Electrophoretic Deposition: A Quantitative Model for Particle Deposition and Binder Formation from Alcohol-Based Suspensions

We investigated electrophoretic deposition from a suspension containing positively charged particles, isopropanol, water, and Mg(NO(3))(2), with the aim of describing the deposition rates of the particles and Mg(OH)(2), which is formed due to chemical reactions at the electrode, in terms of quantitative models. LaB(6) particles were used as a model system. The particle layer is consolidated by simultaneous precipitation of Mg(OH)(2) which acts as a binder to hold the particles together. The Mg(OH)(2) content was determined solely by the amount of charge passed through the cell. Quantitative precipitation of all OH(-) formed at the electrode was observed, except at very low current. The occurrence of a minimum current was ascribed to a threshold for Mg(OH)(2) deposition. The same minimum current was observed for particle deposition. In combination with results using NaNO(3), where no adherent layer was formed, this illustrates that Mg(OH)(2) binder is necessary for consolidation. Once the minimum current was exceeded, it was found that all particles that migrate to the electrode under the influence of the electric field contribute to the formation of the layer, i.e., the "sticking coefficient" for the particles equals 1.0. The applicability of the particle and Mg(OH)(2) deposition models was tested by variation of the Mg(NO(3))(2) concentration, pH, and water content. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Optical transitions in artificial few-electron atoms strongly confined inside ZnO nanocrystals

We have studied the optical transitions in artificial atoms consisting of one to ten electrons occupying the conduction levels in ZnO nanocrystals. We analyzed near IR absorption spectra of assemblies of weakly coupled ZnO nanocrystals for a gradually increasing electron number and found four allowed dipole transitions with oscillator strengths in quantitative agreement with tight-binding theory. Furthermore, this spectroscopy provides the single-particle energy separation between the conduction levels of the ZnO quantum dots.     

Bilayer-by-bilayer antiferroelectric ordering in freely suspended films of an achiral polymer-monomer liquid crystal mixture

Thin freely suspended films of a mixture of an achiral side-chain liquid crystal polymer and its monomer have been studied with depolarized reflected light microscopy. We observe that regions with an odd number of bilayers exhibit a net spontaneous polarization in the tilt plane of the molecules, while regions with an even number of bilayers have no net polarization. These odd-even effects are direct evidence that the tilted smectic bilayers are anticlinic at the polymer backbone and synclinic at bilayer interface and confirm that the phase is bilayer-by-bilayer antiferroelectric.     

Wide energy-window view on the density of states and hole mobility in poly(p-phenylene vinylene)

Using an electrochemically gated transistor, we achieved controlled and reversible doping of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) in a large concentration range. Our data open a wide energy-window view on the density of states (DOS) and show, for the first time, that the core of the DOS function is Gaussian, while the low-energy tail has a more complex structure. The hole mobility increases by more than 4 orders of magnitude when the electrochemical potential is scanned through the DOS.