Blue‐light‐emitting polyfluorene functionalized with triphenylamine and cyanophenylfluorene bipolar side chains

A new bipolar conjugated polyfluorene copolymer with triphenylamine and cyanophenylfluorene as side chains, poly{[9,9‐di(triphenylamine)fluorene]‐[9,9‐dihexyl‐fluorene]‐[2,7‐bis(4′‐cyanophenyl)‐9,9′‐spirobifluorene]} ( PTHCF ), was synthesized for studying the polymer backbone emission. Its absolute weight‐average molecular weight was determined as 4.85 × 10⁴ by using gel permeation chromatography with a multiangle light scattering detector. In contrast to the electronic absorption spectrum in dilute solution, the absorbance of PTHCF in thin film was slightly blue shifted. By comparison of the solution and thin‐film photoluminescence (PL) spectra, a red shift of Δλ = 8–9 nm was observed in the thin‐film PL spectrum. The HOMO and LUMO energy levels of the resulting polymer were electrochemically estimated as ?5.68 and ?2.80 eV, respectively. Under the electric‐field intensity of 4.8 × 10⁵ V cm^?1, the obtained hole and electron mobilities were 2.41 × 10^?4 and 1.40 × 10^?4 cm² V^?1 s^?1, respectively. An electroluminescence device with configuration of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/ PTHCF _70%+PBD_30%/CsF/Ca/Al exhibited a deep‐blue emission as a result of excitons formed by the charges migrating along the full‐fluorene main chain. The incorporation of the bipolar side chains into the polymer structure prevented the intermolecular interaction of the fluorene moieties, balance charge injection/transport, and thereby improve the polymer backbone emission. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Synthesis and photoluminescence stability of non-conjugated polymers based on fluorene and benzoxazole

A kind of non-conjugated blue luminescent polymer based on fluorene and benzoxazole was synthesized via solution condensation polymerization from 2,2-bis(3-amino-4-hydroxyphenyl)-propane and 2,7-dicarboxyl-9,9-dioctyl-fluorene and was characterized with H NMR, FT-IR, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), UV-vis absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The polymer displayed the maximum photoluminescence emission peak at 415 nm and showed high PL spectroscopic stability. The green-to-blue emission intensity ratio I_Green/I_Blue is only 0.073 even after thermal annealing at 150 °C for 30 h. After being exposed to UV light for 30 min, no bathochromic emission or obvious crosslink is observed. The common phenomenon of greenish blue emission of fluorene-based polymer around 525 nm has been effectively restrained in this polymer by introducing the isopropylidene group into the backbone of polymer.     

Oligofluorene-based push-pull type functional materials for blue light-emitting diodes

A series of new oligofluorene-based push-pull type blue light-emitting functional materials, namely, 2-(9H-carbazole-9-yl)-7-(4-cyanophenyl)-9,9-dihexylfluorene (F1), 7-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-7′-(4-cyanophenyl)-2,2′-bi(9,9-dihexylfluorene) (F2), 7-(9H-carbazole-9-yl)-7″-(4-cyanophenyl)-2,2′:7′,2″-ter(9,9-dihexylfluorene) (F3), and 7-(9H-carbazole-9-yl)-7″′-(4-cyanophenyl)-2,2′:7′,2″:7″,2″′-quarter(9,9-dihexylfluorene) (F4) were synthesized and characterized. Their onset decomposition temperatures for the thermal bond cleavage and the glass-transition temperatures were in general increased with increasing number of fluorene units. In dilute toluene solution, the oligofluorenes exhibited main absorption peaks in the range of 343-370 nm, photoluminescence maxima from 403 to 410 nm, and absolute quantum yields (Φ_PLs) of higher than 87%. In contrast, the absorption spectra of these compounds in the thin films had no large differences from those in the solutions except for the slight peak red-shifts (2-8 nm). The main emission maxima of F1, F2, and F3 in the thin films were located at 418-420 nm, while the main emission of F4 was found to be shifted to 446 nm, followed by a shoulder peak at 421 nm. The Φ_PLs of these thin films were estimated in the range of 59.2-68.7%. The existence of the electron-pull and -push end groups could effectively tune the energy levels of the oligofluorenes. By using the organic light emitting device (OLED) configuration of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/oligofluorenes/TPBi/LiF/Al by solution-process, F4 displayed the best performance: the lowest turn-on voltage (4.1 V) and highest maximum luminance (2180 cd/m²) with maximal current efficiency of 1.17 cd/A. When F4 was fabricated into the optimized device of ITO/MoO₃/NPB/CBP:F4(1:4)/TPBi/LiF/Al by vapor deposition, highest brightness of 5135 cd/m² and current efficiency of 1.76 cd/A were achieved with the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.16, 0.09).     

Effect of a perfluorocyclopentene core unit on the structures and photoluminescence of fluorene- and anthracene-based compounds

A novel series of blue luminescent compounds, in which three identical functional groups, such as fluorene, anthracene, and spiro-bifluorene, are linked distortedly around a perfluorocyclopentene core, have been synthesized and characterized. The introduction of a perfluorocyclopentene linkage into the molecular framework leads to an enhancement of the photoluminescence (PL) efficiency and thermal stability. All compounds exhibit intense blue photoluminescence, which has been attributed to fluorene- or anthracene-based π→π* transitions. The maximum emission wavelengths of all compounds at room temperature are in the region of 420-480 nm, with higher PL quantum efficiencies than in 9,10-diphenylanthracene. The electroluminescent (EL) properties of compound 4, 1,2-bis(9,9′-spirobifluoren-2-yl)-3,3,4,4,5,5-hexafluorocyclopentene, were investigated. A multilayer EL device with the configuration of ITO/2TNATA(60 nm)/NPB(20 nm)/ADN:2%-compound-4(35 nm)/Alq₃(20 nm)/LiF(2 nm)/Al has been successfully fabricated.     

Pattern formation of polyimide by using photosensitive polybenzoxazole as a top layer

A versatile method for positive-type patterning of polyimide (PI) based on a two-layer photosensitive poly(benzoxazole) (PSPBO) and poly(amic acid) (PAA) film has been developed to provide a promising material in the field of microelectronics. This patterning system consisted of a pristine PAA thick bottom-layer and a poly(o-hydroxy amide) (PHA) thin top layer with 9,9-bis[4-(tert-butoxycarbonyl-methyloxy)phenyl]fluorene (TBMPF) as a dissolution inhibitor, and (5-propylsulfonyloxyimino-5H-thiophene-2-ylidene)-(2-methylphenyl)-acetonitrile (PTMA) as a photoacid generator (PAG). The PHA and PAA were prepared from 4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)-bis(o-aminophenol) and 4,4′-oxybis(benzoic acid) derivatives, and 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride and 4,4′-oxydianiline, respectively, in N,N-dimethylacetamide. This two-layer system based on PHA (150-nm thickness) and PAA (1.5-μm thickness) showed high sensitivity of 35 mJ/cm² and high contrast of 10.3 when exposed to a 365 nm line (i-line), post-baked at 100 °C for 2 min, and developed in a 2.38 wt.% tetramethylammonium hydroxide aqueous solution/5 wt.% iso-propanol at 25 °C. A clear positive image of a 4-μm line-and-space pattern was printed on a film which was exposed to 100 mJ/cm² of i-line by a contact-printing mode and fully converted to the corresponding PBO/PI pattern upon heating at 350 °C, confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy. This two-layer system could be applied to the patterning of various PAAs.     

Application of heteroleptic iridium complexes with fluorenyl-modified 1-phenylisoquinoline ligand for high-efficiency red polymer light-emitting devices

A series of new heteroleptic iridium complexes bearing fluorenyl-modified 1-phenylisoquinoline as the first ligand and different ancillary ligands has been prepared and characterized. These complexes bis(1-(3-(9,9-dimethyl-fluoren-2-yl)phenyl)isoquinoline-C2,N′)iridium(III)acetylacetonate(Ir(DMFPQ)₂acac)), bis(1-(3-(9,9-dimethyl-fluoren-2-yl)phenyl)isoquinoline-C2,N′)iridium(III)(3-(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazolate)(Ir(DMFPQ)₂pt) and bis(1-(3-(9,9-dimethyl-fluoren-2-yl)phenyl)isoquinoline-C2,N′)iridium(III)(2-(2-pyridyl)benzimidazolate)(Ir(DMFPQ)₂pbi) showed red phosphorescent emissions of 615-630 nm in dichloromethane solution. The device fabricated with these complexes doped into a host polyfluorene (PFO) blend with 30% of an electron transport material 2-(4-biphenyl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (PBD) showed high device efficiencies. Ir(DMFPQ)₂acac exhibited red emission with an external quantum efficiency(η_ext) of 14.3% and luminous efficiency(η_c) of 7.8 cd/A at 1.2 mA/cm² and the maximum brightness reached 10 006 cd/m² (Commission Internationale de I’Eclairage(CIE) chromaticity coordinates: (0.67, 0.32)) at 412 mA/cm². Ir(DMFPQ)₂pt showed a η_ext of 13.0% and η_c of 9.2 cd/A at 17 mA/cm², 1532 cd/m², and the maximum brightness reached 15085 cd/m² (CIE: 0.64, 0.34) at 360 mA/cm².     

Novel fluorene/carbazole hybrids with steric bulk as host materials for blue organic electrophosphorescent devices

The problem of self-quenching in organic electrophosphorescence devices has been extensively studied and partially solved by using sterically hindered spacers in phosphorescent dopants. This paper attempts to address this problem by using sterically hindered host materials. Novel fluorene/carbazole hybrids with tert-butyl substitutions, namely 9,9-bis[4-(3,6-di-tert-butylcarbazol-9-yl)phenyl]fluorene (TBCPF) and 9,9-bis[4-(carbazol-9-yl)phenyl]-2,7-di-tert-butylfluorene (CPTBF), have been synthesized and characterized. The compounds exhibit not only high triplet energy (>2.8 eV), but also high glass transition temperature (>160 °C) and thermal stability. The substitution of inert tert-butyl groups to the carbazole/fluorene rings of these host molecules has a remarkable effect on the corresponding properties of the host materials, i.e. enhancing the thermal and electrochemical stability, weakening the intermolecular packing, and tuning the solid-state emission. Blue electrophosphorescent devices with enhanced performance were prepared by utilizing the sterically hindered host materials. The devices based on the four tert-butyl substituted material TBCPF exhibit unusual tolerance of high dopant concentration up to 20% and marked reduction of efficiency roll-off at higher current, indicating significant suppression of self-quenching effect in organic electrophosphorescent devices by the substitution of steric bulks.     

Synthesis and characterization of a new ethynyl‐linked alternating anthracene/fluorene copolymer for organic thin film transistor

A new p‐type conjugated copolymer, poly(9,10‐diethynylanthracene‐alt‐9,9‐didodecylfluorene) (PDADF), which is composed of ethynyl‐linked alternating anthracene/fluorene, is synthesized via a palladium(II)‐catalyzed Sonogashira coupling reaction with 9,10‐diethynylanthracene and 2,7‐diiodo‐9,9‐didodecyl‐fluorene. The obtained polymer is confirmed by FTIR, ¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR and elemental analysis. The PDADF had very good solubility in organic solvents such as chloroform and had a weight average molecular weight of 29,300 with a polydispersity index of 1.29. The PL maximum of the polymer was found at 533 and 568 nm for a solution and 608 nm for film, respectively. The highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy of the polymer is ?5.62 eV as measured via cyclic voltammetry (CV). A solution‐processed thin film transistor device showed a carrier mobility value of 6.0 × 10^?4 cm²/Vs with a threshold voltage of ?17 V and a capacitance (C_i) of 10 nF/cm². The out‐of‐plane and in‐plane GIXD pattern of spin‐coated polymer on SiO₂ dielectric surfaces showed an amorphous halo near 2θ = 20°. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 1609–1616, 2009     

Temperature dependence of molecular dynamics and supramolecular aggregation in MEH-PPV films: A solid-state NMR, X-ray and fluorescence spectroscopy study

This article presents an investigation of the temperature induced modification in the microstructure and dynamics of poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV) cast films using Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS), solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and Fluorescence Spectroscopy (PL). MEH-PPV chain motions were characterized as a function of temperature by NMR. The results indicated that the solvent used to cast the films influences the activation energy of the side-chain motions. This was concluded from the comparison of the activation energy of the toluene cast film, E_a = (54 ± 8) kJ/mol, and chloroform cast film, E_a = (69 ± 5) kJ/mol, and could be attributed to the higher side-chain packing provided by chloroform, that preferentially solvates the side chain in contrast to toluene that solvates mainly the backbone. Concerning the backbone mobility, it was observed that the torsional motions in the MEH-PPV have average amplitude of ∼10° at 300 K, which was found to be independent of the solvent used to cast the films. In order to correlate the molecular dynamics processes with the changes in the microstructure of the polymer, in situ WAXS experiments as a function of temperature were performed and revealed that the interchain spacing in the MEH-PPV molecular aggregates increases as a function of temperature, particularly at temperatures where molecular relaxations occur. It was also observed that the WAXS peak associated with the bilayer spacing becomes narrower and its intensity increases whereas the peak associated with the interbackbone planes reduces its intensity for higher temperatures. This last result could be interpreted as a decrease in the number of aggregates and the reduction of the interchain species during the MEH-PPV relaxation processes. These WAXS results were correlated with PL spectra modifications observed upon temperature treatments.     

Novel luminescent Ir(III) dyes for developing highly sensitive oxygen sensing films

New sensing films have been developed for the detection of molecular oxygen. These films are based on luminescent Ir(III) dyes incorporated either into polystyrene (with and without plasticizer) or metal oxide, nanostructured material. The preparation and characterization of each film have been investigated in detail. Due to their high sensitivity for low oxygen concentration, the parameters pO₂(S=1/2) and ΔI_1% have been also evaluated in order to establish the most sensitive membrane for controlling concentrations between 0 and 10% and low oxygen concentrations (lower than 1%), respectively. The results show that the use of nanostructured material increased the sensitivity of the film; the most sensitive membrane for controlling O₂ between 0 and 10% is based on N1001 immobilized in AP200/19 (k_sv = 2848 ± 101 bar⁻¹ and pO₂(S=1/2)=0.0006), and the complex N969 incorporated into AP200/19 seems to be the most suitable for applications in oxygen trace sensing (ΔI_1% = 93.13 ± 0.13%).     

Synthesis, characterization, physical properties, and applications of highly fluorescent pyrene-functionalized 9,9-bis(4-diarylaminophenyl)fluorene in organic light-emitting diodes

A new, highly fluorescent pyrene-functionalized 9,9-bis(4-diarylaminophenyl)fluorene, namely PTF, was synthesized and characterized. This material is an amorphous molecular glass with notably high T_g, is electrochemically stable, and exhibits strong blue emission both in solution and solid state. It shows promising ability as a solution processed blue emitter and hole-transporter for OLEDs. High-efficiency sky-blue and Alq3-based green devices with luminance efficiencies of 1.13 and 4.08 cd/A are achieved, respectively.     

Thermal diffusivity measurement of low-k dielectric thin film by temperature wave analysis

Thermal diffusivity of thin film with low dielectric constant (k), what is called low-k dielectric thin film, 0.31-1.14 μm, including hydrogen-silsesquioxane (HSQ), methyl-silsesquioxane (MSQ), and poly(arylen ether) was examined by temperature wave analysis. The phase shift of temperature wave was observable up to 100 kHz. Thermal diffusivity of HSQ was 4.7 × 10⁻⁷ m² s⁻¹, on the other hand it was not higher than 1.1 × 10⁻⁷ m² s⁻¹ for MSQ or poly(arylen ether) at room temperature. Temperature dependence of thermal diffusivity/thermal conductivity of MSQ was obtained, thermal diffusivity decreased but thermal conductivity increased in a heating scan at 30-150 °C. It was shown that the thermal diffusivity of low-k thin film was correlated with the chemical and the physical structures, the latter was formed in the spin-coating and the curing process.     

Preparation and properties of covalently cross-linked sulfonated copolyimide membranes containing benzimidazole groups

A series of sulfonated copolyimides containing benzimidazole groups (SPIs) were synthesized by random copolymerization of 1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (NTDA), 2-(4-aminophenyl)-5-aminobenzimidazole (APABI), 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl ether-2,2′-disulfonic acid (ODADS) and 9,9-bis(4-aminophenyl)fluorene (BAPF) in m-cresol in the presence of benzoic acid and triethylamine at 180 °C for 20 h. Membranes with good mechanical properties were prepared by solution cast method. Proton exchange treatment resulted in ionic cross-linking and the membranes were further covalently cross-linked by treating them in polyphosphoric acid (PPA) at 180 °C for 6 h. The covalently cross-linked membranes displayed slightly lower ion exchange capacities (IECs) and proton conductivities than the corresponding covalently uncross-linked ones because small part of the sulfonic acid groups had been consumed during the cross-linking process. Fenton’s test (3% H₂O₂ + 3 ppm FeSO₄, 80 °C) revealed that benzimidazole groups played an important role in the radical oxidative stability of the membranes, while the cooperative effect of benzimidazole groups and covalent cross-linking led to much more significant enhancements in the radical oxidative stability of the membranes than each alone. The membrane 4 (ODADS/APABI/BAPF = 2/1/1, by mol), for example, after covalent cross-linking could maintain membrane form within 8 h measurement, which was much longer than that (3 h) before covalent cross-linking under the same conditions. The membrane 5 (ODADS/BAPF = 3/1, by mol) without benzimidazole groups, however, after covalent cross-linking started to break into pieces after 85 min measurement, which was only slightly longer than that (60 min) before cross-linking under the same conditions.     

Photoluminescence in the CaxSr1−xWO4 system at room temperature

In this work, a study was undertaken about the structural and photoluminescent properties, at room temperature, of powder samples from the Ca_xSr_1−xWO₄ (x=0-1.0) system, synthesized by a soft chemical method and heat treated between 400 and 700 °C. The material was characterized using Infrared, UV-vis and Raman spectroscopy and XRD. The most intense PL emission was obtained for the sample calcined at 600 °C, which is neither highly disordered (400-500 °C), nor completely ordered (700 °C). Corroborating the role of disorder in the PL phenomenon, the most intense PL response was not observed for pure CaWO₄ or SrWO₄, but for Ca_0.6Sr_0.4WO₄. The PL emission spectra could be separated into two Gaussian curves. The lower wavelength peak is placed around 530 nm, and the higher wavelength peak at about 690 nm. Similar results were reported in the literature for both CaWO₄ and SrWO₄.     

Strategic molecular design of closo-ortho-carboranyl luminophores to manifest thermally activated delayed fluorescence

In this paper, we propose a strategic molecular design of closo-o-carborane-based donor–acceptor dyad system that exhibits thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) in the solution state at ambient temperature. Planar 9,9-dimethyl-9H-fluorene-based compounds with closo- and nido-o-carborane cages appended at the C2-, C3-, and C4-positions of each fluorene moiety (closo-type: 2FC, 3FC, 4FC, and 4FCH, and nido-type: nido-4FC = [nido-form of 4FC]·[NBu₄]) were prepared and characterized. The solid-state molecular structure of 4FC exhibited a significantly distorted fluorene plane, which suggests the existence of severe intramolecular steric hindrance. In photoluminescence measurements, 4FC exhibits a noticeable intramolecular charge transition (ICT)-based emission in all states (solution at 298 K and 77 K, and solid states); however, emissions by other closo-compounds were observed in only the rigid state (solution at 77 K and film). Furthermore, nido-4FC did not exhibit emissive traces in any state. These observations verify that all radiative decay processes correspond to ICT transitions triggered by closo-o-carborane, which acts as an electron acceptor. Relative energy barriers calculated by TD-DFT as dihedral angles around o-carborane cages change in closo-compounds, which indicates that the structural formation of 4FC is nearly fixed around its S₀-optimized structure. This differs from that for other closo-compounds, wherein the free rotation of their o-carborane cages occurs easily at ambient temperature. Such rigidity in the structural geometry of 4FC results in ICT-based emission in solution at 298 K and enhancement of quantum efficiency and radiative decay constants compared to those for other closo-compounds. Furthermore, 4FC displays short-lived (∼0.5 ns) and long-lived (∼30 ns) PL decay components in solution at 298 K and in the film state, respectively, which can be attributed to prompt fluorescence and TADF, respectively. The calculated energy difference (ΔE_ST) between the first excited singlet and triplet states of the closo-compounds demonstrate that the TADF characteristic of 4FC originates from a significantly small ΔE_ST maintained by the rigid structural fixation around its S₀-optimized structure. Furthermore, the strategic molecular design of the o-carborane-appended π-conjugated (D–A) system, which forms a rigid geometry due to severe intramolecular steric hindrance, can enhance the radiative efficiency for ICT-based emission and trigger the TADF nature.

The first example of a closo-o-carboranyl compound demonstrating thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) nature in solution is shown, and a strategic molecular design of a closo-o-carboranyl luminophore to exhibit TADF is proposed.     

Synthesis of regio- and stereoselective alkoxy-substituted spirobifluorene derivatives for blue light emitting materials

Three new octyloxy substituted spirobifluorenes, 2,7-diphenyl-3′,6′-bis(octyloxy)-9,9′-spirobifluorene (DPBSBF, 1a), 2,7-dibiphenyl-3′,6′-bis(octyloxy)-9,9′-spirobifluorene (DBBSBF, 1b) and 2,7-diterphenyl-3′,6′-bis(octyloxy)-9,9′-spirobifluorene (DTBSBF, 1c) were prepared. All the compounds had been fully characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR, UV-Vis, DSC, mass spectrometry and gave satisfactory elemental analyses. They possessed good solubility in common organic solvents and good homogeneous film formation. The optical energy band gap of DBBSBF was 3.27 eV between the HOMO energy level, 5.85 eV, measured by UPS and the LUMO, 2.58 eV, calculated from absorption spectrum. A blue organic light emitting diode (OLED) based on the structure of ITO/TPD (60 nm)/DBBSBF (40 nm)/Alq₃ (20 nm)/LiF (1 nm)/Al (100 nm) showed good performance. The luminance of 3125 cd/m² was observed at a drive voltage of 12.8 V and the colour coordinate in CIE chromaticity was (0.14, 0.12). The external quantum efficiency was obtained to be 2.8% at 100 cd/m².     

Synthesis and optical properties of fluorene and p-phenylenevinylene copolymers containing non-conjugated spacer

A series of alternating fluorene and p-phenylenevinylene copolymers containing non-conjugated spacer have been synthesized through the Wittig polycondensation reaction. These amorphous copolymers are highly soluble in common organic solvents and can be spin-cast to obtain transparent films. The effects of non-conjugated spacers in the main chain and the methoxyl groups on the side chain on the thermal behavior, photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) properties of these copolymers have been investigated in detail. Single-layered light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been fabricated in the configuration of ITO/PEDOT/copolymer/Ca/Al and emitted blue light in the range of 456-492 nm. The measurements of current vs voltage show turn-on voltages at 6.2-12.4 V. Among the LEDs based on the six copolymers, the maximum EL brightness and efficiency of the LED based on P1 containing 4CH₂ aliphatic segment length in the main chain and without methoxyl groups on side chain are reached 3936 cd/m² and 0.70 cd/A, respectively.     

Silica gel modified with lumogallion for aluminum determination by spectroscopic methods

Simple, easy to use and selective method of Al(III) sorption-spectroscopic (SS) determination was proposed. For this purpose, silica modified with tridecyloctadecylammonium chloride(SGII) using adsorption technique and glass slide modified with thin silica-poly(dimethyldiallyl-ammonium chloride) (SGI) composite film obtained by sol-gel technique were worked out. It was shown that lumogallion (LG) easily absorbs on SGI and SGII. Obtained sorbents SGIII and SGIV, respectively, were used for aluminum(III) determination by diffuse reflectance and spectrophotometric methods. The ranges of determination were (mg L⁻¹): (0.08-0.54), s_r ≤ 0.13, n = 4 for SGIII and (0.05-2.0), s_r ≤ 0.11, n = 4 for SGIV. The detection limits (blank + 3σ) for aluminum were 70 and 30 μg L⁻¹ using SGIII and SGIV, respectively, where σ is the standard deviation of blank estimation. The accuracy of the developed spectrophotometric method was examined by the determination of standard addition of aluminum in alcohol-free beverages. The relative error did not exceed 9%. SGIII can be regenerated by 0.05 M EDTANa₂H₂ solution and reused. SGIV was shown to be perspective for determination of aluminum in solution in the range of 0.01-0.13 mg L⁻¹ by solid phase luminescent technique.     

Influence of hole mobility on the response characteristics of p-type nickel oxide thin film based glucose biosensor

RF sputtered p-type nickel oxide (NiO) thin film exhibiting tunable semiconductor character which in turns enhanced its functional properties. NiO thin film with high hole mobility is developed as a potential matrix for the realization of glucose biosensor. NiO thin film prepared under the optimized deposition conditions offer good electrical conductivity (1.5 × 10⁻³ Ω⁻¹-cm⁻¹) with high hole mobility (2.8 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹). The bioelectrode (GO_x/NiO/ITO/glass) exhibits a low value of Michaelis–Menten constant (K_m = 1.05 mM), indicating high affinity of the immobilized GO_x toward the analyte (glucose). Due to the high surface coverage (2.32 × 10⁻⁷ mol cm⁻²) of the immobilized enzyme on to the NiO matrix and its high electrocatalytic activity, the prepared biosensor exhibits a high sensitivity of 0.1 mA (mM⁻¹-cm⁻²) and a good linearity from 25 to 300 mg dL⁻¹ of glucose concentration with fast response time of 5 s. Various functional properties of the material (mobility, crystallinity and stress) are found to influence the charge communication feature of NiO thin film matrix to a great extent, resulting in enhanced sensing response characteristics.     

Polystyrene with different topologies: Study of the glass transition temperature in confined geometry of thin films

The glass transition behaviour of polystyrene (PS) with systematically varied topologies (linear, star-like and hyperbranched) confined in nanoscalic films was studied by means of spectroscopic vis-ellipsometry. All applied PS samples showed no or only a marginal depression in glass transition temperature T_g in the order hyperbranched PS (5 K) > star-like PS (3 K) > linear PS (0 K) for the thinnest films analyzed. The T_g behaviour was accompanied by the observation of the film density in dependence of film thickness. A maximum decreased density of about 7% for hyperbranched PS and 5% for star-like PS and again no deviation in density of bulk was found for linear PS. Accordingly, we deduce from these results considering an experimental accuracy of about ± 2 K for T_g and up to ±3% for film density, that the polymer topology only barely influences T_g in the confinement of thin films.