CrystEngComm Blog

In this CrystEngComm Hot Article, Shenghuang Lin and colleagues investigate the formation and suppression of misoriented grains in silicon carbide (SiC), a well-known semiconductor material.

The growth rate of misoriented grains at the margins of the crystal is faster than that of the matrix and many thermal decomposition cavities exist at the initial growth stage. This indicates that the misoriented grains may originate from thermal decomposition cavities.

The work will be useful in developing preparation methods that suppress the formation of misoriented grains resulting in high quality, large diameter SiC crystals.

Such high quality crystals are required by industry to meet the full potential of SiC-based devices.

Read more for free until 22nd March 2011:

Formation and suppression of misoriented grains in 6H-SiC crystals
Shenghuang Lin, Zhiming Chen, Peng Liang, Yintu Ba and Sujuan Liu
CrystEngComm, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0CE00646G, Paper

Researchers from the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai have developed a simple strategy for simultaneously controlling the morphology and chemical composition of hydroxyapatite powders.

In this CrystEngComm Hot Article, nanoparticles, nanowires and nanosheets were produced by hydrothermal treatment of calcium silicate precursors without the use of surfactants, template-directing reagents or organic solvents. The chemical composition was controlled by regulation of the chemical composition of the precursor and the reaction ratio of the precursor/solution.

The strategy could be useful for optimising the performance of hydroxyapatite in its many applications, including biomedical materials, gas sensing and catalysis.

Read more for free until 22nd March 2011.

Synthesis of element-substituted hydroxyapatite with controllable morphology and chemical composition using calcium silicate as precursor
Kaili Lin, Jiang Chang, Xiaoguo Liu, Lei Chen and Yanling Zhou
CrystEngComm, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0CE00835D, Paper

Qing Peng and colleagues from Tsinghua University, Beijing have produced large-scale perpendicular assemblies of  wurtzite CuInS₂  nanorods purely by controlling the solvent evaporation rate.

Their findings will aid the development of “ink” techniques for producing thin-film solar cells.

The team synthesised a range of CuInS₂  nanocrystals of different shapes and sizes by reacting inorganic salts with dodecanethiol and controlling the Cu:In ratio or introducing other ligands into the reaction system.

Read more in this CrystEngComm Hot Article for FREE until 22nd March 2011

Controlled synthesis of wurtzite CuInS₂ nanocrystals and their side-by-side nanorod assemblies
Xiaotang Lu, Zhongbin Zhuang, Qing Peng and Yadong Li
CrystEngComm, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0CE00451K, Paper

Free to access until Tuesday 15th February 2011!

In this CrystEngComm Hot Article, Stephen Mann and co-workers demonstrate the use of electrospun mats of amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP)/poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) nano- and microfibres to promote in vitro remineralization of dental enamel and dentine tubule occlusion.

The method is performed under clinically relevant conditions and holds the potential for a new approach to the regeneration of enamel and the alleviation of dentine hypersensitivity.

Read more:
Electrospun mats of PVP/ACP nanofibres for remineralization of enamel tooth surfaces
Jane Fletcher, Dominic Walsh, Christabel Emma Fowler and Stephen Mann,
CrystEngComm, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0CE00806K, Paper