous reaction was more rapid, and was catalyzed by Fe(II) that adsorbed to the Fe/Tc(IV) redox product. Wet chemical and Fe–X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy measurements (XANES) showed that Fe(II) and Fe(III) were present in the Fe/Tc(IV) redox products after reaction termination. 57Fe-Mössbauer, extended X-ray adsorption fine structure (EXAFS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements revealed that the Fe/Tc(IV) solid phase was poorly ordered and dominated by Fe(II)-containing ferrihydrite with minor magnetite. Tc(IV) exhibited homogeneous spatial distribution within the precipitates. According to Tc-EXAFS measurements and structural modeling, its molecular environment was consistent with an octahedral Tc(IV) dimer bound in bidentate edge-sharing mode to octahedral Fe(III) associated with surface or vacancy sites in ferrihydrite. The precipitate maintained Tc(IV) aq concentrations that were slightly below those in equilibrium with amorphous Tc(IV)O 2· nH 2O (s). The oxidation rate of sorbed Tc(IV) in the Fe/Tc precipitate was considerably slower than Tc(IV)O 2· nH 2O (s) as a result of its intraparticle/intragrain residence. Precipitates of this nature may form in anoxic sediments or groundwaters, and the intraparticle residence of sorbed/precipitated Tc(IV) may limit 99Tc remobilization upon the return of oxidizing conditions.

Oxygen Trap Hypothesis in Silicon Oxide

A hypothesis on the atomic structure of silicon oxide is proposed to explain the discrepancy between theoretical and experimental studies on the oxygen diffusion and the interfacial reaction during the thermal silicon oxidation process. The hypothesis says that silicon oxide contains “oxygen traps”, in which the molecular oxygen can be located with almost 0 dissolving enthalpy. The density of the “traps” is ∼1016 cm-3. A possible local structure is also proposed based on the first-principles calculations.

Effect of electric charge accumulation on the modification of surface properties by means of low energy ion implantation

Low energy ion implantation produces an accumulation of electric charge on the surface of insulators. This phenomenon can be used as a complementary tool to improve the efficacy of polymer surface treatments. Samples of polyethylene (PE) were implanted with 2.2 keV ions to a fluence of 3.9 × 1016D+ cm−2 with and without the use of charge neutralization. The physical and physicochemical properties of the surface were characterized by elastic recoil detection −E × B, Rutherford backscattered spectroscopy (RBS), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM characterization showed that the roughness of the PE surface decreases after ion beam bombardment with neutralization, but increases during the implantation with charge accumulation. The surface wettability increases after implantation with both methods and this effect is enhanced with non-neutralized implantation. RBS analysis showed a physical trapping of oxygen following both treatments, the oxygen adsorption being more pronounced without neutralization of the sample surface. XPS characterization confirmed this result and revealed the formation of C–O, C=O and O–C=O molecular bonds, especially in samples implanted without neutralization. Our results show that the level of surface charging affects the topography and the kind of damage at the surface, providing a complementary tool to adjust the properties of polymer surfaces.

Ozone Synthesis on the Icy Satellites

Condensed O2 and ozone on the surfaces of some icy satellites are thought to originate from the radiolytic decomposition of surface water ice by the impact of energetic magnetospheric ions, but decades of laboratory studies have produced no evidence for ozone from the radiolysis of pure water ice. Here we report for the first time the production of ozone in ice by 100 keV ions. Using a method that departs drastically from those used in all previous experiments, we have simulated more closely conditions on the icy satellites by performing ion irradiation while depositing water concurrently, which takes into account the effects of gravity and surface porosity. This codeposition causes the burial of a high concentration of radiolytic O2 from which ozone is formed. Our results demonstrate that the enhanced trapping of oxygen in surface ices depends on temperature and should vary locally, depending on the rates of irradiation and recondensation. The burial of radiolytic products by redeposition will likely occur in many varied astronomical environments, besides icy satellites.

Photochromic Ag-TiO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; Thin Films Fabricated by Dual-Target Helicon Magnetron Sputtering

Photochromic material Ag-TiO2 thin films are fabricated on quartz substrate by dual -target helicon magnetron sputtering. The phototchromic behavior is investigated for the sample loaded with 90% Ag. Spheres, ellipsoids and polyhedra shape of Ag particles with wide range size (5∼100 nm) are dispersed in the TiO2 amorphous matrix observed by transmission electron microscopy. The spectral hole burned by the irradiation of laser at the wavelength 532 nm can be explained by a particle-plasmon-assisted electron transfer from Ag nanoparticles to TiO2 and subsequent trapping by adsorbed molecular oxygen. Moreover, the mechanism of the slow recovery after photochromism is suggested as a slow thermal release of electrons from oxygen trapping centers and subsequent capture into the Ag nanoparticles.