CrystEngComm Blog

In this CrystEngComm Hot Article, Johanna Eichhorn and colleagues from Munich, Germany study the self-assembly of melem on Ag(111) surface using scanning tunnelling microscopy.

They observe seven different monolayer polymorphs stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Porous surface-supported supramolecular monolayers have potential applications as host networks for the inclusion of guests or even as organic templates for the growth of size-selected metal nanoparticles.

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Self-assembly of melem on Ag(111)—emergence of porous structures based on amino-heptazine hydrogen bonds
Johanna Eichhorn, Stefan Schlögl, Bettina V. Lotsch, Wolfgang Schnick, Wolfgang M. Heckl and Markus Lackinger
CrystEngComm, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C1CE05342F, Paper

In this CrystEngComm Hot Article, Steven De Feyter, Albertus Schenning and colleagues investigate how molecular chirality can be expressed at the supramolecular level during 2D self-assembly.

They studied the formation of a chiral monolayer of a substituted hexaarylbenzene with 24 stereogenic centres at the interface between a liquid and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. When both enantiomers are co-adsorbed on the surface, a racemic conglomerate is formed.

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A multivalent hexapod having 24 stereogenic centers: chirality and conformational dynamics in homochiral and heterochiral systems
Hong Xu, Martin Wolffs, Željko Tomović, E. W. Meijer, Albertus P. H. J. Schenning and Steven De Feyter
CrystEngComm, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C1CE05433C, Paper

In this CrystEngComm Hot Article, Hongzheng Chen and colleagues synthesized uniform PbS nanocrystals using a surfactant-free electrodeposition method.

They investigated the effect of the concentration of Cl⁻ ions, deposition time and applied deposition current in tuning the morphology of the crystals.

The authors believe the method could be extended to the shape-controlled synthesis of other semiconductor crystals, especially metal sulfides.

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Morphology evolution route of PbS crystals via environment-friendly electrochemical deposition
Weiming Qiu, Mingsheng Xu, Fei Chen, Xi Yang, Yaxiong Nan and Hongzheng Chen
CrystEngComm, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C1CE05225J, Paper

In this CrystEngComm Hot Article, Shaodong Sun et al. prepared polyhedral 50-facet cuprous oxide crystals with high-index planes using a seed-mediated solution phase route.

Cuprous oxide is a p-type semiconductor with potential applications including solar energy conversion, catalysis, gas sensors and lithium-ion batteries.

The authors studied the growth mechanism of the crystals, which will aid the design and synthesis of new polyhedral cuprous oxide architectures.

They also studied the photocatalytic activity of the crystals in the degradation of Methyl Orange dye. The crystals with high-index facets exhibited higher catalytic activity than crystals with low-index facets.

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Seed-mediated synthesis of polyhedral 50-facet Cu₂O architectures
Shaodong Sun, Dongchu Deng, Chuncai Kong, Yang Gao, Shengchun Yang, Xiaoping Song, Bingjun Ding and Zhimao Yang
CrystEngComm, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C1CE05243H, Communication

In this CrystEngComm Hot Article, Chinese scientists have prepared complex indium- and gallium-doped zinc oxide nanostructures with twin boundaries.

Three-edged nanobelts and hexagonal-disk strings were fabricated using a thermal evaporation method. Despite their differences in morphology they have the same twin boundaries, which the authors explain by introducing a twin core.

Understanding the growth of these nanostructures opens up the potential for assembling nanoscale building blocks into sophisticated structures.

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Group III element-doped ZnO twinning nanostructures
L. L. Wu, F. W. Liu and X. T. Zhang
CrystEngComm, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C1CE05088E, Paper

Javier Pérez-Ramírez and colleagues have prepared mesoporous ZSM-22 zeolite by controlled silicon extraction in aqueous sodium hydroxide.

The generation of auxiliary mesoporosity has implications for the catalytic applications of this zeolite.

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Mesoporous ZSM-22 zeolite obtained by desilication: peculiarities associated with crystal morphology and aluminium distribution
Danny Verboekend, André M. Chabaneix, Karine Thomas, Jean-Pierre Gilson and Javier Pérez-Ramírez
CrystEngComm, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0CE00966K, Paper