Monolayer Co3O4 Inverse Opals as Multifunctional Sensors for Volatile Organic Compounds

Monolayers of periodic porous Co₃O₄ inverse opal (IO) thin films for gas‐sensor applications were prepared by transferring cobalt‐solution‐dipped polystyrene (PS) monolayers onto sensor substrates and subsequent removal of the PS template by heat treatment. Monolayer Co₃O₄ IO thin films having periodic pores (d≈500 nm) showed a high response of 112.9 to 5 ppm C₂H₅OH at 200 °C with low cross‐responses to other interfering gases. Moreover, the selective detection of xylene and methyl benzenes (xylene+toluene) could be achieved simply by tuning the sensor temperature to 250 and 275 °C, respectively, so that multiple gases can be detected with a single chemiresistor. Unprecedentedly high ethanol response and temperature‐modulated control of selectivity with respect to ethanol, xylene, and methyl benzenes were attributed to the highly chemiresistive IO nanoarchitecture and to the tuned catalytic promotion of different gas‐sensing reactions, respectively. These well‐ordered porous nanostructures could have potential in the field of high‐performance gas sensors based on p‐type oxide semiconductors.     

Synthese de diterpenes tetracycliques du type hibane

Hibaone has been synthesized from manool through a photochemical cycloaddition of Δ⁸⁽¹⁴⁾ podocarpene-13-one to ethylene or 1,2 dichloroethylene.     

Effect of the phase states of self-assembled monolayers on pentacene growth and thin-film transistor characteristics

To investigate the effects of the phase state (ordered or disordered) of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on the growth mode of pentacene films and the performance of organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs), we deposited pentacene molecules on SAMs of octadecyltrichlorosilane (ODTS) with different alkyl-chain orientations at various substrate temperatures (30, 60, and 90 degrees C). We found that the SAM phase state played an important role in both cases. Pentacene films grown on relatively highly ordered SAMs were found to have a higher crystallinity and a better interconnectivity between the pentacene domains, which directly serves to enhance the field-effect mobility, than those grown on disordered SAMs. Furthermore, the differences in crystallinity and field-effect mobility between pentacene films grown on ordered and disordered substrates increased with increasing substrate temperature. These results can be possibly explained by (1) a quasi-epitaxy growth of the pentacene film on the ordered ODTS monolayer and (2) the temperature-dependent alkyl chain mobility of the ODTS monolayers.     

Comparison of nitrogen adsorption at 77 K on non-porous silica and pore wall of MCM-41 materials by means of density functional theory

Nitrogen adsorption on a surface of a non-porous reference material is widely used in the characterization. Traditionally, the enhancement of solid-fluid potential in a porous solid is accounted for by incorporating the surface curvature into the solid-fluid potential of the flat reference surface. However, this calculation procedure has not been justified experimentally. In this paper, we derive the solid-fluid potential of mesoporous MCM-41 solid by using solely the adsorption isotherm of that solid. This solid-fluid potential is then compared with that of the non-porous reference surface. In derivation of the solid-fluid potential for both reference surface and mesoporous MCM-41 silica (diameter ranging from 3 to 6.5 nm) we employ the nonlocal density functional theory developed for amorphous solids. It is found that, to our surprise, the solid-fluid potential of a porous solid is practically the same as that for the reference surface, indicating that there is no enhancement due to surface curvature. This requires further investigations to explain this unusual departure from our conventional wisdom of curvature-induced enhancement. Accepting the curvature-independent solid-fluid potential derived from the non-porous reference surface, we analyze the hysteresis features of a series of MCM-41 samples.     

Self-assembled monolayers on Pt(111): molecular packing structure and strain effects observed by scanning tunneling microscopy

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of octanethiol and benzeneethanethiol were deposited on clean Pt(111) surfaces in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV). Highly resolved images of these SAMs produced by an in situ scanning tunneling microscope (STM) showed that both systems organize into a super-structure mosaic of domains of locally ordered, closely packed molecules. Analysis of the STM images indicated a (square root 3 x square root 3)R30 degrees unit cell for the octanethiol SAMs and a 4(square root 3 x square root 3)R30 degrees periodicity based on 2 x 2 basic molecular packing for the benzeneethanethiol SAMs under the coverage conditions investigated. SAMs on Pt(111) exhibited differences in molecular packing and a lower density of disordered regions than SAMs on Au(111). Electron transport measurements were performed using scanning tunneling spectroscopy. Benzeneethanethiol/Pt(111) junctions exhibited a higher conductance than octanethiol/Pt(111) junctions.     

Self-induced 1-D molecular chain growth of thiophene on Ge(100)

The adsorption of thiophene on Ge(100) has been studied using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), high-resolution core-level photoemission spectroscopy (HRPES), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Until now, thiophene is known to react with the Ge(100) dimer through a [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction at room temperature, similar to the case of thiophene on Si(100). However, we found that thiophene has two adsorption geometries on Ge(100) at room temperature, such as a kinetically favorable Ge-S dative bonding configuration and a thermodynamically stable [4 + 2] cycloaddition adduct. Moreover, our STM results show that under 0.25 ML thiophene molecules preferentially produce one-dimensional molecular chain structures on Ge(100) via the Ge-S dative bonding configuration.     

Preparation and properties of a new solid state borate ion selective electrode and its application

A new borate ion selective electrode using solid salts of Ag₃BO₃, Ag₂S and Cu₂S has been developed. Detailed information is provided concerning the composition, working pH and conditioning of the electrode. An analytically useful potential change occurred from 1 × 10⁻⁶ to 1 × 10⁻¹ M borate ion. The slope of the linear portion was 31 ± 2 mV/10-fold changes in borate concentration. The measurements were made at constant ionic strength (0.1 M NaNO₃) and at room temperature. The effect of Cl⁻, Br⁻, NO₃⁻, SO⁼₄, H₂PO₄⁻ anions and K⁺, Na⁺, Cu²⁺, Ag⁺, Ca²⁺ cations on borate response is evaluated and it was found that only Ag⁺ had a small interference effect. The lifetime of the electrode was more than two years, when used at least 4-5 times a day, and the response time was about 20-30 s. Borate content in waste water of borax factory, tap water of a town situated near to the borax factory and city tap water far from these mines were also determined. The validation was made with differential pulse polarography for the same water sample, and high consistency was obtained.     

Structural and optical properties of ZnO thin films by the spin coating Sol-Gel method

ZnO thin films were deposited onto glass subsrates by a Sol-gel spin coating method. The structural and optical properties of ZnO thin films were investigated. The molar ratios of the zinc acetate dihydrate to Monoethanolamine were maintained 1:1. The as-grown film was sintered 250 °C for 10 min, then annealed in air at 500 °C for 30 min. The XRD results indicate that ZnO films were strongly oriented to the c-axis of the hexagonal nature. Absorption measurements were carried out as a function of temperature with 10 K steps in the range 10–320 K. The band gap energy was measured 3.275 and 3.267 eV for 0.5 and 1.0 molarity (M) ZnO thin films at 300 K. The steepness parameters were observed between 10 and 320 K and their extrapolations converged at (E₀, α₀) = 3.65 eV, 172,819 cm⁻¹ and 3.70 eV, 653,436 cm⁻¹ for 0.5 and 1.0 M ZnO thin films, respectively.