Search results for "layer"

Smectic C and Nematic Phases in Strongly Adsorbed Layers of Semiflexible Polymers

2017

Molecular dynamics simulations of semiflexible polymers in a good solvent reveal a dense adsorbed layer when the solution is exposed to an attractive planar wall. This layer exhibits both a nematic and a smectic phase (smA for short and smC for longer chains) with bond vectors aligned strictly parallel to the wall. The tilt angle of the smC phase increases strongly with the contour length of the polymers. The isotropic-nematic transition is a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition and also the nematic-smectic transition is continuous. Our finding demonstrates thus a two-dimensional realization of different liquid crystalline phases, ubiquitous in three dimensions, that occurs in a single monomolecu…

Melting and interdigitation of microstructured solid supported membranes quantified by imaging ellipsometry

2010

The phase transition of individually addressable microstructured lipid bilayers was investigated by means of noncontact imaging ellipsometry. Two-dimensional membrane compartments were created on silicon substrates by micromolding in capillaries and the phase transition of supported dimyristoylphosphadiylcholine DMPC and dipentadecoylphosphatidylcholine DiC15PC membranes was determined measuring area expansion and thickness of the bilayer as a function of temperature, ethanol concentration, and cholesterol content. Apart from measuring the thermotropic behavior of DMPC on glass slides and silicon wafers, the authors were able to visualize the reversible induction of an interdigitated phase …

Thermal Expansion of Microstructured DMPC Bilayers Quantified by Temperature-Controlled Atomic Force Microscopy

2006

Ellipsometric studies of behenic acid at the air-water interface

1991

The rich phase behaviour of monolayers of behenic acid (=docosanoic acid) has been analyzed by null ellipsometry in isothermic and isobaric measurements. By using structural data known from x-ray measurements the anisotropy and refractive indices in the vicinity of the S-CS phase transition have been calculated with a minimum of model assumptions. The calculated values are: nsx=1.47. ncsx=1.48. nsz=1.54. ncsz=1.55. and anisotropy γ=nx/nz ≈0.95. It is also shown that ellipsometry is a very sensitive and convenient method of detecting phase transitions. Its value for quantifying the roughness of the monolayer in the close vicinity of phase transitions due to thickness and density fluctuations…

Optical measurements of an acylated azacrown at the air-water interface

1991

In this study, a cyclame derivative bearing four aliphatic chain substituents shows, like many amphiphiles, solid-condensed as well as liquid-expanded phases. In contrast to the classical amphiphiles, the onset of its phase transition is characterized by a bump-like shape whose amplitude is a function of the compression speed. Ellipsometry which is very sensitive to the monolayer physical state changes, and fluorescence microscopy which has contributed significantly to the understanding of the phenomena occurring in the phase transition region have been used to investigate the monolayer behavior of this compound. This study shows that in the liquid-expanded state, the film is homogeneous an…

Hydrogen sensor based on a palladium-coated fibre-taper with improved time-response

2006

Abstract We report an experimental study of the response of a hydrogen sensor, based on a palladium-coated tapered optical fibre, at different temperatures in the range −30 to 80 °C. We have studied the transmission, the time-response and the initial response velocity, being able to correlate these measurements with the pressure–composition isotherms of the Pd–H system and its phase transitions. Heating of the palladium layer optically with an auxiliary laser diode permits to improve the sensor's time-response at low temperatures.

Ordering and Phase Transitions in Adsorbed Monolayers of Diatomic Molecules

2007

Ellipsometric study of the physical states of phosphatidylcholines at the air-water interface

1990

Etude des couches monomoleculaires de dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine, de dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, de distearoyl phosphatidylcholine, de diarachidoylphosphatidylcholine a l'interface air/eau

Validation of liposomal lipid composition by thin-layer chromatography.

2012

Liposomes of different sizes are frequently used model systems for cellular membranes. To mimic the cellular environment, these liposomes are often prepared from a mixture of different lipids in organic solution. The preparation involves, at some point, the transfer into aqueous solution. Thus, both the total amount of lipid and the relative amount of each lipid species might deviate from the original composition in the organic solvent. We used thin-layer chromatography combined with a lipid extraction step to check whether the liposomes in the final aqueous solution have the intended composition. This allows determination of the lipid composition not only for large unilamellar vesicles, bu…

Self-assembled monolayers based spintronics: from ferromagnetic surface functionalization to spin-dependent transport.

2016

Chemically functionalized surfaces are studied for a wide range of applications going from medicine to electronics. Whereas non-magnetic surfaces have been widely studied, functionalization of magnetic surfaces is much less common and has almost never been used for spintronics applications. In this article we present the functionalization of La2/3Sr1/3MnO3, a ferromagnetic oxide, with self-assembled monolayers for spintronics. La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 is the prototypical half-metallic manganite used in spintronics studies. First, we show that La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 can be functionalized by alkylphosphonic acid molecules. We then emphasize the use of these functionalized surfaces in spintronics devices such a…