Effects of molecular weight, solvent and substrate on the dewetting morphology of polystyrene films

Surface morphology of polystyrene (PS) films on different substrates by spin-coating before and after annealing was observed using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The effects of polymer molecular weight, substrates, solvents, and annealing conditions on the morphology of the films were investigated. Before annealing, the grain height decreases, and simultaneously the grain diameter increases with molecular weight (M-w) within the measured molecular weight. After annealing. the situation is opposite, i.e., the grain height increases while the grain diameter decreases with M-w. Furthermore, after annealing the smaller surface roughness (Ra) was obtained. It was also found that film surface roughness (Ra) depends on the vapor pressure and dipole moment of different used solvents as well as the substrates. The experimental results show that when the used solvents have similar dipole moment but different vapor pressure, the Ra of PS film decreased with the decreasing vapor pressure of solvents whether on silicon or on mica. And when the used solvents have close vapor pressure but different dipole moment, the Ra decreased with the increasing of solvent dipole moments on both substrates.

Ordered droplet formation by thin polymer film dewetting on a stripe-patterned substrate

The dewetting process of thin polystyrene (PS) film on flat and stripe-patterned substrates is presented. Different dewetting processes were observed when the thin PS films annealed at above the glass transition temperature on these different kinds of substrates. The final dewetting on the flat substrate led to formation of polygonal liquid droplets, while on the stripe-patterned substrate, the droplets were observed to align at the centers of the stripes. A possible explanation for the dewetting process on the stripe-patterned substrate is proposed.

Syntheses and crystal structures of [Mn(H2O)(4)(bpy)]L center dot 4H(2)O, [Mn(H2O)(4)(bpy)]L ' center dot 4H(2)O (H2L = SUCCINIC ACID, H2L ' = FUMARIC ACID)

Reactions of freshly prepared M(OH)(2-2x)(CO3)(x) (.) yH(2)O (M = Mn, Zn) and 4,4'-bipyridine (bpy) with succinic acid (H2L) or famaric acid (H2L') in CH3OH-H2O afforded [Mn(H2O)(4)(bpy)]L (.) 4H(2)O, 1, [Mn(H2O)(4)(bpy)]L' (.) 4H(2)O, 2 and [Zn(H2O)(4)(bpy)]L (.) 4H(2)O, 3. The three coordination polymers are isostructural and consist of (1)(infinity)[M(H2O)(4)(bpy)(2/2)](2+) cationic chains, crystal H2O molecules and dicarboxylate anions (succinate or fumarate anions). Within the chains, the metal atoms are each octahedrally coordinated by four aqua oxygen atoms and two pyridyl nitrogen atoms from two 4,4'-bipyridine ligands. The crystal H2O molecules are hydrogen bonded to dicarboxylate anions to form ribbon-like anionic chains. The cationic and anionic chains are interconnected via hyqrogen bonds to generate a 3D network. Crystal data: 1 triclinic, P (1) over bar, a = 7.235(1), b = 7.749(2), c = 10.020(2) Angstrom, alpha = 79.95(3), beta = 88.79(3), gamma = 71.39(3)degrees, V = 523.9(2) Angstrom(3) and D-cal = 1.494 g cm(-3) for Z = 1; 2 triclinic, P (1) over bar, a = 7.127(1), b = 7.800(2), c = 9.945(2) Angstrom, alpha = 80.26(3), beta = 87.86(3), gamma = 72.69(3)degrees, V = 520.2(2) Angstrom(3) and D-cal = 1.498 g cm(-3) for Z = 1; 3 triclinic, P (1) over bar, a = 7.189(1), b = 7.764(2), c = 9.843(2) Angstrom, alpha = 79.16(3), beta = 87.80(3), gamma = 71.29(3)degrees, V = 510.9(2) Angstrom(3) and D-cal = 1.559 g cm(-3) for Z = 1.

Fabrication of core-shell Au-Pt nanoparticle film and its potential application as catalysis and SERS substrate

In this paper we report the rational design and fabrication of high-quality core-shell Au-Pt nanoparticle film. Such film shows highly efficient catalytic properties and excellent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) ability.

Direct patterning of negative nanostructures on self-assembled monolayers of 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid on Au(111) substrate via dip-pen nanolithography

Both bare and self-assembled monolayer (SAM) protected gold substrate could be etched by allyl bromide according to atomic force microscopy (AFM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric (ICPMS) analysis results. With this allyl bromide ink material, negative nanopatterns could be fabricated directly by dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) on SAMs of 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHA) on Au(111) substrate. A tip-promoted etching mechanism was proposed where the gold-reactive ink could penetrate the MHA resist film through tip-induced defects resulting in local corrosive removal of the gold substrate. The fabrication mechanism was also confirmed by electrochemical characterization, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis and fabrication of positive nanopatterns via a used DPN tip.

An approach for fabricating self-assembled monolayer of Ag nanoparticles on gold as the SERS-active substrate

In this paper, an approach for fabricating an active surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate is adopted. This approach is based on the assembling of silver nanoparticles film on gold substrate. Rhodamine 6G (R6G) and p-aminothiophenol (P-ATP) were used as probe molecules for SERS experiments, showing that this new active substrate has sensitivity to SERS response. Tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) was also used to investigate the surface morphology following the fabricating process of the active SERS substrate, which showed that large quantities of silver nanoparticles were uniformly coated on the substrate.

1H-Pyrido[3,4-b]azepine-2,5(3H,4H)-dione: a hydrogen-bonded dimeric structure

In the asymmetric unit of the title compound, C9H8N2O2, there are two crystallographically independent molecules, each of which forms a dimer, via N-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonds, with an inversion-related molecule.

A strategy for constructing a hybrid bilayer membrane based on a carbon substrate

We construct a hybrid bilayer membrane (HBM) on a new substrate-carbon electrode. It is an extension of HBM based on other substrates. Primary alkylamine was chemically modified onto the surface of a carbon electrode by electrochemical scans; thus, a monolayer was formed on the electrode. Because the alkane chains section is toward the outside, a hydrophobic surface was constructed. Then a lipid monolayer was spread on the hydrophobic surface of the carbon electrode. The formed HBM was characterized by electrochemical and ATR-FT-IR methods. From ATR-FT-IR results, the lipid order parameter (S) of 0.73 was obtained. This kind of hybrid membrane has the advantages of a lipid/alkanethiol HBM. A potential application of this HBM as a biosensor (detecting K+) was given.

A two-dimensional molybdenum (V) phosphate with covalently bonded transition metal coordination complexes: hydrothermal synthesis and structure characterization of Na-2[{Mn(phen)(2)(H2O)}{Mn(phen)(2)}(3){Mn (Mo12O24)-O-V (HPO4)(6)(PO4)(2)(OH)(6)}] center dot 4H(2)O (phen=1,10-phenanthroline)

An organic-inorganic hybrid molybdenum phosphate, Na-2[{Mn(phen)(2)(H2O)} {Mn(phen)(2)}(3){(MnMo12O24)-O-v (HPO4)(6)(PO4)(2) (OH)(6)}] . 4H(2)O (phen=1,10-phenanthroline), involving molybdenum present in V oxidation state and covalently bonded transition metal coordination complexes, has been hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Deep brown-red crystals are formed in the triclinic system, space group P (1) over bar, a=16.581(l)Angstrom, b=18.354(1)Angstrom, c=24.485(2)Angstrom, alpha=80.589(l)degrees, beta=71.279(1)degrees, gamma=67.084(1)degrees, V=6493.8(8)Angstrom(3), Z=2, lambda(MoKalpha)=0.71073Angstrom (R(F)=0.0686 for 29,053 reflections). Data were collected on a Bruker Smart Apex CCD diffractometer at 293 K in the range of 1.76 < theta < 28.06degrees using omega-2theta scans technique. The structure of the title compound may be considered to be based on {Mo6O12(HPO4)(3)(PO4)(OH)(3)} units bonded together with {Mn(phen)(2)} subunits into a two-dimensional network. Two types of tunnels are observed in the solid of the title compound.