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
James D. Wuest and co-workers from the University of Montréal, Canada, look at crystalline amino-substituted azines in this CrystEngComm Hot article.
This CrystEngComm Hot article describes the fabrication of SnO2/α-Fe2O3 nanoheterostructures by a hydrothermal process.
Lithium niobate (LN), a nonlinear optical material in its single crystal form, is well proven as a potential and unique material for its use in advanced photonic device applications like second-harmonic generation, optical switching, optical modulators, holographic data storage, acousto-optic and ferroelectric. The transition and rare earth metal ions (Fe, Mn, Cuand Ce) improve the data storage capabilities of LN by improving its photorefraction efficiency. However, when the concentration of dopants in the crystal increase, high geometric strains develop in the lattice resulting in the agglomeration of point defects, the formation of dislocations finally leading to structural boundaries. These defects mask or partially/completely deteriorate some of the anisotropic physical properties of the single crystals and reduce the efficiency of the devices made out of these crystals.
In this HOT article, ZnO nanorods were helped to “stand” vertically on microsubstrates by an interesting seed-mediated approach. Taking ZnO nanosheets as the microsubstrates, ZnO nanorods can grow vertically, not lying horizontally, on the facets with the aid of a seed layer precoating to form hierarchical ZnO nanorod-nanosheet architectures. The diameter as well as the length of the standing nanorods can be controlled effectively by adjusting the growth time and the amount of ammonia in the growth solution. The precoated seed layer has been found to be the key factor in determining the resultant morphology.
In this CrystEngComm Hot article, Michael Lorenz and colleagues from Universitat Leipzig have made fresnoite thin films, fused on various materials by pulsed laser deposition, for use in photonic applications.