Linearly polarized emission of an organic semiconductor nanobelt

Linearly polarized emission has been observed for the nanobelts fabricated from a perylene diimide molecule through both solution-based and surface-supported self-assembling. The measurement of polarized emission was performed over single nanobelts with use of a near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM) adapted with emission polarization (by putting a planar polarizer before the detector). Rotating the emission polarizer (from 0 degrees to 180 degrees) changed the emission intensity in a way depending on the relative angle between the long axis of the belt and the polarizer with a minimum of intensity detected at ca. 78 degrees, which is indicative of the tilted stacking of molecules along the belt direction.     

PbTe colloidal nanocrystals: synthesis, characterization, and multiple exciton generation

We report an alternative synthesis and the first optical characterization of colloidal PbTe nanocrystals (NCs). We have synthesized spherical PbTe NCs having a size distribution as low as 7%, ranging in diameter from 2.6 to 8.3 nm, with first exciton transitions tuned from 1009 to 2054 nm. The syntheses of colloidal cubic-like PbSe and PbTe NCs using a PbO "one-pot" approach are also reported. The photoluminescence quantum yield of PbTe spherical NCs was measured to be as high as 52 +/- 2%. We also report the first known observation of efficient multiple exciton generation (MEG) from single photons absorbed in PbTe NCs. Finally, we report calculated longitudinal and transverse Bohr radii for PbS, PbSe, and PbTe NCs to account for electronic band anisotropy. This is followed by a comparison of the differences in the electronic band structure and optical properties of these lead salts.     

Fractional weak discrepancy and interval orders

The fractional weak discrepancywd_F(P) of a poset P=(V,?) was introduced in [A. Shuchat, R. Shull, A. Trenk, The fractional weak discrepancy of a partially ordered set, Discrete Applied Mathematics 155 (2007) 2227-2235] as the minimum nonnegative k for which there exists a function satisfying (i) if a?b then f(a)+1≤f(b) and (ii) if a∥b then |f(a)−f(b)|≤k. In this paper we generalize results in [A. Shuchat, R. Shull, A. Trenk, Range of the fractional weak discrepancy function, ORDER 23 (2006) 51-63; A. Shuchat, R. Shull, A. Trenk, Fractional weak discrepancy of posets and certain forbidden configurations, in: S.J. Brams, W.V. Gehrlein, F.S. Roberts (Eds.), The Mathematics of Preference, Choice, and Order: Essays in Honor of Peter C. Fishburn, Springer, New York, 2009, pp. 291-302] on the range of the wd_F function for semiorders (interval orders with no induced ) to interval orders with no , where n≥3. In particular, we prove that the range for such posets P is the set of rationals that can be written as r/s, where 0≤s−1≤r<(n−2)s. If wd_F(P)=r/s and P has an optimal forcing cycle C with and , then r≤(n−2)(s−1). Moreover when s≥2, for each r satisfying s−1≤r≤(n−2)(s−1) there is an interval order having such an optimal forcing cycle and containing no.     

Photophysics of Iridium(III) (2-phenylpyridine)(2,2’,6,2”-terpyridine) Chloride Encapsulated within the Zinc(II) Polyhedral MOF,USF-2

Photoactive metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) provide an important class of functional porous materials for a wide range of applications including light harvesting, photocatalysis and photodynamic therapy. Two strategies have been employed in the development of photoactive MOFs, one in which the photoactive element is incorporated as an element of the framework itself and the other in which the photoactive element serves as a guest within the MOF cavities. Transition metal polyimines have now been non-covalently incorporated within the cavities of a large number of MOFs with the Ru^II-polyimine being the most widely examined guest complex. Previous studies have demonstrated that the nature of the cavity modulates the Ru-polyimine photophysics. Here, an Ir^III(terpyridine)(phenylpyridine)Cl complex has been encapsulated within the Zn-polyhedral MOF, USF-2. Unlike the Ru-polyimines, the excited state photophysics associated with the encapsulated Ir polyimine shows very little change in either the steady state emission and emission lifetime. The slight decrease in emission lifetime is attributed to energy transfer between encapsulated Ir complexes. These results indicate that transition metal polyimines that exhibit excited state structural changes demonstrate the largest perturbations upon confinement.     

Characterization of pyrene end-labeled poly(ethylene glycol) by high resolution MALDI time-of-flight mass spectrometry

We report the characterization of a sample of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG, M _n = 3841, M _w/M _n = 1.01), and its derivative end-labeled with pyrenebutyrate groups, using high resolution MALDI time-of-flight mass spectrometry. A matrix of 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl-azo)benzoic acid containing a trace of either sodium chloride or potassium chloride was employed for laser desorption. Peaks due to the sodium or potassium cationized polymers were obtained, equally spaced at 44 mass units apart. For the pyrenebutyrate diester, the analysis shows that 80 ± 2% of the chains were doubly labeled, with the ramaining chains containing only a single pyrene group. Molecular weight determinations for both sets of samples were entirely consistent with size-exclusion chromatography measurements, but were obtained with greater accuracy and less ambiguity about the influence of the end groups on the hydrodynamic radius of the polymer.