Search results for " surface"
showing 10 items of 2838 documents
Phase behaviour of binary mixtures of colloidal charged spheres
2008
Abstract As a step towards the modelling of binary metal alloys we here report on the shape of the phase boundary of two deionized charged sphere colloidal suspensions as a function of mixing ratio and particle density. Their size ratios are r = 0.68 and r = 0.56. Both aqueous suspensions of polystyrene copolymer spheres crystallize in a body-centred cubic structure. Interesting differences in the shape of the phase boundary are observed. In the first case a peaked increase of crystal stability was observed for a mixing ratio of p = 0.2–0.3, which gives the fraction of small spheres. Also in the second case the stability of the crystalline phase is larger than expected for an ideal solid so…
The Role of Order-Disorder Transitions in the Quest for Molecular Multiferroics: Structural and Magnetic Neutron Studies of a Mixed Valence Iron (II)…
2012
Neutron diffraction studies have been carried out to shed light on the unprecedented order-disorder phase transition (ca. 155 K) observed in the mixed-valence iron(II)-iron(III) formate framework compound [NH 2(CH3)2]n[FeIIIFe II(HCOO)6]n. The crystal structure at 220 K was first determined from Laue diffraction data, then a second refinement at 175 K and the crystal structure determination in the low temperature phase at 45 K were done with data from the monochromatic high resolution single crystal diffractometer D19. The 45 K nuclear structure reveals that the phase transition is associated with the order-disorder of the dimethylammonium counterion that is weakly anchored in the cavities …
Guanine Assemblies on the Au(111) Surface: A Theoretical Study
2013
It was found previously [Small2009, 5, 1952 and Angew. Chem., Int. Ed.2005, 44, 2270] that guanine molecules when assembled in a vacuum on the Au(111) surface at room temperature form a hydrogen-bonded network consisting of guanine quartets of the same chirality; this was supported by ground-state density functional theory (DFT) gas-phase calculations. In this Article, we re-examine this system and show that many more (almost equally stable) both homo- and heterochiral structures are possible; however, the homochiral structure observed experimentally becomes definitely the most favorable only if the vibrational contribution to the free energy is accounted for. Interaction with the gold surf…
Critical wetting in the square Ising model with a boundary field
1990
The Ising square lattice with nearest-neighbor exchangeJ>0 and a free surface at which a boundary magnetic fieldH1 acts has a second-order wetting transition. We study the surface excess magnetization and the susceptibility ofL×M lattices by Monte Carlo simulation and probe the critical behavior of this wetting transition, applying finite-size scaling methods. For the cases studied, the results are not consistent with the presumably exactly known values of the critical exponents, because the asymptotic critical region has not yet been reached. Implication of our results for critical wetting in three dimensions and for the application of the present model to adsorbed wetting layers at surfac…
Thermoelectric Transport in Cu7PSe6 with High Copper Ionic Mobility
2014
Building on the good thermoelectric performances of binary superionic compounds like Cu2Se, Ag2Se and Cu2S, a better and more detailed understanding of phonon-liquid electron-crystal (PLEC) thermoelectric materials is desirable. In this work we present the thermoelectric transport properties of the compound Cu7PSe6 as the first representative of the class of argyrodite-type ion conducting thermoelectrics. With a huge variety of possible compositions and high ionic conductivity even at room temperature, the argyrodites represent a very good model system to study structure-property relationships for PLEC thermoelectric materials. We particularly highlight the extraordinary low thermal conduct…
Rho-mediated activation of PI(4)P5K and lipid second messengers is necessary for promotion of angiogenesis by Semaphorin 4D
2011
Phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase (PI(4)P5K) is a type I lipid kinase that generates the lipid second messenger phospholipid phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) and functions downstream of RhoA in actin organization. It is known to play an essential role in neurite remodeling, yielding a phenotype identical to that seen in cells treated with Semaphorin 4D (Sema4D), a protein that regulates proliferation, adhesion and migration in many different cell types. Plexin-B1, the receptor for Sema4D, activates RhoA in order to generate a pro-angiogenic signal in endothelial cells. Therefore, we looked in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) to determine if Plexin-B1 e…
A combined theoretical and experimental determination of the electronic spectrum of acetone
1996
A combined ab initio and experimental investigation has been performed of the main features of the electronic spectrum of acetone. Vertical transition energies have been calculated from the ground to the ny→π∗, π→π∗, σ→π∗, and the n=3 Rydberg states. In addition, the 1A1 energy surfaces have been studied as functions of the CO bond length. The 1A1 3p and 3d states were found to be heavily perturbed by the π→π∗ state. Resonant multiphoton ionization and polarization‐selected photoacoustic spectra of acetone have been measured and observed transitions were assigned on internal criteria. The calculated vertical transition energies to the ny→π∗ and all Rydberg states were found to be in agreeme…
Plasmon-enhanced photocurrent in quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells by the inclusion of gold/silica core–shell nanoparticles in a TiO2 phot…
2013
Direct evidence of the effects of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) in TiO2 photoanodes on the performance enhancement in quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) is reported by comparing gold/silica core–shell nanoparticles (Au@SiO2 NPs) and hollow silica nanoparticles with the same shell size of the core–shell nanoparticles. The Au nanoparticles were shelled by a thin SiO2 layer to produce the core–shell structure, and the SiO2 hollow spheres were made by dissolving the Au cores of the gold/silica core–shell nanoparticles. Therefore, the size and morphology of the SiO2 hollow spheres were the same as the Au@SiO2 NPs. The energy conver…
Direct measurement of optical losses in plasmon-enhanced thin silicon films (Conference Presentation)
2018
Plasmon-enhanced absorption, often considered as a promising solution for efficient light trapping in thin film silicon solar cells, suffers from pronounced optical losses i.e. parasitic absorption, which do not contribute to the obtainable photocurrent. Direct measurements of such losses are therefore essential to optimize the design of plasmonic nanostructures and supporting layers. Importantly, contributions of useful and parasitic absorption cannot be measured separately with commonly used optical spectrophotometry. In this study we apply a novel strategy consisting in a combination of photocurrent and photothermal spectroscopic techniques to experimentally quantify the trade-off betwee…
Isolated Mn-12 single-molecule magnets grafted on gold surfaces via electrostatic interactions
2005
Electrostatic interactions drive the adsorption of polycationic single-molecule magnets onto anionic monolayers self-assembled on gold surfaces. Well-isolated magnetic clusters have been deposited and characterized using scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy.