Rhythmic Growth-Induced Ring-Banded Spherulites with Radial Periodic Variation of Thicknesses Grown from Poly(epsilon-caprolactone) Solution with Constant Concentration

Birefringent ring-banded spherulites with radial periodic variation of thicknesses were grown from poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) solutions under conditions for which the Solution concentration was held constant during the whole development of the morphology. The as-grown ring-banded spherulites were investigated by optical (OM) and atomic force (AFM) microscopies, by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of samples sectioned parallel to the plane of film, and also by electron diffraction (ED) and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) techniques.

Solvothermal synthesis of well-dispersed MF2 (M = Ca, Sr, Ba) nanocrystals and their optical properties

MF2 (M = Ca, Sr, Ba) nanocrystals (NCs) were synthesized via a solvothermal process in the presence of oleic acid and characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, UV/vis absorption spectra, photoluminescence (PL) excitation and emission spectra, and lifetimes, respectively. In the synthetic process, oleic acid as a surfactant played a crucial role in confining the growth and solubility of the MF2 NCs. The as-prepared CaF2, SrF2 and BaF2 NCs present morphologies of truncated octahedron, cube and sheet in a narrow distribution, respectively.

Enolic Schiff base aluminum complexes and their catalytic stereoselective polymerization of racemic lactide

A series of enolic Schiff base aluminum(III) complexes LAIR (where L = NNOO-tetradentate enolic Schiff base ligand) containing ligands that differ in their steric and electronic properties were synthesized. Their single crystals showed that these complexes are five -coordinated around the aluminum center. Their coordination geometries are between square pyramidal and trigonal bipyramidal. Their catalytic properties in the solution polymerization of racemic lactide (rac-LA) were examined. The modifications in the auxiliary ligand exhibited a dramatic influence on the catalytic performance.

Ultrathin-film growth of para-sexiphenyl (I): Submonolayer thin-film growth as a function of the substrate temperature

The para-sexiphenyl (p-6P) monolayer film induces weak epitaxy growth (WEG) of disk-like organic semiconductors, and their charge mobilities are increased dramatically to the level of the corresponding single crystals [Wang et al., Adv. Mater. 2007, 19, 2168]. The growth behavior and morphology of p-6P monolayer film play decisive roles on WEG. Here, we investigated the growth behavior of p-6P submonolayer film as a function of the substrate temperature. Its growth exhibited two different mechanisms at high and low substrate temperature.

Weak epitaxy growth of metal-free phthalocyanine on p-sexiphenyl monolayer and double-layer films

Weak epitaxy growth (WEG) can afford high-mobility thin films of disk-like organic semiconductor of which mobility is up to the level of the corresponding single crystals. We investigated the WEG behavior and mechanism of planar phthalocyanine in the model system of metal-free phthalocyanine (H2Pc) grown on p-sexiphenyl (p-6P) ultrathin films (monolayers and double layers). Highly oriented H2Pc films with molecules standing up exhibited two kinds of different in-plane orientations, i.e., three sets of in-plane orientations and only one set of in-plane orientation, on p-6P monolayer and double-layer films, respectively.

Preparation, structure and dielectric properties of (Ba1-xSrx)(2)NaNb5O15 ceramics

In this study the tungsten-bronze type tetragonal (Ba1-xSrx)(2)NaNb5O15 system as a kind of lead-free ferroelectric ceramics has been synthesized by low-temperature combustion method. Microstructure and dielectric properties of (Ba1-xSrx)(2)NaNb5O15 system were also investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) study confirms the formation of single-phase tetragonal compounds in the crystal system at room temperature. The TEM photograph shows that the particles synthesized by low-temperature combustion method are uniform with an average particle size of 30nm in diameter.

Dendritic Superstructures and Structure Transitions of Asymmetric Poly(L-lactide-b-ethylene oxide) Diblock Copolymer Thin films

The evolution of morphologies of isothermally crystallized thin films with different thicknesses of poly(L-lactide-bethylene oxide) diblock copolymer was observed by optical microscopy (OM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Dendritic superstructures stacked with lamellae were investigated in thin films with similar to 200 nm to similar to 400 nm thickness. The lamellar structure was a lozenge- or truncated-lozenge-shaped single crystal of PLLA confirmed by AFM observations. The contour of the dendritic superstructures is hexagonal, and two types of sectors, [110] and [100], can be classified in terms of the chain-folding and crystal growth directions. These phenomena Are due to the interplay of the crystallization of the PLLA block, the microphase separation of the block copolymer, and the effect of the film thickness.

One-dimensional CaWO4 and CaWO4:Tb3+ nanowires and nanotubes: electrospinning preparation and luminescent properties

One-dimensional CaWO4 and CaWO4:Tb3+ nanowires and nanotubes have been prepared by a combination method of sol-gel process and electrospinning. X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), photoluminescence (PL), low voltage cathodoluminescence (CL) and time-resolved emission spectra, as well as kinetic decays were used to characterize the resulting samples. The results of XRD, FT-IR, TG-DTA indicate that the CaWO4 and CaWO4: Tb3+ samples begin to crystallize at 500 degrees C with the scheelite structure. Under ultraviolet excitation and low-voltage electron beams excitation, the CaWO4 samples exhibit a blue emission band with a maximum at 416 nm originating from the WO42- groups, while the CaWO4:Tb3+ samples show the characteristic emission of Tb3+ corresponding to (D4-F6,5,4,3)-D-5-F-7 transitions due to an efficient energy transfer from WO42- to Tb3+.

Crystal Growth Transition from Flat-On to Edge-On Induced by Solvent Evaporation in Ultrathin Films of Polystyrene-b-Poly(ethylene oxide)

The transition of lamellar crystal orientation from flat-on to edge-on in ultrathin films of polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) via solvent vapor (toluene) treatment Was investigated. When the as-prepared film was treated in saturated solvent vapor, breakout crystals could form quickly, and then they transformed from square single crystals (flat-on lamellae) to dendrites and finally to nanowire crystals (edge-on lamellae). Initially, heterogeneous nucleation tit the polymer/substrate interface dominated the structure evolution, leading to flat-on lamellar crystals orientation. And the transition from faceted habits to dendrites indicated a transition of underlying mechanism from nucleation-controlled to diffusion-limited growth. As the solvent molecules gradually diffused into the polymer/substrate interface, it will subsequently weaken the polymer-substrate interaction.

Luminescent Boron-Contained Ladder-Type pi-Conjugated Compounds

Four diboron-contained ladder-type pi-conjugated compounds 1-4 were designed and synthesized. Their thermal, photophysical, electrochemical properties, as well as density functional theory calculations, were fully investigated. The single crystals of compounds 1 and 3 were grown, and their crystal structures were determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. Both compounds have a ladder-type g-conjugated framework. Compounds I and 2 possess high thermal stabilities, moderate solid-state fluorescence quantum yields, as well as stable redox properties, indicating that they are possible candidates for emitters and charge-transporting materials in electroluminescent (EL) devices. The double-layer device with the configuration of [ITO/NPB (40 nm)/1 or 2 (70 nm)/LiF (0.5 nm)/Al (200 nm)] exhibited good EL performance with the maximum brightness exceeding 8000 cd/m(2).

Synthesis of mesoporous YF3 nanoflowers via solvent extraction route

Mesoporous YF3 nanoflowers were successfully prepared via solvent extraction route. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations indicated that these nanoflowers with uneven porous architectures had a spherical shape and were consisted of many YF3 nanosheets with a thickness of about 15 not. Energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis was used to check the chemical composition and purity of the products. YF3 nanoflowers had bimodal mesoporous distribution and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of 116 m(2)/g.

Synthesis of REF3 (RE = Nd, Tb) nanoparticles via a solvent extraction route

NdF3 and TbF3 nanoparticles were successfully synthesized via a solvent extraction route using Cynex923 (R3P=O). X-ray diffraction (XRD) study showed that pure hexagonal phase NdF3 and pure orthorhombic phase TbF3 could be obtained under the current synthetic conditions. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations indicated that as-obtained NdF3 nanoplates have a diameter of 50-80 nm and thickness of 10-20 nm and TbF3 products have sphere morphologies with diameter from 70 to 170 nm. The driving force for the growth of NdF3 nanoplates could be attributed to the hexagonal crystal structure. The luminescence properties of NdF3 and TbF3 nanoparticles were investigated, which indicated that NdF3 nanoparticles showed typical emission at 888,1064, and 1328 nm and TbF3 nanoparticles showed characteristic emission of Tb3+ (f-f).

Stabilization of metastable phase II of isotactic polybutene-1 by coated carbon

Stabilization effect on metastable phase II of isotactic polybutene-1 (iPB-1) by coated carbon has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron diffraction (ED) techniques. The results indicate that after evaporating carbon, the phase II-I crystal transformation time is greatly prolonged from 9 days for carbon-uncoated samples to 120 days for carbon-coated ones under atmospheric pressure, while under high pressure (50 bar), the phase transformation time increases from 5 min for the former to 20 min for the latter. The stabilization effect on metastable phase II of carbon coated iPB-1 is attributed to a surface fixing effect of the evaporated carbon.

Naphthyl and thionaphthyl end-capped oligothiophenes as organic semiconductors: Effect of chain length and end-capping groups

Two series of oligothiophenes (OThs), NaTn and TNTn (n = 2-6 represents the number of thiophene rings), end-capped with naphthyl and thionaphthyl units have been synthesized by means of Stille coupling. Their thermal properties, optical properties, single crystal structures, and organic field-effect transistor performance have been characterized. All oligomers display great thermal stability and crystallinity. ne crystallographic structures of NaT2, NaT3, TNT2, and TNT3 have been determined. The crystals of NaT2 and NaT3 are monoclinic with space group P2(1)/C, while those of TNT2 and TNT3 are triclinic and orthorhombic with space groups P-1(-) and P2(1)2(1)2(1), respectively. All oligomers adopt the well-known herringbone packing-mode in crystals with packing parameters dependent on the structure of the end-capping units and the number of thiophene rings. The shorter intermolecular distance in NaT3 compared to NaT2 indicates that the intermolecular interaction principally increases with increasing molecular length. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy (AFM) characterization indicate that the NaTn oligomers can form films with better morphology and high molecular order than TNTn oligomers with the same number of thiophene rings. The NaTn oligomers exhibit mobilities that are much higher than those for TNTn oligomers (0.028-0.39 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) versus 0.010-0.055 cm(2) V-1 s(-1), respectively).

Morphological control and luminescent properties of CeF3 nanocrystals

The nanocrystals of CeF3 with the hexagonal structure and different morphologies such as the disk, the rod, and the dot have been successfully synthesized via a mild ultrasound assisted route from an aqueous solution of cerium nitrate and different fluorine sources (KBF4, NaF, NH4F). The use of different fluorine sources has a remarkable effect on the morphology of the final product. The luminescence and UV-vis absorption properties of CeF3 nanocrystals with different morphologies have been investigated. Compared with other shape nanocrystals, the luminescence intensity of the disklike nanocrystals is obviously enhanced. It is suggested that the function-improved materials could be obtained by tailoring the shape of the CeF3 nanocrystals.