水/油界面上自组装金纳米粒子单层薄膜

采用界面自组装的方法制备了金纳米粒子单层薄膜。该方法克服了传统制备金纳米粒子薄膜需要引入第三种助剂的缺点,仅用金溶胶和另外一种疏水溶剂通过简单的混合,就可得到金纳米粒子单层薄膜。通过调节疏水溶剂的极性,可以调节组成金膜中金纳米粒子的数密度,即纳米粒子的间距。     

Cu-Doped MoSi2N4 Monolayer as a Potential NH3 Sensor

Cu doped MoSi₂N₄ monolayer (Cu-MoSi₂N₄) was firstly proposed to analyze adsorption performances of common gas molecules including O₂, N₂, CO, NO, NO₂, CO₂, SO₂, H₂O, NH₃ and CH₄ via density functional theory (DFT) combining with non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF). The electronic transport calculations indicate that Cu-MoSi₂N₄ monolayer has high sensitivity for CO, NO, NO₂ and NH₃ molecules. However, only NH₃ molecule adsorbs on the Cu-MoSi₂N₄ monolayer with moderate strength (−0.55 eV) and desorbs at room temperature (2.36×10⁻³ s). Thus, Cu-MoSi₂N₄ monolayer is demonstrated as a potential NH₃ sensor.     

Rod–disc oligomeric liquid crystal based on 4-cyanobiphenyl and truxene core

A facile synthesis of a novel covalently linked disc–rod mesogen is reported consisting of a truxene-based core attached to which are six 4-cyanobiphenyl units via flexible alkyl spacers. The compound formed a stable Langmuir monolayer at the air–water interface. The atomic force microscope study on the Langmuir–Blodgett film of the molecule reveals a tilted orientation at air–solid interfaces.     

Nonlinear optical characteristics of monolayer MoSe2

In this study, we utilized picosecond pulses from an Nd:YAG laser to investigate the nonlinear optical characteristics of monolayer MoSe₂. Two‐step growth involving the selenization of pulsed‐laser‐deposited MoO₃ film was employed to yield the MoSe₂ monolayer on a SiO₂/Si substrate. Raman scattering, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy verified the high optical quality of the monolayer. The second‐order susceptibility χ⁽²⁾ was calculated to be ～50 pm V^?1 at the second harmonic wavelength ～810 nm, which is near the optical gap of the monolayer. Interestingly, our wavelength‐dependent second harmonic scan can identify the bound excitonic states including negatively charged excitons much more efficiently, compared with the PL method at room temperature. Additionally, the MoSe₂ monolayer exhibits a strong laser‐induced damage threshold ～16 GW cm^?2 under picosecond‐pulse excitation_. Our findings suggest that monolayer MoSe₂ can be considered as a promising candidate for high‐power, thin‐film‐based nonlinear optical devices and applications.     

Size‐Controlled Formation of Noble‐Metal Nanoparticles in Aqueous Solution with a Thiol‐Free Tripeptide

A combinatorial screening revealed the peptide H‐His‐d ‐Leu‐d ‐Asp‐NH₂ ( 1 ) as an additive for the generation of monodisperse, water‐soluble palladium nanoparticles with average diameters of 3 nm and stabilities of over 9 months. The tripeptide proved to be also applicable for the size‐controlled formation of other noble‐metal nanoparticles (Pt and Au). Studies with close analogues of peptide 1 revealed a specific role of each of the three amino acids for the formation and stabilization of the nanoparticles. These data combined with microscopic and spectroscopic analyses provided insight into the structure of the self‐assembled peptidic monolayer around the metal core. The results open interesting prospects for the development of functionalized metal nanoparticles.     

Adsorption and Decomposition of NH3 on Ni/Pt(111) and Ni/WC(001) Surfaces: A First-Principles Study

Density functional theory was used to study the NH₃ behavior on Ni monolayer covered Pt(111) and WC(001). The electronic structure of the surfaces, and the adsorption and decomposition of NH₃ were calculated and compared. Ni atoms in the monolayer behave different from that in Ni(111). More dz2 electrons of Ni in monolayer covered systems were shifted to other regions compared to Ni(111), charge density depletion on this orbital is crucial to NH₃ adsorption. NH₃ binds more stable on Ni/Pt(111) and Ni/WC(001) than on Ni(111), the energy barriers of the first N-H bond scission were evidently lower on Ni/Pt(111) and Ni/WC(001) than on Ni(111), these are significant to NH₃ decomposition. N recombination is the rate-limiting step, high reaction barrier implies that N₂ is produced only at high temperatures. Although WC has similar properties to Pt, differences of the electronic structure and catalytic activities are observed for Ni/Pt(111) and Ni/WC(001), the energy barrier for the rate-determined step increases on Ni/WC(001) instead of decreasing on Ni/Pt(111) when compared to Ni(111). To design cheaper and better catalysts, reducing the N recombination barrier by modifying Ni/WC(001) is a critical question to be solved.     

Enhanced thermal stability and structural ordering in short chain <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-alkanethiol monolayers on gold probed by vibrational spectroscopy and EQCM

Monolayers of alkanethiols with varied chain lengths, CH₃(CH₂)_nSH where n = 3, 5, and 7, on gold substrates have been prepared by adsorption from (1) neat thiol, (2) millimolar thiol solution in alcohol (conventional method), and (3) potential-controlled adsorption. Reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) have been used to characterize the integrity of the monolayers. Methylene and methyl stretching modes along with C–S stretching modes have been used as benchmarks to follow the order–disorder transitions in the monolayer structure, in the temperature range from 25 to 175 °C. Monolayers adsorbed from neat thiol show superior quality in terms of stability and structural arrangement. Short chain thiols with n = 3, 5, and 7 do show substantial stability. The possibility of multilayer formation is ruled out by EQCM studies comparing the frequency and mass change associated with the monolayer desorption. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) adsorbed under potential control behave very similarly to the monolayers adsorbed from neat thiol as far as stability and structural orientation are concerned, irrespective of the chain length. The adsorption from neat thiol gets rid of the solvent-induced defects and arrests the propagation of defects under temperature constraints.     

Pressure-area relations for Langmuir monolayers

Pressure-area relations are derived for quasi-static compression of a Langmuir monolayer in the regimes of expanded and partially compressed chains. A monolayer is treated as an ensemble of flexible chains anchored at a flat water-air interface. Formation of surface pressure is attributed to excluded-volume interactions between segments of hydrophobic tail-groups. Close-form expressions are derived for the energy of interactions. Based on this relations, strength of excluded-volume interactions is evaluated by fitting pressure-area isotherms on stearic, behenic and pentacosadiynoic acids. It is found that the dimensionless strength of excluded-volume interactions is weakly affected by chain length and its value is close to .     

Sensitive determination of iron(III) by gold electrode modified with 2-mercaptosuccinic acid self-assembled monolayer

Preparation and application of gold 2-mercaptosuccinic acid self-assembled monolayer (Au-MSA SAM) electrode for determination of iron(III) in the presence of iron(II) is described by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and Osteryoung square wave voltammetry. The square wave voltammograms showed a sharp peak around positive potentials +0.250 V that was used for construction of the calibration curve. Parameters influencing the method were optimized. A linear range calibration curve from 1.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ to 6.0 × 10⁻⁹ M iron(III) with a detection limit of 3.0 × 10⁻¹¹ M and relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of 6.5% for n = 8 at 1.0 × 10⁻⁹ M iron(III) was observed in the best conditions. Possible interferences from the coexisting ions were also investigated. The results demonstrated that sensor could be used for determination of iron(III) in the presence of various ions. The validity of the method and applicability of the sensor were successfully tested by determining of iron(III) in natural waters (tap and mineral waters) and in a pharmaceutical sample (Venofer^® ampoule) without interference from sample matrix. The experimental data are presented and discussed from which the new sensor is characterized.